Need help planning DL trip for 2005

[alikat99]

We are planning to head to DL/DCA in 2005 to take advantage of the 50th celebration. Since we are coming all the way from FL, and this will probably be a once-in-a-lifetime (or maybe twice) trip, we would rather go at a slower time than during the busiest season. We want to be able to see as many attractions as possible, so I know that July is not the time to go.

But, when is the best time to go? I know that Sept and early Oct are great off-times to go to WDW. Is it the same for DL? What's the weather like? How are the hotel rates? We were originally going to book using DVC points, but I've seen some posts mentioning that we might be better off renting points. Would that be the thing to do for Sept/Oct?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks...Amy

 

[iceskatejen]

My suggestion would be to wait for October so you could see the HM holiday overlay. Early Oct is usually still warm (70s-80s in the DL area usually) during the day with much cooler evenings. Crowds will be there on weekends, less so on weekdays, but should always be pretty managable. DL attracts a lot of locals with APs on weekends, esp. Sundays and Mondays (which can be as bad or worse than a weekend).

 

[LuvTigger]

Ditto what iceskatejen said. I usually go in September or October, but prefer October primarily because of the Haunted Mansion (last year it was down in September because they were adding all the Nightmare Before Christmas stuff). Also, it is likely to be a little cooler than September (but it shouldn't be really cold). I would bring a jacket for the nights, in September or October.

Two years ago we spent 4 days in October, Monday-Thursday, and it was perfect in terms of crowds and length of time (if you're only doing Disney).

Can't help you with the points issue, but hopefully someone else here can. (I think there's also a separate board for that too...might want to try there as well.)

As far as hotel rates, discounts seem harder to come by at Disneyland as compared to WDW. Some of the best rates seem to be on Expedia and those types of sites. You'll probalby find the lowest rates at Paradise Pier, but it's also the least Disney-themed. However, if you don't care about that, the rooms are supposed to be bigger, and you'll have easy access to DCA. My personal favorite is the Grand Californian, but it is also the most expensive. All of the resorts will probably run over $100 per night(probably closer to $200, depending on the deals you can find).

Last year the lowest I saw that was available to anyone was $120 at PP on Expedia.

 

[lkohawaii]

I've gone both right before X-Mas like 12/12-12/24 and the first week of October. Although both were not busy times. The first week of October was a lot busier than it is just before X-mas. It is colder though right before X-Mas. I must tell you though that living in Hawaii when the temp reaches the high 60's I'm freezing and looking for the heater. In Oct. I had to wait 30 min in line and didn't like it. I would go in Dec. if I had a choice. The X-mas decorations are beautiful at that time of year too.