WDW Vets Who Have Conquered DL ~ What Was Your Strategy?

[RCMommy]

Let me start off by saying I know there is a Disneyland section and I do follow the threads.

I am looking for advice on WDW vets like ourselves that want to plan a trip to DL.

I want to know what your strategy was? As a family who gets the package, (usually with free dining I might add) relies on Magical Express and stays onsite...I am finding DL overwhelming. I am also finding it is going to be more expensive.

Flights to Cali will cost more for us so I am trying to save money everywhere I can. Well, and I am cheap as well

I figure we will stay at a good neighbour hotel. May or may not bundle with flights depending offers by airlines, Disney, etc.

Did you visit anything else while in California? How many days did you visit the two DL parks? We visit WDW for seven days and visit the parks 6 of those. As first timers to DL I think two days at each may be the way to go.

Has anyone used Exedia, Travelocity, or another discount site to get them to DL on a lower price point?

 

[teambeaman]

I grew up in So Cal and had a DL AP most of my life. We moved out of state and now go to WDW for our vacations. I think 2 days at each is plenty, and if you're looking at saving money a good neighbor hotel is the way to go. If you have a costco card you can get amazing deals on rental cars and cash cards for booking Disney through them. AAA also has good deals. Depending on where you're from you may want to hit the beaches or go to Legoland or Knott's Berry Farm. Just depends on what you are in the mood for.

 

[BrianL]

I have done DL, two years ago in October for the Halloween party. Budget was a concern and the onsite hotels at DL are pricey. We stayed at a Good Neighbor hotel and used the ART (Anaheim Resort Transit). daily passes on it were pretty cheap and sold from machines at the stops. They take you right to the parks, though it can be crowded.

Speaking of crowds, DL will be more crowded. There isn't much of an off-season because of all the locals. Weekdays will be better than weekends. They also cram more into a smaller area, making crowds feel larger. Many of the lines look long because they extend out into the walkways, but most of them move pretty fast (POTC for example).

Overall we spent 3 days at DL (and another few in Hollywood, but we changed hotels). We did Universal Hollywood (which I find better than the Orlando counterpart, excluding IOA). We also just saw some sights in Hollywood and did the WB studio tour (great tour!). I believe if you are staying in Anaheim, the ART can get you as far as Knotts Berry Farm (I am not positive though).

It will be more expensive. SoCal is just pricier for food and such. I will say that the food at DLR was generally better than WDW (Cafe Orleans = AMAZING).

Prepare for a somewhat different but still very fun experience. DLR is a little less than grandiose for WDW vets. The castle is small (but the Matterhorn is not!), and it feels...less. But don't let that fool you as they pack it in and you'll find just as much to do there.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I highly recommend searching for Hydroguy's "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" - he is extremely knowledgeable, and his threads are fantastic sources of info!

 

[RCMommy]

I grew up in So Cal and had a DL AP most of my life. We moved out of state and now go to WDW for our vacations. I think 2 days at each is plenty, and if you're looking at saving money a good neighbor hotel is the way to go. If you have a costco card you can get amazing deals on rental cars and cash cards for booking Disney through them. AAA also has good deals. Depending on where you're from you may want to hit the beaches or go to Legoland or Knott's Berry Farm. Just depends on what you are in the mood for.

I was thinking maybe about getting the Southern California Pass as well.

We have been to Legoland Florida, is there much difference between Legoland California?

 

[mesaboy2]

I highly recommend searching for Hydroguy's "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" - he is extremely knowledgeable, and his threads are fantastic sources of info!

This. This dude has threads for everything over in DLR land.

I elected to stay onsite with the reasoning that this is a very rare trip--might as well do it right.

 

[RCMommy]

I have done DL, two years ago in October for the Halloween party. Budget was a concern and the onsite hotels at DL are pricey. We stayed at a Good Neighbor hotel and used the ART (Anaheim Resort Transit). daily passes on it were pretty cheap and sold from machines at the stops. They take you right to the parks, though it can be crowded.

Speaking of crowds, DL will be more crowded. There isn't much of an off-season because of all the locals. Weekdays will be better than weekends. They also cram more into a smaller area, making crowds feel larger. Many of the lines look long because they extend out into the walkways, but most of them move pretty fast (POTC for example).

