We're going to Disneyland instead!

[devoy1701]

Ok guys! I told my girlfriend that I really really REALLY want to go to Disneyland next year! We still have our Dec trip to WDW booked because we booked it before we decided we weren't going to renew our passes, then decided to hold onto the ressie for awhile just incase we changed our minds and still wanted to go, but I just got off the phone with her after talking about how I'll be ok with not going to WDW this christmas if we get to go to Disneyland next year.

So what I'm going to do is whatever money I would have spent for a December trip to DisneyWorld I'm putting aside for Disneyland as a "headstart" to my saving for it.

But now I have a question: Disney World still has slow times, such as around August, and the first 2 weeks of December. Does Disneyland have slow seasons as well? We want to spend a week out there, probably 6 nights. 7 days, and the times we have available to go (because of school and work) are either the first 2 weeks of August or the first 2 weeks of December. Which time of year do you think is better? Does Disneyland ever offer free dinning or special rates?

Any thing else I might need to know? I've never been to Disneyland!

 

[mouselvrmom]

We went to disneyland last December 3-13th. I didn't think it was horribly busy. Mornings were generally pretty good, it would get a bit busier in the afternoons, but not so that you couldn't do what you wanted to do. The Christmas decorations were nice, too.

 

[nemofinder22]

Christmas is a great time to visit DLR. Theres a lot more offered at Christmas than the summer with the decorations and such.

Theres no Christmas party like at MK but all of that is wrapped up in to the general admission of DL and DCA. With all the decorations on Main Street(which is rumored to get "snow" like the castle got last year) the castle lights, Frontierland, NOS, Critter County, ToonTown, Bugs land, Sunshine Plaza all are decked out in there best.

Theres also the seasonal attractions Haunted Manison Holiday and Small World Holiday(which is said to be back by Nov.)

Entertainment has 2 big offerings Believe...In Holiday Magic and A Christmas Fantasy. First weekend also has the Candle Light Processional in its traditional location at Town Square it causes a stage to be put up the first week of Dec. and is only shown on 1 weekend twice a night and causes a bit of a crowd control mess but everyone says it well worth it.

Plus the first 2 weeks I've heard aren't that busy, nothing like after the after Christmas crowds. Also keep in mind on 2 nights of the first week of Dec. DL closes at 6 or 7 pm for the cast member holiday parties.

I think DLR has a dinning plan but its been said its not worth it. There also might be special rates but not sure when there announced

If anything I would go at Christmas since theres so many more things to see. Plus a real Christmas tree on Main Street and you cant be that.

 

[LadyDarling]

What a cool transition for you guys! You'll love Disneyland's holiday magic! It never feels like Christmas to me w/o it, so I would agree with others and go in December. August isn't very slow as most of the schools are still out and the park is open late. Luckily, the weather here is usually beautiful either time of the year, but it's definately a bit more plesant when you're not sweating through your clothes.

You're being VERY smart in saving up for Disneyland now! I have spent LESS money on just the bare bones trip to Disneyworld in FL than I have on a 3 day weekend in Disneyland at a resort hotel, so pinch your pennies!

 

[Nicole220]

To continue what everyone has said, I would definitely choose the first two weeks of December. Christmas time at the DLR is my favorite time of the year. It is so magical. The decorations are spectacular and Believe...in Holiday Magic is one of my favorite fireworks shows. And the first part of the month isn't too crowded.

 

[IROC it]

FWIW - We found it less busy in July than in March...


The final week of July is a blocked out week for season passers.

Not too warm (compared to ORL the year before in July).

March was quite chilly after dark.

 

[KeithVH]

Piling on here since we're toying with the idea. We want to do MNSSHP this year but available nights are more limited than WDW. Is it not as popular on the left coast? Too crowded for the party? I noticed the pricing is much cheaper. How odd.

 

[Nicole220]

^ Um, I've never been to the Halloween party, but it's nothing like WDW's. It's not as big. There isn't a big parade, fireworks show, etc. I really don't know much else I'm afraid.

 

[Magic Maker]

I am a Disney World purist turned Disneyland lover. My fiance is from So Cal and he took me there for the first time 3 years ago. We got back from our fourth trip together in May and he proposed on our first night out there.

Disneyland is two completely different resorts during the week vs. the weekend.

 

[grunter]

FWIW - We found it less busy in July than in March...

The final week of July is a blocked out week for season passers.

Not too warm (compared to ORL the year before in July).

March was quite chilly after dark.

Really? Seriously? That's spectacular news about the last week of July, if true.

I'll be at Disneyland July 20-22 and I'm just praying the park isn't elbow-to-elbow crowded.

