WDW regular heading to Disneyland California: HELP!

Disney Shib

Disney Shib

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hi Everyone. My fiance and I are getting married on November 6th 2015. Being the intense planner that I am most of the wedding details have been finalized besides my dress and his tux and we are now focusing on our honeymoon! We've decided to take two weeks and use the first to do two things we've always wanted to see but never had the time and then the second week to enjoy an all-inclusive. We've decided on Vegas for the first three nights and Disneyland for the last 4 nights before we fly down to Cabo for our all inclusive.

Here's the problem... i've never been to Disneyland. I dont know where to eat. I don't know where to stay. Is 4 nights enough? I've heard all the hoopla regarding it's comparison in size to WDW. However, being a Disney fan in general... I need to see the original. Any suggestions of dining reservations? Best hotel choice for someone complete disney obsessed and where hubby and I can go to grab a couple drinks each night when the parks close or well while waiting for FP+ times lol.

Thanks!
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
One of the great things about the Disneyland Resort is that besides a few select locations (Napa Rose, Carthay Circle, Blue Bayou), you do not need dining reservations. And even if you do decide you want to make them for peace of mind, you can do it on short notice (like just a few days out short notice).

As of now FastPass+ is not at the Disneyland Resort and the plans to introduce it have stalled out. But again, that sort of planning is unnecessary and quite counter to the culture of the Resort.

As for hotels, being on property doesn't have as many perks. You can get good rooms that are closer but off property. If you want to get somewhere you just walk. There really is no "bubble" at the Disneyland Resort, but it is the focus of the larger Anaheim Resort District.

Trader Sam's at the Disneyland Hotel is the current hot place to get drinks. I know the Hearthstone Lounge at the Grand Californian and the Cove Bar in Paradise Pier are also popular places. I think the Garden Walk mall may also have some places. Like I said, it is all within walking distance.
 
westie

westie

Well-Known Member
Congrats on the wedding! 4 nights is plenty of time. I love Steakhouse 55 because the wait staff is great and you are not rushed. The prime rib is to die for! Mention you are honeymooners for free dessert. Carthay Circle is another great resaurant with a steak that hangs off the plate. Always go for the World of Color package for the preferred viewing area. Don't miss it! We always stay at the Cal. Adventure hotel because its beautiful, centrally located and has its own entrance to DCA. The hotel has a fabulous-grandios bar! Our anniverary is 11/9. We try to go every year and take a pic at the wedding pavillion at the disney hotel. Also I'd recommend reservations just because the high end places do book up. And since you'll be there for a couple days do the Walk in Walts Footsteps Tour. You get to see Walts apartment on Main St.! Enjoy!
 
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ajrwdwgirl

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
4 nights should be enough to see and enjoy both parks. If you don't have the $$$ for the Disney hotels look into some on Harbor Blvd, it is cheaper and most are closer anyway. It isn't fancy but I like the Best Western Anaheim Inn.

My favorite places to eat in DL are Plaza Inn (fried chicken!), Café Orleans, and Blue Bayou. In DCA I like Flo's and the Carthay Circle (kind of posh on the inside but casual too and you can do the WOC package for lunch or dinner). I have only eaten in Naples and Earl of Sandwich in DTD and both were good. And Trader Sam's is a great hang out, the food is just okay but the atmosphere inside is fantastic!
 
Walt Disney1955

Walt Disney1955

Well-Known Member
Disney Shib said:
Hi Everyone. My fiance and I are getting married on November 6th 2015. Being the intense planner that I am most of the wedding details have been finalized besides my dress and his tux and we are now focusing on our honeymoon! We've decided to take two weeks and use the first to do two things we've always wanted to see but never had the time and then the second week to enjoy an all-inclusive. We've decided on Vegas for the first three nights and Disneyland for the last 4 nights before we fly down to Cabo for our all inclusive.

Here's the problem... i've never been to Disneyland. I dont know where to eat. I don't know where to stay. Is 4 nights enough? I've heard all the hoopla regarding it's comparison in size to WDW. However, being a Disney fan in general... I need to see the original. Any suggestions of dining reservations? Best hotel choice for someone complete disney obsessed and where hubby and I can go to grab a couple drinks each night when the parks close or well while waiting for FP+ times lol.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You're going to love it. I went to Disneyland for the first time in 2012. We stayed offsite. We were at a hotel called the Ayres Hotel. Three miles away from Disneyland. It was directly across the street from the Honda Center (where the Anaheim Ducks play) and Angel Stadiun. If you only have 4 nights in that area you'll want to do everything at Disney. If you had more time I would say check out the rest Southern California has to offer. But Disneyland has two parks and you want at least 3 days to check it all out.

There are plenty of places to eat in Downtown Disney. The Rainforest Cafe is perfect right out on the deck. I loved ESPN Zone. There isn't a seat that isn't close to a TV. Definitely a place for a drink. You'll find enough things to fill in the time.

And take two full days at Disneyland. It's a blast. It is a better individual park than Magic Kingdom believe it or not. Good luck.
 
gsrjedi

gsrjedi

Well-Known Member
I've never stayed at the the Grand Californian, but I've visited people staying there. I've stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and prefer it. The entire grounds just invokes so much Disneyana that just being there is a joy. Plus the headboards light up with fiber optics and play "When You Wish Upon A Star"

Trader Sam's is the spot. I absolutely love it there. The ahi poke. OMG!

