Disneyland ticket options suck!

[Cosmic Commando]

I believe the entirety of the DLR property would fit inside Epcot. Not sure of exact sizes of the parks.

Same zoom.

 

[Tom]

Same zoom.

Ok, pretty darn close. Maybe the stat I head was that the area of the two DLR parks themselves would fit into Epcot (if condensed, with buffer space removed).

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Ok, pretty darn close. Maybe the stat I head was that the area of the two DLR parks themselves would fit into Epcot (if condensed, with buffer space removed).

It is pretty darn close. I've actually compared the two in the past: Future World is Disneyland, World Showcase is DCA, and the Boardwalk/Y&B area is like the Grand Californian, Disneyland Hotel and Downtown Disney. They're in the right spots and roughly the same size.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

DL is all about the condensed magic. It's like the difference between drinking Jello shots and Bud Lights. (Yes, that metaphor seems entirely appropriate to this discussion.)

 

[stlphil]

I think I'm going to have to work out for at least six months before my first trip. That sounds like a ton of walking.

Not sure if you've ever heard the "true" acronym for EPCOT:

Every Person Comes Out Tired

 

[Figments Friend]

On vacation, I consider easy not having to worry about traffic at all.

One thing that several people have told me is this: I will love being in the original Disney Park and I will love the old dark rides that are lacking in the Magic Kingdom. However, I will be EXTREMELY bothered by seeing the traffic on the highway while in Tomorrowland. And I will be bothered by seeing retail shops, motels and chain restaurants right across the street. And they're right. For me, who LIVES for the immersion you get at WDW, I think I may have a big problem with that.

I was also concerned about this before my first visit, but i have to be honest with you...once i was there in the Parks, i did not even notice it.

Yes, it was jarring to walk out of the front gate and within moments be immediately confronted with the *real world* Walt was so irritated about infiltrating on his *fantasy world* DL. But it is not all that bad, depending on HOW you enter/exit. I recommend arriving through DTD there...it helps create a buffer zone that gets your senses prepared for the experience to come.

I was skeptical before my first visit. Within the first hour of actually being IN Disneyland however, i was a dedicated convert. Now i love DL ...and love it for completely different reasons then what i love WDW for. The two are completely different animals in vibe, scale, and overall touring experience.

I highly recommend visiting and letting go of previous experiences had at WDW.
I had to go in with a open mind and set aside the *differences* between the two Coasts and it was the best thing i could have done. It helped clear the air and open myself to the delights that were a plenty at DL...stuff you could never capture at a sprawling Property like WDW.

 

[Figments Friend]

Not sure if you've ever heard the "true" acronym for EPCOT:

Every Person Comes Out Tired

Wait..i thought it was :

* Every Paycheck Comes On Thursday *...?

Oh wait, maybe it was...

* Every Parent Comes Out Tired..*...?

No no...in the early days it was surely :

* Experimental Polyester Costumes Of Tomorrow*....!

 

[Figments Friend]

Actually, not awful. For 10 nights at the Disneyland Hotel with 5 day park hopper, admission and transportation to Universal, Knotts Berry Farm and a Hollywood Tour, for 5 people was about $7,200.

I mean, when we go to WDW, for 10 nights in a 1 bedroom villa renting points, I spend about $4,400 alone. Admission to the parks for 10 days for 5 people is about $1,700. That's over $6,000.

What's really gonna be the deciding factor is the airfare, and unfortunately, I won't have any idea on that for at least several months.

If you are flying from the Boston area, i recommend looking at flights starting in mid-January thru early February. I find that the airfares tend to take a dive in price post-Holiday travel season and then spike again in late February for winter break.

Also, i find BOS to LAX has the cheaper offers. I adore Long Beach Airport...and JetBlue used to have non-stops there ( not sure if they still do..) and sometimes you can get a better airfare rate.
John Wayne is always the more expensive option from BOS it seems. I have yet to have seen a fare that is less then LAX or LGB.

