DLR in late Dec and/or early Jan

A recent development has left us with the opportunity to spend a few days in LA after Xmas this year and so I am trying to evaluate the possibility of taking advantage of this 3 to 5 day window of opportunity by staying at DLR.

We have never been to LA, SoCal, or DLR previously so do not know what to expect for seasonal deals.

Would there be any reasonable expectation to find 3, 4, or 5 night packages for Dec. 27 or 28 through to Jan 1 or 2, 2012? Or is this still the high season, so shouldn't expect to find any real bargains.

We have stayed at WDW for that same interval previously (after Xmas) and found the crowds and prices to be quite reasonable. Is the same true at DLR?

Also - does DLR have PIN-codes or other promotions like WDW?

Thanks in Advance
Canuck

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Originally Posted by Canuck Park Hopper

A recent development has left us with the opportunity to spend a few days in LA after Xmas this year and so I am trying to evaluate the possibility of taking advantage of this 3 to 5 day window of opportunity by staying at DLR.

We have never been to LA, SoCal, or DLR previously so do not know what to expect for seasonal deals.

Would there be any reasonable expectation to find 3, 4, or 5 night packages for Dec. 27 or 28 through to Jan 1 or 2, 2012? Or is this still the high season, so shouldn't expect to find any real bargains.

We have stayed at WDW for that same interval previously (after Xmas) and found the crowds and prices to be quite reasonable. Is the same true at DLR?

Also - does DLR have PIN-codes or other promotions like WDW?

Thanks in Advance
Canuck

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Typically the parks are at capacity the week between Xmas and New Year but right after New Year's it slows down -- but as everyone knows lots of refurbs get done then -- HM and IASM both close right after New Year's to take down the Xmas overlays.

Don't expect any deals. Once Christmas hits, it's MEGA high season until Jan 1. Parks close to capacity at times, and it's utter madness. On top of that, the weather can be very stubborn that time of year, with rain. My DH and I went for a quick 2 night getaway Dec 21-23 last year. It rained the ENTIRE three days we were there. Luckily, we were locals and didn't mind missing time in the parks, because it wasn't just a light "throw on a poncho" type of rain.

If you can go, do so, but be prepared for big crowds, expensive prices at all area hotels, and possible bad weather.

But, the Holiday magic makes up for all of it, in my opinion. It's my favorite time at DLR! :cloud9:

We went in the middle of last January. We didn't stay on-site, so no deals there, but crowds were not bad and the weather was beautiful (jeans+tee shirt, maybe a sweatshirt). Sadly, we missed most of the holiday decor by a few days. :(
I suspect there are deals to be had, but I don't follow DLR as closely as WDW.

Thanks for the input... I guess it was too much to expect that deals and savings were to be easily had at that part of the year.

Another question though. In attempting to getting booking/pricing info for DLR during this time period (inluding New Year's Eve), I have been simply getting "No Accommodations Available".

Are the three DLR resorts really booked solid?! The partner hotels are showing vacancies for the same time period.

K

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Originally Posted by Canuck Park Hopper

Thanks for the input... I guess it was too much to expect that deals and savings were to be easily had at that part of the year.

Another question though. In attempting to getting booking/pricing info for DLR during this time period (inluding New Year's Eve), I have been simply getting "No Accommodations Available".

Are the three DLR resorts really booked solid?! The partner hotels are showing vacancies for the same time period.

K

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Yeah, they are probably booked solid. I'm telling you, it's BUSY that week. I'd be shocked beyond belief if you had found vacancy at the DLR hotels. There are SO MANY hotels in the area, which is why you are seeing vacancy. However, remember that when the parks start limiting attendance due to capacity, the resort guests get priority over non resort guests.

I'm going to be flat out honest with you and tell you that, in the 10+ years that I lived down there and held an Annual Pass, I only visited the parks ONCE in that time frame (between Christmas and New Years). I never did it again, as the experience was borderline miserable. It gets so crowded that it stops being fun. :(

Thanks and appreciate the heads up! We have to WDW over the X-mas to New Year's stretch, so I am anticipating similar crowd levels. The only difference here, is we won't have Fastpass'es to improve our waiting times...

Another question - we are booked into a Good Neighbor hotel (the Red Lion, so about 2 blocks); but still need to get from LAX to our hotel. Not having the equivalent of the Magic Express means sourcing the service ourselves.

Does anyone have a favourite service or method to get to a non-resort GN-hotel?

I am mostly interested in "speed" not price - e.g. I would be willing to pay more for a more direct/faster transfer, rather than saving a few bucks and taking twice as long.

There's most definitely Fastpass at the Disneyland Resort. What makes you think that you won't have access to it?

I would recommend maybe renting a car. It might end up being the most economical thing to do, especially if you want to venture around So. Cal at all.

