DL March 9-13, 2006: Questions

[gssmks]

Hi everyone. I am planning a five day trip to DL beginning March 9, 2006 , and I have several questions?

What is the weather like in So. Cal. during March? Will we need to pack shorts and tees or pants and sweat shirts?

Will a stop at the beach be a waste of time that time of year?

Will Fantasmic and the fire works be held each night?

I read from one of the threads that for a significant fee I can reserve a seat on a balcany to watch Fantasmic. Is it worth the additional cost, or will my daughter and I be able to see from the ground alright?

Is there eough to do between the two disney parks and Downtown Disney to keep us busy for five days, or should I plan to visit another attraction?

Finally, are the Disney hotels worth the extra expense, or will out experience be just as good staying in an off site hotel that's within walking distance? I read on one thread that there are actually some off site hotels that are closer for walkers than some of the Disney hotels are. Is this true?

Any information or suggestions for doing DL in March would be greatly appreciated.

 

[CalGal]

Hi Gail,

The weather at DL can vary a bit in March, but it usually quite nice. Most of the rain hits in Jan. and Feb., but you could get some rain in March. It's not too likely that it will rain a lot though. The high temps can be all over the place from the high 50s to low 90s, but most likely the highs will be in the high 60s to 70s. It shouldn't be too cold at night. Soooo, it could be a bit cool at the beach, or it could be great.

More than likely, Fantasmic will run only on weekends since this is still off season. Fireworks, I don't know. Due to the 50th celebration, the fireworks are being showed some times mid week even during the off-season. (They are scheduled for mid week in Nov. this year). I speculate that the fireworks are being shown most nights when the park is open late enough that to enjoy them. I believe you are coming before Daylight Savings time, so it will be dark enough even if the park closes as early as 8:00.

I have never been to the Fantasmic Desert Buffet which allows you to reserve a prime seat for Fantasmic. (One reason I haven't gone is because I try to avoid deserts...) I read that it is fabulous and many people think it's quite worth the cost. It is over $50 per seat. See the sticky thread at the top of this board for more information. It is possible to get a good spot (usually sitting on the ground) without paying the price, but you either need to wait a long time, or you need to go to the second showing if one is being offered. I don't know that they will have 2 showings when you are there.

I have no problem filling up 5 days when we go to DL. I like to go early and take breaks during the day. If you go commando, and/or you don't love going on the "E" rides several times, you can certainly do it in less. Personally, I don't like giving up a Disney day to go elsewhere, especially if I don't have a car).

Yes, there are more affordable hotels across the street that are around as close to the main entrance as the DL hotel and/or PPH. At this time of year, you should be able to get rooms very close at around or below $100/night. If it is worth spending more depends upon your taste and budget. I usually end up finding an excuse to stay at one of the Disney hotels. I prefer the GC for its convenience and style, but I also highly recommend the DLH -- it emerses you in Disney, is still very convenient -- close enough to walk comfortably and close to the DTD monorail stop -- and is less expensive that GC. The Disney hotels are nicer hotels (3-4 stars through AAA; off-sites are 2 - 2 1/2 and are more often rated as motor hotels rather than hotels). But, you can still have a wonderful time staying off-site. What you might want to consider is purchasing your passes and hotel separately; book nights at one of the neighboring hotels with a reservation that you can cancel without penalty. Then watch Expedia to see if there are any reduced rates available at the Disney hotels; Often you can get rooms at the DLH for around $150/night with the taxes if the hotel is underbooked. These rooms show up on Expedia a couple of weeks out.

Check out Mary Jo's sticky threads at the top of this board for maps and information showing the Disney and Good neighbor hotel. It gives you a pretty good idea of the proximity of the hotels from DL.

You'll have a great trip. Keep reading the boards for more information...

