Posted on: Monday, June 6, 2005

If you go ...

By April Orcutt
Special to The Advertiser

GETTING THERE: Mid-price for a round trip from Honolulu to Orange County (Santa Ana), the nearest airport to Disneyland, is about $540, but fares vary widely. Aloha Airlines offers nonstop flights. while United, American, Delta and US Airways offer connecting service. If your hotel doesn't have a shuttle from the airport, check with van services like SuperShuttle (about $10 per person; call (800) 258-3826 or go to supershuttle.com). Or rent a car.

WHERE TO STAY: If you had gone to Disneyland In 1955 when it opened and orange groves filled the surrounding area, you would have had a choice of five hotels, two motels and 34 restaurants in Anaheim. Now you can choose from 150 hotels and motels —Êtotaling about 18,000 rooms — and more than 450 restaurants.

The park itself offers three hotels, all within walking distance (714) 956-6425 or to go www.disneyland.com and click on "hotels":

• Disney's Grand Californian connects Disney's California Adventure with Downtown Disney, the collection of shops, restaurants and bars just outside the park. Its lobby is built in the geometric Arts and Crafts style and has the feeling of a grand 1930s national park lodge, complete with dark wooden beams, Tiffany lamps and a six-foot-wide fireplace. Rooms on the Downtown Disney side are noisiest, especially when the House of Blues is rocking. Prices vary by season and occupancy rate and start at $265 per night. Disney's Grand Californian, 1600 S. Disneyland Dr., Anaheim, CA 92803.

• Paradise Pier Hotel sports a 1950s California beach theme with a pale yellow and dark green color scheme and long surfboards on the walls. It overlooks the Paradise Pier section of Disney's California Adventure. Rates start at $160 per night. Paradise Pier Hotel, 1717 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, CA 92802.

• The Disneyland Hotel, the oldest of the three, is next to Downtown Disney. One of its swimming pools has a Peter Pan Neverland theme. Rates start at $205 per night. Disneyland Hotel, 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802.

The following motels offer weekday, low-season rooms for two starting under $50/night: Anaheim Carriage Inn (714) 740-1440; Crystal Inn (800) 999-3545; Comfort Inn & Suites Anaheim West (714) 220-0100; Super-8 Motel (714) 778-6900.

These start under $100 per night: Hawthorn Suites (714) 635-5000; Ramada Inn (800) 228-0568, www.anaheimramada.com; Anaheim Towneplace Suites by Marriott (714) 939-9700; Econolodge (714) 826-8100; Anaheim Best Western Raffles Inn (714) 750-6100; Anaheim International Inn Travelodge (714) 971-9393.

WHERE TO EAT: Within Disneyland, the Blue Bayou Restaurant in New Orleans Square has the coolest ambiance, especially with its fireflies glowing in the darkness. However, anyone old enough to remember the opening of Disneyland should bring their reading glasses or go elsewhere. Go early to make reservations, especially if you would like to sit by the water.

• Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante in Frontierland offers barbecue and Mexican meals for around $14.

• The Plaza Inn cafeteria on Main Street serves chicken and pasta and has been around since the park opened. Its dishes run under $14 per person. Late in the evening, though, the steam table food seems as old as the park.

Disney dining reservations can me made at (714) 781-3463.

There are many other eateries within Disneyland, but none serve alcohol.

If wine's on your dinner wish-list, walk outside the park to Downtown Disney and its many restaurants, including the Rainforest Café (714) 772-0413, www.rainforestcafe.com; Tortilla Jo's (714) 535-5000, www.patinagroup.com/tortillaJos; and Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen (714) 776-5200, www.rbjazzkitchen.com. For details, go to www.downtowndisney.com and click on "California."

GETTING TO THE PARK: Southern California is car country, and Disneyland has the world's second-largest parking garage, with spaces for 10,250 vehicles. (The largest is at Tokyo Disneyland.) A tram takes you to the entrance. Many motels offer shuttle service to the park.

GETTING TICKETS: In 1955, admission to Disneyland was $1. You also purchased individual tickets for attractions, and these ranged from 10 to 50 cents. Times have changed. A one-day ticket (which includes all rides) for those 10 and older is now $53. It's $43 for children 3 to 9. Discounts are available for multiple days. To get tickets ahead, go to www.disneyland.com and click on "Tickets and Reservations." If all you want are park tickets, click on "Tickets," and you'll find a list of options depending on whether you want to visit 1 to 5 days or more and whether you also want a Park-Hopper pass so you can go to Disney's California Adventure, which I recommend. I got the Park-Hopper for two days, went on uncrowded days, spent full days and evenings there, didn't have time to see everything I wanted at Disneyland and only saw a couple attractions at Disney's California Adventure. I now understand why people spend a week there.

WHAT ELSE TO DO: Disney's California Adventure, across the plaza from Disneyland, is definitely worth visiting. The California Screamin' roller coaster received the most votes in my informal poll of favorite thrill rides. Soarin' Over California simulates a hang-glider flight over the Golden State. While hanging from the wing, you watch an Imax-type film of flying over San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, Yosemite and other parts of California while you feel a slight breeze and inhale the scent of orange blossoms. The Disney Web site says that if you enjoy this, you might enjoy Thunder Mountain Railroad, Grizzly River Run and Twilight Zone Tower of Terror; but those are all fast thrill rides whereas Soarin' Over California is gentle and lovely. (Single riders willing to fill in spaces in the five-seat "hang-gliders" can go in a separate line and get through the line faster.) The 3-D film and Audio-Animatronics characters in It's Tough to Be a Bug! make a fabulous show that shouldn't be missed. However, the loud noises and apparent closeness of the images could scare tiny tots. Stay in your seat until the announcer tells you to leave the theater.

WEATHER: Opening day the temperatures were more than 100 degrees, and women's high heels sank into asphalt that had only been poured the night before. The asphalt has set, but summer temperatures still soar.

OTHER INFORMATION: Recorded resort information, (714) 781-4565. Disneyland Resort travel packages, (714) 520-5060. Or go to disneyland.disney.go.com/dlr/common/help.