Originally Posted By Leggyb I have a few questions... My girlfriends and I are going on a trip to Disneyland at the end of summer... We are driving from Utah/Vegas and yes, we are being quite cheap about it. Here are my questions... #1. Would it be more beneficial to book a hotel that has a shuttle sevice that takes 20 minutes to drive to DL(note: the shuttle only goes every two hours.. pshh), OR book a hotel that is about a 20 minute walk to the park with no shuttle service? (these hotels will both be equally cheap and possibly gross.. but hey we are only sleeping there..) #2. Is Downtown Disney an easy walk from the disneyland park or california adventure in case we wanted to eat lunch there or grab a Jamba Juice? #3. Should we spring for a two day hopper pass or stick to our one day hopper? I can't find any deals on one day passes... and I KNOW we can do the park in one day.. we are grown women for pete's sake!! .. also we wanted to go to Magic Mountain or Universal Studios on our last day instead of Disney twice in a row.. So what do you think? Is it possible to get discounted one day hoppers?? Thanks for reading and thanks for any responses
Originally Posted By dsnykid Unless none of you are really interested in Disneyland, you probably won't be able to do everything you want to in one day, especially for both parks in summer. If you're looking to do it really cheap, there is a nice hostel in Fullerton that is around $15 a night and includes a kitchen. It's on the OC bus route to Disneyland. Downtown Disney is directly across the esplanade of Disneyland so it is very easy to go there for food, but if you are trying to do it cheap, stay somewhere with a kitchen, go to a grocery store and pack some fruit or other food in your bag before oyu go into the park.
Originally Posted By dsnykid Also, speaking from experience, be prepared to be asked to pay for some hotels fully upfront and unfortunately be watched like a hawk most of your time in the hotel. When I went with friends at that age, our room became blame central whenever anyone made a noise complaint, which I though was funny as we were only in our room to sleep(we would be stopped by the front desk on our way in and told to be quieter as there had been complaints). But people think that because you are young you are there to cause trouble
Originally Posted By mater4 I don't think a discounted one day hopper exsists. At least I have never seen any. If you don't mind missing some of the shows/parades it is possible to do disney in one day if it is not terribly crowded. As for the hotel situation there are some inexpensive hotels closer than a 20 minute walk. Though I am not aware of your budget and what you can afford.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss I agree with dsnykid; you may be four young 'n fit adults, but NO WAY can you see both DL and DCA in one day, certainly not if you want to see any shows and/or parades.... and IMO, if you've never been to DLR, you must see Fantasmic! at DL, and Aladdin at DCA. Get the two day hoppers, and forget about MM and Uni.
Originally Posted By mater4 I agree with Trekkeruss. Any park you go to after DLR is a disapointment. I went to knotts last year and it was dirty the rides had graffiti on them and was a waste of money. I know that MM standards are no different since last time I was there it felt like I was walking through the ghetto.
Originally Posted By Leggyb That is SO funny that you should mention that Dsnykid!! I was in Hawaii this past spring break with all of my friends (which is why we are being so cheap for this trip because we blew all our money there) and a similar situation happened to us! We had barely checked in to our really nice resort and went downstairs through the lobby to go lay out at the pool when all of the sudden a manager/ employee stops us and tells us that we were being too rowdy last night and the people below us were complaining (then they pointed the old couple out to us). We were SO confused because we hadn't even been there 5 minutes! haha but that just made me laugh. So Magic Mountain isn't all it's made up to be? That bums me out.. The rides look intense! Anyways I think we have decided to buy a multi day hopper pass... I just found out that 2 of my girlfriends have never even been there so it would be a shame to rush them.. plus I haven't been there since the new Pirate ride/ california adventure opened.. so thanks for all your replies!
Originally Posted By luvindisCruiser You guys will have such a blast at Disney ! Definately do a multi day pass and see all that you can, and feel like a kid again. I love going with my 30+ girlfriends for a few days of just the girls, and we have SO much fun. You'll have a good time at downtown disney also, and it's just right there by disneyland and DCA. You could do some shopping (window) and have a good lunch or dinner !!! You might just try all the hotels a little further up on Harbor and be able to find a deal. Sometimes you can find about 69.00-89.00 a night, and it's within walking distance, especially if you don't have any kids with you !!! Have a blast !!!!!!
