Disneyland first timer

[squeek]

Hey everyone, I need some help. I have never been to Disneyland before and am about to start planning a trip from Toronto Ontario Canada this coming Nov 2014.

How many days do you think i would need to see pretty much all of Disneyland and California Adventure parks?

Also how is Now for crowds?

What would you suggest to be the best (neighboring) hotel, because I'm assuming they would be cheaper.

Finally I know Disneyland does not have meal plans, so should you just wing it in regards to eating at the parks or make reservations in advance?

Are there ever special offers for the fall in Disneyland like they offer in disney world?

Any info from the disneyland experts on here would be a HUGE help.
Thank you

 

[Tom]

Hey everyone, I need some help. I have never been to Disneyland before and am about to start planning a trip from Toronto Ontario Canada this coming Nov 2014.

How many days do you think i would need to see pretty much all of Disneyland and California Adventure parks?

Also how is Now for crowds?

What would you suggest to be the best (neighboring) hotel, because I'm assuming they would be cheaper.

Finally I know Disneyland does not have meal plans, so should you just wing it in regards to eating at the parks or make reservations in advance?

Are there ever special offers for the fall in Disneyland like they offer in disney world?

Any info from the disneyland experts on here would be a HUGE help.
Thank you

I'm not an expert, but we went twice this year - May (our first visit) and December. I can answer some of your questions.

If this is your first visit, and last for a while, I'd suggest a 4-day park hopper. That will give you plenty of time to see everything in both parks.

I don't know what general crowds are like, but I would suggest avoiding the weekends if at all possible. Locals swarm the parks on the weekends, and it gets pretty crowded. This was the case in May and December.

People used to say that you didn't need to make reservations for dinners at DLR, but that's changing. There are still a few places you could get in on a walk-up basis, but if there are any crowds, you'll find most seats taken. If you want to eat somewhere like Blue Bayou (highly recommended), Carthay Circle, Storytellers or a few other popular places, I suggest making some reservations.

They do occasionally offer room discounts, but someone else can better answer that for you.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

You'll find lots of good info here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/guide-to-dlr-for-wdw-veterans.875596/

Disneyland doesn't offer anywhere near the amount of discounts that WDW does - their three hotels do a great job or remaining full or close to it year round.

 

[englanddg]

Disneyland does have a meal plan that is voucher based...but I don't think it's worth the cost. It's very limited in what you can get.

 

[Tom]

Disneyland does have a meal plan that is voucher based...but I don't think it's worth the cost. It's very limited in what you can get.

The "meal plans" at DLR are absolutely not worth it.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

You WILL lose money with DL's meal plan. It's impossible not to come out at a loss.

 

[DisneyDelirious]

Could be bad staff info but I was told on the phone by a Disney employee that the Dining Plan at Disneylamd is no more. I'm a WDW veteran heading out west in May. That being said, all my research and observations of DLR vets show it's simply not a good investment.

 

[Tom]

Could be bad staff info but I was told on the phone by a Disney employee that the Dining Plan at Disneylamd is no more. I'm a WDW veteran heading out west in May. That being said, all my research and observations of DLR vets show it's simply not a good investment.

They just don't call them dining plans anymore. They still sell meal vouchers, but don't buy any.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Greetings from Buffalo!

I did November in 2012... it's one of the best times to go, IMO. Your length of stay depends on your expectations. If you go to WDW all the time and you only want to hit the highlights at DLR, you'd be okay with 2-3 days; if you are essentially replacing a WDW trip and want to soak everything in, definitely go 4-5 days. Currently they only sell up to five day tickets unless you get an AP... I say take as much time as you can!

If you have your choice of dates, try to hit the sweet spot between Veterans Day weekend and Thanksgiving week. Veterans Day weekend is unofficially the official kickoff for all of the Christmas stuff at DLR. Small World, the Christmas nighttime shows and all of the decorations make their official debut that weekend (although some may open earlier), and those are the big Christmas prizes. Haunted Mansion Holiday opens in September for Halloween and stays open through January. You'll need at least one Fri-Sun day at the parks if you want to see Fantasmic! (and you DO), so something like 10th-14th, 11th-15th, or 11th-14th exploring outside DLR over the weekend, and then Monday or Tuesday the next week is what I would aim for.

Stay offsite unless you don't care about money. Use Wikimapia. All of the hotels east of the resort on Harbor Blvd between I-5 and Katella are closer to DLR than the Contemporary is to the Magic Kingdom.

 

[IndianaJones]

Greetings from Buffalo!

I did November in 2012... it's one of the best times to go, IMO. Your length of stay depends on your expectations. If you go to WDW all the time and you only want to hit the highlights at DLR, you'd be okay with 2-3 days; if you are essentially replacing a WDW trip and want to soak everything in, definitely go 4-5 days. Currently they only sell up to five day tickets unless you get an AP... I say take as much time as you can!

If you have your choice of dates, try to hit the sweet spot between Veterans Day weekend and Thanksgiving week. Veterans Day weekend is unofficially the official kickoff for all of the Christmas stuff at DLR. Small World, the Christmas nighttime shows and all of the decorations make their official debut that weekend (although some may open earlier), and those are the big Christmas prizes. Haunted Mansion Holiday opens in September for Halloween and stays open through January. You'll need at least one Fri-Sun day at the parks if you want to see Fantasmic! (and you DO), so something like 10th-14th, 11th-15th, or 11th-14th exploring outside DLR over the weekend, and then Monday or Tuesday the next week is what I would aim for.

Stay offsite unless you don't care about money. Use Wikimapia. All of the hotels east of the resort on Harbor Blvd between I-5 and Katella are closer to DLR than the Contemporary is to the Magic Kingdom.

