I have $1200 for a solo trip...help!!!

[PoohDoll]

I have a whopping $1200 to spend on a solo trip to wherever I want. I thought about Vegas but decided not to...it's pretty much a glorified atlantic city. I've taken my kids to disney world four times within the past two years. I have ONE weekend to go on this solo trip by myself. Im bored with disney world so I need something diffrent.

Im thinking about Disney Land!! I've never been to the west coast. Im not really into Hollywood and all that jazz...it just doesnt appeal to me much. I do get a lil excited thinking about disneyland though.

I have $1200 to go towards this trip...I've budgeted $400 for airfare although i see i can get a roundtrip flight for a little under $350. Ill need a one day park hopper. Im pretty sure i can see and do everything in disneyland on that Saturday....and ill be returning home to my kiddos on that Sunday.

How much do you think this is going to cost ?

I live in NYC and i dont have a license so i dont drive. Ill need a motel within walking distance with an airport shuttle if possible.

This trip will be March 1st -March 3rd. So two nights..The cheapest flight leaves at like 9:30 p.m. so Im not able to make the most out of Friday. Ill be checking into the hotel and going straight to bed which will be in the middle of the night...oh boy

 

[PoohDoll]

I dont feel bad about the solo trip by myself because im taking the kids on a disney cruise in September. I'd just like to do something by myself for once. I thought about bringing my dd with me on this trip but that'll double all the costs into more than $1200. It'll be atleast $700 for airfare alone...let alone the cost of an extra park ticket/food for her as well .

 

[Marionnette]

I have a whopping $1200 to spend on a solo trip to wherever I want. I thought about Vegas but decided not to...it's pretty much a glorified atlantic city. I've taken my kids to disney world four times within the past two years. I have ONE weekend to go on this solo trip by myself. Im bored with disney world so I need something diffrent.

Im thinking about Disney Land!! I've never been to the west coast. Im not really into Hollywood and all that jazz...it just doesnt appeal to me much. I do get a lil excited thinking about disneyland though.

I have $1200 to go towards this trip...I've budgeted $400 for airfare although i see i can get a roundtrip flight for a little under $350. Ill need a one day park hopper. Im pretty sure i can see and do everything in disneyland on that Saturday....and ill be returning home to my kiddos on that Sunday.

How much do you think this is going to cost ?

I live in NYC and i dont have a license so i dont drive. Ill need a motel within walking distance with an airport shuttle if possible.

This trip will be March 1st -March 3rd. So two nights..The cheapest flight leaves at like 9:30 p.m. so Im not able to make the most out of Friday. Ill be checking into the hotel and going straight to bed which will be in the middle of the night...oh boy

I dont feel bad about the solo trip by myself because im taking the kids on a disney cruise in September. I'd just like to do something by myself for once. I thought about bringing my dd with me on this trip but that'll double all the costs into more than $1200. It'll be atleast $700 for airfare alone...let alone the cost of an extra park ticket/food for her as well .

There are a number of affordable hotels within walking distance of Disneyland's gates. I suggest posting on the Disneyland forum for suggestions that meet your budget. Personally, I would splurge on a really nice hotel with room service if it were me doing a child-free trip.

I stayed at the Marriott Anaheim several years ago and I got a great package - breakfast, tickets and room. It was far enough from the parks that crowds and street noise were not a factor. But it was a nice walk along the boulevard to the parks. There is also a trolley (not free) that loops to and from the convention center hotels and the parks.

It will depend on which airport you fly into, but there are plenty of ground service options. The Marriott did not provide free shuttle service and we booked a Super Shuttle for our ground transportation.

 

[delmar411]

if I had a solo weekend to myself and I was bored with WDW and on the east coast, I'd book myself into a spa for the weekend in Vermont or something. Someplace where you wouldn't waste so much time traveling over the weekend.

I'd get pampered and relax the entire weekend.

But that's just me! LOL

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

if I had a solo weekend to myself and I was bored with WDW and on the east coast, I'd book myself into a spa for the weekend in Vermont or something. Someplace where you wouldn't waste so much time traveling over the weekend.

I'd get pampered and relax the entire weekend.

But that's just me! LOL

I wouldn't spend that much travel time for one day at DLR. And you wouldn't experience much in one day spread over two parks. There is a lot to see there. Save it for another time when you can stay longer.

 

[MAJPLO]

If you are only planning one day in the parks I wouldnt do a hopper. Just pick one park and spend the day there instead of trying to do both with the extra expense.

 

[PoohDoll]

Well i do want to see both parks...everyone always says you cant do disney in a day but i've done it multiple times. I just dont buy into the whole it takes days to see a park saying...

 

[PoohDoll]

I did both universal parks within a day...i got there at rope drop..saw and did everything in both parks by 5:00 p.m.

 

[Tony NY]

i would say look at the delta vacations and look up nyc to lax I found airfair from JFK - LAX for 560 & up for feburay . and this was hotles around disneyland.

