DL ticket/hotel packages and SoCal traffic...

[celebrationej]

Hey everyone!

We leave for Disneyland in less than a week, and are getting soooo excited - this is our first stay onsite, first visit during Halloween Time, and first Oogie Boogie Bash experience! I have a couple random questions; starting a thread seemed like the easiest way to get them all answered!

We booked a ticket/hotel package through a travel agent (same agent we've used since the Diamond Anniversary trip in 2015, so we definitely trust her); but she's saying that our tickets will be ready at the Disneyland Hotel when we check in. Has anyone else ever heard of this? I called DL Hotel today just to confirm they have everything correct on our reservation (you have to wait until 10 days out for the hotel to see your reservation in their system), but I totally forgot to ask about the tickets. Just wanted to make sure this is normal. We had the tickets mailed to us on our last trip, but we stayed offsite at Carousel Inn & Suites (RIP).

We're definitely not renting a car, as DL is our main reason for visiting and we don't plan to leave much during the week (and any offsite trips can be easily made using Uber/Lyft). We are going to take an Uber from LAX to the DL Hotel, but our flight gets in around 8:30am local time. Is it going to be a nightmare getting to the hotel? Someone in our party has really bad car/driving anxiety and I don't know how trafficky the route between LAX and DLR is. We did super shuttle in 2015 but won't do it again... Hoping to use our travel day as a mostly-park day since we are getting in so early (catching a 6:30am east coast flight is really good for that!)

I know there are countless threads about Halloween Time food/treats, Oogie Boogie Bash, and the DL hotel, but if you have any suggestions while you're already here on this thread I'd love to hear them! I'm a little stressed about getting everything done between now and our trip, so I definitely appreciate any advice you've got! We can't wait to visit DLR again. The 60th anniversary trip in 2015 was amazing and we are absolutely in love with DLR. I live about 10 minutes from WDW, and so am really excited to feel like a tourist again in the parks! Also looking forward to some cooler and less humid weather now that autumn is officially here

 

[Mac2008]

Picking up the tickets at the hotel is totally normal, don't worry! This is the way all of our recent trips have been handled.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Picking up the tickets at your hotel should be fine; I did this with no issues 13 years ago at the PPH with a Get Away Today package.

You can use google maps and enter time of day and day of week to get an estimate for travel time from LAX to the DLH. I would guess that at the worst it would be about an hour's drive, but if you are lucky maybe only 45 minutes.

 

[mentos]

We're definitely not renting a car, as DL is our main reason for visiting and we don't plan to leave much during the week (and any offsite trips can be easily made using Uber/Lyft). We are going to take an Uber from LAX to the DL Hotel, but our flight gets in around 8:30am local time. Is it going to be a nightmare getting to the hotel?

I'm leaning toward no, mostly because by the time you hit the road, it'll be closer to 9:30-10am, which is an in-between time for traffic. But note that traffic is notoriously unpredictable, so I make no guarantees!

Have you considered taking the DLR Express operated by Coach USA? https://dre.coachusa.com/Schedule/PrintableSchedule

If you have someone with car/driving anxiety, this might be a good option as you would be in a big charter bus and they directly drop you off at the DL Hotel. It's $30 one-way per adult, $9 per child, under 2 free. We had good experiences with them. You landing at 8:30am means you would feasibly catch the 9:50am shuttle (there's an 8:50am one if you land early, rush, and don't have check-in luggage). It's pricey if you have a large party, I must admit.

I know there are countless threads about Halloween Time food/treats, Oogie Boogie Bash, and the DL hotel, but if you have any suggestions while you're already here on this thread I'd love to hear them! I'm a little stressed about getting everything done between now and our trip, so I definitely appreciate any advice you've got! We can't wait to visit DLR again. The 60th anniversary trip in 2015 was amazing and we are absolutely in love with DLR. I live about 10 minutes from WDW, and so am really excited to feel like a tourist again in the parks! Also looking forward to some cooler and less humid weather now that autumn is officially here

DLH is one of my favorite hotels, the rooms are larger and you have that super cool headboard that none of the other hotels have (including GCH). Some random advice:

DLH
1) Steakhouse 55 room service is really good, in case you want something fancy and don't want to dress up.
2) Consider doing an online delivery order for groceries on the day of your visit. Lots of water, fruit, protein bars, etc... the local grocery store you can find that on is VONS. It's nice having snacks in the room and not paying $4 for bottled water every time.

Alternatively, consider a Target mobile order and pick up, and go get an Uber/Lyft to drive to Target so you can pick it up that way. This might be useful if you can't commit to a two-hour delivery window in being at your hotel (or are worried about being delayed). Vons delivered to the front desk and a bell hop brought it to our room (don't forget the tip!)

3) Be prepared to walk. Everytime I'm in the area, the monorail just seems to be down. Can't recall if this was/is planned maintenance or something else. That said, lots of new stuff has opened in DD since you left. Lots of good food options there (Ballast Point, Salt and Straw, etc...). Of course, let's not forget Earl of Sandwich, aka best value for your money. No more movie theater, ESPN Zone, and Rainforest Cafe, FYI.

Parks
Definitely get the Max Pass and utilize magic hour. TouringPlans (and my personal experience) notes that October is probably the 2nd most crowded time in the park now..... such that Disneyland actually scheduled maintenance over the summer because of the lack of crowds. This seems to be the case even before SWGE.

