Few Questions for First Trip

[bizer]

We (family of 4 w/ 11 & 5 year old) are planning to go to Disneyland early next year for the first time. We plan on 4 nights in San Diego and then 4 nights at Disneyland. The past couple of years we have gone to WDW in the winter. At Disneyland we are going to stay onsite at the Disneyland Hotel.

As a first timer I have some questions:

- Travel Dates: Right now we are booked at DL from 2/2/16 to 2/6/14. I am a little concerned with this being prime rainy season. I know weather is unpredictable but we are coming from MN so it would be nice to have some sunny weather on vacation. This issue has me debating whether to go back to WDW this winter and try and go to Disneyland during the summer or late fall another year. Other time options we could maybe look at are 2/23 to 2/27 or 4/12 to 4/16. Would either of these be better dates?

- Airports: Debating whether to fly in & out of San Diego or SNA. I am looking to avoid LAX. We would be flying in from MSP probably with Southwest. We will have a rental car the whole trip. Is one easier to get in & out than the other? Any recommendations?

- San Diego: Any recommendations between the Catamaran and Pacific Terrace hotel? These are the two we are looking at. Will spend one day at the zoo and the other days are TBD.

I think that covers all our questions.

 

[figment_jii]

We (family of 4 w/ 11 & 5 year old) are planning to go to Disneyland early next year for the first time. We plan on 4 nights in San Diego and then 4 nights at Disneyland. The past couple of years we have gone to WDW in the winter. At Disneyland we are going to stay onsite at the Disneyland Hotel.

Have you been to DLR before? If not, I highly recommend looking through HydroGuy's DLR Guide for WDW Vets. It's very helpful in orientating new DLR guests.

- Travel Dates: Right now we are booked at DL from 2/2/16 to 2/6/14. I am a little concerned with this being prime rainy season. I know weather is unpredictable but we are coming from MN so it would be nice to have some sunny weather on vacation. This issue has me debating whether to go back to WDW this winter and try and go to Disneyland during the summer or late fall another year. Other time options we could maybe look at are 2/23 to 2/27 or 4/12 to 4/16. Would either of these be better dates?

Weather is really hard to predict at this point, so it's possible that you'll get torrential rains and clear sunny skys within a few days of each other. If avoiding the rain is really important, then I would probably lean towards the April dates, but it's still possible that it might rain in April. HydroGuy has a thread (Detailed Weather Data for DLR) that will give you a sense of the possible weather you may encounter. At this point, not a lot of is known about the 2016 calendar, so it's hard to say if much will be happening on any of the dates you've chosen. I don't have much yet for those time periods in the 2016 Calendar of Events & School Breaks and DLR thread, but if you scan the 2015 edition you might get a sense for the things that might be happening.

We do not yet know when the Holiday season is going to end and when the various attractions with holiday overlays will close to have the overlays removed. There is a chance that IaSW might still be closed on your earliest dates. Last year, it closed on 1/26 and re-opened on 2/6, which was kind of late compared to other years, but it's something to keep in mind. There are usually a fair number of closures in the winter (especially the water rides - Splash and Grizzly) because it is generally considered the non-peak/slow season. So be prepared for some closures if you go in February. The April dates are well after Easter, so you'll miss the worse of the Spring Break Season crowds.

I guess, all things considered, I would probably lean towards the April dates. The weather is more likely to be nicer (still not guaranteed). I think DLR can still be fun in the rain, but the zoo would be harder to enjoy because so much of that is outside!

- Airports: Debating whether to fly in & out of San Diego or SNA. I am looking to avoid LAX. We would be flying in from MSP probably with Southwest. We will have a rental car the whole trip. Is one easier to get in & out than the other? Any recommendations?

I haven't flow into San Diego, but SNA is a fairly small and very easy to manage airport.

 

[Sherry E]

I'd lean towards the April dates. While it is possible that it still could be raining a lot in April (it has happened in the past), it's more likely that the bulk of the heavy, constant El Nino rain would have tapered off by April, or possibly gone away altogether. February is often one of the rainiest months -- even in a non-El Nino year!

 

[chickapin parterre]

late fall of next year would be the best choice. If you travel on the dates you numerically posted then will have to bring an extra suitcase of rain gear, as in rubber rain gear boots, thick rain pants and hooded rain coats. Those feb dates are foretasted for extreme weather condition that happens about every 10 years. I am from Oregon and we just finished with the start of what a warm ocean will do, never in the history of the Pacific Northwest has there been an extreme wind storm in August. Wind is okay......unless trees are in full leaf, as a consequence, trees blown over and folks without power for days. El nino is not a constant daily event, but if you are here when it happens, you will remember the event.

 

[8lovesmickey]

We have great luck with Orange County (SNA) airport. We come from Denver and can almost always find flights similar to the cost of LAX without the hassle. It's a relatively short drive and you can avoid the bulk of the freeway traffic that you would often run into coming up from San Diego. SNA is also a much smaller airport and easy to navigate.