Overall we spent 3 days at DL (and another few in Hollywood, but we changed hotels). We did Universal Hollywood (which I find better than the Orlando counterpart, excluding IOA). We also just saw some sights in Hollywood and did the WB studio tour (great tour!). I believe if you are staying in Anaheim, the ART can get you as far as Knotts Berry Farm (I am not positive though).

It will be more expensive. SoCal is just pricier for food and such. I will say that the food at DLR was generally better than WDW (Cafe Orleans = AMAZING).

Prepare for a somewhat different but still very fun experience. DLR is a little less than grandiose for WDW vets. The castle is small (but the Matterhorn is not!), and it feels...less. But don't let that fool you as they pack it in and you'll find just as much to do there.

That is exactly when I am looking at going, October. Either the week of Halloween or the week after. We would visit the two DL parks during week days to try and get lower crowds.

I am a huge Disney fan, I would love to see DL just for the experience. However, do you think my two kids, both age 10, will be disappointed? Not just that it is smaller, but also two parks less and because of the price differences we won't be doing many if any character dining experiences and such...

 

[Angel Ariel]

That is exactly when I am looking at going, October. Either the week of Halloween or the week after. We would visit the two DL parks during week days to try and get lower crowds.

I am a huge Disney fan, I would love to see DL just for the experience. However, do you think my two kids, both age 10, will be disappointed? Not just that it is smaller, but also two parks less and because of the price differences we won't be doing many if any character dining experiences and such...

There are slightly more rides in DCA than there are in Epcot and DHS combined...and there are more rides in DL than there are in MK. Your kids will not be hurting for ride experiences there

 

[Angel Ariel]

Oh, and if your kids love AK, they will love the San Diego Wild Animal Park...it's not a crazy drive from DLR if you have a car

 

[RCMommy]

There are slightly more rides in DCA than there are in Epcot and DHS combined...and there are more rides in DL than there are in MK. Your kids will not be hurting for ride experiences there

oh perfect then! They love the shows and the rides. We are considering the San Diego Zoo, US Hollywood and Knott's. I am looking into what kind of tickets I can get by cashing in some miles/points as well.

 

[BrianL]

That is exactly when I am looking at going, October. Either the week of Halloween or the week after. We would visit the two DL parks during week days to try and get lower crowds.

I am a huge Disney fan, I would love to see DL just for the experience. However, do you think my two kids, both age 10, will be disappointed? Not just that it is smaller, but also two parks less and because of the price differences we won't be doing many if any character dining experiences and such...

I doubt they will be dissappointed. DLR has almost the same number of attractions in two parks as WDW does in four. Like, Fantasmic! is better at DL, but the seating for it is terrible as you just stand out in front of the Rivers of America (like a parade at MK). The show is better. It is really jus thte castle where WDW folks say "That's it?" It's tiny. But there are plenty of big rides. Carsland at DCA is INCREDIBLE and huge! It will deliver the wow factor, it just feels different at first.

Watch out for weekdays only in October. When I went a lot of the parks closed early or did not have the night-time entertainment on weeknights. We did Friday (which was not crowded until the Halloween Party), then Saturday and Sunday. Sunday was the busiest day due to the Anaheim 5K or some such thing. Don't fear the crowds too much. Rope Drop still works. If you take 4 days you'll see everything.

 

[cseca]

Definitely don't go expecting to be disappointed.
We just got back from DL/DCA during the busiest time of the year.
Granted we didn't do everything we wanted but we had fun.
We are WDW vets and would love to go back to DL again if the time/$ available.

Carsland is awesome. I can walk around there for hours and hours just looking.
But we have 2 toddlers who wants to go go go... so that wasn't possible...

My best advice is almost the same as WDW with FP+.

DO THE ROPE DROP!

Seriously, you can't get any better than going in the morning and riding all the E tix rides to get them out of the way.
Especially slow moving rides without FP like Matterhorn, Peter Pan, Nemo and such.

Radiator Springs Racers is a beast on its own.
There is a special section to get to ride it early using the "Wide Right Technique".
Search it, you won't regret it.

