First time DL visitor and I need help please!

[undertheseas]

I told DH we could go on vacation somewhere other than WDW this year so when he suggested CA of course I suggested DL! Now with the rumor of free dining in WDW, we're trying to decide if which one to visit because DL will be more expensive and involve lots more planning. We are a family of four with a 10 year old and a 7 year old, we're planning on going to DL at the end of May. We're used to doing WDW comando with a specific itinerary. So with that in mind....

Is there a good thread that I haven't found or a book to help me decide which parks to go to on what day? Or does it not matter as much as it does in WDW? How many days does it normally take to see and do it all and then hit the favorites again?

I've seen several suggestions for the HOJO and some people mentioned getting an entertainment book for the discount but the website doesn't show that particular hotel?

Also, we're thinking if we do DL that we'd want to go see a beach. We can't afford to spend a lot to stay near the beach, so any suggestions for a modest, clean and affordable hotel near a good beach would be greatly appreciated!

I would really love any input you can give! TIA!

 

[HydroGuy]

Is there a good thread that I haven't found or a book to help me decide which parks to go to on what day? Or does it not matter as much as it does in WDW? How many days does it normally take to see and do it all and then hit the favorites again?

Don't need a book for this one. Go to both parks on all (or most) days. The parks are so close that most multi-day visitors figure out that it is best to hop back and forth each day, sometimes multiple times.

With that said, there are better days to focus on one park vs the other. This has to do with time of year, day of the week and whether or not it is a Magic Morning at DL (and whether you have MM priviliges).

Three days is considered a minimum to see DLR. Four is better.

 

[stopher1]

DLR is so easy to do both parks in a 3-4 day span, unlike WDW. The entire resort could practically fit inside of Epcot, so don't worry about park hopping. Like Hydroguy said, you could easily hop between parks each day of your visit... the gates literally face each other, and are like a 2 min walk in between.

There are lots of restaurants within walking distance of the resort, too, so you wouldn't have to eat in the parks every meal, either. From McD's to PF Chang's and lots in between. To save more, you could plan on eating breakfast in the room, too. We are a family of 5 and do this a lot. We'll either bring cereal from home, or get it nearby...add some fruit or a donut, and we're all set.

Laguna Beach is a great beach choice, but is in South Orange County (expensive), so you might want to just stay in your DLR area hotel, and with a rental car drive there vs. trying to stay closer to the beach. With no traffic you could be there in around 15-30 minutes depending on route choice.

 

[bumbershoot]

OP, be sure to check out the tips compilation linked from the bottom of HydroGuy's post. He's got quite a bit for WDW people coming to DLR.

HoJo...it is in the books, but the deal you get if calling the 800# isn't what we're all talking about. What we're all talking about is the special deal that the Anaheim HoJo does for bookholders, and if you have your timing right, that deal is 59 a night for a normal room and 74 a night for a different sort of room.

Even if you don't have the timing for that deal (just call the hotel directly and ask if your dates work for the Entertainment Book rate...dont' let yourself get transferred to the 800#, be sure you're talking to the folks in Anaheim!) they have a 15% discount for disboard members.


As for which one to choose, that's all up to you. Last year we had September in DLR all worked out and booked in Feb, and then found out about the free dining thing, and went through quite a bit to figure out which one we wanted to do. Ultimately we chose to stick with DLR because we hadn't ever done a true vacation there (just two one-day trips as adults, and some trips following our parents around as kids) and really wanted to (and it was part of a bigger trip to CA for my high school reunion, which really clinched it).

For you, you'll have to make the decision.

I find that there's far LESS planning going into DLR trips, though there is still quite a bit of planning one can do. And yes, CA is more expensive than FL, so the DLR trip is likely more money than the WDW trip, but there are ways, as you're already finding, to bring the cost down.

I wish you luck! And be sure to go read those tips by HydroGuy.

 

[twinspluscade]

I told DH we could go on vacation somewhere other than WDW this year so when he suggested CA of course I suggested DL! Now with the rumor of free dining in WDW, we're trying to decide if which one to visit because DL will be more expensive and involve lots more planning. We are a family of four with a 10 year old and a 7 year old, we're planning on going to DL at the end of May. We're used to doing WDW comando with a specific itinerary. So with that in mind....

