Our family of 4 went to Disneyland (my fourth time in my 40+ years - my families first). I think too many people go to Disneyland with the wrong attitude and are negative before they even set foot in the park. We call that in NZ "tall poppy syndrome" - don't like it because its successful. BUT Plan your day, use the fast track system, go when the crowds are less (shoulder season is by far the best time to go). Mornings have little or no waiting. Anything over half hour line is not worth doing - come back later. Do Fantasyland first (all those original rides are fantastic). But mostly ENJOY. Don't stress, allow a couple of days, and be a kid again. The park is clean, fun, friendly. And my daugher said "this truely is the happiest day of my life". Can't ask more than that.

We just returned 8/16/08 from Disneyland and spent 3 days at the Disneyland Hotel. We stayed there because we were told that the monorail made it easy to go back and forth from the park to the hotel. WRONG. There was often a 25 minute wait for the monorail. We were told that the new monorail cannot be used when the temperature goes over 80 because it is not air conditioned. You are much better off staying at the beautiful Doubletree at Harbor Dr. It has much more spacious rooms at a third of the price. It has a bus that takes you from the hotel to the entrance of the park for $3 per adult roundtrip.Also has a refrig and microwave in each room. The room costs $139. and if you pay for the buffet breakfast when you check in the breakfast is only $7.50 a person. On our last night in California we stayed at the Doubletree and loved it.

I went back to Disneyland for the third time in my life this past spring. The last two trips to DL was somewhere in the early to mid 90s when I was in elementary school. Back then, Anaheim looked sooo different. It didn't look as developed as it does today.

Downtown Disney, Disney Symphony Hall, resort hotels, parking garages, etc. I was completey taken back by everything. I still have memories of the Disneyland Hotel sitting next to the parking lot shared by Disneyland itself. All the other hotels were situated across from Disneyland. Also, the gondola ride that went through the mountain. I remember feeling a bit sad that the gondola was taken down when I went back to Disneyland for the second time.

If anyone's been to Disney World as many times as I have in my life and never been to Disneyland before, expect to find a different kind of Disney. Sure, they share many of the same attractions, but they also have differences too. Such as Toon Town which you can only find in Disneyland which is not like Mickey's Toontown Fair in the Magic Kingdom. You won't find a hidden shop in Sleeping Beauty's Castle. You'll definitely not see a familiar huge four leg machine hovering over you in the Star Tours line.

Disneyland is smaller compared to its Florida counterpart but it is the original. Literally, Walt's brainchild. The first Haunted Mansion in the world. The first Pirates of the Caribbean in the world (with an extra drop). To me, the place gives me a local flavor compared to whenever I'm in Florida. You won't find an EPCOT, but you'll find a lot of different attractions taken from all four WDW parks combined into two different parks.

Also, I feel that while Disney World's Downtown Disney has a very interesting layout around a lake, I find Disneylands DD to be very pretty with a lot of small fountains that light up at night.

Tips to all Disney newbies:

1) It's best to go to any Disney park during the off-season (which is basically fall and spring). Less lines. Less waiting time.

2) Plan out your visit responsibly and economically. Try not to think that you have to see everything or go see everything at once.

3) If you want to see almost everything with less wait time, get to the park early. Meaning, right before the park opens! I was surprised, for an off-season time, to see a long line for the Nemo ride (which I never got on) in the afternoon.

4) Eating in the park is nice but it's obviously more expensive to eat in than out. Unlike WDW where Downtown Disney is pretty far off from any park, Disneyland is conveniently connected with Downtown Disney. You can easily stamp your hand before exiting the park just to go to DD to eat and come back. I never tried this at DL since I came in after eating lunch in DD. Then, ate a churro for dinner. (Note: The turkey legs sell out fast before a night show. Get 'em while they're still there!)

5) Make sure your family is stocked with either cell phones or walkie talkies. Helps keep everyone stay connected. Wear matching clothing like the same colored shirt helps too.

6) If you're in a large group and want to seperate into smaller groups, make a meeting spot for everyone. In example: the obvious meeting point for a lot of people would be Sleeping Beauty's Castle since it's in the center.

7) For any night parade and show, this is also a golden rule. To get a secured good spot, get to the event early or else, you'll be seeing the top of people's heads for most of the show. If you do end up at the back of the audience, it's best to bring a camcorder to be your eyes. ^_^

8) If you want a good rate at a good hotel, do not stay in a Disney resort hotel. Simple as that. Sure, the service may not be as "high quality" as the one you'd find in a Disney hotel, but that doesn't mean the hotel itself is bad. You just won't find the Disneyess in the hotel. If you have enough money to spend and want that extra resort amenity such as a Disney themed pool, then by all means, book a reservation.

9) Parking at Downtown Disney is free for the first 3 hours. That would be the only downside to not staying at a Disney hotel. Three hours is usually enough though unless you park in Disneyland's garage giving you unlimited parking until the last tram leaves Downtown Disney which varies in time.

10) Have fun! Not every Disney trip is a happy one for some people due to certain circumstances so it's best to be level-headed about any situation.

Disneyland is great. Our family went there 3 days this past Christmas and New Year.

We spent 3 days in the parks. The Park Hopper option was included in our Southern California City Pass, so it wasn't extra cost and that opiton really makes things that much easier. If you get to one park and find it too crowded, the other one is right next door.

We were impressed with the park - the rides are wonderful. We did everything that we wanted to do - the Matterhorn bobsleds, Splash Mountain (I had to buy a fresh, dry t-shirt after that ride but I'm not complaining, it was a lot of fun!), Big Thunder Mountain, the Haunted mansion, the Disney Railroad, the Monorail, Pirates of the Carribean, It's a Small World, Indiana Jones, the Jungle Cruise, and the list just goes on....
None of the rides were disappointing. Everyone had great time, even on the more basic rides like Alice's Adventure, Peter Pan, and and even Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

We took in a few shows but, due to bad weather, we couldn't see Fantasmic on any of the days that we were there. Unfortunately the fireworks were cancelled because of the weather too. We still go tto see fireworks, though, as we stayed at Homewood Suites, just a few blocks down Harbour Blvd and could see the parks from our 6th floor window. It was easy to get to and from the park with our rental car but, if you're not wanting to drive, there are shuttle buses (ART - Anaheim Resort Transit) running fairly frequently and they only cost 3 dollars.

Disney's California Adventure was just about as much fun as Disneyland but it is notably different. We had a great time at the Aladdin show and the rides are not like anything else at the other park. We loved California Screamin', the electric swings, the Sun Wheel, Soarin', and the parades - High School Musical was fun, Block Party Bash (the Pixar parade) was excellent, and I was taken back to memories of my first Disney visit (which was to Disney World back in 1980) via the Main Street Electrical Parade (only now it's called Disney's Electrical Parade by Sylvania)!


I think that you really should go to Disneyland if you're visiting Southern California. We enjoyed it and we'll go again.