Beyond that, you could do a taxi, but it will be pricey. I know that from Orange County Airport the taxis offer a flat rate service to the DLR, but not sure about from LAX.

You could use a shuttle service, such as Prime Time.

Those are basically your only options, as far as I know.

Indeed - the car renting option is on the list and attractive because it's not that much more expensive and infinitely more convenient. If there was a motor-coach transfer that was as convenient as the ME in Orlando I would take that.

We are planning to stay at a Good Neighbor hotel, so I believe that we would not be eligible to get use the Fastpass. Is it not only available to "resort" guests - meaning those staying at one of the three Disney property hotels/resorts? We would have stayed at the resort, but alas, they were booked solid!

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Originally Posted by Canuck Park Hopper

Indeed - the car renting option is on the list and attractive because it's not that much more expensive and infinitely more convenient. If there was a motor-coach transfer that was as convenient as the ME in Orlando I would take that.

We are planning to stay at a Good Neighbor hotel, so I believe that we would not be eligible to get use the Fastpass. Is it not only available to "resort" guests - meaning those staying at one of the three Disney property hotels/resorts? We would have stayed at the resort, but alas, they were booked solid!

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Fastpasses are available to any guest. You don't need to be staying in a Disney hotel.

Fastpass is free and available to everyone who holds a valid theme park entry ticket.

What you won't be eligible for are the Extra Magic Hour mornings. Those are only for DLR hotel guests. However, some multi day park hopper passes (purchased in advance online at Disneyland.com) do come with ONE Magic Morning entry. Look into that if you are interested. Disneyland has Magic Mornings 4 days a week, and the park opens one hour prior to official opening for DLR hotel guests and those who have the special park hoppers.

Otherwise, Fastpass works the same as it does at WDW. In both places, anyone and everyone can use it. It's not limited to resort guests.

There is a service similar to DME called the Disneyland Express bus (operated by Gray Line). It is ONLY available to those staying on property, though.

I'd go with a rental car. Just find the cheapest one you can. That way, you will also have the option to have meals off property. There are many good places to eat in and around Anaheim that are not on Disney property.

Thanks for the information.... I thought for sure FP was available to resort guests only!

I guess that makes not being able to stay on site a bit more enjoyable. we will also still plan for at least one day at the Parks on Jan 1 - when things are hopefully more relaxed.

I'm going to change the dates of our annual Holiday visit from just prior to Thanksgiving to maybe Jan 2 to the 11th due to the POC ride being down. Can anyone actually pin down when the schools reopen in So Cal and any other thing that might make this a "not so hot idea". I can change the dates to the 1st week or so of Dec, that would be a fairly slow week. So is the 1st part of Jan generally busy. We have been there the week prior to Thanksgiving for several years now but this year after I booked my airline tickets etc I see where POC is closed & as I told my DW that the Pirates would be closed I was asked why I didn't know that, my fault for not checking so I need to change dates. Any opinions on which of the two would be the best idea would be great.

Schools in So. Cal generally start back up around the 2nd, but can be as late as the 6th for the year round schools (for 2012).

I'd say that the January time frame will be better, crowd wise, but you'll miss out on the Holiday stuff. It generally goes away by Jan 2.

It's a toss up. Do you want to see the Holiday decorations, parades, etc. or does PotC really top all that?

Also, be aware that ride closure dates are not absolute. It might stay closed longer, or open earlier than scheduled. I wouldn't necessarily plan around ONE ride. I'd plan around my schedule and what I'd like to experience overall.

I will say that the first week of December is way better than the first week of January, crowd wise. It will be d-e-a-d. Would make for a wonderful visit. The Holiday season is my favorite time at DLR.

Absolutely the “Holiday Time” is the best, the decorations are beautiful. We have done this for several yrs now, nothing major has ever been closed when we have gone. I'm surprised POC or BB would be closed during the Veteran’s Day time frame & leading up to Thanksgiving & then opening just the day before. Poor Planning on the Maint Dept? This yr according to the Disneyland Web site the HT will last to Jan 8. My tkts are for 11/14 return 11/23 which is the usual time frame for us. My plan was to change our arrival to Sun 11/27 for several days when I noticed that the decorations would be up until Jan 8 so I thought that might be a good time if the schools are back in session but many other So Cal families might have the same ideas if the kids are still out of school. The safest is to stay the course or move to the 1st week of Dec.

Two other ?’s, in your opinion what are the chances of an early opening for POC & Blue Bayou, I k now that sometimes this happens & considering the time frame & how popular they are I would think speed would be of the essence?
Do the hours in the week prior go longer as they will the week of Thanksgiving, I cant remember if they did or not in the last few years?

Thanks for your input.