There's really a lot of good places to eat in the entire area, some of my favs are

DCA:
Carthay Circle, Cocina Cucamonga, Paradise Garden Grill, I really like the chicken tamale breakfast at Flo's

DLR:
Carnation Cafe (we tend to go for breakfast to say hi to Chef Oscar [the longest employed person at the park, something like 55+ years IIRC]), skewers at Bengal Barbecue are awesome, I loved the cajun meatloaf at French Market, and of course the fried chicken at Plaza Inn is a must (and they give you so much food)

Haven't eaten too much in DTD and at the hotels, but we always enjoy the breakfast at Steakhouse 55 (haven't yet sprung for dinner there), Tortilla Jo's (both the restaurant and the quick-service portion) have also been good for us, Earl of Sandwich you probably know about is also in DTD.
 
JoMarch

JoMarch

Active Member
I love both DL and WDW. I've probably been to WDW more than DL. The one thing a WDW vet needs to do is to "let go" of obssessing about the dining. It was hard for me because our trips to WDW are always planned around "where are we eating." The dining at DL is good...but not much of a big deal.

As others have mentioned, you can usually nab reservations right on the day of.... Also, when I go to DL, I tend to eat at more counter services. Most of the counter service meals are a bump up from WDW.
 
Californian Elitist

Californian Elitist

Well-Known Member
JoMarch said:
I love both DL and WDW. I've probably been to WDW more than DL. The one thing a WDW vet needs to do is to "let go" of obssessing about the dining. It was hard for me because our trips to WDW are always planned around "where are we eating." The dining at DL is good...but not much of a big deal.

As others have mentioned, you can usually nab reservations right on the day of.... Also, when I go to DL, I tend to eat at more counter services. Most of the counter service meals are a bump up from WDW.
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Gosh, YES. It seems the first question most WDW vets have about Disneyland is always regarding dining. Forget about reservations and food for once LOL.
 
JillC LI

JillC LI

Well-Known Member
raven24 said:
Gosh, YES. It seems the first question most WDW vets have about Disneyland is always regarding dining. Forget about reservations and food for once LOL.
Click to expand...

Done! Since we only have one day per Park for our first visit in May, I've decided no table-service meals. We want to maximize touring time. I'd rather miss a good meal at BB than miss out on attractions at DLP. There's so many quick-service places and snacks I want to try there anyway that I simply won't be able to fit it all in!
 
Californian Elitist

Californian Elitist

Well-Known Member
JillC LI said:
Done! Since we only have one day per Park for our first visit in May, I've decided no table-service meals. We want to maximize touring time. I'd rather miss a good meal at BB than miss out on attractions at DLP. There's so many quick-service places and snacks I want to try there anyway that I simply won't be able to fit it all in!
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Yes! There are plenty of quick service spots that don't offer the usual burgers, pizza, chicken tenders and hot dogs. You can find pasta, fried chicken, Mexican-style, jambalaya... There's plenty of variety through quick service.
 
teacherlady19

teacherlady19

Active Member
About two years, we had the opposite situation -- extreme familiarity with DL and going to WDW for the first time. There, we concentrated on things that both coasts did NOT have, and did the "duplicated" things when we had a chance. We had a shock that we *needed* to make dining reservations in FL, when they are rarely needed in CA. So we've been in your shoes.

As far as where to stay -- there are some wonderful Good Neighbor hotels that are a lot more reasonable in price than the GCH, DLH, or PP. If you don't stay close enough to walk, Anaheim has a shuttle available, and one or two hotels have their own. Close enough to walk: Best Western Park Place, Best Western Stovall's, Candy Cane Inn, Howard Johnson, Travelodge and Super 8 (which are both a longer walk). Candy Cane Inn and Sheraton both have their own shuttles but their bus stop is the furthest away from the parks in the bus area.

You will love NOT waiting for the buses or monorail so you can change parks. Though the monorail does go through DCA, there's no stop there. The monorail does not go to the DLH any more, either, as it goes to DD. We were fine with the buses and monorail at WDW, but it does make you use a lot of time going to/from. Anyway, to go from DL to DCA or vice versa, you simply walk across the compound.

Enjoy!

Donna
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Speaking of cloned attractions, since you like planning maybe research which attractions are more clone than others. Some are nearly identical, some have a few different tweaks and others are quite different.
 
Astro Blaster

Astro Blaster

Well-Known Member
raven24 said:
Gosh, YES. It seems the first question most WDW vets have about Disneyland is always regarding dining. Forget about reservations and food for once LOL.
Click to expand...
I'm very excited to just wing it, but I did make one dinner reservation at Blue Bayou.

I ate at Blue Lagoon in DLP and loved it, so I needed to make sure I locked up DL's "inside POTC" restaurant.
 
Cosmic Commando

Cosmic Commando

Well-Known Member
What's your preferred price range for a hotel? A honeymoon is one time where I could justify splurging on an on-site room at DLR. Grabbing some drinks at the Uva Bar or Trader Sam's and then walking back to your room would be nice.
 
teacherlady19

teacherlady19

Active Member
I had to find out when we went to WDW, and that was one thing we disliked very much about the FL parks: reservations for dinner. For us, having to make a reservation for every dinner really puts you in a spot where you're almost afraid to get in a line for an attraction, for fear you'll run late. Also, if we saw something we liked the looks of better, it was less flexible. I prefer DL's flexibility!


Donna
 

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