Some folks hate LAX, but it has some advantages ( mainly, the wallet ). The Disneyland Resort Shuttle is also easily availible there to take you to your hotel, even if it is a non-Disney property near DL Resort.

 

[Figments Friend]

Don't forget JetBlue and their major West Coast hub at Long Beach. I lived in Boston once, and still use JetBlue to fly back there occasionally on business.

You can get great flights to Logan from Long Beach. Long Beach Airport is a 25 minute taxi ride to the Disneyland Hotel. http://www.jetblue.com

And the new Long Beach Airport with its new indoor/outdoor terminal is one of the most stylish and easiest airports I've ever seen in this country. Although it has firepits and iPad bars, you still walk out onto the tarmac and up the mobile stairs to board the plane at Long Beach Airport. But I like that as it gives me a chance to pretend I'm one of The Beatles arriving at JFK in 1964. Except when I turn around at the top of the stairs there's never any screaming teenagers!

OMG YES!!!
One of my many striking memories of visiting CA for the first time was arriving from Boston to Long Beach and walking off the plane as the sun was setting. Totally blew my mind..and yes, i felt like a Beatle.

I love Long Beach!

 

[Figments Friend]

As a fellow Bostonian that goes to DLR regularly, I wanted to chime in to agree on this 100%! I always fly into Long Beach, never LAX. The BOS-LGB direct flights on JetBlue are fantastic.

I concur.
Long Beach is awesome.
Sometimes it is worth paying a little more in airfare to arrive here instead of LAX.

 

[Figments Friend]

I think I'm going to have to work out for at least six months before my first trip. That sounds like a ton of walking.

Compared to DL, YES..you will be doing a LOT of walking...exspecially at EPCOT.

 

[Figments Friend]

Okay..so i have a question to add since this thread was originally about DL tickets.

I was thinking about jumping the gun and buying my 4-Day DL PH online.
My question is...are you mailed a actual ticket ( plastic or paper )..or do you have to print it out yourself ?

I ask because i am a Disney Parks dweeb and would much rather have a actual ticket in hand instead of a 8X11 printed paper with a big barcode on it.

For WDW i have received actual ticket media when i have pre-purchased online and usually a plastic card to boot.
I will not bother buying a DL ticket online in advance if actual media is not an option. I would rather not carry around a large folded up piece of paper in my pocket.

I like to try to pay for things way in advance, and buying my ticket ahead of time would be a nice plus. I have no issues buying at the gate, but wanted to ask about this to find out what the currant options are.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Okay..so i have a question to add since this thread was originally about DL tickets.

I was thinking about jumping the gun and buying my 4-Day DL PH online.
My question is...are you mailed a actual ticket ( plastic or paper )..or do you have to print it out yourself ?

I ask because i am a Disney Parks dweeb and would much rather have a actual ticket in hand instead of a 8X11 printed paper with a big barcode on it.

For WDW i have received actual ticket media when i have pre-purchased online and usually a plastic card to boot.
I will not bother buying a DL ticket online in advance if actual media is not an option. I would rather not carry around a large folded up piece of paper in my pocket.

I like to try to pay for things way in advance, and buying my ticket ahead of time would be a nice plus. I have no issues buying at the gate, but wanted to ask about this to find out what the currant options are.

It will be a printed ticket from your home printer, then you'll receive the park paper tickets at the gates.

 

[shipley731]

Okay..so i have a question to add since this thread was originally about DL tickets.

I was thinking about jumping the gun and buying my 4-Day DL PH online.
My question is...are you mailed a actual ticket ( plastic or paper )..or do you have to print it out yourself ?

I ask because i am a Disney Parks dweeb and would much rather have a actual ticket in hand instead of a 8X11 printed paper with a big barcode on it.

For WDW i have received actual ticket media when i have pre-purchased online and usually a plastic card to boot.
I will not bother buying a DL ticket online in advance if actual media is not an option. I would rather not carry around a large folded up piece of paper in my pocket.

