WDW vet planning 1st trip to DLR May 2008 some questions

[helenk]

I was thinking of taking my first trip to Disneyland, next year, possibly the first or second week of May. I will be going solo
I have been reading some of the posts and I think that the Howard Johnson looks like a good resort, and there seem to be some pretty good deals using either the mousesavers code or AAA.
.
Is early May a good time of year (I've read the sticky and I will plan on going during the week, avoiding the weekends)
I always feel secure in WDW going solo, will I be okay staying at the HOJO or would you recommend staying at one of the offical resorts?
Will I be able to walk to the parks from the Howard Johnson or will I need to use the Anaheim shuttle service?
Is a Disneyland view at the HOJO worth the extra $$?
I have looked into airports and while SNA seems closer ONT seems to be cheaper, flying from Philadelphia. Are their pros and cons to flying into either?
Will I be able to get reliable, transportation from either airport to my hotel (whichever one I decide on)

 

[Hound 109]

You're going to love Walt's park, Helenk.

First read HydroGuy's DLR Guide for WDW Vets:

www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520483

(then read the rest of his sticky threads found in the link).

Here's a thread that describes park hopping at DLR (many WDW vets don't realize how easy & advantageous it is to start at DL then "hop" to DCA):

www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1491961

Regarding going in May....sounds great, but I would consider starting on Sunday to ensure that you enjoy Aladdin & the amazing fireworks show. EDITED BECAUSE I ALWAYS FORGET THE NAME (DREAMS COME TRUE??) WONDERFUL & NOSTALGIC LASER / FIREWORKS SHOW FOR THE DISNEY FAN/LOVER.

Regarding HOJO. It's nice & inexpensive. It's a longer walk than other motels "at the crosswalk". If it was my DW going solo, I would recommend either the "at the crosswalk" motels (like BW) or on property if she could get a deal (as opposed to the HOJO), but i'll let others chime in.

But first decide on the days you want to go, whether EE is important to you.....then decide on the property, based on when you are going & what you want to do. Have fun planning.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Early May is very nice, but as Hound 109 said, during the week that time of year there won't be fireworks or Fantasmic. Unlike WDW, DL doesn't run their nighttime shows seven days a week in the off season. So I would make sure you have at least one weekend night. Also, the Hojo is nice, but its not a resort but rather a motel. Staying offsite at DL is fine, in fact many of the motels on Harbor are closer than the onsite ones. However, they are older motels with little in the way of amenities. The Hojo does have some nice grounds however and two nice pool areas. The walk is 10-15 minutes depending on how fast you walk. I agree that staying right at the crosswalk is awfully nice. My favorite of the offsite motels is the Tropicana. Again, its a motel but you will spend all of five minutes getting from your room to the turnstiles. Its probably about as far as the Pop Century bus stop at the MK! It also has a free breakfast and while it doesn't have the nice grounds of the Hojo does have a nice pool area. If you go with the HOjo make sure you request a non freeway side room. There are rooms at that place that are way too close to the I-5 and can be noisy.

As far as Ontario, I really like that airport. However a cab from there will run you almost twice as much as one from SNA. So take that into consideration. A cab from John Wayne (SNA) is around $40-50 whereas one from Ontrario is I think closer to $90. So for one person you'd need to save about $100 on your plane ticket to make that worthwhile.

Good luck, have fun planning your trip!

 

[tinkermell]

You're going to love Walt's park, Helenk.

First read HydroGuy's DLR Guide for WDW Vets:

www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520483

(then read the rest of his sticky threads in found in the link).

Here's a thread that describes park hopping at DLR:

www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1491961

Regarding going in May....sounds great, but I would consider starting on Sunday to ensure that you enjoy Aladdin & the amazing fireworks show.

Regarding HOJO. It's nice & inexpensive. It's a longer walk than other motels "at the crosswalk". If it was my DW going solo, I would recommend either the "at the crosswalk" motels (like BW) or on property if she could get a deal (as opposed to the HOJO), but i'll let others chime in.

But first decide on the days you want to go, whether EE is important to you.....then decide on the property, based on when you are going & what you want to do. Have fun planning.

This is very sound and good advice! I can't express how valuable Hydroguys tips are!! A must read. And if you are used to WDW resorts, then give one of the onsite properties a chance. They all lead you through DTD, which is alot of fun too.

 

[HydroGuy]

Regarding going in May....sounds great, but I would consider starting on Sunday to ensure that you enjoy Aladdin & the amazing fireworks show.

Strongly agree. Aladdin will show weekdays except for Mon/Tue (it is always dark Mon/Tue), and most people consider it to be a better show than any of the WDW stage shows. It is really, really good. Broadway quality.

The RDCT fireworks/laser/special effects show will only be on weekends and let me make a mild suggestion...DO NOT MISS IT! It is better than any of the WDW fireworks shows and much more than a mere "fireworks" show. Fantasmic at DL is similar but different to WDW, and IMO is worth the time to see it as most find the DL version better. It too will only be on weekends that time of year.

