If you’ve been waiting to treat the family to a Disneyland trip now is the time because “Kids Fly Free” is back and that really helps stretch your budget. As an example, a family of four can stay 4 nights at Disneyland Hotel with park passes, airport transfers & roundtrip air from Seattle for less than $2800 and you get extra goodies like a $150 gift card!
You can reduce that cost hundreds more by staying outside the park and there are many hotels within walking distance of Disneyland. If you’re not a walker, or choose to stay farther away, you can easily hop a ride on the Anaheim Resort Transport system. ART will transfer you from your hotel to Disneyland and back for a very nominal fee and there are many scheduled departures throughout the day.
Weather in Southern California is generally good and April through June has temperatures in the mid to high 70’s with very little rain so that’s about perfect.
If you haven’t been to California Adventure yet, it’s located across the main walkway from Magic Kingdom and a “hopper pass” allows you to enjoy both parks as often as you’d like. California Adventure has an awesome roller coaster called “California Screamin’”, and screamin’ is what you will be doing when this coaster speeds from zero to 55 mph is less than 5 seconds!
Another popular ride is white water rafting at “Grizzly River Run” (prepare to get wet) and the little ones will enjoy the 3D animation from “A Bugs Life”.
My personal favorite at California Adventure is “Soarin’ Over California”. This ride simulates a glider flight over California and once you’re buckled in to your “airplane” seat you are off! It’s amazing how authentic everything looks and feels… if you’re like me, you’ll pick up your feet so they don’t get wet from the river water and duck your head to avoid a golf ball hit from Pebble Beach!
Outside the parks, Downtown Disney is a colorful, fun little town with shops and restaurants for everyone. You’ll find every kind of Disney souvenir imaginable: luggage, clothing, movies, jewelry, etc. Beyond the shops selling Disney merchandise, you’ll find Build-a-Bear Workshop, Department 56, Sephora and more. And when you get hungry, two of the most popular restaurants would be Rainforest Café and House of Blues.
Disneyland and California Adventure are truly destinations for all ages and on every visit I discover something new! I hope you’ll call me when it’s time to plan your next family vacation.