Posted: 3/27/2017 7:22:57 PM EDT
Ok arfcom, against my better judgement I am taking the family to Disneyland this summer. My wife's aunt paying for it helped me with that decision.
I have never been to Disneyland or California for that matter, so what do I need to see/do? What I do know is that we will be getting there on a Saturday and leaving the following Saturday. We will be spending at least two days @ Disneyland, one at Universal Studios and the rest is up in the air. |
Way overpriced and overcrowded...if you're gonna be in the area and want to throw away tons of money you would be better of getting a room on the beach at Hermosa or Manhattan and let the kids enjoy themselves there. I grew up a few miles from Disneyland and went many times....always a pain in the ass but now that I have a kid I may be in your situation soon. 
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Way overpriced and overcrowded...if you're gonna be in the area and want to throw away tons of money you would be better of getting a room on the beach at Hermosa or Manhattan and let the kids enjoy themselves there. I grew up a few miles from Disneyland and went many times....always a pain in the ass but now that I have a kid I may be in your situation soon. |
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If you are a man that knows how to take a breath, relax and watch your kids have a blast then you will enjoy it. If you are not able to let go of an uptight, always on guard attitude, it will suck for you and your kids time will be dampened.
When I'm at Disney it's one of the only times I just let go of everything and make moments with my family. If you can do it you will make memories for a lifetime. You are going to get lots of negativity in this thread cause the men here can't handle it, it's a choice really. And for your families sake don't spend the whole time bitching about how expensive everything is! |
| Took my kids recently as we live within a couple hours drive. It was fun, they are still at an age where they think they are meeting Mickey and Minnie. We were able to go off season and late in the week so the crowds weren't bad. If you get the chance get ride hopper passes for some of the more popular rides do it. |
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Knott's Berry Farm Legoland Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens Santa Monica (Pier/3rd Street Promenade) Catalina Island San Juan Capistrano Mission Quoted:
Peterson automotive museum. La Brea tar pits. 
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While I agree that Disneyland is expensive, I was very impressed with the friendly staff who seemed to genuinely care about the kids' experience there. The food wasn't what I would call "cheap", but it wasn't crazy expensive either and the quality was good. I felt we got our money's worth.
I've spent much more on much less. |
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I wrote this thinking you were going to Florida. Not sure of California weather or details.
Summer is very hot. It is going to put a damper on a very stressful time. Go in Jan-March. If you stay in property buy meal plan. Value hotels are not the best. Lower end guests. Still Safe in my opinion. Better deals off property. 2-3 br condos. With kitchen to off set food cost. Do a time share thing and get free tickets but don't buy any timeshare. Take the kids early. Stay for several hours. Go back to hotel or cond and relax and eat and go back to the park at Eve until close. Parking is 20 bucks at the parks. Have a great time with your family. Disney has metal detectors now. |
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Just did two days at Disney and a day at Universal last month.
Fast Pass all the things™, especially the big Cars ride and Hyperspace Mountain. Park Hopper is mandatory, don't cheap out on the tickets. (California Adventure is awesome.) Universal was cool, but not worth the 3.5 hours in traffic to get up and back (we stayed in Anaheim). Wandering around Hogsmeade with a beer was cool.  Don't miss the lower lot.
Try and see a flag ceremony (5PM on Main Street USA) and a Friday fireworks show. The park is open until midnight on Fridays but empties out after the fireworks, so some rides are wide open. |
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Just did two days at Disney and a day at Universal last month. Fast Pass all the things™, especially the big Cars ride and Hyperspace Mountain. Park Hopper is mandatory, don't cheap out on the tickets. (California Adventure is awesome.) Universal was cool, but not worth the 3.5 hours in traffic to get up and back (we stayed in Anaheim). Wandering around Hogsmeade with a beer was cool. Don't miss the lower lot.
Try and see a flag ceremony (5PM on Main Street USA) and a Friday fireworks show. The park is open until midnight on Fridays but empties out after the fireworks, so some rides are wide open. |
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Ok arfcom, against my better judgement I am taking the family to Disneyland this summer. My wife's aunt paying for it helped me with that decision.
