East coaster planning 1st DLR trip

[Stormypetrel]

We’ve been to WDW many times but with everything going on in FL right now my family wants to try DLR this year…I’ve searched the archives and I apologize if some of this has been answered but don’t see a sticky post with any of these 101 questions and just wanted to gather my thoughts in one place…

1. 2024 packages are not expected to be available until ~August, correct?
2. WDW has announced an end to park reservations for date-based packages in 2024, but no such announcement has been made for DLR, correct? Do we anticipate this will be required indefinitely?
3. Am I understanding correctly that you can only make park reservations at 120 days out? For a trip around Easter/spring break, should I do that exactly at the 120 day mark? Dining reservations are 60 days, right? so do I need to have a park reservation first or should I snag the hard to get dining and then make park reservations?
4. It looks like genie+ is much more limited in the number of rides offered on it, still worth it? (I know that’s subjective lol but appreciate people’s experiences/thoughts).
5. As of right now my magic band + will work for lightning lane entrances but not much else?
6. Any weather advice? From what I can gather I may be pleasantly surprised but shouldn’t count on the weather being warm enough for the pool on any given day, so I’m thinking I shouldn’t build in a pool/resort day…


Thank you all very much and appreciate your patience with my basic questions!

 

[Lisa24jks]

We’ve been to WDW many times but with everything going on in FL right now my family wants to try DLR this year…I’ve searched the archives and I apologize if some of this has been answered but don’t see a sticky post with any of these 101 questions and just wanted to gather my thoughts in one place…

1. 2024 packages are not expected to be available until ~August, correct?
2. WDW has announced an end to park reservations for date-based packages in 2024, but no such announcement has been made for DLR, correct? Do we anticipate this will be required indefinitely?
3. Am I understanding correctly that you can only make park reservations at 120 days out? For a trip around Easter/spring break, should I do that exactly at the 120 day mark? Dining reservations are 60 days, right? so do I need to have a park reservation first or should I snag the hard to get dining and then make park reservations?
4. It looks like genie+ is much more limited in the number of rides offered on it, still worth it? (I know that’s subjective lol but appreciate people’s experiences/thoughts).
5. As of right now my magic band + will work for lightning lane entrances but not much else?
6. Any weather advice? From what I can gather I may be pleasantly surprised but shouldn’t count on the weather being warm enough for the pool on any given day, so I’m thinking I shouldn’t build in a pool/resort day…


Thank you all very much and appreciate your patience with my basic questions!

1. Approximately. It's usually late summer, so around then.

2. Reservations still in effect for DLR and no indication that will change anytime soon (or ever).

3. You don't NEED to make park reservations at exactly 120 days or immediately. Park reservations don't usually go that quickly for DLR, so you can wait. Dining Reservations are 60 days, and you do not need to have a park reservation first to make a dining reservation. (Definitely do recommend making dining reservations ASAP as those do go fast.

4. I think Genie+ is worth it, especially as it comes with PhotoPass, and if you want to get as much done as you can as first time visitors. That said, if the list of rides that are on Genie+ doesn't appeal to your group overall, then you can do the parks without it as well. It's all about what is worth it to you and what you plan to ride.

5. Magic Band + currently works for ride entrances, park entrance and light up effects during some rides and shows. And yep, that's it.

6. I'm not sure what time of year you're planning, but California weather can vary. You won't have the humidity or the surprise rain storms that you get in WDW. But it really depends on time of year. If it's summer, it can get hot (up in the 90s, but it's a dry heat). Winters can be cooler, but you can also have really beautiful days in the Winter too (like I was there in December and it was in the low 70s during the day). Pool time may vary, depending on time of year. I almost always recommend layers for clothing, as the parks can be cool in the morning (even in warmer months) and then cool at night.

 

[irlandaise]

2. Reservations still in effect for DLR and no indication that will change anytime soon (or ever).

Here's why I think that will remain the case. The common wisdom is that the vast majority of WDW visitors are tourists while the vast majority of DL visitors are locals. Tourists are more predictable, and hotel reservations give WDW a good idea of how many people will be coming at specific times. So now that park operations are pretty much back to normal after the pandemic, I believe that WDW can do accurate staff planning even without park reservations.