 

[LadyDarling]

Piling on here since we're toying with the idea. We want to do MNSSHP this year but available nights are more limited than WDW. Is it not as popular on the left coast? Too crowded for the party? I noticed the pricing is much cheaper. How odd.

Do you have small children? I went as a single adult last year. The good about it? Trick or treating all over the part was fun, and it was fun to see more disney villians out and about at the park. There really wasn't very much 'Halloween specific" entertianment that isn't available during the day. The ride lines were still decently long, and, unless you go find Minnie and Mickey first thing - expect to wait in line for a couple of hours for a picture. While it was fun to dress up at the parks, I really hope they grow this event in the future. There was no special halloween parade, but there was a dance party for little kids with characters in the street. There were no special fireworks. The party was in DCA.

Just food for thought! In the future, I might save my money and go to a nice dinner at Yamabuki instead.

 

[TP2000]

Early December versus early August is a toss up. The crowds are about the same, meaning they are surprisingly manageable. The only wild card is any Saturday in December, as it can be very busy with locals checking out the decorations. The first weekend in December gets a little nuts with Candlelight, and it takes over the entrance to the park in the Town Square for the weekend.

Overall, Disneyland does a dramatically better and more involved job of decorating the park for Christmas compared to Magic Kingdom. Just Google up pictures of either park at Christmas and you'll see the difference. Nearly every land is thoroughly made over, and of course there are the two big "Holiday" rides with Small World Holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday.

You'll find the weather delightful at either time. In August you'll be surprised at how mild and un-humid it is compared to Florida, and in December it will be sunny and crisp with cold nights. It's nearly statistically impossible for it to rain in August in SoCal, but in early December you run the risk of having a rainy day. Be advised however that if it does rain in SoCal, you will consider it to be a light shower while the locals will completely freak out and panic. Floridians might enjoy sitting in the hotel room and watching local Los Angeles TV stations go on "STORMWATCH '08!" due to half an inch of rain falling in one day, especially if it's the first rain of the year in early December. I'm not making that up.

Either way, I don't think you can really go wrong with either of those timeframes. You'll just have to decide if you want to do the fun-in-the-sun summertime thing, or the magical Christmas thing.

I hope you are planning on renting a car for at least a few days in order to get out and see SoCal a few days of your stay. Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, San Diego Zoo, Palm Springs and the Aerial Tram, Sea World, Universal Studios, The Getty, Grifith Observatory, LA museums, TV tapings, etc. are all worth a day trip from Anaheim.

 

[devoy1701]

Early December versus early August is a toss up. The crowds are about the same, meaning they are surprisingly manageable. The only wild card is any Saturday in December, as it can be very busy with locals checking out the decorations. The first weekend in December gets a little nuts with Candlelight, and it takes over the entrance to the park in the Town Square for the weekend.

Overall, Disneyland does a dramatically better and more involved job of decorating the park for Christmas compared to Magic Kingdom. Just Google up pictures of either park at Christmas and you'll see the difference. Nearly every land is thoroughly made over, and of course there are the two big "Holiday" rides with Small World Holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday.

You'll find the weather delightful at either time. In August you'll be surprised at how mild and un-humid it is compared to Florida, and in December it will be sunny and crisp with cold nights. It's nearly statistically impossible for it to rain in August in SoCal, but in early December you run the risk of having a rainy day. Be advised however that if it does rain in SoCal, you will consider it to be a light shower while the locals will completely freak out and panic. Floridians might enjoy sitting in the hotel room and watching local Los Angeles TV stations go on "STORMWATCH '08!" due to half an inch of rain falling in one day, especially if it's the first rain of the year in early December. I'm not making that up.

Either way, I don't think you can really go wrong with either of those timeframes. You'll just have to decide if you want to do the fun-in-the-sun summertime thing, or the magical Christmas thing.

I hope you are planning on renting a car for at least a few days in order to get out and see SoCal a few days of your stay. Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, San Diego Zoo, Palm Springs and the Aerial Tram, Sea World, Universal Studios, The Getty, Grifith Observatory, LA museums, TV tapings, etc. are all worth a day trip from Anaheim.

Just updating you guys to let you know that we've decided on the December week we have available...

we'll both be 21 then, so renting a car will probably be out of the question. But we would like to do a day or 2 of other sight seeing while we're down there...maybe to check out Hollywood and go to Universal Studios. Palm Springs sounds pretty cool too... so how is the public transportation around there (buses, trains)? As you know, it is just about nonexistant here in central FL....

