First Trip to Disneyland Info

[allstar01]

Hello, I am planning my first trip to Disneyland-Southern California. Not looking to stay on property, but stay at an hotel close by. I see that there is a Residence inn close by. Has anyone stayed there,and if so is it in walking distance of the parks. Does anyone have any other hotels that they recommend? Looking to get a 3 or 4 day hopper pass. would 3 days be good enough to see everything? Also how are the crowds in early October?
Does anyone have any other must sees around LA? Do you suggest flying in to LAX or SNA?
Thank you for any info.

 

[alissafalco]

go to tripadvisor.com
It lists all the hotels with reviews, and maps them also so you can see exactly how close they are to DL

 

[Cosmic Commando]

- I use Wikimapia. Hover over all of the parcels on Harbor Blvd (the street directly east of the Resort) and it will give you the name of every hotel nearby. It also has a distance so you can measure how long the walk would be. I think the Residence Inn right by the I-5 is walking distance, though.

- Three days would probably be enough, but if you have the time, I would get four. The pricing is similar to WDW's in that the fourth day won't be as expensive and there really is almost as much to see at DL as at WDW. You may not need the fourth day, but I doubt you would regret it. Personally, I spend 7-10 days on my trips to WDW and go to each park multiple times. If you go to WDW for four days and do everything once and only once, maybe you should lean more towards three days.

- The crowds in early October aren't too bad. Just keep in mind that the crowd patterns are different: the parks get busier on weekends and in the evenings when the 20 million people that live nearby are off of work. Touringplans says anywhere from a 1-5 during the week and 5-8 on the weekends. If you did your trip Monday-Thursday, I think that would be ideal. Watch out for Columbus Day, too.

- If you're mostly going to Disneyland, SNA is much closer.

- I'm going in November, and I made a Google map of everything I'm trying to do. I also have a thread going on the boards here. I think October is a good time for whale/dolphin watching, and the Reagan Library has a big Disney Archives exhibit. The Reagan Library is really cool, anyway: big piece of the Berlin Wall, walk inside the real Air Force One from the 70's to 2000ish, see Marine One and the Presidential limo...

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Here's a link to a map that might help you. Hope my link works!
http://printfreemaps.com/maps/freedisneylandareamap.pdf

 

[wiigirl]

Here's a link to a map that might help you. Hope my link works!
http://printfreemaps.com/maps/freedisneylandareamap.pdf

THANKS!!!

 

[NemoRocks78]

Hotel-wise, any of the hotels Harbor between Katella and the 5 are usually very good. I've had the most success with the Best Western Anaheim Inn and Desert Inn, both of which are within super easy walking distance to the Esplanade. The Residence Inn is close, but you'll have a bit of a longer walk with Disney Way in the picture.

As for time and crowds, I always suggest 3 days, unless you want to take things a lot slower - 4 would do in that case. Weekdays are usually a good time to visit in early October, but weekends are mobbed with the Halloween festivities going on.

LAX is typically cheaper, but SNA is closer and easier to deal with. Will you have a rental? If not, the Disneyland Express is a great way to get from the airports to the resort area.

There's a ton to do around L.A., like Universal Studios Hollywood, other studio tours, Hollywood Blvd. (Grauman's Chinese Theatre, El Capitan Theatre, Hollywood & Highland shopping complex, Madame Tussauds, etc.), The Grove & Farmer's Market, Santa Monica Pier - I could go on and on. Starline Tours has a great hop-on, hop-off bus tour around the city. If you have a car, the Reagan Library that Cosmic Commando suggested is a great place to visit - I went last weekend for the first time and really enjoyed it. And the Walt Disney Archives exhibit they have going on now is awesome.

 

[coachwnh]

are you sold on not staying on property? we stayed at DL Hotel in June and the perk of the early start was fantastic. Because everything is so much closer together ar DL and DCA then anything at WDW, the ability to walk from the hotel to the entrance to both was worth it! The extra hour also gave us plenty of time to do Carsland without long waits. Just a thought. Enjoy either way

 

[christopherscob]

If you like them, the halloween party at DL is a lot of fun with a parade, special fireworks show and loads of candy and villians to meet. The tickets are sold just for the party and they let you into park upto 3 hours before it starts which is around 7pm so you can get in at 4pm. The staff after 7 will only allow guest with party wrist band on rides and charater meetings etc which means as the non party crowds leave the ride lines are much shorter and it has a very special feel with all the decorations and guests with costumes. If you like halloween its a lot of fun, and they run twice a week usually in October and if you dont want to go remember that 2 nights a week that DL will close to other guests around 7pm but DCA will still be open.