[DiZ NeE O8]

Hi everyone,
My g/f and I are planning a trip to Disneyland in the days of December 27, 2009 to January 2, 2010 to celebrate the New year there. we wanted to see if someone can help us plan our trip or like give us tips on what to do, where to go, stuff like that.

we were supposed to go this year but we decided not to due to thee costs and not being old enough to rent a car. we are going to be 21yrs old at the time so that we can rent a car. what my g/f and I decided to do is we go to Disneyland so that we can see where it all started. then we decided since we are going to pay so much to fly to the other side of the US might as well take advantage of it and go sightseeing. We want to see the main cities and places in california that you here about all the time. we have DVC so we can get the nights that we stay at Disneyland with that. but, I have no Idea what to do, where to go, or where to get it. if anyone can help us we would very much appreciate it.
Thank you very much ahead of time
Bradley

[Experiment6-2-6]

Originally Posted by DiZ NeE O8

Hi everyone,
My g/f and I are planning a trip to Disneyland in the days of December 27, 2009 to January 2, 2010 to celebrate the New year there. we wanted to see if someone can help us plan our trip or like give us tips on what to do, where to go, stuff like that.

This is the place to learn...

Originally Posted by DiZ NeE O8

we were supposed to go this year but we decided not to due to thee costs and not being old enough to rent a car. we are going to be 21yrs old at the time so that we can rent a car.

That's not a bad idea. Though a car isn't absolutely necessary, it has it's advantages..

Originally Posted by DiZ NeE O8

what my g/f and I decided to do is we go to Disneyland so that we can see where it all started.

Disneyland really is worth going to, just to see the magic of how it all started.. There is a tour that goes through most of Disneyland, which provides details not normally known. Not an absolute, but it's worth the time if you are really interested in the history.

Originally Posted by DiZ NeE O8

then we decided since we are going to pay so much to fly to the other side of the US might as well take advantage of it and go sightseeing. We want to see the main cities and places in california that you here about all the time.

California is full of places to go and see, and even I haven't had the time to see it all.

San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are the top three destinations. A lot depends on what you are interested in and how much time you have.

Originally Posted by DiZ NeE O8

we have DVC so we can get the nights that we stay at Disneyland with that. but, I have no Idea what to do, where to go, or where to get it. if anyone can help us we would very much appreciate it.
Thank you very much ahead of time
Bradley

Post more as to what, exactly, you would like to know, how much time you have, and possible budget restraints.

[DiZ NeE O8]

well, we are going for 8 days 7 nights for sure that all work will give us at a time. and the budget, I really have no idea it all depends but I would like to keep it cheap. lol!hopefully not expensive. like I have no Idea about airlines i've only been on a plane once and my brother paid and did it all and I was 12 so I have no experience with that.
I know for sure I want to see the chinese theater, the soda fountain place, and some of the bigger attractions like we heard about nottsberry farm( I think thats what its called I'm sorry if I mess it up.) and the fact that it is full of roller coasters just drives me crazy to go there even more. I was reading on another forum that Universal over there is A LOT worse than the one here and I think the one here is horrible so thats out.

I know my g/f wants to go to all or some of the hotspots if time permits.

I don't know if that helped but hopefully it did.

I was reading into the nearby hotel forum and I had looked into them online and I think I would rather spend the money on the nights stays and keep my DVC points for WDW

[evansfmly5]

Knottsberry Farm is right around the corner from DL and it does have some good coasters but I think you're thinking of Six Flags Magic Mountain. Those roller coasters just look scary. We drive by on our way to DL. It's about at hour north of DL on I-5.

I will tell you its a bad idea to go to DL during the Christmas break. I'm sure that WDW is the same. If you can at all help it go just before. The crowds are much smaller but the decorations for Christmas will be up.

I'll bet the flights would be cheaper then, too.

We did the Chinese Theater for the first time this last summer. My DD is one of the many cute blond girls in CA trying to be a model. I think she's the cutest, but my opinion might be somewhat biased. The theater was cool but not too far away it was a little scary. Businesses were run down and homeless here and there.