We're planning our first trip to DLR in September, and I think it'll actually cost less than our last WDW trip. For WDW we stayed 8 nights and flew there--for DLR we're only staying 4 nights (with three full days and two half-days in the parks), and are driving. So, even though food appears to be slightly more expensive in CA, I think financially we'll make out better with DLR. .

So, I guess that could be an option for you too...to do DLR but stay fewer nights than you would at WDW.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

We're planning our first trip to DLR in September, and I think it'll actually cost less than our last WDW trip. For WDW we stayed 8 nights and flew there--for DLR we're only staying 4 nights (with three full days and two half-days in the parks), and are driving. So, even though food appears to be slightly more expensive in CA, I think financially we'll make out better with DLR. .
So, I guess that could be an option for you too...to do DLR but stay fewer nights than you would at WDW.

I recently started trying to plan a WDW vacation for this summer, and I agree w/ most of what your wrote. I go to DL once a year and imo, DL is just so much easier to plan for and cheaper. Plus you can't beat the walking distance between parks and hotels on Harbor. No need for shuttles.
Plus, the WDW boards don't have a Hydroguy tips to the world at the top to make it easier for us DL freaks. I would still take at least the whole 5 days to do DL though so that you could relax a little and not have to worry about doing Disney commando style.

 

[undertheseas]

Hydroguy, thank you so much for your helpful comments and especially for that thread of tips! Holy cow there's a lot of info there that I had missed!

Stopher1 you had me at PF Changs! I agree about breakfast, we usually do granola bars or fruit in the room while we get ready so it's fast and cheap. Thanks for the tips about the beaches too, I think that's the way for us to go is to drive to the beach instead of spending twice as much to be on the beach.

Bumbershoot, thank you so much for the tip about the hotel rate! That's awesome! And thanks for the heads up to Hydroguy's tips too, I completely missed that!

Twinspluscade, thank you! Unfortunately we're in the center of the country so we're going to be flying no matter which one we go to. Flights to FL seem to be cheaper and the resorts at WDW are cheaper so with free food even 4 days at DL (plus a few at the beach) is more expensive than 10 in DW, who'd a thunk it? So we're trying to decide if the newness of DL is worth more money/less time.

Disneysuitefreak that's very true, we do spend a lot of time shuttling in WDW, I hadn't thought of that!

OK one final question (until I think of another HAHAHA) is Memorial Day week super busy? When do most of the kids in CA get out of school? Oops, that's two questions! See, I knew I couldn't keep it to just one more! Thank you all so much for your help. Now we just need to hurry up and decide!

 

[SnowWhite12]

I say go for DLR at least once! That is what we are doing in April. We are also WDW vets (which we love, love, love!!!). That being said, we have noticed it is costing a ton more to go to DLR than WDW. At WDW, we usually get the value resort for $49-79 a night. And we never rent a car, we just use their transportation for everything. However, we have never been to California, and have always wanted to go. So, we are going the first 3 days to San Diego (where we still can find nowhere decent cheap enough to stay), and then the next 6 nights in Anaheim (first 3 nights Hojo, and next 3 nights Desert Inn and Suites--it was cheaper for us to split it this way). We are extremely excited about it. I want the whole true California experience; so we will be going to a beach and to Hollywood to sight see. We figure we may never make it back out there, so trying to cram it all in. I just tell myself to calm down, and quit stressing about all the extra planning. It will be worth it. And honestly, the stressful planning is about San Diego and not DLR. We are looking forward to the shorter walks as well!

 

[4Ollies]

Underthesea--we are also in MO.
We have been to WDW the last two Sept. using free dining. We stayed at POR each time. Even with free dining it cost us $$$$ for our family of four. This year we are going to DL the second week of June plus heading up to San Jose to visit a friend. Our original plans were just to go visit our friend in San Jose but how can you be that close to Disney and not go? So far, we have everything but our return flight and haven't come close to our WDW price. DH even added an extra day at DL which surprised me. We did get the $59 rate at HoJo after calling and talking to Inhouse reservations.

