Total DL Newbie.... PLEASE help me plan my days

[Belia]

Hello!

No one in my family has ever been to Disneyland, and while we used to go to WDW on a somewhat regular basis we've only been to Florida once in the past 10 years or so.

Our family of 4 will be flying into LAX on Saturday, March 26 and flying out on Sunday, April 3. We have reservations at the Candy Cane Inn, along with the HoJo because the renovations at the CCI are taking so long and I'm paranoid that our reservation will be cancelled.

My kids are a little older (9 and 13) so we can do long days, and we want to do pretty much EVERYTHING, but we don't want to have to be commando either. I was thinking 4 day parkhoppers. Didn't I read that we could convert our 4-day tickets to 5-days for relatively little money on site if we need more time? We'd totally be open to that. Would that also work if we bought 4-day parkhoppers through a discount site like Undercover Tourist?

The only other thing we would want to do for sure is a day in Hollywood / LA including the Warner Brothers Studio tour. I'm pretty sure we'll be renting a car b/c parking is free at the CCI. We are definitely open to a day or two of NOTHING planned so we can sit by the pool, veg out, take a drive to the beach, or play it by ear.

Which days should we aim to make park reservations for? (And does anyone know how soon we can make those reservations? I haven't bought our tickets yet.) What's the latest on less crowded days in the park?

Saturday, March 26- Arrival- think our plane lands around 4 pm.
Sunday, March 27-
Monday, March 28-
Tuesday, March 29- Warner Bros tour closed
Wednesday, March 30- Warner Bros tour closed
Thursday, March 31
Friday, April 1
Saturday, April 2
Sunday, April 3- Departure- 10am at LAX

Also, I'm kind of confused about how to do this. Do I need to download and install the app, then buy the tickets, then make the reservations? Or reservations first, then tickets, then app? What's the order I have to do this?

Thank you for all of your help- I am so confused by all of this!

 

[shosh1530]

It is possible to upgrade 4 day tickets to 5 days during your trip, but you might not be able to get a park reservation for that 5th day. This is especially true because you are going during busy spring break time of year.

You have to buy tickets first and then make reservations. You can do that on the website or on the app I believe.

I would aim for reserving your park days on weekdays (e.g. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays) to avoid weekends which might be even more crowded.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Also, I'm kind of confused about how to do this. Do I need to download and install the app, then buy the tickets, then make the reservations? Or reservations first, then tickets, then app? What's the order I have to do this?

Ill start with this first. You can buy the tickets on Disneyland website at any time. When you purchase your tickets, you should then be given the option to create park reservations. As long as parks have availability, you can always change reservation dates.

Speaking of, if park passes are selling out, you may not be able to do anything with purchasing a 5th day. It may or may not be an issue. Just something to be aware of. Reservations are on a rolling 120 day window.

As far as days to make reservations, I like to start in Disneyland one day, then California Adventure the next and just go back n forth, giving you a chance to rope drop rides in each park. The RD race for Radiator Springs Racers is a lot of fun to experience! Definitely plan to rope drop different lands each day. We did Fantasyland one day and adventure land another on our Disneyland days. Worked out really well to hit most rides between the 2 days we did not have park hoppers though

 

[OlliePop27]

I would strongly encourage you to get the 5-day park hoppers. It's a nominal price increase per person and totally worth even entering the parks for just a few hours on your arrival day or a day when you're doing something else. Don't count on being able to upgrade on site due to reservations usually filling up, so you'd have to decide in advance. I'd recommend starting all but one day at DL and the other at DCA. I think it's difficult for someone who's only been to WDW to understand the sheer volume of attractions in DL - it's astounding. There's so much to see and do. DCA is also great, but there's simply a lot less than DL. Look at the list of attractions and see if one day rope dropping at DCA can accomplish what you want with the most popular rides. Hopping is also incredibly easy.

I agree that weekdays are probably less crowded, but that's not necessarily true nowadays. Weekdays have less pass holder block outs and typically have cheaper single day prices - two things that had driven attendance up on weekdays recently. It's also important to keep in mind that weekdays often have shorter operating hours, whereas weekends are often 8:00 am - Midnight. Further, there's often not fireworks on weeknights outside of summer/holidays, so plan on at least one weekend day if fireworks are important to you. The fireworks are also cancelled with some regularity due to winds, so there is some risk of missing out entirely if you only plan one night in the parks when fireworks are happening.

As to the LA day, be prepared that it is a very long drive to Hollywood and plan on there being extensive traffic. I think it's totally worth doing the WB Tour as I've done it multiple times and had a positive experience every time. I'd also highly recommend the Griffith Observatory and maybe some hiking in the hills of Griffith Park. This is very nearby to Burbank and easily accessible. I'd recommend doing this on a weekday, just work around rush hour (after 10:00 am and before 3:00 pm).

For the beach, my personal favorite closest to DLR is Huntington Beach. It's typically an easy drive and there's plenty of parking, food and beach activities. If you go on a weekday, then crowds should be very manageable.

Finally, you might want to consider the San Diego Zoo. It's not an insignificant drive and traffic can be a nightmare, at times, but it's a fun trip that i've done before during a DLR trip. The zoo is unlike anything else you've likely experienced.

 

[pindecisive]

I second having park days on weekdays. You don't realize how much difference it makes in crowd levels until you're there.

I'd do the Warner Brothers Studio tour Sunday, then go to DL Mon-Wed, take a swim/beach day, with your last two days at DL being Friday and Saturday. We made the mistake of doing Universal after DL once and you really do compare them if you've been at Disney for several days.

It's also a lot physically to do four days in a row of 8-10 hours walking. With your last day being Saturday you can do a half day with no real pressure and pick up any lingering souvenirs you'd like to take home.

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[pharmama]

If you purchase your tickets from a 3rd party reseller, then you will make reservations after you load those tickets in the DL App. If you purchase tickets directly through Disney, you have to book reservations as part of the ticket purchase process. You are right in the middle of reservations opening up for your dates (120 days out) with reservations only open through 3/30/22 and the rest opening day by day over the next few days.

That said, especially with your how many days question, I would suggest buying through a third party reseller as several are having Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales. Getawaytoday also has a 5th day free promo going so you could buy 5 day hoppers there for the same price as 4 day to maximize your flexibility with no additional cost.

 

[Belia]

Ooooo.... maybe if we do Warner Brothers on Sunday we should book a hotel in LA for our arrival day on Saturday to reduce driving time then move to Anaheim on Sunday afternoon after we finish with the city stuff. Hmmmmmm......

 

[Pluto468]

Ooooo.... maybe if we do Warner Brothers on Sunday we should book a hotel in LA for our arrival day on Saturday to reduce driving time then move to Anaheim on Sunday afternoon after we finish with the city stuff. Hmmmmmm......

That sounds like a great idea. No need to drive back and forth to Anaheim more than you have to. The traffic really is crazy. I used to live near Santa Monica and on a good day the drive to Disneyland was 45 minutes, but on a busy day more like 90+.

I would get a 5 day hopper so you can go for a few hours on one of your afternoons or mornings. There's so much to do and see, and that extra day can make it more relaxing. And as someone said already, there is no guarantee that you'll be able to add a day later with the reservation system.

I'd shoot for weekdays in the park. If you get the 5 day hopper you could go in even just for dinner one night if you wanted to.

I like your hotel choices-I've stayed at both! I was disappointed that Candy Cane wasn't open for my next trip. I bet it will be so nice once they finish the refurbishments.