[Experiment6-2-6]

Originally Posted by DiZ NeE O8

well, we are going for 8 days 7 nights for sure that all work will give us at a time.

You can do a lot in a week.. Depending on how much time you want to spend at Disneyland/California Adventure, 4 days would allow you to enjoy the parks at a slow pace, and still give you time to do things in Southern California..

Originally Posted by DiZ NeE O8

and the budget, I really have no idea it all depends but I would like to keep it cheap. lol!hopefully not expensive. like I have no Idea about airlines i've only been on a plane once and my brother paid and did it all and I was 12 so I have no experience with that.

Airlines are fickle, but if you go through expedia, you can find tickets that might be cheaper, depending on the time you fly and what day of the week as well.

Originally Posted by DiZ NeE O8

I know for sure I want to see the chinese theater, the soda fountain place, and some of the bigger attractions like we heard about nottsberry farm( I think thats what its called I'm sorry if I mess it up.) and the fact that it is full of roller coasters just drives me crazy to go there even more. I was reading on another forum that Universal over there is A LOT worse than the one here and I think the one here is horrible so thats out.

Um, Knottsberry Farm really doesn't have a lot of rollercoasters.. I think you're seeing Six Flags..

Originally Posted by DiZ NeE O8

I know my g/f wants to go to all or some of the hotspots if time permits.

There would be four days, which would allow you a day trip (if you drive) to San Diego, or, if you fly, a day trip to San Francisco, or possibly both. SouthWest Airlines can be affordably cheap within the state. And just spending a day at Fisherman's Wharf and Chinatown would be worth the cost..

Originally Posted by DiZ NeE O8

I was reading into the nearby hotel forum and I had looked into them online and I think I would rather spend the money on the nights stays and keep my DVC points for WDW

The cheapest place to get hotel rooms would be to use Priceline. Go for the best hotels, and you can get them dirt cheap. I use them exclusively at Disneyland, and haven't been disappointed yet..

[DiZ NeE O8]

what time of the year do you mostly recommend we were planning to go for new year but that doesnt look too good! it doesny have to be late in the year

[DiZ NeE O8]

like what I wanted to know was for example; what hotels are good over there? what airline is good? what airport should I fly into? stuff like that

[Experiment6-2-6]

Originally Posted by DiZ NeE O8

what time of the year do you mostly recommend we were planning to go for new year but that doesnt look too good! it doesny have to be late in the year

It can be crowded during the Christmas vacation period. The following January and February is not bad, but it's cold (relatively speaking) so the crowds aren't there.

Originally Posted by DiZ NeE O8

like what I wanted to know was for example; what hotels are good over there? what airline is good? what airport should I fly into? stuff like that

LAX is probably the cheapest way to fly, though if you can go jetblue, Long Beach Airport is not a bad choice. As for hotels, go to priceline.com, and look at bidding on a cheap room. I've gotten three star hotels (hyatt, Hilton, Marriot) for less than $50.00 a night.

[DiZ NeE O8]

I went on expedia.com and priceline.com for the hotels and the airline tickets to look them up but it doesn't let me see anything past Dec 1. does that mean I have to wait some time to pass so that I can see to january also.

I was looking on google earth and i saw that both entrances to DL and California Adventure are like right down the street from eachother. I also saw that there are Hotels that are right accross the street.

Some of the hotels that I saw was Ramada Los Angeles - Anaheim maingate, Best western - anaheim inn, desert inn & suites, and best western park place inn

does anyone have any experiences with these hotels?

[Pixie]

Originally Posted by DiZ NeE O8

I went on expedia.com and priceline.com for the hotels and the airline tickets to look them up but it doesn't let me see anything past Dec 1. does that mean I have to wait some time to pass so that I can see to january also.

I was looking on google earth and i saw that both entrances to DL and California Adventure are like right down the street from eachother. I also saw that there are Hotels that are right accross the street.

Some of the hotels that I saw was Ramada Los Angeles - Anaheim maingate, Best western - anaheim inn, desert inn & suites, and best western park place inn

does anyone have any experiences with these hotels?

