Disneyland (and Area) Questions

[TickTockMan]

Background: I am thinking of taking my family to Disneyland in May or September for a surprise vacation. There would be eight of us total, made up of four adults and four kids (12, 6, 5, & 3). I was thinking six days, but I have read that two or three is enough..

I am looking for any tips to make the trip more enjoyable that anyone may have as well as answers to the following:


How many days are enough to fully experience Disneyland and California Adventure?


Is Knott's Berry Farm worth it? If so how many days to take it all in and is it good for kids?


Do you have any recommendations on local hotels? Cheaper the better, but not dives.


What is worth doing in Disneyland? If you don’t mind sharing how do you spend your day when you visit there?


Is there anything else in the area worth seeing? Such as theme parks or a GLBT bar (or other hang out) I could go to close by.


Got any miscellaneous thoughts on the subjects?

 

[icepopcola]

If you're looking at spending about a week here is what I would suggest: Stay in Long Beach. It's in between LA and OC and equal distance to the attractions of LA/OC while providing a pretty cool place to stay on its own (also a huge lgbt scene with plenty of bars)... second to only SF. Disneyland doesn't really require too many days maybe not even more than one if it's not crowded. Knotts and CA adventure certainly don't require more than a day (if that). I would spend the rest of the time visiting some of the other cool stuff that southern CA has to offer, like the Aquarium and queen mary in LB or the Observatory and other attractions in LA. Also, LB is cheaper to stay compared to LA and by disneyland... not to mention prettier.

Disneyland + Downtown Disney = 2 days
California adventure= 1 day
Knotts= 1 day
LA + LB= rest of time.

 

[dmb7603]

Disneyland california land has a lot of construction ...disneyland is ok..but if you go wed or thurs the best...Friday way too packed.

World of colors is just scenes from disney movies set against water...way over rated

Knotts berry farm cheaper and has roller coasters

Downtown disney jazz cafe take out has great deals , its to the left of restaurant..a good cookie store in middle of downtown very good, and u can take monorail in downtown disney to tomorrow land

Splash mt under construction,along with star tours,

Indy ride open and fun

Sea world, zoo, long beach aquarium fun

 

[JonHCA]

icepopcola is right about the location. Long Beach is a pretty ideal halfway point between Orange County and LA, and it has an airport.

Whenever I go to Disneyland, I like hitting all the mountains (Space, Splash, Big Thunder, and The Matterhorn), Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Haunted Mansion. The little kids will LOVE Toontown. My 3 year-old niece always loves to go there. And they have plenty of rides for them like Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, and Roger Rabbit that are pretty tame. The Star Tours ride in Tomorrowland was always enjoyable for me, and I hear the Captain EO 3-D show is pretty fun too.

California Adventure has plenty of rides as well, but it seems more attraction-based than Disneyland is, so most people tend to prefer the latter. (I'm not one of them. =P) If you go to California Adventure, Soarin' Over California (my favorite) is a MUST, Grizzly River Run is an awesome water ride, California Screamin' is an intense roller coaster if you're into that, and Hollywood Tower of Terror is a little similar to Knott's Berry Farm's Supreme Scream. The animation studio in California Adventure is one of my favorite places to go as well, and the 3-D Toy Story ride next to California Screamin' is one of my favorites.

I tried to condense that as much as I could, but those are usually what I tend to stick to when I go to Disneyland/California Adventure. If you need some more ideas about them or Knott's Berry Farm, just let me know.

 

[G-Lexington]

Disney WORLD you can spend a week (or longer) at without getting bored in the slightest. Not so much Disneyland/Downtown Disney. One or two days there should be plenty. But as others have pointed out, there are plenty of other things to do in the area. I personally stay on property when I go to Disneyland or Disney World. But I'm a vacation club member, so it'd be silly not to.

Lex

 

[TickTockMan]

Thank you to all that answered. I will look up Long Beach. Also a huge thank you to those that brought up construction on Splash Mountain. It is one of the main reasons I want to go.


Is Six Flags mostly for adults/older kids or do they have stuff for little kids?

 

[Today4U1989]

Don't forget that Universal Studios is just about 45 minutes from the Disneyland area. It only takes one day but it offers a variety: Rides, shows, exhibits, etc. If you guys like movies, the backlot tour is amazing to see famous sets, vehicles, and props.

Also, downtown Hollywood offers some fun attractions like the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, wax museums, old Hollywood prop/makeup/costume museums, etc. But be aware that some parts of old Hollywood are the epitome of tourist trap.

 

[quasar]

This is a nice little site that I always refer to http://allears.net/index.html Just click the Disneyland tab.

The one thing I always advise all of my friends when going to Disney is, don't spend money on themed or luxurious hotels - you hardly spend any time in them as there's always so much to do away from the hotel, so it's wasted money!

 

[simpsonsguy01]

May is going to be a busy time at the Disneyland Resort with the opening of the new Little Mermaid ride at California Adventure, the reopening of Star Tours at Disneyland and a new parade debuting at Disneyland as well. Although California Adventure is under major construction all the attractions should be up and running and you only need one day there, I would recommend 2 days for Disneyland if you don't want to feel rushed.

Be advised that if you go in September some attractions may be down for refurbishment after the busy summer season or for holiday installations, parades, shows, and fireworks will also be on a more restricted schedule. September is also HalloweenTime at Disneyland.

I would say hold off on Knott's until the kids get a bit older, because besides Camp Snoopy there isn't much else for smaller kids to do there, it is very coaster centric. In September Knott's has short hours and ride closures in preparation for Halloween Haunt.

 

[TickTockMan]

Thanks for the newer posts.


Is there an elevator for people in chairs to get down the hill at Universal Studios.

Simpsonsguy01: Thanks for the info on Knott’s and also for the heads up about September. Any idea when all of the Halloween stuff is up? I would love to see that. Also isn’t Gay Days around then?

Quasar: Thank you for the link. Out of all of my research it had never came up, but I got some very useful information for guest with disabilities (even more than Disney’s site) from it. Out of the 8 of us, 4 of us have medical issues I was concerned about. They no longer seem like they will be much of an issue.