Long-time WDW-er, first time DLR trip?

[MeridAriel]

Not entirely set on it, yet, but my bff/Dis partner for life & I had to cancel our trip last fall for financial & scheduling reasons (she's got new babies & I've just moved) & it broke both of our hearts. Neither of us have ever been to DLR & have always wanted to go. I've heard that even though there's less parks, there's still almost as much to do? I'm wondering about how many days (not ideally, but in the real world, taking into account work schedules & tight budgets) is realistic for a first time DLR trip? If a trip there would be do-able in half the time of WDW, we may be able to do that this year. Any advice on scheduling, hotels (from what I understand, DLR hotels are more expensive), DLR in general, other Disney things in the area we have to do, less-busy times to visit...anything you can think of? We're both in a bit of a funk & could really use some Dis in our lives (we also live very far from one another & our Disney time is super exciting, not only because of the mouse, but also because we get to spend lots of time together), so any advice or suggestions, concerning the parks, or what we could do to make the time between trips more magical would be greatly appreciated-thanks!

 

[Geemo]

Not entirely set on it, yet, but my bff/Dis partner for life & I had to cancel our trip last fall for financial & scheduling reasons (she's got new babies & I've just moved) & it broke both of our hearts. Neither of us have ever been to DLR & have always wanted to go. I've heard that even though there's less parks, there's still almost as much to do? I'm wondering about how many days (not ideally, but in the real world, taking into account work schedules & tight budgets) is realistic for a first time DLR trip? If a trip there would be do-able in half the time of WDW, we may be able to do that this year. Any advice on scheduling, hotels (from what I understand, DLR hotels are more expensive), DLR in general, other Disney things in the area we have to do, less-busy times to visit...anything you can think of? We're both in a bit of a funk & could really use some Dis in our lives (we also live very far from one another & our Disney time is super exciting, not only because of the mouse, but also because we get to spend lots of time together), so any advice or suggestions, concerning the parks, or what we could do to make the time between trips more magical would be greatly appreciated-thanks!

Here are a couple threads to view.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/2018-calendar-of-events-school-breaks-and-dlr.3635162/
https://www.disboards.com/threads/hydroguy-tips-compilation.1520483/

Figure out when you might go and book your hotel as soon as possible. The earlier you book the lower the rate will be.
Many of the places on Harbor, have their booking schedules open 12 to 18 months out.

Three to five days in the parks for a trip is what we like.

 

[HydroGuy]

Here are a couple threads to view.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/2018-calendar-of-events-school-breaks-and-dlr.3635162/
https://www.disboards.com/threads/hydroguy-tips-compilation.1520483/

Figure out when you might go and book your hotel as soon as possible. The earlier you book the lower the rate will be.
Many of the places on Harbor, have their booking schedules open 12 to 18 months out.

Three to five days in the parks for a trip is what we like.

Adding to this, the particular thread that will be a good starting point is: "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599. Read this and it will answer 90% of your questions plus the questions you do not yet know you should be asking.

I agree with 3-5 days. It depends on time of year and how thoroughly you want to visit DLR. I would say plan for 4 days as a starting point then modify from there. In general a 4 day trip to DLR will be like a 7-8 day trip to WDW (without down days) - a pretty thorough visit to WDW. Not enough to do everything but definitely enough time to hit every highlight and most of the secondary things.

DCA is undergoing some rework at the moment converting Paradise Pier to Pixar Pier. The rumor is that all will be complete by June 22. I would go after that if at all possible.

 

[MeridAriel]

Thank you both! Every time we've discussed DLR before, someone jumps in with "it's not saving you any days, because it takes AT LEAST a week!" & we get overwhelmed & opt for WDW again -.- While I understand it would be lovely to do & see everything, not every trip can be that kind of trip. So, 4 ish days sounds more do-able than "AT LEAST a week" The whole point of switching up the parks (aside from seeing the original park, obviously) is to save a bit of vacation time (at work) & money. People advising us that it's not even worth a trip if we can't go all out & for a prolonged visit aren't as helpful as they think they are, unless they're paying for the trip haha.
Thanks, again!

 

[smartlabelprint]

Definitely take a trip if you can go at least 3 days. For 2 adults anything extra is a bonus. With my kids we go 7 days. Lol

 

[chickapin parterre]

....interesting that folks told you a week....the average visit is three days.....folks who do a week are on vacation and very seldom visit DLR for seven days. What would you like in your visit.....for example , if I was to visit Philly and tell you that I wanted to see the Liberty Bell, eat real cheese steaks, go see gettysburg, take a bus to Atlantic city...but the most important on my trip, would be to see the Rocky statue....how would you respond to that as me being a first time visitor?

