Overwhelmed Newbie Traveling Sept 2012

[rebeccadunham]

I have really enjoyed everything I have learned looking through the archives and feel like I'm finally on track with planning our first Disneyland vacation! I'm so happy to have found this group! There are a couple areas that I could still use some advice if anyone is willing. I actually won our trip and need to specify 3 possible dates of travel with the criteria being 3 nights and one must be a Saturday, travel must be completed by the end of May 2013. I will be traveling with my husband and 4 year old daughter. We would prefer to travel in September so that it is still warm enough to enjoy the water which is huge for our family and we can avoid the crowds. We primarily want to see the characters, the shows, and ride the kid friendly rides. We're not concerned about ride closures since it sounds like most of the likely rides that would be down would not be rides our daughter would be interested/old enough to ride anyway. I know that Disneyland decorated for Halloween is supposed to be really cool, but I'm actually trying to avoid the Halloween decorations since our daughter is kind of a chicken and since it's our first trip I'm really looking forward to "classic" disneyland. Does anyone have an idea of when a "safe" time to go would be? I was under the assumption that decorations would start coming out and parades etc would take on a Halloween feel September 14th but then I came across some stuff saying that it actually starts at Disneyland at the end of August. Any ideas??? We are also able to request which resort we would prefer, and I was leaning heavily towards Disneyland Resort because the pool area looks really cool, the restaurants seem more affordable (hotel paid for but we're on our own for food), and the style seemed more family friendly and fun. I'm starting to lean towards Grand Californian just because it seems so much closer to the parks. We'll definitely be going back to the hotel in the middle of the day for naps and swimming, and we don't have a car. The Grand Californian just looks kind of boring though. Thoughts or ideas?
Thank you so much in advance!
Becca D

 

[HydroGuy]

Regarding Halloween in late August, what you are reading about is that Haunted Mansion goes down then for 2 1/2 weeks in prep for HalloweenTime which opens Sept 14 this year.

Also, FYI, many rides go down the week after Labor Day - not just headliners that are above your DD. The headliners just get more press.

As for when to go, if you want to avoid HalloweenTime and crowds the time to go is between Labor Day (Sept 3) and Sept 14. That leaves the weekend in between of Sept 7-9.

You can get an idea of the kinds of things that will be open or closed by looking at historical info for Sept.

"Historical DLR Park Hours, Entertainment and Refurbs" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291124

The DLH will probably be more "fun" for your daughter but you are right - the closeness of the GCH can't be beat.

Congrats on your trip!

 

[Escape2Disney]

I know that Disneyland decorated for Halloween is supposed to be really cool, but I'm actually trying to avoid the Halloween decorations since our daughter is kind of a chicken and since it's our first trip I'm really looking forward to "classic" disneyland. Does anyone have an idea of when a "safe" time to go would be? I was under the assumption that decorations would start coming out and parades etc would take on a Halloween feel September 14th but then I came across some stuff saying that it actually starts at Disneyland at the end of August. Any ideas??? We are also able to request which resort we would prefer, and I was leaning heavily towards Disneyland Resort because the pool area looks really cool, the restaurants seem more affordable (hotel paid for but we're on our own for food), and the style seemed more family friendly and fun. I'm starting to lean towards Grand Californian just because it seems so much closer to the parks. We'll definitely be going back to the hotel in the middle of the day for naps and swimming, and we don't have a car. The Grand Californian just looks kind of boring though. Thoughts or ideas?
Thank you so much in advance!
Becca D

In 2008-2010, we took our trips to Disneyland in September. We generally arrived the day after Labor Day and stayed a week. There were a few Halloween decorations displayed, but not too many. For example, there was a Nightmare Before Christmas display outside of a store in New Orleans Square, and a few pumpkin displayed. By the end of the trip there were more pumpkins, including across the entrance of the park. Orange banners were on buildings, and on one occasion a mickey pumpkin was near the flag pole. Here are a few pictures:

This is in front of the display in New Orleans Square (excuse the silly faces. This was a 'posed' shot for a scavenger hunt):

The main gate:

Main Street:

This last picture with the jack-o-lanterns are displayed on the ledges of the 2nd floor on Main Street. Given her size, she may not even see them.

I don't recall anything scary during that time of year.

Hope this helps!

