Welcome to the West (Best) Coast!
A great place to start is Jeff’s thread linked below that gives WDW regulars a framework of what DLR is like within their WDW knowledge. There’s a lot of opinions detailed there about ride similarities too.
As for your specific questions:
I plugged in Sat Aug 14-Mon Aug 16 for 2 adults at the DLH and could see both the Duo Studios and Deluxe Studios available, as well as Standard View and Deluxe Downtown Disney View rooms on the older towers that aren’t a part of the DVC.
I generally find that as a starting place for standard rooms, Pixar Place is $500-ish/night, DLH $600/night and GCH $800/night so you can use those numbers as a base budget. I’m not very familiar with booking studios so I’m not sure how much more (or maybe less?) they are than a standard room. The one search I did of the studio for DLH the Duo Studio is $661/night, Deluxe Studio $887/night and a standard room with a premium view $769/night.
There may be cheaper weeks though (we don’t usually have the ability to travel when it’s off/cheaper weeks so I don’t check it often) but I don’t imagine April during a potential spring break season would be one. If you have a Disney Visa you can watch for any other 20-30% offers they might drop for your dates and then you can always call and ask if the offer can be applied to your existing booking (or cancel and re-book at the offer price). If you don’t have a Disney Visa then you can check to see if they roll out the same Visa offer to the general public (they usually do).
Very much so. I usually go from north to south down along Harbor starting from the Howard Johnson & Marriott Courtyard and check prices all the way down to the Convention Center from hotels I know I like. This post is a recent run-down I have done on nearby hotels we have stayed at. Not all of them are Good Neighbor Hotels but the majority are.
They do have some ticket deals but usually less than WDW’s. Right now they have a great one for this summer. Like Felis already mentioned, the convention tickets at DLR are under a lot more scrutiny and I wouldn’t test it (but I do and always use the WDW convention tickets, if I were going solo or just with DH I might try out a DLR convention if it fell over my dates, if it were significant savings but I would probably still chicken out because out West they are a lot more skeptical and will follow through on checks of those kinds if they really feel you are cheating the system. I know they have a lot more fraud/abuse of ticket sharing and shady ticket use in SoCal than what happens in Florida so I don’t like to test them in that department).
The best and most sure way to get a discount though is to go through one of the main discount ticket providers that sell DLR tickets. Ares Tickets, Undercover Tourist and Getaway Today are the 3 that most widely known and used and all are reputable.
No, parking onsite is an extra charge and quite a premium. I believe it was up to $30-$35/night the last time I checked (and that was in 2022-23). There is a rental agency within very close walking distance on Katella and then also one inside the Pixar Place hotel so I would look into a rental for the day you want to explore.
We have Magic Band+ that we started using first at WDW and they do work in DLR. There can be issues with the bands and with them not wanting to register in DLR if we last used in WDW and vice versa. We’ve found that doing a hart restart of the Magic Band + and then re-syncing it works, but it took us several trips of one Magic Band + not being able to work for us to troubleshoot it ourselves. Felis’s explanation of the difference between how MDE operates and the DL app is a very good explanation, and I agree with all of it. Also, at DLR Magic Band +'s will only be good for scanning into the park and LL’s. They aren’t able to open the hotel room onsite nor can they be used to charge back to the room (at least not the last time I checked in late 2024). So my kids do like to wear them in and when we hop, but most of the rest of the time, they throw them back into their (or my) park bag since we do not ever purchase LLMP.
You could check at Long Beach and Ontario airports. Long Beach is a smaller airport that many people like to use. Ontario has some of the same traffic issues (but not as bad since it’s not qutie as far) as you will get driving to LAX, but it could be an option.
It’s good but can have surge pricing if you’re trying to get from LA to Anaheim during rush hour traffic so it can be unpredictable. A lot of people will use a private transfer and there’s a a couple of threads in the Disneyland section about them. I can’t remember which one has the most current information though.
My list of identical rides and queues is limited to the two GE rides.
