DisneyLAND questions

[Tenasparkl]

The week before Easter is a blackout week for annual passholders, so that usually means it'll be very busy. I'd skip that week!

Big Thunder Mountain has been closed for ages, but I think is about to re-open soon. When we were there last week I heard it running even though it wasn't open.

[pinay]

There's a SoCal residents deal right now that blocks out the first 3 weeks of April, so I'm guessing that is historically a very busy time for DL.

[BayGirl2]

A few things then I may come back later, I'm planning atrip for next week but I'm mobile right now.

I'd choose early May if possible, crowd levels will be lower than April since Easter is lat this year. Otherwise try to stay away from the holiday. If you do go on non holidays be sure to be there on a Sunday or Friday night to catch fireworks and Fantasmic!

There is no Chuggington but there are the other railroads mentioned. Nemo Subs (EO) is down for refurb most of this year. Be sure to check the refurb list because a lot is going down this spring and things seem to be shifting. Chances are Big Thunder Mountain may not be up yet and a few others like Splash or Space Mountain may be down. There will be plenty to do, just don't get too focused on any one ride far in advance.

I would stay within walking distance which means the hotels on Harbour right outside the entrance or the on site hotels, either are fine depending on your budget. I understand waiting to use points but the convenience is worth it. ETA: I know Smiles33 really liked the kids suites at the HoJo's. Many people like Candy Cane Inn and there are a couple others right there (see threads I posted below). We stay on site last time at Disneyland Hotel and this time at Grand Californian. We just like the more upscale "resort" feel on a vacation, the amazing pools and other amenities, and getting in to the parks 1 hour early makes a huge difference for us. At DL the transportation issues are gone compared to WDW, but only if you stay within walking distance.

[jenstring95]

I'll answer number 3, since PP seem to have covered the rest. We have been to DL twice (most recently this past July), and we stayed at Marriotts both times. I believe we stayed at this Residence Inn most recently (and I *think* the other time we stayed at a Fairfield in the same area):

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...-garden-grove/

It works out so well. You get free breakfast and also free "snacks" in the evening, and we discovered that if we came back for the snacks that they were often sufficient for dinner (then we went back to the parks after eating). On July 4th the "snack" was a complete cookout with burgers, chips, watermelon, potato salad, etc. It was fantastic and all included. One night they had a chocolate fountain (no, we didn't count that as dinner). They run a shuttle from the hotel that is very reasonably priced, and you buy the tickets at a kiosk or inside the hotel for however many days you need. There was another Marriott hotel on the shuttle route (the only other stop) that just had to show their room key because the shuttle was included with their hotel, but I don't think that one had free breakfast. The shuttle is quick and convenient. We had a car while we were there (because we drove in from San Diego) but never needed it. I love RI because of the full kitchen. We don't really end up cooking there, but I love the full sized fridge for leftovers (there is a Buca di Beppo in walking distance from the one we stayed in) and water, etc, and I love the dishes for eating takeout. I also love that the kids have their own space (the living area). We would stay there again in a heartbeat.

[BayGirl2]

Here are several of the most helpful threads on DL from the DISBoards:
To determine which rides are different from what you've been on at WDW: DL for WDW Vets: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

Thoughts on staying within walking distance: "Hidden Time Losses When Using a Car At DLR" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1381580 and http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199862

For when you get closer, tips on the shows. I think its worth it to carve out time to see Fantasmic! and World of Color. F! is different at DLR than at WDW, most think its better. WOC is unique, my kids loved it, but with kids you do have to make some effort to get a good spot: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2671983 http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=37986447

And finally a huge compilation of good advice: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1072276

[BayGirl2]

Here are the Touring Plan crowd levels for April and early May. (Not sure how well this will paste) Some people feel TP is less reliable at DL because they have less history with CarsLand but I think its at least worth looking at. If anything crowds will be higher, not lower, than what's predicted.

