Disneyland experts?

[sfwilshire]

After 40 years of going to Walt Disney World, often as an annual pass holder, I am feeling overwhelmed with trying to decide whether to visit Disneyland while I'm at Marriott Newport Coast. On the one hand, I visited Disneyland only once in my life (as a young child) and it would be cool to see the differences between the parks. I'm also going to be in town 12/2-12/9, so it would be fun to see the decorations.

On the other hand, do I really want to spend $1000 or so for the three of us? We had WDW APs last year and will probably get them again in 2020.

Does anyone know if California Costcos sell tickets? I only found packages on their travel website. Mousesavers endorses one company with slightly discounted tickets and my Undercover Tourist email says they also sell them now, so slight discounts at either of those companies.

I need to find the best bulletin boards to read for park info, but don't have enormous amounts of time for the research. I may also buy a guidebook because I'm old fashioned like that and I can read it on planes.

Or I could just save my money and do other things in the area for a week. Retirement is getting pretty close, so I'm trying to be frugal. I'm also inviting a friend who may not want to spend the money, though she is only staying part of the week and will have her own rental car for a day trip she wants to take.

Any opinions or suggestions appreciated.

Sheila

 

[presley]

I would go. Disneyland may not be that different from what you are used to, but California Adventure Park has Carsland, which is a must see for Disney fans. They just opened Pixar Pier, which is a retheming of the boardwalk area. The best ride at both parks is Guardians of the Galaxy in California Adventure Park.

The decorations in the lobbies at the hotels are great and since everything is so close together, it's easy to visit them. I know you said you don't want to spend extra money, but I do recommend the World of Color dessert party if you like to watch the shows and want to sit down and be served after a long day of standing in lines.

Best place to read up on Disneyland is Disboards. Be sure to go to the Disneyland forum as many people post in the WDW forum by mistake.

 

[Luanne]

I grew up going to Disneyland so have seen all of the changes over the years. I still love it. We're not anywhere close anymore so I haven't been back for several years. I would say GO.

 

[sfwilshire]

I would go. Disneyland may not be that different from what you are used to, but California Adventure Park has Carsland, which is a must see for Disney fans. They just opened Pixar Pier, which is a retheming of the boardwalk area. The best ride at both parks is Guardians of the Galaxy in California Adventure Park.

The decorations in the lobbies at the hotels are great and since everything is so close together, it's easy to visit them. I know you said you don't want to spend extra money, but I do recommend the World of Color dessert party if you like to watch the shows and want to sit down and be served after a long day of standing in lines.

Best place to read up on Disneyland is Disboards. Be sure to go to the Disneyland forum as many people post in the WDW forum by mistake.

Thanks. I was always a big Disboards reader in the past, but when I checked the Disneyland forum, the format seems a little different from what I was used to. I have a note on my calendar to go through it when I have some leisure time.

I should have mentioned that neither my husband nor I ride anything more exciting than Small World or the like, but our disabled 19 yo rides everything he can. At WDW, he is familiar enough with the rides to go on alone. I've seen some mentions on the WDW boards that the DAS pass is harder to get at Disneyland than at Disney World. That might also make a difference.

Sheila

 

[nightnurse613]

The DAS pass at DL was relatively easy. Soaring Around the World ; Pirates of the Caribbean, Monorail and the DL Train for the more laid back. My grandson enjoyed the rides but he's only 15. There are also theater performances-we liked Frozen. We were there last year so we haven't seen the PIXAR transformation. You might be interested in Universal Studio. A lot of people stay for the late night fireworks shows-again disabled can get priority seating. Don't stay at DL Hotel - there are cheaper alternatives. We are at WM Anaheim right now-after a cruise from Long Beach. It would be a shame to miss DL if you're that close...

 

[TravelTime]

I would go. Just buy day passes.

 

[Janann]

Definitely go to Disney's California Adventure! I grew up near Anaheim, and went to Disneyland a million times. Currently I go to Disney World every couple years. About two years ago we spent one day at Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim. If nothing else, it is fascinating to see how they managed to jam another whole amusement park into that area. I was fascinated with the vehicle parking, the setup with very easy two-park access, and just the whole layout. It was definitely worth it.

 

[jlp879]

You'll enjoy it very much. As others have mentioned, there's a whole new park for you to explore. Plus it's Christmas time and the decorations are fabulous.

I think December 2 will be the second day of Disneyland's candelight processional, so do be aware of that if you go that day. It's very different from the Epcot version and it causes massive traffic jams in the front of the train station where it's held.

I recommend the book, The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa, and website wise, I like Disney Tourist Blog.

 

[sfwilshire]

Thanks for all of the info. I'm definitely leaning toward a visit. It may be a long time before we're in the area again.

Sheila

 

[Blues]

DisBoards is indeed a good source of information. Particularly look for anything by HydroGuy. The best thing for you to read first is HydroGuy's DLR Guide for WDW Vets.

It's big enough that it takes the first two posts of that thread to cover it all. But it's the best single source of information I've found, particularly for WDW people.

ETA - note that some of the remaining HydroGuy links are found here.
You should also look at "HydroGuy's Hotel Rule" on that page. In it he notes how important it is at DLR to stay at a walking distance hotel, unlike at WDW where it doesn't matter so much.

 

[sfwilshire]

DisBoards is indeed a good source of information. Particularly look for anything by HydroGuy. The best thing for you to read first is HydroGuy's DLR Guide for WDW Vets.

It's big enough that it takes the first two posts of that thread to cover it all. But it's the best single source of information I've found, particularly for WDW people.

ETA - note that some of the remaining HydroGuy links are found here.
You should also look at "HydroGuy's Hotel Rule" on that page. In it he notes how important it is at DLR to stay at a walking distance hotel, unlike at WDW where it doesn't matter so much.

Thanks for simplifying my research for me. Looks like lots of great reading.

I started to buy tickets last week, but couldn't pull the trigger since they have an expiration date. Too afraid to spend that much before I was absolutely certain the trip wouldn't get cancelled. Also decided I needed more research to determine how many days we would want to visit. Disney is pretty brilliant. The lower price per day makes the five day tickets very attractive, but then we wouldn't have time to do much else while we were there. I wish now I had just booked a second week at the resort when I saw it, but it's long gone now.

Thanks again for all of the help.

Sheila

 

[VegasBella]

I highly recommend DisBoards however it’s skewed to mostly WDW and not Disneyland.


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[mdurette]

You should go. My family has been to WDW more times than I can even count. So many expected us to be disappointed with DL. We weren’t at all. I loved that it was the same, but different. Slight variations of what we were familiar with. It was fun to explore these differences.

If you spend all day in the park. Then 2-3 days should be all you need.