First trip for grandson's 2nd birthday September 2024 at Disneyland

[Haileys_mom]

Hello everyone!

Well, it's been about 14 years since I was last active on the disboards planning WDW trips for my daughter. Time flies!
We are planning to join our daughter and son-in-law to celebrate our grandsons 2nd birthday at Disneyland towards the end of September 2024. We have never been to Disneyland so I need to know all of the ins and outs.
Our daughter is planning to make this an annual trip for our grandsons birthday so we don't have to cram everything into one trip but I still need to know the tips and tricks for a DL newbie. We are travelling from the Calgary, Canada area and planning to be there around September 22-26, 2024. Thanks everyone!

 

[sophy1996]

If you want to attend the Oogie Boogie Bash (Halloween party) make sure you know when tickets go on sale (usually late June/early July). They sold out for all dates on the first day of public sale this year (after a horrible snafu that scuttled the original first day of public sale).

 

[irlandaise]

How exciting, HM! A few things you'll want to start thinking about:

* Where to stay. The Disney hotels are magical and have some benefits (such as a separate "bucket" of park reservations, handy if the regular reservations you want aren't available). But there are also very good hotels available along Harbor Boulevard within easy walking distance of the Disneyland Resort entrance (the Esplanade that connects the two parks). A close hotel may be especially important with a toddler, because it will make it easy to take a midday break.

* How much time you want to spend at each park, DL and DCA. Currently, when you make a park reservation, you have to indicate a starting park and you can't go to the other one until after 11:00 a.m. Disney World is dropping that in January so one can hope that DLR might do the same before your visit. But for now, plan on needing to make that decision. BTW, for a first-time visitor, I recommend that you start with DL on your first day, to soak in the special magic that is Walt's own park.

* Whether to get park hoppers and Genie+. The former is usually a no-brainer at DLR because the parks are so close. As for Genie+, it's also often very useful, but look at what's available on that list and compare it to your wish list of rides.

* Where to eat. If you want to have some sit-down meals, you need to make those reservations in advance. (I think it's 60 days, but someone else here can verify.) DLR has some very good restaurants. There are also special character breakfasts.

If you haven't done so already, browse the Disneyland website and see what specific questions that brings up. Happy planning!

 

[Haileys_mom]

How exciting, HM! A few things you'll want to start thinking about:

* Where to stay. The Disney hotels are magical and have some benefits (such as a separate "bucket" of park reservations, handy if the regular reservations you want aren't available). But there are also very good hotels available along Harbor Boulevard within easy walking distance of the Disneyland Resort entrance (the Esplanade that connects the two parks). A close hotel may be especially important with a toddler, because it will make it easy to take a midday break.

* How much time you want to spend at each park, DL and DCA. Currently, when you make a park reservation, you have to indicate a starting park and you can't go to the other one until after 11:00 a.m. Disney World is dropping that in January so one can hope that DLR might do the same before your visit. But for now, plan on needing to make that decision. BTW, for a first-time visitor, I recommend that you start with DL on your first day, to soak in the special magic that is Walt's own park.

* Whether to get park hoppers and Genie+. The former is usually a no-brainer at DLR because the parks are so close. As for Genie+, it's also often very useful, but look at what's available on that list and compare it to your wish list of rides.

* Where to eat. If you want to have some sit-down meals, you need to make those reservations in advance. (I think it's 60 days, but someone else here can verify.) DLR has some very good restaurants. There are also special character breakfasts.

If you haven't done so already, browse the Disneyland website and see what specific questions that brings up. Happy planning!

Thank you so much! So many things have changed since our last WDW trip and back then I thought I did a lot of research! Lol

 

[Haileys_mom]

If you want to attend the Oogie Boogie Bash (Halloween party) make sure you know when tickets go on sale (usually late June/early July). They sold out for all dates on the first day of public sale this year (after a horrible snafu that scuttled the original first day of public sale).

Ohhh good to know! My daughter did mention something about the Oogie Boogie Bash so I will make sure we are on top of that. Thanks!