Just booked January Trip to Disneyland - never been!! HELP!

[HappieMommie]

Hi!

I just booked a room at HOJO for 8 days. I need HELP PLANNING!!!! We did WDW last fall - and I need to be in the know for January.

Come on dis'ers!! HELP! Tell me everything you know:
-any closures?
-MUST sees/eats/dos?
-tips?
-budget savers?
-weather?
Nice to meet you all, I am Heather and I have a 2 and almost 6 year old.

 

[jenniferrose]

You will have so much fun!
Here is a website with lots of tips on saving money: http://www.mousesavers.com/disneyland.html

Here is a great website that has info on dining including all the menus for all the eateries in DL, DCA and DTD: http://allears.net/dlr/din/dining.htm

We plan to eat most meals at our hotel to save money. We are planning to do Minnie and Friends Character breakfast and possibly the BBQ all you can eat one day. I am sure we will end up eating somewhere else during the week. We also plan to eat at ESPN Zone one day as I have heard the food is great and it is a great value.

Hope these sites help. Have fun! With 8 days, you have MORE than enough time!

 

[Susie63]

Hi Heather,
welcome from another newbie. I am also from AB and planning our first trip to Disney in Feb for 8 days.There is a lot of info on this board and there are a couple more sites out there.
I have learned an amazing amount of info in the month I have been on these boards and if you can't find an answer in the search engine on the site these amazing people will probably be able to answer any question you have.
Today I am off to buy the book "The Unofficial guide to DL 2010".
Have fun planning.
Susie
Grande Prairie

 

[1ST TRIP DW DEC 2010]

I don't know how busy it gets in January, we always go in the summer. The best piece of advice I can give is use the Fastpass system. If there are long waits you get your fastpasses for that ride go ride something else in the area and come back later and use your fastpass. It comes in so handy on the all the big rides. You will have a ton of fun just take your time and take in as much as possible. I am 28 and still have more fun at Disneyland than anywhere else and I love rollercoasters so you would assum I would like places like six flags and knotts berry farm more, but I would choose Disney over them any day of teh week.

 

[HydroGuy]

Hi!

I just booked a room at HOJO for 8 days. I need HELP PLANNING!!!! We did WDW last fall - and I need to be in the know for January.

Come on dis'ers!! HELP! Tell me everything you know:
-any closures?
-MUST sees/eats/dos?
-tips?
-budget savers?
-weather?
Nice to meet you all, I am Heather and I have a 2 and almost 6 year old.

January is off-season and you will have some closures and refurbs happenings. For more info on this see:

"What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

"HydroGuy's High Season/Off Season Tradeoff Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199852

Typical January closures include HM and IASW to remove their holiday overlays. Also the Rivers of America will be drained from Jan-April so there will be no Fantasmic (performed at DL on the ROA), no Mark Twain and none of the other ROA-based attractions.

See this link for typical hours and refurbs: "Historical DLR Park Hours, Entertainment and Refurbs" - www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291124

See this link for typical weather: "Detailed Weather History for DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=23004158

See this link for lots and lots of tips: "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

 

[Royalpine]

I'm also from Alberta and going in a month, also staying at the HoJo. We've been to DL a few times but we've never stayed at the HoJo.
We have gone in January and the crowds are virtually non-existent, especially mid-week. The hours will be shorter and there will probably be some closures but on the bright side you won't be waiting long in the line ups. When we were there in January (about 5 yrs ago) we walked on every ride during the week, I think a few we had maybe a 5 minute wait. In terms of weather when we went it was nice but you may get rain in January. Weather's all relative, being Albertans you'll probably be in shorts and sandals
I suggest to keep checking on here and the mousesavers pages for tips. The nice thing about DL is everything is there for you, you don't have to leave the area (unless you want to of course)