Disneyland Vacation-where Do I Start?

Three days at the very most. No more than that is needed. Now Disney World you would need a week to enjoy everything. Disneyland is very small compared to Disney World. I always base what hotel I stay in anywhere on my budget.

Will the rooms have cooking arrangements (microwave and refridge)? If so, I am am cheapy. I would take a taxi or stop at a grocery store and get cheese, crackers, drinks, popcorn, cookies, etc.

We went last fall with our 2 and 5 year old. We stayed at the Camelot, which was right the street from the entrance to the park. The location was GREAT, the hotel was very basic. However, it was very affordable and we spent very, very little time in the room. We went for 5 days, which turned out great- 2 days in each park plus 1 day of shopping and relaxing in Downtown Disney. There is plenty to see and do to fill up 4 days, especially if you want to see some shows. I would probably skip the food packages unless they are running a deal on them. The nicest thing about them is that you pay for them up front, so it feels like you spend less on the vacation. The downside...same thing, makes it easier to overspend! I would check the park schedule to make sure you get as many "long days" as possible. We hit 2 days where the park was only open 10am-8pm, so those days felt rushed (as opposed to 9am-midnight or even 24 hours some days).

If you can afford it, staying on site can really be a lot of fun. The hotels are great and it makes it SO easy to get into the parks. Sometimes there are even early morning hours (one hour before the park opens) where only hotel guests can be in the park.

If you really want to do EVERYTHING, I would plan two days at Disneyland plus one more at California Adventure. That should be enough time to do all of the rides you want. Make good uses of the Fast Passes to maximize your time and minimize standing in long lines.

www.disboards.com is THE place to go for all things Disney. I'd visit that one and find the Disneyland section.

Have fun!

I would purchase "Unofficial Guide to Disneyland" - it is really useful for planning things like where to say and what to do. We went to Disneyland last year and stayed at the Grand Californian (we had Disney Vacation Club points that we used). It was really nice and we had our own admission gate right into the California Adventure park. You could probably do each park in 1 day though we took 2 days at each park and found it more relaxing (our daughter was 4 at the time). It was nice being so close to the parks (really, walking distance) because we could go back mid-day, rest up, swim, etc. and then go back for more. If you are going to spend more than a few days, you could take a drive south to San Diego for the zoo, the wild animal park, Seaworld and Legoland. Or you could make 1 day a beach day and check out one of the local beaches.

DISboards on-line is really helpful too, for all things Disney.

You will get many varied responses here.
Disneyland Hotel was great but crowded, especially the pool area, NOT worth the cost. Can't remember where we stayed next but if you go on tripadvisor.com you can scan all the hotel reviews. Just stick with a chain (Hyatt, Marriott, Best Western, etc.) and you'll be fine.
Never did the food packages. That's only worth it if you have a huge budget, and an even bigger waistline.
Some people go and spend several days, but we were fine with two days, one in each park (Disney and Cal Adventure.) We hit the rides/attractions we really wanted to and didn't worry about the rest.
We never really planned much, other than going in and having fun. Walking in and getting that map for the first time is like a family treasure hunt. ENJOY!!!

I would definitely splurge and stay at one of the Disney resorts on property. While your kids are older and you don't have to worry about nap time, it is nice to take a break from the chaos and chill for a few hours at the hotel pool.

Try Costco. That's where we bought our plan for our trip to Disney California.

Just went to Disneyland in January. Stayed at Disneyland Hotel and it was great -- very comfortable, clean, and pretty new (remodeled somewhat recently)! Even though it is more expensive than being "off-campus," we decided to splurge a bit and enjoyed being immersed in the Disney thing. Disneyland Hotel is adjacent to Downtown Disney -- a long walk through all of that or just a short walk to the monorail takes you right into the plaza between Disneyland Park and California Adventure. We got a 3-day park hopper pass and it was perfect (kids aged 8 and 3). We did not get a meal package -- it doesn't provide any sort of discount on any of the food, it just alleviates the need to carry other forms of payment. And I believe if you don't use all of it, you don't get anything back. Also, being so close to Downtown Disney and its food options (good ones, honestly) was great and I don't think you can use the meal plan at any of those restaurants. Hope this info is helpful. Good luck with your planning and have fun!

