First Trip To Disneyland

[DarthGallifrey]

Hey All!

I have been a 'lurker' for years now since my first trip to WDW and watching all of the YouTube videos but this is my first time deciding to make an account and post.

I am planning a trip to Disneyland in Sept 2019. The dates I am shooting for are Sun Sept 15th - Sat Sept 21st. I will be staying at the Grand Californian.

Crowd calendars show this being a good time to visit, especially the midweek days. I just wanted to get some input from the experts on here and also how should I schedule my day? Should I stick to one park or is park hopping ideal and just sort of ping-ponging based on ride times, max passes,etc? Is Happiest Haunts worth it or is it just a time suck?

Thanks in advance to everyone and I look forward to being more active on here. Experiencing Disney for my first time 4 years ago was a life changing experience that really saved me from dark place.

 

[BillFraser29]

September is a great time to go as crowds are pretty low due to kids going back to school. For anything Summer 2019 forward, all day planning is kind of in a holding pattern until more information is available for Galaxy's Edge. That land's impact on the park will be significant for a while. I went to WDW September 2017 and Flight of Passage (open since May 2017) still had up to 3 hour wait times. It actually opened up the rest of AK to be easily navigated.

As far as park-hopping, that will be dependent of your group and preferences while at the park. Thrill rides? Shows? Kid rides? The more detail you can provide the better advise you will get.

I am also very happy to hear about your life changing experience, and I am glad you are out of your dark place.

 

[DarthGallifrey]

I hate planning for 2019 just because of the minimal info on Galaxy's Edge haha. I figured DL would be a better option than WDW and thus a good time for my first trip. If it opens up the rest of the park as FOP did in AK I will be fine with it. I am a HUGE Star Wars fan but I have no expectations for the first year it is open.

The group is 4 adults so in terms of preferences at the park, we want to experience all of the rides we can. Those are the priority with nighttime shows and dining be a close second. The connection to Walt is so strong here that even if it is a little kid ride I want todo it haha.

We definitely want to do the Halloween Party. We are on the fence about Happiest Haunts. In terms of dining, Carthay Circle and Steakhouse 55 are at the top of our list

 

[jbh275]

Should I stick to one park or is park hopping

We definitely park hop, but usually though it's more like rope drop until 5 or 6 pm. Then head over to the other park for a couple of rides and a show. So 90% 1 park 10% park hop. That's what I recommend.

 

[midnight star]

I would budget for park hopping. SWGE will be open at that time, and no one knows how the crowd patterns are going to be. Park hopping gives you the option to change parks if one gets too crowded. Also, from what I have read (I haven't been to WDW since 2000), park hopping is much easier at DL than WDW. The gates are right across the way from each other.

 

[DarthGallifrey]

I was leaning towards park hopping and it seems that I definitely should. I have never had any issues with it at WDW either. It really just comes down to where you are staying there. If you at a monorail resort it makes it easy to do Epcot and MK with a rest in between. Same with if you are at the Boardwalk you can easily do Epcot and HWS with a rest in between.

What I was more curious about was, in regards to park hopping at DL/DCA, does it make sense to go back and forth throughout the day or like @jbh275 said focus one and then add some of the other at the end of night?

 

[midnight star]

Yes, I would follow what @jbh275 said, but I would hop to another park sooner. I usually will stay on one side until 12 or 1..then parkhop over and stay until 4 or 5..then for nighttime, I just pick a side. Bouncing back and forth throughout the day can be tiring.

 

[Gaugersaurus]

I'd say park hopping really depends on your touring style. It's very easy bounce back and forth between the two parks if you desire and lines at the turnstiles usually aren't that long unless it's the end of the day.

I haven't done it myself but a few people on the boards have said Happiest Haunts isn't worth the time.

I would also expect the parks to be more crowded in the evenings as AP holders head to the parks after work/school to see the Halloween decorations.

 

[DarthGallifrey]

Thank you so much everyone!

@Gaugersaurus I had also heard that Happiest Haunts isn't worth it and that is time that could be spent doing other things. Honestly I could spend those 90 minutes in line at GE haha. Since I am staying on property I am planning on utilizing the early entry to maximize time so I would probably plan dinner for the evenings when they get more crowded and maybe close out the night with some rides if we can

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Welcome!
These threads should give you good information for your trip planning:
A DLR Guide for WDW Vets
www.disboards.com/threads/choosing-the-right-hotel-for-you.3656512/
Mickey's Halloween Party and Halloween Time Superthread 2018!! -- for info on this year's Halloween Time and MHP so you can get ideas for next year (MHP begins tonight, so you should get some reviews and photos in that thread starting tomorrow.)
With 4 adults and no strollers to worry about, I would go for the park hoppers and MP. The hoppers will help you take full advantage of MP since you'll be able to book FPs for rides in one park from the other park. The parks are so close together (about a football field's length apart) that they are more like one big park than two separate ones. As for the Happiest Haunts tour, we did it the first year it was offered and didn't really find it to be worth the money. We much prefer spending the money on MHP -- that is a better value for us. There should be HH tour reviews posting soon on this forum -- look for those so you can make a more informed decision. The tour seems to change a bit every year.

 

[DarthGallifrey]

@theluckyrabbit Thank you!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

With the length of your trip I assume you’re planning on 5-day tickets. Park hopping costs just $50 to add it on, so $10/day. You will love park hopping, it’s so easy and nothing like at WDW. The flexibility is worth every penny.

 

[DarthGallifrey]

@SOCALMouseMommy I was actually planning on doing a 4 Day as I won't need it for the day we do the Halloween Party and then we are doing one day at Universal for HHN

 

[emmybee]

Park hopping is the way to go as it gives you the flexibility to do what you want when you want. Don't overthink it, just go with the flow, maaaan.....

 

[theluckyrabbit]

@SOCALMouseMommy I was actually planning on doing a 4 Day as I won't need it for the day we do the Halloween Party and then we are doing one day at Universal for HHN

Keep the fifth day open as an option -- DLR has a way of getting to you! We have friends who had the exact same plan as you -- four days + MHP, and the non-park morning and afternoon were for laundry and the pool. Hah! They ended up adding on a fifth day and spending the WHOLE day (rope drop!) and MHP in the parks. And they loved every minute of it! Just warning you...

 

[DarthGallifrey]

@theluckyrabbit I am not surprised at all. I remember my first trip to WDW I was not that excited. I had such a huge misconception as to what it was and I was never a theme park or a ride person. Splash Mountain will forever be my favorite ride because that was the one that did it to me. I was honestly frightened climbing up that hill because I used to hate stuff like that and I was having a panic attack, regretting my decision to ride it.....then the drop happened and the song started and I was back in line to ride it another 3 times. By the end of my first day I was already planning a trip for my birthday in Oct the following year haha

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Love it!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

@SOCALMouseMommy I was actually planning on doing a 4 Day as I won't need it for the day we do the Halloween Party and then we are doing one day at Universal for HHN

At $12.50 per day I still say VERY worth it! Once you see how easy it is to hop, I think you will agree!

 

[DarthGallifrey]

@theluckyrabbit is the third week in Sept safe to assume that Haunted Mansion and Space Mt will be open and not still closed for their overlays? It seems by looking at past calendars that would be the case

 

[DarthGallifrey]

@SOCALMouseMommy thanks! looks like im just never going to leave after I get there