Disneyland

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

Looking to take the family to Disneyland this year (thinking maybe mid-September) for a few days. Any tips on where to stay, what kind of package deals I can get, what we need to see/do once there, and how much this will cost me? It would be my wife and I and our 2 girls (4 1/2 and 2 months currently) and possibly the grandparents meeting us there.

 

Might also make it a two pronged trip and stop in San Diego for a couple of days on the way there or on the way back. Any must see/do things there?

 

Have been to San Diego once, but never to Disney.

[Big Country]

Look at the ticket offerings and then PM me. I get a discount for some of the Disneyland tickets through work.

 

How many days do you plan to do Disneyland? Hopper passes so you can go from Disneyland to California Adventure are not bad if you plan to do both parks. Disneyland hotels usually have some decent packages (include room and board), and with young children, I usually reccomend them to out of towners as it is very nice to be very close to your room for naps, etc.

 

With girls, assuming the oldest is into Disney princesses as many of my son's friends are, you may want to consider doing dinner one night at Ariel's Grotto in california Adventure. A bit pricy, but the Disney princesses are there and come around the room to each table for pictures and to talk to the kids. Goofy;s kitchen is a similar setup, though it is a buffet style restaurant, and has other Disney characters, not the princesses.

 

Ticket deals for Disneyland - 1 Day hopper pass (allows going back and forth between the parks) - Adults $73.00 instead of $94 reg price, kids are $65 instead of $84, the 2 month old will be free

2 day hopper, allows hopping between parks on same day - Adult $138 vs. $143 and kids $119 vs $123

1 day, 1 park ticket - Adults $66 instead of $69 and kids $58 instead of $59

 

For San Diego, my oldest (also 4 1/2) really likes Sea World and the zoo (also enjoyed the wild animal park). Petco park has a neat right field family area where you have bleacher seats, but right down at the fence is a large sandbox for the kids to play in, and behind the seats is a parklike setting with a grassy area and also a mini baseball diamond for kids to play on.

 

For Sea World, the only ticket deals I get are on 2 day passes, and I highly doubt you will need two days for sea world, but the deal is essentially 2 days for the proce of one and adult tickets are $53 and kids tickets are $43.50

For the Zoo, I can get adult tickets for $28.50 ($35 regularly) and kid tickets for $20.50 ($26 regularly) same prices for the Wild Animal park if you choose to go that route.

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

Look at the ticket offerings and then PM me. I get a discount for some of the Disneyland tickets through work.

 

How many days do you plan to do Disneyland? Hopper passes so you can go from Disneyland to California Adventure are not bad if you plan to do both parks. Disneyland hotels usually have some decent packages (include room and board), and with young children, I usually reccomend them to out of towners as it is very nice to be very close to your room for naps, etc.

 

With girls, assuming the oldest is into Disney princesses as many of my son's friends are, you may want to consider doing dinner one night at Ariel's Grotto in california Adventure. A bit pricy, but the Disney princesses are there and come around the room to each table for pictures and to talk to the kids. Goofy;s kitchen is a similar setup, though it is a buffet style restaurant, and has other Disney characters, not the princesses.

 

Ticket deals for Disneyland - 1 Day hopper pass (allows going back and forth between the parks) - Adults $73.00 instead of $94 reg price, kids are $65 instead of $84, the 2 month old will be free

2 day hopper, allows hopping between parks on same day - Adult $138 vs. $143 and kids $119 vs $123

1 day, 1 park ticket - Adults $66 instead of $69 and kids $58 instead of $59

 

For San Diego, my oldest (also 4 1/2) really likes Sea World and the zoo (also enjoyed the wild animal park). Petco park has a neat right field family area where you have bleacher seats, but right down at the fence is a large sandbox for the kids to play in, and behind the seats is a parklike setting with a grassy area and also a mini baseball diamond for kids to play on.

 

For Sea World, the only ticket deals I get are on 2 day passes, and I highly doubt you will need two days for sea world, but the deal is essentially 2 days for the proce of one and adult tickets are $53 and kids tickets are $43.50

For the Zoo, I can get adult tickets for $28.50 ($35 regularly) and kid tickets for $20.50 ($26 regularly) same prices for the Wild Animal park if you choose to go that route.