I have never been to Disneyland or California for that matter, so what do I need to see/do? What I do know is that we will be getting there on a Saturday and leaving the following Saturday. We will be spending at least two days @ Disneyland, one at Universal Studios and the rest is up in the air. First time at Disneyland/California Adventure: Get a 3 day Park Hopper Pass (this allows you to visit each park on the same day as many times as you want). I would advise getting to the park 1 hour before it opens (this will allow you to choose which rides you want when you walk in, and take advantage of fast passes) Fast Passes are located at Kiosks next to ride entrances at Disneyland. You insert your park ticket and it spits out a pass with a appointment time to return and walk onto the ride. First you want to do is get fast passes, as you there are only a limited amount to hand out each day. So hold onto each of the family's ticket so you can get all the passes for your group. Disneyland does get very crowded compared to Walt Disney World, however its a GREAT place to have fun and enjoy the rides. Personally I hate paying the money, but it is what it is and a must do in LA. As far as Los Angeles goes: La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles Natural History Museum, California Science Center (space shuttle at this place and a aquarium, and its FREE). I would also visit Universal Studios for a day. If you are into fine artwork a visit to LACMA, Getty Center, Getty Villa are all top notch (Gettys are free). Another neat and free thing to do in LA is watch planes land at the IN N OUT burger next to LAX. The Gene Autry Museum has premier collection of OLD WEST, and a very nice collection of Firearms in the country. I would also recommend visiting the USS Iowa in San Pedro, the San Gabriel Mission (its interesting). Also advise visiting San Diego and touring the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier. The San Diego zoo is nice but pricey. Also check out Balboa park and what it has to offer. The Reagan Presidential Library is also a great place to visit and it's about 45 minutes outside of LA. |
| I've been down there 3 times in the last two years. Lots of good restaurants near Disneyland, almost all of them less expensive than eating inside the park, so have a big meal before entrance. Security now has metal detectors before you reach the payment plaza, no weapons allowed, stretchers usually searched, backpacks and purses just about always. Bring water, you will need it and you probably don't want to spend $2/small bottle. It is possible to get an adult beverage (alcohol) at the bar in the Grand Californian Hotel, some high dollar pours are available, easy to walk in there through California Adventure Park. Yes, get the park hopper pass. California Adventures is a little more adult orientated, with beer and wine available in several places, I think of it as "Pixar Park" given that is where most of the attractions come from. Watch out for the "stroller mommies", they will run you down and tell you it is your fault for being in the way of Their Precious Child. If you want good seats for the nightly parade, show up at least 45 minutes before they start or you will stand through the entire event. Trams go back to the Mickey & Friends Parking Structure until one hour after park closure, after that you have to walk back to your car. |
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Way overpriced and overcrowded...if you're gonna be in the area and want to throw away tons of money you would be better of getting a room on the beach at Hermosa or Manhattan and let the kids enjoy themselves there. I grew up a few miles from Disneyland and went many times....always a pain in the ass but now that I have a kid I may be in your situation soon.
edit I went with a buddy and his girlfriend years before that. I don't know if downtown Disney is closed now but we had fun at the park and at the night clubs. Okay I had fun. My buddy got food poisoning so I went dancing with his girlfriend |
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First time at Disneyland/California Adventure: Get a 3 day Park Hopper Pass (this allows you to visit each park on the same day as many times as you want). I would advise getting to the park 1 hour before it opens (this will allow you to choose which rides you want when you walk in, and take advantage of fast passes) Fast Passes are located at Kiosks next to ride entrances at Disneyland. You insert your park ticket and it spits out a pass with a appointment time to return and walk onto the ride. First you want to do is get fast passes, as you there are only a limited amount to hand out each day. So hold onto each of the family's ticket so you can get all the passes for your group. Disneyland does get very crowded compared to Walt Disney World, however its a GREAT place to have fun and enjoy the rides. Personally I hate paying the money, but it is what it is and a must do in LA. As far as Los Angeles goes: La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles Natural History Museum, California Science Center (space shuttle at this place and a aquarium, and its FREE). I would also visit Universal Studios for a day. If you are into fine artwork a visit to LACMA, Getty Center, Getty Villa are all top notch (Gettys are free). Another neat and free thing to do in LA is watch planes land at the IN N OUT burger next to LAX. The Gene Autry Museum has premier collection of OLD WEST, and a very nice collection of Firearms in the country. I would also recommend visiting the USS Iowa in San Pedro, the San Gabriel Mission (its interesting). Also advise visiting San Diego and touring the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier. The San Diego zoo is nice but pricey. Also check out Balboa park and what it has to offer. The Reagan Presidential Library is also a great place to visit and it's about 45 minutes outside of LA. |
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Way overpriced and overcrowded...if you're gonna be in the area and want to throw away tons of money you would be better of getting a room on the beach at Hermosa or Manhattan and let the kids enjoy themselves there. I grew up a few miles from Disneyland and went many times....always a pain in the ass but now that I have a kid I may be in your situation soon. |
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This, fuck DisneyLAND, now DisneyWORLD, is another story. Op, if you've been to WORLD you will be disappointed in LAND. |
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Ok arfcom, against my better judgement I am taking the family to Disneyland this summer. My wife's aunt paying for it helped me with that decision.
