thepeters

Johnnyman7: Thanks for the input, especially in regards to traffic. I'm wouldn't be worried about any delays after landing in CA, but I certainly wouldn't want to miss the flight back home.

I'm surprised that you and your fiance skipped going to the Magic Kingdom at WDW! Yes, they are similar -- but wow, they are so different in so many ways! Your Pirates of the Caribbean puts ours to shame, and now you have the Nemo Sub ride and lots of other unique things. I actually prefer your Magic Kingdom to ours, but I still wouldn't skip either!

Anywho -- thanks again to everyone for giving us feedback.

Unfortunately, flights out of the Panhandle of Florida are ridiculously high -- and I don't really want to drive the 5 hours to Orlando just to save money (it's a possibility, tho, if the savings is a lot).

dawnnoelm

I live about 20 mintues from SNA and agree with Jonnyman. Do not fly in and out of San Diego to come to Disneyland unless you are spending time in San Diego (which is always a wonderful thing to do).

Look for flights in and out of Long Beach (are you close to FLL? Jetblue flies in and out) I use them often.

Ontario is a good choice if you are saving a LOT of money but we aware of the times you are flying in and out - traffic is horrible.

I would try SNA - then Long Beach and then Ontario... then LAX.

melissa19

do you have AAA? they offer package deals to disneyland which include park passes and lodging. i imagine they can help with the flights as well. i know there is a disney bus from LAX, so you might not need to rent a car.

lvk

I think it makes more sense for you to fly into San Diego to save money and drive to Anaheim than it does for you to drive the 5 hours to Orlando, or the 9 hours (!) to FLL.

How old is your son? If he is under 9, he might also enjoy Legoland. I live in LA County (north of Orange County) and we take have taken day trips to Legoland, SD Zoo, Sea World, Wild Animal Park, etc. on many occasions. To make that drive once at the beginning of your trip and once at the end is not really that big a deal. Just plan on staying in San Diego on your last night, so you won't be stressed getting to the airport.

thepeters

dawnnoelm -- thanks for the info!

FLL is South Florida, we're up in Northwest Florida, and the local airports around here only have Delta (and a few others). We don't even have anything nearby that Southwest flies too.

We'd consider driving to either Orlando or New Orleans (5 to 6 hours) but that just seems like a waste, ya know?

Johnnyman7

No problem.

This is definitely a case of supply and demand. The supply of flights from your area to So Cal isnt great, so prices are high. How far away are you from Atlanta?

Somebody above mentioned that you could spend some time in San Diego. Well, I agree...you could...but you would have to extend your vacation then. San Diego is easily worth two or three days, especially if you have kids. The Zoo, Sea World, Wild Animal Park, Tijuana...choices are endless down there.

Otherwise, it becomes a choice on your part: are you willing to pay more $$$ to forgo the driving to/from San Diego. With no traffic, we are talking 1.5 hours one-way to Disneyland, 2.25 to Downtown LA. If you are driving during rush hour (here, it's 3-7PM) or during a busy weekend travel time, Interstate 5 to/from San Diego can be a mess (esp on Summer weekends). You might get lucky, but you might not...and is your $$$ worth the added stress?

Johnnyman7

By the way, in case i dont get to reply to this thread again and youre driving to LA from the south, I implore you to avoid the I-5 north from the LA/OC county line to downtown. There is traffic in that stretch no matter what time of day.

Instead, from San Diego, take the I5 north, to the 405 north, to the 110 or 710 north which leads to downtown (avoid this route in the morning though).

mlgb

For a short trip I would just do Disney and San Diego, and not venture much farther into LA.

Should be pretty easy to do the math and decide if the savings is worth the extra 3 to 4 hours in commute time from SAN to Disney. Since you've been there before, I'm sure you know that you don't need a car at the Disneyland Resort, so two one-way rentals are another option if they are less.

Most things in San Diego that are kid oriented cost money, unfortunately, other than beaches.

nanabee

If you are not spending time in San Diego I would fly into LAX and drive the 30 minutes south to Anaheim.

