Help me out with Disneyland planning

We did the same thing 2 years ago. Bite the bullet and rent the car, fly into LAX, and bring your car seats with you or rent them from the rental company. Makes life easier when you have a car. If you stay in one of the Good Neighbor Hotels, you'll be walking distance to Disneyland and won't need the car, but you can use it to go elsewhere besides Disney stuff.

We did't do the other two so we can't speak about that, but we took a drive along the coast, went to the Santa Monica pier, up into the hills, to Beverly Hills, the Hollywood Sign, and the Walk of Fame.

It was a fun trip, but we only used a day and a half to do the other things. We spent the rest of the time at DisneyLand. Be prepared, Disneyland is much smaller and if the crowds are right, you can do both parks in one day

Every hotel near Disneyland has a shuttle. We stayed at the Four Points Sheraton, which is just across the freeway that borders the North side of Disney.

It was relatively cheap and decent condition. You can see the fireworks from your room if they're running fireworks. I liked it and it's been the best quality/price combo I've stayed at.

Once you're there, Downtown Disney has a ton of food optikns withing walking distance. ESPN Zone, etc, just a ton.

Both Disneyland and California Adventure are fun. Cars Land in CA will be fun for your kids if they like Cars movies. I'd book 3 days to fully hit the two parks without being too high stress. We did the 3 day park hopper, which I would recommend.

Whether you need a car depends on whether you want to visit another park, especially maybe Universal. Knotts Berry is fairly close, so you can get away without a car. Universal, nah, it's a long trip, you'll need a car.

I live on the West Coast, so don't know Disney World, but check into how you want to structure fastpasses at Disneyland. They have a smartphone service you can buy.

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LA has a ton of stuff to do, so if you have extra time, there are a billion other options.

Hope this helps, I'll check in and if you have any other questions, happy to toss in if it helps.

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ESPN zone is closed. Splitsville is your option for a sports bar. Food was good and bartenders were fun

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Oops, haven't been that far down in Downtown Disney last trip. There are a ton of restaurants in Downtown Disney, the hotels and parks, though.

Plus, you'll be hungry as **** after a while in the park. They could feed me dog food while there and it would taste awesome after all the moving and standing.

Yeah, there are plenty of competent, not spectacular places around the parks. There are enough options where I think he should be fine unless he really wants a high quality meal.

After 10-12 hours in Disneyland, I'm not super picky. Half the time we go to the La Brea bakery because it's the closest to the parks.

A lost of Downtown Disney options:

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Went to Disneyland for the first time last year and going back again next month. We're flying into John Wayne Airport simply because it's about a 30 minute closer Uber/cab ride. It is a little more expensive but Southwest flies there and has some good deals.

You will not need a car unless you plan to do something else in LA outside of Disneyland. Universal is about an hour away. I think Knotts Berry is much closer. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn on Harbor Blvd last year and this year are staying at the Courtyard which is right next to the Fairfield. It's like a 3 block walk to the park. There are plenty of off site hotels within reasonable walking distance.

Personally, I enjoyed it more that Disneyworld. Having both parks right next to each other is so convenient for park hopping. As is not having to bus back to the hotel if you want to take an afternoon break. Plus, I think most of the rides both parks have in common DL does better. And their Max Pass system for fast passes is great.

You should rent a car. The Uber/Lyft cars generally don't have car seats. Renting a car at LAX is kind of a hassle though since you have to grab a shuttle. If you go to another park, I would recommend Knotts for your aged kids. They have the Camp Snoopy part of the park. Universal may be a bit grown up for them except for the Harry Potter part.
There are now lots of hotel chains near Disney where you can get a suite pretty inexpensively. Park your car at the hotel and then Uber to the park. It's like $5 each way unless you are within a block or two and can walk.
Your kids will love Cars Land. As someone else said, Downtown Disney doesn't have ESPN Zone or Rainforest Café anymore. There are other places to eat outside of the park though or at Downtown Disney. I like La Brea Bakery.

Some of the rides take planning. It isn't like Disney World. Woody's Midway Mayhem you need to get their early or fast pass. I would recommend catching the Fantasmic water show and then running over to Indiana Jones which tends to have a long wait. You walk about a quarter mile just to get to the damn ride

So Uber actually does have a car seat option. LINK

I have not used it so I can’t say if it is good. But you could research that if you really don’t want the rental car or to bring a seat with you. I do know if you want a seat from a rental car place, you definitely need to call in advance. They don’t always have them.

If the crowds aren't bad I found the normal fast pass was just fine. I didn't ride any rides over and over so that would probably change your strategy

Headed there for first time end of February. Staying offsite and doing a day in Los Angeles/Hollywood just to say I’ve done it. Very excited