[_landry]

My husband and I are considering a Disneyland trip for the first time with our two kids next summer. While we love WDW and have been 5 times, we know nothing about Disneyland!!

Tell me what I need to know!! Anything you feel is important would be appreciated.

I have NO idea where to stay, so resort or hotel opinions would be great!!

I think we probably will end up staying at one of the nearby hotels to save money, unless someone has a great tip on how to stay at one of the Disney resorts for cheaper!!

HELP!!

[WishUponAStar]

Well, in my opinion Paradise Pier is pretty affordable. DL Hotel isn't bad either, but you can get a better price staying at a "Good Neighbor" hotel in the area. I hear A LOT of great things about "Candy Cane Inn" but I know they book out FAST, especially if you are planning for summer.

DL Hotel was an awesome place to stay my first time staying in Disneyland. It just felt authentically Disney and knowing it was the VERY first Disney hotel was great. It's very classic, and has an AMAZING pool.

[_landry]

I just checked out the link to the Candy Cane and the Portofino. They both look really nice. Do they have any Disney type feel to them?? Like a Disney gift shop or anything?

How "Disney" are the DL properties?
Is it like WDW where they are totally disney???

[joseph3947]

My DW and I just did our first DL trip Sept. 9-13. I thought I wouldn't like it after going to WDW over 35 times, but we had a blast! It's only about 1 square mile and you walk to everything! We stayed at Paradise Pier and loved the large room we had. It really impressed me and makes me want to go back with my adult children some day. Transportation from LAX was great! The Super Shuttle was there waiting for us when got off the plane and picked us up right on time to go back. I loved Disneyland!!!

[twist1980]

I've stayed on-site at both the DL Hotel and PP Hotel and I loved them both! The DLH is very Disney. From the bedspreads with different DL attractions to the Tinkerbell borders, you can totally feel the magic in the rooms and around the resort. PPH doesn't have that same magic feel, but it is still a great hotel. And if you have a resort view room, the views are amazing!

I used to think it was a great idea to stay off-site to save money, but once I stayed on-site I became spoiled. Now I'll never stay off-site again. I prefer to book through AAA as you will save a few hundred dollars vs. booking directly through Disney. That and you get quite a few extra perks that make paying extra for staying on-site soooo worth it! How can you pass up unlimited fastpasses? Seriously.

If you can swing it, stay on-site. You really won't regret it!

[unamadreditre]

We went in June for the first time as a family and had a blast. If you have any questions Twist is a great one to ask. She helped me out a lot when we went. She is such a Disneyland expert and a real sweetie.

[_landry]

Originally Posted by twist1980

And if you have a resort view room, the views are amazing!

How can you pass up unlimited fastpasses? Seriously.

What kind of views? What can you see?

what do you mean by "unlimited" fastpasses?

[twist1980]

Here is a picture of the view of DCA from PPH at night that I found online...

[twist1980]

And a view of PPH during the day...

[twist1980]

Originally Posted by _landry

What kind of views? What can you see?

what do you mean by "unlimited" fastpasses?

You can also see the GCH and at least from the room I was in, Space Mt. and the Matterhorn.

If you book through AAA and stay at a Disney hotel, they offer what they call "enhanced FP's." What that means is, unlike other guests (even those who book through Disney) who can only hold one FP at a time, you can have one for every ride in the park if you want.

It is a godsend. Especially if you are there during peak times. You can get sooo much more done!

[Experiment6-2-6]

So, um, did you go on your trip to Disneyland this summer?

[rshenry]

I agree, once you stay on property, you will never want to stay at a "good neighbor" hotel.

[WishUponAStar]

Originally Posted by Experiment6-2-6

So, um, did you go on your trip to Disneyland this summer?

YEAH!!! Where is landry??? I want to hear if they went or not!!!

[mike zwicker]

Well where to start I have gone to Disneyland twice and I love it.......I actually just came back from DL Aug 26 and I stayed 17 days. The first time I went was 2002 during Christmas and I love christmas and having the chance to do it once in DL was enough because the crowds are much larger during x-mas than during the summer. Also given I live in Calgary Canada and we are not quite used to 100-110 temps for days on end it actually wasn't that bad. We stayed in the Red Roof inn the first time ...I will not stay again........this time we stayed @ the Best Western Stovall which is on Disneyland Dr. its still a bit of a walk but no big deal we just cut through the California hotel to get to down town disney. Just so you know you actually can cut through past the pool to get right into California adventure with out walking all the way down to the main entrance. I love going so much that we are planning to go down again summer 2009 for a month. the only thing that I regret not doing is staying at the DL hotels so before the kids get to old I am planning on doing is spending the extra money and staying at the disneyland hotel we are going to do 10 days there. just so I don't go on and on ask any questions you like and I can try and answer them the best I can....these are a few other things I also went to medieval times dinner theatre( I highly recommend going too..... also upgrade to the best package so you get front row my kids loved it) Do not do knotts soak city water park( stick to knotts berry farm) and universal studios is a must do. In San diego Sea word is always great and so was the zoo next time I am doing the animal adverture park instead so we can say we have done both.


Mike

[mike zwicker]

oh also go to this site bellow ....it is free to join you just need and login and pass word. I recommend any disney lover to join


it gives park updates, closures, you can view park rides and lots of pictures....ect ect....for Disneyland and they are currently adding Disney world to the site.

Visions Fantastic

Also I guess I should read the posting date...lol......sorry still wishing I was still at disney....