Got to agree with the Commando about November being a great time to go. We've been 3 times, once in late November and 2 times in early December. Crowds were never very bad(outside of Cars Land last year, but that doesn't shock me), and we were able to get to most of what we wanted to do.

We've only ever done a 3 day park hopper.1 day at DL, 1 day at DCA, and 1 day of jumping back and forth. Next time we go, i think I might go for a 4 day. That way there is no rushing on that last day. Split it into 2 days and enjoy it more.

i don't really remember anything about where we stayed on our first trip. Was over 11 years ago. But the last 2 times we were able to stay onsite which was pretty fantastic. But based on all of the research I've done and what these lovely guys on the DLR section of the board have said, I don't think I'll stay onsite unless I have a rich relative show up and say that money isn't an issue. There seem to be some really solid options all along Harbor Blvd. And for me personally, I don't need much, just a comfortable place to stay for the night. My wife might disagree with that thought though.

Enjoy when you finally get to go. My guess is you'll have a blast.

 

[teacherlady19]

We've never done a meal voucher/dining plan at either coastal park. In 2012, we winged it and found that we actually SAVED money by not going with the dining plan at WDW. With DL, we feel the same way.

Mentioned above are the places you would definitely want to consider reservations: Carthay Circle (DCA), Blue Bayou (DL), Napa Rose, Steakhouse 55, and maybe Wine Country Trattoria. Everything else is walk-up. We have enjoyed the River Belle Terrace (DL) for breakfast or lunch, Pacific Wharf Cafe (DCA), Award Weiners (DCA), the French Market (DL), and others. Our favorite dinner spot is Blue Bayou, or if the reservations weren't available, we'd go there at lunch.(Our daughter and her husband actually prefer BB at lunch, because of the Monte Cristo sandwiches which are not on the dinner menu.)

Harbor Blvd. and Katella both have some lodging options that are do-able. As I've said several times on this board, our favorite has been Candy Cane Inn. Previously we liked Best Western Stovall's, as we would walk up Disneyland Way to the DGCH and cut through that to get to Downtown Disney and security lines. We like the rooms at Candy Cane better now, though. We've never stayed at a Disney owned hotel in Anaheim -- just too much for our pocketbook, preferring to save the $ and eat out somewhere really nice.


Donna

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I've stayed at Best WEstern Stovall's Inn, Howard Johnson, and Best Western Anaheim Inn. The Anaheim Inn is my favorite as it is the closest of those three. But depending on price I would stay at any of these again.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

Hey everyone, I need some help. I have never been to Disneyland before and am about to start planning a trip from Toronto Ontario Canada this coming Nov 2014.

How many days do you think i would need to see pretty much all of Disneyland and California Adventure parks?

Also how is Now for crowds?

What would you suggest to be the best (neighboring) hotel, because I'm assuming they would be cheaper.

Finally I know Disneyland does not have meal plans, so should you just wing it in regards to eating at the parks or make reservations in advance?

Are there ever special offers for the fall in Disneyland like they offer in disney world?

Any info from the disneyland experts on here would be a HUGE help.
Thank you

I'm about an hour away from you in Kitchener. I went for the first time in September 2012. Right after Labour Day. I missed Haunted Mansion because it was in the middle of its Halloween transformation but we saw everything else.

I was a WDW vet when we went and wasn't sure what to expect. I was blown away. It is still classic Disney and it shouldn't be missed if you are a Disney fan. We personally had a three day hopper pass. We spent two days at Disneyland and one at DCA. We got everything in. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have 4 days, but we did fine in 3. That being said, you never want to leave Disneyland so a 4th day might help. Everything is within walking distance as well. No monorails to take you from park to park. No buses. It is all walking distance from the hotels to Downtown Disney to both parks. Which is nice actually, and different.

You'll have to ask some local Californians about how cold the ocean is in November. We went in September and the beaches were still pretty busy and the water - although surprisingly cold - is very nice. It is similar to going to Sauble Beach if you've been (in Canada of course). You know how you go there or Grand Bend in July and the water is cold when you initially get in but you dunk your head under water and you're fine? Well, the water was like that in September in California. We're Canadian, so trust me it isn't as cold as you may have heard. That being said I am not sure about November though. I guess people still swim, but you'll have to ask the locals on here. You would love to see the beaches like Laguna, Santa Monica, etc. though. Don't go to SoCal and just do Disney and that's it.

Check out Hollywood, stuff like the Warner Brothers studio tour and Universal Studios. All stuff I did, all worth it. Disneyland is the crown jewel of the trip, but believe me, the 9 days we had down there consisted of other memorable things outside of Disney.

But enjoy, Disneyland is a blast and I've always said picking between WDW and Disneyland is like choosing steak or lobster. You cannot go wrong.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

Oh, one last thing, we stayed at the Ayres Hotel. It is on Katella Avenue, directly across the street from the Honda Center where the Anaheim Ducks play, and I mean DIRECTLY. You're down the street from Angel Stadium to where the Angels play. You are three miles away from Disneyland. That's it. About a 5 minute drive. But you are out of the way of the craziness and we loved it. We got a sweet deal where we got 30% as part of this "Summer on Fire" package. The breakfast is great in the morning, the staff were helpful and the pool was nice. I was out in the pool a bunch of times, you would be surprised at the guests that are out there. There was a family from Long Beach out there. Yeah, about an hour away. I asked them why they came out here since they live within driving distance and they do it just to get away. You'll find there are a lot of locals that do this, or at least I did.

 

[Disneyfanman]

We have stayed at the Residence Inn Garden Grove multiple times. You can walk (1.5 miles) but we always drive and take a shuttle back during the day if we want a break. Similar to the last post it's far enough away to be peaceful. I would pick up the Unofficial Guide for recommendations and also look at their website (touring plans.com) for crowd projections. Their info is pretty accurate, although it can seem like overkill.