Need all the tips I can get. Taking my 2 kids to Disney for the first time in October

[kittyklawz]

My husband and I booked a concert in Hollywood for our 5 year wedding anniversary and decided we are going to make it a family trip to universal & Disneyland with the kids & his parents. I have not been to Disneyland since I was around 15 so everything has changed. My son also will have a DAS because he is autistic & can’t deal with waiting in the lines. Am I able to get a double stroller tagged as a wheelchair for him? My youngest will be 2 and my oldest and the one with autism will be 6 and we will definitely need a stroller. Talk to me about using genie+ with DAS? Is it necessary to buy the genie+ with how busy it is these days? Is 1 day for each park enough? We want to do the Oogie boogie bash as well. Could we just go in at 3pm to DCA with the party ticket and see everything we want to see & ride? Also we are on a budget so need to book a cheaper hotel. Is it worth it to stay in walking distance or should we just get something farther away and drive? Seems like most of the close by hotels charge for parking now so doesn’t really save money to walk but I do like the convenience… not sure if we would even leave & come back though. Also considering renting air bnb… we aren’t really rope drop type people but is that necessary if we want to ride certain rides? Also is 1 day at universal enough? My son wants to see the Nintendo world because he loves Mario & I want to see Harry Potter land. Also I think he would like the Jurassic park ride because he’s really into dinosaurs. Also how early can we make reservations once we buy tickets? What if we buy tickets and then there’s no reservations for when our trip is? Also… I was looking at some of the hotels nearby like Marriott’s etc and for some reason they showed as being $900-$1000 a night for October when they normally are in the $200-$400 price range.

 

[JulesR1212]

October is a very popular time to go. That's why you're seeing such a difference in hotel pricing.

My first thought when reading this was, are you and your family good with crowds? How do you think your son will handle wall-to-wall people? My husband and I went for our honeymoon the beginning of October and wow, the crowds were insane. I felt overwhelmed with the amount of people.

Can you do the parks in one day? Yes and no. You can have a wonderful time in one day. BUT you will not do/see everything. It really depends on what your interests are and what your priorities are. Do you want to ride all the rides? You probably wont achieve that all in one day, especially in October and with two younger aged children.

 

[KPeterso]

October is a very busy month at Disneyland. Like it is worse than December. So, your best bet will be to buy Genie+ and use it with the DAS. It may make it a little more bearable. Avoid weekends 100% as those are just outright crazy. Rope drop will also be important as it is quieter first thing in the morning.

You can get the wheelchair tag on a double stroller with no issues. My friends had one on their double and I have seen plenty of others with the wheelchair tag.

You can book your park reservations either 90 or 120 days out (I think it is 90 for MK and 120 for everyone else). It is best to book as soon as you can or once you have the days finalized.

 

[kittyklawz]

October is a very popular time to go. That's why you're seeing such a difference in hotel pricing.

My first thought when reading this was, are you and your family good with crowds? How do you think your son will handle wall-to-wall people? My husband and I went for our honeymoon the beginning of October and wow, the crowds were insane. I felt overwhelmed with the amount of people.

Can you do the parks in one day? Yes and no. You can have a wonderful time in one day. BUT you will not do/see everything. It really depends on what your interests are and what your priorities are. Do you want to ride all the rides? You probably wont achieve that all in one day, especially in October and with two younger aged children.

Well I don’t think my kids will be able to ride all the rides and they would probably enjoy watching some shows and parades. It just seemed strange to me that a regular hotel off site was showing up as more than the Disney hotel. I’ve never heard of anyone paying $1000 a night to stay at the Marriott or Fairfield, so wasn’t sure if it was just showing a crazy price because it was far ahead in the future. We haven’t ever taken him to a theme park but he says he wants to go and we have watched videos of it. He has been to crowded zoos & festivals stuff like that and did ok as long as he had his stroller to retreat to and is having a good time.

 

[starlite_]

First time at a theme park for your kiddos will be DLR in october? You brave soul

 

[kittyklawz]

First time at a theme park for your kiddos will be DLR in october? You brave soul

Is it really that much worse than summer? My son is a big Halloween fan so figured he would enjoy it.

 

[KPeterso]

Is it really that much worse than summer? My son is a big Halloween fan so figured he would enjoy it.

Yes!!!! October is only second to the week between Christmas and New Year's. It is legit crazy. There are a couple thread floating around from this past October that talk about how crazy it really was. We only maybe 1-2 times in the month of October each year and we are local and usually go a lot more than that.