I think there is something to be said for visiting Walt's original park. We can't wait to see how different Space Mountain and Pirates are from WDW. Plus our boys need to see some place other than Florida. They are six and have been to Florida four times, twice to the beach, twice to WDW. We already have reservations for next January POR - park and cruise so maybe I shouldn't be answering! LOL

However, we all know you can't go wrong with either choice.

This from the family where the dad said it would be a one time thing two years ago.

 

[Husker Mickey]

We also live in the middle of the country and fly to DL and also WDW. The cost to fly and stay at an off-site hotel at DL is considerably less than staying at WDW. My suggestion is to check out costco or getawaytoday.com We always book through getawaytoday.com and have saved a lot of money. Many off-site hotels are within walking distance. Good luck with your planning!

 

[Catrinabeach]

The ticket costs are alot cheaper at DL. We are going in Sept and again in January. We've done DL once and WDW twice. This time we are going back to DL twice to meet friends and bring our neices.

We find that we spend 1/2 going to DL than we do to WDW.

We went with Free dining last Sept and took just our 2 yr old. We paid 1200 for 7 nights and tickets at Pop.

I just booked 7 nights at the Anaheim Desert Inn for under 500.00. We will buy the city pass tickets that include 3 days DL, 1 day US, 1 day Sea world, 1 day Wildlife or Zoo. That will cost us 700.00. So same price as our last trip but the last trip we didn't have to pay for our then 2 yr old.

If you price it out completely you can see if it will cost more. I know when we go to WDW we tend to eat more at the restaurants which is pricey in the long run. And when we go to DL we eat off site or in our room. We book a room with a kitchenette usually.

We can travel to both for the same money we find for us. So it's really the other things that get us. Park tickets, food, and time. DL we can do in a week and be happy. WDW I can't imagine less than 10 days lol

We also plan alot more expensive things when we do WDW because we want to do so many fun things. Like BBB, Character meals etc.

DL doesn't seem to have that pull for us so we get to enjoy the parks without the other things and it saves alot.

We will spend less on these 2 trips this year than we did on the one we did in Dec to WDW.

 

[HydroGuy]

OK one final question (until I think of another HAHAHA) is Memorial Day week super busy? When do most of the kids in CA get out of school? Oops, that's two questions! See, I knew I couldn't keep it to just one more! Thank you all so much for your help. Now we just need to hurry up and decide!

DLR is much more of a locals park than WDW. My understanding is that WDW visitors are 15% locals vs. 70% at DLR. There are many more day trip visitors at DLR than at WDW because of this. It also makes the crowds more lumpy, with weekends and especially holiday weekends more crowded than weekdays.

SoCal schools, for the most part, get out in mid-June. But be careful trying too hard to miss crowds at DLR as you will also be more likely to miss some of DLR's awesome entertainment offerings. See "What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

If you decide to in May or the first week of June I would recommend you overlap your trip over two weekend nights - Fri and Sat being the best - to catch the entertainment. If you go after mid-June DLR will be into high season mode. The second week of June - before the local schools get out - is dicey. Sometimes DLR transitions to full entertainment during the second week and sometimes not until week 3. The DLR calendar does not say one way or the other yet.

 

[ballarinamom]

I also saw you thought DLR would take more planning than WDW. I think our experience was the opposite. DLR is so eay to get around and park hopping is a breeze. WDW required months and months of DIS time to figure out all the tranportation options, park times etc... We purchased the dining plan but found it averaged out about the same as if we paid out of pocket at DLR.

DLR is so much easier. We live in Texas so air is the same regardless. We'll be doing DLR AGAIN and probably will not be back to WDW.

 

[stopher1]

I think there is something to be said for visiting Walt's original park. We can't wait to see how different Space Mountain and Pirates are from WDW.

...and The Haunted Mansion, and Splash Mountain, and The Jungle Cruise, and Big Thunder Mountain, and Fantasyland, and, and, and. There are so many similarities - but so many, many differences. Even though the basic DL attractions may have been planted in WDW, they were all customized to the environment created there. FL's water table is so high, Pirate's drops were shortened...the stretching room ceiling in MK goes UP, whereas at DL you go down to get under the railroad berm... and on and on and on. ENJOY experiencing what's unique and wonderful about DL!!!