New to Disneyland...a few questions

[vegs1]

We are travelling to Las Vegas in September and thought we'd add on a few days in Disneyland. We have been to Disney World in Florida over 20 times so this will all be new to us.

I had a few questions I hope you can help with:

1) The Halloween events seem to start the day after we arrive. Is this separate from the daily admission? If so, I'm assuming the park closes early that day for regular visitors? What is the Halloween event all about? Is it worth it?

2) We are looking at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel which seems close and gets pretty good reviews. Is this hotel a good choice? The on-site hotels seem very expensive.

3) If we are only staying for 3 nights...should we do one park per day or get the park hopper. We would only purchase a 2 day pass. (We did see a 3 day parkhopper pass available for $199 but it states you must stay at a Disneyland Resort Hotel so I'm guessing we wouldn't qualify for that.

Any other suggestions or hints would be really appreciated.

Thanks!!!

 

[dizneekrazee]

1) The Halloween events seem to start the day after we arrive. Is this separate from the daily admission? If so, I'm assuming the park closes early that day for regular visitors? What is the Halloween event all about? Is it worth it?

It is separate, and the price depends on which day. Either $49/person or $59/person with advance purchase. They have special events such as parade, fireworks, candy stations, etc. It is alot of fun, although I have not been since it has been moved to DL vs DCA. And yes, the park closes eary to regular guests, either 6pm or 7pm, again, depending on the day. I think Tuesdays are 6pm & Fridays are 7pm. Mondays I cant remember.

2) We are looking at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel which seems close and gets pretty good reviews. Is this hotel a good choice? The on-site hotels seem very expensive.

I've never stayed at HoJos personally, but I only hear good reviews.

3) If we are only staying for 3 nights...should we do one park per day or get the park hopper. We would only purchase a 2 day pass. (We did see a 3 day parkhopper pass available for $199 but it states you must stay at a Disneyland Resort Hotel so I'm guessing we wouldn't qualify for that.

Any other suggestions or hints would be really appreciated.

Thanks!!!

You can purchase a $199 ticket for 3 days without staying on site. You can purchase them online, at The Disney Store, and other places. Only good until OCtober 1, 2011 (first day of use must be that day, then 13 days from 1st day of use before expires), otherwise 3 days are $214. I always get park hoppers because DCA won't keep me busy all day, and I can go to DL after I'm done.

 

[vegs1]

I think we will go for the Halloween night and check it out.
Thanks so much for all your help.

 

[sophies*mom]

I was reading this earlier about the Halloween party and I think you'd enjoy reading it and looking at the pictures. It'll give you a better idea of the Halloween party.
http://www.disunplugged.com/2010/09/23/halloween-has-arrived-at-disneyland/

 

[skiingfast]

Any other suggestions or hints would be really appreciated.

Thanks!!!

Maybe you have seen it, maybe not, if not it will bring up more questions and really help you plan.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

 

[vegs1]

Skiingfast and sophies*mom....thank you both for sending those links along. Those photos of the Halloween party look great and have us thinking we would definitely enjoy seeing the park decorated like that. We have never been to Disney World during Halloween time.

The other link is wonderful for new people to Disneyland. Gives lots of information.

Greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

 

[Dizneydaz]

I would definitely get PH. That way you can maximize your time at both parks. One of the main differences between park hopping at WDW and DLR is at DLR it literally only takes about a minute to walk from one to the other. No buses, monorails, boats, etc.

I would start off at DL, get all the FP you can to use later in the day. Cross over to DCA and do the same. The FP systems in both parks are independent of each other.

We did the Halloween party at DLR for the first time last year and DD11 and I had a blast. Mostly because we were on a mission to see how much candy we could get-and I could carry-we got over 18 pounds between the 2 of us. We have done the MNSSHP at WDW twice and while DLR isn't the same, it's still pretty good. The fireworks are the same. The parade (if they have it this year) is no where near as good as Boo to You at WDW. I only watched it last year because I knew Pluto.

Last year DD and I spent most of our time getting candy, parade watching, and fireworks watching. I don't remember if we rode any rides but since we have AP and go often, rides aren't that important to us.

This year, if we go again, we are going to try to top our candy haul of last year. Definitely get more Craisins-these were some of the healthier treats you could get and we started asking for them at every treat stand. Towards the end of the night after the last parade, we hit one of the trails in FL and just kept making loops around-about 5-8 times. Even the lead (after seeing us over and over again) told us that he tells guests to get there candy later in the evening, when the lines are smaller. We did miss out on most of the Ghiradelli chocolates though-by the time we found them, they were almost all gone.

Here's our haul.

Separated in bags by type, etc. We gave out a lot of our candy for Halloween. Didn't even need to buy any.

 

[tzeitel]

Dizneydaz that is a heck of a lot of candy! We are planning on doing the party when we go in Oct and I think we'll have a hard time getting DD away from the candy stations

 

[disneychrista]

Other than craisins what other healthy options did they have? My daughter is vegan so other than the Dots & Skittles, she can't eat any of the other stuff that I see in the photos.

 

[sophies*mom]

WOW! That's a ton of candy!!! I think the best part about trick or treating in a Disney park is you don't have to worry about it having something sketchy in it like you would if you trick or treated in regular neighborhoods.

 

[rtfelt]

I think you can get a 3 day hopper at Costco too, and I agree with all the others--definitely get a PH. Also make sure you go to DCA early enough to get a fastpass to World of Color. It is FABULOUS a don't miss. This fastpass does not impact any other fastpass you get at either park, so you could get a Soarin' pass at the same time for example.

I've never stayed at the Howard Johnson (we're local), but it's quite close to the entrance (walking distance) and has a cool water park type pool area. It usually is still warm enough in October to enjoy a pool.