But without reservations, DL would have little advance knowledge of or control over attendance numbers, because they can't know how many locals will suddenly decide to come to the parks on a given day, aside from predictable events such as school holidays. Yes, DL APs have blockout dates, but reservations give the company much more control and predictability over attendance and therefore staffing costs.

Reservations are a hassle that I'm sure all of us would be glad to get rid of, but unfortunately I don't see that happening. I hope I'm wrong!

 

[Stormypetrel]

Thank you both so much! That all makes sense. And apologies, I buried it in there but we are planning this trip for our spring break which is the last week of March…from what I can tell LA and Orange County public schools are on spring break that week too so I’m guessing it’ll be super busy. just trying to wrap my head around what I need to do to make sure things go smoothly!

 

[Epcot Forever Forever]

We’ve been to WDW many times but with everything going on in FL right now my family wants to try DLR this year…I’ve searched the archives and I apologize if some of this has been answered but don’t see a sticky post with any of these 101 questions and just wanted to gather my thoughts in one place…

1. 2024 packages are not expected to be available until ~August, correct?
2. WDW has announced an end to park reservations for date-based packages in 2024, but no such announcement has been made for DLR, correct? Do we anticipate this will be required indefinitely?
3. Am I understanding correctly that you can only make park reservations at 120 days out? For a trip around Easter/spring break, should I do that exactly at the 120 day mark? Dining reservations are 60 days, right? so do I need to have a park reservation first or should I snag the hard to get dining and then make park reservations?
4. It looks like genie+ is much more limited in the number of rides offered on it, still worth it? (I know that’s subjective lol but appreciate people’s experiences/thoughts).
5. As of right now my magic band + will work for lightning lane entrances but not much else?
6. Any weather advice? From what I can gather I may be pleasantly surprised but shouldn’t count on the weather being warm enough for the pool on any given day, so I’m thinking I shouldn’t build in a pool/resort day…


Thank you all very much and appreciate your patience with my basic questions!

1) there’s some great discount tickets to Disneyland if you know where to look. I wouldn’t buy a package. If you want to stay on site, which is nowhere near as valuable at Disneyland as it is at Disney World, I would just buy that by itself. But if you’re just at the beginning of your process, I would seriously seriously look at offsite hotels, especially if doing so would mean you could add a day

2/3) currently there is one sold out date for Disneyland in that four month period. So I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

4) I would say it’s less worth it than at Disney World, but if you’re only going for two days, I would recommend it. If you’re going for 4-5 days you won’t need it.

6) it’s Anaheim. It will probably be nice.

 

[Epcot Forever Forever]

1) there’s some great discount tickets to Disneyland if you know where to look. I wouldn’t buy a package. If you want to stay on site, which is nowhere near as valuable at Disneyland as it is at Disney World, I would just buy that by itself. But if you’re just at the beginning of your process, I would seriously seriously look at offsite hotels, especially if doing so would mean you could add a day

2/3) currently there is one sold out date for Disneyland in that four month period. So I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

4) I would say it’s less worth it than at Disney World, but if you’re only going for two days, I would recommend it. If you’re going for 4-5 days you won’t need it.

6) it’s Anaheim. It will probably be nice.

Also buying the tickets separately means you can buy them today (if you buy them from a 3rd party), as Disneyland multi day tickets aren’t date based, so you could lock in current pricing before the inevitable next price increase. A multi day ticket you buy today would expire at the end of 2024.

I’ve used aRes every time I’ve bought Disneyland tickets and I think it’s still the cheapest option.

 

[LKing]

from what I can tell LA and Orange County public schools are on spring break that week too so I’m guessing it’ll be super busy.

LA County has over 75 school districts. OC has approximately 30 school districts. Each district has their own calendar. and spring break is not the same week for all 100+ districts. That said, it is important to remember that the population of Orange County and its neighboring counties (Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino & San Diego) equals the population of the entire state of Florida.

 

[Kit Jackson]

I would buy Genie+ because it includes PhotoPass. To me, that makes it worth it.