Best way to do Disneyland trip? (rent, hotels, to buy)

[family first]

Hey folks, need some advice on trip down south. Coming from Norcal, so tips, advice would be appreciated. Family of five, 3 kids between 10-3 years old. What are the best months to be there? Better to get hotel on site or off site (recommend any)? Best way to buy tickets or get deals? Is there a better theme park than D-Land for kids of this age group? How many days would be sufficient? Any thoughts would be helpful.

[Clarks]

Your nor cal AAA used to have great deals, they may still, Staying onsite removes one hassle but may add cost.

Don't go in Summer or when school is out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mid week during the school year is best, the lines can take all the fun out of it in hot weather.

Disneyland is The best place, but your kids will want different things and different things than you. You will want the Indiana Jones ride, the three year old will be terrrified, so you need to plan carefully and take 2-3 easy days, get there at opening, leave at 1:00 take naps go back at 4:00 or 5

last time we went down we took Amtrak, the station is a mile or so from Disneyland, and easy taxi ride.

[Kibbiekat]

we just did our first Disneyland trip with our sons, 4 and 6. We flew in to John Wayne, took a shuttle to a hotel across the street from the park, did not rent a car. We booked our hotel and flight on our own, and got 3 day park hopper passes from AAA. We were in the parks in January on Wed, Th, Fri. Wed there were no lines. We rode all the big rides multiple times. Did a character breakfast at Goofy's kitchen that day too. Lines got progressively worse as the week went on. Thursday night and Friday were especially crowded, but still not like summer, and at that time of the year they only do fireworks on weekends, so we had to put up with the crowd to see them. Our tickets included one early morning admission. Fantasy Land opened 1 hour early. We did all the kiddie rides that morning. The whole Rivers of America area was closed, and the Haunted Mansion was closed for taking down the Christmas Decorations all but our last day. We spent the equivalent of 2 days at Disneyland and 1 at California Adventure. Check the Disney web site for schedules, especially off season. Some of the parades and shows don't run every day, so we used that to decide when to be at what park. I have heard early December is a great time to go if you want to see the Christmas Decorations before the holiday crowds. Its a Small World still had its Christmas overlay when we were there and it was spectacular!

[timelesschild]

Here, you want to use this: RideMax - Planning Software for Walt Disney World and Disneyland

[Charles]

There's a service that plans your visit based on historical lines. It is called RideMax - Planning Software for Walt Disney World and Disneyland
It's pretty cheap, like $15 or so. You enter your info (date, hours, rides, etc) and it plans an attractions' itinerary maximizing location in the park, fastpass, walking speed (stroller, no stoller) and runners (one person in your party can run to a different ride to get fastpass tickets while others are in a line).

We used it last October and it really makes your visit efficient.

Other tips: Middle of the week, be the very first person at the gate so get there way before the park opens realizing it takes an hour just to enter the parking lot, park, and get shuttled to the ticket line, then walk to the entrance. Maybe get tickets in advance to avoid ticket line. If you don't use ridemax, again, be the first person at the park and hit the long line popular rides first. Bring your own food and a water container to save money on the rip off food and food lines.

Try places like costco, military MWR, and auto club, and your employer for discount tickets. What the heck, try ebay and craigslist too. When we were there standing in line for tickets, some lady just handed us a free ticket.

[DMenscha]

Take a bunch of extra money if you stay at any of Disneyland's hotels. I was dumbfounded at the nickel and dime charges they laid on me. No coffee in the room, a trek across the middle of the compound to get coffee and hot chocolate. (at $4.00 a pop)

My bad for not knowing that the monorail doesn't go to the Dland hotel anymore, but I wouldn't go back. Definitely agree with Clarks on the way that your kids will react to things.

[Kibbiekat]

The only thing at DL that our 4 yo couldn't ride was Indiana Jones. The 6 yo was tall enough for everything. There were a couple rides at CA Adv that both were too short for.

[mspotts35]

We have an annual pass, so we go often. Other's advice on here is great. Try mousesavers.com, you can also get tickets to everything else in So Cal.
Get your tickets ahead of time, plan to arrive at the park one hour before opening, (personally I'd skip the breakfast with the characters, it's fun and the food is great, but it's pricey). Once you get to the gate, bypass the ticket line and go straight to the gate. Disney opens 2-3 hours before California adventure. If I were you, I'd head directly to the Peter Pan ride and stay in that area. If you get there right as the park opens on a weekday, you can get through all those rides, which are fun for the 10 and under set, in about an hour. The rides are old and if you have to stand in line a long time, you don't want it to be at high noon because the line areas get very hot and stuffy.

Realize that you can take in food and drink, bottled water needs to be sealed, but that all of your items will be searched upon arrival. So plan on having backpacks, strollers, etc. searched.

Once you get some of the ride excitement out of everyone's system, head back to Main St. and get everyone a button, "First Time" or Happy Birthday if applicable. Its a free momento and kid's love it.

Pin trading is one of the most fun and inexpensive souvies you can buy. Every cast member has a pin lanyard and they are required to trade with anyone who asks. My kids love this.

Think layered clothing. If you're from No Cal coast or SF area, you know this. Disney can be awfully hot or terribly cold. There are several grocery stores outside of the 1mile radius or so of Disney area, go there to save on food costs. Everything in the Disney area is usually higher priced, even the gas stations.

Stay somewhere close by, you'll want to leave around 2-3pm to rest, and then go back later. If your family likes water park type fun, the Howard Johnson's has the best pool.

The rest of the folks have great ideas. Go to the website for the park and print out the maps, and plan your day. Be familiar with Fast Pass. Food in the park isn't too bad, medium priced, but have snacks and drinks with you to avoid paying more that you need.

Costco has discount tickets online and you don't have to be a member to buy them.

Legoland is a bit further south, but well worth the trip. If you have 2 days to go there, take it in as well. The one day ticket is pricey and the hours aren't very long, but when you leave you can add a second day for usually less than half price of the first day.

Have fun!

[Kibbiekat]

re leaving DL to rest. Having younger kids (4 and 6) I thought we'd go back to the hotel mid day to rest, but we didn't. We got to the parks at opening and left at closing 3 days in a row! In the summer when hours are longer, it might be different, but DL was open 10-8, 9-8, and 9-11 the days we were there. We left after the fireworks the 3rd day, so maybe closer to 10:00. If the 3 year old can sleep in the stroller, you may not want to waste time leaving and coming back.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by Clarks

Don't go in Summer or when school is out!....mid week during the school year is best, the lines can take all the fun out of it in hot weather.

Disneyland is still fun during the summer, it's open later, and there are a lot more things going on (special shows, parades, etc). Don't let that stop you. And the Fast Passes allow you to beat most lines.

There are lots of hotels a couple of miles from the park that provide tram/bus service free of charge (part of your room rate) to and from the park several times during the day and night.