 

Thanks! I'll do some more checking and might get back to you.

[REZ]

Disneyland has been advertising 3 day park hopper tickets for $99.

Not sure when the dates are good for though.

I would do a park hopper ticket (just make sure it's same day park hopper, not one of those Disneyland one day, California the next).

If you just want a place to put your head, there are a couple places right across the street from the entrance that aren't fancy but are clean and about half the price of the resorts.

PM me if you want the names of a couple.

[tazinib1]

Make sure you let us know when you get into San Diego.

[REZ]

Missed the San Diego portion the first time through.

Here's something that might interest you

 

http://www.citypass.com/city/socal.html

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

Thanks for the info and links!

[Big Country]

Disneyland has been advertising 3 day park hopper tickets for $99.

Not sure when the dates are good for though.

 

Unfortunately for these, first date of use must be by August 31st I believe, and then only 16 days to use remaining days.

 

 

City Pass is an option if you also want ot do things like universal Studios, etc. Comes down to how long you have and what is most important to you. Kids your age have a lot less to do at Universal Studios than places like Disneyland, Sea World, the zoo and even Legoland..

[darin3]

Unfortunately for these, first date of use must be by August 31st I believe, and then only 16 days to use remaining days.

 

 

City Pass is an option if you also want ot do things like universal Studios, etc. Comes down to how long you have and what is most important to you. Kids your age have a lot less to do at Universal Studios than places like Disneyland, Sea World, the zoo and even Legoland..

Meh. If he's coming down to OC and San Diego, I would not recommend driving all the way up to the nasty-ass San Fernando Valley. Universal Studios would be blah for kids of his age.

 

Stick to Disneyland and a San Diego attraction.

 

Wish I could be out there to show ya around and give you a proper haircut.

[TDFFFreak]

Look at the ticket offerings and then PM me. I get a discount for some of the Disneyland tickets through work.

 

How many days do you plan to do Disneyland? Hopper passes so you can go from Disneyland to California Adventure are not bad if you plan to do both parks. Disneyland hotels usually have some decent packages (include room and board), and with young children, I usually reccomend them to out of towners as it is very nice to be very close to your room for naps, etc.

 

With girls, assuming the oldest is into Disney princesses as many of my son's friends are, you may want to consider doing dinner one night at Ariel's Grotto in california Adventure. My 3 year old daughter (she was almost three at the time actually) loved this meal. If your daughter is into the Princess, it's worth every penny to see her face light up. A bit pricy, but the Disney princesses are there and come around the room to each table for pictures and to talk to the kids. Goofy;s kitchen is a similar setup, though it is a buffet style restaurant, and has other Disney characters, not the princesses.

 

Ticket deals for Disneyland - 1 Day hopper pass (allows going back and forth between the parks) - Adults $73.00 instead of $94 reg price, kids are $65 instead of $84, the 2 month old will be free

2 day hopper, allows hopping between parks on same day - Adult $138 vs. $143 and kids $119 vs $123

1 day, 1 park ticket - Adults $66 instead of $69 and kids $58 instead of $59

 

For San Diego, my oldest (also 4 1/2) really likes Sea World and the zoo (also enjoyed the wild animal park). Petco park has a neat right field family area where you have bleacher seats, but right down at the fence is a large sandbox for the kids to play in, and behind the seats is a parklike setting with a grassy area and also a mini baseball diamond for kids to play on.

 

For Sea World, the only ticket deals I get are on 2 day passes, and I highly doubt you will need two days for sea world, but the deal is essentially 2 days for the proce of one and adult tickets are $53 and kids tickets are $43.50

For the Zoo, I can get adult tickets for $28.50 ($35 regularly) and kid tickets for $20.50 ($26 regularly) same prices for the Wild Animal park if you choose to go that route.

