Planning first-time trip to Disneyland in January. What do I need to know?

[mjallemand]

My fiancée and I are getting married on January 7th of next year and we planning a short Disneyland trip the following week. We're flying out on Monday, January 9th and will spend three days at Disneyland on the 10th, 11th, and 12th and then fly back on Friday, January 13th.

After doing a bit of research we think we're gonna spend the night at the Anaheim Desert Inn & Suites. It's less than $100 a night and seems to be literally five minutes from Disneyland's front gate so that's awesome.

We're going to try to avoid renting a car as it'll be parked most of the time. We'll probably take the Disneyland Resort Express from LAX. I know that John Wayne Airport is closer to Disneyland, but we can manage a nonstop flight to LAX in a little over four hours instead of the seven hours that it would take to the John Wayne Airport due to a connecting flight being required. I'd much rather spend an extra hour on a bus than three extra hours in the air.

In regards to the Disneyland Express, two quick questions. One, how does pick up and drop off work for it? Are we dropped off near Disneyland and walk or taxi the remaining distance, or does it go to individual hotels or other designated dropoff points to drop off passengers? Similarly, where would we be picked up? At Disneyland itself or some other location? Secondly, I see a roundtrip ticket option for the Express. How does that work? I assume we're given a physical ticket that's punched or stamped on both the pickup from LAX and then the pickup from Disneyland on the return trip?

Are Park Hoppers worthwhile for Disneyland? Is California Adventure enjoyable in a one-day visit?

Anything else I should know as a WDW kid that has never been to the East Coast?

 

[avalon451]

Congratulations! Sounds like a fun time!

Your best bets for tips are in the tips sticky thread, specifically Hydroguy's tips compilation, and his DLR for WDW vets. There is also a thread there about ground transportation. http://www.disboards.com/threads/dl...iews-hydroguys-tips-newbie-info-here.1072276/

I think Parkhoppers are a must for a 3-day visit. The parks are literally 2 minutes' walk across the esplanade; you can ditch DL when it gets busy and hop to CA. It's basically one big park.

 

[figment_jii]

Anything else I should know as a WDW kid that has never been to the East Coast?

To get a general sense of the similarities and differences between the two resorts, I recommend taking a look at HydroGuy's A DLR Guide for WDW Vets. Some of the information is a little dated, but it still useful as a starting point.

Are Park Hoppers worthwhile for Disneyland? Is California Adventure enjoyable in a one-day visit?

It really depends on how you like to tour the parks. The two parks are only about 110 yards apart; you can see into DCA from inside DL. I like to describe it this way, in terms of geography, think of DLR like Epcot, Disneyland is FW, DCA is World Showcase, and DTD is just outside International Gateway. So in that way, park hopping is very easy. My family always makes use of Park Hoppers at DLR (we use them at WDW as well, but not on a daily basis). The two parks often have different hours, so we like to hop back to the park that is open later (usually DL) and it means that we can do split days (e.g., morning in DCA and afternoon in DL or vice-a-versa depending on what we've got planned).

I do think you can probably do much of CA Adventure in one-day, but I like having the flexibility of hopper. That way, if you really liked something you can go back and ride it again on another day. Or if something is down, you have other chances to try and ride it.

My fiancée and I are getting married on January 7th of next year and we planning a short Disneyland trip the following week. We're flying out on Monday, January 9th and will spend three days at Disneyland on the 10th, 11th, and 12th and then fly back on Friday, January 13th.

DLR has not yet announced their holiday season schedule, but if the pattern from previous year's hold, it's possible that the holiday season will end on the Sunday, January 8th. So there is a chance you'll miss most of the Holiday offerings. It also means there is a chance that Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise will be closed to have their holiday overlays removed. IaSW Holiday is usually still running until mid-January (or so); it's pretty cute and something that's unique to DLR's Holiday offerings!

 

[ktlm]

Be aware that unlike WDW where fireworks, parades, shows etc. run every day, during the off season at DLR, they sometimes only run on the weekends. I don't know what you can expect at that time in January just after the holidays- but others can probably tell you.

We love hopping at DLR- by WDW standards DLR is just like one big park- you do not have to go through bag check to switch parks as they are across a plaza from each other and the back check/security is on the outside edge of the plaza and is for entry to both parks. You can be out of one park and into the other in 5 minutes- unlike WDW where it typically can take about an hour to switch parks. We like going back and forth between parks during the day depending on the lines, crowds, show schedules, what we want to do, etc. We enjoy the flexibility.

 

[mjallemand]

So...no World of Color on weekdays? Man that's a bummer. Maybe we'll have to try to leave late Saturday after the wedding so we can be there Sunday.

 

[ktlm]

So...no World of Color on weekdays? Man that's a bummer. Maybe we'll have to try to leave late Saturday after the wedding so we can be there Sunday.

It is my understanding that so far WOC has still been running on weekdays, but that could change at any time. They have already announced that starting September 6, fireworks at DL are back to Friday to Sunday only. Even this summer, Mickey and the Magical Map has only been running Friday through Monday- not every day. We were bummed at that one last week when we were there because we really wanted to see it Tuesday- we've seen it more than once before though.

 

[smartlabelprint]

We love park hopping! Our honeymoon was there 2. Just 2 days 9 years ago. Now we have to take babies. Ugh❣ have fun