Possible first trip to DLR--lots of questions!

[twinspluscade]

A little background: My brother is getting married Sept 13 in Colorodo. We live in Iowa, and will be driving out for the wedding.

Anyway......last night I got the brillant idea of turning the wedding trip into a Disney trip as well! We're now thinking of driving out to California first, and spending Sunday-Thursday nights at DLR....giving us four days (Mon-Thurs) at Disneyland. We would then drive to Denver, and attend the wedding.

I've done tons of research on WDW, and I've been there three times, but we've never been to Disneyland, and I don't know much about it....haven't done a whole lot of research on it since I didn't expect to go for a few years yet! So, I've got some questions:

1) We would be in the parks Sept 8-11. How are crowds that time of year? What's the weather like? Any big events going on that could fill up the parks?

2) Do they show Fantasmic and the fireworks only on weekends in Sept, or week nights to? What about the parades, and the Alladin show?

3) We're thinking about staying at the Disneyland Hotel. We're a family of 5, but apparently we can fit in one room. Do they have a sleeper sofa or something, or do we have to rent a cot for #5? How much extra does the cot cost? Is the Disneyland Hotel a convenient location?

4) For our dates in September....would it still be crowded enough that we'll need some type of touring plan, or could we just wing it? Any rides we should for sure hit right away at opening?

5) Will we be able to see everything in 4 days, plus spend half a day at the beach? Any good, safe beaches that are close to DLR?

Thanks!

Kelly

 

[Brady's Mom]

That is such a perfect time to go. My husband and I went last year that same week. (week after labor day) The crowds were very low, the weather was perfect. Mid 80's, but it cooled down after dark. We didn't have a touring plan, we walked on any ride we wanted and loved it. The only downside is that Fantasmic and the fireworks are only shown on weekends and you will miss those. Is there any chance you could go into the park on Sun. evening and watch them?

I don't know about Alladin, but the parade was shown every day. The park hours will be shorter. Probably 10-6 at DCA and 10-8 at DL, but with the low crowds it is plenty of time.

We enjoy Huntington Beach Pier. It is a nice place with some dining options and shopping, plus the beach is right there if you don't want to be at the pier.
On our trip a couple of weeks ago, we went to the beach in the morning and DL in the afternoon and evening. If I had it to do again, we would switch and do DL in the morning til early afternoon and the beach later in the day.

You can get two early entry (magic morning) passes with Getawaytoday.com for a four day park hopper. Or if you stay at the DLH you can just go in early on early entry days.

Hope your trip is really fun and you enjoy the memories with your family!!

 

[ballarinamom]

If you stay at the Disneyland Hotel (which we love!!!) you can get MMs every day they are offered while you are there. Yes there is a sofa sleeper.
September would be an awesome time to go- great weather, lower crowds.
4 days is a good amount of time to cover everything.
If you've researched a lot for WDW. some of that info will transfer over to DLR

Have fun planning!!!!

 

[RaeRae's Mommy]

My family will be at GCH Sept 8-12. My sister worked at DL many many years ago and said that right after Labor day weekend DL always had lower ticket sales.
I just can not wait for this trip. This will be my husbands first DL trip and he's 39.

 

[justkeepswimmin]

This is really a great time to go! 4 days is plenty and the crowds are great this time of year.

The DL hotel has a daybed that accomodates a 5th person but not all rooms have it and even if you are booking as a family of 5 it is possible that they will not automatically put you in this configuration. It is a good idea to have it noted on your reservation.

The parades are generally only on weekends during this time of year (unless it is a holiday) You might consider including Sunday as a touring day as you would get more shows and entertainment or extend your stay to include Friday. IMHO, Sunday nights are the best as they tend to be less crowded than Fri Nights/ Saturdays and you still get all the same entertainment options.

Have a great time!

 

[noryglory]

You'll find that a five-day hopper will only cost you about $10 more than a four-day hopper. Get there early enough on Sunday and just use that night for whatever entertainment they offer that you won't get on Monday-Thursday (fireworks, Fantasmic, Electric Parade, Parade of Dreams, whatever)...and you can use that time to "acclimate" to the Disney experience and hit the ground running on Monday morning. It will be totally worth it!

 

[mAlien13]

I am going to echo noryglory here. We have used this technique, showing up in DL on Sunday just in time to get a good spot for the afternoon parade, and spent the entire evening just watching parades, shows and fireworks, sprinkled with a little shopping. It's a wonderful way to start, imo! It gets you in the Magic, without trying to take much on at the end of a partial drive day.

BTW, my sister only trip is that week! We are still bouncing between the 7th thru the 10th or the 10th thru the 13th, just trying to decide the pace we want to keep as far as shows and everything.

There are so many, many threads here on WDW to DLR. HydroGuy has great threads where the knowledge is compiled. Try these links for some direction. Hope it helps! Have a great time planning!

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

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1748081

 

[twinspluscade]

Thanks everyone for your responses!

After reading your replies, I think we will get the 5 day tickets. We'll be driving (26 hour ride total, occurding to Mapquest --we'll be spreading it out over 2.5 days though), and hopefully arriving at DLR late afternoon on Sunday. Dh will probably be wiped out after all the driving, but I could leave my youngest in the hotel with him and take my oldest two into the parks. And, if my oldest two are also wiped out, I can always go by myself!

Thanks again, everyone!

Kelly