 

[robsmom]

Well i do want to see both parks...everyone always says you cant do disney in a day but i've done it multiple times. I just dont buy into the whole it takes days to see a park saying...

Hey, it is your time and your money. It sounds like you enjoy running through the parks and don't mind if you don't get to ride every ride or see every show. Personally, I loved Disneyland and would never suggest trying to do it in one day. We initially planned 3 days and ended up canceling a Santa Monica reservation and staying 2 extra nights. I was really surprised how much there was to do. Your relaxing weekend away from the kids sounds exhausting and stressful to me, but to each her own.

 

[ceecee]

if I had a solo weekend to myself and I was bored with WDW and on the east coast, I'd book myself into a spa for the weekend in Vermont or something. Someplace where you wouldn't waste so much time traveling over the weekend.

I'd get pampered and relax the entire weekend.

But that's just me! LOL

I agree! Even with a direct flight NY to CA is a long way! There is a lot of things to do in CA too, I wouldn't fly out for a weekend I'd go when I could stay longer. We did do Disneyland in one day and did City Walk (way back then when it wasn't much) on another evening.

 

[disney314]

You may want to check the weather. We went to Disneyland for spring break once and it was quite a bit cooler there than WDW in Florida. So if you are thinking of going soon, you may want to consider the difference in temperatures.

Disneyland is nice. Not huge like WDW, but still nice. They do have some inexpensive hotels within walking distance so you don't have to stay at a Disney hotel, but if you can afford it, they are nice. I saw a video where the Disneyland hotel has this 'light show' in your room at night. When we stayed there they had glow in the dark Tinkerbell wallpaper border that was really cute.

Personally, if it were me, and the trip was within the next couple of months, I would go to Florida for the warmer weather. But Disneyland is nice and you will enjoy it. There are things there that you won't find at WDW. So it will be fun

 

[Lisa71]

I would do Vegas and spend money at the spa and nice restaurants...but if you want s
Disneyland I would try a hotel like double tree guest suites and eat at napa rose .

 

[disney314]

Oh and when we did go to Disneyland, we only stayed at the Disneyland Hotel two nights and then moved to a more economical hotel without walking distance. It was recommended on the Disneyland DIS Board and is call the Candy Cane Inn:

http://www.candycaneinn.net/anaheim-budget-hotel-rates.htm

When we went (which was about 15 years ago) they had a free breakfast (muffins and things like that). They offered a shuttle to the parks, but it was a very easy walk so we never took the shuttle.

But as someone else suggested, go to the Disneyland Board and they will offer lots of information.

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

It seems like a lot of travel time for such a short trip. I would look into something closer. What about Miami or some other beach destination?

 

[jcemom]

Well i do want to see both parks...everyone always says you cant do disney in a day but i've done it multiple times. I just dont buy into the whole it takes days to see a park saying...

I did both universal parks within a day...i got there at rope drop..saw and did everything in both parks by 5:00 p.m.

Maybe you mean you did everything that you wanted to do in a day? I don't think it's possible to do EVERYTHING in both Universal parks in one day, by 5:00. Certainly it isn't possible to do "disney" in a day, especially since there are four parks. Maybe you meant Magic Kingdom? Or maybe you're only interested in the "big" rides and no shows or parades or anything like that.

As for DL...*I* wouldn't want to travel all the way to California just to turn around and come home one day later. I suppose if you have a list of attractions that you're interested in, and aren't a "stop and smell the roses" kind of person, you could go through both parks in a day. You could not do everything. If I'm travelling all the way to California, I want to do everything, but that's just me. I wouldn't be willing to go for less than four days. It's your vacation though. If that's what you want to do, then I say go for it.

There are a lot of hotels within walking distance of DL. Head over to the DL forum and I'm sure you'll find tons of helpful information.

 

[Friendly Frog]

Another vote for adding more time to your trip.

We stayed at the Howard Johnson when we were there a few years ago. Great rates and easy walking distance to the park. We ate dinner at the Mimi's restaurant next door to the hotel. You walk past a Mc Donalds each morning on your way to the park.

 

[Lucky4me]

If I had two days away from my family and $1200, I'd book a spa within an hour of home for $500 and bank the rest for the next trip.
16 hours travel time out of 48 hours away is way too much.

 

[nunzia]

I wouldn't spend that much travel time for one day at DLR. And you wouldn't experience much in one day spread over two parks. There is a lot to see there. Save it for another time when you can stay longer.

I have to agree with this..just because people see DLR as small, do not forget that it has more attractions than the entire WDW theme parks. (there was a comparison somewhere) and March is the beginning of the even more crowded breaks time. If it were me and I only had a short time I would probably take a train trip down coast to some beach resort or somewhere with peace and quiet and just eat out and read.

 

[punkin]

If I had two days away from my family and $1200, I'd book a spa within an hour of home for $500 and bank the rest for the next trip.
16 hours travel time out of 48 hours away is way too much.

The travel time will be murder and that's assuming everything runs on time. That's a big assumption. Stay closer to home and do a spa weekend. Go back home relaxed rather than frazzled.