PrincessSitka
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2005
I usually go in April but has gotten so buzy. I think I will book in January now after reading your comments.
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 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.
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).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?
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'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?
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.
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.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...
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!