With Disneyland and California Adventures you need a minimum of 2 days to do each one separately. Do the dining packages, your kids are old enough for it to be a benefit. See the Mousesavers site below for discounts and deals. Also subscribe to Couponing to Disney or "like" it on Facebook, she (Kristin) always has the scoop on deals and savings for Disney World and Disneyland.

I haven't been to Disneyland Hotel in years, plus there's oodles more to choose from in the area, and there are shuttles to get you back and forth. We stay at the Best Western even though we live in nearby Buena Park, it's a long day and we want to crash when we leave the park and not drive home, we're doing it next month.

http://www.mousesavers.com/disneyland-california-vacation...

http://www.couponingtodisney.com/

mousesavers.com
You can also put Disney on the search of the Mamapedia home page and you'll get TONS of answers, probably more than you want.
Do your research and you'll know what's best for you guys. Have fun!!

My best advice is to call my travel agent Angela Santoro - she is a Disney expert - she knows the right ?'s to ask you and help you plan the best vacation ever - she is your advocate and you don't pay her anything. Email her at ____@____.com or ###-###-####

get the book... the unofficial way to disney. It is very helpful. they have many copies updated each year. you can check it out at the library

I used to live in California and we made about 5 trips to Disneyland. We stayed twice in the Grand California which is gorgeous but the most expensive property. You are very close to California Adventure park - it's a 5 min. walk. But it's $350/night. We stayed twice at Disneyland hotel. Farther away but still on the property. Great pool and lot's to do. I never found the pool too terribly crowded but I'd not sure we were ever there in the summer. Last trip we stayed off property at a Sheraton. It was a 2-4 block walk and there was also a shuttle. The hotel was fine but I really preferred being on the Disneyland property. You definitely feel more immersed in Disney. We usually spent 4-5 days, and we got the park hopper ticket so that we attended both parks. We really like Disneyland because it is a clean park with a more upscale customer - versus some of the six flags parks. And the rides are a lot of fun. A lot of people like to slam Disneyland but I think it's a great park and a wonderful vacation destination. Have fun.

I would just mention the Southern California City Pass. We were just there in April and we bought the pass. It includes 3 days at Disneyland (parkhopper), 1 day at Universal and 1 day at the San Diego zoo. We didn't drive down to do the zoo but it was still worth it.

We stayed at the Super 8 on Katella-it was only $70 a night. It was nothing fancy but had a pool and wi-fi and it was within walking distance to the parks or a $8 cab fee if you are too tired at the end of the day. It's also really close to a lot of nicer restaurants-PF Changs, California Pizza Kitchen and Cheesecake Factory.

We ended up doing a day and a half at California Adventure and a day at Disnelyland-I thought it was plenty. We would go first thing in the AM-leave for lunch and a swim and come back mid afternoon until close.

When I looked at the prices for the on property hotels-I thought they were absolutely crazy!!! But I am sure it would be nice to just walk out of your hotel and be at the park.

Have fun!!!!

Disneyland Hotel and California Grand are both awesome hotels, with the Grand being much more expensive -- and newer, although the Disney hotel has been refurbished and is also cool. We've also stayed at the Hilton right there and it's also a very nice hotel, not quite as expensive as Disney Hotel, but not as nice of a pool area, but certainly adequate. Staying at the Grand allows you to enter California Adventure park early and it's a direct entrance. I believe you can get a package deal of hotel/tickets through Disneyland. You can plan on needing a full day at Disneyland and now that Cars Land is open in the Adventure park, that may now require a full day, as well, although I haven't been there since Cars Land opened. I would think 3 days in the parks would be overkill.

We took our girls (15 and 11) for the first time over spring break. We had a blast and so will you! We got the Unofficial Guide to DL which has a lot of great info. We decided to stay in a condo not far from the park - best decision of the whole trip! You can find many on Vrbo if you decide to go that route. We found it to be very economical and everyone got their own bedroom (hubs snores and therefore the kiddos whine if we stay in a hotel).

The other must have are DL apps for your smartphone, provided you have one. We worked the fastpass system beautifully, used the apps for wait times and were able to find food/restaurants with ease. It really helped us maximize our time and we waited very little overall.

Have fun! The hardest part will be waiting till you go!!