I can relate to Captain Kidd, I'm a planner too.
Why don't you stay right outside? It is way cheaper and you can walk to the parks! We went for a week, 3 days in Disney then did other things, like a day at the beach, San Diego zoo, etc.
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Just about ready to give up on Disneyland
- Thread starter captainkidd
- Start date
I can relate to Captain Kidd, I'm a planner too.
Why don't you stay right outside? It is way cheaper and you can walk to the parks! We went for a week, 3 days in Disney then did other things, like a day at the beach, San Diego zoo, etc.
Pioneer Hall
Well-Known Member
I don't think it was saying to stay in CA for 3 days, but only stay at Disneyland for about that time. I went with the summer crowds once, and I saw it all in about 3 days. I had 5 park days, so I just kept doing things over and over at that point. Unfortunately I only ventured to Hollywood and the ocean once while I was there. I want to go back now to see DL for a few days, but explore more of SoCal. It isn't Orlando where Disney is the only attraction, there is a ton to see without having to drive too far.
If we're going to do Disneyland, I really want to feel immersed in the Disney feeling the entire time.
This is interesting. We've discussed doing Disneyland for a "long weekend" next October, as the kids have Friday and Monday off from school. I figured we'd leave Thursday night, and spend 3 days at the parks, then come home Monday.
Another concern I have with that is the park will be all Halloween'd out. I want to see Disneyland without a bunch of decorations up.
I know - I'm a nutcase.
Monty
Brilliant...and Canadian
- In the Parks
- No
I much prefer WDW, but I've been to DL twice and it was well worth it to go.
First trip I went for a week, rented a car and got a CityPass ticket [e disney admissions, Knott's, San Diego Zoo and LegoLand]. We had a great time despite clouds and rain all but one day [well, my ex-wife was snarly all week too, but that's a different story! :lookaroun]. DL is a Disneyphile's Mecca, an experience that really needs to be had.
Second trip was a solo one to attend the D55 Celebration organized by WDWCelebrations. A wonderful time and again, well worth going.
That said, out of around 20 Disney trips, only those two have been to DL. The rest were all WDW.
Laura is nagging me to do another trip to DL, but she's more interested in the visiting with them aspect than anything... :lookaroun
First trip I went for a week, rented a car and got a CityPass ticket [e disney admissions, Knott's, San Diego Zoo and LegoLand]. We had a great time despite clouds and rain all but one day [well, my ex-wife was snarly all week too, but that's a different story! :lookaroun]. DL is a Disneyphile's Mecca, an experience that really needs to be had.
Second trip was a solo one to attend the D55 Celebration organized by WDWCelebrations. A wonderful time and again, well worth going.
That said, out of around 20 Disney trips, only those two have been to DL. The rest were all WDW.
Laura is nagging me to do another trip to DL, but she's more interested in the visiting with them aspect than anything... :lookaroun
cheezbat
Well-Known Member
Yep. You're a nutcase. :animwink:
I totally get where you're coming from. If you've never been to Disneyland, you want to experience it when it's in it's 'normal' mode. The first few trips there I had to experience it that way. This past year I had to see it in Halloween mode...and I really liked the differences! (way cooler than what they do at the Magic Kingdom)
Disneyland Resort in my opinion is definitely a 3-4 day trip. But, like many others have said, is not the only thing worth seeing in California. Knott's Berry Farm is a very short drive from Disney, and is a worthwhile visit. The beaches, museums, San Diego Zoo, Studio tours, etc...they're all worth seeing!
Oh, and if you've never been to Disneyland, then you MUST go! It's the Park that Walt built! Without it, there'd be no WDW! Indiana Jones, the castle walkthrough, Alice In Wonderland, Storybook Land Canal boats, the Matterhorn, a better Pirates, etc...all worth seeing!
mep517
Member
I'm with you -- we're taking our kids to DL in August and it is making me insane that I can't book dining until June! And, even then, I have to do so via email or phone? It's a very different planning experience than our WDW trips.
Funny enough, we're going to WDW in April'13 and already have our rooms reserved through DVC.
Oh well, delayed Disney booking is better than no booking at all!!
Funny enough, we're going to WDW in April'13 and already have our rooms reserved through DVC.
Oh well, delayed Disney booking is better than no booking at all!!
devoy1701
Well-Known Member
I really worry about all of the opinion saying you only need 3 or 4 days. I was there for 5 and we didn't get to see everything.