 

I'll add to the statement above: At Disneyland there is something called the Princess Fantasy Fair where you wait in line to meet and have pictures with 3 of the princesses. BE WARNED: the wait times average between 45 minutes to about 2 hours. It's painful. If you have the money, do the lunch/dinner at Ariel's Grotto and skip the Fantasy Fair.

 

The eating options aren't as good at Disneyland Resort as they are at Walt Disney World, but there are a lot more rides and attractions within a smaller space. The crowds should be low in mid-September so you should be able to do a lot. Some attractions I recommend in general at Disneyland (if you have any questions or want more details, let me know): Pirates of the Caribbean (better than WDW version because there are little flume drops), The Aladdin show (live 40 minute broadway style show at California Adventure that my daughter absolutely loved), Soarin' (People swear by this attraction, but I think it's a bit overrated), Fantasmic! (Great show which takes place in Disneyland around Pirate Island featuring many of the Disney characters).

Edited August 7, 2009 by TDFFFreak

[montster]

Look at the ticket offerings and then PM me. I get a discount for some of the Disneyland tickets through work.

 

How many days do you plan to do Disneyland? Hopper passes so you can go from Disneyland to California Adventure are not bad if you plan to do both parks. Disneyland hotels usually have some decent packages (include room and board), and with young children, I usually reccomend them to out of towners as it is very nice to be very close to your room for naps, etc.

 

we went in april and stayed at the carousel inn. i recommend it. it's across the street from the entrance, about a 10-minute walk door-to-door. with taxes and fees, it came to about $160 a night (base price was about $135). they have a wing of new rooms that are set back from harbor blvd, so you don't hear a lot of the traffic. we had to specifically ask for a room in that section. my parents, who were able to get a room next door to ours, also liked the place a lot. it's also walking distance to a lot of restaurants.

 

With girls, assuming the oldest is into Disney princesses as many of my son's friends are, you may want to consider doing dinner one night at Ariel's Grotto in california Adventure. A bit pricy, but the Disney princesses are there and come around the room to each table for pictures and to talk to the kids. Goofy;s kitchen is a similar setup, though it is a buffet style restaurant, and has other Disney characters, not the princesses.

 

grunge, i know your daughter is almost the same age as mine. we went to ariel's grotto for breakfast and my daughter was in heaven. the food was family-style, but it wasn't bad. if you do the meals with the characters, buy an autograph book from the gift shop as soon as you get to the park. on the left side of each page is a sleeve for a photo, and on the right side is a spot for the autographs. totally worth it. we also did minnie's breakfast -- characters were so-so, but the breakfast buffet was pretty good.

 

Ticket deals for Disneyland - 1 Day hopper pass (allows going back and forth between the parks) - Adults $73.00 instead of $94 reg price, kids are $65 instead of $84, the 2 month old will be free

2 day hopper, allows hopping between parks on same day - Adult $138 vs. $143 and kids $119 vs $123

1 day, 1 park ticket - Adults $66 instead of $69 and kids $58 instead of $59

 

For San Diego, my oldest (also 4 1/2) really likes Sea World and the zoo (also enjoyed the wild animal park). Petco park has a neat right field family area where you have bleacher seats, but right down at the fence is a large sandbox for the kids to play in, and behind the seats is a parklike setting with a grassy area and also a mini baseball diamond for kids to play on.

 

For Sea World, the only ticket deals I get are on 2 day passes, and I highly doubt you will need two days for sea world, but the deal is essentially 2 days for the proce of one and adult tickets are $53 and kids tickets are $43.50

For the Zoo, I can get adult tickets for $28.50 ($35 regularly) and kid tickets for $20.50 ($26 regularly) same prices for the Wild Animal park if you choose to go that route.

 

i know it's another theme park, but you might want to check out legoland. our daughter loves it, and it's perfect for kids that age. also, it's in carlsbad about halfway between orange county and san diego, so it's not too long a drive. plenty of beaches in carlsbad, too.

[Ursa Majoris]

Just want to point out that Disney allows serving service members into Disneyland LA for free. It even gives out a 2 day pass, not just a 1 day.

 

Mega-props to Disney for this much appreciated - and real - support.