The vacation of a lifetime!

[cgh]

I'd also be inclined to do a shorter pass (I'd say 6-8 and taking care of all southern california has to offer. With more time, you can take things leisurely. I think Tom Sawyer's Island, Toontown etc. easily can take a lot of time with younger kids. (ie. more then an hour each) Or seeing the shows, etc.

But, with all that, there's tons outside of DLR. We thought the San Diego zoo and Legoland were a lot of fun. There are also tons of national parks on the way that are so neat to see. (ie. Redwoods!)

 

[lillybug]

If you do as others have suggested and expand out of the park, I highly recommend Sequoia NP... http://www.nps.gov/seki/index.htm

It's a 1/2 day drive north of Disneyland. Definitely a favorite of the places I've visited in California. The trees are amazing and are not to be missed. Our kids loved it!

 

[Mugglemama]

I love Disneyland too, but I'd have to agree with PP's and say that 15 days might leave you feeling...dare I say it?....sick of the place.

I'll be the odd one out, too, and say that Yosemite probably wouldn't be very relaxing with two 5 year olds. We spent 3 days at Yosemite when my three oldest children were much younger, and it was not what I would really call "fun". With older kids, who can swim well and are old enough to walk to the campstore or restaurants on their own, mature enough to enjoy the visitor center/museum, etc...then it might be fun. But with more than one *little* kid at a time? I felt like my husband and I spent the majority of our time just trying to keep everyone from drowning, falling to their deaths, or wandering off to become bear snacks. We made the best of it, but it was a LOT more work than enjoyment - that's for sure.

I think that one of THE best features California has to offer to out-of-state visitors with very young children, is the aquariums! So, if you end up contemplating trading some of your Disney days for other things, I suggest considering an aquarium.

 

[sweethannah]

Just to add to the above doesn't Los Angeles have a nice Natural History Museum with a new Dino exhibit?

I don't know too many kids who aren't fascinated by dinosaurs.


http://www.nhm.org/site/

 

[sheetz]

^Next door to the Natural History Museum is the California Science Center, which will house the retired Space Shuttle Endeavor later this year. And of course a few miles away is the La Brea Tar Pits.

I've always loved visiting the Griffith Observatory in the hills above Hollywood. Kids love the observatory and the view is spectacular.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is the best aquarium in the state, but if that's a little too far out of your way then the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is pretty good, too.

 

[Riahsha]

Thank you for the welcome!!!

Hopefully I can respond to everyone and not forget anything.

BecBennett & larina
Yes we were thinking of the annual passes, but we are not staying on site so would like to get MM and TTMM. We have decided on the Hojo across the street where the wonderful water park is as we'll have time to enjoy it.

Mandysue1976
I was raised in Phoenix, AZ and we spent many vacations exploring southern CA, Grand Canyon, etc. Never Disneyland. Going overboard for my boys to make up for that, I guess. This is our first vacation in 8 years as the boys were a surprise (we're mid-40s). We've had a lot of time to save.

HydroGuy
I have BIG boys. They just turned 4 and are 43" tall. I think we'll be fine with height requirements and they're also brave, adventurous little boys. We've been to our local theme park many times and they always want more. We can do everything.

All the people worried we have too much time
Thank you for your concern. We didn't want to spend all day (opening-closing) at the park. The boys are still nap age and like to get a good 2-3 hour nap. They also walk really slow unless we release their hand.
We're trying to get a local's experience seen through a first time visitor's eyes, if that makes any sense? Just meaning a local runs through there grabbing FASTPASSES and being about the rides. That's what a lot of websites cover. We want to see everything a first time visitor would in a relaxing way. We've never done any of it. Even something as small as Sword in the Stone. (We've seen all Disney movies and even own Song of the South)

Heymy
"This is the one place my kids love but we always cut it short because we feel we're wasting too much time and missing out."
Thank you very much! See, we're not wasting any of our trip by doing something all day. If the boys want to play on Donald's Boat for an hour, they can. We don't have to get to the next place.
Thank you for the Trader Sam suggestion. Because we're not staying on site we didn't look into the hotels and research their restaurants and activities.

DISHoppy
We will have many trips to CA as I have relatives all over the state. I was born in SF and raised in AZ. I have relatives in San Diego, Rowland Heights, SF, and Willow Creek. This is a vacation to finally do what I grew up missing. It's as much for the adults as it is the kids and I can't wait to hug Mickey!

