If You Could Only Go to DLR Once in a Lifetime, How Would You Plan Your Trip?

[tarheelmjfan]

How many nights?
Where would you stay?
How would you allocate park days?
Where would you eat?
Anything I'm missing?

One catch... your trip has to be in the middle of July.

We're planning our 1st trip to DLR for next July, & I want to make the most of it. Living an hour from WDW makes it less likely we'll return to DL. (I'm not comparing the parks. I'm just being practical.) So, how would you plan a trip that allows you to make the most of the Disney magic? FYI, our group is made up of 2 adults, a 19 yo. girl, & an 18 yo. boy. Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[DLR29]

Although you can never know that you will be going to DLR only once....(we live on the west coast and went to WDW for the first time in 07. We'll be returning in 2010)

The ultimate DLR trip would probably include:

-5 nights at the Grand Californian Hotel (very expensive, but this hotel is on par with the Wilderness Lodge at WDW and THE closest hotel to the parks)
-5 day park hopper (gives you plenty of time to see the rides, shows, anything you want)
-Eat at nice restaurants such as the Blue Bayou, situated right next to Pirates

Middle of July is a good time to go because the hours are long (8AM-12AM every day). Also all of the entertainment is up and running (Fantasmic, Fireworks, World of Color every night). The weather is much nicer than FL weather. Not muggy, but still warm (80s, 90s), perfect water ride weather. There are crowds, but by spreading out your trip over 5 days, they shouldn't be a huge problem.

Keep reading these boards. Park touring is generally the same: Get up early, take a midday break, use FP as much as possible. However, at DLR park hopping is SO much easier. It takes about 2 minutes to walk from park to park. No confusing bus service, no boat launches or monorail schedules.

Have fun planning!

 

[PinkBudgie]

This a question I would be asking the other way around on the WDW boards. I have never been and since it is so much more money to go there, when we go I want to stay in one of the best places and have a good amount of time.

July is a great time to go- long hours, all shows and usually all rides are up and running. We went in June this year and I found I much prefer July. It might be hot during the day, but also the evenings are nice and you probably won't need a sweater like other times of the year.

Steakhouse 55 is amazing. We just went there this summer and food and service is wonderful. It is in the DLH, so don't miss the neat Disney knick knack collection on the wall in the hotel on your way.

Bengal BBQ is a must eat place for us. And we consider Whitewater Snacks at the CGH to be the best deal in the park for counter service. Even during crowded days it is very peaceful and uncrowded.

I would stay a week or so and also maybe do a few other things around Calif. in you are so inclined. I suggest at least 5 days in the parks if you won't be coming back for a long time. This allows you to go back during the afternoons if you want to rest for night entertainment on some days and also gives you time to see most of the shows and rides. We were just there for a week (5 full days, and a half day tacked on at each end) and we still had few things that just didn't get done. But we did do something things we wouldn't normally do.

If staying at the Disney hotels is too expensive, then there are some good ones offsite too. I believe there is a hotel review sticky at the top of the page. In fact, I've never stayed on property, but I'd love to try it sometime.

 

[teatime]

Its funny, I found Disneyland far more expensive to go to then WDW. plus free dining. the pop century was way cheaper, and the flights last year were cheaper then to Anaheim ! free bus service to and from airport, free buses and such to and from the parks. I would have gone there this year but we could not go off season this time and had to go when school was out ( high school girl can not take time off during the school year this year prices for off season is way cheaper in WDW

 

[PinkBudgie]

Depends on where you are coming from. We don't fly to DLR, we drive. I haven't checked on prices from SFO or OAK to WDW lately but that alone would make it much more expensive for us than DLR. And the $20 per person for the bus to take us to the airport. Also, the DLR tickets or APs are cheaper. WDW has so many ticket variations it makes my head spin.

 

[DLR29]

Depends on where you are coming from. We don't fly to DLR, we drive. I haven't checked on prices from SFO or OAK to WDW lately but that alone would make it much more expensive for us than DLR. And the $20 per person for the bus to take us to the airport. Also, the DLR tickets or APs are cheaper. WDW has so many ticket variations it makes my head spin.

We've been looking at prices from those airports. I don't know exactly where you live, but if you can, fly from San Jose. It's SO much cheaper than the other two.

 

[PinkBudgie]

We've been looking at prices from those airports. I don't know exactly where you live, but if you can, fly from San Jose. It's SO much cheaper than the other two.

We are above SF. Going to San Jose would be a long drive for us. I've never used that one, but will keep it in mind just in case it turns out to be worth the drive. (Of course WDW won't be possible for at least a few years. )

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

Although you can never know that you will be going to DLR only once....(we live on the west coast and went to WDW for the first time in 07. We'll be returning in 2010)

The ultimate DLR trip would probably include:

-5 nights at the Grand Californian Hotel (very expensive, but this hotel is on par with the Wilderness Lodge at WDW and THE closest hotel to the parks)
-5 day park hopper (gives you plenty of time to see the rides, shows, anything you want)
-Eat at nice restaurants such as the Blue Bayou, situated right next to Pirates

Middle of July is a good time to go because the hours are long (8AM-12AM every day). Also all of the entertainment is up and running (Fantasmic, Fireworks, World of Color every night). The weather is much nicer than FL weather. Not muggy, but still warm (80s, 90s), perfect water ride weather. There are crowds, but by spreading out your trip over 5 days, they shouldn't be a huge problem.