DATE RESORT DISNEYLAND DCA AP BLOCKOUTS NOTES
Tue, April 1, 2014 5 out of 10 7.0 1.3
Wed, April 2, 2014 4 out of 10 6.2 1.2
Thu, April 3, 2014 6 out of 10 7.4 3.4
Fri, April 4, 2014 6 out of 10 6.7 5.5 SL
Sat, April 5, 2014 7 out of 10 8.7 3.0 SL SC DX
Sun, April 6, 2014 7 out of 10 7.3 6.4 SL
Mon, April 7, 2014 4 out of 10 3.7 3.0
Tue, April 8, 2014 5 out of 10 4.8 3.4
Wed, April 9, 2014 4 out of 10 4.0 3.8
Thu, April 10, 2014 5 out of 10 4.5 4.2
Fri, April 11, 2014 6 out of 10 5.2 7.3 SL
Sat, April 12, 2014 7 out of 10 7.5 5.7 SL SC DX
Sun, April 13, 2014 8 out of 10 7.3 8.6 SL SC
Mon, April 14, 2014 4 out of 10 2.5 6.8 SL SC
Tue, April 15, 2014 5 out of 10 2.8 7.2 SL SC
Wed, April 16, 2014 9 out of 10 9.2 7.7 SL SC
Thu, April 17, 2014 9 out of 10 9.2 7.9 SL SC
Fri, April 18, 2014 10 out of 10 9.7 7.8 SL SC DX Good Friday
Sat, April 19, 2014 10 out of 10 9.7 7.5 SL SC DX
Sun, April 20, 2014 9 out of 10 9.0 7.4 SL SC Easter Sunday
Mon, April 21, 2014 9 out of 10 8.8 7.7 Easter Monday
Tue, April 22, 2014 9 out of 10 9.4 6.8
Wed, April 23, 2014 9 out of 10 8.7 7.6
Thu, April 24, 2014 4 out of 10 1.9 6.2
Fri, April 25, 2014 7 out of 10 5.3 8.1 SL SC
Sat, April 26, 2014 8 out of 10 7.5 6.3 SL SC DX
Sun, April 27, 2014 7 out of 10 5.8 8.3 SL
Mon, April 28, 2014 2 out of 10 1.1 3.6
Tue, April 29, 2014 3 out of 10 1.5 4.1
Wed, April 30, 2014 2 out of 10 1.1 4.7
DATE RESORT DISNEYLAND DCA AP BLOCKOUTS NOTES
Thu, May 1, 2014 3 out of 10 2.1 5.5
Fri, May 2, 2014 7 out of 10 6.0 8.2
Sat, May 3, 2014 7 out of 10 6.8 7.2 SL SC DX
Sun, May 4, 2014 8 out of 10 7.0 8.4 SL
Mon, May 5, 2014 8 out of 10 6.5 8.5 Cinco De Mayo
Tue, May 6, 2014 4 out of 10 2.0 7.0
Wed, May 7, 2014 3 out of 10 1.2 6.7
Thu, May 8, 2014 4 out of 10 1.8 6.2
Fri, May 9, 2014 7 out of 10 5.8 8.3

[kwc]

We stay at the Fairfield Inn (by Marriott) right across the street from the park…. maybe you could use your points there? Nice if you want to come back and take a nap midday.

Our friends stayed at the Anaheim Marriott and used the free shuttle… worked out well for their boys when they were just a bit older than your kids.

[AnnieW625]

1) when is best time to go? soonest we'd go would be April bc i cant even imagine being able to plan everything by/before then. is that a bad time though, bc of spring break? Don't want to go in the summer when it's super hot (i know SoCal summers are nothing compared to TX, but still). I guess ideally APril/May but not sure.
Most of April is blocked out for So Cal residents using a two-fer pass promo they have going on and the So Cal resident passes so that means it will be busy and I wouldn't go. It isn't blocked out the week after Easter, but many Catholic schools still have the week after Easter off vs. the week before. We have gone in early May too and it has been nice, but one year we went on Mother's Day (plus it happened to be in the middle of Gothic Days--strange timing if you ask me!) and it was a zoo.


