Disneyland July 2012!

[moogiepet]

I've read the boards off and on for several years now, but this is my first post, as I just joined today!

I just got confirmation yesterday that DH has a business trip July 23 thru July 27 in San Diego... This means I will be "hitch hiking" along with him and extending the "business" trip to include a few days at Disney!!

After leaving the "business" hotel in SD on the 27th, we will be staying 4 nights in the Anaheim area and spending 3 days in the parks. Last year, it was our family of 4 and we stayed at Holiday Inn on Walnut street. This year, it will either be just DH and I or possibly our youngest daughter (13). I would like to stay closer to the park, preferably within walking distance, but money will be tight, so I'm looking for any tips I can get to get both lodging and park tickets as cheap as possible.

I don't think we need to park hop, because in the past when we paid the extra, we didn't actually hop... We will spend one day in each park and then for the 3rd day, we will choose which park we want to spend our last day in. I guess on this day, it might be worth having the "hopping" option??

From what I've read here on the boards, I think I'm leaning toward Candy Cane or Residence Inn Maingate... any recommendations as to whether to buy a package deal or lodging separate from tickets, etc is GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks,
moogiepet

P.S. I think I might try to make myself a LGMH and do me up some Disney inspired nail art too! Loved reading those two threads this morning!

 

[KCmike]

Book separate. Call the hotel for the cheapest rate. AAA or any other discounts available? DL sometimes will run deals but you have to keep checking all the time. I still think that HOJO and Fairfield INN are the two best hotels on Harbor Blvd.

Congrats on your first post and trip to Disneyland!

Where are you staying in San Diego? You should try to make it to Coronado Beach and the Hotel Del Coronado. It's gorgeous there.

 

[DLR29]

I think the main advantage of hopping is maximizing FastPass. You can get a FP for a ride at DL and then immediately hop and get another FP for a DCA attraction. Also with Carsland and Buena Vista Street opening this summer, we don't know how DCA's crowds will be affected. It may also affect DCA's park hours and Magic Morning, so I wouldn't count our park hopping just yet. We'll have to wait and see.

 

[Pearl_Mirror]

Just to add to everyone else I don't believe they have a 3 day pass for non-hopping. I could be wrong but I believe I read that before and I never see them being sold at Disney.

 

[moogiepet]

Book separate. Call the hotel for the cheapest rate. AAA or any other discounts available? DL sometimes will run deals but you have to keep checking all the time. I still think that HOJO and Fairfield INN are the two best hotels on Harbor Blvd.

Congrats on your first post and trip to Disneyland!

Where are you staying in San Diego? You should try to make it to Coronado Beach and the Hotel Del Coronado. It's gorgeous there.

I looked at hojo and Fairfield and Fairfield seemed like a good option... I mentioned it to dh and he seemed to like the idea also. We aren't currently members of AAA, but if the savings are worth the annual fee, I don't object to joining. Wouldn't be a bad idea to have anyway with dh's car having 140k miles on it and a teenage driver in the house!

Our San Diego hotel has already been booked through the convention that dh is attending. We will be staying at Hilton Bayfront. I'm sure we will visit Coronado though

Thanks so much for your ideas!

 

[moogiepet]

I think the main advantage of hopping is maximizing FastPass. You can get a FP for a ride at DL and then immediately hop and get another FP for a DCA attraction. Also with Carsland and Buena Vista Street opening this summer, we don't know how DCA's crowds will be affected. It may also affect DCA's park hours and Magic Morning, so I wouldn't count our park hopping just yet. We'll have to wait and see.

I'm a little worried about CA and the "newness" of Cars Land when we are there. We were at Star Tours Opening Day 2011 and it was maddening! We did, finally, get to ride, but skipped over the Little Mermaid attraction at CA because it was still "new" and the line was just too long. Maybe if everyone is in Cars Land, we will get to ride the Little Mermaid attraction this year?

Thanks for your help!

 

[DLR29]

The Little Mermaid's lines have died down significantly. It's really never more than 20 min these days, and most of the day it's a 5-10 min wait.

 

[GrandBob]

Just to add to everyone else I don't believe they have a 3 day pass for non-hopping. I could be wrong but I believe I read that before and I never see them being sold at Disney.

This used to be true, but they changed it last year. Now, there are 1 Park per Day tickets, which are cheaper than ParkHoppers. To take the sting out of the transition, they've been offering "Promotional" tickets ever since, which are hoppers priced the same as the Park-per-day tickets. Right now, the promotional tickets are good through May 28. No one knows if they'll extend it. The smart money is betting "no", since after that, CarsLand will be open, making DCA into a true all-day park (most of us DISers think it is anyway, but much of the public disagrees).

Still, even at normal prices, the difference in price for hoppers versus park-per-day isn't much. As DLR29 says, it's really worth it just to get more FPs.

-Bob