 

[gssmks]

CalGal, thanks for the response. It was helpful. I guess with weather, March is a gamble. I'll try to back for about anything. As for the hotel, my big issue is convenience. When we vacation, we spend very little time in our rooms, so decor and such doesn't really matter to us. My daughter loves to swim, so give us a pool, a bed and a shower and we are happy. I need to stay as close to the parks as possible. My daughter has a medical condition which make her tire quickly (at times). She has generalized weakness in her arms and legs. After being the parks for several hours, she will struggle to walk if it is far to the hotel. I was a little disappointed that Disney doesn't provide some type of suttle service from their hotels to the parks. If you know, what is the absolute closes hotel to the entrance to the parks?

 

[CalGal]

The absolute closest hotel to the parks is the Grand Californian, but it is several times the cost of other close hotels. Directly across the street is the BW Park Place Inn, which gets pretty good reviews. It usually runs around $100/night at this time of year. I say usually, because their rates will vary quite a bit depending upon demand. There are others motor hotels around as close. See the sticky thread at the top of this board on Disneyland Hotels and Good Neighbor Hotels. You can see maps showing the proximity to the park.

Anaheim does have a shuttle system that provides transportation to numerous hotels and inns in the area. The ARC system doesn't stop at most of the hotels that are very close to the park, but does stop at most that are more than perhaps 1/4 or 1/2 mile from the entrance. Disney hotels no longer provides trams although the monorail is provided to cut down on the walk from the DLH or PPH.

If you have never been to DL, but have been to WDW, keep in mind that DL is sooooo much more compact!

 

[HydroGuy]

Hi everyone. I am planning a five day trip to DL beginning March 9, 2006...

FYI, the best available information has Pirates of the Caribbean going down for a refurbishment March 6–June 16. POTC is my favorite ride, and I and many others would not want to miss it. If you have flexibility on your travel dates, you may want to take this into consideration. I would.

 

[gssmks]

Hello! I hope everyone is enjoying their day off. We just got back from a cook out. We had a great time.

CalGal, I think we will probably go with the Grand Californian just because it is closer. I actually think we would like the Disneyland Hotel best though. I didn't realize that Anaheim has a shuttle system. Is there a web site where I can see the schedule? I did realize that DL is smaller and more compact than WDW, but is it small enough to walk from the hotels to the entrance comfortably? How long will it take at a casual pace to walk from Grand Californian or Disneyland Hotel to the entrance?

HydroGuy, thanks for the information on Pirates of the Carib. It was one of my daughters favorites at WDW. I've heard the DL version is much better. I hate that it will be closed. Unfortunately, the dates really aren't fexible. It's my daughters Spring Break and I always let her choose where we go. She will be disappointed though. Do you know of any other rehabs during this time?

 

[HydroGuy]

HydroGuy, thanks for the information on Pirates of the Carib. It was one of my daughters favorites at WDW. I've heard the DL version is much better. I hate that it will be closed. Unfortunately, the dates really aren't fexible. It's my daughters Spring Break and I always let her choose where we go. She will be disappointed though. Do you know of any other rehabs during this time?

DLR does not announce such things until a few months before. So start checking in January.

Sometime early in 2006 Monorail is going down for an extended time. Other than that, everything is supposed to be up. I think in general DL is trying to keep everything up for the 50th, so I doubt there will be many more disappointments.

 

[karylrocks]

How long will it take at a casual pace to walk from Grand Californian or Disneyland Hotel to the entrance?

It takes about 10 minutes from Disneyland Hotel, and the Grand Californian is practically built into California Advenure with an entrance right at the hotel, and takes about one minute to walk to Disneyland.

 

[CalGal]

If you stay at the GCH, request a room close to the elevator. Some rooms can be quite a ways from the elevator.

When we stayed at the GCH last month, our room was pretty close to the 2nd elevator bank (there are 2 groups of elevators) and it took us around 1 minute to get from our room to GRR inside of DCA. But you do have to walk through DCA or DTD to get to DL.

