Never Been.............at least not yet

[PawleyPlatoon]

Hello from the East Coast!

We are beginning the process of planning a trip to CA to visit Disneyland and the surrounding areas. I am at WDWorld expert but have no clue where to begin.

Any suggestions? When is the best time to visit DL?

Thanks!!!

[thads]

Hello from the East Coast!

We are beginning the process of planning a trip to CA to visit Disneyland and the surrounding areas. I am at WDWorld expert but have no clue where to begin.

Any suggestions? When is the best time to visit DL?

Thanks!!!

(I misspelled "Been" in the title..........can't figure out how to correct that!)

Well, the first two things I plan for are timing and where to stay. On the timing front, Disneyland no longer has a real slow season. Because a high percentage of the visitors are S. Cal residence with a season pass, I generally try and attend when most kids are in school. Definately stay away from 3 day weekends as the parks will be full of S. Cal passholders. I had a conversation with a cast member once on a particularly crowded day. She said that 80% of the attendees that day were S. Cal passholders. the park was packed, it was the Tuesday following labor day.

The second thing I would decide is hotel options. The Disneyland resorts are absolutely gorgeous, and all of them are very proximal to the parks. They are also very, very expensive. So if you are good for the higher price, I would reccomend it. If you are very frugal like me, there are some cheaper "Good Neighbor" hotels close by that are within walking distance of the park. We like the Anahiem Fairfield Inn, and I hear good things about the Howard Johnson accross the street. Frankly all of the hotels around DL are expensive, but many are cheaper than the resort hotels.

A last minute add on the hotels. If you go to other online hotel sites (like Expedia) you will find even cheaper hotels in the <$100 range. Unless you are comfortable staying in an old, unmaintained and possibly dirty room avoid these hotels. There are a few that are "okay" but for the most part they are dumps. Once again, I have stayed in a few because I am there for the parks and not the beds, but my wife is not so keen on them. In fact, last time she said never again.

[tinkwest]

As has already been mentioned, there is no longer what I would call a slow season. So your best bet is in the middle of the week no matter what time of year you go. Some would say to stay away from summer months because of crowds but the upside to July and August is that the park hours are so much longer, there is a wide variety of entertainment that may be hit & miss during other times of the year, and there are fewer refurbishments (with the exception of Rivers of America attractions & Disneyland Railroad which will be down for a good deal of time during the creation of Star Wars Land).

If you can swing the Disneyland Resort Hotels that would be a good first choice. There would be a few added perks - early entry regardless of which pass you choose to buy and having purchases sent to your hotel from the parks for example - and it just makes your trip feel more special, in my opinion. When I stay at offsite hotels I choose ones that are directly across from the parks on S. Harbor Blvd. I feel that the short walk back at the end of the day is a lot easier than driving back or busing back to a hotel.

This is a good starting point. Will be glad to go in to more detail when/if you want.

[PawleyPlatoon]

What are the construction dates for Star Wars Land? When is it scheduled to be opened?

THANKS!!!

[BrerGnat]

What are the construction dates for Star Wars Land? When is it scheduled to be opened?

THANKS!!!

No firm timeline has been announced by Disney, but rumors are that they are trying for a late 2019 open.

[Genie1953]

We were there in early August in 2012 and never again will I go at that time. It was so crowded! Last time we went was in late April 2014 and it was great however there was a heat wave going on and the temps got up over 100 with heat indexes of 110 plus but we were told that was very unusual. We stayed at a Good Neighbor hotel...the Candy Cane Inn. I can't say enough great things about that hotel. It is a family owned hotel since the 1950's and a short walk to the parks. They have buses that run every half hour if you are too tired to walk back to the hotel after a busy day at the parks. Candy Cane hotel will be our go-to place to stay in the future for sure!