Help planning our first DL trip.

[KarlaG4Kids]

I am looking into planning a short 4-5 day trip to DL in mid to later January for dh and I (no kids). I have read all of the wonderful tips posted by hydroguy (THANKS A BUNCH!) this morning. Now a couple of questions.

1) It says that many times in low season there are no parades or fireworks except on weekends. Is there a place to find the hours of the parks/parades/fireworks? I don't want to plan and then find out I missed the things we love the most but I prefer to avoid weekends if possible.

2) What kind of transportation is available from the airports and how much does it cost?

3) Do you have any specific tips/warnings/ideas for a mid to late January trip. We will avoid Martin Luther King day/weekend if we can.

4) Discounts? Are there any in January normally? Do they come out later or are they already out for the January time period...because I'm not finding much!

If I have asked questions that are answered somewhere I'm sorry....I've read all morning but these questions I haven't found yet.

 

[JaneJetson]

In mid-late January, there generally won't be fireworks (and possibly not parades either) on weekdays.

Also, I think the Matterhorn tends to be down for refurbishment at that time. But again, I could be wrong on that.

This coming January (through April) all adults get tickets for the childrens price so you can save some money by doing that.

January could be a bit rainy. And chilly at night.

 

[Brady's Mom]

I loved, loved, loved being at DLR with my DH and NO kids. We were there at this time last year. I see people's posts about being there now and I am sad! You can expect short park hours. Typically DL 10 am to 8 pm and CA 10 am to 6 pm. Don't worry, you can get a ton of stuff done in those hours. Is it possible to include a Fri or Sun. in your plans? If you can, then you could see the parades/fireworks/fantasmic (if its running). Otherwise you will miss those. Also some shows don't run during low season.

You can still have a fabulous time. We did! I loved being able to shop w/out worrying about one of our boys touching/breaking (j/k) something in the Crystal shop. We were able to do everything we wanted to do, multiple times. We ate when we were hungry and wandered around and just did whatever.

 

[JaneJetson]

We're going to socal Januar 21st-26th. We'll be doing the parks on the Wednesday and Thursday for low crowds. And then on Sunday to hopefully catch the fireworks.

But Friday and Saturday tend to have more shows, such as music/dancing at Tomorrowland Terrace and Carnation Plaza (or whatever it's called.)

 

[HydroGuy]

1) It says that many times in low season there are no parades or fireworks except on weekends. Is there a place to find the hours of the parks/parades/fireworks? I don't want to plan and then find out I missed the things we love the most but I prefer to avoid weekends if possible.

The best indicator of what will happen next January is what happened last January. There are two places I go for that.

One is here: www.laughingplace.com/Guide-Cal-DLR2-200801.asp

The other are the weekly updates on MousePlanet. Here is a link to one from early January 2008: http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=dl080102xx. Look for the refurb info, etc., there.

 

[KarlaG4Kids]

Thanks so much for the links. A little clarification is needed. It shows that Fantasmic was not showing at all the entire last 1/2 of January last year. Is this normal for January or was there a special rehab going on last year? Does anyone know?

I am sorry to be clueless here, I have never spent much time in California and Kansas is WAY different. I understand that it can be cool and rainy...but when you say rainy, is that all day pooring rains or showers now and then rain? I am trying to plan a trip to escape Kansas in the dreary cold winter when we get no sun. I NEED sunshine. I don't mind cool. I don't mind pop up showers.

Thanks SO MUCH for any clarification and help you guys can offer. I'm not an exceptionally picky person, but I am trying to plan a trip that incudes fireworks and sun! HA HA. I LOVE WDW but I am anxious to visit DL and see everything that it has to offer also.

 

[JaneJetson]

According to weather.com...

Anaheim's averages for January are...
High - 69
Low - 45

Record high - 95
Record low - 36

Average rainfall in January is 2.47 inches.

That being said....you can't really take much from averages.

For example, it says the average high for August is 86 degrees. But last year it reached 108 the day we were there. It also says the average rainfall in November is less than an inch. But last year on our trip it rained (fairly heavy rain) the entire day.

