Disneyland Questions

[Go Vols]

We are thinking about a trip to Disneyland for early May. How are the crowds? Any tips for getting an onsite hotel discount?

 

[HydroGuy]

We are thinking about a trip to Disneyland for early May. How are the crowds? Any tips for getting an onsite hotel discount?

Have you been to DLR before?

Be aware an early May trip may be impacted by the 60th celebration. I doubt it will be a very big impact but just know it is there.

Also be aware of grad nights that start in mid-may usually.

Typically weather is near perfect and crowds are low especially on weekdays.

"The Scoop on Grad Nights at DLR in May and June" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2298400

What to expect for DL's 60th anniversary in 2015 - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3280301

 

[Go Vols]

This would be our first trip. Thanks for the info.

 

[2tinkerbell]

Also be aware that the TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon weekend is the weekend of Mother's Day. That also has an impact on crowd levels.

 

[KellaCat]

I'm also planning a trip early May, hoping to go on the 2nd thru 9th to avoid most of the Grad Night and Tinkerbell/Mothers Day crowd!

 

[HydroGuy]

This would be our first trip. Thanks for the info.

OK, be sure you understand May in terms of weekdays, weekends, refurbs and shows...

"What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

Have a great trip whenever you go!

 

[adykate]

We went last year from May 3-11. We were floored at how busy the parks were, most of the days we were there. We had some week day crowds that were worse than we had seen on summer weekend visits of past years. I think part of the problem was there were a crazy amount of refurbs of big rides going on. The big rides that were running, were often down multiple times a day, forcing crowds into smaller areas of the park and other rides. We still had a great time, but were very surprised how crowded it was and how many rides were down for the majority of our visit.

 

[HydroGuy]

We went last year from May 3-11. We were floored at how busy the parks were, most of the days we were there. We had some week day crowds that were worse than we had seen on summer weekend visits of past years. I think part of the problem was there were a crazy amount of refurbs of big rides going on. The big rides that were running, were often down multiple times a day, forcing crowds into smaller areas of the park and other rides. We still had a great time, but were very surprised how crowded it was and how many rides were down for the majority of our visit.

Last May was extremely high for refurbs. May 2015 will likely have a similar number of refurbs before the 60th celebration starts and much fewer (if any) after. The question is when it starts.

My bet is it will start for sure by the Friday before Memorial Day - which means the latest is it will start is May 22. In 2005 it started on May 5. DLR could start it earlier than that but I would say that is unlikely. So best guess is some time between May 1 and 22.

 

[Go Vols]

Any tips for onsite hotel discounts?

 

[tarheelalum]

Without an Annual Pass its hard to get good onsite hotel discounts. Even with an AP its still very expensive towards the summer months. But a lot of people feel at DL you are better off not staying at a DL hotel. DL is nothing like WDW when it comes to hotels. The offsite hotels are much cheaper and often nicer. Some offsite hotels are even closer to the park then the DL hotels.

 

[MommyJKM]

Any tips for onsite hotel discounts?

If you register for an account at disney.go.com they sometimes send emails letting you know when the 3 onsite hotels and/or Good Neighbor hotel/motels are offering discounts.

I probably get 4 or 5 emails a year from them regarding discounted hotel stays and packages.

Keep in mind if you book through Costco they usually have the same advertised price for the hotels and you get some cool extras.

 

[Indiana Scott]

We have gone a number of times during that time and it is a pretty slow time. Not the slowest but better than most times. The problem is they are often doing refurbs during that time and have a nasty habit of not announcing a major refurb until just a couple of days before. This can put a real damper on your trip but I still recommend going and just taking a chance.

 

[McNs]

Keep an eye on Orbitz for discounts - we got 15% off our sept/October stays at PPH and GCH. We also earned Orbitz bucks with each booking which can be redeemed for future bookings (we even used our PPH rewards towards our GCH booking)..

We had no trouble at all with Orbitz, but like with any 3rd party booking site they are fine until something goes wrong, then they are a pain!

 

[mfleeting]

Any tips for onsite hotel discounts?

I used orbitz and got 20% off for this past week. We also earned orbitz bucks and I was able to book my hotel near lax for $40. We had no problems checking in with orbitz either.

Some places, like Priceline, not all the hotels like and can sometimes give you issues. I do know a lot of hotels actually partner with hotels.com and orbitz though and normally have no issues with people booking through them.