Questions for DL Vets

[Donald is #1]

Hi everyone! I am starting to think about doing a DL trip in the next couple of years. It may be next year but it could be delayed until 2009. Basically, it depends upon what my other vacation plans are for 2008. So, I am just in the very early stages of planning. I plan to use my DVC points at one of the DL hotels for this trip. Also, I have never been to that part of California before. All of my trips to CA so far have been to the Silicon Valley/San Francisco area.

Let's see other details: This will most likely be a solo trip so I don't need to worry about school schedules.

OK so here are my questions:

1) When would you recommend going? I would like to go when the weather is nice but no too hot (70's or low 80's). Also I don't want it to be too crowded but I would like to see fireworks etc.

2) How many days at the parks would you recommend? Would 4 days give me enough time to see everything comfortably without being commando?

3) If I was to make the trip 7-10 days, what else would you recommend that I visit? I am not really a fan of big cities so I don't care if I see "Hollywood" or "LA". I am more of a scenic view type of person. However, I do like things like Disney, Sea World, etc.

 

[HydroGuy]

1) When would you recommend going? I would like to go when the weather is nice but no too hot (70's or low 80's). Also I don't want it to be too crowded but I would like to see fireworks etc.

Believe it or not, typical summer days at DLR are just what you want as far as temperatures. We were there last week and high temps were 80-82 degrees and evenings were 70 which are typical for June. Seasonal weather histories for Anaheim are given in this thread:

"Getting The Most Out of a Summer Visit To DLR"
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1345319

August is hottest (average high 84), July is not quite as hot and June is not as hot as July.

If you want to avoid summer crowds (which IMO are not that bad on weekdays) then May or September may be your best option.

However, watch out for off-season at DLR as it works differently than WDW. See

"What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR"
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

2) How many days at the parks would you recommend? Would 4 days give me enough time to see everything comfortably without being commando?

Lots of other tips are given here:

"A DLR Guide for WDW Vets"
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

Three days is usually considered a minimum at DLR and four days is better.

3) If I was to make the trip 7-10 days, what else would you recommend that I visit? I am not really a fan of big cities so I don't care if I see "Hollywood" or "LA". I am more of a scenic view type of person. However, I do like things like Disney, Sea World, etc.

See section 22 of "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" linked above for more info on interesting things to do in SoCal.

ETA: Sorry, July has the 84 degree high temps and August has 87 degree highs on average

 

[lulubelle]

Hi Donald Fan
If I were you, I would go in May. The weather is perfect, the crowds low, and they have a mini "Food & Wine Festival" at DCA which is very adult orientated and quite a bit of good food and fun. Four or five days would be plenty - be sure and include a weekend in your stay to catch all the parades, shows and fireworks. If you were to make it a week, I would shop at The Block at Orange, spend a day at Universal Studios, a day at the beach and a day doing nothing but relaxing, checking out DTD, taking in a movie and maybe having a fruity rum drink at my hotel pool and taking a little nap . The other option would be mid to late October. Temps are still very warm (nights are cool) and they have the Halloween stuff up and HM is done over. I feel going in slow season is critical - but others will disagree. I don't know what your tastes are, but that is what I would do.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.
Oh, and the guru of DL trip planning responded first to your post, do not take his advice lightly. He is right on.

 

[Donald is #1]

HydroGuy & lulubelle, thanks so much for the advice! I didn't realize that the summers aren't too hot in the Anahiem area. I'll definitely check out those threads. I have glanced at the "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets"
thread before and was very impressed with it.


Hmmm, a Food & Wine Festival in May? That may definitely influence my planning.

 

[Donald is #1]

HydroGuy, wow! Those are really great threads that you created. Thanks!!!

 

[Amy&Dan]

I really like May a lot too, however the one bad thing about going then is that the Electrical Parade will not be running until Memorial Weekend. As Hydroguy points out, the summers in Anaheim are actually quite pleasant, I have been there a time or two when you had a really hot day (very rare) but the nights are so pleasant. And no humidity!

If you go for a longer stay, we loved Sea World and enjoyed a couple of days at Huntington Beach which is about a half an hour away from Disneyland. There are some very scenic drives up the Pacific Coast Highway. Personally, I think its always nice if you can spend a few days in San Diego then a few days in Los Angeles. San Diego isn't that far from Anaheim but with traffic its not great to do day trips.

Good luck with all of your planning!