19 days in California - HELP!

[pompeyboy]

Have you had a look at Disneyland from above on Google maps? It's right in the heart of things and has many hotels within 5 or 10 minutes walk of the gates and would be a lot cheaper than a Disney hotel. I'm not sure you get many perks staying onsite either.

We stayed 6 nights in Anaheim but only did 2 days in Disney, 3 would have been less of a rush. We also went to Knotts Berry Farm and drove into Hollywood for a day and another day at Santa Monica/Venice beaches.

[Colette-S]

Originally Posted by Bozza

Thanks!

A week at Disneyland is interesting as I was getting the impression people did less than that, typically, more like 3-4 days. I'm quite fancying the Disneyland Hotel, so a shorter rather than longer stay would help the budgeting there!

Thanks for the tip on Alcatraz - also mentioned earlier - I'll get onto that ASAP.

I had a quick look at Yosemite accommodation for the back-end of our trip earlier and there seems to be practically nothing left within the park itself.

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As for Yosemite, can you reverse the trip and go on the way to LA?

[Bozza]

Originally Posted by pompeyboy

Have you had a look at Disneyland from above on Google maps? It's right in the heart of things and has many hotels within 5 or 10 minutes walk of the gates and would be a lot cheaper than a Disney hotel. I'm not sure you get many perks staying onsite either.

We stayed 6 nights in Anaheim but only did 2 days in Disney, 3 would have been less of a rush. We also went to Knotts Berry Farm and drove into Hollywood for a day and another day at Santa Monica/Venice beaches.

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Yeah, I’m aware that some of the Good Neighbor hotels are very, very close indeed, with some being even closer than Paradise Pier.

I found a good rundown of many hotels on a site called Disney Tourist Blog where they rated them by varying factors with proximity being the most important.

A couple that caught my eye were:

Courtyard Marriott Theme Park Entrance
Park Vue Inn
Best Western Plus Park Palace Inn

...as all being really, really close.

The Marriott, particularly, also looks like a very nice hotel and has great water fun for the kids too.

I do really fancy the Disneyland Hotel though so we’ll see as our planning develops!

[pompeyboy]

Originally Posted by Bozza

Yeah, I’m aware that some of the Good Neighbor hotels are very, very close indeed, with some being even closer than Paradise Pier.

I do really fancy the Disneyland Hotel though so we’ll see as our planning develops!

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That's fine, I think a lot of visitors, myself included initially, think of Florida and imagine DL to be like the Magic Kingdom is, car, boat monorail ride from anywhere.

At least you have a while to plan, we booked 2 weeks before and could only squeeze in 10 nights but still had an amazing time in Ca.

[Bozza]

Originally Posted by pompeyboy

That's fine, I think a lot of visitors, myself included initially, think of Florida and imagine DL to be like the Magic Kingdom is, car, boat monorail ride from anywhere.

At least you have a while to plan, we booked 2 weeks before and could only squeeze in 10 nights but still had an amazing time in Ca.

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That’s interesting - how did you structure your time and how long did you have in the Disney parks?

[pompeyboy]

We flew into San Francisco, stayed there for 3 nights, used BART and tram to get to the hotel done Alcatraz, walked the GG bridge and looked round the GG park. rode the cable cars and the usual FW and Lombard Street etc. thought we had enough time there to do the main bits.

Picked the car up from Avis at FW, drove down Lombard and out of town on Highway 1 overnight in Monterey then on to Anaheim, again via the coast as much as we could as the PCH was/is closed. I underestimated this part as Monterey to Anaheim via Malibu is around 360 miles and at least 8 hours without stops. We were meeting our daughter at LAX and just about got there in time to meet her 10pm flight from Texas.

We decided to stay in Anaheim at the Castle Inn, it was cheap and cheerful maybe 10 mins from the gate to Disney and we thought it ok. Typical US motel, no frills but free parking and close to everything.

We spent a day in each park and managed to go on everything but it was a bit rushed, 3 days would be fine. Spent a day at Knotts Berry Farm was a bit disapointed with it but glad we went. Drove into Hollywood for the day done the walk of fame stuff and a bus tour round some big houses that may or may not have been owned by celebs!

Had a day at Santa Monica/venice beach due to dds GTA interest, it's loosly set there. Done some shopping and then it was time to fly back from LAX. Missed out on 6 flags as it was only open at weekends, Nov.

I did feel out of my comfort zone as a Florida veteran it feels like home whereas LA is a vast sprawl with 6/8 lane roads that seem constantly jammed, the car pool lanes are good like a fast pass on the freeway !

[KarenG]

Research whether the construction at DTD is making the Disneyland Hotel less attractive than usual. It might be OK, I don't know, but you have to walk right past a demolition zone.

It was definitely headed that way when we were there in November but I've no idea if it's all ok now. We always have a mooch around the DL hotel - it is lovely - but I tend to prefer to stay somewhere just as close and use the money I've saved in Trader Sam's (MUCH more fun that WDW's version).

[Olympiad]

Hi - as an alternative it’s worth knowing that some of the best SoCal beaches are only about 30mins from Disneyland. Huntington, Newport and Laguna Beaches would all make good bases for Disneyland and for surrounds.

Anaheim has the undoubted benefit of being so close to the parks and the hotels will be cheaper, but a bit soulless - which may not matter if just a base to sleep at.

Have fun planning!

[Disney Wishing]

Originally Posted by Bozza

Thanks!

A week at Disneyland is interesting as I was getting the impression people did less than that, typically, more like 3-4 days. I'm quite fancying the Disneyland Hotel, so a shorter rather than longer stay would help the budgeting there!

Thanks for the tip on Alcatraz - also mentioned earlier - I'll get onto that ASAP.

I had a quick look at Yosemite accommodation for the back-end of our trip earlier and there seems to be practically nothing left within the park itself.

See more...

I know i'm definitely in the minority on this forum for wanting to spend our full five day hopper there but we're big Disney fans and love the atmosphere at Disneyland. As we go in the summer there's always more night time shows. We'll happily ride things a few times over to get our full disney fix. We've stopped a the Disneyland hotel couple of times, managed to pick up a deal last two Augusts. It's lovely with a great pool but its very expensive and there are certainly cheaper deals just across the road. Karen G is right to watch out for building work though. They are about to start work on a new hotel right in front of the Disneyland hotel and it may cut off the quick route to the parks. There should be some more news come out towards the end of the month for this.

[KarenG]

Originally Posted by Disney Wishing

I know i'm definitely in the minority on this forum for wanting to spend our full five day hopper there but we're big Disney fans and love the atmosphere at Disneyland. As we go in the summer there's always more night time shows. We'll happily ride things a few times over to get our full disney fix. We've stopped a the Disneyland hotel couple of times, managed to pick up a deal last two Augusts. It's lovely with a great pool but its very expensive and there are certainly cheaper deals just across the road. Karen G is right to watch out for building work though. They are about to start work on a new hotel right in front of the Disneyland hotel and it may cut off the quick route to the parks. There should be some more news come out towards the end of the month for this.

See more...

You're not alone - We are solid four day people ourselves and are deeply happy to ride things multiple times, especially the rides that are unique to DL (or better than the WDW equivalent!)

But, I love the state of California so much - the scope and size is magnificent - I wouldn't spend a week in Anaheim for that reason (as it would mean giving up days elsewhere).