Here are some rough ideas of comfortable walking times, keeping in mind, I've never timed these, so they are more relative than anything else.
(DISer s-- you are welcome to disagree on any of these)

DL Main entrance to main hub in front of the castle: 3 minutes (for calibration)
DL or DCA Main entrance to main elevator at GCH - 3-4 minutes
DL or DCA Main entrance to BW PP Inn or IHOPs - 4 minute (if you don't have to wait for the light)
DL Main entrance to GCA Main entrance - 1 minute
GCH DCA entrance to DCA Main entrance - 2-3 minutes
DL or DCA Main entrance to Monorail station - 7 minutes
Monorail station to Sierra Tower- 2 minutes
Monorail station to Marina Tower - 2-3 minutes
Monorail station to Bonita Tower 3-4 minutes
Monorail station to PPH: 4 minutes
so I agree that DL or DCA Main entrance to DLH would be around 10 minutes
(That assumes you don't do too much window shopping along the way; it's a very nice stroll down DTD).

HydroGuy warns that the monorail may go down in early 2006, so that would make staying at the DLH less attractive for you.

 

[HydroGuy]

DL Main entrance to main hub in front of the castle: 3 minutes (for calibration)
DL or DCA Main entrance to main elevator at GCH - 3-4 minutes
DL or DCA Main entrance to BW PP Inn or IHOPs - 4 minute (if you don't have to wait for the light)
DL Main entrance to GCA Main entrance - 1 minute
GCH DCA entrance to DCA Main entrance - 2-3 minutes
DL or DCA Main entrance to Monorail station - 7 minutes
Monorail station to Sierra Tower- 2 minutes
Monorail station to Marina Tower - 2-3 minutes
Monorail station to Bonita Tower 3-4 minutes
Monorail station to PPH: 4 minutes

For completeness, all of these non-Monorail times depend on the security check. This varies throughout the day. Sometimes it was 30 seconds for us last month, and sometimes 3-5 minutes because of a line build up. I do not know how they do security if you enter thru the Monorail.

 

[gssmks]

Thanks guys. It sounds like we are staying at GCH. Are there any ways of getting any discounts. With Disney World, we stayed nine nights. I purchased annual passes for the parks because it was cheaper than a nine day park hopper. Then we received a huge discount on our resort hotel stay. Are there any annual pass discounts available at DL? I also read something about a AAA discount, but I haven't been able to find out what the discount is. Do you know whether or not it is true that if I book through AAA, I will be allowed to hold unlimited fast passes? This is mentioned on a thread on this site, but I haven't found anything on the official DL site. AAA said that it was not listed in their benefits memo and therefore could not guarantee it, but that they had had members report that they did receive this benefit.

 

[HydroGuy]

Thanks guys. It sounds like we are staying at GCH. Are there any ways of getting any discounts. With Disney World, we stayed nine nights. I purchased annual passes for the parks because it was cheaper than a nine day park hopper. Then we received a huge discount on our resort hotel stay. Are there any annual pass discounts available at DL? I also read something about a AAA discount, but I haven't been able to find out what the discount is. Do you know whether or not it is true that if I book through AAA, I will be allowed to hold unlimited fast passes? This is mentioned on a thread on this site, but I haven't found anything on the official DL site. AAA said that it was not listed in their benefits memo and therefore could not guarantee it, but that they had had members report that they did receive this benefit.

First, be careful about the annual passes. Depending on which kind you get, there are blackout dates when you cannot use them. Make sure the dates will not conflict with your trip.

Second, if you booked thru AAA in recent months you could get "Enhanced FastPass". The EFP is not unlimited. It is just less limited than the regular FP. See this topic for a detailed explanation: http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=43193&highlight=fastpass

Third, I believe the AAA package with EFP will be available for awhile yet (I seem to remember it being until 2007), but eventually the agreement between DLR and AAA will end and EFP may no longer be available.

 

[HydroGuy]

FYI, this site lists Monorail as being down Jan.-June 2006, albeit with question marks - http://www.riderefurbs.com/