DL trip 2013

[disneygirl76]

Hi all,

I'm not normally on this thread as I travel to WDW but just returned from WDW and am now excited to plan a trip to DL in 2013. My first question is where do you recommend staying? The cast will be myself and my DH, with the possibility of my bro and his girlfriend who live in San Fran. It will be nice to have a suite or something. Do any of the DL resorts have that? Also, how many days do you recommend to do DL. It will probably be a very very long time before we get to DL again so I want to make sure to get the full experience! I was at DL for 5 days in 2010 - but not full days. I think it ended up being 3 evenings and 2 full days. Since the parks are so close, it was easy to do everything. But that was before Cars Land.

Also, what time of year is the best time to travel to DL? I am assuming during the week is better b/c it has less crowds then the weekends. What time of year? we are thinking September? But it might be the summer - like August. Is it super busy in the summer like WDW is?

Thanks for the info!

 

[maryszhi]

i would highly recommend either the Disneyland hotel or the paradise pier. the grand californian is nice, just really expensive! yes, i believe all of the hotels have suites, and grand californian has dvc. i have gone to dl in the spring and summer, which are great. i have heard fall and winter are great, just the weekends and holidays are crowded. hope this helps!

 

[disneygirl76]

That helps! I stayed at DL Hotel. Of course DH wants Grand Californian! I know that it is different at DL b/c the hotels are right there - all walking distance. So for that reason alone, can't justify the cost of GC. There are good reasons to go in the fall - more time to save and want to see how DL does Halloween. However, I just saw it all "fall" so I was thinking maybe doing something else. I was also thinking November - for Christmas - doing Thanksgiving there since we usually do it here. But I am trying for good weather and low crowds mostly.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I always recommend staying at offsite hotels, unless you really, REALLY want to spend the money and stay onsite. The hotels aren't cheap, and I believe all three have suites.

The perfect amount for Disneyland is five days, IMO. Are you planning on park hopping? If you do five days, you could park hope each day, or visit each park twice, and park hop on one day. Either way, you'd still be seeing a lot. The most days I'd recommend someone at the DLR is one week, but that's a lot IMO. Five or six should be good.

Weekends are usually more crowded. On weekdays, crowds will pick up in the evening due to the annual passholders coming from school or work. It will probably feel more crowded to you, because you're used to WDW, but they're almost never horrible. If you're interested in seeing the original Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain, I would avoid late August and September. Mansion goes down late August each year for the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay, for at least two weeks. It reopens during mid September. Space closes in September for two-three days, for the Ghost Galaxy overlay. If you want to avoid these overlays, and you don't want to be there when they're down, I'd avoid late August and all of September. Oh, and the regular Space Mountain comes back in November and the regular Haunted Mansion comes back between mid and late January of the next year. These are some things you might want to consider.

Feel free to ask more questions!

 

[disneygirl76]

Thanks so much! That is great info about the timing!!! I am a nanny so I can pretty much go when ever. It tends to be easiest around August / September. So I was thinking August - or waiting until I know I have time off at Thanksgiving and doing it then. Either would be great. I'm concerned about crowds. I just want to try for the very best time of year to go. I do want to stay on property. We have a time share that my parents are giving us for a week for our stay in San Fran so we have some extra money we can spend on hotel. I don't think we will do Grand Californian. For a suite, it just seems like way too much moola.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Thanks so much! That is great info about the timing!!! I am a nanny so I can pretty much go when ever. It tends to be easiest around August / September. So I was thinking August - or waiting until I know I have time off at Thanksgiving and doing it then. Either would be great. I'm concerned about crowds. I just want to try for the very best time of year to go. I do want to stay on property. We have a time share that my parents are giving us for a week for our stay in San Fran so we have some extra money we can spend on hotel. I don't think we will do Grand Californian. For a suite, it just seems like way too much moola.

So cool that you're a nanny! I think I'd like that kind of job. I think crowds will be a little greater during September, since the Halloween parties will start that month. I agree on the Grand Californian. It's a very nice hotel, but it's too expensive. I would go with the Disneyland Hotel, though Paradise Pier is nice too. The Disneyland Hotel is classic and it just got a renovation.

Here is a pic of the new rooms: