[cinderbella]

I was looking on disneyland.com and disneyworld.com this morning just because The Dave is at work and last night he was probbing me with questions about Disney World vs. Disneyland...and I had to admit I knew nothing about Disneyland..
(For those of you who have been keeping up with my insanity of guessing where The Dave is taking me for my honeymoon..I still have no idea..but his contasnt random questions like "what sort of hotels are at Disneyland" are still making me a little..anxious..)

Anyways,
I noticed that Disneyland has a meal plan? What's that like?
Also, which hotel is the best (of the Disney Hotels) or is a Good Neighbor Hotel better?
Also, is it possible to spend 8 days in two parks?
Would you rent a car?
How come you can do 8 nights, a meal plan, 8 day park hoppers, a roundtrip flight and accomidations at Paradise Peir CHEAPER than 8 nights at AKL with the dining plan?
Which airport should you fly into?
Does Disney have a shuttle service like ME or os there another one?

I cant believe I am so dumb about Disneyland!!

[rosebud]

I can answer some of your questions.

I think that the BEST hotel is the Grand Californian, but it is also the most expenisive. It has a great theme, nice rooms and there is an entrance directly into California Adventure. I have enjoyed all three hotels and all are close to the parks.

You can certainly spend 8 days in the parks it would give you plenty of time and you wouldn't have to rush around doing everything. Since there are only two parks though it might get a little old.

I would rent a car just because there is so much to do in Southern California.

I think that it would probably be cheapest to fly into LAX but Long Beach and John Wayne would probably be closer. We are originally from SoCal so we don't fly in very often.

I hope that helps! Never done a dining plan so I'm sorry that I can't help there

[twist1980]

I think the best airport to fly into is SNA (which depending on who you talk to is called John Wayne, Orange County or Santa Ana). It is only about a 30 minute drive to DLR from there. It's also a small airport so you get your luggage faster and it is much less stressful. LAX is huge and the traffic out of there can be horrendous. Also shuttles from SNA to DLR are about half the price of LAX to DLR.

DLR's dining plan is quite different from WDW's. You get a certain number of $5 vouchers, $10 and $15 vouchers plus vouchers for character meals and breakfasts in the park. If you click on the eight day plan it will tell you exactly how many of each you get.

GCH is the best, but I love the DLH! It's the first Disney hotel and has that magic Disney feel. It's also less expensive than GCH, but further away. GCH is the closest and is basically part of DtD.

DLR does not have ME, but Shuttle Express from SNA is only $13 pp (I think that's how much I paid in December) and their shuttles are small so you don't have to make ten thousand stops for other people (like Airport Express).

I think five or six days is a perfect amount, but that also depends on how heavy the crowds are. You guys might start to get bored in eight days, but you can always head to the beach. Huntington Beach is only about a 30-40 minute trip.

Also if you book through AAA travel, you get a 10% discount of Disney hotel rates, plus you get unlimited fastpasses (pm me if you want more details).

If you are only going to do Disney there is no need to rent a car, but if you want to do other things, like go to the beach, it makes it a lot easier!

Feel free to pm me if you have other questions! I love talking Disneyland!

[anaheimboy]

Originally Posted by cinderbella

I was looking on disneyland.com and disneyworld.com this morning just because The Dave is at work and last night he was probbing me with questions about Disney World vs. Disneyland...and I had to admit I knew nothing about Disneyland..
(For those of you who have been keeping up with my insanity of guessing where The Dave is taking me for my honeymoon..I still have no idea..but his contasnt random questions like "what sort of hotels are at Disneyland" are still making me a little..anxious..)

Anyways,
I noticed that Disneyland has a meal plan? What's that like?
Also, which hotel is the best (of the Disney Hotels) or is a Good Neighbor Hotel better?
Also, is it possible to spend 8 days in two parks?
Would you rent a car?
How come you can do 8 nights, a meal plan, 8 day park hoppers, a roundtrip flight and accomidations at Paradise Peir CHEAPER than 8 nights at AKL with the dining plan?
Which airport should you fly into?
Does Disney have a shuttle service like ME or os there another one?

I cant believe I am so dumb about Disneyland!!

I would have to say the best of the Disneyland Hotels is either the Disneyland Hotel or Disney's Grand Californian (it all depends upon what type of themeing your into)
8 days for the two parks is quite a bit, you could but most of it would be spent in Disneyland. I would say the prime number of days to spend in the parks is about 4-5 days, depending how much time you like to take.
Depending upon where your flying in from LAX would probably be the best to fly into. And I believe Disneyland Resort does offer shuttles from the airports.
If your going to be staying on property (this I would highly suggest) I would say you dont need a rental car UNLESS you want to visit other areas of LA while your visit DLR, if you plan to do that then yes, rent a car.
Im not sure on the Disneyland Resort meal plan, I myself have never really used it....When I get hungry while at the parks I just go to the place that has the stuff Im in the mood for, whether its in DTD or in the parks.
I can only guess Paradise Pier Hotel and the meal plans are cheaper than AKL because Paradise Pier hotel isnt as greatly themed as AKL and I have come to find that DLR is much cheaper than WDW, thats just how it is.
AND last but not least, you cant really compare DLR with WDW, their both so so different.....it just cant be done. If you have never been to DLR go ahead and go there, its a lot of fun and you'll get to visit the place that started it all, and depending upon when your going you may even get to go during the 50th Anniversary Celebration and see all of the awesome decor and festivities in store. Enjoy your trip if you do go!