Sure, if you are being a theme park commando and your goal is to ride everything, you can do it in 3 days. But if you want to enjoy Disneyland for what it has to offer, take in the sights, the smells, spend time just exploring and looking at random things, sitting on benches, watching all of the shows, browsing the stores, dining, hanging out at the hotel, etc, you need more than 3 days...heck, you need more than 5!
I get that everyone doesn't absorb and tour a Disney Park like I do...but it's Disneyland...it's the original...slow down and enjoy it!
Sure, if you are being a theme park commando and your goal is to ride everything, you can do it in 3 days. But if you want to enjoy Disneyland for what it has to offer, take in the sights, the smells, spend time just exploring and looking at random things, sitting on benches, watching all of the shows, browsing the stores, dining, hanging out at the hotel, etc, you need more than 3 days...heck, you need more than 5!
I get that everyone doesn't absorb and tour a Disney Park like I do...but it's Disneyland...it's the original...slow down and enjoy it!
Pioneer Hall
Well-Known Member
I'd say that I spend a lot of time enjoying and absorbing atmosphere, and I still really didn't need more than 4 days during the summer. I rode a lot of things over and over again, and this was when Pirates reopened and lines were close to Main Street. I guess you could spend a lot of time walking around and sitting on benches and turn it into a 2 week visit, but even not going park commando I really don't see it taking a week to see DL (maybe add an extra day now that they have Cars and WoC in DCA).
devoy1701
Well-Known Member
We were there during Christmas and you needed 3 separate nights alone just to be able to see all of the night time entertainment they offered...that was before WoC was around. We also did a DCA Segway tour before it opened one morning which was a great way to see the park, and we did a sit down reservation atleast once a day. Other than that we rode everything, rode a lot of it twice, did all of the exhibits in DCA and in DL (innoventions mostly), skipped a few things that we have at WDW so we could focus on other things, took looots of pictures, spend an evening out at DtD District that has a great vibe with the local musicians who come out, and spent time blown away by the detail of things like their Emporium and all of the other stark differences between some of the attractions. When we came back after our 6 day trip we couldn't believe that we didn't get bored and even found out there were some things we missed!
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
I hope I'm not coming off as rude, but it seems to me that deep down, you really just don't want to go to Disneyland. It seems that you're making up excuses and telling yourself that things would be better at WDW. There are TONS of things to do at Disneyland that will keep you busy. We have basically the same amount of attractions as WDW. You have the time and money to visit the original, so do it. A lot of people aren't given that privelege, and you're thinking of silly excuses to pass on it. To me it just seems you're really not interested in the first place.:shrug:
Believe me....I want to go. I just know how awesome WDW is, and have a hard time imagining anything could be better.
It's not about the number of attractions. Your typical Six Flags has more attractions than Disney Parks. It's about the entire resort experience. I so love being in a completely different world at WDW. Looking at maps, and seeing all the buildings and cheap chain restaurants and motels around Disneyland, it just gives me pause.
devoy1701
Well-Known Member
The Captain second guesses himself a lot. And tends to think outloud quite a bit. (Please don't take that the wrong way Captain!) It's ok though, I'm glad to help out. Taking a trip to California is a pretty big expense and I get not being 100% sure about making that leap and wanting to know if the desire to go really makes it practical to go (though is vacation ever practical?).
We currently have about 5 vacations in the "planning stages" right now...I kind of plan them all together and see what starts working itself out, which one gains more steam, etc. And when I start getting an idea of how much each are going to cost, I can then sort of figure out when we will (or won't be) taking them based on our financial situation at the time. Right now I know we're taking a trip in June of 2013 but I'm not quite sure where...I've narrowed it to 3 of our 5 trips, so we jsut have to see what works out.
btw, Captain, have you thought about doing Northern Cali as well instead of a DL and WDW trip in 2013? One of those trips on my list above is to visit both Yosemite and Kings Canyon (and anything in between).
TP2000
Well-Known Member
It's understandable to want to plan in advance and a bummer to hit an electronic roadblock more than 8 months out. I imagine it is frustrating, if you are used to planning WDW a year or more out. It's always interesting to me to see the vast differences between the California and Florida operations, and here's another baffling one!
But I have a couple of thoughts here...