I have never been to Disneyland or California for that matter, so what do I need to see/do? What I do know is that we will be getting there on a Saturday and leaving the following Saturday. We will be spending at least two days @ Disneyland, one at Universal Studios and the rest is up in the air. Spend it on a custom AR-15 and take the family out to Chuck E Cheese. Just kidding. I've never been to Disneyland. |
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If you are a man that knows how to take a breath, relax and watch your kids have a blast then you will enjoy it. If you are not able to let go of an uptight, always on guard attitude, it will suck for you and your kids time will be dampened. When I'm at Disney it's one of the only times I just let go of everything and make moments with my family. If you can do it you will make memories for a lifetime. You are going to get lots of negativity in this thread cause the men here can't handle it, it's a choice really. And for your families sake don't spend the whole time bitching about how expensive everything is! If you are the alpha sheepdog, screw Kali, I never fly, I carry a G19 or 1911 in the shower, Olive Garden sucks, I can cook a better steak at home type of dad, just send the kids with family and stay home. Everyone will be happier. 
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Great notes here.
In addition to the Peterson museum, go see the Nethercutt museum in Sylmar. It's only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday and you HAVE to register in advance . . . no walk-ups. 2nd the Griffith Observatory and Knott's Berry Farm. At Knott's make sure you say hi to sad eye joe 
Also, if you want to eat at the Blue Bayou in Disney you almost have to sign up immediately on entering the park. Check out the fireworks IF you've never seen the show before. Otherwise the fireworks and the time after till they close is far and away the BEST time to ride. The last time I went, my brother and I rode Thunder Mountain Railroad 7-8 times in a row till we almost puked. When the train is half-full and no one is in line, it's hard to say no
Frankly, if you stay in Anaheim or close enough to Disney, you'll see the fireworks every night you're there. My grandmother used to live in Whittier and you could hear them from her yard. Downtown Disney is perfect for wasting time for an hour or two to catch some fireworks. Los Angeles is the coolest place on the planet for a week. You could pack out a week easily or just bum around on the handful of beaches available. |
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Your plan sounds good. One day in each park is enough for me. The kids always want more.
Carry snacks in a pack or purse. That will save $150 per day. Eat off site when you can. There are some really good restaurants in the area. Depending on where you are from you may enjoy a beach visit. If the surf is up the Wedge in Newport is great for watching. Really good sushi at Nagisa in Corona Del Mar. So much food, so little time. Have fun... |
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Pull into the parking garage and tell them your parking with the rest of your family in their motor home outside. Turn left and pull outside and park right in front of the tram. 100' walk to the tram. (yes, I know I'm a bad person. That's been clearly established a long time ago.)
Like others already said, Tues/Wed. Don't go on the weekend. Get 2 day "park hopper" passes for both parks. It takes two days to do everything in both parks. Try the Jazz Kitchen in the downtown disney district (near the house of blues). |
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Disneyland does get very crowded compared to Walt Disney World, however its a GREAT place to have fun and enjoy the rides. Personally I hate paying the money, but it is what it is and a must do in LA.
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I'll third the LA Brea Tarpits...very neat place to spend a morning or afternoon...nothing like it in the country You can also go to Hollywood Blvd for a little wierdo-watching. |
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Really good sushi at Nagisa in Corona Del Mar.
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| Do your two days at disney, definitely get the park hopper, your kids will have fun and you can too. Im assuming your getting a rental car? Work your way south after disneyland, Stop in Huntington Beach, learn to surf/hangout at the beach at Cardiff and finish the trip off in San Diego. Thats what Im planning for the wife soon. |
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I frequent Disneyland, in fact I think I will be there Wednesday.
It is crowded. It is not Disneyworld. It doesn't allow guns. It is in California. But, it is an experience your kids will enjoy and never forget. Southern California and the Los Angeles area have plenty to do. Museums, beaches, hiking, touristy shit, the works. Just be prepared for traffic and crowds. Enjoy! |