I'm SOLD

[Britt]

On the idea of going to Disneyland next year. One of the trip reports has convinced me I need to see it! haha

What I'm not sold on, is the dining plan....or how many days?

Have you been? Did you get the dining plan? Do they have QS stands? How many days do you think someone should take?​

 

[Mukta]

I am a local, but from what I hear, the dining plan is a waste. It works nothing like the dining plan at WDW.
You have 3 young kids. I would plan on at least 3-4 days for the 2 Disney parks.

 

[Mukta]

There are a ton of reasonably priced hotels walking distance from DL. There are places from $75-$125 a night.

 

[Britt]

There are a ton of reasonably priced hotels walking distance from DL. There are places from $75-$125 a night.

Thats what I'm hearing as well...to not even bother with a DL hotel/resort and just stay at one of the others. Is a "Good Neighbor Hotel/Resort" recommended? Or should we just look at some of the cheaper ones? We dont really care about the room/hotel as long as it's clean!!

 

[Mukta]

It depends when you are going. In the crowded months, some of the good neighbor hotels are eligible to enter the parks an hour earlier. That can be worth it.

 

[BlackCauldron]

The Good Neighbor hotels can be a very good deal - especially since many are within walking distance and grant you the early morning access perk. I think that the prices of these hotels are pretty reasonable when you compare them to the Disney hotels, and throw in the perks you get.

With respect to the Dining Plan - Disneyland does not have a plan per se in the way that WDW does. WDW bases their plan around credits for meals. The Disneyland meal plan is essentially a pre-paid voucher system - think of it like paying for your food in advance. However, the restaurants that will accept the voucher are more limited (whereas in WDW nearly every place will take the dining plan).

My advice on Disneyland dining would be to take a look at where you would like to eat, and simply set the money aside. It's better than the meal vouchers.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Don't even bother with the so-called "dining plan" at Disneyland. Not only is it kind if stupid and a waste, but Disneyland doesn't even promote it, really. Not the way WDW promotes their dining plan. Another tip in dining at DL is you don't have to make reservations six months out, or reservations at all. There are less table service options, but if you want to eat at one, all you have to do is go up to the greeting CM, on the same day, tell them the number in your party and you will be seated. It's understandable if you want to make reservations just to be safe, though. Quick service at Disneyland is the more popular choice and the food is good.

Unless you want to splurge, there's no reason to stay onsite. There's nothing wrong with staying offsite and if you look through Tammy's (Disneyfalcon) recent trip report for Disneyland, you'll see she toured some offsite hotels and they are actually really nice.

 

[Rasvar]

Yeah, if money is a concern, there are a number of Good Neighbor hotels that work out very well. That is where I would normally stay. I personally like the Carousel on Harbor, but the rooms may be too small and some people don't like the outside access.
I really would not do the dining plan at all at DLR. I have not seen where it makes sense. It actually makes it easier to eat off property without it. Reservations are also not as necessary for dining either in DL. I would only do one if you were absolutely positively sure when and where you wanted to eat. I will usually do Cafe Orleans for a Monte Cristo (occasionally Blue Bayou for lunch if looking for more atmosphere but you are paying for that extra atmosphere). Otherwise, I usually don't do reservations. I have found that the food variety is better at DLR also. It is a lot easier to eat healthier there (Monte Cristo notwithstanding. Nothing healthy about it but it is oh so good!).

 

[Gojira ゴジラ]

As other have pointed out, avoid Dining Plan. Carthay Circle is worth a try, Blue Bayou is good.. the rest is just meh.

Grand Californian is the best if you have small kids (our room was literally 4 minutes away from Grizzly River - DCA) but it is so overpriced.

The last time we went to DL was 2 months ago, we stayed at the Sheraton Anaheim which we're not impressed at all.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

As stated above, the DL plan is just pre-paid meals....no need to purchase.

 

[Hakunamatata]

We stayed at the Fairfield Inn in June. It's a ten minute walk including stopping for an intersection. There is a McDonald's next door and a nice restraunt in the parking lot of the hotel that is reasonably priced. There are quick service locations throughout both parks. We liked the places on the midway/boardwalk area of DCA the best.

We did a 6 day package deal. We used all 6 days and Carsland wasn't even open yet. Wonderful World Of Color Picnic package is well worth the price. The picnic meals are good and it gets you preferred entrance. We did that twice on our stay.

We really enjoyed Disneyland and are looking at going back next summer as well. The MK is sooooo much easier to manouver because of its smaller, more compact size. Fantasy Land there is simply amazing with all the dark rides.