If you are worried about driving in SoCal, it's not as bad as you may imagine. Personally, I find the drivers in Boston, New Jersey and a few other big east coast cities (in and around the DC beltway, for example) to be far more aggresive and impolite than anything found in SoCal. The thing with SoCal is that the Freeway Is King, and there are immense stretches of massive modern freeways in all directions. Compared to the old Colonial era cow trails around Boston that grew into pseudo-freeways, SoCal is a master-planned modern miracle. And so long as you don't do 57mph on a freeway but keep it to 65mph or above you'll be fine. And with GPS navigation available from car rentals now, it's nearly foolproof. But, if you live in a rural community and just find freeway travel a problem in any city bigger than a Birmingham, Alabama or a Portland, Maine, then all the navigation and turn signals in the world won't solve that.
That said, Grey Line offers all sorts of nifty bus tours from the Disneyland Resort area to all the popular attractions around SoCal; Sea World, Hollywood, Universal Studios, Knott's Berry Farm. There's even a shuttle bus system called Anaheim Resort Transit that takes you from Disneyland's bus transportation center to and from Knott's Berry Farm for a few bucks, without joining a Grey Line tour. (Route 18 on the ART system) http://www.rideart.org/route-map/
So then there's non-theme park offerings in SoCal, of which you could easily fill a two week vacation with and not set foot in a theme park once. California was famous as an international tourist destination long before Disneyland opened in 1955, and it has amazing natural and man-made wonders to explore.
All within a 90 minute drive of Disneyland you can take a revolving gondola a few thousand feet up from the searing desert floor of Palm Springs up to the snow-capped mountains at the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway http://www.pstramway.com/
Or you can visit the fabulously restored art deco observatory and planetarium (one of the finest in the world) at the Griffith Observatory in the Hollywood Hills. http://www.griffithobs.org/
Plus a thousand other fabulous museums and cultural offerings in Los Angeles; children's museums, automotive museums, science museums, famous art museums ranging from Greek Antiquities to Modern, the stunning Getty Center perched on the hills with a monorail ride up to the top that is all free. http://www.getty.edu/
Beaches and surfing and swimming and tide pool exploring are a picturesque drive just down the coast from Disneyland at Orange County's clean and upscale beach communities. http://www.lagunabeachinfo.com/
And in San Diego, just less than two hours south of Disneyland, there's another fabulous bundle of cultural and natural offerings, aside from the world-famous San Diego Zoo, San Diego Safari Park, Sea World, or Legoland. Balboa Park, built for the 1915 World's Fair and perched above downtown San Diego has over a dozen museums and botanical gardens; the Air & Space Museum and the Railroad Museum in particular are big favorites with kids and adults alike. http://www.balboapark.org/
Or go on a guided tour in a kayak of the sea caves and sea lion territory around La Jolla, a couple of miles north of downtown San Diego. Talk about a fun family adventure that doesn't involve a boat floating past singing animatronics! http://www.lajollaseacavekayaks.com/
There's a world of adventure waiting for tourists in Southern California beyond theme parks. Disneyland is fabulous, and is perfectly sited to act as home base for a SoCal vacation. But staying "on property" for a week or two really limits you to the experiences you can have.
flynnibus
Premium Member
1 - a full week is a long time at DL. For the reason of space alone.. you don't need as many days as you do at DL. Prior to DCA's reboot, 3-4 days was PLENTY in the parks. With the DCA reboot, it might be worth 2 days now.. making a fully fluffed trip probably 5 days as good.
You've said it would make no sense to fly out just for 3 days.. so don't fly out just to do DL. Your fears about moving around California are really unfounded. Moving around Boston is far more dodgy then driving on LA freeways.
You aren't really letting yourself keep an open mind on how the parks and entire area are different. You are trying to say 'I want to goto DL, but I don't want anything to do with California' and acting like it's some alcatraz island isolated away or something.
You could have your 2 week vacation if you actually tried. Instead of staying at a DL Deluxe (way overrated), stay right across the street, and then take your second week traveling to other places in Cali. Remember.. it is one of the most visited states in the country.. regardless of DL.
You will come back with a completely different opinion. WDW is setup like a 'resort' - DL is a theme park.. and it mostly spanks the WDW theme parks at being a theme park. Once you ride DL's buzz.. Indy.. Space Mountain.. you'll stop thinking about being in WDW and start wishing WDW was more like DL.
192 is far worse than the roads to the east and south of DL. The direct area is decorated and tidy. The area is very well kept. You are using old stereotypes and not looking at what really is there now. Just go on google maps and drop the streetview guy down on harbor ave. And you don't see any of the outside world in the parks except when on the tall rides in DCA.
