Honeymoon stop in DLR this fall, seeking answers from DLR experts!

[asc341]

Hello everyone,

My fiance and I would like to stop at DLR en route to Hawaii for our honeymoon this fall. We're looking to go late September to early October, does anyone have a recommendation as to when we should go? We'd love to avoid the most crowded days, but I also want to make sure all the really neat things at DLR will be available (WoC, fireworks?, etc.)

I took a look at park calendar for October, and it looks like we should expect the parks to close around 8. I couldn't, however, find hours for DTD. Does DTD close later than the parks? Despite it being our honeymoon, we'll probably do a hotel on the cheap to save cash for Hawaii, so I'm not sure we'd like to spend more time in the hotel than we have to. If DTD is closed too, any recommendations for fun things to do at night in the area (not so interested in clubs, just fun bars to enjoy a few drinks) would be really helpful!

Thanks so much in advance for your help - we're both from the east coast, and are over the moon excited for this trip!

 

[Californian Elitist]

Just a warning, Haunted Mansion Holiday (Nightmare Before Christmas) and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy will take the places of the normal Mansion and Space during your stay.

Late September/early October are both fine. It doesn't matter which of those times you pick. Downtown Disney usually stays open late. The crowds will feel heavy to you because everything in Disneyland is very close and not spread out like the WDW parks. California Adventure is a little more spread out.

Congratulations!

 

[LoveDisneyGirl]

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!!

I think that October can be a bit busy at DLR. Schools in Arizona, Utah and Nevada have Fall Breaks, which means the parks can get busier, usually during the first two weeks of that month.

As far as seeing shows, during this 'off-season' period, Fantasmic! and fireworks may not on the schedule for week days. I do believe (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong) that World of Color shows nightly, regardless of the day of the week. If you have your heart set on seeing all of the shows, try to make sure you're there Friday/Saturday.

If you're main objection is to avoid crowds, in my experience Sundays have low crowds, as well as the first few days of the week. The parks start to get busier as the week wears on, especially as locals with APs pop over in the evenings after work.

You shouldn't have a problem going to DTD after the parks close, as the restaurants/shops stay open later. Plenty of 'bars' in DTD, (House of Blues, Uva, Tortilla Joes, ESPN Zone). Plus you can pop into the Grand Californian or walk a little further into the Disneyland Hotel to check out the offerings there.

Not far from the parks is the Anaheim Garden Walk, which also has dining options, shopping, bowling and movies. So that's always an option if you'd prefer to do something off-site.

Hope this helps you get started!! Have a great trip!

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Like @raven24 said, the end of September and the beginning of October both are pretty good crowd-wise. The best thing you can do to minimize crowds is change the days of the week that you visit. Monday through Thursday will have light crowds, Friday through Sunday will have mid-level to high crowds.

 

[asc341]

Great! Thanks for all the advice and information. @raven24 I am so excited for the holiday changes on the HM and SM! We've been bummed in the past that WDW doesn't make the changes too. Thank you for the reminder, it would be a quite a surprise to go there not knowing!

Do you guys think we need park hoppers? I know the parks are super close, and many people do park hop. But I'm wondering if we should spend the extra $ to do that, or stick it out in one park per day.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Great! Thanks for all the advice and information. @raven24 I am so excited for the holiday changes on the HM and SM! We've been bummed in the past that WDW doesn't make the changes too. Thank you for the reminder, it would be a quite a surprise to go there not knowing!

Do you guys think we need park hoppers? I know the parks are super close, and many people do park hop. But I'm wondering if we should spend the extra $ to do that, or stick it out in one park per day.

Anytime! Many WDW vets don't like the holiday changes, but I like that you're embracing it.

It's tradition to park hop at the DLR, but if you don't want to, you don't have to. It' very convenient to park hop, but one day tickets are great as well. If you don't want to spend the extra cash, just by single day tickets. Use the extra money for food and souvenirs.

 

[Zman-ks]

Congratulations!

 

[dvcnut]

I'm not an expert on DL, but I did honeymoon there in early October about 5 years ago. We had a fantastic time!

The weather was perfect, the crowds weren't crazy, and the Halloween theming was great (especially on Haunted Mansion).

My recommendations are:
- Be sure to let them know that you're on your honeymoon. We were chosen as "family" of the day and received an upgraded room, free dessert at dinner, and lots of congratulations thanks to the buttons that we were given.
- I highly recommend having dinner at Blue Bayou. The scenery is so unique and romantic...plus the food was great too.

Have a great time and congratulations!!

 

[LoveDisneyGirl]

I love park hopping at DLR. It's super easy and convenient. We really enjoy going to Disneyland in the morning, knocking out rides and then heading over to California Adventure in the afternoon (on a day where we aren't planning on doing RSR). For me, there comes a point in the afternoon where Disneyland just feels too congested and for some reason, even with Carsland, California Adventure just seems more calm. So we'll head over there, grab a beer from the stand in Pacific Wharf and just take an hour to leisurely walk around Cars Land or through Grizzly Peak.

But, that being said, doing one park a day would be totally fine also! As long as you know the schedule of shows and what you want to do each day, then I'm sure it would be great! I tend to like to go off the schedule, so park hoppers work best for me and my ever changing mind!

 

[asc341]

All great ideas! We've decided on the park hopper, just to have the option to go wherever we want (it is a honeymoon after all, so why not?) Also, I can't wait to tell the CMs we're on honeymoon - we had many magical moments with CMs at WDW when they saw our buttons after we got engaged...

Thank you for your tips as well as your congratulations, it's so exciting and fitting to go to the most magical place on earth, especially after you've found your Prince Charming!

 

[Californian Elitist]

All great ideas! We've decided on the park hopper, just to have the option to go wherever we want (it is a honeymoon after all, so why not?) Also, I can't wait to tell the CMs we're on honeymoon - we had many magical moments with CMs at WDW when they saw our buttons after we got engaged...

Thank you for your tips as well as your congratulations, it's so exciting and fitting to go to the most magical place on earth, especially after you've found your Prince Charming!

When you ride Storybook (the boat ride with Monstro), tell the CM you guys just married and they will give you your own boat, with just the two of you and they will usually have wedding bells. Just a warning, some of them shout to everyone about your marriage!

In case you don't know what Storybook is:

 

[Zman-ks]

Congrtatulations!