But unless they are family favorites, I would also skip TSMM, Little Mermaid, and Winnie the Pooh. Their rides are similar if not identical and the WDW queue is far superior. You could put Peter Pan in this category, but the rides are different enough that I consider them unique on each coast but the queue in WDW is vastly superior both for the fact that there is an option to skip it and a whole lot to entertain you and see when you choose to wait in it. DLR’s Peter Pan queue is cramped and there is no LL for it. If we do it, we do it last before the park closes when the ride seems to load slightly faster and can see a drop in the wait time down to 20-25 min instead of the always 40-50 min most of the rest of the day.
Some others that you could skip for being similar (but their queues are different, just not superior on either coast) are: Soarin and Star Tours. Some that could also be in this category are: Dumbo, Jungle Cruise, the Carousel and Astro Orbiter but also all of those rides are different enough that I consider them different experiences so if they are a favorite and/or if there is time they would be worth doing to compare.
I personally love Dumbo & the Carousel, like Jungle Cruise on both coasts and will put up with Astro Orbiter in WDW for the superior view. The view in DL is good too and worth doing once, I just dislike the ride vehicle (getting in & out of it especially) and have done it enough times that I don’t ever seek it out in DLR.
I would also put Gadget’s GoCoaster in Toon Town in this category. It’s cute and the ride queue is adorable but it’s very much a kiddie coaster that is very similar (maybe identical) to Barnstormer in WDW (if you have ever been to UOR it’s exactly Flight of the Hippogriff in IoA). So would be good if you have kids (or kids at heart who loved and watched Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers) but otherwise a skip.
And then a quick note on things unique to DLR that could be skipped in the interest of time mostly. Most of these because they are pretty much fair rides you can find in most amusement parks and while they do have some fun theming in DLR it isn’t so mind-blowing as to absolutely do:
- Jumpin Jellyfish
- Golden Zephyr
- Inside out Emotional Whirlwind
- Goofy’s Sky School (unless you love Wild mouse coasters, then do it)
- Pixar Pal-Around (the ferris wheel, although it is one we usually try to do because it’s relaxing and fun, but it’s a big time suck and basically a ferris wheel so not necessarily a must-do).
- Turtle Talk with Crush
Moving on to some then some that are close (but maybe not quite identical) in both parks but have good reasons to still do in DLR are:
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. The queue in DLR vastly superior, has so many fun Easter eggs, and if you love Mickey & friends and have watched/enjoyed any of the cartoons they have been in over their 96+ years, it’s a must see.
- Haunted Mansion. Now that both HM’s have Hatbox ghost and good themed queues it’s harder to say which is better.
- TBA, different log setup but I do prefer WDW’s setup but DLR’s can be easier to get a low wait on.
- Treehouse, you get a different view of DLR’s Rivers of America than WDW’s and both are amazing & unique.
- Animation Academy, the papers in DL don’t have the guidelines that the WDW experience does but they do post a full schedule at the experience of all the characters being drawn so you can drop in early in the day, see if there’s a favorite you want to come back for and end up with a fun souvenir, and it’s a little easier to navigate to not having to plan it around the training running in AK.
- Tiki Room, it’s the original and gives me a lot of nostalgia even though I didn’t ever see it until I was an adult in 2014.
- Finding Nemo Submarine, is the same exact story of Nemo & friends in Epcot but in a submarine instead of a clamshell. It doesn’t have a live tank at the end like Nemo in Epcot does so if you like that aspect of it and won’t be wowed by being on a submarine it can be skipped in DLR. Also good to note here that if you have claustrophobia or a strong dislike of being sat squished between people, do not do the submarine. It’s so squishy. There is an alternative accessible option that is a screen inside a room themed to be a submarine with a lot more space (but you stand or sit in your scooter instead of on a submarine). But as it’s the same story as Nemo in Epcot, unless it’s a favorite you can skip even trying the accessible experience in DLR.
- Monorail, it does require a park ticket to ride since it stops in both Downtown Disney and then inside Tomorrowland in DL, but gives a really fun view of around the Matterhorn and Tomorrowland, and also speeds through a part of the GCH which is pretty.
- Tom Sawyer Island, in theory they are very similar and I’m sure that WDW’s have bigger space in the caves, but the DLR experience was one Walt personally drew up the designs for and that is a very sentimental touch.
