When to go? new to DL!!

[disboardslurker]

Having been to WDW numerous times, you can't help but think what is the original park like. I have the opportunity to visit before I start school again in the fall. I know it's pretty much a last minute visit, but it's better than none at all. I've been doing some reading and it looks like you don't have to plan nearly as much as you would for a WDW trip.
When is the best time to visit? i know it's summer so it's hot and probably crowded but are there times when it's not so packed?
also I am very interested in seeing all the 60th anniversary stuff. especially the night shows! do you have to get fast passes for things such as these?
I would LOVE to stay at the DLH but its a bit pricy....any other suggestions?
thanks so much in advance

 

[figment_jii]

When is the best time to visit? i know it's summer so it's hot and probably crowded but are there times when it's not so packed?

When does your school start back up? Truthfully, there really aren't any non-busy times anymore, especially with the 60th winding down in early September. My guess is that it might be slightly less busy if you go in mid-to-late-August (basically after some schools start to go back, but before the SoCal and SoCal Select AP Blockout ends on August 22).

Yes, I agree that DLR does not require as much planning at WDW, in that they do not have FP+ and you don't have to make dining reservations 180-days in advance. (Dining reservations open 60-days in advance, but you can often find pretty prime dining reservations with only a week to go. Although, dining packages reservations do tend to book up first, but not usually on the first day they're available. Basically if you go to the website on the 60-day mark and something is showing as unavailable, it's much more likely that they haven't loaded it into the system yet.)

also I am very interested in seeing all the 60th anniversary stuff. especially the night shows! do you have to get fast passes for things such as these?

Neither Paint the Night nor Disneyland Forever fireworks use the FP system. They do offer dining packages that include reserved viewing for Paint the Night. There are no dining packages or dessert parties for Disneyland Forever. World of Color: Celebrate does use the FP system and they also offer dining packages and a dessert party with reserved viewing. There is some stand-by viewing areas for WoC, but I would not chance it if seeing the show is important to you.[/QUOTE]

 

[Astylla]

DL is wonmderful and theres not really a bad time to visit , just busy.

Any dates in mind - month or week ?

The 60th is amazing and ends in September so anytime before that is probably best. You can easily see most things in 2-3 days or up to 5 even !

You don't need to stay onsite like at WDW since a good number of hotels ( mostly motels because of outdoor hallways) are across the street walking distance.
Such options like Tropicana Inn and Suites , Camelot Inn and Suites , Best Western Park Place Inn , Best Western Anaheim Inn , Grand Legacy at the Park , Howard Johnson Anaheim , Park Vue Inn, Desert Inn and Suites book up quickly but are some of the closest - less than 10 minutes walking.

As far as the night entertainment - if only one day - I would stick to DL and watch Paint the Night after the fireeworks ( second PTNshow is MUCH easier to get good seating) OR do a Blue Bayou Paint the Night package as Blue Bayou is specific to Disneyland !

Booking the hotel/airfare is most important the rest can easily be done at 60 days or well before !

 

[bcla]

It doesn't really require a whole lot of planning. The history is that other businesses (not up to Walt Disney's standards) set up around the park, including hotels just across the street. Walt didn't like it and the lack of a bubble.

Southern California isn't really all that hot in summer. There was a joke in the movie LA Story where a TV weatherman cheats by prerecording a segment where he just says its 72 and sunny across the board so he can go out that day. Then it rains that day.

 

[disboardslurker]

thanks so much for everyones input. i was kind of curious if it was even possible to plan a last minute trip, but you put my worries to rest. this will be my first and (maybe only? although i'm hoping its not!) time in DL. so obviously i would like to make the best of it. school doesn't start until august 30th for me. so i do have a little time to plan. I would love to see both parks if given the chance, but if not I will just stick to DL. my original plan was to do 4-5 days. but we'll see how that goes.
i also appreciate the information about the hotels. It's something i will def. look into! thanks so much!
im so used to planning for WDW so this is all new to me. thank you for being so helpful. I'm super excited to FINALLY visit the DLR

 

[disboardslurker]

It doesn't really require a whole lot of planning. The history is that other businesses (not up to Walt Disney's standards) set up around the park, including hotels just across the street. Walt didn't like it and the lack of a bubble.

