DLR: A New Frontier! A 2017 PTR *New 3/18!*

[Disney9.9.10]

Hello and welcome!!

My name is Krysten, nice to meet you! I am the resident Disney Addict in my family and will be the one planning this trip. I'm not sure how many here will know me. I have been a member of these boards for a while, (I have been on a bit of a break lately) but I spent most of my time on the WDW boards. Life has thrown us a few curve balls over the past few years, but things seem to be getting back on track now so you know what that means... time to get planning another trip!! We've decided to take on a new venture and travel west for our next family vacation - to Disneyland!

Here's a picture of my babe and I on our last trip to WDW.

A little bit about me... I'm a twenty-something mom of 1 little girl who is the love of my life. I have a degree in Psychology but I work in finance... just how those things work out sometimes! I have been to WDW about 12 times, but I've never been to DLR or the West Coast at all. Some of my favourite things about WDW are the Grand Floridian, It's A Small World, and well, the whole Magic Kingdom really lol I love the classics. Most of my hobbies are crafting of some sort and I love to read.

This isn't going to be a solo trip, so meet my travelling companions...

Also coming on this trip is my husband, M.

We have been married for 5 years now, and actually got married at WDW (you can creep pictures by following the link in my signature). He isn't a Disney addict like I am, but he loves travelling with his family and wants to do what makes us happy. He is really excited about going to California. He is a great dad to our daughter and she makes going to Disney more exciting for him. He works in auto body and cars are a big part of his hobbies too.


And the final, but most important member of our cast, is little E.

This is an old picture of her from our last trip to WDW in November of 2014. I will be adding more pictures of this cuteness to my old trip report (link in my signature) if you want to check them out. She just celebrated her 2nd birthday and is my favourite person in the world. She has her own awesome little personality, and is such a happy and excited girl. She was a great traveller on her first big vacation, so I'm hoping that she will be just as great this time around. She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, music, reading, and dancing.

At this point, this trip mainly exists in my head, so there will be lots of planning goodness in this thread as it progresses. DH and I have talked about going, and know that this is where we want to go for our next trip, but that is all that has been decided at this point.

I hope that you will follow me along, and maybe lend a DLR newbie a hand if I need it!

 

[amazingact21]

I'm here to follow along. I think it's great that you're going to DL on this trip to see where it all began! That should be a nice change of pace.

I can't wait to see more pictures of E! I'm sure she's grown up so much since you were last on the boards.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

I'm here to follow along. I think it's great that you're going to DL on this trip to see where it all began! That should be a nice change of pace.

I can't wait to see more pictures of E! I'm sure she's grown up so much since you were last on the boards.

Hi! Thanks for stopping by She has changed so much, I can't even believe how fast time goes. I am so excited to finally see DLR. It is like being in a whole new world for me though because it really isn't the same as WDW!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

joining in - sounds like a fun adventure! We just did our first trip out west this past October and planning was bizarre as everything was similar but totally different at the same time! It really was great to see where it started though and see the light on in Walt's apartment in person.

best of luck! I know I got a ton of advice and help here when planning our trip so I am sure it will help you too!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

joining in - sounds like a fun adventure! We just did our first trip out west this past October and planning was bizarre as everything was similar but totally different at the same time! It really was great to see where it started though and see the light on in Walt's apartment in person.

best of luck! I know I got a ton of advice and help here when planning our trip so I am sure it will help you too!

Thanks for joining in! I am hoping for exactly what you said there. The same, but not the same! These boards have always been helpful for me so I am sure that this time will be no different

 

[mindylee847]

Following along! Your daughter is precious.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Following along! Your daughter is precious.

Thank you for joining in! I think she's quite precious myself, but obviously I'm a little biased lol

 

[Disney9.9.10]

I am so excited to be planning a trip again that I've had it on my mind every single day since I decided that we are going to go!

I've started to make some preliminary notes in my Trip Binder (I'll have to take some photos of this for anyone who is interested). It is a very rough plan right now, but it's something!

