Just Back From Our First Dlr Trip!

[PrincessSitka]

I usually go in April but has gotten so buzy. I think I will book in January now after reading your comments.

 

[Amy&Dan]

So glad you had a great time at Disneyland! I also love it when WDW regulars go to DL and find it as magical as I do. I am also glad you loved the DLH, we love it too, in fact prefer it over the GCH. Also, many of the rooms do have the sink outside the bathroom (in the Sierra Tower, don't know about the Marina). That is the one disadvantage to the Bonita which due to its being by the Koi ponds and waterfalls I in some ways prefer. But that bathroom situation is not the best! That is great you planned a WDW summer trip! I also found it interesting that you wished you had more than five nights. I feel the same way, we have done trips to DL with as little as 3 nights and as many as 7. This year we are pulling out the stops and doing 11 nights total. Call me crazy but I don't expect to be bored or ready to come home! I think DL is easily a week long vacation. But it can also be done in less which is nice. I would never do less than seven nights at WDW and prefer 10 or more.


Welcome Home!

 

[mystic_path]

Thanks so much for sharing your report. I am really happy that you enjoyed your stay at the DLR. Its good to hear from people who have only been to WDW and not DL to see what things they prefer and why. So thanks again for sharing.

 

[Lives4Disney]

So glad you had a great time at Disneyland! I also love it when WDW regulars go to DL and find it as magical as I do. I am also glad you loved the DLH, we love it too, in fact prefer it over the GCH. Also, many of the rooms do have the sink outside the bathroom (in the Sierra Tower, don't know about the Marina). That is the one disadvantage to the Bonita which due to its being by the Koi ponds and waterfalls I in some ways prefer. But that bathroom situation is not the best! That is great you planned a WDW summer trip! I also found it interesting that you wished you had more than five nights. I feel the same way, we have done trips to DL with as little as 3 nights and as many as 7. This year we are pulling out the stops and doing 11 nights total. Call me crazy but I don't expect to be bored or ready to come home! I think DL is easily a week long vacation. But it can also be done in less which is nice. I would never do less than seven nights at WDW and prefer 10 or more.


Welcome Home!

Thanks! I sat by the pool and looked at the 3 towers and noticed the "balconies" were different in each and the sliders in Marina were only 3 doors vs 4 in the Sierra and Bonita. Are the room sizes different in the 3 towers?? That is good to know about the bathroom differences. I would stay at DLH again in a minute, but would definitely book the view type with the preferred bathrooms. I may be asking again in a few months which are which!!

Oh, I could easily stay there 2 wks & not be bored. We hardly had time to explore DTD. Every time we walked by we planned where we'd shop, but didn't get to. We literally RAN in and out of Basin before the airport to grab the soaps we knew from previous purchases that we'd want. The girls did BaB Thurs night with our friends because their hoppers were 3 day and didn't start til Friday. We didn't get to explore much of WoD or much of anything else. I need to go back. The marathon visit was fun but exhausting and we are all feeling rundown! We ached every night (and morning too) from being on our feet so long all day. It would be more enjoyable for all of us to have time during the day to relax and then enjoy the details of the place more. We have done quickie 4 nt WDW trips and they are fun and exciting, but I prefer the slower more relaxed pace of the longer stays. My DDs like to go back to the hotel room and spend some playtime or swim time. That's an important part of their vacation.

Lives4Disney

 

[Lives4Disney]

Thanks so much for sharing your report. I am really happy that you enjoyed your stay at the DLR. Its good to hear from people who have only been to WDW and not DL to see what things they prefer and why. So thanks again for sharing.

You're welcome! I actually didn't get to sleep til 3 am and had such funky dreams all of DL!

My girls loved it too! I wish I lived closer.

Lives4Disney

 

[minmate]

Sleeping Becca --
I tried Ridemax b/c I was nervous about the busy crowds. To be honest with you, it was unrealistic and only stuck to the plan for about three rides in a row on one day then really, just tossed out the plan. And those were for rides in DCA -- where I'd never been before. But once around the park and I felt like I knew it well enough I didn't even need or bother with Ridemax. Plus, their times, especially for the evenings -- were WAY off for us. It could be a helpful tool for others but it didn't really give us anything we hadn't already learned. As you know, it's important to be able to change your plans on the fly as things will come up and cause you to have to change. It depends on how confident you are in the layout of the parks and the FastPass system.

