Disneyland

It's been a while since I've priced out the hotels at Disneyland, but that doesn't seem *too* bad of a deal. Your guesstimate on pricing for the whole trip probably isn't far off, either (depending on any swag you might pick up). If you're set on going in December, from my past experience there's a good chance you'll run into crowds; typically Nov - first week of January is pretty busy, but with a whole week at the park you'll have ample time to see and do everything in both parks.

If you or your son are fans of Disney, you'll have a great time. I might recommend checking out MiceChat (MiceChat - Disneyland Resort) or one of the other sites that tracks park updates and the like to keep in the loop of any events, planned ride closures, etc. Also, you have to get one of the churros in the park at least one day while you're there - for some reason they have the best churros in the world.

My wife and I are likely getting annual passports again for the parks - if you do end up going, shoot me a PM if you want some company one day while you're here (I live like 25 mins from Anaheim).

Make sure all vaccinations are up to date. Last thing you want is some form of stupid disease that's easily preventable.

We prefer Disney World. Just a much larger area which gives them more options to work with. There really isn't a comparison disney wise.

We've had annual passes since before kids and will keep them even after the kids are gone. We are both kids at heart though so even though we've been countless times now we still have a great time. The parks are much more fun when you aren't in a rush and can pick and choose when you go.

Kuriin_sl said:

Make sure all vaccinations are up to date. Last thing you want is some form of stupid disease that's easily preventable.

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Lol beat me to it, was going to say bring vaccines.

Bring 2 pairs of shoes. You will need to change them at least once a day.

Stay away from the really expensive places like Blue Bayou and Napa Rose. Really not worth the price for the quality of food you get.

Get fast passes for the popular rides early in the day. Especially the Radiator Springs Racers in Disney's California Adventure. They run out of passes fast for that one and the wait for the regular lines are usually 1 hour or more.

Also you can queue your next fast pass as soon as the last one 'activates' but the other one is good for as I recall the rest of the day. So if you grab one early and it pops at 10:30AM, queue another one even if you don't use the other ride right away.

Also, holy shit that is a good deal price wise if that includes a Disney hotel AND park hoppers for all those days. Seriously. At that price who cares if you spend a few $$ to go visit something else in Anaheim a couple of those days.

There's something else worth visiting in Anaheim?

I'd say go to Disneyworld instead.

But if you're going to Disneyland, avoid the last two weeks of December. Holy shit is it awful. My wife's family visited and we went the 26-28th on a 3 day park hopper. It's apparently one of the most crowded times of the year. Radiator Racers I believe is probably the most popular ride between the two parks, and it was a 3 hour wait. We got fast passes first thing in the morning, and they were for like 10:30am or so...and we still had to wait a good 20 minutes even with them (the fast passes generally get you to a point where the two lines converge).

Budget around $15 per meal, per person. That will get you a cheeseburger, hotdog, or chicken strips with drink and fries. It's not all burgers and fries though. There are also a few places that serve better food for around the same price - there somewhere in Orleans Quarter that has decent sandwiches, salads, and soup bowls served cafeteria sytle for around $15 +/- a few $. The Main Street circle has a place with decent pastries and coffees. Blue Bayou (sitdown restaurant inside the Pirates ride) is expensive and you may need reservations. Budget around $4 per drink (like bottled water) and $6 per snack (churros/pretzels/ice cream/etc). You are looking at around $100/day in food if you eat in the park fortwo mealswith a few snacks and drinks thrown in-between. Keep in mind you can also leave the park to eat and rest then return with a hand stamp. Downtown Disney (just outside the park entrances) has a few places to eat and shop too.

You'll probably also need to budget for souvenirs like Mickey Ears, shirts, stuffed toys, etc Don't be a tool and buy those early in the day and carry around a 4 foot stuffed Goofy all day. Unless you take them back to your hotel.

Keep in mind your son might not meet the height requirements for some of the "adult" rides.

Plan around any parades or fireworks shows you want to see, you'll probably need to be in place 30+ minutes to get a decent view spot (probably earlier). The good viewing spots tend to fill up early along the routes.

Let your kid run around on Sawyer Island. He'll probably have just as much fun there as on any ride.

Watch out for water rides at night in December. Do them earlier when you can dry off.

