How hot/crowded in August? Should we go?

[kpgclark]

We are flying in from the east coast to go on a two week Disney Panama Canal cruise in August. We'll have a half day in California and then a full day before going on the cruise. I can't decide whether to spend the full day before the cruise at Disneyland. On the one hand the kids have never been to Disneyland but on the other hand there is a lot to see in California and I'm assuming it will be very hot and crowded at the park (if we go we'd be there on Friday August 19th) Additionally I thought the kids might be tired from all the excitment at the park and it might not be the right way to start the cruise. Any thoughts about this?

 

[missmulan]

august out here is very hot & dry.

in my opinion, 14 days on a disney cruise is a whole lot of disney. i envy you!

if you've never been to california and you're coming from the east coast, i would try to see some other sights (i.e. hollywood, show taping, beverly hills).

then if you still don't have enough disney after your 14 day cruise, you can always go to WDW.

 

[kpgclark]

That's kinda what I was thinking. We've done WDW a few times and maybe it is time to move on. If we only have a day and a half maybe we should see some real CA sights. My husband and I have been to California many times but the kids have not. Also, I've never been specifically to LA or Hollywood.

 

[4eeyore]

We are from the east coast (NJ) and went to DL last August (17th-20th) and the weather was to die for! Perfect sunny days, mid to high 80s but no humidity! We loved Disneyland, but the best thing to do is to arrive 1/2 hour before opening and you can see so much in the first few hours. From 11:00 on it got to be a bit crowded.

 

[kidpluto]

hi - we're coming fr. jersey and doing the east bound repositioning cruise - and we want to do to dl because there's things there that aren't in wdw - the storybook cruises - matterhorn - seeing shows can be done in wdw or in nyc - but the original walt disney park rides are not to be missed - we're also hoping that the weather won't be that hot - but i've got a question for you - how are you getting to the port - i was checking on how far anaheim is and it looks like a long ride - will disney transportation take us there - or will we have to go to lax - i'm comfortable w/transport in mco - but i'm clueless about california -

 

[kpgclark]

I haven't thought about how we'll get to the port yet because I'm not sure what we are doing. We may have to rent a car even though I really don't want to. We have friends who we met on the last cruise who live in a suburb of LA. We may stay closer to where they live. We just don't know what we're going to do. I thought it might be nice to visit the Chinatown there or perhaps the museum that will be hosting the King Tut exhibit. We may opt to go to the beach though. Everything is really up in the air. I would just hate to visit California for a little over a day and only see Disneyland. I know it would be a fun place to visit but I'd like the kids to have more of a taste of California.

 

[boston4415]

My family and I are also going on the east bound repositioning cruise. I just started looking into trying to go to DL before the start of the cruise. I originaly booked the airfair through Disney Cruise Line and the transportation from Airport to Port is included in the cost of the air. I believe I'm being charged $69 a person. Now I'm interested in going to DL so I have been looking into extending the air and adding a hotel and ground transportation. If I book the air myself, the savings will more than pay for the three nights hotel and DL passes and ground transportaion from Airport - Hotel and Hotel - Port.

Look at Mousesavers.com. The site is very informated and will help you save money for DL. They have many suggestions for ground transportation. I believe we are going with SuperShuttle.com

I'm thinking about arriving on 8/17 and staying at the either Howard Johnson or Candy Cane Inn. They both got great reviews at tripadvisor.com We are thinking of buying a 2 or 3 day pass and spending our time all at Disney and then off on the Cruise. We can relax when we are on the Cruise. We expect a large crowd but we are never going to take a trip like this for some time.

 

[LynnTarrant]

I'm not on the repositioning cruise but I am going on a West Coast cruise I contacted Disney last week and there is a bus transfer from the Disneyland resorts to the port $25 each way. I'm staying at the Candy cane Inn and I was still able to use the Transfer but I have to get to the Grand Californian. Can't decide whether to do that or treat myself and hubby to a Limmo transfer( it is our anniversery)

 

[pamkass]

We are on the same cruise. We are flying in on Thurs. We have been to WDW so many times but I can't miss the 50TH aniversary. We will go 1/2 day on thurs and all day Fri. We are staying at the Candy Cane Inn. Meet you on the ship. Can't wait.

 

[Bmwdsny]

We will also be on the Ca-Fl repo and will be in Ca about a week before. We have a rental car picking up at LAX and then drop off at Long Beach thru Alamo and they have a shuttle to the port.

Kidpluto, Boston 4415 and PamKass...You are welcome to join our thread of FOOLS who are going on the Ca- FL panama cruise. We have all sort of chatting about planning, excursions, transport. hotels, and funny chatting as well.

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