Originally Posted By Leggyb Yeah I'm pretty sure though now that we are all getting really excited about this trip that we are going to scratch our budget and will probably end up staying at the disney hotel for all I know! haha We have already decided to get 3 day hopper passes which is causing us to be in California for 2 days longer... (which is FINE by me Priceline eh? I have just been looking for things on hotels.com but thanks for the tip! I'm going to try out priceline now..
Originally Posted By tiggerdis_ If you are looking for cheap, the Super 8 Motel on Katella is a bit of a hike, but clean, and had HUGE rooms. You even get a donut and coffee for breakfast if you wish.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss I didn't want to mention the three-day hoppers before, but now that you have them, you can take advantage of the early entry program. On one of your entry days, you can enter Disneyland one hour before the general public. It's available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
Originally Posted By Mrs ElderP Nobody really answered your question about the size of the resort. If you walk fast, and can move around people (and strollers) without giving offense I estimate it takes about a minimum of 15 minutes to get from the back of the park to the entrance of DCA or the World of Disney store (the begining of Downtown Disney). Add more time for slow walkers in your group, people crowding the side walks getting ready for the parade, ect. Absolute worst case senario has you take an hour to get from the back of DL to the front of the other parks, but it is extreamly unlikely to be that crowded. That's Thanksgiving day crowds. When moving between parks you will have to wait in a turnstile everytime, the lenght of which will vary over the course of a day. Going from either park to Downtown Disney is very quick, no turnstiles. Comming back from Downtown Disney into the parks means you need to go though bag check again (not neccessary when you are only going from park to park) and then into the turnstile line. You can pass though The Grand Californian Hotel from DCA into downtown Disney and back, and that's much quicker than going to DCA's front enterance, though I believe first thing in the morning you have to be a hotel guest to use this enterance.
Originally Posted By Leggyb I Know! I am so excited about the EE! haha I already feel like Im 12 again just planning this trip... The early entry was a big push for us to get the 3 day hopper. I can already picture all of us sprinting down main. So moving in between the parks will be okay? I'm not sure how crowded disney will be.. though I'm fairly certain that it will be CROWDED since it is summer... The days we are going to DL though are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday... so will it be a little less crowded because they are weekdays, or does it not matter in the summer?
Originally Posted By trekkeruss Moving between the two parks is easy, even if crowded. The two entrances face each other; the distance bewteen the two is only 100 yards or so. Here is an aerial view of the resort (pre-Tower of Terror)... for reference, the building with the checkerboard is Soarin' at DCA; the entrances are just to the upper right of that building: <a href="http://members.shaw.ca/getbak/dlr.jpg" target="_blank">http://members.shaw.ca/getbak/ dlr.jpg</a>
Originally Posted By jeffshultz I've made it something of a tradition to hit Knotts Berry Farm the day I get to S. California for a couple of reasons - the first is that it doesn't necessarily take a full day to take it in, the second is that doing it before D-land it still looks good, doing it after D-land it looks distinctly shabby...
Originally Posted By mater4 I made the mistake of going to KBFarm last year after 5 days at DL. It was dirty,the kids rides had graffiti carved in them and where worn down. Not to mention some of the ride operaters wore thier pants sagging. I understand this is a teenager trend but I do not care to see other peoples boxers or briefs. Overall it was a disapointment.
Originally Posted By grammy954 My daughter and I went to both Universal and KBF twice now - about 2 years apart. We have been disappointed in every visit and never stayed the entire day (and don't plan on ever going back). I would think 3 day hoppers are the way to go - 2 days really isn't enough. The monorail is also a good way to get back and forth from DTD to DL - it is generally a shorter line than the main gates.
Originally Posted By EighthDwarf Wow, 4 21-year old girls going to Disneyland......the possibilities for fun are endless. Anyway, I would suggest hitting the Cove Bar in DCA and the Cantina at Tortilla Joe's in DTD. Great drinks, great atmosphere. And if I see you there I'll buy you a round. ;-)
Originally Posted By Leggyb Hey EighthDwarf... We might just take you up on that! (Except 2 of us don't drink ) We plan on just having a blast.. I have heard great recs for Tortilla Joe's so we will probably go there our first night we get there. This is of course after we leave Vegas at early hours of the morning, spend all day at the beach and then go swimming at the hotel... So we are going to be ridiculously tired for our night out on the (down)town. Im excited for DTD.... I didn't think I would be, but now after doing all this research I've decided there is just too much to do at DLR!! I love it.