Look up the times for the Jedi Academy, where your son gets to wear a Jedi robe, wield a light saber, and go on stage to battle Darth Vader. They do it a few times a day but it's mostly early (like no shows after 4pm or something).

Fast pass can save time to be sure, but Disney does a very good job of making the lines interesting. I probably like all the visuals and details in the Star Tours and Indiana Jones lines better than the actual rides.

Don't be a dick with a cell phone or camera flash in the haunted house elevator. In December, it's still Nightmare Before Christmas themed too, which is cool.

Ride the Disney Train around the park. Took me 30 years before I did and it's cool! I'm sure your son will like the Dinosaurs.

You'll learn to hate strollers and to really hate powered scooters all the overweight people ride there.

The Pizza Press is right across the street from Disneyland and really good and cheap. You'll want to eat something not Disney.

Elurin_sl said:

The Pizza Press is right across the street from Disneyland and really good and cheap. You'll want to eat something not Disney.

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I don't know why people want to go to Pedoworld or Pedoland

I'm not sure why you went with pedophilia, but I'll admit when my wife was talking about going to Disneyland last year I wasn't really enthusiastic about it. I mean, what the hell is a man in his 30's going to do at Disney?

But I'll tell you what - I had a fucking blast there, even with the crowds. So much so that at the end of our 3 days we almost went and got annual passes. The only thing that kept us from doing it is all the blackout dates on annual passes.

Elurin_sl said:

I'm not sure why you went with pedophilia, but I'll admit when my wife was talking about going to Disneyland last year I wasn't really enthusiastic about it. I mean, what the hell is a man in his 30's going to do at Disney?

But I'll tell you what - I had a fucking blast there, even with the crowds. So much so that at the end of our 3 days we almost went and got annual passes. The only thing that kept us from doing it is all the blackout dates on annual passes.

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There's only blackout dates on the 'cheaper' ones. If you get the better one or the passport thing (WDW and Disneyland entry) I don't think there's any blackout dates.

joz123_sl said:

Bring 2 pairs of shoes. You will need to change them at least once a day.

Stay away from the really expensive places like Blue Bayou and Napa Rose. Really not worth the price for the quality of food you get.

Get fast passes for the popular rides early in the day. Especially the Radiator Springs Racers in Disney's California Adventure. They run out of passes fast for that one and the wait for the regular lines are usually 1 hour or more.

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I'm surprised Disneyland hasn't converted to the online version yet. The DisneyWorld Fastpass system was pretty convenient with being able to do it online/on your phone while at the park to swap out for a better time saving choice real time. The disadvantage is some rides are booked up months in advance. One nice thing was at one ride where we were in the regular line with a ~40 min wait. While waiting I whip out my phone, find it has fastpasses available for the current time and sign up and leave the big line to the fast line and saved 30 min.

Elurin_sl said:

I'm not sure why you went with pedophilia, but I'll admit when my wife was talking about going to Disneyland last year I wasn't really enthusiastic about it. I mean, what the hell is a man in his 30's going to do at Disney?

But I'll tell you what - I had a fucking blast there, even with the crowds. So much so that at the end of our 3 days we almost went and got annual passes. The only thing that kept us from doing it is all the blackout dates on annual passes.

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Lol.

I have passes to Disneyland, I live a few miles away (in fact, I can see the fireworks from my balcony) and my husband and I get ridiculous high and then go to Disneyland. After 6PM the amount of annoying kids drop and is mostly adults, so it really is like an adult playground at night. Food is amazing (albeit expensive, we try to eat a main dinner beforehand).

To OP: You don't have to fly to John Wayne, Long Beach airport is fairly close and is a hub for JetBlue (if you're in the east coast it's heaven). For hotels my husband and I have stayed in almost all of them (we usually get a room for one night so we can get very stupidly high and not worry about driving) if you're on the budget side try something in Garden Grove instead of Anaheim most hotels are cheaper and have shuttles to Disneyland that run every 15 minutes.

For food, everything is going to be expensive but there are small places around Garden Grove where you can have a bite and not pay as much. Remember, the closer to the parks the more expensive everything gets. If you're seriously considering coming PM me and I might be able to get you tickets cheaper because I'm in SoCal.

How are the first two weeks of December crowd wise? Wife wants to go to see all the X-mas stuff.