planning trip to disney land

[wideeyes]

Hi, I live in England and i am planning a trip to california for my first ever trip to the usa and wondering if anyone can help with a few questions?

I was wondering what hotel do people recommend?

I think that i would rather not stay on a onsite hotel as traveling such a long way i would like to see more of califonia than just disneyland., however i would like to be nearby to the theme park.

Also what other things to do do people other than disneyland do people recommend?

What is the best beach to vist?

How far is it to drive to LA from the disneyland area?

I am planning a two week trip and plan to spend 4 days at disneyland.

Thank you in advance for any advice given.

 

[AFMom]

I would reccommend the Candy Cane Inn - it's our favorite off-site hotel. Has it's own free shuttle, is still in walking distance to the park, and has a great free breakfast. Rooms are nice sized and very clean. We really like it there.
4 days at the parks will be great - you should be able to see everything and have a bit of downtime as well.
You may want to go to Hollywood while you're in LA. Catalnina Island is wonderful. As far as other somewhat close CA things - San Diego is about 3 hours away and absolutely beautiful. Lots to do! Sea World, Wild Animal Park and the San Diego Zoo. Really depends on how much traveling you'd like to do.
Have fun!

 

[LucyKate]

None of the hotels are really "on site" - the Disneyland and Paradise Pier are both a short walk or drive away, and the Grand Californian is adjacent to, but not inside the grounds of Disney California.

So, if your fear is that by staying at a Disney hotel you will be "stuck" in Disneyland, this is not a problem.

That said, "offsite" (or, non-Disney) hotels are much cheaper, and in many cases, just as close. Two that always get high recommendations here are Candy Cane Inn and Howard Johnson. Neither is 5 star, but both are close, clean, very well run and comfortable. We stayed at the Howard Johnson and loved it.

However, many here believe you only get the full Disney experience if you stay at a Disney hotel and are happy to pay extra.

Disneyland is located in a suburb called Anaheim, about an hour's drive down the freeway from LA.

If you plan to spend most of your holiday at Disneyland, then stay in Anaheim to avoid long drives every day. Given your plans I would spend a week in Anaheim and a week in LA.

I have to say I'm not sure there will be enough in LA to keep you interested for a two weeks stay. You might want to see other parks like Knotts (also in Anaheim) or Universal Studios (LA), or Hollywood and the movie sights.

The most famous beaches are Santa Monica and Venice (muscle) beach - though we found these disappointing. Locals here have frequently recommeded Manhattan and Redondo as being much nicer, and closer to Disneyland.

But I would recommend you get about and see other parts of California - San Francisco is sensational, and San Diego is also a great city with the added attractions of the zoo and Seaworld.

 

[abby]

I would suggest spending 5 days either on site or close to it, then stay where you plan to visit. If you want to do San diego stay there for four or so days, there is plenty to do. Have a great trip.

 

[wideeyes]

Hi Thanks for all the great adivce. Does anyone on when the schools finish for summer in usa.

 

[LucyKate]

As you can see, I'm NOT a local - but I do recall posts here about the fact there is no uniform school holiday dates. America, (like Australia) has a school system run by states, and states have different holidays. In addition, non-government schools may have their own calendars.

For a start Id google on "california school terms" , but if you are trying to find out when is a good time to go, with low crowds, I've found this website to be extremely useful - http://www.scottware.com.au/theme/feature/crowds.htm

 

[Jen72386]

most of the area schools in la and anaheim and so. cal for that matter are out in june dates vary but all withint june sometime..some get out early in may though..