You might check to see if any airlines fly from your area into the Orange County airport (I thnk it's the John Wayne Airport) like Jet Blue or some of the other airlines.

nanabee

Hi again thepeters:

I have another question - I hope this hasn't been answered or discussed already (sorry I haven't read all the posts) but if you are from Florida home of a much bigger Disney experience (and some say better), why are you making this a major part of your trip?
Your family may be disappointed.

mlgb

nanabee:

All is revealed in the above discussion.

isabellasu

The Candy Cane Inn in Anaheim is a great place to stay for your Disneyland days.

I've been to both WDW and Disneyland, and Disneyland is more charming, I guess that is how I would describe it.

thepeters

You know, I've heard great things about the Candy Cane Inn -- and we do have AAA, so we'll definitely check into their packages.

Thanks again to everyone for their input. We might just not do the San Diego airport thing...

Anywho, we're looking forward to returning to Disneyland at some point in the near future.

Our first trip was about 6 months before the start of their 50th celebration, so the castle was covered up, a bunch of attractions were closed, so we were disappointed in that regard. However, we love Disneyland's Magic Kingdom, and agree that it is much more charming than WDW's Magic Kingdom.

thepeters

Ok -- I've got an update to our itinerary, as we've had a bit more time to look at the calendar, etc -- but more questions, so, figured I'd just continue instead of creating a new thread.

Anywho -- we've settled on flying out of VPS on a Thursday in May, landing in SNA (rates don't really seem to be much better going into SAN, so we've decided not to go that route).

We'll check in to a Harbor Boulevard hotel, relax for a bit, then spend the rest of the day exploring Downtown Disney, and just giving my son his first glance at Disneyland.

Friday, Saturday & Sunday will be theme park days, and Monday will be our day off.

We'd love to spend that day out and about -- but we really have to keep costs low.

So...figured we'd rent a car -- but we'd need to get our hands on one that day, for that day only. What's everyone's suggestions on how to pull that off? We'll be taxiing from the airport to the hotel, so should we taxi to a nearby car rental place?

And what to do that day? I'd love to see the Hollywood sign, visit some landmarks, but which ones are "must-sees"??

Thanks!

janisj

just a quick comment - Enterprise (and some others) will come and pick you up and take you to their rental office.

thepeters

Oh yeah! Completely forgot about that -- might work out well. Thanks!

We're considering driving into Hollywood, parking at the Hollywood & Highland center and walking around and taking in some of the sites (Kodak Theatre, Graumann's, etc.)...

smartcookie

It's usually cheapest to fly in LAX unless there is a specific sale. If I were you, I would sign up for Travelzoo emails and buy your tickets when you see a special from your area to Southern California (any of the airports mentioned above, but it will most likely still be LAX that's cheapest). Also, sign up for Southwest specials emails.

As everyone pointed out above, I wouldn't fly cross-country just for Disneyland. Both LA and San Diego have a lot to do and see. I would go for at least 4 nights and split it up between Disneyland and either LA or SD.

Besides sidestep.com, check mobissimo.com and kayak.com. For hotel reviews, check TripAdvisor.com once you select an area you want to stay in. I would stay near Disneyland for only the night when you're actually going to the park and stay in either LA or SD the other nights. For car rentals, check hotwire.com and then the rental companies' website to see if they have better rates. BookingBuddy.com has specials too.

thepeters

I've been keeping a close eye on sidestep, kayak, etc...will definitely consider flying into any of the local LA airports.

We are huge Disney nuts -- we live 5 hours from WDW and go quite often. Disneyland is a "treat" for us, so we're making it the focus of this trip, especially since it'll be the first trip (and likely only) out there for my son (he's 10).

Anywho, are there any must-sees in Hollywood?

Thanks!

mlgb

I would post a separate question about must sees in Hollywood. A lot of fodorites will just skip over a Disney post.

Other than seeing the footprints outside Grauman's and the Hollywood sign, I think Hollywood is overblown as a destination, and not really worth the effort to get from Anaheim. But that's just me cause I live here.

lvk

If you are Disney fans, you might want to see what is playing at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. It is owned by Disney and has the Disney Soda Shop next door.

I would also switch your L.A. day from Monday to Sunday. You will encounter less traffic, and it will give you a break from standing in those lines at the parks.