How far in advance?

[MandNCC]

Hello! We have done WDW and a disney cruise but now we are going to head out west!! I am wondering how far ahead we should be booking. I usually use a travel agent for WDW but she doesn't do DL so I'm not sure what I'm going to do this time. Thanks!

 

[Geemo]

When do you plan to visit DLR?
It really depends on where you plan to stay.
On-site reservations doesn't open as soon as off-site places do.
There are some off-site locations you can make a reservation for 2016.

Geemo

 

[MandNCC]

We will be going end of March 2016, it will be our spring break. I am trying to decide what to do about lodging, I can't decide if on property is worth the money at DL. Just starting my research.

 

[Geemo]

If you feel you'll be staying off site, pick a location and see when they open their March 2016 reservation calendar.
Usually off-site locations have better rates the earlier you book.
Many places will hold a reservation with just a credit card.

Geemo

 

[scrapshappen]

Unlike WDW, there are several offsite hotels that are closer than the onsite hotels are to the parks. We have stayed at all the onsite hotels and several offsite ones and it just depends on our budget for the trip. My DH would stay at the Grand Californian each time if we could afford it. However, staying across from the resort on Harbor works well for our family too. Our current favorite offsite hotel is the Tropicana. It's very basic, but clean and close which are our two deciding factors.

The major advantage to staying onsite is the extra early morning hour during your stay. We have found this is a great perk for California Adventure, but not as great a perk at Disneyland where that extra morning hour seems to be just as busy. When we stay off site, we just be sure to do rope drop at the park that doesn't have early morning hours.

As far as how early to book, if you know exactly where you want to stay, your best bet is to book as soon as it's available given that you are coming during Spring Break. Unlike WDW, you won't make dining reservations until 60 days out and they aren't very hard to come by in general. And there is no FP+ (at least not now) at DLR so you don't have to worry about that either. And you won't know park hours until about 6 weeks out and that can make it hard to plan too far in advance.

 

[Phoenixrising]

I depends if you are using a TA or booking it yourself. If you are DIY, then once you've decided on your dates I would book the hotel as soon as your dates comes available with the hotel of your choice. Then start hunting for cheap airfare. Since you are travelling during Spring break, you would need to book it further out than other times of the year. I think 6 months out would be fine. The longer you wait to book after this time frame, especially after the 4 month mark you will find it much harder to find the hotel you want to stay at. I would love to stay at one of the Disney hotels, but can never justify the expense of it. However that being said it's worth doing once, just to experience it. I personally like the Best Western Park Place Inn, for it close proximity to the parks, and it's a good, clean, basic hotel with excellent staff. I can also recommend HOJO's as well. Hope this helps.

 

[Canuck16]

Staying on site is not as big a priority at DLR as it is at WDW. There are plenty of Good Neighbour Hotels that are within walking distance to the parks and are far less expensive. Try and book your room as early as possible to get the lowest rates seeing as you be going during Spring Break.