My take , to a first time visitor if you have Disney in your blood, (I have it my DNA, so my perspective is really different) is how much history, magic and Walt Disney absorption do you want? 80% of the folks I tour with at Disneyland have no desire to know Walt Disney or history, they want the commercial on TV thrills ...and that is okay, because that is what they are being fed..... yes, there are less parks, but the history makes it difficult to spend less than two hours on Main Street. All the tiny details molded by Walt himself....and they don't just stop at Main Street....which why three days are never enough....there is so much detail. But if you are there for the Rocky Statue, then 3 days will be enough.

 

[MeridAriel]

Ha, I've actually just moved to Philly & don't much care for it (I'm from Chicago), so I'd tell you to exchange your ticket haha, but get where you're coming from I know nothing about the Rocky Statue, but I'm guessing that's something people trudge out here for?

I'd like to brush up on some of the history before we go, but I'd like to appreciate some of it while we're there (if we had the time & money, we'd be there for weeks absorbing all of it), so somewhere in between? And because we've never gone, we're not even sure what are on the must-do, want-to-do, not-really lists? Some basics, but nothing too detailed, thus the post, in case anyone had any suggestions of must-see/can wait that weren't in any books or dvd planning guides

And thanks!

 

[chickapin parterre]

you will be happy with a 4 day visit and what you have absorbed during that visit. The WDW threads will help that are posted. August is good, but heat is a factor, first two weeks of November are good, just avoid weekends. May is good, but hours could be strange. For sure not Mid-november to March 1st, unless you can squeeze in, for 2018 only, the first week in December, once again, not the weekends. October is considerable, but you will have to do homework around night time closures.

 

[chickapin parterre]

hotel choice, you can find suggestions once you describe your expectations in terms of cost, clean, crowd noise and children down time.

 

[smartlabelprint]

This is an amazing new hotel thread. Choose your number and then ask for details in that style!!
https://www.disboards.com/threads/choosing-the-right-dlr-area-hotel-for-you.3656512/

 

[GatorChris]

Here's some advice from a WDW-vet turned DL-vet. 4 days would be great. That way you get two days in each park. The last 4 trips I took to WDW were 8-9 full park days so that we could do two days in each park, and that carried over to DL.

For hotels, the Disney owned hotels in Anaheim are expensive. The cheapest one will set you back $300/night, and it's not all that nice. The DL Hotel will usually run $400+/night. It's good with waterslides, but I thought the hotel wasn't as good as any of the moderate in Orlando. The Grand Cali is gorgeous, very nice....and very expensive. We've never stayed there due to the price.

We've stayed in several of the hotels on Harbor Blvd, with Howard Johnson being the one we return to the most often. It has a mini-water park, good for kids under 10. But I like it most for the decent walk to the front gate and for most of the rooms being inside a hall.

As for things to do, yes, the two parks have lots of stuff crammed into them. That means lots to do, and it also makes it seem crowded all the time. There's really nothing like Epcot or AK at DL, but it makes up for it with Cars Land, Bug's Land, and a still-operational Toontown.

A few things to be prepared for. First, everything is smaller at DL. The castle, Main Street, everything. Dont' expect to be wowed by the size or grandeur like you do at WDW. Second, only in the summer and holidays do fireworks happen each night. But being in a residential area, they are often cancelled due to high elevation winds. So don't expect a big finale' at DL. World of Color is operational year round, though. It's drawback is horrible viewing. If you're short, standing behind a crowd will severely limit your enjoyment of this attraction. Third, enjoy old-school FP, where you can play it by ear instead of planning your rides two months out. Yuck. Fourth, the table dining is limited at DL, but there's lots of counter service options to make up for it. You won't need to make ressies right at the 60 day window like you do 180 days out for WDW. It's much more relaxed when it comes to this.

Finally, if you do happen to come in the summer, enjoy the SoCal weather. It's usually not really hot, there's no humidity, and no rain. That's a big bonus over Orlando.

 

[ballarinamom]

You can definitely get it all door in 4 days. The thing I hate at WDW is the time wasted walking to the busses and the time it takes to get to the hotels and back. You can walk 10 minutes and be at several hotels. And literally a minute or two to walk between DL and DCA. Be there in plenty of time for rioe drop and I straight to Peter Pan then you can cruise through fantasy land pretty quick. There are actually more attractions between DL and DCA than all four parks of WDW. But you save a ton of time by not walking a million steps between each attraction. We have been to WDW 4 times and DL 6. We are DL lovers and prefer it so much more than WDW. Hope you love it too!!