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#1
09-16-2013, 07:13 PM
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Okay All You Disney Fanatics: I Need You
Hubby just found out that he's getting a nice bonus this year, so we've decided to finally take the California/Disney vacation we've been talking about for years. But, I need help! I haven't been to So Cal for 11 years, and it's been even longer since I've been to Disneyland.
So, our first question is: when is the best time of year to go? And, if any of you have great advice for planning a Disney trip, I'd love to hear it. Just type slowly cause I know I'm going to get overwhelmed by all of this pretty quickly. Thanks gals!
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#2
09-16-2013, 07:21 PM
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Woot, Lydia!!! I'm excited for you guys!! I don't have any advice when it comes to Disneyland, but I have heard it is pretty much busy yearound. The good thing is, the weather is almost always nice.
 if I were you I'd go in the fall or winter when there is a nip in the air.
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#3
09-16-2013, 07:21 PM
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I can't really be of help, but I know the people at http://www.disboards.com/ are a HUGE help! There is a special section devoted to Disneyland, down towards the middle-bottom of the big list of forums. HAVE FUN!!!!
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#4
09-16-2013, 07:31 PM
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We went last March and our last few days was the start of spring break I believe, it was crowded but nothing like what we've experienced when we were in Tokyo Disneyland on a weekend...in December (that was madness).
What helped me a lot planning our days was subscribing to http://touringplans.com/ and getting an idea of how our day was going to be. We didn't follow through with everything since I have a toddler that needs diaper changing, feeds and naps but it still worked out pretty well for us. I can't believe how much we've already done at first two hours of the park opening.
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#5
09-16-2013, 08:04 PM
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I'd also recommend the disboards.com and make your dinner reservations as soon as you figure out your date.
I've never been to Disneyland, but I'd think September or January right after school starts back up would be the least busy. 
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#6
09-16-2013, 08:15 PM
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We def want to go before next August, since Kay will turn three in August, and then we'd have to pay for her. Lol. I'm kinda wondering if the second week of December would be good . . . after the Thanksgiving holiday but before school is out for Winter Break. Hmm.
By dinner reservations, do you mean the special dinners at Disneyland, like the princess dinners etc.? I'm telling you, I'm such a novice at this . . . I know next to nothing.
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#7
09-16-2013, 08:34 PM
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Yep, make princess meals or character meal reservations as soon as you can. In Florida they book 180 days out. We got lucky when we went on our wish trip to do a few character meals, but the princess meal the Make a Wish chapter had to get set up for us. We had 45 days I think to plan. Also, there is probably a good app for Disneyland. I love love loved the the Disney World Magic Guide app. It had maps, wait times, all the restaurant menus on the property and the prices, even for the food carts and such. This is the Disneyland version. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/disn...416341948?mt=8
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#9
09-16-2013, 10:03 PM
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Aww, I love Disneyland even more than Disneyworld, if I'm being honest. The nice thing about Disneyland is it's nowhere near as intense as Disneyworld so if you aren't a big planner, you'll be totally fine. The main crowd there tends to be locals so anytime school is in session will be slower. I would think the second week of December would be nice. You'd get to see the holiday decorations and Haunted Mansion Holiday but without the heavy Christmas crowds since it'd be before school gets out for winter break. The parks are also across a courtyard from each other so if you want to park hop, it's pretty easy.
I don't know much about character dining but the restaurants there generally aren't like Disneyworld in that they aren't as fancy and you don't need reservations for most of them. I'd check the Disneyland website to see where character dining is and how far in advance you can make reservations for those (I think it might only be like 60 days out, not sure.)
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#10
09-16-2013, 10:41 PM
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I don't have any advice since it's been about that long since I've been to Disneyland, too, but I wanted to say YAY that you get to take a vacay.
Have fun! xoxo
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#11
09-16-2013, 11:40 PM
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There's really only one thing you need to ensure you have a good time at Disneyland Lydia, and thats ME. Me, I tell you! Just send me my first class ticket and we're all good to go ;D
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#12
09-16-2013, 11:53 PM
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 That would be so fun, Jacinda! I really do hope we'll get to meet one day. If it's at Disneyland, well . . . that would just be the icing on the cake, right?
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#14
09-17-2013, 12:12 AM
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We are going Sunday-Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I.Can't.Wait. My daughter has been twice but this will be my son's first time. He's so excited about Cars Land and Jedi training.
I've never been when it's all decorated for Christmas so I'm excited about that.
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#15
09-17-2013, 12:31 AM
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Not sure if this will help you but I work in 2 hotels near Universal Studios in Orlando (not Cali I know!). Our slowest times here are definitely September and after the holidays so say 2nd/3rd week of January. Also May tends to be slow before the Summer starts again. However, for hotels you may want to check around because some may be busier with corporate business even though the leisure market may be slow; it can drive up the rates in the hotels as well
Hope that helps you!
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#16
09-17-2013, 09:08 AM
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No advice, but YAY!!!
