When to Go and Where to Fly Into?

[TP2000]

Once we rented a car when we did 9 days in SoCal and wanted to see the other sites. Being from Washington D.C., I didn't find LA traffic that bad at all to be honest with you. I think its worse out here. The other two times we stayed in nearby hotels with easy shuttle access to the parks on Anaheim Resort Transit/ART. Love the ART shuttles. They're convenient and very affordable.

Thank you for the rational insight on SoCal "traffic".

The freeways of Los Angeles County are no worse, and can be noticeably better, than the freeways of most big cities in the Northeast. I have lived in metro Boston and New York, and spent a lot of time on business in Atlanta and DC metro areas back in the 1980's and 1990's, and those cities have worse traffic and ruder drivers than SoCal will ever see. Seattle traffic today is also a gridlocked nightmare and puts SoCal to shame. Orange County proper, a county of 3.5 million people between LA and San Diego and also home to Disneyland, has even better freeways and easier traffic than Los Angeles County.

Unless you are from a very small city like Casper, Wyoming or Savannah, Georgia (both very charming places, by the way) and you have absolutely no experience driving on freeways wider than 4 lanes, you will be fine in SoCal traffic. Especially in this modern age of rental cars equipped with GPS systems that tell you exactly which exit to take and when. Avoiding traditional rush hours of 6AM to 9AM and 3PM to 6PM also helps.

 

[TP2000]

Yes we were thinking it would be nice to take a trip around this late Spring time. How is August there?

August is hotter, obviously. But nothing like "hot" in East Coast terms, in that the humidity will be much lower and there will be absolutely no ability to see rain or even a cloud. It will be perfectly clear and very warm and dry; highs in the upper 80's to low 90's, with lows in the upper 60's. Early to mid August is fine crowd-wise, but the third week of August can be suddenly busier because the summer blockouts on local Annual Passholders are lifted and a bunch of locals with cheap passes who have been blocked out all summer come rushing back for a visit.

August has consistently longer operating hours with nightly fireworks and at least two showings of Fantasmic! at Disneyland and World of Color at DCA, but you pay for it with bigger crowds. A visit in May when you slot in at least one weekend night Friday thru Sunday to catch Fantasmic! and Disneyland fireworks gets you lower crowds overall, but still all the night entertainment. World of Color is presented at least once per night seven days per week at DCA, year round.

Also, be prepared for some rides to be closed. Disneyland Resort does year round rehabs on all rides and has a noticeably more aggressive rehab schedule than any WDW park. The result however is that you'll find the attractions and things like animatronics and special effects to be in much better shape cosmetically and mechanically. But your "favorite ride" might be closed during your visit.

 

[cslafferty]

Lots of really good advice in this thread already!

If you want a "walk to your plane" airport, you'll want to fly into Long Beach Airport. Long Beach is the major West Coast hub for JetBlue Airways, and you can get lots of non-stops from New York JFK or Boston Logan to Long Beach on JetBlue.

There's a brand new terminal that just opened last week, that sits out beyond the vintage 1940's modern main terminal where check in and baggage claim is.

Delta, American, Alaska and US Airways also serve Long Beach, but JetBlue is the big fish in this small pond of an airport and dominates the gates there.

The new terminal is indoor/outdoor, with gardens and fire pits and wine bars. It's a small airport, but very stylish.

You do leave the terminal and head out to the tarmac to walk up or down old-fashioned stairs from the planes at Long Beach. When I fly out of Long Beach to head to Seattle or Las Vegas on JetBlue, I always like to pretend I'm The Beatles arriving at JFK in 1964, but when I get to the top of the stairs and turn around to wave at all the screaming teenagers, they never seem to be there. Still, it's kind of fun.

Long Beach Airport is a 25 minute drive from the Disneyland Hotel. All the major rental car agencies have desks at Long Beach Airport, or it's about a 45 dollar taxi fare from that airport to Disneyland.

But the top choice for Disneyland visits is Orange County John Wayne Airport. It's about the size of your average small city airport. Like Orange County in general, the airport here is very tidy, very well managed, very clean, rather hip, and very modern. It's about a 15 minute drive from John Wayne to the Disneyland Hotel. All the major airlines serve John Wayne, but none of them use John Wayne as a "hub", so you may need to change flights in Chicago, Denver or Phoenix when flying from the East Coast. There are several United or American nonstop flights from New York to John Wayne, however.

If there's any airport to avoid, it's LAX! That airport is dirty, dingy, decaying, and overcrowded. (And speaks volumes about the difference in culture and livability between Los Angeles County and Orange County) LAX is a horrible throwback to the 1970's, and a terrible way to begin or end a vacation. I would recommend someone take four days on the Super Chief from Chicago than try and fly into LAX.

As for when to visit, I would recommend late April through mid May. The weather will be universally sunny and warm with highs in the 70's to maybe 80, with lows in the low 60's. And it's practically statistically impossible for it to rain that time of year in SoCal. September is another good time, although the weather will be much warmer in September than it is in May. It's a dry desert heat in September, totally unlike the humidity and rain of Florida, but much warmer than May with highs in the upper 80's and lows in the mid 60's.

And, it will take you a lot longer to get through security at LAX than John Wayne airport simply because of size and traffic volume.

 

[cslafferty]

We used to go to DL every Feb. from '99 to '06 because my dad lived in Orange. We have stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and at the Grand Californian, and although the Grand Californian has it's own entrance into DCA, we found that the Fairfield Inn Anaheim, is actually a closer walk to the main gates of each park than the Disneyland Hotel. Many of their "Good Neighbor" hotels in that area are a very close walk, they are included in their Extra Magic Hour, and still have that Disney feel with a much cheaper price tag. The Grand Californian is a lot like WDW's Wilderness Lodge in design. The Disneyland Hotel has a nostalgic feel and a deluxe resort price tag, but more compact - not as spread out and "resort" feeling like the deluxe resorts at WDW. And, it's kind of a hike to the DL gates because you have to walk through DTD. My dad passed in 2005, and my last visit was in early 2006, so things might have changed since then.

When you first walk into DL, it looks enough like the MK and has that "hub and spoke" design that you think you know where everything is. So, like an earlier poster wrote, you may get a little disoriented when things aren't where you think they are! I LOVE the feeling of 'getting away from the world" that I get when I go to WDW - you won't get that same feeling going to Anaheim. But, I kind of feel closer to Walt when I'm at DL, and I have wonderful memories of riding some of the rides there with my dad. Other plusses for me: LOVE the Matterhorn, POTC is longer and more exciting, Indiana Jones ride, Roger Rabbit Cartoon Spin, close proximity to the other park and hotels (no buses!!). Minuses for me: right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of a big city, the castle (I LOVE Cinderella Castle) - I know that's only 2, but they are 2 big things for me.

A lot of things weren't there when we went last time - World of Color, Carsland, etc., so I can't speak to that. I'm seriously thinking of planning another trip out there soon. I miss it!
Have fun!

 

[Cosmic Commando]

A lot of things weren't there when we went last time - World of Color, Carsland, etc., so I can't speak to that. I'm seriously thinking of planning another trip out there soon. I miss it!
Have fun!

DCA really feels like a different park now; you need to get out there! That's coming from someone who already liked the DCA 1.5 of 2007-2008!