If you don't do this technique and want to get an FP, the FP line has a giant line. And the FP usually runs out within a couple hours of opening, if not earlier.

So read read read.

But my best advice, go early everyday.
If you stay offsite I would avoid EMH parks and go to the parks with regular opening time unless you have tix to do Magic Morning.

Have fun!!!

 

[cheesemouse]

We've done WDW many times and have done DL 3 times in the past 7 years. DL is great, just different.

We stay offsite, usually at the Desert Inn and Suites. It's very inexpensive and literally across the street from DL. You can walk from your room to the park in 5 minutes. That highlights one of the big differences in WDW vs DL - everything is very walkable at DL. There are tons of hotels within walking distance and also the Anaheim Resort Transit trolley that runs several routes if you're too tired to walk.

Park hopping is SO much easier at DL. Takes about 3 minutes to walk from one to another, so a park hopper is such a good value at DL compared to WDW.

Dining options are pretty blah in my opinion. We definitely eat a lot more counter service meals at DL. We do like Blue Bayou and Cafe Orleans for a sit down but that's about it. Oh, and the Minnie character breakfast at Disneyland park.

The day of the week you visit is much more important at DL in my opinion. During low/mid season, the evening entertainment is only on the weekends. And the weekends are crowded. So my best days would be Wed-Sat, that way you get one day at each park with lower crowds and 2 days of evening entertainment.

Speaking of evening entertainment - World of Color is truly phenomenal. You HAVE to go see it no matter what the wait is. Read up on the DL forum and be sure to check out Hydroguy's guide to World of Color for where to stand to see it the best. That show beats anything WDW has to offer. Fantasmic is really a pain to see at DL. There is no stadium and people often start getting spots 3-4 hours ahead of time. For real. For that reason, I always but the dessert package. It's pricey but my 4 hours are worth that money.

For transportation from the airport - Orange County (SNA) is the closest and easiest airport. Its' about 15 minutes from DL and a taxi is pretty reasonable ~$40. LAX is probably the cheapest. We used Zippy Shuttle and they were great.

As for park touring - get there at rope drop for sure. With so many locals arriving mid morning, you can get a LOT done the first couple of hours.

Hope this helps.

 

[RCMommy]

Okay, after reading these comments I am starting to feel like I can do this!!

I would prefer to stay at one hotel the entire week and it will end up being one close to DL itself. Does this still keep us in a decent distance to US or Knott's?

 

[BrianL]

The day of the week you visit is much more important at DL in my opinion. During low/mid season, the evening entertainment is only on the weekends. And the weekends are crowded. So my best days would be Wed-Sat, that way you get one day at each park with lower crowds and 2 days of evening entertainment.

This is good advice. You definitely want to see the night entertainment, but a few days of low crowds will go a long way too.

Speaking of evening entertainment - World of Color is truly phenomenal. You HAVE to go see it no matter what the wait is. Read up on the DL forum and be sure to check out Hydroguy's guide to World of Color for where to stand to see it the best. That show beats anything WDW has to offer.
Fantasmic is really a pain to see at DL. There is no stadium and people often start getting spots 3-4 hours ahead of time. For real. For that reason, I always but the dessert package. It's pricey but my 4 hours are worth that money.

Truth! World of Color is awesome! It is also standing only, but it is laid out better and you can get FP for it (it does not count as a ride FP). Try to get those early for a great spot to watch.

 

[BrianL]

Okay, after reading these comments I am starting to feel like I can do this!!

I would prefer to stay at one hotel the entire week and it will end up being one close to DL itself. Does this still keep us in a decent distance to US or Knott's?

Distance is not so much a problem, it's TRAFFIC! It's Los Angeles remember. Knotts is close (we didn't go but that was the feeling I got...or was it Magic Mountain?). Universal is not so close, in LA, Hollywood to be specific, which is toward the north near Burbank (Anaheim is southeast of LA proper). If you will have a car it is totally doable, but get an early start and avoid rush hour traffic.

It IS possible to get from Anaheim to US using the trains. There are commuter trains that can take you into LA, then the subway goes right to Universal (though expect a tough walk up a mean hill!). The LA subway is very nice and user friendly. We had planned to do this as I was not renting a car and we were only moving once. We ended up catching a ride with my sister though who was in town as well and had a car. It took an a little more than an hour to drive from Anaheim to the Universal City Hilton (Monday morning, EARLY, pre-rush hour). I think the train was projected to take about the same amount of time.

