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Old 16 Oct 21, 03:40 PM  
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Bad Pink Tink
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Join Date: Aug 19
January 2022 LA and Disneyland Pre Trip Planning

Well finally the travel ban is being lifted in November so let the trip planning begin.

I usually travel to California in June but I really don't want to wait until June 2022 to go back.

As my 2020 and then 2021 trips were cancelled, I saved my money, so I can have 2 trips in 2022.

My preferred airline is Aer Lingus. They used to have a Dublin to LAX route which was amazing, but since Covid this has stopped and there is no re start date yet.

As the Aer Lingus direct Dublin to LAX is gone for now, when looking for an alternative airline and route I wanted o still fly from Dublin, to make sure to have the US Preclearance. I know I would have to do an indirect and change planes in America, so after checking the airlines and routes, I have booked with Delta via JFK and made sure both the Dublin to LAX and LAX to Dublin routes have 3 hours transfer time in JFK.

The first week of my trip I will be in LA. For this trip, my first back to LA since Covid I don't really want to do touristy things. I mainly just want to relax, spend time with my friends and go shopping. I have booked the Hilton at Universal Studios, but most likely I wont be going to the park. I just want to be in a nice hotel, with a pool, with shops and restaurants nearby. I have never done a resort type holiday, so this will be something different.

For Disneyland I have booked the Tropicana Hotel. This is one of the motels / hotels directly across the street from the pedestrian entrance to Disneyland on Harbour Boulevard. I have previously stayed at Deseret Inn and Suites which is next door and loved the location. Staying less than 10 minutes walk from the security bag check area means that I don't have to worry about getting to the parks in the morning and I can stay as late as I want.

I bought Disneyland tickets in 2020 and due to the shutdown, the expiry date was extended to January 2023. I have them loaded onto the app and I have now made my park reservations. Disneyland park reservations open at 120 days.

I still have so much to do, the normal planning and all the extra planning since Covid.

Edited at 06:50 PM.
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Old 16 Oct 21, 03:44 PM  
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loves_disney
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Looking forward to following your planning! We are doing LA, San Diego and Anaheim in April.
We’ve also booked the Hilton and the Tropicana so will be good to hear your thoughts!
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Old 16 Oct 21, 04:08 PM  
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Bad Pink Tink
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Originally Posted by loves_disney View Post
Looking forward to following your planning! We are doing LA, San Diego and Anaheim in April.
We’ve also booked the Hilton and the Tropicana so will be good to hear your thoughts!
ooh thats interesting, booked in the same hotels

Is this your first time in California? This will be my 12th trip to California, my 11th time to Disneyland so I am very familiar with travelling there.

I have booked room only at the Hilton, so my plan is to get breakfast from the onsite coffee shop in the mornings.

This is a video of the breakfast, its from before Covid, but I don't think much has changed, maybe possibly instead of serve yourself, its served by staff


This one is a walk through of the hotel and a room tour



This one is the walk from the hotel to Citywalk


This one is a walking tour of Citywalk


The Tropicana has an onsite shop and cafe
thecoveonharbor/
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Old 17 Oct 21, 11:11 AM  
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landandword17
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I really liked the stretch of Ventura Blvd near your hotel. Lots of shops and cafes and the neighborhood is very walkable and pleasant.
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Old 17 Oct 21, 11:27 AM  
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Bad Pink Tink
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Originally Posted by landandword17 View Post
I really liked the stretch of Ventura Blvd near your hotel. Lots of shops and cafes and the neighborhood is very walkable and pleasant.
I have looked at that on the map, but as I don't have a car I don't think I will get there.

I checked the walking time and distance on Google maps from the Hilton to Carls Junior. Its saying half an mile / 12 minutes walking. Thats about the same distance and time from my house to my local shopping centre. I'm on holiday, I have no interest in doing that kind of a walk, out of a hotel, down a big hill, under a motorway overpass and along a commercial / residential street just to go to Carls's Junior or In and Out Burger. I have to do that in my day to day life, just to go to Mcdonalds or Burger King. Maybe for people who have a car at home and walking is a novelty and not their main mode of transport, it might be fun to walk from the Hilton to Carls's Junior or In and Out Burger.
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Old 17 Oct 21, 11:35 AM  
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Claudette
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We have also booked the Hilton Universal City for part of our stay in January, we will check in on the 8th.

We will go to Universal park on one, possibly two days but will be staying in the hotel for longer as I am trying to limit our hotel moves. We are not planning to hire a car so will try out the metro and use taxis or Lyft to get around.
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Old 17 Oct 21, 11:37 AM  
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nursetina
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I'm looking at booking a california trip for March 22. I priced it up through BA and they don't seem to have any hotels at anaheim for my dates so is it best to try booking directly with hotel or trysomething like booking.com?
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Old 17 Oct 21, 11:53 AM  
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Bad Pink Tink
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Originally Posted by Claudette View Post
We have also booked the Hilton Universal City for part of our stay in January, we will check in on the 8th.

