Lost Newbie!!

[princessdi]

Hi guys! I am from Louisiana and am a whiz when it comes to WDW, but Im noticing DL is a whole other story! I'm kinda lost... When is off season or the least crowded time to go? WDW has the Magical Express from the airport to on site hotels, does DL have this? Reservations- can I book hotel and tickets separate and if so, how would I add the transportation if any s complimentary? Seems DL may have better deals. Are discounts out often? The ones now are good til April i believe. Could someone fill me in on these please? I did read the sticky info but i am stuck in WDW planning mode!!!

Thank you in advance btw!!!

 

[skiingfast]

All of you question have answer in this post that you should read.
DLR guide for WDW vets

 

[8timesblessed]

There doesn't seem to be an off season in DL because so many locals use the parks.

There is no free transportation but there are shuttles or there is the Disneyland Express bus but it's run by Graylines and not free. From SNA the cheapest I found was $8 each way per person. Taking a taxi for a flat rate if your a bigger group might be best.

 

[coaches24]

I know nothing of WDW and im no expert on DL but I have been to DL a few times and am planning another trip in May. I can tell you what I do for planning DL trips. My last trip and current trip I booked hotel and DL tickets through the DL website. I did a lot of searching for various hotels around DL (I can't afford to stay at one of the 3 on site hotels). There are dozens of hotels very close to DL. Many are within walking distance and still others provide a free shuttle to and from. I like to plan travel days seperately from park days so I have full days (3 in my case) in the parks and am not trying to walk around the parks after several hours of travel. As far as food I only make early reservations for character meals of we are doing that, or the more busy places like BB. But most of our in park meals are stopping at whatever's close when we are hungry.

I think DL is fairly easy to get a feel for once you are there and have walked around a while. The first day you won't know where anything is but you get comfortable rather quickly (or I do anyway).

 

[8timesblessed]

Hi guys! I am from Louisiana and am a whiz when it comes to WDW, but Im noticing DL is a whole other story! I'm kinda lost... When is off season or the least crowded time to go? WDW has the Magical Express from the airport to on site hotels, does DL have this? Reservations- can I book hotel and tickets separate and if so, how would I add the transportation if any s complimentary? Seems DL may have better deals. Are discounts out often? The ones now are good til April i believe. Could someone fill me in on these please? I did read the sticky info but i am stuck in WDW planning mode!!!

Thank you in advance btw!!!

I was going to add that you should look around at prices. Check Costco.com, AAA, Disneyland site, Getawaytoday and more. You can get varying prices. Alot of people feel like they get the best deal booking everything seperately. If your buying a 3 day park hopper you will get one early entrance without having to stay in a onsite hotel. If those early morning hours appeal to you they are on a S and T days most of the time. If you want to save money, stay off site. The park hours only show up 60 days in advance and deals seem like they show up every 3-4 months. So before April expires you should be seeing the next set. Costco adds a character meal but you need to price everything out. Much easier to plan Disneyland. Think of it as the Magic Kingdom but more for your money! And CA park reminds me more of Hollywood Studios. So imagine those two parks side by side and have a blast!

 

[HydroGuy]

Hi guys! I am from Louisiana and am a whiz when it comes to WDW, but Im noticing DL is a whole other story! I'm kinda lost... When is off season or the least crowded time to go? WDW has the Magical Express from the airport to on site hotels, does DL have this? Reservations- can I book hotel and tickets separate and if so, how would I add the transportation if any s complimentary? Seems DL may have better deals. Are discounts out often? The ones now are good til April i believe. Could someone fill me in on these please? I did read the sticky info but i am stuck in WDW planning mode!!!

Thank you in advance btw!!!

See "Choosing When To Visit DLR: Summary of High and Low Season and When Each Happens" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=36509602


No ME at DLR. See "Airport Proximity to DLR and Ground Transportation Information" by 3TinksAndAnEeyore www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2318297

 

[sewingmolly]

I've been to WDW and DLR both twice and what I've notice about the crowds is that DLR has a lot of locals. This means that weekends are much busier that weekdays and crowds are light in the morning. We're from Texas, so the time zone change works in our favor. The magic mornings started at 7:00, not so early if you're still on central time where it's 9:00. In the evenings it seems like there are locals who just drop in for a few hours.
We were just at DLR this week-en. We stayed on-site, but saved by booking the room and tickets seperately. I booked the room thru Hotels.com.