Regarding HOJO. It's nice & inexpensive. It's a longer walk than other motels "at the crosswalk". If it was my DW going solo, I would recommend either the "at the crosswalk" motels (like BW) or on property if she could get a deal (as opposed to the HOJO), but i'll let others chime in.

That is a tough one. I think in general that Harbor is safe at night, but a homeless person without all of his marbles scared the #%&*@! out of my DW in 2005 one evening after dark. We were all together, and she was never in any danger, but she still talks about it.

So although I think Harbor is clean and safe, I also think a solo woman would be better off at a DLR hotel or directly across from DLR on Harbor at say Tropicana (one of Amy's favorites) or BWPPI (one of mine). There will be an ample number of people there until late at night, and lots of traffic. As you get further down Harbor (i.e., as you head down to HoJo's) the people thin out.

I think HoJo's is fine for a solo man or two women together, and probably also fine for a solo woman but she would be better off being closer.

An option if you really want to stay at HoJo'a is to get a taxi ride (about $10) or ART ride at night so you do not have to walk after dark. The morning walk would be fine for a solo woman.

 

[bumbershoot]

We had a view of the little pool at HoJos, and it was lovely! We were barely in the room, so we didn't care what view we got, but it was very pretty.

If I were going alone, though, I would want a higher-up room; we were on the 1st floor and it just seemed so open, somehow.

As for the walk...we stayed at Paradise Pier the first 4 days, then moved to HoJos. I have a sneaking suspicion that the distance was almost the same, but HoJo is more straightforward. That bothered me b/c I don't like un-straightforward ways to walk, and going through DTD with a grabby 3 year old got, well, old. So when we moved to HoJo I was a happy camper!

But if I were going alone...I'd definitely consider the PP again, if money weren't an issue.

If money WERE an issue, again, going alone, and I couldn't stay at PP (walking to and from in a crowded DTD) I would want something closer than HoJo, so I personally, going from things I have read here, would look at the Tropicana and Carousel.


Oh my goodness, I can't wait for DS to be older so i can go alone! I snuck off while DH and DS were napping one day (actually two days, but the first day my brother was with me), rode what I wanted without consulting anyone, then just sat and at veg. gumbo while people-watching in New Orleans Square for well over and hour...absolutely lovely. I'm envious of this trip of yours!

 

[S. S. Columbia]

If you decide not to stay at the HoJo or a Resort Hotel, I would recommend the Candy Cane Inn.

It's the same walking distance as the HoJo, but the Candy Cane Inn has a dedicated shuttle service that runs every half hour.

On TripAdvisor.com, the Candy Cane Inn is rated #1 out of 99 hotels/motels in Anaheim.

I hope this helps!

 

[helenk]

Wow, thank you for all your advice. I will re-think my time of year because I do not want to miss all the fireworks etc. And it does sounds as though I would be better off either with the Tropiana, or something that is right at the crosswalk area.
Well, I've got time to plan, so back to Hydroguys stickies and maps!

 

[HydroGuy]

Wow, thank you for all your advice. I will re-think my time of year because I do not want to miss all the fireworks etc. And it does sounds as though I would be better off either with the Tropiana, or something that is right at the crosswalk area.
Well, I've got time to plan, so back to Hydroguys stickies and maps!

FWIW, if you had say four days and went Wed-Sat, you could get the benefit of lower crowds on Wed, Thurs, and Friday during the day, and full entertainment Friday and Saturday. That is how I would spend four days in May. Friday evening and Saturday all day would be more crowded, and would thus be good times to focus less on rides and more on shows.

Be advised that early May will likely still have some rides down for refurb. One of DLR's best rides, Indiana Jones, is reportedly going down for a long refurb in Jan. Based on what they did at Splash Mtn earlier this year, it is quite possible Indy will be down in May. DLR tries to get most of its rides up by Memorial Day weekend, and when that is not possible then mid/late June is a very high priority as summer crowds start to come (think POTC refurb in 2006 and Nemo Subs in 2007).

If you ask about best time of year to go you will get a hundred opinions around here, which is fine. If you want the weather to be warmer then mid-June may be a good bet for you, as the rides are usually all up and running and the shows are at maximum frequency, and summer crowds have not yet arrived in force.

If having some rides down is OK, then the Wed-Sat plan I described for May can be a good option.

For more info see:

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

"HydroGuy's High Season/Off Season Tradeoff Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199852

 

[Barbday62]

We go every year for my birthday (May 10) and the park hours on the weekend is until Midnight. I have never encountered lines like WDW anytime including the weekend. (Ive been to WDW in May, July, August a couple times and December) Disneyland is really nice the Thursday and Friday before Mothers day. I always catch electric parade and fireworks too. May is an excellent time to go.

I could never walk to HOJO alone. To me its a creepy thing at night to go more than three hotels past the cross walk if I was alone. Here is a map to help you see
http://www.geocities.com/ashpsyche/DisneylandLinkMap.html This guy did an amazing job at putting all this together for us to get an idea on whats there.

The cross walk is at Park Place (Thats where we usually stay) The other people had good ideas on places to stay to.