And then the ones that you absolutely must do that have an equivalent in WDW but they are not at all the same and most of them I personally believe are superior in DLR (but there may be others who have different opinions):
- Royal Princesses at the Royal Hall (if a princess fan that enjoys meeting them, if not can totally skip)
- Buzz Lightyear
- Autopia
- Main Street Vehicles
- Main Street Firestation (the pole at the back was once used by Walt to get down from his apartment above to the parks, until one day an enterprising kid got up to his apartment, so they had to seal it off).
- Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln AND the Disneyland exhibit in the lobby explaining some of the history of DL
- Mark Twain River Boat
- Grizzly River Rapids
- Big Thunder Mountain
- Mad Tea Party
- Mater’s
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Indy (same ride system as Dinosaur)
- Space Mountain
- Disneyland Railroad
- it’s a small world
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout
- Radiator Springs Racers (same ride system as Test Track but without the full speed, but absolutely full theming)
And then lastly, my list of unique to DLR, everything up to Storytelling at the Royal Theater I consider a must-do, but the rest of the list is also unique and good enough to try to fit in:
- Incredicoaster
- Alice in Wonderland
- Storybook Land Canal Boats
- Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
- Snow White’s Enchanted Wish
- Matterhorn
- Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough
- Mikey, Minnie, Goofy’s Houses & Donald’s Boat in Toontown- all walkthroughs/play areas but so well themed
- Webslingers
- Roger Rabit’s cartoon spin (it’s like Mr. Toad’s mixed with a teacup and it’s super fun, if a little odd with the Roger Rabbit story that doesn’t jive with all Disney fans and that’s ok if it doesn’t for you)
- Animation Building especially the Sorcerer’s Workshop and the lobby
- Story-telling at the Royal Theater, this is a show but an absolute gem and my favorite and I always recommend it if you like live theater, especially punny theater and/or live piano playing, and if you like princesses you’ll probably also enjoy it too, but don’t need to to enjoy it because it’s so much more than a princess story re-telling.
- Casey Jr Train (you could do this instead of the Storybook Land Canal boats as they both through the same terrain one by boat and one by train, but I prefer the boats for the narration and more relaxing experience, the train is cute & fun though too).
- Luigi’s
- Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
- Monsters Inc: Mike & Sulley to the Rescue (though this one might not be there by the time you go, since I personally expect a lot of the new things they announced to be added to DCA to go in this same space and see them taking out the Monsters Inc ride to redo the area).
Ok, are you sick of my opinions yet??? 
Cuz I see we have a few more questions to get to…
If you couldn’t tell from the above, I really love Storytelling at the Royal Theater and the Royal Hall. ToonTown is also a fun place to spend some time exploring. The Railroad and Mark Twain are both iconic and historic to DLR so if you are at all appreciative/sentimental about Walt are great to see. In DCA I love wandering through the live entertainment and characters in Avengers Campus, soaking in Carsland at night all lit up with the neons (if you go right at sunset you can catch them doing the lighting of the neons where they play the Sha-Boom song and the lights turn on just like in the movie). That’s on top of doing all my favorite rides which include Indy, all the Fantasyland dark rides + Storybook Land Canal boats, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Incredicoaster, TSMM, Soarin’, and all of Avengers Campus and Carsland rides.
Our favorite two sitdowns in DLR are Carnation Cafe and Lamplight Lounge. We have also always enjoyed any meals we’ve had at Carthay Cirlce, Cafe Orleans and the character breakfast at Plaza Inn. In DCA we do enjoy a lot of the snacks so we like to leave a lot of eating time in DCA. Some of our favorite QS’s are everything in the SanFranSokyo area, Cozy Cones from Cozy Cone #3 in Carsland, Award Weiners, spicy corn dogs at the Corn Dog Castle, and giant pretzel at Pym’s. On the DL side we do enjoy Bengal BBQ and the cheesy garlic twist from Marice’s Treat cart. The only time waste I can think of are waiting in line to order QS instead of Mobile Ordering.
It’s a thing in that they have it and it’s delicous! But they do not do refill buckets. They will very seldomly have a Magic Key only refillable bucket but I haven’t seen one the last couple of years. We do love the popcorn though still and still usually get it at least a couple of times a trip. We also love the churros that are worlds different and better than WDW. And beignets from Mint Julep bar. And lots of confectionary/bakery treats from the various confectionaries and Jolly Holiday Bakery.
Ok, I think I am at the end of your questions, but anymore, please ask away!