 

[HydroGuy]

Ideally I would have wanted to book a trip during the week and not the weekend, but I didn't want DD to miss that much school. The only other option was to visit mid summer. I thought May would be less crowded than July. So, a weekday in July is less crowded than a weekend in May?

This question would be best answered by a Premium AP holder who visits year round on weekends and weekdays. DLR has 650,000-700,000 AP holders, most of which live in SoCal. Some of these AP holders make monthly if not weekly day trips to DLR, and often do this on the weekends (Friday evenings, Saturdays, Sundays).

With few exceptions, it is my understanding that weekends year round are as busy (if not busier) that summer weekdays. Many of the AP holders have SoCal APs, which means they are blacked out from late June until late August. So if you go during this time, you will have mostly local non-AP day trippers and out-of-state visitors - without the AP holders.

I'm thinking about doing EE on Saturday then heading over to CA for the rest of the day. Am I right in thinking that DL will be a mob scene on Saturday? Park opening is listed as 8:00am so does that mean EE is at 7:00? Do you think that EE that morning will be OK?

EE will be at 7AM when DL opens at 8AM. When EE is at 7AM, I think it is best to do EE on the first day you possibly can - preferably your very first day at DLR - as it will be easier to get to bed earlier on the previous evening. If that means Saturday, then you should do it then. Note that most of the visitors will be local day trippers, and they will not have EE. So EE on a Saturday should not be significantly worse than other days.

I have never felt like there was a "mob" of people at DLR. That sounds so negative. If you get going to the parks early, you will get lots done and it will get more crowded towards mid-day. If you collect Fastpasses, you can still work through the crowds that build. If you feel like DL is getting too crowded, then you can hop to DCA when it opens. I do not think that should be your default strategy, but DCA will be less crowded when it opens and you can head over there if you feel like it. You will have three hours at DL already if you did EE that day.

 

[minmate]

Lives4Disney -- We were there pretty much the same time as you - only we returned home Monday. Sunday was so much less crowded than Friday and from what I heard -- Saturday was crowded too. We skipped Sat. and went to the beach that day instead. That really did wonders for the relax/refresh needs of such a short trip!
I'm glad you had a great time! Wish we had another trip already in the works... but we don't -- yet!

 

[Sleeping Becca]

Trey,

Thank you so much for all of the tips! I read all of your rules. I esp found the fastpass information extremely helpful. When I used the term "mob scene" I didn't mean it to come across negatively, I just meant that I thought DL would be REALLY crowded on Saturday. I am used to crowds, I visit WDW during the summer, I was hoping that the crowds would be smaller at DL, but I can handle it.

I plan on taking your advice and collecting as many fastpasses as possible in the morning, taking a break in the afternoon and using my fastpasses in the evening.

Thanks again for all of the great advice! I'm getting really excited about our trip!

 

[minmate]

sleeping becca -- if you use hydroguy's advice (collecting the FP's in the am and using them in the pm) I think it will be okay. That's what we did this past week/weekend and it worked fine. We had a rough day on Friday so when we went back in Friday night and were greeted with crowds -- a lot of teens -- I am presuming a large local crowd -- it was a bit much for us. It felt like bumper to bumper foot traffic. I had been to DL once in the 90's the day after Christmas when they handed out the warning notices. That day was literally so crowded it felt like at the end of the night of a concert. You couldn't go where you wanted... It was wall-to-wall people all smushed together and no way to move in or out of the crowds.
Last Friday wasn't that bad but I wasn't interested in sticking around to see if it got worse. We hopped over to DCA for awhile and it was less crowded there. We walked back into DLR right after the Electrical Light Parade at DCA and were standing at the hub when the DL fireworks started, but it was packed. We weren't there to try to find a seat... just try to get back to Indy.

We often didn't do breaks every day at WDW but for some reason, we really needed and enjoyed them during our DL trip.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

I know we're going to have a great trip! DD is most interested in the rides not available at WDW, like Alice, Pinnochio, Mr Toad, Matterhorn, Roger Rabbit, Monsters Inc, and Indy. As long as we able to ride those and of course Pirates and Haunted Mansion we will be perfectly happy. Any other rides we can get in will be a bonus. I agree that Fantasmic, Tom Sawyer Island, Tarzan's treehouse and Splash are actually a relief, less for us to try and cram in. Although I am kind of bummed about Fantasmic, my last trip to WDW Fantasmic was cancelled the night we went to see it, so I was kind of looking forward to DL's version. But it does make planning a litter easier taking it out of the equation.

