We are thinking about going to Disneyland next year sometime.
I have a few questions.

Does anyone know how far Disneyland is to the airport? What airport would we fly into and are there more than one choices in airports?

What else is close to Disneyland? Is Hollywood nearby?

Hee hee, all you Californians are probably laughing at me. I'm from Ohio and have never been to California...heck, i have never really been west of Chicago! Not since i was a year old at least.

If you would give me some info, that would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

By Shellyg on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 - 01:06 pm:

I live in Los Angeles, near the beach, About 45 minutes away from Disneyland. Lax might be your best bet for a flight.
Hollywood is about an one or maybe two (depending on traffic) hour drive from Disneyland.
Let me know if I can help in any way.

By Debbie on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 - 01:34 pm:

We went to disneyland this summer. My boys loved it better then Disneyworld.

We flew into LAX because we got really cheap airfare. We flew in on Sat. afternoon, so there wasn't much traffic. It only took us about 30 minutes to get to Disney. We flew out on a Sunday, so again traffic wasn't an issue. If you fly into LAX, just make sure your flight doesn't arrive during morning or evening rush hour. You can also fly into John Wayne airport, which is pretty close and a much smaller airport.

We went to Huntington beach one day and to an Angels baseball game.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

By Bellajoe on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 - 02:28 pm:

thank you ladies! I will ask more questions later.

By Cheerio on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 - 04:37 pm:

Debbie, how was the crowd in the summer? We are thinking of doing Disneyland over Disneyworld as our first Disney trip and we'll either take the kids out of school in the spring or wait until summer. Was it hot?

By Debbie on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 - 07:08 pm:

We went the 2nd week of August. The crowds were pretty heavy. We went early and then left around 1pm, then we went back at night to just watch the parade and fireworks. By 1pm the wait times were long(45-60 minutes) and it was pretty crazy at night. But, we waited less then 5-10 minutes for most rides in the morning. The weather was nice, it was mid 80's during the day with no humidity and in the high 60's at night. However, it can get hot. I was worried because the week before we left they had a heat wave and it was in the high 90's. If I had a choice, I would go in Spring, just make sure and avoid Spring Break. Also, since it is in the middle of a city, unlike DisneyWorld, it gets crazy on the weekends because of the locals. It is better to go during the week if you can. We really had a great time. It is more compact then Disneyworld, so less walking. It is also really easy to park hop, since the parks are right next to each other. My dks liked it a lot better then Disney World. If you have been to Disney World, you just have to be prepared for the size of the castle. It is tiny compared to the one at Disney World.

By Kate on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 - 07:20 pm:

Park hop at Land? What other park do they have besides the Magic Kingdom?

By Boxzgrl on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 - 07:27 pm:

They have Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. You have to buy seperate tickets to both. I have to agree that as a Californian, I wouldn't go during the summer. The crowds are bad. The last time I went the average wait time in line for rides was about 2 1/2 hours. I like going during this time of year. Not so many tourists.

By Jodes on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 - 09:34 pm:

When we went to Disneyland last October, we flew into Orange County. It only took about 20 mins to get to the Disneyland Hotel from there. October was a great time to go! The lines were not bad at all, and the weather was prefect!! Growing up in CA, we would go almost every summer, and I remember how bad the lines were, I would definately go in October again.

By Jewlz on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 - 11:31 pm:

i can get u tickets to go both for the price of one ticket if u are interested. email me at
sewinsofun at hotmail.com

By Breann on Wednesday, October 26, 2005 - 10:08 am:

You can purchase a pass that will give you access to Disneyland and Disney's CA Adventure. It is not that expensive. If your kids are older, I would recommend CA Adventure. Lots of big kid rides there.

By Debbie on Wednesday, October 26, 2005 - 11:20 am:

You can buy hopper tickets. We bought 3 day hopper tickets and it included one early entry. We rode all the fantasyland rides with no lines during our hour of early entry. We ended up spending just one morning at California Adventure. My two boys are still young, so there wasn't a lot of rides for them. They did really enjoy the Rapids ride and Soarin. They liked some of the shows too. We also went one night to see the electric parade. I heard they have a great daytime parade, but we never made it there for that.

By Bellajoe on Wednesday, October 26, 2005 - 01:21 pm:

I'm bummed. My dh wanted to go during Christmas break (which i disagreed with because i figured a billion people will be there then) but it ended up that the plane tickets were WAY too expensive for that time of year. It would end up costing us around $3000 for the four of us to fly there and stay at a hotel, get tickets...that may include a rental car too. Anyway, maybe we can go another time. It sounds like fun and i have never been to California and would LOVE to go someday.

thanks for all the info ladies!

By Debbie on Wednesday, October 26, 2005 - 01:52 pm:

Patti, I don't know about Disneyland, but Disney World is just crazy, busy during Christmas break. So, maybe it is for the best. Hopefully, you can go another time.

By Bellajoe on Wednesday, October 26, 2005 - 05:29 pm:

I agree Debbie. It was my dh that wanted to go then. He wants to go somewhere during the cold winter months, but we don't really want to take the kids out of school.

By Jewlz on Thursday, October 27, 2005 - 02:51 pm:

u can always buy ur tickets now and save them when u get out here ... they are good forever.. and with the new year coming up ill bet ya the price will go up again.

By Kate on Thursday, October 27, 2005 - 05:12 pm:

$3000 for four people for airline, hotel, and park tickets sounds like a bargain, actually.