[Experiment6-2-6]

Originally Posted by cinderbella

Also, which hotel is the best (of the Disney Hotels) or is a Good Neighbor Hotel better?

The California Grand is superb. If you can afford it. But it is nice.

Originally Posted by cinderbella

Also, is it possible to spend 8 days in two parks?

My heir apparent and I spent 7 days there this past February. Money was the only thing that became an issue (budget being a bad word)

Originally Posted by cinderbella

Would you rent a car?

That depends. Jetblue could get you cheaply into Long Beach, but if you're staying at the California Grand or within walking distance of the parks, THAT can be expensive, as most hotels ding you with $8-12 "parking fees".

And that is about as much information that I can share regarding the questions.

Hope this helps!

[Andrea]

Everything I've looked at says skip Disneyland's dining plan.

For me, 8 days would be too many. Three days is plenty for DL, 1 for DCA. But that's just me.

Grand Californian is GORGEOUS! Definitely the place to stay if you can do it.

[pumouse]

Honestly, I think he's trying to through you off the trail of where he's actually taking you. Do you think maybe a Disney Cruise?

[twist1980]

Originally Posted by anaheimboy

I And I believe Disneyland Resort does offer shuttles from the airports.

Actually they do not. We stayed at DLH in December and they do not have any hotel shuttles. They are happy to arrange for a shuttle to take you to the airport (they use Super Shuttle), but it costs money.

[anaheimboy]

Originally Posted by twist1980

Actually they do not. We stayed at DLH in December and they do not have any hotel shuttles. They are happy to arrange for a shuttle to take you to the airport (they use Super Shuttle), but it costs money.

Oh really? Wow, I didnt know that, I have seen shuttles with the Disneyland Resort stuff on it leaving from LAX and the hotels before and I just assumed DLR offered shuttle service, guess ya learn something new every day.

[twist1980]

Originally Posted by anaheimboy

Oh really? Wow, I didnt know that, I have seen shuttles with the Disneyland Resort stuff on it leaving from LAX and the hotels before and I just assumed DLR offered shuttle service, guess ya learn something new every day.

Airport Express (the big buses), have Disneyland stuff all over them. They do look like they are official buses. I don't like using them for transfers because they hold a lot of people and therefore end up making a lot of stops. The one time I took them we stopped at five other hotels before ours!

[The Goof Father]

If you go for more than about 5 days then one of you ought to get a Premium Annual Passport. Those can get you discounts for rooms at the Resort Hotels, discounts at the restaurants and discounts when buying gifts...

I get a Premium AP so that my family can get some of the benefits of it. They have saved me a ton of money in the past. Just do the math and see if it makes sense!

But I wonder if The Dave is just tricking you!!!

[anaheimboy]

Originally Posted by twist1980

Airport Express (the big buses), have Disneyland stuff all over them. They do look like they are official buses. I don't like using them for transfers because they hold a lot of people and therefore end up making a lot of stops. The one time I took them we stopped at five other hotels before ours!

That would get quite annoying, I wwould just rent a car instead of taking the Airport Express, Thanks for the new info Twist!

[The Goof Father]

I am also a big fan of renting a car... You can go out to dinner easily at some distant restaurant... You can make a run to Target for the miscellaneous thing-a-ma-jig you forgot or suddenly need... Or you can even visit Universal Studios and other places like that!

Beverly Hills is great to see! Hollywood is a bit shadey, dicey and dirty IMHO...

[Princess Tessa]

Originally Posted by twist1980

Airport Express (the big buses), have Disneyland stuff all over them. They do look like they are official buses. I don't like using them for transfers because they hold a lot of people and therefore end up making a lot of stops. The one time I took them we stopped at five other hotels before ours!

Always take the Super Shuttle!!! They're cheaper than the airport express and they get you there 10 times faster.
I went with my friend and her mom last May so they were doing all the bookings now me. They booked us into Airport Express and we had to wait...get this...for 10 hotels!!!!!!!!!!
We wern't even the last ones on that bus too, we had to wait over 90 mins to get to our hotel and we could see it the whole time but we just kept going aroudn the block and around the block to every other hotel in Anaheim

We've never rented a car if we're doing a Disneyland-only trip. If you're going to do other thigns in the area then a car is a good idea but if it's just the parks, no car is needed at all.

[pumouse]

Originally Posted by The Goof Father

I am also a big fan of renting a car... You can go out to dinner easily at some distant restaurant... You can make a run to Target for the miscellaneous thing-a-ma-jig you forgot or suddenly need... Or you can even visit Universal Studios and other places like that!

Beverly Hills is great to see! Hollywood is a bit shadey, dicey and dirty IMHO...

I have to wonder if our paths have crossed at that Target? By the way, where have you been??