 

[Lives4Disney]

I know we're going to have a great trip! DD is most interested in the rides not available at WDW, like Alice, Pinnochio, Mr Toad, Matterhorn, Roger Rabbit, Monsters Inc, and Indy. As long as we able to ride those and of course Pirates and Haunted Mansion we will be perfectly happy. Any other rides we can get in will be a bonus. I agree that Fantasmic, Tom Sawyer Island, Tarzan's treehouse and Splash are actually a relief, less for us to try and cram in. Although I am kind of bummed about Fantasmic, my last trip to WDW Fantasmic was cancelled the night we went to see it, so I was kind of looking forward to DL's version. But it does make planning a litter easier taking it out of the equation.

You will have a great time! You're right, it's less to cram in. I didn't even get to see the ELParade....don't know when I could have! We were crazy busy and always on the run. Just have to go back again, I guess......

I just wanted to say that we felt the same about just getting the rides done that we can't ride at WDW. You have to try and do Peter Pan, Snow White, Pooh Bear, Autopia, Buzz, and the others too - including Small World which has a few extras including mermaids. The rides are so much better at DL than at WDW. Once we discovered that, we had to get them all in.

Minmate - It was our first visit, so we didn't know what to expect as far as crowds but I agree there were a few nights of post concert crowd levels. I was so afraid of losing a kid in that (mob, lol ). We were at WDW last spring break, but enjoyed our DL stay a little better because of the newness of it. We LOVE WDW, so to us DL was a bit of the same, but still different. We've been to WDW too many times and this was a refreshing change! I am glad you had a nice time, too. We would have benefited from some breaks, but our time was so limited we felt like we had to go go go.


Enjoy!

Lives4Disney

 

[minmate]

Lives4Disney -- We actually did "lose" one of our kids one night - for about five minutes. It was scary. It wasn't just b/c of crowds though -- to be fair it was night/dark and he ran off ahead of us at the end of our ride on Big Thunder.

Usually, I don't favor breaks - I figure that is time and money away from the parks -- you can rest up AFTER vacation! lol -- but we really needed the breaks this time and I think that's the most important thing -- really knowing your family and what they need for the best experience...

 

[HydroGuy]

Usually, I don't favor breaks - I figure that is time and money away from the parks -- you can rest up AFTER vacation! lol -- but we really needed the breaks this time and I think that's the most important thing -- really knowing your family and what they need for the best experience...

The relative importance of breaks depends on the ages of children, how long the park is open, how crowded it is, and how warm it is.

During high season or weekends with DL open 16 hours from 8AM-Midnight, and 17 hours on an EE day, there are not too many kids (or adults for that matter) that can push thru 16-17 hours a day inside DLR. For my family somewhere around 11-13 hours a day inside the parks is about right. For discussion purposes let's call it 12 hours.

So the question is, if the parks are busy, when do you want to spend those 12 hours inside the parks? From 10AM-10PM? Or from 8AM-1PM, take a break, and then 5PM-Midnight?

To anyone concerned about "losing park time" by taking a break, that is not the point. The point is when do you want to spend your X hours at the parks? If you get up early and get to the parks, take a break mid-day, and then come back in the evening, you will be spending your hours during periods of the lowest crowds, shortest lines, and least heat (if it is summer). And the nice thing is that your kids are fresh in the evening.

This was pointed out to me by my DS12 when we went on a day trip in November (when he was 11). We had a hotel the night before the day trip so we could get an early start, but checked out that morning so had nowhere for a long afternoon break. So we trudged on all day. By 6-7PM he was really dragging, and said how he was usually not very tired at 6PM at DLR. When I mentioned we did not get a nap, he said "Wow, you're right! I never realized how much of a difference that made!"

After that break and nap time, we head back to the parks at 5-7PM and everyone is fresh and good up until 11PM or midnight.

In summary, the main purpose of break times is to help you spend your park hours when they will be the most productive, and to have fresh kids in the evenings.