Goofy_Mom
Thank you! We were actually thinking about the vouchers, didn't want to be carrying that much cash. Maybe we should do gift cards instead.

tinksdreamwishes
Thank you for the SF Disney attractions suggestion. Be less of a letdown after leaving Disneyland to be slowly weaned from it.

Thank you to anyone I've missed!
It's 15 days at our hotel, only 12 in the park. We're not going to go in the parks on either Saturday.
I hope my responses have helped a bit more with helping you understand the advice I'm looking for. Give me your DLR experience, that's so much better than reading it on a website that only gives ride information.

 

[sweethannah]

Riasha regarding the gift cards, there was a thread yesterday about the use of credit cards in the Park. They are accepted practically everywhere. The overall consensus was to bring a small amount of cash to have it on hand for smaller cart/kiosk purchases and use a credit card the rest of the time.

When I went on my first trip last year I took in the cash I'd need for the whole day because I didn't have an USD credit card ( I'm Canadian ) and you get a surcharge for using a foreign currency. Now that I have a USD credit card I plan on using that as much as I can.
Don't have to worry about cash and better yet, it can get wet and no change to deal with

I found the thread - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2920181

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Yes we were thinking of the annual passes, but we are not staying on site so would like to get MM and TTMM. We have decided on the Hojo across the street where the wonderful water park is as we'll have time to enjoy it.

If you are going for that many days, then you will most likely want annual passes. One deluxe annual pass will be cheaper than two 6-day passes. Start with the 6 day pass, use your Magic Morning, and then upgrade to deluxe annual passes as soon as you have done that. Since you plan a lot of eating and possibly purchasing, you will start benefiting right away from the annual pass discounts. Also, since you say you don't plan to visit the parks on Saturdays, you should not have problems with blockouts unless you were planning to visit on the Friday before Easter.

I believe the TTMM is a package perk; it is not something you get automatically with hopper tickets.

We love the Hojo and would highly recommend it. Since you are staying so long, you should try to get the kid's suite. You may even want to book that directly through the hotel as soon as you have locked down your dates and booking is available since there are only 14 kid's suites on property. You can always watch the prices and get them to update your reservation if the price drops. Also, Hojo offers an annual pass discount, so if you plan on getting an AP during your stay you can ask to book at the annual pass rate.

When it comes to food, if you're staying at Hojo, Mimi's is right across the street. We have found them really great for dine in and to-go. For character meals, my boys have always enjoyed Goofy's Kitchen (more so than DH and I) for both breakfast and dinner and Minnie's breakfast. Our favorite sit-down place actually isn't in the parks; it's Jazz Kitchen in DtD. They have a fun Sunday brunch that my kids really loved. Counter service favorites include Plaza Inn fried chicken, Pizza port pasta, Riverbelle Terrace breakfast, and Pacific Wharf Cafe bread and soups.

 

[Mommy26]

I have to be the oddball here and say I would LOVE to spend 15 days in the park. I would take a break somewhere in there, but would do it.

Then you said it was only 12 days in the actual park. I could totally do that even more!

 

[krispin41]

I have to be the oddball here and say I would LOVE to spend 15 days in the park. I would take a break somewhere in there, but would do it.

Then you said it was only 12 days in the actual park. I could totally do that even more!

I actually would really enjoy it as well, my DH not so much. LOL.

And yes to doing gift cards...I've been picking up $25 ones at Target every pay period for my upcoming trip in July. I've already "banked" about $200.

Have fun!!

 

[WAMUMOF4]

I have to be the oddball here and say I would LOVE to spend 15 days in the park. I would take a break somewhere in there, but would do it.

Then you said it was only 12 days in the actual park. I could totally do that even more!

us to we will have 9 full days and 3 go if we want to days and I still don't think it's enough

 

[Sereina]

I hope my responses have helped a bit more with helping you understand the advice I'm looking for. Give me your DLR experience, that's so much better than reading it on a website that only gives ride information.

If you like corn dogs, there is a cart on Main Street that sells them. They're huge and are so good! Also, the Dole Whips by the Tiki Room are delicious.

I love all the live entertainment in the parks: The Dapper Dans on Main Street (one of my very favorites), Farley the Fiddler in Frointeerland, The Disneyland Band, and the other live music . Lots of fun stuff!

Something I'm really looking forward to doing on my next trip that I haven't done before is Musical Chairs at the Refreshment Corner on Main Street at 2:30pm. The Mad Hatter and Alice, and sometimes other characters as well, play a game of musical chairs with the kids. I've watched tons of videos of it on YouTube and it's very fun and entertaining to watch and is fun for the kids to play as well.

