planning a trip to DLR, some questions about add on tours

[pmaurer74]

Hello,

So we were going to book wdw for June 6-13 yesterday but then decided since we were just there in December and have been 7 times in 5 years that we wanted to see DLR with the extra anniversary activities. I have some questions.

We are planning to book Grand Californian because that is where I really want to stay and have the HoJo as a back up in case we do not have the money. We may also change to one of the other DLR. When would you suggest switching resorts by? How quickly do they fill up?

If this was your once in a lifetime trip to DLR with kids ages 6 (during trip) and almost 9. Would it be a good idea to go the summer of the anniversary in early June or would it be a mistake? We are used to crowd levels of 6-8 at WDW. I was not sure about the comparison. I have read to stay away from weekends because of local crowds and grad nights. If we have 5 day tickets... we would be able to get into the parks early and just do a little every day? Maybe mornings and evenings in the parks and then pool during the day?

Next question, if we reserve things like tours and transportation through the Disney website, can we change it later when we know our flight information? No sure which airport or times yet.

One thing I wanted to do was to stay in San Diego for a few days and we may still do that but I was excited to see the tours you can add onto the package. The OC beaches tours sounds good. You can go for 3,6,9 hours to either Huntington, Newport or Laguna beaches. Each stop is three hours. My DH is afraid of vertigo issues but I would rather have someone drive us in a tour bus than drive ourselves. Would this be a good way to see some of the California coastline? I know nothing about the beaches... which would you recommend if you could do just one or two and are there plenty of places to eat? Would this be a good tour for the kids?

So basically we would have 5-6 days... plan to spend about 4 at DLR and then one day of touring. We could do the SeaWorld or San Diego Zoo trips but they are $350-450!

Is the Grand Californian worth it? Wilderness Lodge at WDW is our favorite resort.

Thanks!

 

[Nonsuch]

...Is the Grand Californian worth it? Wilderness Lodge at WDW is our favorite resort.

The same architect designed both hotels, you should feel right at home.

 

[gottalovepluto]

It should be a very special time to see DL this summer! It will be crowded. That's how it is now. Check the June dates you're looking at with Grad Nites & the AP blockout dates. Grad nites are not specific to weekends, most are during the week actually. Reports from this summer said June was relatively nice later in the month, all things considered with it being summer time, namely because the crowds eased after AP blockouts really kicked in. As for 6-8 crowdwise I'm sorely tempted to have an opinion but I only know about DL. The level predictions are up in the air anyway with no one knowing what the 60th will bring. During late May after Memorial (last time I went to DL) we were definitely 8s & Grad Nite crunches in Adventureland were ridiculous, I should have known better than to ride Indy then! On the bright side GCH had a discount running & was not crowded (easy to find those super comfy pool lounge chairs next to each other, that becomes much harder once all schools are out).

Staying onsite wil get you EMH every morning. A 3+ day ticket will get you one MM to DL. Love taking the afternoon off btw, totally support that idea! Personally, we arrive first thing in the morning, go till early afternoon, leave for nap/pool in the afternoon & return at or after dinner for evening festivities. This has been a golden plan for us (until we hit Grad Nites & then we lost our late nights at DL because it was just too crowded).

DL is a lot smaller foot print than WDW so less walking but this will increase the crowded feeling. Check out HydroGuy's WDW vets thread. And buy Park Hopper tickets, they are a 1 minute walk from each other so don't try to save money on that.

 

[pmaurer74]

Thanks! It looks like grad nights are only 2 of the nights we are there. So I will schedule a tour on one of the days leaving only one day that has the grad nights. I thought that there usually is never a deal for DLR hotels. Is there likely to not be one in June? I was thinking of booking through Orbitz and saving $500 but I would rather book through Dsiney using my Disney Visa and get the 6 month free financing