 

[BrianL]

Oh, and US on a weekday in October had very short hours. It was only open until 5, but it was D-E-A-D. There were no lines for ANYTHING. We bought Front of the Line passes because the time was so limited. They were useless other than great seats at the shows. Don't fall for that. There is plenty of time to enjoy the whole park and have dinner on Citywalk if you like.

 

[Itinkso]

oh perfect then! They love the shows and the rides. We are considering the San Diego Zoo, US Hollywood and Knott's. I am looking into what kind of tickets I can get by cashing in some miles/points as well.

You may want to take a look at the San Diego Go Card Pass:

http://www.smartdestinations.com/sa...=Sdo_Prod_Go&gclid=CISt9djLkrwCFc2TfgodYkkATA

DLR is very close to Knott's. Easily get there by heading west on Harbor Blvd so you don't even need to get on a freeway.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

My husband and I went to Disneyland for the first time in October. I was so excited. I have lost count of how many times I have been to WDW, and I did the college program, so I certainly consider us to be WDW vets. I love that place. But, his family was gifting us a trip for him finishing his PhD and that is where we were going. We had to get prepared because I had no idea where to start!

I had heard of the book that other people have recommended, but we did get The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland. It was a huge help. It told about each ride, restaurant, and attraction, and also told how each age group rated them. So, for example, it would tell you all about Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, and then told you how many stars preschoolers gave it, children under 12, teens, young adults, over 30, and seniors. In the back, he also had multiple touring strategies based on your specific interests. We followed his plans and were able to do everything we wanted in one day at each park (and one of those days was a party day where we didn't arrive until 4:00). That gave us an extra day at each park to really just enjoy ourselves and do more of what we enjoyed.

I cannot imagine anyone being disappointed in Disneyland, even a WDW vet, as long as they know what they are going to do. They are very different and each has something special to offer. DCA is amazing. Absolutely amazing. I'm a big Hollywood Studios fan, but, if I am being honest with myself, really miss how the park used to be before it, in true hollywood fashion, underwent an identity crisis. DCA is everything Hollywood Studios could be and more. Carsland.. wow. What can I say? I didn't care for the movie much at all, but that area is phenomenal. I do not say this lightly: It is quite possibly the best themed area of any area in any of the American Disney parks. There are rides that are similar to WDW, but don't be fooled - many are different. I say this with Tower of Terror in mind. It's different. And just might shock you if you don't know what differences to expect (my advice is to not ruin it for you by googling how it is different). Pirates is different. Space Mountain is, at least in my opinion, much better at Disneyland. Splash Mountain is different. It's A Small World has different Disney characters incorporated into the scenes which I loved and my husband hated. The castle, as I'm sure you have been told over and over, is significantly smaller at Disneyland - and with good reason! Walt didn't want it to be big. He had seen the castles in Europe and how intimidating they could be and didn't want anything intimidating in The Happiest Place on Earth. Mission accomplished! It's a sweet little castle. And, you can walk through it and see the story of Sleeping Beauty. Do that for something fun.

Dining at Disneyland isn't quite the experience that WDW is. Be prepared for that. But, you can literally walk across the street and eat at IHOP, McDonalds (which was quite a bit ore expensive than I am used to btw), a pizza place, and any other number of restaurants. Going back to the resort for a nap takes no time at all, which I liked. I never leave WDW during the day because it takes so much time, but at Disneyland? No problem! I walked to my hotel (stayed at a good neighbor) took a 2 hour nap, and waked back to the park. In all, I lost 2 and a half hours. Not bad.

As I mentioned, I stayed at a good neighbor hotel and it was serviceable, but have every intention of staying at The Disneyland Resort next time. If I was going to stay off property, I would likely look at The Camelot. But, again, I really want to stay on property at The Disneyland Resort. Paradise Pier would be my next choice.

 

[Cyrano]

OP you are correct that this should really be in the DL boards.
However as you are keen to get input from the TPAS members will move it to the TP Community board, rather than DL board