The Redwood Creek Challenge Trail in DCA is lots of fun for the kids. It's fill with all sorts of fun stuff to play on.

Be sure to catch Aladdin in DCA; it's amazing! Even my dad, who doesn't usually go for musical type stuff loves it.

That's all I can think of for now. Sounds like your going to have a wonderful trip.

 

[martikus]

Having JUST returned from DL I have to agree that 12 days is way too many.

Though if you went peak season I can see needing that many days if the lines for each thing are LONG.

We have a 5 year old so we had no scheduled and rushed to nothing. We were back in the room every afternoon. We spent 6-10 hrs a day in park depending on our tiredness.

We absolutely saw almost everything (because of course there is always more to see) after 5 days. This included giving ourselves time to stop and enjoy a random street music group, or watching goofy dance. Day 6 we spent going on our favorite rides again.

The food isn't great - but there are a lot of options off site. We stayed at the Fairfield and within 15 min walk is Gardenwalk with restaurants, Subway, etc. And since you'll have a car you will have even more options. I did a mini TR on the TR page if interested.

Have a GREAT time! Half the fun for me is planning so I can feel your anticipation getting to plan such a fun trip!

 

[christinaspring]

I HIGHLY suggest spending 3 of those days in San Diego. There is soooo much to do there, and you'd truly be doing yourself a disservice by coming all this way and not checking the place out! It's an amazing city!!!!! And only an hour and a half or so from Anaheim. (Although id recommend getting a room there, NOT driving back and forth each day.)

Must do's:
Sea World
SD Zoo
Walk through Old Town and have dinner at either Cafe Coyote or Old Town Mexican Cafe. They are right next door to each other and are FAMOUS for their homemade torillas and carnitas. You havent lived til you've eaten at one of these gems!!!!!
Breakfast at Brians 24 in the Gaslamp District (think strawberry cream stuffed french toast, biscuits and gravy, huge ham steaks....mmmmmm)
Mission Beach

Other GREAT options:
Legoland
Safari Park (we did a behind the scenes tour when DD was 4. It was amazing! We even got to pet and feed a rhino!)
The Boardwalk (roller coasters, rides, etc.)
Walk around the Gaslamp District (or go bar hopping at night if you can get away with your DH!)
Sea Life Aquarium
Whale Watching at the Harbor

We do a 4-day San Diego vacay each year...feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

Oh and one more suggestion....spend a day at Universal Studios and a day touring and exploring Hollywood!

Really and truly, 8-10 days at Disney is MORE than enough. HAVE FUN....i'm jealous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[taaren]

All the people worried we have too much time
Thank you for your concern. We didn't want to spend all day (opening-closing) at the park. The boys are still nap age and like to get a good 2-3 hour nap. They also walk really slow unless we release their hand.
We're trying to get a local's experience seen through a first time visitor's eyes, if that makes any sense? Just meaning a local runs through there grabbing FASTPASSES and being about the rides. That's what a lot of websites cover. We want to see everything a first time visitor would in a relaxing way. We've never done any of it. Even something as small as Sword in the Stone. (We've seen all Disney movies and even own Song of the South)

I have to be the oddball here and say I would LOVE to spend 15 days in the park. I would take a break somewhere in there, but would do it.
Then you said it was only 12 days in the actual park. I could totally do that even more!

I'll be the oddball with you Mommy26. Last year we got spend 9 park days and nights at DLR, and it still left us wanting more, and with things on our "to eat" list that remained unchecked. We took most days fairly leisurely, spending lots of time in the pools, waking up late, taking breaks, and staying up late. To me 12 park days out of 15 sounds like .

One more note on the tickets vs AP's. The suggestion to use the Magic Morning, then upgrade is a good one. Keep in mind also that if Al Lutz is right, AP holders will have DCA Magic Mornings some days of the week as well. If that holds true and continues after the initial craziness of Carsland, you could use your MM at DL, upgrade, then get some MMs at DCA with your AP. Cheaper and you'd still get 3+ MMs.

 

[granismith]

We have been 2 years in a row now first year 5 days second year 4 days. Guess what? Combining the 2 we still havn't done it all. Why? because we dont get there first thing in the morniing, we don't stay until closing, we don't wait in lines more than 40 minutes. We take our time and enjoy ourselves. We spend time enjoying our pool, and having relaxing meals etc.. I have to say I would totally love to have that many days so I could relax even more.