So let's take a look at the 5 W's and 1 H...

Who?
Got that all established in my first post. Our little family of 3!

What?
Our first family trip with just the 3 of us. I'm planning on staying in California for 7-9 days, and getting 3 day Disney park tickets. Probably no hopper passes. We haven't used them on our last few trips, and I don't think that we will need them here with our touring style.

Where?
California! We are planning to visit both Disney parks, Downtown Disney, as well as some other places like beaches, whale watching, and maybe Universal because I love Harry Potter and the Wizarding World is opening in California this year.

As for where we will be staying, my number 1 pick is...

(Photo is from disneyland.go.com)

I love Disney resorts, and especially the deluxes lately, so of course this is my number one pick. We have a family friend who has a big DVC contract and will rent out her points because they don't always use them all, and she rents at an awesome price so I'm really hoping to be able to rent from her for this trip. We did this with our last trip to AKL and it saved us a ton of money.

When?
So we've decided on 2017 - this will give us some time to plan, save up, and decide on vacation time. But 2017 is still quite broad. I'm going to do a bit of research before I choose a date but I have so far narrowed it down to either spring (late April, early May?) or fall (September/October). I would love any input from those who have been there during these times. I've been looking at these times based on them not being peak season, weather still being pretty hot, and decent times of the year for our family to go on a trip, but I haven't looked too much into it yet so I could be way off.

Why?
Do we need a why?? lol Just because we need a family vacation!

How?
We will be flying to California. I've looked into some prices based on loose dates this year just to get an idea and they don't seem to be much more than our flights to Orlando, which is great. I'm guessing it will cost somewhere in the neighbourhood of $600-800 for the 3 of us to fly. I've been thinking about renting a car because even though the Disney parks are all right there, we will still need transportation to the other places that we are going. I haven't looked into costs for this yet though, so that will help determine what we choose to do.

So that's my very very basic outline! It still has a long way to go but I'm actually looking forward to having something to plan. WDW is so habitual for me I don't really plan anymore. I write down estimated crowd levels/EMH/special events, pick my park days, pick my ADRS/FPs, and that's about it. I am thrilled to be taking on a new venture and going somewhere we have never been before.

 

[amazingact21]

It's exciting to be going as a family of 3. I know sometimes, when you're in a day to day routine, it can be hard to find family time, so I'm sure this trip will be perfect way for you all to enjoy each other's company.


I hope you can rent DVC points from the friend! That'll give you more fun money. If you can't though, I've heard nothing but great things about the Disneyland Resort. I actually read a DIS report a few months back that said they wished they'd stayed there over the DGC. But, I have neither seen nor stayed at either so I can't really have a say in the matter.



Going in 2017 will give you plenty of time to plan and prepare!



Wow, those are great flight prices!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

It's exciting to be going as a family of 3. I know sometimes, when you're in a day to day routine, it can be hard to find family time, so I'm sure this trip will be perfect way for you all to enjoy each other's company.


I hope you can rent DVC points from the friend! That'll give you more fun money. If you can't though, I've heard nothing but great things about the Disneyland Resort. I actually read a DIS report a few months back that said they wished they'd stayed there over the DGC. But, I have neither seen nor stayed at either so I can't really have a say in the matter.



Going in 2017 will give you plenty of time to plan and prepare!



Wow, those are great flight prices!

I don't think we'd be disappointed with any of the resorts there, but it would be amazing to get such a great deal with point rental. Although the Canadian dollar is awful right now, so that eats up some of the savings - good thing I work in a bank! I appreciate you sharing your opinions, and what you've read, even if you haven't stayed there before! I think that is the whole point of a PTR, to plan and learn things as you go to make your trip better

 

[Dugette]

I'm here and happy to help you plan.

First off, I know you said probably no park-hopper, but keep in mind that DLR is very different from WDW in that way. You literally just walk across the esplanade and you're in the other park. We went back and forth a lot. Even just running over to grab FP and coming back to the park we were in. No buses to wait for or anything.

