First DL Trip in May 2017 - What To Expect

[jhaig]

We are WDW veterans that want to take our first trip to the west coast and visit DL. It won't be til May of 2017 but it's never too late to plan I guess. I have read over Hydro Guy's guide for DL first timers and it's full of great info, but I still have some questions:

1) Will there be FP+ at DL by then (please please please say NO!)

2) Does DL have Photopass?

3) Would you stay on property for your first visit?

4) How many days should we plan on staying to be able to see everything?

5) Is May a good time to go as far as crowds/weather?

 

[Tyggress]

We are WDW veterans that want to take our first trip to the west coast and visit DL. It won't be til May of 2017 but it's never too late to plan I guess. I have read over Hydro Guy's guide for DL first timers and it's full of great info, but I still have some questions:

1) Will there be FP+ at DL by then (please please please say NO!)

2) Does DL have Photopass?

3) Would you stay on property for your first visit?

4) How many days should we plan on staying to be able to see everything?

5) Is May a good time to go as far as crowds/weather?

1. No idea if FP+ will be at DL by then...there are a lot of rumors that some version of it will exist at some point at DL, but because of the large amount of local visitors, it likely will never be the exact same system as WDW anyway.

2. Yes. It is $99, or $69 if you order it ahead of your trip, at least two weeks ahead. It is also now included with the Signature and Signature Plus Annual Passes.

3. If you can afford it, I would....but many people who stay onsite at WDW don't think it's worth the price at DL. It is costly and the benefits aren't as great...but DLH and GCH are both amazing hotels, and I personally stay onsite whenever I have the money to do so. But there are a lot of great hotels not on property that are actually closer than the onsite hotels and less than half the price.

4. If you literally want to be able to see and do EVERYTHING, plan for at least 5 days. Of course, this is the longest ticket DL sells unless you upgrade to an annual pass. If you want 6 days or more, you have to buy more tickets...so I would concentrate on the things that are either different or non-existent at WDW and do the 5 days; you'll get just about everything done.

5. May is a good time, depending on the time of the month. I would avoid the earliest part, due to Dapper Days and the crowds it brings (although....their rates for onsite hotels are 50% less than Disney, so that might be an option if you prefer to stay onsite and want to save some money). Late May starts running into Grad Nights, etc...I would suggest mid-May. It wouldn't be too hot yet, and you avoid Dapper Days (again, unless you want to be there then) and Grad Nights...keep in mind that park hours will start to be extended by then, but likely won't be the FULL hours and entertainment that runs in the Summer.

Hope that all helped a bit!

 

[jhaig]

Pardon my lack of knowledge, but what are Dapper Days?

 

[Tyggress]

Dapper Days is when people go to the parks dressed in their dapper best...usually in retro clothing from the 30's through the 50's, roughly. A LOT of people participate, and they have special events, etc.
It's not a Disney-sanctioned event, but because of the popularity of it, they offer convention rates for rooms and tickets during the time period...usually a week prior, the day of and the week after.

There are a few threads on the boards about it, or you can go to the dapper days website (dapperdays.com) for more information.

 

[jhaig]

Is it usually a good plan to avoid the parks on weekends?

 

[Tyggress]

Is it usually a good plan to avoid the parks on weekends?

Weekends are definitely more crowded, all year long, because of all the locals that will visit the parks on the weekends. They work during the week, so the crowds are lighter then.
However; depending on the time you go (like May) the full entertainment may not yet be running as in peak seasons; so in order to see certain shows, you might want to plan for at least a Friday night, or maybe one weekend day....but if you can swing mostly weekdays, you should be able to accomplish more with less crowds.

 

[jhaig]

We're not much for fireworks or parades, but WOC will be on the must-do list. Is that every night?

 

[Tyggress]

Typically WOC is every night, yes....but 18 months from now, who knows what the scheduling will be like, if they take it down to change the show or refurb the water fountains, etc....barring that possibility, it should show every night.

 

[carolinejay]

It's interesting, when I was at WDW the CMs there kept insisting FP+ was coming to DL. It has not. And as a CM I have heard only rumors (from Guests/forums, nothing formally) about it coming.

I would stay onsite if possible - GCH is very expensive for the size of the room. I would stay DLH or PPH. PPH is right across the street from GCH while DLH is very close to the Monorail. I love both the PPH and DLH! The reason rooms are costlier here is because there are only 3 on-property Resorts.. basic supply and demand.

May - I would go in the earlier part of May. Grad Nites can be crazy, and it's not even just at night anymore. Grads can enter DL OR DCA with their parkhoppers, then are scooted over to DCA for the night. I would use caution when choosing which dates you're planning to attend. Also, Friday nights get very crowded with locals.

I would plan to spend 4-5 days, and I would get parkhoppers. If you are wise in your planning, you may find yourself finished with DCA pretty early in the day and wanting to head over to DL.

 

[jhaig]

Does the DL Fastpass system work the same as it did at WDW when it was there? Can you "stockpile" FP's or is the return time strictly enforced?

 

[Tyggress]

Does the DL Fastpass system work the same as it did at WDW when it was there? Can you "stockpile" FP's or is the return time strictly enforced?

You used to be able to stockpile them, but they have recently started enforcing the return times...for the past year or two.
Buzz Astroblasters is currently the only ride that is "disconnected" from the system and you can pull others while you have it.
The rides between the parks are on their own system, as well...another reason parkhoppers are handy at DL...you can send a runner to the other park with everyone's ticket to grab FP's if you want. The parks are "disconnected" from each other.
Lastly...all of the shows and special events like A & E meet and greet, etc are all "disconnected" from the rides, too.

 

[jhaig]

Do the DL resorts usually fill to capacity? How long should I wait to get a room at either DL Hotel or Paradise Pier?

 

[jhaig]

Bump

 

[msr709]

Do the DL resorts usually fill to capacity? How long should I wait to get a room at either DL Hotel or Paradise Pier?

I'd like to know this as well since we are going at the beginning of July. Don't have another options since we have a teenager with us that can't miss any time at school and my DD is a TA so she can't go at any other time (she just started working at the school). I'm also a WDW veteran and would like to know what I can expect for July 6th to the 12th. We are splitting our stay btw BWPAI and DLH. We're all really excited, most specially my 5yo GDS.