Experience of Disneyland

[papasmurf]

Yup, California

Been three times to Orlando and won't be going back for many years.

Thinking about the next holiday and whilst I don't want to 'do disney' I know we need, as a family, to go somewhere with loads of things to do.

What is the area in California like for things to do? What is disney like out there?

Any experiences would be great

[Grumps Mrs]

There are the 2 Disney parks which are on opposite sides of a giant plaza/forecourt.
The MK park is smaller than Florida but still has a lot to do - well worth a visit to the original park.
Whilst some of the attractions are the same as WDW there are some differences - the Haunted Mansion is not a replica, the Buzz Lightyear is similar but not identical.
There are also some rides that are unique to the park - the classic Matterhorn for one.
DCA has the Cars land which has absolutely brilliant theming and shows what can be done when Disney gets it right! The night time show is great too. It's also interesting to see how fast the Toy Story Mania line moves - there are no fast passes for the ride in CA.
Universal studios is about 45 minutes from Disneyland, much much smaller than Orlando and a completely different "feel". The Hollywood sign is less than a 10 minute detour from out of the Universal car park if you wanted to take a photo, although parking and getting close to the sign is more of a challenge.
Knots Berry farm and 6 Flags Magic Mountain are also within an hours drive.
If you want to explore the coast there are some amazing views along the PCH and there are also some fabulous beaches to choose from

Beverley Hills tour of the stars homes (tour of the gates to the stars properties) and also the actual Graumans Chinese theatre for the walk of fame.

I'm not forgetting the shopping mecca of Rodeo Dr/Beverly Hills, and for the less draining effect on your wallet there's the massive outlet mall.
If you're looking for a different holiday with theme parks thrown in then Southern California is a good place to be - I don't think you could fill a whole two weeks with visits to the parks like you could in FL

[papasmurf]

Originally Posted by Grumps Mrs

There are the 2 Disney parks which are on opposite sides of a giant plaza/forecourt.
The MK park is smaller than Florida but still has a lot to do - well worth a visit to the original park.
Whilst some of the attractions are the same as WDW there are some differences - the Haunted Mansion is not a replica, the Buzz Lightyear is similar but not identical.
There are also some rides that are unique to the park - the classic Matterhorn for one.
DCA has the Cars land which has absolutely brilliant theming and shows what can be done when Disney gets it right! The night time show is great too. It's also interesting to see how fast the Toy Story Mania line moves - there are no fast passes for the ride in CA.
Universal studios is about 45 minutes from Disneyland, much much smaller than Orlando and a completely different "feel". The Hollywood sign is less than a 10 minute detour from out of the Universal car park if you wanted to take a photo, although parking and getting close to the sign is more of a challenge.
Knots Berry farm and 6 Flags Magic Mountain are also within an hours drive.
If you want to explore the coast there are some amazing views along the PCH and there are also some fabulous beaches to choose from

Beverley Hills tour of the stars homes (tour of the gates to the stars properties) and also the actual Graumans Chinese theatre for the walk of fame.

I'm not forgetting the shopping mecca of Rodeo Dr/Beverly Hills, and for the less draining effect on your wallet there's the massive outlet mall.
If you're looking for a different holiday with theme parks thrown in then Southern California is a good place to be - I don't think you could fill a whole two weeks with visits to the parks like you could in FL

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Thanks so much for that.

What would be best airports to fly into in the area? Thinking from a cost perspective.

[daytonababe]

We've been the last 3 years off back next year

Disneyland for us is just part of a longer road trip there's only 2 parks so not enough for more than a few days .

We usually have 3 nights in Anaheim and then go elsewhere . For universal etc you need to move near to LA or you will spend hours in traffic .

Universal can easily be done in a day and you can cover a lot of the sightseeing stuff in LA in a day if you have a car .

We fly in and out of Lax most years it's the cheapest flights usually and the only LA airport you can fly direct to from here . If you fly into Santa Ana which is nearer to Disney you have to go indirect .

Overall cost wise we don't spend as much on park tickets on the west coast but hotels cost more so it evens out .

And there's a lot more driving involved we do around 2000 miles in 18/19 days on the west coast .

[daytonababe]

Universal is 35 miles from Disney . It maybe should take 45 mins but it takes nearer to 2 hrs because of the traffic . I've gone from Anaheim to Hollywood or vice versa quite a lot and at different times of day and it's almost always gridlocked and never taken less than 2 hrs .

[Grumps Mrs]

Originally Posted by daytonababe

Universal is 35 miles from Disney . It maybe should take 45 mins but it takes nearer to 2 hrs because of the traffic . I've gone from Anaheim to Hollywood or vice versa quite a lot and at different times of day and it's almost always gridlocked and never taken less than 2 hrs .

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We must have been lucky when we went - Stayed in Sherman Oaks over New Year and it took us no more than 50 minutes from hotel car park to the Disney parking lot. I don't think it took even 15mins from the hotel to Universal.

We live 45 mins from SFO so if you planned to drive the Pacific Coast Highway you'd be better flying into SFO and driving south from there, otherwise all you'll see is highway barrier!

[cornishfrogboy]

There are certainly loads of things to do in California, but as others have said, distances are large and multi centre accommodation appears essential. The good news is that some of the drives look amazing whilst the Orlando area can be samey and dull.

Next Easter (our first visit after 8 Florida in 12 years, we have broken down our accommodation in order to pre position for relevant parks and attractions as distances are large between them. We are flying into San Francisco and out of LA as San Diego appeared much more expensive.

For the various San Francisco things it's Union Square Marriott
For whale watching its Monterey Bay Inn.
Due to distances, halfway between San Fran and LA, Its the Madonna Inn
For Magic Mountain 6 Flags, it's Hilton Gn Inn at Valencia
For Disney, it's an Airbnb in Annaheim
For Seaworld, San Diego Zoo, USS Midway etc, it's an Airbnb at mission Beach.
For Legoland it will be done en route between San Diego and Queen Mary.
For our downtown LA tour its RMS Queen Mary.

It's very different to booking an Orlando holiday, that's for sure, but DIBBERS have as always been invaluable in helping with planning.

[piglet100]

We stayed in Huntington beach to see the coast then moved to anaheim for Disneyland for 4 nights. I think you could travel to and from the coast to DL but it'd be a lot of your day travelling if traffic is bad!

[CarsonMac]

We stayed in Laguna beach for little over 3 weeks in Oct, was great! Beautiful beaches and drives up the coast. Had 5 day pass for Disneyland, defo worth it , was so busy tho ,busier that Disney world that time of year I think
Drove to San Fran. Stayed over night there. Drove to Vegas and grand canyon and stayed a night there
Took a helicopter trip to Catalina island, amazing
Drove to LA couple of times, Santa Monica and Venice Beach. Did horror nights at universal
Drove up the coast to Malibu and Santa Barbara and south to San Diego and Carlsbad and Oceanside
Into the mountains for lake arrow head and big bear lake and to palm springs

So certainly lots to do!