 

[KPeterso]

This is not the exact thread I was thinking of, but it illustrates October 2022 quite well. Seems like most people felt it was a pretty miserable time.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/disappointing-trip.3898718/

I do not want to scare you or anything, but this is the reality of October at Disneyland. It is by far my least favorite month. Summer days and evenings at the park are so much nicer in my opinion. I have a DAS too as do others on these boards and it still pretty crazy. The walkways at times are total gridlock and it sets off my crowd anxiety issues quickly.

 

[kittyklawz]

This is not the exact thread I was thinking of, but it illustrates October 2022 quite well. Seems like most people felt it was a pretty miserable time.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/disappointing-trip.3898718/

I do not want to scare you or anything, but this is the reality of October at Disneyland. It is by far my least favorite month. Summer days and evenings at the park are so much nicer in my opinion. I have a DAS too as do others on these boards and it still pretty crazy. The walkways at times are total gridlock and it sets off my crowd anxiety issues quickly.

Well that’s too bad. We probably can’t make two trips to California this year. Is universal bad in October too? How about Lego land? We could probably put Disney off another year & go in summer if 2024 before the youngest turns 3.

 

[twodogs]

We love DLR in October and go during that time yearly. We love OBB as well. While we go many different times of year (always school holidays or summer, so busy times), October is particularly crowded. Everyone loves Halloween, and Disney does it so well!! That said, you will really need to adjust expectations if you are coming during that time with small kids, a stroller, grandparents and are wanting to be able to eat full breakfast in the hotel and not make rope drop (and I assume not stay late until MN either with small kids). I know it is a mess trying to get young kids and grandparents (and hangry husbands!) out the door for rope drop! That said, it is your best time of day to try to get through some rides without terrible wait times. As well, even if you buy G+, you can’t book a LL for a ride until each person in the party has scanned into the park for that day (ie you can’t scan in at RD while everyone eats breakfast at the hotel and then you make everyone a LL). By the time you get to the parks after breakfast, lines will be starting to get (or will already be) long (think 1hour+ for many rides and 1.5 hr+ for headliners or more) and LL return times will be stretching out into the afternoon already. The value of G+ diminishes quickly if you aren’t able to start booking in the morning (due to LL return times pushing out, as well as the 2 hour block out between bookings; see the Sticky about G+ for more details). I have never used DAS, so I can’t comment on how that might work if you arrive to the parks mid morning.

Crowds will be thick, but the stroller sounds like it will help the kids. What about the grandparents in that scenario? Dining with 6 ( or even fewer) can be a challenge if you don’t do TS (which adds up in expense quickly). You can do QS, but make sure to Mobile Order your lunch in the morning so that the return times for MO don’t start to move out on you (that is, you decide to MO lunch at noon, but the first slot for MO is an hour away or longer). Finding a place to sit and eat can be a challenge when the park is crowded as well, so try to eat at off times.

We love OBB, and yes, you can enter at 3pm with only a party ticket, but know that regular day ticket guests can usually stay in the park until 6pm, when the party starts. So 3-6pm can be really crazy busy. Once the party starts, there is a lot to do! If you are using that only to ride the rides, you won’t have much time for anything else (parades, treat trails). If you do the parade and the treat trails and Villains Grove, you won’t have much time for rides (especially if your kids can’t stay up and keep riding/going until the party ends at 11pm). G+ does not work during the party hours, though I think it works during the mix in time. You can buy an ILL$ during the mix in time. IMO you can’t do DCA justice by only going to the party, so we always have a regular ticket that day too, but that adds a lot of cost.

You can still make a great trip out of it when it is like this (we always do!), but you have to have a plan and be ready to not get everything done. Have some priorities in mind, and count the rest as gravy. If this is not the type of trip you will be happy with, I would definitely come back in the summer. Crowds are actually much lighter at that time.

 

[ktlm]

We went every summer from 2010-2019 in either June or July. We went in October 2021 and it was by far the most crowded time we have ever been at DLR-- we have been to WDW the week between Christmas and New Years, and it felt more crowded than that. However, you mention OBB-- I will say OBB was fantastic and definitely not the crowds experienced during regular hours. We loved OBB!

If you go in October, you might find that the weekend days are better as several passes are blocked on the weekends. You can look at disneylands pass blocking calendar to see when the most passes are blocked. Also watch out for days where a pass has been blocked for a while and then has an open day-- those days can be crazy. For some reason, DLR always seems to be the most crowded on Mondays. In 2021,we were there from Wednesday to Sunday. Thursday and Sunday were our least crowded days. Wednesday was awful.

We have friends who use DAS and it does help them alot, someone who also uses it can probably give you better idea of whether it makes October a lot more manageable.