 

[LadyDarling]

Southern California public transportation is iffy at best. You might want to do some research and see if there is a shuttle that can pick you up from your hotel and take you to the different locations? I'm sure there are several.

The trains aren't bad though, if you're looking to, say, spend a couple days in San Deigo. You can get on the train in LA and take it to SD. It's a pretty ride most of the way and will drop you off right near down town SD I think.

 

[Nicole220]

Public transportation here is definitely iffy.

The airport shuttles are good. We've used them quite a bit since we tend to travel with a lot of luggage. I don't know if they can take you to other places...I'd look into that.

If you want to do a lot of sight seeing, I'd suggest a rental car. I know nothing about getting rental cars and whatnot, so I don't know why it'd be out of the question for you guys. But personally I'd go with one.

 

[TLS]

Devoy,

Are you dead set on Paradise Pier?

I noticed you were talking about saving your pennies....

Staying on-property in DL isn't nearly what it is worth in WDW.

There are many....many really nice hotels that are very close-by.

I can personally recommend Embassy Suites on Harbor. http://www.mouseplanet.com/cgi/reviews/do/display.cgi?product-sku=dlrembassysuitesanaheimsouth
A real biggie is the free all-you-can-eat breakfast. Breakfast in SoCal is expensive....this is a great time and money saver, and is really good!


I would really try to look into a rental car. I believe it IS possible for 21yo's to rent, you may have to pay a bit more. Like others have said, there is SO much to see in SoCal, and all of it is just a day trip from DL.

3 Days in DL will suffice for most. Universal Studios is really a cool park. You may be able to get a tour of Beverly Hills set up at your hotel. There is also Knotts Berry Farm and Six FLags Magic Mountain.

 

[devoy1701]

Public transportation here is definitely iffy.

The airport shuttles are good. We've used them quite a bit since we tend to travel with a lot of luggage. I don't know if they can take you to other places...I'd look into that.

If you want to do a lot of sight seeing, I'd suggest a rental car. I know nothing about getting rental cars and whatnot, so I don't know why it'd be out of the question for you guys. But personally I'd go with one.

I know that most car rental agencies won't rent to you unless you are 24... that's why I said it's probably out of the question for us. I know there are several that will rent to a 21 yr old but require ALOT of extra fees and insurance...I just don't think it's going to be feesable for us. We'll be down there for 7 full days. We're planning on 3 days in DL and 2 in CA, giving us 2 days to be flexable on. I doubt this will be out LAST trip to SoCal so I'm not going to try to get everything in...but I would like to see Univ and the rest of the Hollywood area. Maybe check out the coastline as well.

And TLS, I THINK I'm set on staying at Paradise Pier...GC is WAY over our price range and we figured hey, when's the next time we're gonna get out to DL anyway! So right now we're budgeting for a Theme Park View in Paradise Pier. I did notice that there really weren't any benefits for resort guests beside charging to your room and souvenier delivery... but anyway, I'm going to look into some of the good neighbor hotels and see what they're all about now that you suggested it!

Thanks for your help so far everyone! Please keep the suggestions coming!

 

[TLS]

We're planning on 3 days in DL and 2 in CA, giving us 2 days to be flexable on. I doubt this will be out LAST trip to SoCal so I'm not going to try to get everything in...but I would like to see Univ and the rest of the Hollywood area. Maybe check out the coastline as well.

And TLS, I THINK I'm set on staying at Paradise Pier...GC is WAY over our price range and we figured hey, when's the next time we're gonna get out to DL anyway! So right now we're budgeting for a Theme Park View in Paradise Pier. I did notice that there really weren't any benefits for resort guests beside charging to your room and souvenier delivery... but anyway, I'm going to look into some of the good neighbor hotels and see what they're all about now that you suggested it!

Thanks for your help so far everyone! Please keep the suggestions coming!

Personally, I feel your budgeting too much time for Disney activities (5 days, right?). When we went (Nov '05), we had a SoCal City Pass which gave us a 3 day park hopper. We did both parks VERY thoroughly while hitting a LOT of big E-Tickets 2 and 3 times. It wasn't overly crowded, but it wasn't empty either. I'm not saying there isn't 5 days worth of things to do, but I feel 3 does both parks real good, and 4 would be good for an "extra" day.

If your looking at doing other things, check out the SoCal City pass.


As far as Hotel's go, there are at least a DOZEN real nice hotels within walking distance (And we're talking SHORT walks! Compare these walks to simply walking to the bus stop in a WDW resort in FL!) The Embassy Suites we stayed at was a few blocks away and we simply drove and parked, but in a pinch (like if you missed your shuttle!), you could walk it.


Good luck.