Disneyworld vet Disneyland rookie

[onlyoneash]

Thank you all! These are all really helpful, I'm feeling a bit lost trying to figure everything out.


LOL that's very kind of you. I'll take a look at that link.


This is SOO helpful thank you! I'm going to look at the neighboring hotels since the Disney ones are pretty expensive, but since it's a birthday surprise for my boyfriend I don't mind spending a little extra to make it nice. The three day park hopper sounds like a good idea!

For the airports would flying into Orange County happen on a smaller plane? I'm afraid of flying and definitely prefer the larger plans. Is one closer to the parks?

Also any chance they give a discount on tickets when I have an annual pass for their other park? I'm guessing no lol but worth a shot to ask.

We like flying into Long Beach. It is a bit of a longer drive than Orange County and it is a smaller airport, but delta has some really cheap flights there!

 

[Winnowill]

Thanks, since I'm not there very long it won't be too much of an issue to do each day. I noticed on the Disneyland website there isn't a MDE part, is this just because I haven't booked a hotel, dining and tickets yet, or will these not show up in my account to keep track of?

MDE is WDW only. For DL, it's the Disneyland app. You can link your Disney account to it, also, and it will show your dining and tickets (if you've scanned them in), as well as your Photopass pictures.

 

[limace]

Just wanted to add that while I just bought DVC points at the GCH, we looove the Disneyland Hotel. The retro decor feels more "Disney" than any other hotel on either coast to me, and the pool and Trader Sam's are wonderful.

 

[HydroGuy]

Hydroguy can correct me if things have changed, but one thing to be aware of with the Swan and Dolphin is that you can not use Magical Express to and from the airport. Magical Express is WDW's free service where not only do you have bus service to and from the airport, but once you check your bags at your home airport, they are delivered to your resort room. You do not have to pick them up at bag check at the Orlando airport. Also, coming home, you can check your bags onto your flight at the WDW resort hotel, so if you have your printed boarding pass, you can skip any lines at the airport and go straight to security. When we go to WDW, we never rent a car. The bus takes us to our resort- our bags magically appear in our resort so we do not have to lug them from the airport- and Disney transportation takes us everywhere else we need to go. Also, if you do rent a car, the Swan and Dolphin have a $20 daily parking fee, unlike the WDW owned resorts where parking is free at the resorts and the parks for registered resort guests (Yep- at DLR, they make resort guests pay for parking and at WDW, they do not). Also, at the Swan and Dolphin you do not get magic bands (you can use FP+, you just either have to buy a magic band or use the RFID ticket card they give you). I will say, as much as we hate FP+, we love the magic bands.

That said- the Swan and Dolphin are a fantastic location for non-Disney owned resorts. They are inside Disneyworld and I believe Disney still owns the land they sit on, just not the resorts. Again, unless things have changed I believe they do get to book FP+ at 60 days (other non WDW resorts are 30 days) and they do get access to the park extra hours. So, in my mind, they would be the next best thing to being in a WDW owned on property resort. We have not stayed there, but from everything we have heard, the Swan and Dolphin are clearly convention hotels and the inside theming does not feel like Disney at all and has no Disney theming, but obviously, the minute you step outside of its doors you are immersed in Disney as you are right there in the middle of three Disney owned resorts, on Disney property, and in walking distance of both EPCOT and DHS.

Pretty good summary of Swan (and Dolphin)! You are correct on all counts. No DME. Yes EMH. Never parked at WDW so I do not know. Yes FP+ 60 days in advance. Yes, Disney transportation system (buses and boats) from the hotel. Yes, does not feel very Disney inside.

One more to add. Does not accept Garden Grocer deliveries, which is a pain.

The savings on the room vs. Disney hotels makes up the difference for me unless we get an exceptionally good deal on a deluxe.

 

[FSU Girl]

MDE is WDW only. For DL, it's the Disneyland app. You can link your Disney account to it, also, and it will show your dining and tickets (if you've scanned them in), as well as your Photopass pictures.

Thanks, it's weird sometimes how the two parks are so similar and yet so different on how they do things.

Just wanted to add that while I just bought DVC points at the GCH, we looove the Disneyland Hotel. The retro decor feels more "Disney" than any other hotel on either coast to me, and the pool and Trader Sam's are wonderful

I'm leaning towards picking Disneyland Hotel since it's the slightly cheaper option, GCH is just too expensive to justify unless a discount comes out.



I had one more question. I was doing some research on fast passes and the shows. It looks like the World of Color show requires either a fast pass or a dining package to actually get to watch. Can we get a fast pass for this and still get other fast passes throughout the day? Or will this limit what we can get and should we do a dining package instead?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

FPs for shows (F! and WOC) are not connected, so you can hold those and still get FPs for rides.

 

[FSU Girl]

FPs for shows (F! and WOC) are not connected, so you can hold those and still get FPs for rides.

Thanks!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I think you had mentioned that this trip is a big surprise for your boyfriend's birthday? Have you looked into booking the WOC Dessert Party for him? That package comes with an actual seat (the only option for this other than VIP or HC viewing), a dessert plate, bread basket, beverages (alcohol for grown ups -- limited menu, sodas, coffee, etc.), and a good view, and the shortest amount of waiting. I haven't read a post from anyone who said they didn't enjoy this package, and many posters now say it is the only way they will view WOC in the future.

 

[FSU Girl]

I think you had mentioned that this trip is a big surprise for your boyfriend's birthday? Have you looked into booking the WOC Dessert Party for him? That package comes with an actual seat (the only option for this other than VIP or HC viewing), a dessert plate, bread basket, beverages (alcohol for grown ups -- limited menu, sodas, coffee, etc.), and a good view, and the shortest amount of waiting. I haven't read a post from anyone who said they didn't enjoy this package, and many posters now say it is the only way they will view WOC in the future.

Having a place to sit after being in the parks all day would be great for our feet Thank you for this suggestion. Yes, this trip is going to be a complete surprise for my boyfriend's birthday so I'm trying to make it as magical as possible. Neither of us have ever been and we both love Disney World so I figured this would be really fun since we'll already be on the west coast for Vegas. Since most things I can't book until 60 days out I figured I'd try to learn as much as possible to book all the right things. This board has been a lifesaver with planning.