Disneyland advice

[Becx N Gav]

Hi everyone, I am looking at taking my son (currently 6.5 years old) to Disneyland, San Francisco and possibly WDW next summer - a 3 week blow-out, making up for not being able to get to the US for the last couple of years, not being able to take him to any Disney Park yet since he was born and a general need for a trip to my happy place!

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on how to do Disneyland, where to stay (ideally a Disney Resort), ticket options. Also advice on how to get between places, I had a quick look and it appears flying is the best option within CA and FL to/from CA.
My brother lives near SF and so we can stay with him there.
I am a DVC member but I doubt I'd be able to book anywhere at DL (I own at SSR) so I would probably see what I can get at WDW for the time frame.
Also any general advice for travelling solo with an 8 year old, he's pretty good now for car journeys as long as he has something to watch/do.
Any must-do's (it's my first time at DL so pretty much everything is a must for me!) for both of us.
Last summer we were able to do a DCL staycation cruise out of Southampton (wish they were doing them again this year as it was awesome!) which he loved, mainly the pool - so thinking we should plan some pool days/half days.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Hi. I'm from Ireland and I have been going solo to Disneyland and LA for about 10 years. I have also been to San Francisco. My most recent trip was in January 2022
This is my pre trip planning thread
This is my trip report

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on how to do Disneyland, where to stay (ideally a Disney Resort), ticket options.

Disney is very different to Walt Disney World with hotels. There are only 3 onsite hotels, which are not resorts like at Walt Disney World. They are priced like Deluxe WDW resorts but compare better to Mod WDW resorts.

They also dont have any onsite perks other than location and Disney theming. The most expensive, where the DVC villas are located is The Grand California Hotel, located in Downtown Disney and has an entrance to California Adventures park.

Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier Hotel are both located outside of Downtown Disney and the security check. Both were originally independent hotels which were then bought by Disney and rethemed. Disneyland Hotel is the mid priced hotel, it has 2 towers located around a central pool and restaurant area. Paradise Pier Hotel is the cheapest hotel with one tower block and is the furtherest walk from Downtown Disney and the park entrance. The pool and all food options at Paradise Pier Hotel are currently closed.

Most people stay offsite at Disneyland. Your offsite choice of hotel will depend on the following factors

• How close you want to be to the pedestrian entrance at Harbour Boulevard
• How you will get to the pedestrian entrance at Harbour Boulevard - walk or transport
• Your budget
• The type of accommodation - motel style with outside corridors or hotel with inside corridors
• Do you require amenities - pool, onsite food options etc

Once we have an idea of what you require and a rough estimate of your budget, we can then help you find which would be best for you.

Also advice on how to get between places, I had a quick look and it appears flying is the best option within CA and FL to/from CA.

The most obvious airport is LAX but you should look at the closest airport to Disneyland - John Wayne / SNA

Some UK / Irish airlines do multi city options, I know Aer Lingus does.

When I visited San Francisco, I flew Dublin to SFO , LAX to Dublin with Aer Lingus and took a one way domestic flight with Southwest Airline from San Francisco to LAX.

 

[Annabell]

If you are a DVC member you can try to book at the Grand Californian hotel. It´s lovely.

 

[zavandor]

Disney tourist blog has many reviews of hotels in short distance of Disneyland:
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disneyland-anaheim-hotels-reviews-rankings/

Some of them are even nearer the DL entrance than the Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier. The Grand Californian is an exceptionally good hotel, with its own private entrance to DCA, but it's priced accordingly. In DL stays are shorter (3-4 days are plenty, many just visit a couple of days) and one doesn't often spend a lot of time in the hotels, I think off site is the way to go.

 

[McCrae]

Hi everyone, I am looking at taking my son (currently 6.5 years old) to Disneyland, San Francisco and possibly WDW next summer - a 3 week blow-out, making up for not being able to get to the US for the last couple of years, not being able to take him to any Disney Park yet since he was born and a general need for a trip to my happy place!

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on how to do Disneyland, where to stay (ideally a Disney Resort), ticket options. Also advice on how to get between places, I had a quick look and it appears flying is the best option within CA and FL to/from CA.
My brother lives near SF and so we can stay with him there.
I am a DVC member but I doubt I'd be able to book anywhere at DL (I own at SSR) so I would probably see what I can get at WDW for the time frame.
Also any general advice for travelling solo with an 8 year old, he's pretty good now for car journeys as long as he has something to watch/do.
Any must-do's (it's my first time at DL so pretty much everything is a must for me!) for both of us.
Last summer we were able to do a DCL staycation cruise out of Southampton (wish they were doing them again this year as it was awesome!) which he loved, mainly the pool - so thinking we should plan some pool days/half days.