2) would DL be fun for kids not so into Disney movies and/or princesses? They will be ~3 and 4yo and haven't seen a single Disney movie (not even Cars). I have suggested it, but they have zero interest... they are not really into movies at all (DS only likes 3 movies, which of course all involve trains and DD won't really sit long enough for movies). They do like Mickey, Minnie and Goofy though (and Winnie the Pooh)...is that enough to make it enjoyable?
Oh yes! Very enjoyable. Many of the times we have been we have always seen secondary characters. Jessie and Woody though seem to make a daily appearance in Frontierland though in between Fantasyland and the eating areas of Critter Country (aka Bear Country of our youth). The first time I saw Mickey Mouse walking around the park was one of the trips in 2008; I was 30 yrs. old. We have never waited to see princesses, and heck I have never waited to see an actual parade (that's prime ride riding time!), just seem them passing by.

Well TBH if they have never seen Cars I don't think there is much of a reason at all to go to California Adventure. I haven't been to Disneyland since Carsland in CA Adventure opened, but TBH even though I had been to Disneyland a good 20 times by the time our passes expired in 2012 (I went 6 or 7 times from the age of 3 until I was 22, and then we had passes from 2008 to 2010 and again from 2011 to 2012) I never tired of anything at Disneyland and always kind of felt that California Adventure could be seen once or twice and that was enough. The Ferris Wheel was a big hit with the girls as was Toy Story Mania, and DH likes the roller coaster, but overall it's still a big debate about getting park hopper passes or not.


3) anybody stayed at a Marriott near Disney? DH has buttloads of Marriott points so if we go we'd like to use that.
I went to a conference there a few years ago and the meeting acommodations were nice, but I didn't actually stay at one of the rooms. If you are traveling with a double stroller like a Bob I think it is pretty walkable or if you just have a single stroller you don't have to walk too far to the Toy Story parking lot to catch a shuttle.


4) Can you get away without a car? (e.g. just using hotel shuttle, etc). My parents would have a car (they'd drive down) if we really needed/wanted to go somewhere. Not having to rent a car would save us so much $$$.
Yes I think you can. A taxi from either the Long Beach airport or Orange County will most likely run about $60 each way, but the Marriott probably has an airport shuttle as well from the Orange County Airport. I can give you some local food recs. if you don't want to be eating at DL the whole time you are there too so a car might be nice, but definitely not necessary if you plan on eating near the resort.


5) Chuggington is Disney, right? DS wants to know if there would be any Chuggington stuff there (lol).
There was no Chuggington themed stuff when I was there, but that was almost 2 yrs. ago.

it's been so long... i am trying to remember stuff. Do they still have the Star Tours movie/ride? i think My kids would love that
Yes Star Tours is still around, but they changed it in 2011 an TBH it isn't the same. I miss the old one, but your kids should still like it.

thanks everyone! that is cool that they brought captain EO back! wow i remember that from when i was in middle school, and then they didn't have it and was bummed.

i just checked and the height restriction for thunder mountain, star tours and the cars rides looks like it's 40", so DS would able able to ride for sure (he's pretty tall). matternhorn is 42", so that's probably out but i think my kids would be too scared to ride that one (since it has the monster noises, etc).

Hmm. Matterhorn used to be 36" tall I took DD1 on it when she was 2/1/2, I guess they changed that with the new revamped ride. Thunder Mountain is one of our favorites.

[BayGirl2]

You can take the Disneyland Resort Express from either LAX or Anaheim. It's tour bus style so you won't need car seats. Right now they have a kids ride free special. It's $35 per adult round trip fro Anaheim.

Definitely plan time at California Adventure - the park has has 2 entirely new areas added and it's really not fair to judge it by the way it was before. Carsland is an amazing atmosphere and will be fun even if they don't know the movie. The rides are great, the theming is very detailed, it's a don't miss. The new Buena Vista Street is modeled after CA in the 20's and themed with the same level of detail as Main Street. Plus Hollywoodland, Toy story is a totally interactive ride, and World of Color is amazing. Also the Redwood Creek Challenge is an outdoor adventure course themed with Up characters. There's really a lot for kids to enjoy.

I know locals tend to go often and just do the rides but there's so much more to enjoy like the parades and the shows. My kids love that stuff and so do we.

[Tondi G]

LAUSD has the week before Easter off. some schools have 2 weeks for spring, the week before easter and the week after. I think the last week of April or first week of May would probably be a good time to go.

Check all of the height restrictions so you don't plan on a ride and then come to find your kiddo isn't tall enough and then are disappointed.

There is SO much for non Disney exposed kids to enjoy.