DL on weekends

[nytimez]

Howdy - I've recently switched coasts and will be spending more time at DL, where I haven't spent much time (but I love the time I have spent there and firmly believe there is no better place on earth to spend a morning than sitting in New Orleans Square with some coffee and beignets).

Question for you Disneyland regulars: How bad is the place as a weekend trip? I'm under the impression the large local audience makes the weekends rough to navigate and less enjoyable overall... yet, like many people, that may be my best option for getting there (arriving Friday night, leaving Sunday night or Monday kinda thing).

Is it that bad? How accurate are, say, the Touring Plans crowd calendars? Is it possible to go on weekends - or even holiday weekends - and be relaxed in the parks, or do the crowds make that less possible/likely?

And, in general, is there a break-even point for APs? If I was a weekend visitor, how many days a year would I have to visit for an AP to be worthwhile? The various pricing options make it a little hard to calculate at first glance anyway - wondering if someone has already done that math?

Thanks in advance...

 

[Californian Elitist]

I'm not going to lie, it can get pretty bad on the weekends. I was just there Saturday and it was packed. Then again, Indy had just reopened and it was Candlelight, so they could be reasons. It's been this way ever since June of this year. Holiday weekends? Prepare yourself. If you want to avoid some crowds I suggest you go now, before it gets closer to Christmas. What is your definition of relaxed at a theme park, exactly?

Although it gets crowded, it's still fun. If you get an AP you'll get used to it fast. In regards to the AP, let's say you go every other weekend. That's about two times a month, twenty-four times a year. Without the AP, you'd spend $3,000 just on getting in. That doesn't count food and/or souvenirs. Even if you go once a month, it's $1,500. Still a lot more expensive than the Premium pass, which is $650. The Deluxe pass is cheaper and it covers some weekends.

 

[flynnibus]

And, in general, is there a break-even point for APs? If I was a weekend visitor, how many days a year would I have to visit for an AP to be worthwhile? The various pricing options make it a little hard to calculate at first glance anyway - wondering if someone has already done that math?

Thanks in advance...

Recognize there are no 'non-expiring' tickets for DL - so you have to have new tickets each visit or have an AP. Depending on where you live, dictates if you can get the ultra cheap SoCal APs... or have to buy a Deluxe or Premium.

So break-even is just a simple question of your normal trip ticket type / cost of AP.

A 2 day park hopper is $200! A Deluxe Pass if $469 and Premier is $649 So your break even is at 4 visits even for a Premier. And that's not including the discounts which are much more generous at DL than WDW generally.

A 2 day visit for 2 people.. $400 + $30 for parking for 2 days.
2 Premiers is $1299 = 3.0x trips. So your 4th trip you are in the black

 

[nytimez]

Thanks... I guess the first thing to do, before I go, is figure out how often I'll be there. I liked staying within walking distance last time I was there, I imagine I would try to do that again - so the parking fees may not matter much... but it does seem like at the very least the deluxe pass might be worth the expense.

I was at DL and DCA the week after Cars Land opened. My understanding is that it was a pretty peak time - but I was still able to relax and enjoy myself and do most things without too much trouble. So, maybe most weekends wouldn't be much worse than that. I hope.

Thanks again to both of you.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Thanks... I guess the first thing to do, before I go, is figure out how often I'll be there. I liked staying within walking distance last time I was there, I imagine I would try to do that again - so the parking fees may not matter much... but it does seem like at the very least the deluxe pass might be worth the expense.

I was at DL and DCA the week after Cars Land opened. My understanding is that it was a pretty peak time - but I was still able to relax and enjoy myself and do most things without too much trouble. So, maybe most weekends wouldn't be much worse than that. I hope.

Thanks again to both of you.

Are you not a local? How far away are you from Anaheim?

 

[nytimez]

Are you not a local? How far away are you from Anaheim?

Not that local - I'm in the SF peninsula. Silicon Valley area, so I guess 5-6 hours away? Weekend trip for sure... not day trip range or anything, but certainly spontaneous weekend trip range.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Not that local - I'm in the SF peninsula. Silicon Valley area, so I guess 5-6 hours away? Weekend trip for sure... not day trip range or anything, but certainly spontaneous weekend trip range.

Goodness!

 

[nytimez]

Goodness!

Closer to DL now than I was to WDW before - so, it's all good.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Closer to DL now than I was to WDW before - so, it's all good.

Oh ok then. That's good. Hopefully you can make it to at least one of the limited time magic events.

 

[AndyS2992]

Not that local - I'm in the SF peninsula. Silicon Valley area, so I guess 5-6 hours away? Weekend trip for sure... not day trip range or anything, but certainly spontaneous weekend trip range.

WDW is a six to eight hour flight away from me and that is hell lol Wouldn't to drive that very often.

 

[nytimez]

WDW is a six to eight hour flight away from me and that is hell lol Wouldn't to drive that very often.

Sorry - I meant drive, I'm a 5-6 hour drive away from Disneyland. I'm sure it's a very short flight, but the hassle of getting to/from the airport adds enough time to the process that I'd rather just drive.

I did drive frequently to WDW from New York, though - I do enjoy a good road trip.

 

[flynnibus]

San Jose isn't a terrible airport I hear (I still fly into SFO and drive down to SJ/Milpitas rather than get another flight connection). And you can fly non-stop from San Jose to John Wayne on southwest. Just picking a random date in Jan.. $200 roundtrip. That's not shabby. SJ to DL looks to be about 720+/- miles round trip. If you get 25mpg.. Roughly 29gallons of gas.. $4/gal = $116 in gas. Parking vs taxi is probably a wash...

Deluxe blackouts are basically saturdays in the summer, and peak holidays. See
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/passes/deluxe/blockout-dates/

Depending on when you could make time to visit.. you would pick your AP type on the blackout dates.

Certainly sounds like you are in striking distance by plane or car for multiple trips in a year. Just which days you would vacation would keep the cheaper APs in or out of reach.

 

[nytimez]

San Jose isn't a terrible airport I hear (I still fly into SFO and drive down to SJ/Milpitas rather than get another flight connection). And you can fly non-stop from San Jose to John Wayne on southwest. Just picking a random date in Jan.. $200 roundtrip. That's not shabby. SJ to DL looks to be about 720+/- miles round trip. If you get 25mpg.. Roughly 29gallons of gas.. $4/gal = $116 in gas. Parking vs taxi is probably a wash...

Deluxe blackouts are basically saturdays in the summer, and peak holidays. See
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/passes/deluxe/blockout-dates/

Depending on when you could make time to visit.. you would pick your AP type on the blackout dates.

Certainly sounds like you are in striking distance by plane or car for multiple trips in a year. Just which days you would vacation would keep the cheaper APs in or out of reach.

Thanks.

I'm about to try out San Jose, so I'll find out first hand soon enough... for a flight back east rather than to DL. I'll probably drive to SoCal tho since it'll usually be three of us and the costs start to add up.