The entrances for the parks are very close to eachother. Like a 2min walk if that lol

I've stayed at the Ramada maingate. It's good and my family likes it. We are pretty basic when it comes to hotels and this works just fine for us. Its a small hotel but my favorite part is the pool! LOTS of trees surrounding it and a very unique pool. It is about a foot deep at one end and i think 8feet at the other. The only problem we have had at this hotel was ants. Now out of the 8 or so times we have stayed there we have only encountered it twice and the two times we ended up in the same room. They were very nice about it and gave us another room. Its about a 8-10 minute walk with many restaurants inbetween disneyland and the hotel. the beds are nice and it's a good size room. If you go up to the top floor at night you have a REALLY nice view of the fireworks from Disneyland which is a nice perk

My brother stayed at park place inn. It was convinent because of the very little walk but wasn't the nicest hotel. The wallpaper was coming off the walls. When he went to get into bed there was a big blue stain on the sheets It took him almost an hour and a half and like 5 phone calls to get anything done about it.

[WishIWasThere]

California is a great place to visit! But, with 8 days Id stick to Southern California unless you want to fly to Northen California. TO fly in there are 3 main airports within an hour and a half from Disney (there are several smaller ones as well but I never flown into any of those) they are San Diego (my personal favorite), Los Angeles (great too) and Ontario (a smaller one but still good). LAX would probably be the cheapest.
The entrances to the two parks are start across an open area from each other, if you stand at the entrance to one you can see the entrance to the other. It might take 30 seconds to a minute to walk back and forth. Downtown Disney is about a minute walk from either entrance (or two minutes if you walk slow). If you have never been to Disneyland I would take four days to see it. That way you can go slowly, enjoy yourself and see the shows/parades.
As for other things to see/do, it depends on what you like to do. Theres Six Flags, Universal Studios, and Knotts there. If you like dinner shows Medieval times is near by. If you like animals you can go to the San Diego zoo or wild animal park. Then theres beaches, parks, etc. If you go in the winter you could visit someplace like Big Bear where the snow is, theres also some ski slopes near there (don't know too much about them though, I never skied)

[DiZ NeE O8]

you see I have DVC but I got 160points a year. I called and found our that a night at Paradise Pier in the basic room during the week is 25 points and 40 on friday and saturday! that HURTS A LOT. so i started looking and I found those neighborhood hotels for like $90 to 120 a night which sounds better than great. Due to it being somewhere were we are only going to sleep and take a bath in. for example I found the ramada anaheim calif and it came out to 118.30 a night which I don't think it is bad or bad looking

[LittleMissMagic]

Yay! Disneyland is great. A lot of guests are disappointed after seeing the gigantic castle at MK, but Disneyland is where it all started.

I believe Paradise Pier is the least expensive Disneyland Resort, so if that's out of budget, you'll probably want to go with a Good Neighbor Hotel. I've stayed at the Desert Palms and would recommend it. It's no fabulous Disney resort, but it's a short walk from the park entrance and affordable. I've heard that Jolly Roger and Candy Cane Inn are also great Good Neighbor Hotels. I do not recommend the White Castle. The carpets are disgusting (errr.... in 2003 - maybe they've remodeled), and although it is directly across from the entrance, you have to cross 4 lanes (maybe 6 - don't remember) of traffic to get there. The safest (not to mention legal) way is the cross stop, so you have to walk a block out of the way, cross the road, then walk a block to the entrance.

ADRs.... definitely Blue Bayou. Very romantic, unique setting (you could compare it to the San Angel Inn at Epcot, I suppose). Then Chef Goofy's is kind of like Chef Mickey's, except no monorail above and you aren't guaranteed Mickey (I don't even think he was there when we went - you're only guaranteed to see Goofy).

I'd dedicate about four days to the parks (at least). Hollywood... I do not recommend at night. It's crazy. Then again, you're a lot older than I was when I went (I'm thinking 13 or 14) - might not be creeped by half-naked guys that jump out at you. It's definitely livelier at night. You might enjoy the action - depends on what you like. Be sure to look for Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse's stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Have fun at Disneyland!