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#17
09-17-2013, 10:02 AM
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check out www.disboards.com ....best place I used for all of my Disney planning
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#18
09-17-2013, 10:15 AM
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I love love love Disneyland! We've been several times with the boys and mostly just wing it while we are there. We've gone twice in February when it wasn't crowded. However, we got rain. Now if you are like us and stick it out in the rain, you can just walk right on the rides. Unless they get closed down. That happened to us once and we rode Pirates over and over again since it's under cover and didn't close.
Be sure to take advantage of fast passes. Let the older kids use the younger ones' fast passes to get more rides. When the boys were younger we always split up and DH would take the older boys and I'd take the younger ones since they went on different rides. So we would get fast passes for the crowded rides like Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain (my fave!) for all of us, but then just DH and the older boys would use them. The only meal we would make reservations for was Blue Bayou inside the Pirates ride. But then my boys weren't big on the characters either. Be sure to get Mint Juleps! Are you staying in one of the park hotels?
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#19
09-17-2013, 12:55 PM
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Hotels are going to be our biggest hurdle I think. We are not planning on staying in a park hotel, but DH would like something in walking distance. The problem with that is that some of those hotels can look a little scary. DH is a germ freak, so reading some of the online reviews has him very confused and frustrated. It's hard to know what to believe when the same hotel has glowing reviews followed by horrible ones. :/
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#20
09-17-2013, 02:05 PM
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Don't be fooled by "walking distance" as with little kids, it's still going to be a ways to walk to the park if you aren't in a park hotel. Check out the ones with shuttles. We've stayed in hotels like Embassy Suites and just took the shuttle back and forth and they get you close to the gates.
I'd much rather get a hotel a little further away that was nicer and just take a shuttle.
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#21
09-17-2013, 02:08 PM
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I can totally understand Lydia. We last went to Disneyland about 11 years ago and wanted to stay in walking distance. We made reservations at this hotel that had a view of California Adventure's big coaster. I was super excited. But when we got there we found out it was a scummy motel with doors directly to the outside, thin walls, and carpets that left black on your feet or socks when you walked around. Gross!! Thankfully these days hotel review websites can give you great info, with pics, which is what we lacked back then. Don't spring on a room with a view of the park... hopefully you'll be IN the park and really won't need the view! Best of luck on finding a good place! Have the Disboards been helpful for hotels?
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#22
09-17-2013, 02:10 PM
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#23
09-17-2013, 02:26 PM
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We are planning to go next month. The last time we went was 5 years ago just after Halloween. It wasn't crowded and the wait lines were about 15-25 mins. We loved it! However, the drawback of less crowded times is that there won't be as many characters out and rides may be down for maintenance.
From what I read, expect DL to be more crowded on weekends than weekdays being that locals can attend the park at that time. It's busiest in summertime, between Thanksgiving and early January and around spring break time. The rest in between is less crowded and that the rides may or may not be down. Here is DL refurbishment schedule http://touringplans.com/disneylandesort/closures Here is some info from mousesavers.com http://www.mousesavers.com/disneylan...ut-disneyland/ Another one from Disney Tourist Blog on times to go http://www.disneytouristblog.com/dis...y-crowd-times/ We stayed at a nearby hotel - Portofino Inn and Suites. They do sell disney packages and I love the rooms. They even have kid oriented rooms meaning a large bed for parents and bunk beds in adjoining area for kids. I would recommend them. Here is a list of "good neighbor" hotels that Disney recommends. https://disneyland.disney.go.com/hotels/good-neighbor/ We plan to stay away from DL area for a hotel that we love more south (and closer to getting out of the area when we leave) so we already plan to be driving to and fro from hotel for the 2 days that we will be there. We are planning to go during fall break from school - maybe Sun/Mon or Mon/Tues.
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 Last edited by navaja77; 09-17-2013 at 02:29 PM.
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#24
09-17-2013, 02:46 PM
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I think we're looking at going the first week in February now . . . December is just kind of crazy with other stuff the kids are involved in. So, February won't be quite as busy but we may run into some closures. Of course, there isn't any information about closures in 2014 yet. But, it probably wouldn't make too much of a difference for us anyway. From the 2013 closures list, it looks like most of the closures were in the fall time anyway . . . like going on right now.
As for a hotel, we're leaning toward the Doubletree that is a few blocks away . . . not close enough to walk but a little nicer hotel. Once we get our dates and hotel reservation pinned down, I think I'll feel a little less overwhelmed, and I'll have time to just plan the fun stuff. 
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#25
09-17-2013, 03:12 PM
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For Hotels, we like to stay at the Courtyard Marriott. They have Family Suites that have a bedroom with 2 bunk beds and a pull out sofa - and another TV off of the main room which has 2 Queens. We take the shuttle over. It picks up at the Marriott next door. It is a short walk across the parking lot.
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~ Robin  Siggie made by Jacinda
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#26
09-17-2013, 03:52 PM
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The last time we went we stayed near the convention center which isn't too far away. I can't remember the name of the hotel but it was definitely nicer the the ones closer to DL. I'm pretty positive they had a shuttle too.