 

[rebeccadunham]

Thank you so much for the advice, we've set our first date range as Sep 6-9 and our second as Sept 8-11 (the guidelines do not say they have to be completely different ranges, so I'm going to try those 2 first). We're still struggeling for a third option. I'm looking at August 23-September 4th. I'm finding so much conflicting info about how crowded it will be because of marathon, lifting of blackout dates, and Labor day. I've read the understanding blackout date section and honestly it has me a little scared to go at the end of Aug, but I'm not finding anything that indicates that this is a busy time of year. Will the rush from blackout dates be cleared this late in Aug? Best guess?

Thank you thank you thank you!
Becca

 

[squirrel]

I wouldn't worry about the Halloween decorations either.

When I went in September 2007 after Labour Day, I still thought DL was crowded. I've done WDW around that time and it's not nearly as crowded. I also found it quite warm.

I'm heading back this year with my mom and hope the middle of the month is a bit cooler and less crowded. I just hope some of the rides I haven't been on won't be down for repairs. My niece was only 3.5 when we went in 2007 so I didn't get to do any of the big rides.

 

[Jennifer2983]

I am not sure walking distance how far paradise pier is but Disney hotel is not that far just out the gates and thru downtown disney....but they have trams that take to and from the hotel/park so distance shouldn't be a prob. I have never stayed at Grand but being in the park sounds cool, and since it is the most expensive why not if its free??? LOL!!!! I hear the views of the park are great from there 2


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[HydroGuy]

Thank you so much for the advice, we've set our first date range as Sep 6-9 and our second as Sept 8-11 (the guidelines do not say they have to be completely different ranges, so I'm going to try those 2 first). We're still struggeling for a third option. I'm looking at August 23-September 4th. I'm finding so much conflicting info about how crowded it will be because of marathon, lifting of blackout dates, and Labor day. I've read the understanding blackout date section and honestly it has me a little scared to go at the end of Aug, but I'm not finding anything that indicates that this is a busy time of year. Will the rush from blackout dates be cleared this late in Aug? Best guess?

Thank you thank you thank you!
Becca

The thing about late August is that sometimes the crowds really grow because of AP blockout lifting and sometimes they don't very much. This year I suspect they will grow more. Labor Day seems to not be that crowded.

Your best bet in that range is probably the weekend of Aug 25. I would go for Aug 23-25 if I chose that weekend. If you want to do weekend of Aug 18 then make Saturday your final day to avoid the potential AP blockout lift on the 19th.

 

[rtfelt]

I believe the end of August will be busier than normal. Usually it gets pretty busy because of the blockout lift, but this year with CarsLand opening, I bet a ton of blocked out AP's will come those two weeks because they didn't want to fight the crowds in June, which was the last time their passes were valid. I would seriously wait until September--unless there's attractions you really want to see that will be down during that period.

 

[revwog1974]

I think that this year predicting crowds is going to be tricky with the new land opening. If you can travel in September, after school is back in session, I would. The weather will still be good and the crowds will be lower than in August.

If someone else is paying I'd definitely stay in the Grand Californian. It is so beautiful and the rooms are great. But with kids, you may want to opt for the slightly better pool of the Disneyland hotel. The Disneyland hotel is a bit farther, but it isn't bad. The food is about the same price at both places and it doesn't mater where you stay, you can eat anywhere you like. Whitewater snacks in the Grand Californian is a great, quiet place to grab breakfast or lunch on your way in or out of the parks. If you don't have food to eat in your room, it's a great choice for breakfast no matter where you stay. Downtown Disney is also a great place to eat and there are many restaurants where can get your food to go. That can be very helpful for a kid who needs a rest.

I was at the Grand Californian a year ago with my then 5-year-old and she loved the lobby. It is enormous and she loved looking at all the wood, following the inlaid stone patterns on the floor, and sitting in the kid-sized rocking chairs to watch Disney cartoons. You just can't beat its location so I really recommend it. At the end of the day, easy access to the parks is worth a lot. The pool is fine. It had a smaller slide that was just the right size for her to go down on her own and she loved how it looked like it was part of a tree. The monorail slides at the Disneyland hotel look amazing, but I don't know if a 4-year-old could go down them. They wouldn't let me 5-year-old use the big slide at the Grand last year so don't make your decision on that alone without checking.

Good luck!