Need Help Planning February Trip

[WackyEyes]

Hello,

We are New Yorkers who usually travel to WDW but, due to a cheap airfare, are planning a trip to California instead of Florida. The cast is as follows: DH, DW, DD(9) and DD(7). The dates are 2/13 to 2/20/09. We have already purchased the Socal City Pass through Costco.

A brief initiary:

2/13: Fly from Newark to San Diego
2/14: Either SW or Zoo
2/15: Either SW or Zoo
2/16: Drive to Anaheim
2/17: DL/DCA
2/18: DL/DCA
2/19: DL/DCA
2/20: Fly from LAX to Newark

I have the following questions:

1. Think about staying at the Old Town Inn in San Diego. Does anybody have any opinions on this hotel? I looked at Travelocity and it seems to be well rated.
2. Looking at the DL calendar, it appears that the only day that the "Remember...Dreams Come True" fireworks are going to be shown during our Anaheim stay is on 2/16 which is Presidents Day. Also, there are several showings of Billie Hill & the Hillbillies on this same day. Do you think that I should make my 3-day Park Hopper into a 4-day to try and see these shows? I am assuming that the crowds are going to be horrible that day. Will it be worth it?
3. What do you think the crowd levels will be like on 2/17-2/19? I have read that this is DL/DCA's off-season and I know that the Orange County Schools are in session. I'm thinking that the crowds should be reasonable.
4. On our departure day, we have a 1:00 PM flight out of LAX. I have heard horror stories about the LA traffic. What time should I leave the Candy Cane Inn to get to LAX and also return a rental car.

I'm sure that I will have a few more questions but these are all that I can think of right now. I appreciate all of your assistance.

 

[QueenDoOver]

Hello,

We are New Yorkers who usually travel to WDW but, due to a cheap airfare, are planning a trip to California instead of Florida. The cast is as follows: DH, DW, DD(9) and DD(7). The dates are 2/13 to 2/20/09. We have already purchased the Socal City Pass through Costco.

A brief initiary:

2/13: Fly from Newark to San Diego
2/14: Either SW or Zoo
2/15: Either SW or Zoo
2/16: Drive to Anaheim
2/17: DL/DCA
2/18: DL/DCA
2/19: DL/DCA
2/20: Fly from LAX to Newark

I have the following questions:

1. Think about staying at the Old Town Inn in San Diego. Does anybody have any opinions on this hotel? I looked at Travelocity and it seems to be well rated.
2. Looking at the DL calendar, it appears that the only day that the "Remember...Dreams Come True" fireworks are going to be shown during our Anaheim stay is on 2/16 which is Presidents Day. Also, there are several showings of Billie Hill & the Hillbillies on this same day. Do you think that I should make my 3-day Park Hopper into a 4-day to try and see these shows? I am assuming that the crowds are going to be horrible that day. Will it be worth it?
3. What do you think the crowd levels will be like on 2/17-2/19? I have read that this is DL/DCA's off-season and I know that the Orange County Schools are in session. I'm thinking that the crowds should be reasonable.
4. On our departure day, we have a 1:00 PM flight out of LAX. I have heard horror stories about the LA traffic. What time should I leave the Candy Cane Inn to get to LAX and also return a rental car.

I'm sure that I will have a few more questions but these are all that I can think of right now. I appreciate all of your assistance.

Hello,
My family will also be at DLR for that week. In regards to adding a day to your City Pass, it is likely to be around $40 per person. So in evaluating the fireworks, etc. you may want to consider that factor. You should be able to catch Billy Hill on another day (I don't think they are dark for 3 days, but am not looking at the schedule) You could go to DTD that evening and try to be in the Esplanade or some other good location for the fireworks, if you wanted although you would miss the other parts of the show. And yes, the parks will be packed that day. We will be there, but in addition to strategic fast pass collection earlier, we will just go with the flow, and watch lots of shows etc. on that day.
The rest of the week, we also are hoping for reasonable crowds, and based on what I have read, that should be the case.

The LA traffic is horrible and I would be inclined to leave at 8AM myself. I would expect that to allow a bit of cushion time.

Have a wonderful trip. I will have my LGMMH on my bag, so say hello if you see me
Tracey

 

[DLR29]

Regarding the crowds, they may not be as small as you think. I went 3 years ago during President's Week and the crowds were definitely there. A lot of schools have the whole week off and DLR is usually pretty crowded. Not as crowded as say Spring Break or Christmas, but comparable to a summer weekday.

Saying this, you can still get a ton done by arriving early, using FP, and knowing your attractions. Read a bunch of the Sticky's at the top and Hydroguy's tips especially.

 

[Leshaface]

Hello,

We are New Yorkers who usually travel to WDW but, due to a cheap airfare, are planning a trip to California instead of Florida. The cast is as follows: DH, DW, DD(9) and DD(7). The dates are 2/13 to 2/20/09. We have already purchased the Socal City Pass through Costco.