I'm sure the GCH is a great place to stay if you can get a deal. It seemed very nice. If for any reason it doesn't work out, though, know that the non-Disney-owned hotels are VERY close to the park entrance - in fact, where we stayed (Best Western Park Place Inn) was probably closer than any of the Disney hotels to the entrance. So, location isn't really an advantage to staying on property. But having a nice Disney-fied hotel might be worth the price. You are right at Downtown Disney if you stay there, though.

For rental cars, we did one-way rentals at each end of the trip. There is an Alamo location in Downtown Disney and we got very good rates for them through Costco. Very convenient!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

I'm here and happy to help you plan.

First off, I know you said probably no park-hopper, but keep in mind that DLR is very different from WDW in that way. You literally just walk across the esplanade and you're in the other park. We went back and forth a lot. Even just running over to grab FP and coming back to the park we were in. No buses to wait for or anything.

I'm sure the GCH is a great place to stay if you can get a deal. It seemed very nice. If for any reason it doesn't work out, though, know that the non-Disney-owned hotels are VERY close to the park entrance - in fact, where we stayed (Best Western Park Place Inn) was probably closer than any of the Disney hotels to the entrance. So, location isn't really an advantage to staying on property. But having a nice Disney-fied hotel might be worth the price. You are right at Downtown Disney if you stay there, though.

For rental cars, we did one-way rentals at each end of the trip. There is an Alamo location in Downtown Disney and we got very good rates for them through Costco. Very convenient!

Thanks for joining in and taking the time to write out this response!

Knowing myself, I probably will go back and forth on the park hopper option, but I appreciate the opinions of people who have actually been to DL.

I have noticed from some reports that I've been reading that the resorts really are super close to the parks, which is awesome! My main reason for choosing GCH is the points rental, but it is great to know that there are other options if that doesn't work out for us on this trip.

I'm writing all of this down in my planner too so that I can refer back to it. It helps when planning a trip to hear from the experiences that others have had

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Good morning!

I'm lucky enough to be on holidays from work this week, so I've had lots of time for thinking about trip planning. The reason that I took this week off from work is that my mom is my daycare provider and my whole family was going down to Florida so I had nobody to watch E. I figured I could just have a relaxing week with E and do some day trips and fun little things like that.

My parents got back from Florida the other night and they had some pretty big news...

They are now DVC owners!!

My mom has been looking into this for a while now but finally went to a presentation and decided to buy some points. WDW has always been my moms favourite vacation destination so we have gone a fair bit, but DVC also has flexibility for lots of other trip options as you know, so that works for everyone. One of the reasons my mom wanted to buy is so that we could all use the points to go on vacations for years - a gift of sorts for my brothers and I and our families.

Good news is that I should be able to use DVC points for this trip one way or another!

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The biggest thing that I'm currently trying to decide on for this trip is when to go. Based on our previous travel habits, I am thinking that either May or September. We don't have to worry about work schedules, we can pretty much take our vacation at any point in the year. Nobody at my workplace usually takes their vacation during these months so they should be easy to get.

Some of my thoughts on timing:
- We live in Ontario, so the California weather should be better than ours any time of the year lol It would be great to escape the cold weather, but at the same time, I want to be able to have enough warm weather to spend some time on the beach
- Since we have the option of dates, I'd prefer to go when it is not super crowded, like summer and spring break
- I haven't looked into weather there is really a "bad" time weather wise for California

Anyone who has been, I would love your thoughts on time of year!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

oh wow! that is great that she had been thinking about it for a while and now felt comfortable to do it!

Congrats on being a DVC family!

 

[ClaraOswald]

I would NEVER do Disneyland without park hoppers. You can walk back and forth so easily. You can also walk right over to Downtown Disney.