I like to try to pay for things way in advance, and buying my ticket ahead of time would be a nice plus. I have no issues buying at the gate, but wanted to ask about this to find out what the currant options are.

We purchased a package with room & tickets & got actual hard plastic tickets sent to us via UPS about 3 weeks prior to our arrival.

 

[Tom]

Okay..so i have a question to add since this thread was originally about DL tickets.

I was thinking about jumping the gun and buying my 4-Day DL PH online.
My question is...are you mailed a actual ticket ( plastic or paper )..or do you have to print it out yourself ?

I ask because i am a Disney Parks dweeb and would much rather have a actual ticket in hand instead of a 8X11 printed paper with a big barcode on it.

For WDW i have received actual ticket media when i have pre-purchased online and usually a plastic card to boot.
I will not bother buying a DL ticket online in advance if actual media is not an option. I would rather not carry around a large folded up piece of paper in my pocket.

I like to try to pay for things way in advance, and buying my ticket ahead of time would be a nice plus. I have no issues buying at the gate, but wanted to ask about this to find out what the currant options are.

For our recent DLR trip, we bought 5-day hoppers and opted to have them mailed to us ahead of time, instead of doing Will Call. Partially because we too are dweebs and like to have the media ahead of time, and partially to avoid one more line once we were there.

 

[flynnibus]

I would rather not carry around a large folded up piece of paper in my pocket.

For DL e-tickets, you print out your confirmation with a barcode.. goto the turnstyle.. they scan it.. and print out a normal ticket (similar to the MYW card) right there, you sign it, and you go in. There really is no difference.

 

[Figments Friend]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question.
I have a much better idea of what i will do now.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

We printed our AP vouchers online and brought them to the parks. I think even for APs, you can scan the paper barcodes at the turnstiles once before you have to go to the ticket booth and get an actual AP. We had PDFs e-mailed to us... vastly superior to having the actual tickets mailed to you. You can keep the PDFs in your inbox, forward it to some friends/family as backup and be able to access those vouchers anywhere, any time. If it's online, it's impossible for you to forget your tickets at home!

 

[Cosmic Commando]

OMG YES!!!
One of my many striking memories of visiting CA for the first time was arriving from Boston to Long Beach and walking off the plane as the sun was setting. Totally blew my mind..and yes, i felt like a Beatle.

I love Long Beach!

On my honeymoon to WDW in Jan '06, we took a direct flight BUF-MCO, and they let us deplane in the back for some reason. In 2.5 hours, we went from 20 degrees and snowing to a sunny tropical day right there on the tarmac... that was MAGIC!

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Just sayin'.

I've been on these forums a while and many of you know I've wanted to go to Disneyland for the first time. We've been to WDW 30+ times. I'd really like to spend a good solid week in the original park.

But the whole "we only sell 5 day hoppers" is absolute nonsense. Yeah, I get it - There are only 2 parks. But for some, a trip out to California is a once in a lifetime deal and you want to take advantage of the parks as much as you can. Hell, if we can spend 4 days at the Magic Kingdom every summer, I'm certain we can spend 4 days at Disneyland Park, plus a couple at DCA.

But to spend the ridiculous amount of money for airfare to fly out to California and only get to spend 5 days at the resort just doesn't make sense. And if we want to spend more time there, our only option is to spend an additional $500 for our family for 1 day tickets. Or, $1,000 for 2 day tickets. Or, about $1,200 more for AP's.

Just a rant. I'm really bummed about this. We were all set to make the trip next summer, but as much as I know California has to offer, our interest, especially with the kids, is only in Disneyland. Why they don't offer 6, 7 or 8 day tickets is beyond me. The jump in price from a 5 day to an AP simply can not be justified.

Completely agree. We're doing the five day hoppers and then a one day pass where we'll just spend the day in Disneyland. Last time we went we were able to spend 6 days because they sold a ticket for that long.