A brief initiary:

2/13: Fly from Newark to San Diego
2/14: Either SW or Zoo
2/15: Either SW or Zoo
2/16: Drive to Anaheim
2/17: DL/DCA
2/18: DL/DCA
2/19: DL/DCA
2/20: Fly from LAX to Newark

I have the following questions:

1. Think about staying at the Old Town Inn in San Diego. Does anybody have any opinions on this hotel? I looked at Travelocity and it seems to be well rated.
2. Looking at the DL calendar, it appears that the only day that the "Remember...Dreams Come True" fireworks are going to be shown during our Anaheim stay is on 2/16 which is Presidents Day. Also, there are several showings of Billie Hill & the Hillbillies on this same day. Do you think that I should make my 3-day Park Hopper into a 4-day to try and see these shows? I am assuming that the crowds are going to be horrible that day. Will it be worth it?
3. What do you think the crowd levels will be like on 2/17-2/19? I have read that this is DL/DCA's off-season and I know that the Orange County Schools are in session. I'm thinking that the crowds should be reasonable.
4. On our departure day, we have a 1:00 PM flight out of LAX. I have heard horror stories about the LA traffic. What time should I leave the Candy Cane Inn to get to LAX and also return a rental car.

I'm sure that I will have a few more questions but these are all that I can think of right now. I appreciate all of your assistance.

There are some showings of Billy Hill and the Hillbillies on 2/19 also...Definitely catch Fantasmic!

I think the fireworks show is wonderful...especially if you've secured a spot on Main Street right in the middle of the street. So if you're really interested in seeing this, I would go for the 4 day park hopper, and leisurely tour the parks on 2/16. The parks shouldn't be as bad 2/17-2/19. I've been during this time, and have always had success with attractions and showtimes. Keep in mind that DCA doesn't get so crowded as DL, so heading over to DCA during the afternoon may be a good idea seeing as DL may get busier during this time.

Ughhh, I HATE traffic in LA!!!! I've driven through this sooo many times, and spent countless hours just sitting there...

Your leaving on a Friday which will be busy with people starting their weekend early and with people heading off to work...so I would leave the hotel about 730...you'll hit some traffic but not as much as you would if you were to leave later in the day....especially if you have to return a rental car.

 

[WackyEyes]

Thanks eveyone for the responses. I will look into changing to a 4 day park hopper. There is an "Everybody Pays Kids Price" promotion right now which is a good deal. Since Costco has a great return policy, I may just return the City Passes and purchase the San Diego park tickets separately. I was not even planning on using the Universal Studios tickets that came with the City Passes.

 

[Leshaface]

Thanks eveyone for the responses. I will look into changing to a 4 day park hopper. There is an "Everybody Pays Kids Price" promotion right now which is a good deal. Since Costco has a great return policy, I may just return the City Passes and purchase the San Diego park tickets separately. I was not even planning on using the Universal Studios tickets that came with the City Passes.

Ya, universal studios is fun, but definitely not disney fun!

Plus you would be competing with little hooligans at city walk at night!

 

[Dizneydaz]

You got a lot of great comments so I'll mainly address the one regarding drive time to LAX from Anaheim. Normally I fly out of Ontario so I'm more familiar with ONT however I just drove my DSis to LAX on Thursday (1/22) for a 12:30 p.m. flight. I drove from Corona (30 miles east of Anaheim) to LAX in just over an hour. It was about 60 miles. From Anaheim you'll be taking the 5 North to 605 south (just a bit) to 105 West. The 105 runs right to LAX and is great.

If you leave at 8 in the a.m. you will definitely hit traffic-a.m. rush hour. If you can leave a little later you should miss most of the a.m. traffic. According to mapquest it's only about 34 miles to LAX, and 40 min. with normal traffic. I would figure arriving at LAX an hour before flight, then add on time for car rental return (I've never returned at LAX-at MCO (Orlando) it usually only takes 15 min. or so) then figure an hour for the drive (this inc. a 20 min. cushion) For a 1 p.m. flight, if you leave at 10:30 you should be fine. If you want a bigger cushion, I would think leaving 3 hours before should be fine. On Thursday, we left our house (60 miles away) about 3 hours before her flight. I got her there with a little over 1-1/2 hours to flight time. I called her about 10 mins. later and she had already completed curb side check in and was going thru security.

If you do leave early in the a.m., bring a book-you'll have alot of time to kill in the airport.

Regarding Universal. We took DD9 there about 4 years ago and there wasn't much for her to do. We left a day early and went to Disneyland (stayed at Embassy Suites).

As for San Diego. We love Sea World and Wild Animal Park. For us the zoo ranks 3rd.

While the parks may be a little more crowded T,W, Th of Pres. week. it will still be nothing compared to summer or holidays. Do get as many FP as you can early in the day. Then if you'll need them, you'll have them.

Also, Alladin will be only showing on the 17th while you are there. Try to see it-it's wonderful! Broadway quality.

Also your girls may enjoy doing Jedi Training. My DD9 did it for the first time about a week ago and had a great time. We're going on Wed, the 28th and she hopes to be able to do it again.

(Sorry, guess I had more than just a few comments! )

Have fun!