Make sure you see Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln. A must see, especially in light of all that is going on in the world right now.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I've stayed at the HOJO and Best Western Stovall's and both were nice and about the same time for walking. With the Stovall's we cut through the Grand Californian so I pretended we were staying there! As for length, anywhere between 4-6 days would be good. Four would give you some relaxation time but still be moving at a fast pace and 6 you could be more leisurely.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

Me and my eldest "M" ate at Big Thunder Ranch BBQ, The Plaza Inn, Naple Ristorante e Pizzeria in DTD (Parent company of Via Napoli), and Steakhouse 55 (Disneyland Hotel). Big Thunder was decent, the rest were good! Would recommend The Plaza Inn for Character Breakfast! Again, would not buy the dining plan...we were there Spring Break '10, had no ADRs, and walked up to each and were seated within... don't remember how long, but it couldn't have been more than 15 mins.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

You're gonna have a great time at Disneyland!

I agree with the consensus of the thread... 4-6 days and you would not be bored... dining plan is a weird ripoff...

If you would normally stay at a Value or a Mod at WDW, stay off-site at DLR.
If you would normally stay at a Deluxe at WDW, stay at the Disneyland Hotel.
If you would normally stay at the Grand Floridian, stay at the Grand Californian.

That's a very, very basic guideline based on the rough way the prices line up, but it's not really black and white. Staying offsite at WDW normally means you're miles away from the parks and fighting traffic on 192. There are many nice hotels offsite at DLR that are within walking distance of both parks. Even if you stay at deluxes at WDW, it would still be worthwhile to look at the fancier offsite hotels... everything is really really close. There are many well-reviewed hotels that are closer to Disneyland AND DCA AND Downtown Disney than the Contemporary is to Magic Kingdom. Looking for my dates in November, admittedly during a slow season, I found lots and lots of places around $110 per night with various discounts to bring the price further down. Here is the link to the Wikimapia map I use to look for hotels.

Also, because of the local crowd patterns, there is a noticeable difference between Monday-Thursday versus Friday-Sunday. I've never really noticed crowds vary by the day of the week at WDW, but it's very noticeable at Disneyland. I would really try to hit as many Monday-Thursday days as you can.

 

[snesguy]

On the idea of going to Disneyland next year. One of the trip reports has convinced me I need to see it! haha​

​

What I'm not sold on, is the dining plan....or how many days?​

​

Have you been? Did you get the dining plan? Do they have QS stands? How many days do you think someone should take?​

​

​

I never did the dining plan at DL. I never felt the need. DL does not have the in park options that WDW has. You'd be wasting your money on a dining plan at DL. Most of the sit down food at DL is not as good as you will find right outside the park. I'll have fast food in the park for lunch to save time but rarely a table service. For dinners I usually either go right outside the parks to Downtown Disney (short walk) or hop in the rental car and drive somewhere. There are tons of restaurants nearby.

If I do a table service, In DL I like the Plaza Inn character breakfast. It has a large amount of good characters come through will you're eating. If I'm on a short trip of 3 days or less I'll skip it but if you have kids and you're there for 4 or more days you should consider this. You can get a character breakfast at one of the resort hotels but I like the Plaza Inn character breakfast the best, so much so that I'll actually take time out of my park day to do it in the morning if I'm there for a longer trip. I also like the Carnation Café for breakfast. It's right on Main St. but it has no characters for the kids. It has small intimate feel which I like but the line to get in is usually long if you don't have a reservation. Blue Bayou you should do once just for the atmosphere (try to wait for a table by the water). Although I don't do Blue Bayou much because it takes some time for your first trip you should consider going for the atmosphere (not so much the food). You can call and make reservations for these restaurants (and you should if you're planning on going). I'm not sure of the current reservation window, it used to be 60 days out.


I noticed last couple of times I was there (it's been a while) that people were getting a pre-park opening breakfast at Ariel's Grotto in Disney California Adventure park. I've never been there for breakfast but pre-park opening sounds good to me. If they have this in DCA then maybe they have a Plaza Inn early breakfast too? I'm not sure but it might be worth asking about. Check the park opening times before you call.

I agree with the consensus of the thread... 4-6 days and you would not be bored... dining plan is a weird ripoff...

If you would normally stay at a Value or a Mod at WDW, stay off-site at DLR.
If you would normally stay at a Deluxe at WDW, stay at the Disneyland Hotel.
If you would normally stay at the Grand Floridian, stay at the Grand Californian.

That's a pretty good set of guidelines.

You didn't mention the Disney Paradise Pier Hotel. It's below the Grand Californian and Disneyland Hotel but perhaps not as low as a MOD. I like staying onsite, usually at the Disneyland Hotel because you can walk to parks (or take the monorail to DL) which is nice if you have older kids so they can be a little more independent and staying onsite let's you have access to Magic Mornings (Early Entry) every day that it's offered (which is not every day). If you stay offsite you need a ticket with early entry privileges (I think) and you used to only get one early entry for a 3 day or longer ticket. If you are a morning person and are staying across multiple early entry days staying onsite could be an advantage.

