disneyland newbie... calling all wdw vets...

[LILOLO]

hi all,

sorry if this is posted in the wrong section, i didnt know if i should post it in the dl forum, since I don't know how many are wdw vets. I'd like your help, please.

I've been to wdw many times, but never dl. I'm going to be taking my 9 year old neice for the first time this december. My general question is, what do I need to do to plan? I'm s used to my wdw planning (which parks on which days, adr's, flight planning, etc). But dl is only a 3 hour drive for me, I know NOTHING about the resaurants (is it the same process of making adr's?), the whole WOC fastpass thing kind of confuses me, and are the 2 parks doable in a full saturday/partial Sunday? Also have no idea if the crowd levels in early december are different than wdw. I feel so lost!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm not realy looking for the diferences in the parks (I know size difference and attractions are different), but more of a guide to planing thanks all!!

 

[Robo]

Hi-

You might want to post your question over on the DISboard's

Disneyland Forum -HERE.

 

[LILOLO]

Thanks, robo! and thank you for the link!!

 

[ktlm]

hi all,

sorry if this is posted in the wrong section, i didnt know if i should post it in the dl forum, since I don't know how many are wdw vets. I'd like your help, please.

I've been to wdw many times, but never dl. I'm going to be taking my 9 year old neice for the first time this december. My general question is, what do I need to do to plan? I'm s used to my wdw planning (which parks on which days, adr's, flight planning, etc). But dl is only a 3 hour drive for me, I know NOTHING about the resaurants (is it the same process of making adr's?), the whole WOC fastpass thing kind of confuses me, and are the 2 parks doable in a full saturday/partial Sunday? Also have no idea if the crowd levels in early december are different than wdw. I feel so lost!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm not realy looking for the diferences in the parks (I know size difference and attractions are different), but more of a guide to planing thanks all!!

We are WDW vets, who fell in love with DL and have been alternating parks the last couple of years. Planning is MUCH simpler with DL.

No park day planning required at DL. You must have hoppers. Although technically there are 2 parks, to a WDW vet it is like being at one park. There is only a plaza between the 2 parks. Walking from one to the other, is a shorter walk than getting off at the bus stop at a WDW park and walking to the gate. You can go back and forth all day with ease. DL usually opens an hour or two earlier than CA, so with a short amount of time, it is great to start at DL at its opening, and then hop over to CA when it opens.

Allears.net has a Disneyland Dining section just like the one for WDW with menus prices etc. They don't call them "ADRs" like we do, they just call them reservation or priority seating (PRs). You can't make them until 60 days in advance. It usually isn't a rush on that first day like it is for WDW. In fact, when I call on day 60 the CM usually laughs at me and says...WDW Person? They just started a thing where you can E-mail them what you want and they make the reservations through E-mail- there is info on that over on the Disneyland boards.

As for the WOC fast passes, I would highly recommend the WOC dinner package (similar to the Fantasmic dining package at WDW). You eat dinner, you get passes at dinner, and those give you access to a separate section so you don't have to wait 2 hours. You still need to get there around an hour, or at least 45 minutes early...but not like the line for the regular fast passes. We did Wine Country Trattoria last time we were there and we liked it. If you are looking at the picnic meals as opposed to a restaurant, be aware that those get you fast passes, but not into the restaurant meal section. It will get you a fast pass to one of the regular fast pass sections I believe- which doesn't save you on the wait at all if you want a decent spot. I don't know why they call them "fast passes" anyway because they really are just tickets. There is nothing "Fast" about them, and you can't get into the viewing sections of WOC without a fast pass. WOC is fantastic- I was much more impressed than I thought I would be.

The Aladdin show is great, don't miss it, if it is playing when you are there!

DH and I had one day only when I was on a business trip- and going open to close at a breakneck speed we got a ton of stuff in-- we rode almost everything and even saw Aladdin, but no nighttime shows. We did not stand in character lines

With DD (who has been at age 4 and 5) who likes to see every character we meet. We usually do 3-4 full days.

I don't know anything about the crowd levels in December, because we have always been in summer.

Hope this helps! Have Fun! You will love it there!

 

[PHXscuba]

In the stickies at the top of the Disneyland forum, you'll find lots of info.

One of the better ones to start reading is "A DLR guide for WDW vets" by a frequent and knowledgable contributor named HydroGuy.

There's a lot that's different about Disneyland, but ADRs are simpler and not as necessary, and you definitely want a Parkhopper. Whether you can do it all in a day and a half depends on your goals. One thing you will find frustrating is that DLR doesn't post park hours until about 60-70 days ahead!

HydroGuy also has a superthread on World of Color that should walk you through the FastPass option.

If you are there the first weekend of December, you'll likely hit the Candlelight Processional crowds, but you'll also get the holiday decorations, parade, and fireworks since it's not a separate event like MVMCP. There is a Christmastime superthread that has lots of info and photos.

There are many friendly and helpful people on the Disneyland side of the board; it's a smaller community with both locals and tourists. Check it out!

PHXscuba

 

[Brian_WDW74]

Since this really is about Disneyland planning, it's much better suited for the Disneyland board.