Help....

[twinz]

We are trying to decide between going to DL, or WDW again. We have never been to DL, but have been to WDW several times. Since we are Canadian cost is a BIG thing. Also we would like to know the weather and crowd sizes (for DL). We were thinking between September and December. We more then likely will be staying off site (due to costs). Any help would be greatly apprectiated.

Also is SM really closed until 2005? When does ToT open?
There will be two adults travelling, no children.
Thanks
Twinz

 

[disneychrista]

Everyone should visit the orginial "Walt Park" at least once.

Space Mountain is indeed closed until 2005. It was closed early for unknown reasons (rumors have said anything from it was in danger of failing apart to funding came in early).

Tower of Terrror is not scheduled to open until Spring 2004.

The fall is a great time to visit the parks. The weather is still warm, crowds are lessened (expect for holiday periods-Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterns Day, Thanksgiving). In the way of light crowds I would say the the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are the best. Plus the parks are decorated for Christmas, the Christmas Parade is showing and it snows on Main Street after the Fireworks.

There are many great off site hotels, that are actually closer to the gates of the parks then the Disneyland Hotel. Unlike WDW there is no need to stay onsite, other then to say you have.

 

[twinz]

Thanks for your help. We were talking and decided that we want to wait until TOT and SM is open. It probally will be a one time trip, as it is much farther for us to go there then Florida. THanks for your help
Twinz

 

[missypie]

Don't just assume that onsite is too expensive. We stayed at the DLH in CA (what would be considered a "Deluxe" at WDW) for less than the price of a "Moderate" at WDW. ($139 in mid-March. We could have stayed at PP for $99.) It is great to stay on-site. You can arrive and never get in a car or tram or shuttle - just walk everywhere. It is a very insulated, resort-like feeling. The outside streets/restaurant/hotel drag around DL is not the prettiest and it is nice to be away from the outside world for a while.

 

[year2late]

The cool thing about DLR is the proximity of everything. Even if you don't "stay in the magic" there are scores of motels within easy walking distance ---that are very easy on the budget.

We do priceline alot and usually get a 3 star room in the $30 range.....all of these hotels which are a little further away...seem to have shuttles.

 

[sgtdilbert]

Wise choice. The park will be celebrating it's 50th Anniversary in 2005, when ToT and SM reopen. Disneyland should have the Buzz Lightyear ride by then and hopefully they won't cheap out on the celebration.

Also, just a note. When planning, take into consideration that the least crowded times of the year are also the times when rides are frequently refurbished. I love September, because there's very few people there in that month, but many of the attractions are not open either.

s.

 

[tink2dw]

We were at DL,DCA in Jan. 2003 and it seemed to me like food costs were not as high as WDW. I think we saved $200. on food.

We bought less souvineers too as there is only 1 outlet there.

The weather was nicer,too!!

 

[mom_rules]

We have also decided to try the original park this time as well
(end of September/beg of Oct). Our 9 day stay at the GC-on the Grand Plan, theme park view concierge cost us 1/3 of the cost of our last WDW visit to BC, STD room.

We will give it a try-got some good fares on America West Airlines as well.

Don't know anything about America West (any reviews?), we usually fly AC but didn't want to fly into LAX.

 

[missypie]

momrules, you'll have a great time. But with 9 days, you'll probably want to rent a car and explore other parts of S. CA also. We had 4 days in the 2 parks - we took one day to go to USH, which I coud have skipped - and I felt like I didn't get enough relaxing by the pool time. Six full daysat DLR, with breaks in the afternoon for swimming, would have been perfect for me. I guess if 2 of your 9 days are travel days, that just leaves you with one extra day to fill.

 

[mom_rules]

We arrive at 11:00am the first day, plan to do Fashion Island/Newport Beach one day, Knott's theme park one day, we have a conference for one day, and leave the last day at 10:00am. We have rented a vehicle.

Can you tell me where there is a Disney Warehouse outlet store or an outlet mall close by? Any other suggestions on what to see? With the above plan that would give us 5 DL days and all evenings. Too much? We'd like to enjoy the concierge and the pool and DTD as well.

 

[disneychrista]

This link ( Disney's Character Warehouse ) should provide everything you need to locate the character warehouse (Disney Outlet)

 

[mom_rules]

Great link, very helpful!!!

What other stores are in the mall?

 

[disneychrista]

Honestly I don't know, we only went to the Character Warehouse when we went. It is in a "strip mall" so I didn't even look around.

 

[tink2dw]

I think that there is a Fruit and vegi store a couple doors down and that is where we bought inexpensive Fruit for our DL vacaction.

 

[mom_rules]

Thanks guys!

I get such great info here.

We were also thinking about Fashion Island and Newport Beach.
Any advice?

 

[Elly]

In answer to your previous question, I think 5 days for DL and DCA is perfect. Another alternative to Knotts would be Universal Studios since you have a car.

 

[mom_rules]

How far away is Universal?

 

[missypie]

Plan on at least an hour, in LA traffic. The probelm is that if you want to arrive at park opening, you will be dealing with rush hour. There are also busses and public transportation, but then you have to go with their timing.

 

[Elly]

Allow a full day for universal. I recommend driving because the bus "tours" really cut your day short. Although they might appear to leave early enough, by the time the pick up every tourist in Anaheim and actually hit the park, lots of time is wasted. Then they leave way before it closes. Take your car!

 

[Llisa]

I was just at that Disney Character Warehouse outlet last week and it's absolutely GREAT - the prices are 50-70% less than at DL (my daugher bought the most ADORABLE Minnie rolling suitcase for $19.99; the EXACT SAME item in DL was about $38.99).

If you want a T-shirt or sweatshirt with "Disney" emblazoned on it, the Warehouse prices just can't be beat. The only disadvantage to the Warehouse is limited selection - there were lots of "out of season" items but since I'm from Canada, buying gloves in July isn't so pointless - LOL!!!! If you'lre looking for a specific item, you may be out of luck but it's certainly worth a look.

As for other stores in the Mall - Dollar Tree Stores Inc. provided some cheap souvenirs/toys (a.k.a. junk!!) for the kids, as did the "Factory 2-U Store" (where I got a steal of a deal on a hairdryer!). There's also a massive jewellery store on the corner and another one across the street (my husband whipped my credit cards out of my purse at this point!!).

As for souvenirs at DL - I thought the plush Minnie ears were quite reasonable at $7; my son bought a Pirates Sword at New Orleans Square for the princely sum of $3.75. Otherwise, I thought most of the toys, clothes, souvenirs a bit overpriced. Oh, and DON'T buy film at Disneyland - I ran out and had to pay 60% more than I paid here in Canada (morale of this - take 6 more rolls of film than you think you'll need!!!).

My kids LOVED the squished pennies - next time I'll make sure I have a roll of nice, shiny brand new pennies with me especially for this purpose.

One final thing, if you can, break up your "Disney Days". Our second and fifth days (of a nine day vacation) were "Disney-free" but still my 5 year old daughter complained "Do we have to go to Disneyland EVERY day?" on our fourth visit to DL!!! Quite frankly, I was Disney-ed out by the fifth day too.

HTH and have a great trip!