Tips for DisneyLand...

Do you plan on staying onsite or at one of the many perfectly clean and comfortable Good Neighbor Hotels that are in walking distance?

One of the coolest places to eat is Blue Bayou. It is a lot like San Angel Inn, but it sits inside the beginning of Pirates instead. Very cool, very good food!

We did a character meal at Goofy's Kitchen and were totally and utterly disappointed! It was absolutely not the same magic that you get with character meals at WDW. We have decided to skip all character meals at DL when we go, save ourselves the money and disappointment.

Get to DCA before rope drop, be the first one in the gate and head straight to the fastpass for Radiator Springs Racers. Last July, that line was at least 1/2 mile long by the time we reached it, and we were there about 4 or 5 minutes after rope drop. So we jammed over to the ride and the line was all the way down the street. This is a ver bad thing because they have the queue set up for a 2 - 2 1/2 hour wait with a 1 hour overflow.(I read this somewhere, but now I can't find it) Everyone in line in the street is beyond that! No thank you. We skipped it.

We love the character breakfast at Crystal Palace in the mornings. Great food and last time we were one of the first reservations and were finished by the time the park opened. Because there weren't so many people there first thing, the characters were super playful and my son has lots of super fun memories from it!

Goofy's Kitchen is great for kids with the little show that they come out and do, but StoryTellers Cafe at the Grand Californian is my favorite DLR Character meal. The food is a little more upscale and I find the Character interaction fantastic. The last time that I was there I had a truly magical moment watching a character interact with a service dog that was laying on the floor under the table. It was pretty amazing and the child who owned the dog was beyond excited that the character got down on the grown with his dog.

The Plaza Restaurant and Rancho del Zocalo are my favorite quick service meals because the food is table service quality at the quick service prices. Delish!

Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye is my very favorite Disney ride of all! It's amazing.

I also think that Pirates is better at DLR and you have to watch Fantasmic on the River. That's the original incarnation of the show and it really needs to be seen that way to truly appreciate it.

Make sure you get a FastPass for World of Color.

And the one thing that I tell all WDW fans headed to DLR... Don't go into the vacation comparing the two, they are completely different and each one has its own special magic. Disneyland is a much more intimate experience, everything is closer and more tactile. There's plenty of time to compare in retrospect, but when you get there just enjoy the moments.

AGREED Kristen! Totally different experiences, even though so much of it is the same. But the same thing goes with DL folks going to WDW for the first time. I had to listen to my Brother and Sister in Law compare the two and talk about how lame WDW is compared to DL! And yes, Fantasmic is one reason, along with Pirates and Space Mountain. I do think you get a smoother Space Mountain ride at DL though. But I think there is a whole scene on Pirates that is missing from the DL version.

Remember, if you like one ride better on one coast, it doesn't mean that you have to hate that same ride on the other coast. You are still allowed to like both versions of the same ride, and you are allowed to like one version better! Who wants all of the parks to be exactly alike? That makes no sense.

On that Fantasmic note, stake out your territory early and stick with it! People claim real estate early!

It's really weird, at Disneyland, I feel like I know where I am, but I am lost. Everything is kind of where it should be, but it isn't. And somethings are different.

One thing that is really deceiving, the queues. At WDW if the line is outside, we skip it, it means the wait is way too long. At DL, all the queues are outside. And it gives me the crazy feeling that I am waiting in lines that are way too long and wasting valuable time.

From my recent experience I would consider both parks as two day parks with the possibility of a fifth day just in case there was something you were unable to see or do. Also a trip to the San Diego Zoo is a great side trip (you can do it in one day but it's tough) in my opinion Gray line tours have the best side tours and they pick you up right at the Disney hotels. I think their all day tour of LA great if you have never been there,They have a stop at the Farmers Market that is worth the price of the trip just for the doughnuts that they sell there alone.

I can easily do two days at each park, though most locals would say you only need one. I think if you want to really take your time and soak it all up two is fantastic.

No, you won't be able to order the maps like WDW does, however you will be able to pick up maps once in the park.

I grew up at DL while it was just one park. You got there at open and left at close. It was a one day park. After we had our first DD we went (I Had not been in 20 years or so) back for 2 days and decided we needed 3.

I didn't learn. After we had our 2nd DD we went for 2 days, and decided that we need 4.

Check into the City Pass. Gets you a 3 day park hopper with magic mornings at DL / DCA and 1 day at Universal and 1 day at SeaWorld for about $300.
http://www.citypass.com/southern-california

There are so many things to check out in the area. I hear that Six Flags Magic Mountain, which is not too far from DL, has some extremely terrifying new rides. Knott's Berry Farm is only a few miles away from DL, I have not been in over 30 years, but I have driven by, and it sure sounds like everyone is having a good time.

The San Diego Zoo is also a pretty neat excursion. About an 1 - 1 1/2 hours away, a lot of uphill climbing, but you can ride from the bottom to the top.

Of course, then there is always Television City, get tickets for the Price is Right or Jay Leno or whatever. We were late for our Price is Right tickets, so we did stand by for Jay Leno and got in. It was pretty fun, it was also about 20 years ago though.

You will be able to find something in Southern California that will keep you entertained and keep you busy. There is so much to do, Catalina Island would be neat, HK with Gordon Ramsay, I want to eat at HK (I wonder how you get in?)! Whatever your interests, you will be covered in LA.

Totally agree with VL. Ideally 2 days per park would really give an opportunity to check out everything at a good but not incredibly rushed pace. There's alot to take in

If you want to do Radiator Springs Racers, I'd take some time to figure out which strategy might work best for you. It was total madness! If you stay at a Disney resort, take advantage of the early hours, arrive early and try to do it right away. Otherwise, plan for an extended wait. Even getting through the FastPass line can require a notable wait.

We thought Finding Nemo was a fun ride. CA Screamin' is also a blast if you like coasters. World of Color was thoroughly enjoyable. They did not have night time fireworks or Fantasmic while we were there