LA and Orlando

Dave_uk

Mouseketeer
Joined
Oct 4, 2008
having a crazy idea. Has any one ever done LA then Orlando?

Looking for any advice if you have. Looking at doing 3/4 days in La Disney Universal then other to Orlando.

I’m I crazy.
 
No you're not crazy! We've done it a couple of times in 2014 and 2016 and it's fabulous.

It's a lot of flying but if you organise it well it can work. We did Manchester - Heathrow and stayed overnight. Heathrow to LA and then six nights at the Disneyland hotel. We then flew down to Orlando and stayed 10 nights and then straight back to Manchester. I booked the USA flights with VA, the shuttle to Heathrow with BA and the LA to Orlando with Delta.

We opted for six nights in LA both times as we wanted to see a little of the local area too and we had a couple of trips planned. We did the usual touristy stuff to Hollywood Boulevard etc and up into the Hollywood hills and also a trip to Santa Monica and Venice Beach. I wasn't the greatest fan of LA itself as it's so sprawling but there's so much to see on the outskirts.

Disneyland is fabulous and you need four days to see the two parks. If you want any help in planning just give me a shout.
 
No you're not crazy! We've done it a couple of times in 2014 and 2016 and it's fabulous.

It's a lot of flying but if you organise it well it can work. We did Manchester - Heathrow and stayed overnight. Heathrow to LA and then six nights at the Disneyland hotel. We then flew down to Orlando and stayed 10 nights and then straight back to Manchester. I booked the USA flights with VA, the shuttle to Heathrow with BA and the LA to Orlando with Delta.

We opted for six nights in LA both times as we wanted to see a little of the local area too and we had a couple of trips planned. We did the usual touristy stuff to Hollywood Boulevard etc and up into the Hollywood hills and also a trip to Santa Monica and Venice Beach. I wasn't the greatest fan of LA itself as it's so sprawling but there's so much to see on the outskirts.

Disneyland is fabulous and you need four days to see the two parks. If you want any help in planning just give me a shout.

Thanks so much for the offer of help.

Here is my sort of plan so far,

Fly from Manchester to Las Vegas... 2 nights ... then early morning flight to LAX and on to Disney land. Was only thinking 3 days then one at universal.

Literally so much I want to do. Think I could go away for a month.

Just looking at internal US flights and they are so cheap.
 
Have you been to Vegas before? Last year we did Orlando and then Vegas on the way back. We did five nights in Vegas and it was just enough to see/do what we wanted. It's a great place - we stayed at the Venetian, did the old town, a couple of shows etc.
Southwest are great to fly with. We've done a lot of internal US flights as we often fly into Atlanta from Manchester and then down to Orlando. We tended to fly Delta but then found Southwest were so much cheaper. They're reliable, don't charge for luggage and have great crew. We used them for the flight from Orlando up to Vegas with no problems and at a third of the cost compared to Delta plus direct.
Disneyland is certainly doable in three days although we still haven't done all the attractions in two trips as we're not early risers!
 


Never been to Vegas... thinking we may just do LA then Orlando.

Any hotel recommendations for LA close to Disney.
 
Do you want to stay on site? On site isn't the same as in WDW - there are 3 hotels which are classed as onsite, the Disneyland, Paradise Pier and the Grand Californian. We've stayed at the Disneyland both times and it's great. As Disneyland is so much smaller there are plenty of great hotels in the surrounding area which are within walking distance to the two parks. The Disney 'bubble' isn't quite the same in LA.
Friends have stayed at both the Fairfield Inn by Marriot and Howard Johnson Anaheim and liked them both.
 


This thread has lots of helpful information for choosing a DLR hotel (very different from choosing a hotel at WDW): https://www.disboards.com/threads/choosing-the-right-dlr-area-hotel-for-you.3656512/.
The above tip for the Candy Cane Inn is a good one -- we love the CCI and it gets very good reviews on the DLR forum. It is about 10 minutes walking distance to the park gates (same side of the street as the parks) AND has a private shuttle (very few hotels at DLR have this perk).
You may find this thread helpful, too: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets.
When were you thinking of visiting? 2018 or 2019? There are many things on the DLR calendar that can affect crowds and park hours, plus special events, e.g. Mickey's Halloween Party, that you might be interested in. Don't forget about SWGE opening in 2019 -- DLR and WDW. That will change the crowd patterns considerably on both coasts. Come on over to the Disneyland (California) forum to find out more!
 
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Last June we did 14 nights at WDW, going to DLR for the middle two days for my Wife's 30th :)
 
having a crazy idea. Has any one ever done LA then Orlando?

Looking for any advice if you have. Looking at doing 3/4 days in La Disney Universal then other to Orlando.

I’m I crazy.

we've done it the other way around...
orlando for 4 weeks (including a disney cruise in the middle)
then flew to disneyland for a week (just disneyland, nothing else in LA)
then flew to las vegas for 4 days and HATED it....we even bought new tickets to get us out a day early we hated it so much..
and then another week with my family in detroit so we could shop till we dropped...
then new york city for 3 days to hit broadway (3 musicals in 3 days)..

then back home across the ocean..

that was an epic summer..

and a few years back DD and DSIL went to alaska for 2 weeks, then on an alaska cruise (southbound out of seward)
and then flew to orlando for 2 weeks....

.
 

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