We will go to Universal park on one, possibly two days but will be staying in the hotel for longer as I am trying to limit our hotel moves. We are not planning to hire a car so will try out the metro and use taxis or Lyft to get around.
oh cool I have used the Metro underground system a lot over the last 10 years. You can walk or get the free shuttle from Citywalk down to the Metro Station. Universal City is on the Red Line. I use the TAP CARD , which is basically the same as Oyster in London. You can get it at the ticket machine in the station.

You just need to Tap On to open the turnstiles and enter the train platform area. You don't need to Tap Off to exit the station.

Just be aware of your surroundings, if you have used the Tube in London you will be fine. There can be a lot of homeless / people selling stuff / people singing or dancing on the trains. Do not engage with them or even make eye contact with them. Only tourists feel sorry for them or get excited by the entertainment. The locals ignore them. They usually start once the doors close and move through the carriage between stops and then get off or change carriages at the next stop. They are totally illegal and only make money from tourist who don't know any better.

It will take about 15 minutes to get from the Universal stop to Hollywood and Highland stop, which is the main Hollywood Boulevard stop. This is where the Chienses Theatre and Walk of Fame is , also Hollywood and Highland Mall, which has a viewing area on the upper level near Starbucks to see the Hollywood Sign

Originally Posted by nursetina View Post
I'm looking at booking a california trip for March 22. I priced it up through BA and they don't seem to have any hotels at anaheim for my dates so is it best to try booking directly with hotel or trysomething like booking.com?
Defiantly book direct with the hotels. The package deals from the UK airlines and high street travel agents dont include the hotels / motels which are closest to the parks.

The hotels and motels which are closest to the parks are located on Harbour Boulevard and Katella Avenue.

These would be my recommendations for hotels for Disneyland. All of theses are walkable to the parks 20 minutes walk or less.
Howard Johnsons
Courtyard By Marriott Anaheim
Fairfield Inn By Marriott Anaheim
Camelot Inn and Suites
Tropicana Inn and Suites
Best Western Plus Park Place Inn
Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites
Del Sol Inn
Best Western Plus Anaheim Inn
Grand Legacy At The Park
The Anaheim
Castle Inn and Suites
Candy Cane Inn - closed for refurb until spring 2022, opening date to be announced
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Old 17 Oct 21, 12:15 PM  
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nursetina
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Originally Posted by Bad Pink Tink View Post
oh cool



Defiantly book direct with the hotels. The package deals from the UK airlines and high street travel agents dont include the hotels / motels which are closest to the parks.

The hotels and motels which are closest to the parks are located on Harbour Boulevard and Katella Avenue.

These would be my recommendations for hotels for Disneyland. All of theses are walkable to the parks 20 minutes walk or less.
Howard Johnsons
Courtyard By Marriott Anaheim
Fairfield Inn By Marriott Anaheim
Camelot Inn and Suites
Tropicana Inn and Suites
Best Western Plus Park Place Inn
Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites
Del Sol Inn
Best Western Plus Anaheim Inn
Grand Legacy At The Park
The Anaheim
Castle Inn and Suites
Candy Cane Inn - closed for refurb until spring 2022, opening date to be announced
Thankyou that's so helpful.
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Old 18 Oct 21, 06:48 PM  
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Bad Pink Tink
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The next on my to do list is to book my hotel for my first and last night in LA.

My flight lands at 8.30pm. This is later than I usually arrive in LA. By the time I land in LA it will be approx 24 hours from the time I leave my house in Dublin, so when I get my bags from the luggage carousel all I want to do is get to my hotel. I decided to book at hotel at LAX for my arrival night, get a good nights rest and then in the morning, refreshed get a car service to Hilton Universal.

My flight back to Ireland leaves at 9.am which means getting to the airport around 6am. I really dont want to be travelling from Anaheim to LAX, at 5am so I decided to book a hotel at LAX for the night before. This means I will check out of the Tropicana, be able to have lunch in Downtown Disney and then in the afternoon get a car service to LAX and have a good nights sleep before my journey home.

I decided to splurge and book Embassy Suites by Hilton Los Angeles International Airport North for both my first and last night.

Seeing as I have joined the Hilton Honours Club for my stay at Universal, I decided to book at Hilton at LAX too and collect the points. I chose the more expensive Embassy Suites as it has better onsite food options.

There is a free shuttle which goes to both hotels. The hotel shuttle pick up at LAX is at the departures level, right outside the door of the terminal, so I don't have to get myself to the LAXIT pick up area. The shuttles run on a loop, 24 hours a day, so I don't even have to contact the hotel and ask for pick up. Of course I will have the hotel phone number and if the shuttle does not turn up in a reasonable time then I will ring. But just knowing that the shuttles run on a loop and will be at a specific pick up area no matter what time my flight lands and that the hotel is only down the road is such a relief after travelling transatlantic.
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