One site that is interesting for weather is http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp

If you type in the location and the dates you want to go, it will give you a whole bunch of historical data for those days. If you type in Anaheim, it will actually show you Fullertons data though (it's as close as they can get.)

I searched the days of our trip in January (21st-16th). This year, it rained on every day except one. And the high temps were mostly in the 50's and 60's. But in 2007, it didn't rain at all on those days and the highs were mostly in the 60's and 70's.

I guess what I'm trying to say with all of this babbling is...there is really no way to tell what the weather will be like. Yes, it stinks when it rains all day at Disneyland. But if you have a rain coat that helps. And the park tends to be less crowded. They will, however, close some rides like the teacups and Alice and Wonderland if the rain is too heavy.

The rain could be a short, quick shower. Or it could be a heavy, all-day rain. There's no way to tell. For us, it's worth the risk in order to avoid hot weather and big crowds.

 

[avalon451]

I am looking into planning a short 4-5 day trip to DL in mid to later January for dh and I (no kids). I have read all of the wonderful tips posted by hydroguy (THANKS A BUNCH!) this morning. Now a couple of questions.

1) It says that many times in low season there are no parades or fireworks except on weekends. Is there a place to find the hours of the parks/parades/fireworks? laughingplace.com

2) What kind of transportation is available from the airports and how much does it cost? See my transporation blurb I cut and pasted below

3) Do you have any specific tips/warnings/ideas for a mid to late January trip. We will avoid Martin Luther King day/weekend if we can. It'll be lovely and quiet, great time to go!

4) Discounts? Are there any in January normally? Do they come out later or are they already out for the January time period...because I'm not finding much! Howard Johnson's has its Entertainment rate ($59 standard, $74 deluxe room) practically the entire month: http://www.hojoanaheim.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14 Check there for more info. HoJo is very popular on these boards, the nicest hotel at that rate within reasonable walking distance!

If I have asked questions that are answered somewhere I'm sorry....I've read all morning but these questions I haven't found yet.

Hey, we love to help, and the search function on this board leaves something to be desired, I think.

Ok, here's my airport transportation blurb:

------------------------
Ground Transportation

As far as transportation to and from the airport to your hotel, you have several choices. You can rent a car. I think there’s no real reason to, if you are staying at a hotel within walking distance and not going off on side trips to the beach or San Diego, etc. See Hydroguy's Hidden Time Losses when Using a Car at DLR
You can take the Disneyland Resort Express Bus. Grayline Disneyland Express It’s a big charter, and it stops at the DL hotels first. It’s very convenient. From LAX, it’s $30 RT for adults, $22 for children 3-11. From SNA, it’s $25 RT, $17 for kids.

You can take a taxi. From SNA and LGB, I have read that there is an established flat-rate of $40 one way. (but I don’t think you can get the same flat fee returning to the airport; I’ve heard it’s more like $55.) If you have more than 3 people, it’s probably worth it. There are supposed to be “taxi vans” that can take more than 4 people, but I have not heard that they’re always available, and we didn’t see them while we were there.

You can use a shuttle service. Super Shuttle and Prime Time shuttle are often used by people on the boards. I’ve heard some stories about slow or poor service from Super Shuttle, but it’s the cheapest way to go for us ($36 RT for both of us!) so that’s what I’m doing. These companies also offer private vans for larger groups, or private car services. You can get coupons for $2. off per person, each way, here: http://www.anaheimoc.org/Articles/Archive/Webpage10153.asp It's way down on the list.

You could spring for a limo (ok, that doesn’t go with my “budget” theme). But it’s been done and it could be a lot of fun. If you have a group of 5, 6 or more, and you were thinking of getting a private shuttle van for around $100, you could probably get a limo for around $150, one way, maybe less. I’d get a recommendation from the hotel. We did the limo for a surprise, and it was very fun, but I should have researched companies better; I wasn’t impressed with the service we had. (I don’t recommend Starz Limo!)