WDW "pro" who knows NOTHING about DL- Help!

[kneedeep]

Ok, so we live less than 90 minutes from WDW and have been AP holders there for 6 years. We have WDW down, whether we go for a day or a week. This year we will be traveling to southern CA the week between Christmas and New Year's. We will fly into LAX or SNA most likely on 12/27 and be in the LA area for 2 nights before heading down to Carlsbad where we are staying for a week on RCI points. Originally we didn't think we'd be worried about squeezing in some West Coast Disney time, but DD's 10 and 7 really want to go. So this WDW girl has tons of questions about visiting DL/DCA. I know I could spend hours researching other travel sites, but I have faith that DIS folks will be able to get down to the nitty gritty for me!

1. Tickets/parks- We will have at least one full day to tour, and maybe part of a second day. Is this even doable? Is there a hopper? DDs say that DCA interests them more than DL and they would be OK with only doing that one park--is that crazy?

2. Where to stay? We have mostly stayed deluxe at WDW, but with AP discounts. Are there any general public discounts available for DL hotels? Are there other hotels nearby that you would recommend?

3. Crowds- will the week between Christmas and New Year's be as crowded as it is at WDW? We have gone at busy times and just make sure to get there for Rope Drop. Will this strategy be OK at DL, too?

4. Any other DL-specific tips or advice?

Thanks so much!!

 

[ArchOwl]

First, welcome to the Disneyland side of things!

Excited to see that you are thinking of visiting Disneyland, the original park.

Start with Hydroguy's DLR Guide for WDW Vets: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

If you only have one and half days, you are not going to be able to see everything, especially since you are going during the busiest time of the year. It is not unusual for the resort to hit capacity during the time you will be there. So with so much to do, including the new Carsland, and the crowds, you will be hard pressed to really see it all. It is usually suggested that folks spend a minimum of 3-4 days to experience the resort and 4-5 days during busy times.

I know people are used to thinking of Disneyland as being smaller than WDW and it is, but it does have a lot packed into a small space. And with the addition of Carsland, you are looking at the same number of rides as WDW in the two parks of the DLR.

There are hopper tickets, but with only one day, I would be hard pressed to tell you to buy the hopper. On the other hand, I don't see how you could visit DLR and NOT visit the original Magic Kingdom. Imagine if someone came over to the WDW boards and said they only had one day for WDW and asked what they should do!

There are AP discounts for onsite hotels, but since you are going at such a prime time, I seriously doubt there would be any discount for you. Prices on site will be sky high as well. There are several off site options, many of them right across the street from Disneyland within walking distance. But they are definitely motels, not fancy.

As I said before, there will be crowds, lots of crowds. The parks may hit capacity. The same strategy applies, be there for rope drop and collect FPs. Disneyland does not enforce FP return as of yet, so you can still use late FP which comes in handy.

If you really only have one day, you probably shouldn't make time to see some of the shows, but World of Color is amazing and the Aladdin show is also very well done. My tip would be to extend your visit!

 

[kneedeep]

Thanks for the link-- extremely helpful -- and for your own perspective, ArchOwl. We are considering flying in on the 26th to give us an extra day. As far as tickets, I am also debating whether we should get the Premier Passport. Our WDW Premium APs expire in October and we were going to wait until the spring to re-up, but maybe we'll spring for the whole thing in December. By my calculations it would cost about the same to upgrade to Premier from our Premium WDW APs as it would to purchase 3 day DL park hoppers.


Thanks again for the guidance!

 

[skiingfast]

As far as tickets, I am also debating whether we should get the Premier Passport. Our WDW Premium APs expire in October and we were going to wait until the spring to re-up, but maybe we'll spring for the whole thing in December. By my calculations it would cost about the same to upgrade to Premier from our Premium WDW APs as it would to purchase 3 day DL park hoppers.

If you can do 1 resort once and the other twice a Premier is usually the way to go.

APs at WDW can be a very good deal there since so many stay onsite and thier AP rates always beat the hotel discounts. Adding up savings to validate the cost of the APs.