DL for one day in October, when should we go?

[monicatb]

We're trying to fit one day at DL and DCA in October. Budget is a deciding factor, as this trip is in fact a trip to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon, but since we're flying into LAX, a day at Disney is just so appealing!! I haven't bought plane tickets yet, so it's a good time to make changes.

Our plan is to arrive to LAX on Mon Oct 17 and check-in at an off-site hotel. We will go to DL and DCA on Tue Oct 18, and then leave to Vegas on Wed Oct 19. Doing some research, I found out that Tue has MM but it's also one of the Halloween party dates, so I'm thinking short park hours at DL. October park hours are not released yet, but is it likely to have MM on Tue if there's a Halloween party that night? If not, should we expect MM on Mon or Wed instead? In that case will we be better going on Tue with short park hours due to the Halloween party or on Mon with MM which we won't be able to attend if we stay off-site?

Considering other options, *if* we splurge and decide to stay at a Disney Resort, will we be entitled to have MM even if we stay for only one night? If we get a package at a Disney resort, I see that we have to get 2-day park hoppers at least, so if we book room only and then buy a 1-day park hopper ticket, will we still be entitled to MM?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[skiingfast]

MM will remain on Tuesdays as usual, it doesn't switch for MHP. If you stay onsite you will get entry to the MM.

Understanding it will add to the price, staying onsite will be more than staying offsite.

Perhaps as an alternative to staying onsit would it be possible to get two days in? A 2 day PH, or MHP (you can enter at 3pm) plus a 1 day PH. Maybe the combo could work on arrival day if you delay the trip a day.

 

[Sherry E]

We're trying to fit one day at DL and DCA in October. Budget is a deciding factor, as this trip is in fact a trip to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon, but since we're flying into LAX, a day at Disney is just so appealing!! I haven't bought plane tickets yet, so it's a good time to make changes.

Our plan is to arrive to LAX on Mon Oct 17 and check-in at an off-site hotel. We will go to DL and DCA on Tue Oct 18, and then leave to Vegas on Wed Oct 19. Doing some research, I found out that Tue has MM but it's also one of the Halloween party dates, so I'm thinking short park hours at DL. October park hours are not released yet, but is it likely to have MM on Tue if there's a Halloween party that night? If not, should we expect MM on Mon or Wed instead? In that case will we be better going on Tue with short park hours due to the Halloween party or on Mon with MM which we won't be able to attend if we stay off-site?

Considering other options, *if* we splurge and decide to stay at a Disney Resort, will we be entitled to have MM even if we stay for only one night? If we get a package at a Disney resort, I see that we have to get 2-day park hoppers at least, so if we book room only and then buy a 1-day park hopper ticket, will we still be entitled to MM?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Because there's a party on the night of 10/18 is all the more reason an MM would be necessary! See what I mean? Otherwise, they would just be limiting hours on both ends, which wouldn't sit well with anyone. Since DL has to close early that night (at 6 p.m.), they're not going to cut off the option to get in early in the morning for a scheduled MM.

If you splurge and stay onsite, it will be fun! Yes, you will be able to have access to MM for even just a 1-night stay. I suggest just booking the room separately and bypassing a package anyway - even if you were staying 5 nights. Just get a room-only reservation. Unless you get a package through Costco or somewhere where there might actually be some savings or benefit, getting a package directly through Disney does not save you any money at all (in the old days, their packages were cost effective, but not now).

 

[monicatb]

You both have very good ideas. So MM on Tuesday is not changing. I just looked at last year's park hours and it didn't change either, so it's something that I need to consider. This fact does make me consider the option of staying on-site for 1 night, to have MM on Tuesday.
But then I also liked the 2 day combination of 1-day park hopper with a MHP ticket, since it's cheaper than getting a 2 day park hopper. But in this case I'm looking at a different option: we could fly in Tue instead of Mon, go to MHP on Tue with a $49 ticket, and then get a 1 day hopper for Wed, which doesn't have MM, so I could stay off-site, since I won't need MM, thus I could save some money to pay for both tickets. I need to work the math with both options and then see if flying a day later fits with the rest of our trip.
But it's good to see now that flying in on Mon is not a good option, because we won't be able to have an early start on Mon, if we go to DL that day, and then I would need to stay on-site in order to gain access to MM on Tue, and if we don't go to MHP we would have short park hours. If MHP is out of our budget, we could just go to DL/DCA on Wed. BTW, we are a family of 5, so it does add up

 

[Eeee-va]

Last year we went to the Halloween party (Friday, not Tuesday) and then DL/DCA on Saturday. It was fun--I found it quite crowded, but my brother and sister-in-law (who hadn't been to DL in quite some time) thought the lines were great. Tuesday parties should be a lot less crowded than Friday, too.

So if you can get an early flight in to Anaheim it's a pretty good idea. You could maybe even eat at Downtown Disney. The one thing I can think of is that coming in on a Tuesday, the party ticket will get you in to DL at 3 PM--that's probably before your hotel's check-in time. So to maximize your ticket, you might have to drop your bags off, go to the parks, and then come back at 11 PM and get your bags from the hotel. It just could be cutting it a tiny bit close, but I'm sure you could figure it out.

I'd personally take more days and stay off-site (within walking distance), than fewer days but on-site. (As in, I'd stay 2 nights off-site instead of 1 night on-site. And frankly, it's not unusual for the cheapest on-site room to cost 3 times what you might pay for one night off-site...) Different people have different ideas on that front, though.

Have a great trip!