Southern California isn't really all that hot in summer. There was a joke in the movie LA Story where a TV weatherman cheats by prerecording a segment where he just says its 72 and sunny across the board so he can go out that day. Then it rains that day.

It's nice to hear I won't "melt" lol I've been to WDW in the summer and it is always very hot, humid, and crowded!!
I wish I had more time to plan things but but honestly i had no idea this was even happening! my grandmother lives in so cal and wants me to visit her and since i graduated wants to take me and a friend to the DLR! it's hard to turn that down!! plus it will be nice to be stress free before starting graduate school lol

 

[disboardslurker]

sorry, but i have another question...it just occurred to me....does DLR have anything like the magical express that WDW has? if not...how do you get to your hotels from the airports? do you just rent a car? sorry all this is so new to me and i have never even been on the west coast

 

[figment_jii]

It's nice to hear I won't "melt" lol I've been to WDW in the summer and it is always very hot, humid, and crowded!

I don't feel like Anaheim gets as humid as WDW, nor does it rain in the summer as much, but it can get pretty hot. There is really no way to know for sure what the weather will be like when you go, so keep an eye on the weather forecasts so you can pack appropriately. For example, a couple of weekend ago it was over 100F and now it down in the 80s and 90s. According to Weather.com, the average high is around 90F in July and August, but I've been there when it was closer to 100F. DLR doesn't have a lot of shaded or indoor queues, so it can get pretty toasty feeling!

sorry, but i have another question...it just occurred to me....does DLR have anything like the magical express that WDW has? if not...how do you get to your hotels from the airports? do you just rent a car? sorry all this is so new to me and i have never even been on the west coast

No, DLR does not have anything quite like Magic Express (i.e., a bus ride to your resort and luggage service). There are several transportation options to get from the airports to DLR. Disneyland.com has some listed:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/transportation/

I used Super Shuttle to get from LAX, but it took about 1.5 hours (45 minutes to pick up other passengers at the airport and then 45 minutes to get to DLR). It was cheap ($17, I think), but time consuming. A lot of Dis'ers also talk about using Uber or the Disneyland Express (Southern Grey Line) or other shuttle services.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

Assuming you are staying within walking distance of Disneyland, you can

1. Rent a car
2. Uber/Taxi
3. Take the Disneyland Resort Express (it's a private company that runs a bus). There may be other similar private shuttles as well.
4. Hire a private car

If you are planning to do anything outside of Disneyland (there's lots to do if you have time to make it an extended trip), you should rent a car since public transportation in most (all?) of California is not all that great. Otherwise, if you're just going back and forth from hotel to DLR, then any of the other options are fine.

Edit:

Regarding the weather, Anaheim is never humid like Orlando. Average highs in the summer are high 80's, but occasionally may hit 90's or even 100's. It gets hotter the farther inland you are away from the ocean. 88 degrees in Anaheim is warm but much better than 88 degrees in Orlando. The nights can still cool off and will be cooler than the evenings than Orlando.

 

[SMD]

There has not been more than a few scattered "not so packed" days since the 60th started. As it gets closer to the end in Sept I would not expect them to dwindle. You may want to check airfare and hotel rates to pick the best time from a travel perspective. Look at the places directly across Harbor from the esplanade, those can be a shorter walk than DLH. If you want to do DLH, consider a split stay. You get the EMH benefit on check in and check out day, so even 1 night will get you 2 EEs.

As far as the weather, there can be up to a 30 degree difference in high temps in the same week during the summer. There can be a 30 degree difference between highs and lows on any given day. This week it is supposed to be over 100 for 3 days. It is also supposed to be unusually humid. While not quite at FL levels, it has been "unusually" humid in August/September/October the last 2 years. I would not count the humidity being a temporary trend, I think it's best to plan on it being the new norm. Likewise with the 100+ degree days. I think the trend is for temps to increase, especially in August. I wouldn't use accounts of the temps 4 years ago or from an old movie (and Anaheim is not in LA and is always hotter than LA). Plan for high 90s and a few 100 degree days and also for some high 60s at night.