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#27
09-17-2013, 05:03 PM
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How exciting! We went to Disneyland last October. We stayed at the Ramada Maingate. It was literally right across the street from the parks so we could walk easily to and from. It was a nice hotel, nothing extravagant but clean and very convenient.
I love the disboards, but REALLY love the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland book. They make one for every year. It gives you in depth info on hotels, restaurants, and describes each ride and attraction in the park. Buy a copy of it, I guarantee you that you won't regret it. I would also recommend their website which is touringplans.com. Defintely worth the subscription price and you get a discount if you own the book. My son really loved our character dinner at Goofy's kitchen. Dining isn't as big of a deal in CA as it is in FL, but he really enjoyed that character meal.. We also did a character breakfast in the park at the Plaza Inn. I always do a late breakfast so we don't waste the early morning hours eating instead of touring the parks. If you get to the parks at opening time, it is amazing. We got there at opening one morning at 7am and almost felt like we had the place to ourselves for a while. Got a pic of me and my son in front of the castle with no one else in the pic! I could go on, but I won't. Steph from the Daily Digi has a new podcast called capturing magic. You might enjoy that, and she has lots of great tips. Have fun!
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#28
09-17-2013, 08:40 PM
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I am another one for the Unoffical Guide to Disneyland
http://www.amazon.com/The-Unofficial...l+disney+guide
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#29
09-17-2013, 08:42 PM
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we stayed at the Sheraton and for us it was a little too far to walk and deal with a stroller and a little one (it is across the bridge) but we ahave also stayed at the Camelot Inn and it was great...and the parking was free (instead of a daily parking fee)...also the Howard Johnson has very very good reviews
eta: Also if you have AAA, go get a Southern CA book and one of their Disney books and look through there I have found some good ideas just by looking through thier books...we did also book one of our trips with them and it was pretty nice having everything all bundled together
Last edited by nun69; 09-17-2013 at 10:26 PM.
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#30
09-17-2013, 09:47 PM
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#31
09-18-2013, 12:27 AM
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One tip: if your husband is picky about staying in hotels you can always call them after you make a reservation and ask if it is possible for them to e.g. to not have feather pillows but foam or whatever details you are needing. We have guests ask us to detail clean the room (to make sure the dustboards get extra cleaned and one particular guests doesn't want any room deodorizers to be sprayed in the room for instance) and it gets done. They can preblock a room for you guys and do it according to your wishes as long as they know it ahead of time. I would advise to book directly through Hilton because if anything IS wrong, they can help you better in the way of 100% guarantee or whatever because once you book through a third party they can't do a whole bunch for you; this FYI. And if you're not a Hilton HHonors member: sign up now! It's free and you usually get free bonus points for signing up online. You can get 10 points per spend dollar but they also know that you are then familiar to the Hilton brand when you check in and they usually take better care of their members. If you have any questions on hotels just holler!
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#32
09-18-2013, 09:34 AM
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We stayed here about 1.5 years ago.
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...sneylandesort/ It was nice (nothing fancy but nice and clean) and was walking distance. It is across from the entrance -- I'd say about a 2 block walk, but definitely walkable. I have done the shuttle thing and, honestly, I found it a PITA. The Fairfield is actually a shorter walk than the Disneyland Hotel, but not as close as the Grand Californian (but I think that's as close as you can get).
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 Last edited by DawnMarch; 09-18-2013 at 09:37 AM.
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#33
09-18-2013, 10:47 AM
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Hey Lydia,
I grew up in Orange County so I'm pretty familiar with the area. Our favorite place to stay is down Harbor Blvd away from the parks a little bit. All of the hotels have shuttles that will take you straight to the parks and they are a lot nicer than what's within walking distance (ie. motels). If you arent going to stay at the official Disneyland hotels, I'd forget about the walking distance thing and pretty much count on a shuttle. Here are some I'd recommend looking into... Embassy Suites - Anaheim South Crowne Plaza Resort Anaheim Hyatt Regency Anaheim Hilton Garden Inn Hampton Inn Residence Inn - Garden Grove These hotels/resorts are all in the same intersection/area and they're actually considered Garden Grove instead of Anaheim, so if you arent familiar with the area, you might not think to look at or consider these hotels. They are literally a straight shot up Harbor to the Disneyland resort and you get a lot more bang for your buck. I'm not sure what your budget is, but there's should be something from the high end (Hyatt Regency) to the more budget conscious in there for ya. I'm a total hotel snob, so I hope this helps! R
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#34
09-18-2013, 10:57 AM
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#35
09-18-2013, 11:47 AM
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We stayed at this Marriott last year (last in Robin's list) and it was really nice. We had 2 bedrooms with a living room and kitchenette overlooking the pool. And there was a Big 5 across the street that I had to use to buy new sneakers when I brought shoes that didn't work for all that walking!
 Residence Inn Anaheim Resort Area/Garden Grove Oh, and they had free breakfast and happy hour every day. So we got a few meals free.
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