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We Came To Play!

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Opening Magic Kingdom

Opening Magic Kingdom

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

We're Headed West to Disneyland!

The Williams Family is headed West this summer to tour Disneyland.  We’re excited, curious, and feeling like “newbies” when it comes to planning a Disney vacation.  So where are we with our planning for a vacation that is six months away from today?

Flights—the flights are booked.  We got a great deal on direct flights from an airport 90 miles from home.  As a part of the flight booking process, we also paid for luggage and seats.  Done!

So we know our dates.  We’ve got 12 days and would like to spend a few/days nights at one Disneyland Resort, then head off to Legoland to stay and play in their theme park, water park, and hotel, then return to the Disneyland and give another resort a try.  Always researching. . .

We’ve hit a bit of a snag and I sent an email to our travel agent to help us find out more.  Transportation to/from the airports to the Disneyland Resort is available—for a fee.  Motorcoaches have specific operating times, not like Disney’s Magical Express in Orlando.  The buses start running at 6:00 am and our return flight is at 8:15 am so I’m wondering if getting on that first bus would give us enough time to get to the airport and make it to our flight.  Otherwise, we will have to make alternative transportation arrangements.

Then, there’s getting to Legoland.  Just like Disney to think of everything and adding transportation to Legoland and/or other Southern California destinations is something guests can add on to their vacation package.  What I need to know is the timing of that transportation and is it such that we can take our luggage with us?  The answers to this question will determine the types of tickets we want/need for both Legoland and Disneyland.  And, we obviously want round-trip transportation, just not on the same day.

For example, if the transportation to Legoland is early in the day, then there is no sense in having a Disneyland park ticket for that day.  Maybe there is enough time to have a character breakfast before going to Legoland. 

Walt Disney World planning veterans would be making dining reservations as today marks our 6 month window, but not Disneyland.  Dining reservations are available 60 days ahead.  Good thing as we are not ready to make them yet.

We’re already noticing the differences, just in the planning stages.  We’ll keep you posted!

11 comments:

  1. We too are WDW veterans from Iowa and took our inaugural trip to Disneyland in 2012. We took the disney charter bus to the resort from the airport but had to use a van service on the way home as we also had an early flight home. We used what allears suggested as a company. We also used them to get to Huntington Beach. For a Character Meal may I suggest the first seating for Minnie and Friends breakfast in the park. With the time change in our favor it didn't bother us at all to get up early for the 7:10 seating. We got to open the breakfast and met 12 characters!! Minnie, Popert the Penguin, Chip and Dale, Max, Eeyore, Tigger, Captain Hook, Max, Perla, Geppetto, and the Fairy Godmother.

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    1. Thanks for all your great advice, WDW veterans from Iowa! Will definitely look into your suggestions!

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  2. Congrats! My wife and I are going to DL for the first time this summer as well. It's kinda fun researching somewhere new :)

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    1. Mike--congratulations on your trip! Let's just say, I'm already learning a lot! Happy planning!

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  3. Been reading your blog for a while now. Love it! Being on the West Coast -my family and I head to Disneyland every year. This last year we took our toddler for the first time and used an amazing car service. Before our little one we actually used taxis every time we headed to the resort. Not too much more than the Charter bus and we were the only family in it. However this car service we used was amazing! They kept us up-to-date on where they were - timely and very courteous. They also provide one stop to a grocery store before your hotel. We will use them again for our next trip. Their info is : LANSKY ENTERPRISE LLC.
    fka : DK'S LIVERY SERVICE
    (TEL) 213-291-9635, 213-210-4575
    http://.golansky.com
    http://facebook.com/lanskyusa
    Can't wait to hear about your adventures in Anaheim!
    Auburnmb- Oregon

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    1. Auburnmb,
      Thank you for the information! And, thanks for reading!

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    2. So glad you decided to use Lansky Enterprise. I really liked them! Hope you have a good experience as well! Enjoy Disneyland!

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  4. We live in California and go to Disneyland often. I wanted to throw in another option of purchasing the Southern California City Pass www.citypass.com/southern-california
    it includes 3 day park hoppers for Disneyland/California Adventure, 1 day to Universal and 1 day to Sea World for $334 which is a great deal. You can also add on Legoland for $59 and San Diego Safari/Zoo, all worthy of a visit if you are going to be in the area for more than 1 week.

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    1. Briza Aispuro,
      Great suggestion! We did look into the City Pass. Unfortunately, we are not planning to visit Universal or Sea World, but for those that do, the City Pass is a terrific value.
      Thanks for reading!

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  5. This is exciting! I am looking forward to seeing your itinerary as it develops. I assume you will have photospass? Do they take magic shots there? This calls for matching Disneyland shirts! Happy planning! H

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  6. Our itinerary may have an update by today! Been on the phone with our travel agent and things are shaping up. Yes, we plan on pre-purchasing Photospass (it is much less money that at Walt Disney World) and yes, there are magic shots. Matching Disneyland shirts--well, we'll see. We have so many matching sets that still work that we may forgo. One of our sets already has Disneyland referenced on the back. Thanks for reading. Updates coming soon!

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