First West Coast Trip

J

Jeff Fillmore

Member
So this weekend started some serious planning for a March 2012 West Coast trip. ; The preliminary concept is to take 10 days over the kids spring break, fly into the San Francisco area, rent a convertible and spend some time exploring our way down Hwy-1 along the coast, and finally ending up in Anaheim for our first visit to Disneyland.

So less the two days flying- that leaves 8 days for fun and adventure. ; How many days should we plan to really see DL? ; I'm thinking maybe 3 full days at the parks plus the ballance of the day we roll into town for stuff like DTD and what not. ; Which park takes the most time to see?

Also any advice on the hotel situation there. ; The actual Disney resorts seem pretty slim there at least compared to WDW. ; Should I be looking beyond Disney resorts?

Any DL or California advice in general would be appreciated since I've never been there- thanks.

Also- do you guys carry on camera gear or what? ; (This will also be the first time on a plane in a dozen years and first time flying ever for the kids... ; ::) )
 
We just spent 4 days in Disneyland and it felt like we wanted more. ; There is so much more to do there than meets the eye. With DCA coming back online by next summer (it was loaded with construction walls last month), we were figuring we would want 5 days or so to really do it all. ; We spent most of our time in Disneyland park and never even touched downtown. ;


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Jeff, thanks for starting this thread. ; I'm thinking about a trip in 2013 so all of the information posted here will be helpful to me too.
 
We spent a half day at DCA and didn't get to see everything so I would definitely recommend at least a full day to a day and a half for sure. ; And like Tim said, most of the time was spent at DL. ; 4 days would be good for DL, but if you plan to wait in a lot of lines for the popular rides, definitely figure in an extra day to do everything else. ; Sean and I did walk in Downtown Disney, but that took like 20 minutes since we weren't going to buy anything. ; It was a nice atmosphere though and there were a few different stores there.

As far as resorts. ; Save your money and stay off site (if you find something cheaper). ; There are a ton of resort just outside of DL and DCA. ; Although what I have found is that people may say it is only a 10 minute walk to Disney, but really it might be 20-30 minutes. ; There is transit that runs too. ; You can buy a pass for the day and just go back and forth. ; The way it looked is that the transit did stop pretty close to most of the resorts around the park. ;

-Karen
 
I'm also interested in the opinions about DLR. ; I've heard that the "Good Neighbor" hotels are a good deal, and many of them are located right across the street from the park. ; The last time I visited (in 1972), we stayed on the southeast corner of South Harbor and Katella; we walked to the park from there.

As for carrying on camera gear, that's what I do. ; I have a carry-on bag (not a camera bag) that holds my camera with lens, a couple of lenses and flash. ; The tripod and any additional lenses go in my checked bag.

Of course, there are several carry-on sized roller camera bags available. ; If I could find one that would also hold the other junk I carry on, I'd buy it.
 
There are plenty of hotels across Harbor Blvd from the hotel. ; After a short walk you will be at the security checkpoint at the Esplanade between Disney Studios DCA[nb]It looks like the Studios entrance now[/nb] and Disneyland. ; DCA will still be under some renovations as Cars Land will probably not be ready yet - almost ready but not soft open. ; But the bulk of the renovations will be done.

You will want to spend at least one night at DCA for World of Color, and at least one night at DL for the original and best Fantasmic! ; Of course you should also take time to ride on the Columbia (or heck even the Mark Twain) during the daytime as they don't run at night because of Fantasmic!

Food options are more open at DL in a way, there is a Mimi's Cafe, Denny's, McD's and other options across from the park on Harbor. ; So while they have a dining plan, it's not utilized much.

If you can, try and get reservations for the Blue Bayou for lunch. ; The Monte Cristo is to die for, and is only available for lunch. ; The Blue Bayou is the original "inside that looks like outside" restaurant a la the Mexico pavilion, but the scenery is the Bayou...with those guests traveling to see the Pirates of the Caribbean. ; I also think you can get Mint Juleps[nb]a non-alcoholic yet sugary connoction that is to die for[/nb] there.

Make sure you spend time exploring Toontown, and riding the train. ; Same with the nooks and crannies of New Orleans Square...although that part has lessened in later years, now filled with vending carts-there used to be some nice quiet places back there (emergency exit to Club 33 stairs).

DCA - you may want to go to DCA first thing when they open the day you are planning to see World of Color to get a Fastpass for the show. ;
 
Ah yes, thanks for posting this. ; We are planning on going in June next year, and if we can swing it, even making the trip to Hawaii for a few days. ; Thanks for all of the great info in here so far everyone, keep it coming. ;)
 
Motel 6 on Disney Way. ; 'Nuff said.

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We always stay at a Disneyland Resort Hotel at either the Grand Californian or Disneyland Hotel. ; When we travel to a Disney theme park, it's not about going the cheapest so we calculate the cost, save up our money and pay cash. ; But, lately, we have had banked points for DVC that need to be used and Disneyland has some of the best point utilization for staying in a hotel because of the limited number of DVC units at the Grand Californian.

As far as touring the parks, I would go contrary to what Roger suggested. ; We NEVER stop to see World of Color or Fantasmic because those are the best times to get on rides with limited waits since the nighttime events eat up guests.

Back when Tim's and my family were at Disneyland in 2007, we did some serious park touring while Fantasmic was going on. ; Then, after the fireworks, the park clears out dramatically. ;

So, even though we have young kids, we strategically give them a later than normal nap and since the rooms have great black-out curtains we can let them take 4 hour naps and then we hit the parks around 7PM and stay late. ; Our kids are weird, in that if you put them to bed at 8 or midnight they still get up at the same time in the morning :)
 
We NEVER stop to see World of Color or Fantasmic because those are the best times to get on rides with limited waits since the nighttime events eat up guests.
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I totally agree with this statement. ; You can do so much when those shows are going on, however after seeing Fantasmic, I would still say try to go see it at some point. ; It was similar but different than WDW. ; I believe at least when were were there, there were 2 shows a night.
 
I suggested that they make time for WoC and F! because this is a first trip. It is different once you have seen them. Looking at DL's blockout calendar for next year they are not expecting spring break crowds until Mar 31 so the park may not be that bad in terms of ride wait times.
 
"Roger" said:
Looking at DL's blockout calendar for next year they are not expecting spring break crowds until Mar 31 so the park may not be that bad in terms of ride wait times.
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That would be nice- our dates are 3/17-3/26 so we are a bit before Easter- which is 4/8. ;
 
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