 

[Astylla]

This might help too :

http://www.disboards.com/threads/a-dlr-guide-for-wdw-vets.1162599/

 

[disboardslurker]

This might help too :

http://www.disboards.com/threads/a-dlr-guide-for-wdw-vets.1162599/

Awesome! Ty so much. Looks like I have a lot of reading to do

 

[disboardslurker]

Do you think it would be less crowded in August since the locals start school? I'm having a hard time picking dates. I know it's gonna be crowded but If I can avoid some of the craziness I will try my best to do so. I don't know when I will have this opportunity again.

 

[disboardslurker]

I don't feel like Anaheim gets as humid as WDW, nor does it rain in the summer as much, but it can get pretty hot. There is really no way to know for sure what the weather will be like when you go, so keep an eye on the weather forecasts so you can pack appropriately. For example, a couple of weekend ago it was over 100F and now it down in the 80s and 90s. According to Weather.com, the average high is around 90F in July and August, but I've been there when it was closer to 100F. DLR doesn't have a lot of shaded or indoor queues, so it can get pretty toasty feeling!


No, DLR does not have anything quite like Magic Express (i.e., a bus ride to your resort and luggage service). There are several transportation options to get from the airports to DLR. Disneyland.com has some listed:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/transportation/

I used Super Shuttle to get from LAX, but it took about 1.5 hours (45 minutes to pick up other passengers at the airport and then 45 minutes to get to DLR). It was cheap ($17, I think), but time consuming. A lot of Dis'ers also talk about using Uber or the Disneyland Express (Southern Grey Line) or other shuttle services.

very helpful info. Thanks so much for all your help. I'll look into the shuttle options.

 

[figment_jii]

Local schools start at different times in Southern California...for example, LAUSD goes back August 16th, but San Diego doesn't go back until August 29th and some schools don't go back until September.

 

[SMD]

Do you think it would be less crowded in August since the locals start school? I'm having a hard time picking dates. I know it's gonna be crowded but If I can avoid some of the craziness I will try my best to do so. I don't know when I will have this opportunity again.

Nope. You've completely missed out on any potential for slightly less crowded days. This week is the tail end of Vidcon, the start of July 4th and lower level APs about to be blocked. Next week will be July 4th. By mid-August lower level APs will start being unblocked. If you wait until the end of August you will run into AP crowds, even if school has started, but as PP said, many CA schools don't start until Sept. There may be some scattered days in July with not completely shoulder to shoulder crowds, but there's a reason APs are blocked during the summer, it's because it's usually crowded. I also wouldn't put it past Disney to run some kind of AP promotion for the higher level APs this summer. They did it the last 2 years during the lower level block out period and I don't see why they wouldn't do it this year. With many people wanting to experience the 60th and waiting for the crowds to die down, which never happened, I imagine that from now until the end of the 60th the high crowds will hold steady.

 

[disboardslurker]

Hmmm ok. I guess that makes sense. Schools start at different times here as well. Which would be a better option, July or August?
I was just looking on the Disneyland website and noticed some restaurants offer things such as reserved spot for paint the night and world of color. There was even one for the frozen show. Not sure I'm interested in that one though. Maybe one of the others though...but if you don't do that can you still see those shows?

 

[disboardslurker]

Nope. You've completely missed out on any potential for slightly less crowded days. This week is the tail end of Vidcon, the start of July 4th and lower level APs about to be blocked. Next week will be July 4th. By mid-August lower level APs will start being unblocked. If you wait until the end of August you will run into AP crowds, even if school has started, but as PP said, many CA schools don't start until Sept. There may be some scattered days in July with not completely shoulder to shoulder crowds, but there's a reason APs are blocked during the summer, it's because it's usually crowded. I also wouldn't put it past Disney to run some kind of AP promotion for the higher level APs this summer. They did it the last 2 years during the lower level block out period and I don't see why they wouldn't do it this year. With many people wanting to experience the 60th and waiting for the crowds to die down, which never happened, I imagine that from now until the end of the 60th the high crowds will hold steady.

Well this is very discouraging

 

[mmmears]

Just want to add that you really aren't planning at the last minute. Since there are no FP+ and it's so much easier to book dining at DL compared to WDW, you have plenty of time still. Also, it's not humid in LA, so you won't have to deal with those daily afternoon thunderstorms that happen at WDW. The Disney hotels (all 3) are pretty expensive, although it's nice to stay inside the Disney bubble. I wouldn't rent a car unless you plan to do more driving than just to/from the airport. Happy planning!

 

[disboardslurker]

^ thanks so much