If the park hours are shorter (DL open from 10AM-8PM) then the parks are only open for 10 hours altogether. Taking a break is probably not worth it.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Count me in as a believer in breaks. The only time I don't take a break is off season when the park hours are 10-8. But since we don't go off season anymore that no longer applies to us! Last summer we did EE each day it was offered. Which meant we were leaving our hotel room at the GCH each day by about 6:30 a.m. The park was open until midnight. If we hadn't taken a break we would have been the newest residents of the Haunted Mansion as it would have killed us! I learned about breaks the hard way during our trip back in June of 2003. It was a short weekend trip and I decided no breaks, too much to do! Ds got sick during that trip, dd whined a lot, dh and I had a rather stupid and petty disagreement in the line for Soarin and we never went that route again! We also could only last until maybe 10:00 p.m. which meant we missed those golden two hours after the fireworks when things really start to clear out. Now I figure a break into each day and even if all we do is take a quick swim and lounge by the pool we can go back and conquer the park. With all of our saved fastpasses in hand.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Breaks have become a necessity for us. The best day we had was Saturday.....we started out kinda late because we were so pooped out from Friday - crazy crowded and we went from 8:30 am til we dropped about 8 pm Friday night...we had planned on closing the place that eve, but we just couldn't hack it.....Saturday we slept in, arrived about 9:30 am.....brunch with Lilo & Stitch, parks & then took a swim/pina colada break from 4 til 8 and made it back to DL for Wishes and stayed til midnight. The crowds thinned and night time in DL was beautiful with all the twinkling lights and tiki torches. At WDW we love to close the parks. I think I prefer to sleep in and stay late vs EE and crash and burn! DD's value the breaks too. It is part of their fun to be able to swim or just veg in the hotel room and play.

Minmate - I am so sorry that happened to you. I am glad it all turned out ok but I can imagine your panic. I can completely understand how easily it happens. The parks were jammed full with people going this way and that.

I forgot to mention how much we loved the Tiki Birds. I really don't like WDW's crazy "updated" version with those annoying, arguing birds. I wish they'd bring back this DL version! So many of the DL rides were better than WDW's. (and that opinion is from a family of WDW lovers)

Lives4Disney

 

[tinkermell]

Lives4disney, I don't know if you remember me, but I remember encouraging you, that you might really like DL. I knew that you were so nervous that you had made the wrong decision not to go to WDW. Well, I'm glad you didn't cave in, and gave DL a chance. I'm glad that you had a great time...and I have been waiting for your report so see how you did. I was thinking to myself...here we have a WDW vet going to DL for the first time at one of the busiest times of the year...I don't know???? For alot of people, that would have been the worst thing that could have happened to them...and they would have focused on that. It's cool that you took that all in stride, and still had a great time in spite of it. I'm the same way. If I'm going after Christmas, then I just realize this is the way it is, and go with the flow.
Anyways, I'm so happy you were happy with your hotel choice, and that they gave you your turn down service. Were going to the DLH in June so I will be sure to request that also. That is what is so fun about this site...you get so much fun and great info!
I also encouraged you to see the Hotel Del Coronado. Did you have time?? And what did you think of our beaches? Oh and I also thought about you, when we had that huge rain and wind storm. Were you still in San Diego??
Oh,and sorry to hear that Paradise Point wasn't so paradise! I've only walked on the property, and it looked so pretty. But I guess things can be pretty deceiving. The zoo is pretty awesome! And I'm curious to your year long passes to Sea World? Are they good nation wide??? Did you get a good deal or something??? OK... I could go on. Glad your home safe and sound!
PS-Did you love Indy??? Too bad your 17 year old didn't see that!!!

 

[Lives4Disney]

Tinkermell- Of course I remember you! I appreciated all your input.

OK, well, we were in San Diego from the 23 to the 28th of March. We didn't get to Coronado - which really disappointed me because the Grand Floridian is our favorite WDW resort so I wanted to see the beautiful Del C. The problem was we were there with my parents! It's hard because they've been to SD a lot so we kind of just followed them a bit and weren't as free as if it were just us visiting.

Paradise Point has a lot of prettiness about it. There were some really gorgeous areas. I am sorry to be so negative - we had several annoying things going on. We did a lot of walking around there and it was funny because SOME of the bungalows were in more grassy areas, but very few....of course the one they used for their online pics was. They said I could move the next day to 708, which looked like the online pic, so we walked down to check it out. It was in a grassy area, but I peeked in the windows and the furniture looked more rundown than ours, so I said nah. PLUS it did not connect to another open room for my parents. I just didn't like all the pavement and the cars RIGHT outside our windows. I couldn't open the blinds or curtains or we'd be totally exposed. I think a lot comes down to LOCATION. Our bungalow location was not good. (plus BAD housekeeping and that awful sofa bed and few TV channels )

On Saturday the 24th SeaWorld..(probably part of our problem with SeaWorld was it was Sat, I am sure). It was PACKED. It was hard for the girls to see the exhibits because it was just sooooo thick with people. I don't think SW is made for those crowds. I will have to check on the nationwide thing. Honestly, I have no idea where the cards are.....I didn't care! Once a yr was fine. Maybe DH has them. It was a fun day because the sun was shining and it was in the 70's and the kids were w/their grandparents that they don't see so often, so it was good.