Figure out what is important to you and stick to it. You're complaining about costs saying you can't stay 2 weeks.. and then saying you really like having 2 weeks. Ok, so if 2 weeks is that important.. make compromises elsewhere to make it happen.
Get a saturday stay in your flight to make it cheaper... stay in a different hotel... etc.
I think you have these predispositions about what is in California that you need to get over. Trust me, DLR will be fun enough for you.. you'll LOVE being able to just walk to the park instead of riding a bus or something else.
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
Dude, you have to get out of that mindset. You don't even want to give Disneyland a chance. DL is just as awesome, if not more awesome than WDW. Without DL, there would be no WDW. If all you think about is WDW and compare everything, you'll never have a good time at Disneyland.
Once you're actually in the resort, you can't even see the hotels and other restaurants. I don't even see why that matters anyway. I hate it when people say you can see people mowing their lawns from Disneyland.:brick: Ugh. I understand you're used to being in the middle of nowhere at WDW, but that won't matter at DL, trust me.
I hear things about WDW. How the maintenence is terrible. Broken effects. The rides and attractions are inferior. How it's so spread out. I don't feel like taking a bus or monorail for thirty minutes just to get to another park and waste time. Is that going to stop me from ever going? HECK NO! My point is, give it a chance.
Well, thank you all for the helpful information. My wife and I made a decision last night, and we're sticking to it! We're going to Disneyland in July of 2012. The only things we haven't decided are if we want to go for 7 nights and just do Disneyland, or go for 9 nights, and do Knotts Berry Farm and Universal. Also, we initially were thinking about staying at the Disneyland Hotel, as they have 2 beds and a sofa which works for us with 5 people, but now we're thinking about renting points and staying in a 1 bedroom villa at the Grand Californian. I think we'll probably go with the DLH only because the points at GC are crazy.
As for WDW next year, we're going to go over Columbus Day weekend. This solves the problem of missing WDW for a whole year, plus, the kids have Friday and Monday off of school, so they will only miss 2 or 3 days tops. Plus, we'll get to go to the Halloween party, which we've never been to. Plus, travel in October is cheaper than July, so it won't be as expensive. Plus, since we're only going to go for about 6 nights and most time will be in the park, we're just gonna do Port Orleans to save some money on that end.
As for WDW next year, we're going to go over Columbus Day weekend. This solves the problem of missing WDW for a whole year, plus, the kids have Friday and Monday off of school, so they will only miss 2 or 3 days tops. Plus, we'll get to go to the Halloween party, which we've never been to. Plus, travel in October is cheaper than July, so it won't be as expensive. Plus, since we're only going to go for about 6 nights and most time will be in the park, we're just gonna do Port Orleans to save some money on that end.
devoy1701
Well-Known Member
Great to hear it! You won't regret it! :sohappy:
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
GOOD! That's great news! In regards to the Knott's idea, if you and the fam are coaster junkies, then I say go for it. In regards to Universal, if you and the fam are coaster junkies, then maybe it's not for you. Universal Studios Hollywood is CLEARLY different from Universal Orlando. It's the ACTUAL working studio, so the focus there isn't the attractions, obviously since there are only four rides. Not to mention the filming that goes on there. We (Californians) love USH so much because the film and entertainment industry is very ingrained in our culture. Just remember you're paying $77 a ticket because you're on a working studio lot, unlike USO. The studio tour is worth it anyway in my opinion.
Should you not choose to go to USH, there are other landmarks around that area. There's Hollywood and Highland, which is where the REAL Graumann's Theatre and other landmarks are, not DHS.:lol: There you can see the Hollywood Walk of Fame, see a movie at the El Capitan Theatre, which happens to be Disney, visit the Disney Soda Fountain, go to a television show taping, or even go on a Los Angeles tour.
If THAT doesn't float your boat then I will suggest visiting the Grove in Los Angeles, which is also not a far drive from Hollywood and Higland or Universal. It's a beautiful outdoor shopping center, where they film Extra with Mario Lopez. The movie theater is gorgeous and so are the shops. It's an elegant place and is also family friendly. Not to mention you've got the historic and famous Farmer's Market right there.
I don't know how to post pics here, so I'll leave that to TP.
The good thing about California is that Disneyland is just an attraction. There are TONS of other things to do here outside of Disney. You just have to pick and choose.
Hope I've helped.