As for weather, you can go to this site and type in random dates to see historical weather. It may give you an idea of what you're working with.

https://www.wunderground.com/travelplanner/index.asp

The thing I've noticed is that ANY month can be super hot. But it never seems as hot as Orlando because of the lack of humidity. I think (but could be wrong) that you may be more likely to encounter rain in April than September.

The problem with April 2017 will be Easter. It's right in the middle of the month. That combined with Spring break would make it a bit busy, I think.

The problem with September/October is that the park is doing more for Halloween these days and that can draw crowds. I think the park sometimes closes early for the Halloween parties too.

So those are just a few things to keep in mind.

We always rent a car at the airport (we fly into John Wayne airport in Santa Ana.) We book directly with a car rental company (something on site) or through Orbitz/Expedia. It usually costs a few hundred dollars a week, if I'm remembering correctly.

We have never stayed on-site so I have no opinions on that. But I know there's an entrance into California Adventure right from the Grand Californian, so that would be nice.

 

[Dugette]

Wow, awesome about the new DVC contract! Since we went in February, I can't really speak about the dates you're considering. But I have heard that the park is almost always crowded, so you might not be able to avoid that.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

oh wow! that is great that she had been thinking about it for a while and now felt comfortable to do it!

Congrats on being a DVC family!

Thank you! We are all pretty excited about it!

I would NEVER do Disneyland without park hoppers. You can walk back and forth so easily. You can also walk right over to Downtown Disney.

As for weather, you can go to this site and type in random dates to see historical weather. It may give you an idea of what you're working with.

https://www.wunderground.com/travelplanner/index.asp

The thing I've noticed is that ANY month can be super hot. But it never seems as hot as Orlando because of the lack of humidity. I think (but could be wrong) that you may be more likely to encounter rain in April than September.

The problem with April 2017 will be Easter. It's right in the middle of the month. That combined with Spring break would make it a bit busy, I think.

The problem with September/October is that the park is doing more for Halloween these days and that can draw crowds. I think the park sometimes closes early for the Halloween parties too.

So those are just a few things to keep in mind.

We always rent a car at the airport (we fly into John Wayne airport in Santa Ana.) We book directly with a car rental company (something on site) or through Orbitz/Expedia. It usually costs a few hundred dollars a week, if I'm remembering correctly.

We have never stayed on-site so I have no opinions on that. But I know there's an entrance into California Adventure right from the Grand Californian, so that would be nice.

Thanks so much for your reply! It was really helpful and you gave me some things to think about that I wouldn't have even considered

Wow, awesome about the new DVC contract! Since we went in February, I can't really speak about the dates you're considering. But I have heard that the park is almost always crowded, so you might not be able to avoid that.

DVC is pretty exciting! I know my mom has been planning it for a while so it's great that she finally took the plunge.

 

[ChrisParker]

Joining in! I'm planning my first trip from Ontario to DLR as well...

 

[farlinm1]

I am planning on going to DL for the first time in June 2017 (end of month) and being a WDW vet and not being able to make any concrete plans yet is so hard Not used to that...LOL!! I am a bit nervous though venturing out of the WDW "comfort zone" and trying a new adventure, but excited at the thought too!! Going solo, probably staying at a Good Neighbor hotel as that fits into my budget right now So just wanted to join in as a possible DL newbie

 

[Jaina]

Following along. I second the park hopper option. I've been to WDW once and can see how complicated hopping would be there. We really liked being able to hop when we went with our kids because if one park seemed crowded or we were getting antsy halfway through the day it was nice to go to the other park, which usually had a different feel. With a 3-day pass I would really suggest it. I've never stayed on-site (some of the regular hotels are actually closer than Paradise Pier or the Disneyland Hotel, but GC is really close, and really beautiful.) Yes, the weather is so unpredictable. (Except September has a reputation of being hot). We always went in May growing up, before school was out and the weather was generally good. We went in late February in 2013 and they had a heat wave that made it almost 100° F in the parks one day... So you can look at averages, but there's no telling until a few days before. Sounds like a really fun trip! I'm excited to see how it plays out for you!