New SoCal Residents, First Time to DL

[TXMNie]

My husband and I just move to San Diego from Minnesota and are planning on becoming DL Annual Passholders. Our first trip is over Labor Day for my birthday and we are staying at a local hotel for the weekend. We honeymooned at WDW three years ago and I grew up going to WDW, but Disneyland is uncharted territory for us!

Since we plan on becoming APs and visiting the park multiple times, we were thinking of just taking this first trip to explore and take it all in without any firm plans/reservations. Is this a terrible idea? We won't be too fussed on not seeing or doing as much as we hope to come back frequently. Any advice welcome! Thanks in advance!

 

[Skyegirl1999]

You can definitely enjoy the parks without firm plans or reservations. Have you considered whether you’ll be adding Maxpass to your APs?

 

[starry_solo]

Depending on how often you plan to go, one of you should get the signature plus AP and the other could make do with the flex pass

 

[midnight star]

I think that’s a good idea actually. That’s my favorite part about having a pass. I can take it slow, and come back another time. I know 2 people who live in SD county and drive up once or twice a month, sometimes more to visit the parks.

Around Labor Day, there might be Halloween decorations slowly starting to pop up, so that might be nice to see.

 

[TXMNie]

You can definitely enjoy the parks without firm plans or reservations. Have you considered whether you’ll be adding Maxpass to your APs?

I think we will be. I was going to go ahead and buy the APs with Maxpass before our trip but someone told me to just buy single day passes for the weekend then use the money we spend on those toward our APs. Does anyone have any recommendations on what would be better?

Depending on how often you plan to go, one of you should get the signature plus AP and the other could make do with the flex pass

That is a good idea. I am going to try and drag my husband there as often as I can but he might not go as often as I do.

I think that’s a good idea actually. That’s my favorite part about having a pass. I can take it slow, and come back another time. I know 2 people who live in SD county and drive up once or twice a month, sometimes more to visit the parks.

Around Labor Day, there might be Halloween decorations slowly starting to pop up, so that might be nice to see.

Great, I am glad we are thinking the right way about it then! We are looking forward to taking it slow after the nonstop pace we have had on WDW trips. The Halloween decorations will be nice to see as well!

 

[mouschievous]

From what I understand, DL is waaaaay more laidback than WDW. Just the fact that the reservation window opens roughly 60 days in advance (sometimes less...it's anyone's guess ) says something. In fact, we were able to get all the dining reservations we wanted just 3 weeks out at Thanksgiving.

Even though we don't go often, and generally have to do everything in 2-3 days, we still never feel rushed. I love that about DL! I hope you love your new experience

 

[kristensideaoffun]

I think we will be. I was going to go ahead and buy the APs with Maxpass before our trip but someone told me to just buy single day passes for the weekend then use the money we spend on those toward our APs. Does anyone have any recommendations on what would be better?

It depends on what pass you are getting... If you plan on getting a Flex Pass or any other pass that is blocked out Labor Day weekend, then it would be better to purchase a two or three day ticket and then upgrade on your last day. To clarify, you cannot purchase two or three single-day tickets and apply the cost of them together for an AP. You will have to purchase a ticket for the amount of days you plan to be in the park in order for you to receive the full amount towards your AP.

We live in San Diego and have Flex passes. So far, they have worked out really well for our family. We usually go to the parks between 1-2 times every other month and stay up there for at least one night. Traffic going through north SD county and south Orange County can sometimes turn it into a 2-3 hour drive. We did it a couple times as a day trip a few years ago but realized we were so exhausted after a day in the parks that it wasn’t worth the risk driving home. Our favorite mode of transportation to get to Disneyland is now the train (Pacific Surfliner).

 

[theluckyrabbit]

This classic thread is pre-SWGE, but still has lots of very helpful information for you to give you an idea of what to expect: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets.
Visiting the parks without any fixed plans, aka winging it, is pretty common with local APs -- but note that this is not the same thing as having no plans at all, i.e. being clueless. Being relaxed and winging it can be fun. Being clueless is no fun at all. The more you visit the parks, the more familiar you'll get with where things are, how things work (and don't work), what the crowd patterns are, which rides/restaurants/shows/etc. really work for you, and what really doesn't work for you. The more you learn about DLR and about you and your DH at DLR (because everyone is different and what works so well for one couple may or may not work for you!), the more intuitive and laid back you can be with your visits. At this point, DH and I can afford to do spontaneous visits to the parks or scheduled visits without any real plans -- just winging it according to mood and circumstance -- because we know the parks and our own comfort zones so well. And we know how to deal with being outside our comfort zones, too. Give yourself all the time you need to explore the parks to find that place for yourselves -- it will be a really fun journey!