After saying that I would still go to San Diego and Universal while I was there since you can. I also think you are smart not to go on Saturdays because they are not fun in my opinion.

I also like Hojo if I can't stay onsite, and i know you will enjoy the kids pool area.

Have fun whatever you choose to do, you are going to love it!!

 

[Susie63]

My first trip to DLR was for 8 days and it was not long enough.As first timers we spent a lot of time just looking at all the the details.DD spent almost an hour in Tarzan's Treehouse.I didn't even know there was a Monster's Inc.ride until I got home....and we saw nothing on the ROA because it was drained.
No offense to anyone who has posted here,but really, if it was your first EVER time at DLR how many days would you want.
We looked in every store,checked out all the flowers(we are in northern Canada....not seeing flowers till June!)we played all the arcade games and hit every pressed coin machine.We rode every ride at least once(the ones I could find) and some four or five times.We saw all the parades,fireworks,shows and yet we still missed Abraham Lincoln.
We rode up front on the monorail 5 times and I can't count how many times we rode the train.
So do I think you are going for too long....no!!!! My next trip in feb is for 11 days....and I will spend everyone one them at the Disneyland Resort.

Side note: Book everything seperate.I booked a package with a travel company last time and I could have saved myself a lot of money if I had done it all myself.

Welcome to the boards!! The people on here are very helpful and knowledgeable.There is a lot of great info in the stickies at the top of the page.

 

[MrsMears]

I'll be the oddball with you Mommy26. Last year we got spend 9 park days and nights at DLR, and it still left us wanting more, and with things on our "to eat" list that remained unchecked. We took most days fairly leisurely, spending lots of time in the pools, waking up late, taking breaks, and staying up late. To me 12 park days out of 15 sounds like .

One more note on the tickets vs AP's. The suggestion to use the Magic Morning, then upgrade is a good one. Keep in mind also that if Al Lutz is right, AP holders will have DCA Magic Mornings some days of the week as well. If that holds true and continues after the initial craziness of Carsland, you could use your MM at DL, upgrade, then get some MMs at DCA with your AP. Cheaper and you'd still get 3+ MMs.

Hubby and I could tooootally do 12 days in the park!!

 

[Goofy_Mom]

Okay, now that we've cleared up that you're VERY familar with CA, we can focus on the task at hand.

I agree with the PP who said start with a six day pass. If you really wanted to spend the money, you could book your package with Disney Travel. Book ALL the nights you need at HOJOs and add your six day hoppers. This way you'll get some MMs, the preferred seatings for the shows in DCA and passes to TTMM. After you've used your MM, take your passes to City Hall, the ticket booth, or maybe even Disney Travel office inside DTD and upgrade to APs (the price you paid for your 6 day pass will be applied to your APs). Now you can get discounts on most of your food and most of your purchases in the parks, DTD, and Garden walk.

You mentioned seeing the sword in the stone, are you referring to the actual sword or the show? Cause the show doesn't run anymore.

Keep an eye on the boards mid June with regards to Carsland so you have an idea of what to expect there. There's also an app for Droid and Iphone called Mousewait (free app), they have a lounge, accurate wait times of the rides and resturants, menus, and other useful stuff while at the parks.

Allears.net also has a full menu of all the resturants. Even though you're not staying on property, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy some of their amenitites. You have the time to research EVERYTHING, see what they offer and read some of the reviews. If the reviews are dated, come back and ask for a freasher perspective. Someone else mentioned Trader Sams, even my kids liked it. They have an outdoor area that will serve some of the food from the neighboring eatery (the name escapes me) if TS doesn't look appealing to you. Let me add that I'm not a lush, I have an adult beverage once every 4 months. . . maybe. Even then, its A drink not 12.

Also off site but a bit further down are some good resturants. Joes Crab Shack is one of my faves and I hear good things about Mortons Steak House. There are plenty of others.

I would love to see your itinerary if you ever make one. Even if its only one sheduled thing a day like a sit down lunch or the Fatasmic dessert seating with the rest being what the kids want to do. Have a great time

 

[CrazyDuck]

I'd try and squeeze in a day at Legoland, universal and even knotts. I say buy 1 6 day hopper for everyone then take it to the ticket booth and see how many days they'll let you extend it... Worst case scenario... Upgrade them to annual passes and use them to get shopping discounts!