Planning trip to disneyland then aulani

[Kimmi96]

We are new DVC members (animal kingdom). I love this group. We are going to hh this year, Disney next and planning Disneyland then on to Aulani in 2015. We live in Atlanta so we have always driven to Disney as well as other vacation destinations. We would like to fly to Calf. and visit the San Diego zoo and then on to Disneyland for 2 nights before head on to Aulani. I have never booked flights. For those experienced travelers I would love some advice on where to fly into, best airlines and general tips.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Welcome to the Disboards and DVC!

We intend to do Disney Land and Aulani in one trip some year too! We're hoping for fall, 2014. DH has a relative who lives around San Diego so we'll be flying into SD and I imagine we'll be going from LAX to Hawaii. We were looking at airfares just this morning, trying to figure out a budget, using prices we're looking at now for September/October this year. I'm sure others will have some specific recommendations for you!

Bobbi

 

[Anek0618]

We leave in 3 weeks for our trip to Disneyland and then off to Aulani We are coming from Canada though so we are flying into LAX, spending 4 days at Disneyland and then back out of LAX to Honolulu for a week and then back home. We are not doing San Diego this trip, although I did think about it. You could fly into San Diego, LAX or Orange County-John Wayne airports. It all depends on the prices you can find and how much driving you want to do! LAX would be the most driving, John Wayne is closest to Disneyland and San Diego puts you convenient to all that is there. I'm no help in terms of prices because it is always much more expensive to come from Canada Good luck with your planning!! I can't wait for our trip

 

[amym2]

We flew to CA a couple of years ago (from IN) to go to DLR and we flew into and out of San Diego. We spent a few days there (loved the zoo!) then drove to DLR and spent 3 nights there. The drive was easy at the times we were going (returned on a Sunday) but I've heard it can be very congested. For your trip, it would probably be ideal to fly into San Diego then out of LAX to get to Hawaii. However, it's likely the car rental would be way more expensive to pick it up at one location and return it at another. If that's the case, I'd look into flying into and out of San Diego, just because LAX is in a much more congested area. If you do end up going to/from LAX, I'd think hard about whether making the trek to San Diego just for the zoo would be worth it.

It's helpful to use sites like Expedia or Travelocity to compare flight prices, but I always book flights directly through the airlines. Since you're in Atlanta, I'd check to see if AirTran flies to anywhere in the LA/SD area. The days you fly can make a big difference in prices (usually Tue/Wed are best).

 

[Cinderpamela]

We would like to fly to Calf. and visit the San Diego zoo and then on to Disneyland for 2 nights before head on to Aulani. I have never booked flights. For those experienced travelers I would love some advice on where to fly into, best airlines and general tips.

As said by PP- SNA (Orange County John Wayne) is the closest airport to Disneyland. DLR needs about 3-4 days to do right.

I would really recommend you head over the the DLR threads here on the DIS. Lots of great info there. When there, check out the Sticky's at the top of the threads. Specifically Hydroguys thread "DLR for WDW Vets" its a great way to get started:http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

Sounds like you have some great trips planned!

 

[dsneygirl]

In June 2012 we flew to San Diego, did 3 days there (zoo, Sea World etc), the Aulani for 10 days then DLR for 5. This helped immensely with the jet lag and the duration of flights for our kids (we also came from the east coast) flight segments were 5.5 hours each.

In hindsight I would do the reverse next time. DL first as we got up for early entry (7am) which was 4am Hawaii time, brutal!