Have fun! We'll be in park October 25-28 for Halloweentime.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I know there are countless threads about Halloween Time food/treats, Oogie Boogie Bash, and the DL hotel, but if you have any suggestions while you're already here on this thread I'd love to hear them! I'm a little stressed about getting everything done between now and our trip, so I definitely appreciate any advice you've got! We can't wait to visit DLR again. The 60th anniversary trip in 2015 was amazing and we are absolutely in love with DLR. I live about 10 minutes from WDW, and so am really excited to feel like a tourist again in the parks! Also looking forward to some cooler and less humid weather now that autumn is officially here

There actually aren't countless threads about Halloween Time -- just about everything you need to know can be found in the Halloween Time Superthread: Halloween Time Superthread 2019: "Oogie Boogie Bash" Party to Be Held in DCA ONLY! and Other Halloween Time Information. (We know it can be hard trying to glean through numerous threads on however many pages, so we try to put everything related to this super fun season in one super thread! Makes for much easier research.) Read the first post and maybe the last few pages to get caught up, then ask any Halloween Time related questions there. You'll get good help from our Halloween experts!

 

[ab21au]

Picking up the tickets at the hotel is totally normal, don't worry! This is the way all of our recent trips have been handled.

This is also what is happening for us at the GCH at the end for October. I hadn’t even thought about it until I read your post. So it is reassuring to hear that it is normal.

 

[ab21au]

We also were going to Uber (x 2 we would require) from LAX to GCH but got a quote from Zippyshuttle (mentioned in another thread) and for 5 of us it is $155 so for us it is great to have someone waiting for us rather than have to get Uber’s when we arrive.

 

[SG131]

So yeah, traffic sucks. Expect a long ride. My ride from the airport took about 1.5 hrs at 2pm. My ride back to the airport took 2 hrs at 10am. If you have someone that doesn’t like the car definitely get the Disney bus if it isn’t too late to add it. (I know I booked my trip 3 days out and I couldn’t add the bus at that point I think 5 days was the limit but I could be wrong)

 

[Mac2008]

This is also what is happening for us at the GCH at the end for October. I hadn’t even thought about it until I read your post. So it is reassuring to hear that it is normal.

I should have clarified that we’ve picked up our tickets at each of the three resorts in the past. We’ll be picking up our tickets when we check in to DLH in two weeks as well. Have a great time in your trip!

 

[midnight star]

What day of the week are you arriving? If it’s a weekend, it should be a 45 minute ride mid morning. If it’s a weekday, expect 1.5 hours or more. That’s rush hour.

 

[Kimpossible1]

Hi there, I also live 10 minutes from WDW and am going to DL tomorrow. I fly into LAX and have rented a car twice and will again tomorrow. This time, I was able to get a car (compact SUV) for a week with alamo for $288. I know you have to pay to park at the DLH but having the car is really nice, and it might alleviate some of the travel anxiety. I have found that the traffic is very similar to I-4, (know what I mean) where it can be going well, then slow down, then pick up etc...I didn't ever find a good time to go back and forth. What is hard is the time change and wanting to go to bed at 7pm California time LOL! A nap really helps! Hope you have a great trip!!!

 

[mentos]

This is probably too late for the OP, but I'm a HUUUGE fan of flying into either LGB or SNA to get to DL. I get that, for a variety of reasons, LAX must be the primary airport for a lot of inbound travelers...but for those reading this today, I personally would even consider a connecting flight that ends at either of these two airports. I usually NEVER fly with a connecting flight, but if you can connect in a fair weather city (PHX, LAS, SMF), it might be worth doing.

Even doing an open jaw (inbound LAX, outbound SNA/LGB, or vice versa) usually only results in a modest car rental increase (if at all, rarely, car rental places treat these three airports as one in terms of pricing)

 

[celebrationej]

Thanks for all your replies and advice! I really appreciate everything that everyone has shared with me! I think we will stick with Uber this trip (too late to add DL shuttle at this point) and hope for the best. No matter what, once we get there we will be at Disneyland and having a great time

Hoping for decent crowd levels; WDW has been super busy again the past week or so, after a few weeks of light crowds after Labor Day and Hurricane Dorian. We are only visiting the parks on weekdays next week so hopefully won't be too terrible!

I'll try to post a trip report when we get back from our vacation, too! This was my first post after YEARS of reading disboards for advice prior to trips. I will try to return the favor over on the WDW forums, where I have much more experience planning trips and visiting the parks and hotels!

Have a magical day everybody!

 

[mentos]

Hi there, I also live 10 minutes from WDW and am going to DL tomorrow. I fly into LAX and have rented a car twice and will again tomorrow. This time, I was able to get a car (compact SUV) for a week with alamo for $288.

Wow, $288 is a good price for a compact SUV for a week! Sucks that parking will be $150 for 6 nights =(

 

[tink89]

We booked a ticket/hotel package through a travel agent (same agent we've used since the Diamond Anniversary trip in 2015, so we definitely trust her); but she's saying that our tickets will be ready at the Disneyland Hotel when we check in. Has anyone else ever heard of this? I

Yes as of one or two years ago tickets are no longer mailed. If you book at one if the onsite hotels they will hand you your package when you check in.