Keep reading these boards. Park touring is generally the same: Get up early, take a midday break, use FP as much as possible. However, at DLR park hopping is SO much easier. It takes about 2 minutes to walk from park to park. No confusing bus service, no boat launches or monorail schedules.

Have fun planning!

I know to never say never, but it's not likely we'll be returning anytime soon. We've been to California twice (San Francisco & San Diego), but didn't go to DL. Now, my son & his girlfriend decided they want to go to Comic Con in SD & he wants her to see SF. This time I put my foot down & told my DH & DS I'm going to DL, if we're going that close again. I drag them to WDW, since it's so close. It's a little harder to drag them to California.

I'm so glad to see July is a good month to go. I'm not worried about it being too hot. Actually, we prefer hot to cold weather. We were cold in SF in June & SD in April. The thing about July that most concerns me is the likely higher, onsite rates. I'm still leaning that way. My health is bad, so we always spend a lot of time in our hotel. DLR seems to be setup like Universal Orlando, which we love. It's so nice to be able to walk everywhere. I still plan to research the offsite hotels though.

Blue Bayou is definitely on my list of restaurants. I want to try the Monte Cristo, since we don't have that @ WDW. Plus, the atmosphere sounds really fun. I wish we had a duplicate of it here.

This a question I would be asking the other way around on the WDW boards. I have never been and since it is so much more money to go there, when we go I want to stay in one of the best places and have a good amount of time.

July is a great time to go- long hours, all shows and usually all rides are up and running. We went in June this year and I found I much prefer July. It might be hot during the day, but also the evenings are nice and you probably won't need a sweater like other times of the year.

Steakhouse 55 is amazing. We just went there this summer and food and service is wonderful. It is in the DLH, so don't miss the neat Disney knick knack collection on the wall in the hotel on your way.

Bengal BBQ is a must eat place for us. And we consider Whitewater Snacks at the CGH to be the best deal in the park for counter service. Even during crowded days it is very peaceful and uncrowded.

I would stay a week or so and also maybe do a few other things around Calif. in you are so inclined. I suggest at least 5 days in the parks if you won't be coming back for a long time. This allows you to go back during the afternoons if you want to rest for night entertainment on some days and also gives you time to see most of the shows and rides. We were just there for a week (5 full days, and a half day tacked on at each end) and we still had few things that just didn't get done. But we did do something things we wouldn't normally do.

If staying at the Disney hotels is too expensive, then there are some good ones offsite too. I believe there is a hotel review sticky at the top of the page. In fact, I've never stayed on property, but I'd love to try it sometime.

Yay, for another July vote. This is such a relief. July @ WDW =

I have seen Steakhouse 55 mentioned before. It's on my list, but I need to read more about it to know what to expect. I haven't seen Bengal BBQ mentioned. I'll look for a menu. BTW, I wish DLR was represented as well on the official site as WDW is. I love how they've updated the WDW portion to include more info. Are they planning to do that for DLR anytime soon?

We're planning to visit San Diego (Comic Con), San Francisco, DL, & spend a day in LA. We'll be changing hotels for each city, expect maybe LA. We may stop by there on our way from SF to DL. I'm not sure yet. I'm trying to cut nights for the other 2 locations to get more time at DL. After all, we've been to those before.

I hope you get to plan your ideal WDW trip soon. I'd be happy to help you, when the time comes.

Its funny, I found Disneyland far more expensive to go to then WDW. plus free dining. the pop century was way cheaper, and the flights last year were cheaper then to Anaheim ! free bus service to and from airport, free buses and such to and from the parks. I would have gone there this year but we could not go off season this time and had to go when school was out ( high school girl can not take time off during the school year this year prices for off season is way cheaper in WDW

Disneyland is much more expensive for us also. That's to be expected considering the fact we can drive to WDW in an hour. We also get discounts for being FL residents. I'm sure it's the same for California residents visiting DLR. For those who don't live close to either park, WDW can be a fantastic deal. If you stay at a value resort & can take advantage of a promotion such as free dining, WDW probably is cheaper.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Do not mistake July being a good time to visit Disneyland for July having lighter crowds. I would guess that July is possibly the busiest month of the year for Disneyland. While I don't know what effect, if any, Comic-Con has on Disneyland attendance, it's possible that the parks could be busier both right before and after Comic-Con because of Disneyland's relative proximity to San Diego.

However, because Disneyland will be open until midnight every day, then you can get a lot done late at night after the crowds thin out. This is not the case at WDW since the parks are not open as long and can often close as "early" as 9:00pm even during crowded times.

As far as an "ultimate" visit to the DLR goes, here's my take. I think you need 2 days to properly experience Disneyland itself and another day for DCA. 5 days will give you sufficient time to explore the parks and discover the unique charm that makes Disneyland special. Seeing as how I haven't stayed on property in Anaheim since I was 2 years old, I do not consider the onsite hotels to be a necessary part of the ultimate Disneyland visit. You can find offsite hotels closer to Disneyland and DCA than the Contemporary is to the Magic Kingdom and a whole lot less money than the onsite Disneyland hotels.