When & What to plan July trip?

[Raya]

We've decided to take a short trip (3 days? maybe 4?) to DL this summer. If it were WDW I'd feel like we're already too late, but I'm hoping I have more time to plan at DL. We'd like to eat the Blue Bayou, have tea some place like the afternoon tea the Grand Floridian, and if there is a special tour that includes the Haunted Mansion go on that.

So, when do I need to start trying for Blue Bayou dining reservations?

Is there an afternoon tea and how far in advance should I reserve?

What special tours are available that might include the Haunted Mansion and when do they need to be booked?

We've only been to DL twice - a single day in 2009 and a 2 day trip in 2011, so any advice is appreciated.

 

[Misskitty3]

Dining reservations are accepted 60 days before.

There is a new tea being offered at the Disneyland Hotel. It sounds really nice.

If you go to the Disneyland website there should be a list and description of the various tours offered.

 

[azdisneylover]

I would suggest you book your hotel room soon, they do tend to book up fast up and down Harbor and even the 3 Disney Hotels.

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

I just looked at the block out dates

If I was planning to go in July I would go July 2-4
We have done this twice in the past wasn't crowded at all with deluxe passes blocked out.

 

[figment_jii]

So, when do I need to start trying for Blue Bayou dining reservations?

DLR dining reservations open 60-days in advance online or over the phone. Dining reservation at DLR are not nearly as hard to get as they are at WDW. You can often find prime dining reservation with only few days/weeks out. If you get online right on the 60-day mark and something is unavailable, it's much more likely that they haven't loaded into the system yet (rather than it already being booked-up). DLR doesn't have anything like WDW's 180+10, so most everyone has equal access to new days. We don't know exactly when the dining system rolls to a new day, but it's somewhere between midnight and 6:00 am (most likely); you don't need to be online/phone right when it rolls, so it's not as pressing to know exactly when the system rolls.

What special tours are available that might include the Haunted Mansion and when do they need to be booked?

Tours can be booked up to 30-days in advance (although the Disneyland.com says "one month" which is a little vague). I've read that the seasonal tours ("Happiest Haunts" and "Holiday Time") visit Haunted Mansion Holiday, but I don't know about the non-seasonal tours. I think your best bet is to look up the "Walk in Walt's Disneyland Footsteps" and "Welcome to Disneyland Resort" tours to see if anyone mentioned which attractions they visited during the tour.