In the distant past I stayed offsite at HOJO's (Howard Johnson's hotel across the street from DL). It was pretty nice mainly because of the location and it had an onsite restaurant and there are other restaurants within a couple of blocks (walking distance). If I had a rental car (which I always do) and I'm not staying on site I sometimes use Priceline to name my own price for a 3 1/2 to 4 star hotel in the Disneyland area. I use Hotwire too. There are sites that help you put in the lowest bid to score a room on Priceline this way (betterbidding, biddingfortravel) and also help you divine what hotel you might be getting if you use Hotwire. Most of the hotels you get in the DL area this way (blind) will be either walking distance or have a shuttle but it's not guaranteed so you need a rental car to make this work.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

That's a pretty good set of guidelines.

You didn't mention the Disney Paradise Pier Hotel. It's below the Grand Californian and Disneyland Hotel but perhaps not as low as a MOD. I like staying onsite, usually at the Disneyland Hotel because you can walk to parks (or take the monorail to DL) which is nice if you have older kids so they can be a little more independent and staying onsite let's you have access to Magic Mornings (Early Entry) every day that it's offered (which is not every day). If you stay offsite you need a ticket with early entry privileges (I think) and you used to only get one early entry for a 3 day or longer ticket. If you are a morning person and are staying across multiple early entry days staying onsite could be an advantage.

In the distant past I stayed offsite at HOJO's (Howard Johnson's hotel across the street from DL). It was pretty nice mainly because of the location and it had an onsite restaurant and there are other restaurants within a couple of blocks (walking distance). If I had a rental car (which I always do) and I'm not staying on site I sometimes use Priceline to name my own price for a 3 1/2 to 4 star hotel in the Disneyland area. I use Hotwire too. There are sites that help you put in the lowest bid to score a room on Priceline this way (betterbidding, biddingfortravel) and also help you divine what hotel you might be getting if you use Hotwire. Most of the hotels you get in the DL area this way (blind) will be either walking distance or have a shuttle but it's not guaranteed so you need a rental car to make this work.

I'm not sure how I feel about Paradise Pier. It's a non-Disney hotel that Disney bought in the 90's and has pixie dusted, but I've heard mixed reviews and some people saying that it doesn't feel like a Disney hotel. Is that just because they know it isn't a Disney hotel? I don't know. It is the cheapest on-site hotel, though. The Disneyland Hotel also started as an outside operation, but Disney has owned it for much longer and pretty much everything floor to ceiling has been redone by now. For the weeknights in November that I was looking at, Paradise Pier was $200/night, Disneyland Hotel was $250/night and Grand Californian was $450/night.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

In the distant past I stayed offsite at HOJO's (Howard Johnson's hotel across the street from DL). It was pretty nice mainly because of the location and it had an onsite restaurant and there are other restaurants within a couple of blocks (walking distance). If I had a rental car (which I always do) and I'm not staying on site I sometimes use Priceline to name my own price for a 3 1/2 to 4 star hotel in the Disneyland area. I use Hotwire too. There are sites that help you put in the lowest bid to score a room on Priceline this way (betterbidding, biddingfortravel) and also help you divine what hotel you might be getting if you use Hotwire. Most of the hotels you get in the DL area this way (blind) will be either walking distance or have a shuttle but it's not guaranteed so you need a rental car to make this work.​

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There is no restaurant on-site at the HOJO. Mimi's is the closest restaurant and it is across the street. Perhaps there was an onsite restaurant in the past but as of April 2012 there was not. It is a nice hotel to stay at for Disneyland though.​

 

[Animaniac93-98]

At the Good Neighbour hotel I stayed at they also had a "Disney Desk" with an attendant who could provide info and book meals, for example. Was a useful touch.

4 days (2 for each park) is a good idea and I would recommend "off-site" when so many places are so close and cost much less than the Disney ones.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

At the Good Neighbour hotel I stayed at they also had a "Disney Desk" with an attendant who could provide info and book meals, for example. Was a useful touch.

4 days (2 for each park) is a good idea and I would recommend "off-site" when so many places are so close and cost much less than the Disney ones.

I think it's a good way to think about it (2 days per park), but I would recommend park hoppers for all first-timers at DLR. Not sure if this was your intent or not. It's only $30 for multi-day tickets (and no tax on theme park tickets in CA!) versus the $50whatever+tax at WDW. Hopping from Disneyland to DCA is literally like going from Future World to World Showcase, not like going from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom. Plus, the Fastpass systems between the two parks are not connected, so that's more Fastpasses you can collect, if you like to play that game.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I think it's a good way to think about it (2 days per park), but I would recommend park hoppers for all first-timers at DLR. Not sure if this was your intent or not.

I would too, because even with hoppers having two days gives you time to see shows and stuff and not feel rushed.