Sunday we went to La Jolla and Pacific Beach. It was gray and cool. We walked on a huge boardwalk in PB and saw dolphins and people watched. Then we went down to walk on the beach and the girls tried to find shells. It was really windy so we didn't last more than an hr out there. We ate lunch at a great Mediterranean (sp?) /Greek restaurant in La Jolla (blue wave?) outside with a patio heater and our jackets on! We lucked out, had no clue about the restaurant, but it was delicious. La Jolla was beautiful. Saw the seals and gorgeous houses and neat shops.

Monday, zoo day. Wonderful. Gray and cool out, but perfect zoo weather.

Tues the wind was so strong. We must have got the rain at night, because Tues was sunny but just super windy. I saw lots of damage on the news. The kids and gparents played mini golf and a few other games. We just kind of hung out and read.

Wed we went to DL and things really picked up. The weather was great and it felt like "home" to me, lol. I know I keep saying how we loved DL, but we really did. I thought the DTD at DL was much nicer than WDW's and loved walking thru it every day. I have heard the opposite, but WDW's is soooo spread out and huge because one side of it is water. I thought DL's was prettier, too. DL is so much cleaner. I didn't see litter or melty icecream, or vomit. It used to be like that at WDW, but for the past few years maintenance has really gone downhill. Same with the bathrooms. DL's were much cleaner. We are all really happy we tried DL. I know my son would have LOVED Indy. The girls and I told him he HAS to come next time. And there will be a NEXT time.

Take care!

Lives4Disney

 

[minmate]

Hydroguy -- your post explaining breaks is so articulate! Exactly how we worked it and it really does make a difference. The first day there, on our break the kids swam in the pool but didn't nap. This was the first trip sans strollers for them too (ages 6, 7 and 8). So, as you can imagine, our evening venture into the parks wasn't as fruitful, nor was our next morning b/c the kids were still soo tired. At any rate, when I calculated about how much time we spent in the parks, it was close to the same 11-13 hour window you spoke about. So, while I've said, normally I'm not in favor of breaks over time in the parks, I think those visits were more on shorter (only 1 or 2 days) trips or off-season when parks were open shorter hours... also when we used strollers and the kiddies' legs were subjected to less walking... Aha... that must be it. I had been wondering why -- if DL is considered smaller than WDW, then why were the kids so tired out compared to our trips to WDW, even though we took more breaks here... it is b/c they had used strollers there! Anyway, your explanation is very logical!

Lives4Disney: I am so glad to hear you enjoyed DL. I had been there many times in my first 20-some years of life. I had always said I would take my kids to Disneyland first, then WDW, so they wouldn't be disappointed by DL. Two things -- I said this back when there was no DCA and no real DTD - not as it is now anyway. I just always presumed WDW was "better" because it is "Bigger." Well, we did WDW first, multiple times, with the kids -- and I'm here to say that when it comes to Disney -- SIZE DOESN'T MATTER!!!!! lol....
We have enjoyed our trip to DL sooo much, I am having a hard time deciding which to visit next. Of course, there are some things I missed --a few rides/shows, but the transportation issues of navigating WDW eat up so much more time, don't you think? Here, we felt more laid-back and not so tied down by transportation.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I had been wondering why -- if DL is considered smaller than WDW, then why were the kids so tired out compared to our trips to WDW, even though we took more breaks here... it is b/c they had used strollers there! Anyway, your explanation is very logical!

You know your comment interested me because I have found that I walk more at DL than I do WDW(and I frequently wear a pedometer at both WDW and DL so I know this to be true). I think the park hopping thing at DL is partly responsible. We hop almost every day, mulitple times. Even though the parks are very close that can add up to a lot of walking! And at DL I spend more time in the parks in general and more time riding rides. My DL trips seem to be more about the rides and my WDW seem to be more about smelling the roses, spending time at my resort and riding around on buses getting from Point A to Point B! Dh and I always talk about how for such a small setting, DL can really pack in the action. Which is why we always take a break at DL and not always (often but not always) at WDW. Also, breaks are easier when you have at most a 10-15 minute walk to your hotel vs. walking to, waiting for and riding on a bus only to arrive at a large spread out resort where your room might be another 5 minute walk from the bus!