That said, if you can get a cheap flight into San Diego and have some extra time, you can also take the Amtrak Coastliner train from San Diego right to Anaheim and it's kind of a cool view along the beach. Way more relaxing than the freeway!

 

[grnflash]

Hi. I'm in San Diego. I'd go for the April dates as well. Weather should be lovely, often beach weather but of course you never know. February is sometimes beach nice but your chances for rain are greatly increased, especially with the possibility of an El Nino this winter. I would definitely roll the weather dice in favor of April.

As for airports, I would do San Diego (it's also a very easy airport to navigate) and eliminate one airport/hotel commute. Sounds like you've decided to stay in PB, so 10-15 minutes from SD airport to hotel. A much nicer way to start a vacation imho. The commute from DL back to SDA is 90 miles, your commute time will of course depend on when you are driving. You will be probably be going against traffic predominantly though which is good. Basically my preference would be to stick to one airport/hotel commute at the end of my trip. **As far as your commute to DL - leave early, stick to the car pool lane and you'll be there in 90 minutes. We have all but once been able to get our room at the DL Hotel upon arrival, even getting there at 7am once. If it's not ready, they'll get you one asap and will text you when it's available.

Both SD hotels are lovely. If you have your heart set on ocean front than Pacific Terrace is the place and it is very nice. But we LOVE the Catamaran! It is lovely and with a 5 year old, that would be my pick. The bay is much more toddler friendly and the beach is still directly across the street. The Catamaran is a bit more resortish if you know what I mean. Sitting on bay front chaise lounges steps from the hotel, having drinks or lunch served, taking the ferry boat cruise around the bay (it has a stop at the Catamaran) - it's really nice.

As for the zoo it's all it's cracked up to be. Wear good shoes - lots of hills. The bus tour is worth the price. April is a really nice time to visit - it's not so hot yet that the animals take to hiding in the shade.

Have fun!!

 

[bizer]

Thanks for all of the replies. We will need to take another look at our dates and see what works best.

 

[bizer]

We have decided to stay with the January/February 2016 trip due to schedules. Are we better off doing Saturday, Sunday and Monday (1/30-2/1) at DL or Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday (2/2-2/4)? Are weekends much busier then weekdays that time of year? How about attractions? Are there shows/attractions they only do on the weekends that time of year that we wont be able to see or do during the week?

 

[figment_jii]

We have decided to stay with the January/February 2016 trip due to schedules. Are we better off doing Saturday, Sunday and Monday (1/30-2/1) at DL or Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday (2/2-2/4)? Are weekends much busier then weekdays that time of year? How about attractions? Are there shows/attractions they only do on the weekends that time of year that we wont be able to see or do during the week?

We don't yet know what kind of schedule PtN will have after the holiday season ends (i.e., daily or weekends only). WoC is generally presented daily, but it's going to be dark from Jan 19 to Feb 1. So if you go on the weekend dates you'll miss WoC, but you'll probably get to see fireworks because they normally only present fireworks on weekends (Fri to Sun) during the non-peak season. WoC should be back up during your weekday dates, but there probably won't be any fireworks. F! is going to be dark starting on January 11 for at least a year. Soundsational and Pixar Play Parade are normally presented daily at that time of year. Weekends (Fri to Sun) typically have longer hours (e.g., 8:00 am to midnight) whereas weekdays have shorter hours (e.g., 10:00 am to 8:00 pm). Crowds are typically lower on weekdays than on weekend days (Fri evening through Sunday). Attraction refurbishments are often timed to end before the weekend, but no one really knows what will be closed at that point yet.

The operating calendar is usually released about 45-days/6-weeks in advance. Sometimes the entertainment information is available at that time, but it's often not fully released until much closer to the date (couple of weeks to a month).

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

I would look at splitting airports, fly into SD, fly out of SNA. SD is an easy airport to navigate, real close to the waterfront and freeways. We have done this a few times and have actually saved money on one way flights versus round trip out of the same airport. You will also save 90-120 minutes driving back to SD on way home. Rental cars can be a little more expensive though when you drop off at different destinations, so you might want to look into that for cost/time savings.

Weather will likely be very unpredictable, El Nino could pound So Cal through the Spring.

 

[bizer]

Thanks for the responses. We are actually swapping out San Diego for Arizona this trip to see family. We are trying to decide between flying in & out of Phoenix and driving to Disneyland mid trip for 3 days (weekdays) or flying into SNA to do Disneyland over the weekend and then driving to Arizona. We will fly Southwest so Phoenix is nonstop where SNA has a layover(s). Rental cars are a little cheaper to pick up at SNA and drop at PHX then renting at PHX and returning to PHX.

I am concerned about El Nino. Hopefully the weather will cooperate but we will pack rain gear just in case.