Personally I would choose to do either Disneyland or Disneyworld. I wouldn’t do both in the same trip, it’s a lot of flying and all the changes in time zones are not great in such a short time, especially when you are already travelling from the U.K. Yes you can do it, but you will need another holiday afterwards to get over this trip.

 

[Becx N Gav]

Hi. I'm from Ireland and I have been going solo to Disneyland and LA for about 10 years. I have also been to San Francisco. My most recent trip was in January 2022
This is my pre trip planning thread
This is my trip report


Disney is very different to Walt Disney World with hotels. There are only 3 onsite hotels, which are not resorts like at Walt Disney World. They are priced like Deluxe WDW resorts but compare better to Mod WDW resorts.

They also dont have any onsite perks other than location and Disney theming. The most expensive, where the DVC villas are located is The Grand California Hotel, located in Downtown Disney and has an entrance to California Adventures park.

Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier Hotel are both located outside of Downtown Disney and the security check. Both were originally independent hotels which were then bought by Disney and rethemed. Disneyland Hotel is the mid priced hotel, it has 2 towers located around a central pool and restaurant area. Paradise Pier Hotel is the cheapest hotel with one tower block and is the furtherest walk from Downtown Disney and the park entrance. The pool and all food options at Paradise Pier Hotel are currently closed.

Most people stay offsite at Disneyland. Your offsite choice of hotel will depend on the following factors

• How close you want to be to the pedestrian entrance at Harbour Boulevard
• How you will get to the pedestrian entrance at Harbour Boulevard - walk or transport
• Your budget
• The type of accommodation - motel style with outside corridors or hotel with inside corridors
• Do you require amenities - pool, onsite food options etc

Once we have an idea of what you require and a rough estimate of your budget, we can then help you find which would be best for you.


The most obvious airport is LAX but you should look at the closest airport to Disneyland - John Wayne / SNA

Some UK / Irish airlines do multi city options, I know Aer Lingus does.

When I visited San Francisco, I flew Dublin to SFO , LAX to Dublin with Aer Lingus and took a one way domestic flight with Southwest Airline from San Francisco to LAX.

Thank you so much! That's such a great help to get me started!

As I am a DVC member I think I would like to try to get in at the Grand Californian, but I may also look at renting points from an owner - then I can just rent mine anyway! As it's a once in about 10-15 years trip I want to stay 'on-site' just because lol! I anticipate we'll be there around 6 nights to make the most of a 5 day ticket.

I will look at the multi city options as you mention - I'm thinking fly into San-Francisco, stay with my brother and family for around a week (gives us time to get used to the time difference), internal flight to LAX. Disneyland for 6 nights. Then now the cruise dates for summer 2023 are out a 4 night cruise on the east coast (ideally out of Port Canaveral as I'd love to visit the Welcome Centre) because we could get on the Wish!

Well, that's the dream itinerary - but I'm going to be flexible and see what happens when I try to rent points first!

 

[Becx N Gav]

Personally I would choose to do either Disneyland or Disneyworld. I wouldn’t do both in the same trip, it’s a lot of flying and all the changes in time zones are not great in such a short time, especially when you are already travelling from the U.K. Yes you can do it, but you will need another holiday afterwards to get over this trip.

I totally understand and if I hadn't been away from Disney for such a long time I would agree - but this is going to be it for at least 10 years I think. We may be able to go to DLRP in 5 or 6 years time, but I won't be able to get to the US again for a long time!

 

[Becx N Gav]

Disney tourist blog has many reviews of hotels in short distance of Disneyland:
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disneyland-anaheim-hotels-reviews-rankings/

Some of them are even nearer the DL entrance than the Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier. The Grand Californian is an exceptionally good hotel, with its own private entrance to DCA, but it's priced accordingly. In DL stays are shorter (3-4 days are plenty, many just visit a couple of days) and one doesn't often spend a lot of time in the hotels, I think off site is the way to go.

Thank you! I will certainly consider off-site but I would love to stay the Grand Californian!

 

[Plague]

I want to stay 'on-site' just because lol!

That is really the only justification for any kind of Disney trip

 

[ChipnDaleRule]

I looked a DVC rental at GC as it worked out cheaper than the hotel. Unfortunately they didn’t have our dates but worth a look

 

[wabbott]

While in San Francisco, a visit to the Walt Disney Family Museum is worthwhile. Lots of artifacts that will be familiar to anyone with knowledge of Disney history.

https://www.waltdisney.org/