 

[jo-jo]

Never been to disneyland, but since you are asking about a stroller as a wheelchair tag, it sounds like you plan to bring it into lines. Will a double stroller fit the lines? As I said, I have no idea, but just wanted to throw it out there to check.

 

[BrianL]

Never been to disneyland, but since you are asking about a stroller as a wheelchair tag, it sounds like you plan to bring it into lines. Will a double stroller fit the lines? As I said, I have no idea, but just wanted to throw it out there to check.

I believe that if it is being used for mobility assistance, it would follow the same rules as wheelcharis and scooters. You would enter through the appropriate entrance, which can vary by ride. Often at Disneyland it is the exit, but newer rides may be more acommodating. I do not believe that the size of the stroller would matter - you would take it to the appropriate alternate entrance.

 

[jo-jo]

I believe that if it is being used for mobility assistance, it would follow the same rules as wheelcharis and scooters. You would enter through the appropriate entrance, which can vary by ride. Often at Disneyland it is the exit, but newer rides may be more acommodating. I do not believe that the size of the stroller would matter - you would take it to the appropriate alternate entrance.

Yes, I realized the need, but I was wondering some double strollers are pretty wide. Have no idea if it would fit . That's what I was thinking, better be sure the stroller fits.

 

[BrianL]

Yes, I realized the need, but I was wondering some double strollers are pretty wide. Have no idea if it would fit . That's what I was thinking, better be sure the stroller fits.

Oh, to fit into the alternate entrance? I would think so since they acommodate scooters and all. I suppose it's possible that it could be too wide.

 

[2tinkerbell]

We use a DAS pass. You need to keep in mind that if the standby line is 120 minutes long, that you will be waiting, somewhere else, 110 minutes to ride that ride. You can ride other things but you will be waiting in the standby line. Once your return time is available, you are directed into the LL line, which if the ride has gone down, can also be lengthy. A combination of Genie+ and DAS works great. Always have a DAS time when you plan to have a meal, or wait for a parade. Then you aren’t wasting your ride time.

You would be eligible for some of the rides using rider switch with your youngest who isn’t tall enough for a lot of rides.

One thing we do when we travel is have 2 meals a day. We have breakfast (Candy Cane Inn breakfasts are okay with us) and a late lunch or early dinner. We get a fun snack in between or if we stay late at night we have it then. I will pack granola bars, fruit or something if we get hungry. That works for us because we are adults. You have to take your families needs into consideration. There is nothing worse than a hungry, tired, and overstimulated child. BTDT.

It is a hard place because you are trying to give your children a fun experience while also trying to do it on a strict budget. When I was in your shoes I would try to push us and then my DD would be miserable or have a meltdown. I would get frustrated because I spent all this money and she should be happy and not miserable. I learned that things went better if I lowered my expectations and took my cues from her. For example, if we do a party like OBB, we don’t do a park day the next day.

 

[glocon]

Could you maybe do Legoland, Universal and then just OBB and not a regular park day?
The first few hours would be crowded but once the party starts it will maybe thin out.
And that could save some $$ as well if you don’t buy regular day tickets, just an OBB ticket.

Take all that with a grain of salt as I’ve not been to DL yet, just now starting to plan a trip.

 

[Kit Jackson]

Well that’s too bad. We probably can’t make two trips to California this year. Is universal bad in October too? How about Lego land? We could probably put Disney off another year & go in summer if 2024 before the youngest turns 3.

I think doing Universal and Legoland this trip and then saving Disney for another year makes sense. Also, if you are into Harry Potter, Universal Orlando has significantly more Harry Potter than Hollywood, if you wanted to plan for a future trip.

 

[Tinkaboo]

I echo those who suggest Legoland as an alternative. We went during Halloween time when my son was about 7and he had a great time. There was a costume contest and tons of other stuff to do.

October at DL is crazy.

I would caution that the Jurassic Park ride might be a bit too much for a 6 year old…
it’s pretty intense.

 

[Aspencreek]

If you can go to the Oogie Bash I would definitely recommend it. We did that this past October and it was fantastic. But otherwise I would also say avoid October at Disneyland if you can. We've been there a number of times and the past Halloween season was by far the busiest I've ever seen it. If it had been our first visit I probably would never go to the park again. The park itself is decked out and so neat to see - but it is a victim of it's own success and now the entire world goes that month. Here's a couple pics from Oct 26, 2022 at about 1pm near Pirates of the Caribbean although I'm not sure they do it justice to how cramped it felt. At times you couldn't get through in some places and wait times got crazy bad.