April 2024 May 2024 check in thread & after dark events

[katyringo]

May 24-28 solo trip at castle inn a suites!

 

[ambula603]

There seem to be a few people here who will be going to DL for the first time, does anyone have any questions that those of us who have been to DL/DCA might be able to answer for you?

We are coming March 31- April 1, staying at Disneyland Hotel. First time for us, seasoned WDW travelers. My question is about the weather. In Florida, it rains daily but doesn't change many of our plans. The forecast shows rain on our first two days, should I prepare for a washout? Any tips on navigating DL on a rainy day? I am hoping it cuts down on local crowds for us (the first day is Easter Sunday, which I have no idea what to expect!) We have 3 days of park hoppers.

Headed to San Diego after for 4 nights on the Wonder so we plan to go hard for the 3 days at DL and then relax on the cruise!

 

[Aladora]

We are coming March 31- April 1, staying at Disneyland Hotel. First time for us, seasoned WDW travelers. My question is about the weather. In Florida, it rains daily but doesn't change many of our plans. The forecast shows rain on our first two days, should I prepare for a washout? Any tips on navigating DL on a rainy day? I am hoping it cuts down on local crowds for us (the first day is Easter Sunday, which I have no idea what to expect!) We have 3 days of park hoppers.

Headed to San Diego after for 4 nights on the Wonder so we plan to go hard for the 3 days at DL and then relax on the cruise!

So, full disclosure, while I have been at WDW when it rains (and ooh, boy, did it EVER rain!), I have not been to DL in the rain.

But, I can say that outdoor rides will close when it rains.

Here is a list of what closes:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/en-ca/faq/parks/weather/

I have heard that rain definitely cuts down on locals but when I check the weather, it seems conflicted on whether or not it will rain when you are there. Weather Network says no, AccuWeather says yes on the 31st, Weather.com says yes on both days....so, who knows?

Bring ponchos or rain coats, pack a spare pair of socks in your DL bag, and definitely bring a spare pair of shoes so you are not putting on wet shoes on day 2 or 3.

 

[CayBoo]

We'll be there May 19-22. Just a quick trip for my birthday.
The last birthday I celebrated there was my Sweet Sixteenth, 16 years ago haha. We'll be staying at the Del Sol for the first time, hopefully it'll be a nice stay with how close it is to the entrance.

 

[smartlabelprint]

We are coming March 31- April 1, staying at Disneyland Hotel. First time for us, seasoned WDW travelers. My question is about the weather. In Florida, it rains daily but doesn't change many of our plans. The forecast shows rain on our first two days, should I prepare for a washout? Any tips on navigating DL on a rainy day? I am hoping it cuts down on local crowds for us (the first day is Easter Sunday, which I have no idea what to expect!) We have 3 days of park hoppers.

Headed to San Diego after for 4 nights on the Wonder so we plan to go hard for the 3 days at DL and then relax on the cruise!

We had rain boots , a stroller cover and jackets and we were just fine. Less people was great!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Dad and I God willing, will be at DL May 12th-14th for my birthday and an extra celebration of his.

 

[nurseberta]

There seem to be a few people here who will be going to DL for the first time, does anyone have any questions that those of us who have been to DL/DCA might be able to answer for you?

First time at DLR for 3 days May 5-7! Seasoned WDW traveler with G+ skills

Can you still get a hard Disney card to use as your "ticket' from the hotel like a keycard (and to scan into LL)?

Favorite sit down dining (in parks or anywhere onsite)?

Monorail, how many stops? Is it just Downtown Disney and Tomorrowland? Does it go through the Grand Californian?

staying at Disneyland Resort. tips on standard room location requests?

Can you book your first LL after scanning into park for Early Entry, or do you need to wait until park opening time?


Thanks in Advance! super excited!

 

[Cal-Pie]

May 9-11! Star Wars Nite on the 9th, DCA on the 10th (grad nite, yikes) and DL on the 11th. We'll be celebrating my 50th and my son's 21st birthday on this trip. 43 days until we arrive, can't wait!!

 

[Aladora]

First time at DLR for 3 days May 5-7! Seasoned WDW traveler with G+ skills

Can you still get a hard Disney card to use as your "ticket' from the hotel like a keycard (and to scan into LL)?

Favorite sit down dining (in parks or anywhere onsite)?

Monorail, how many stops? Is it just Downtown Disney and Tomorrowland? Does it go through the Grand Californian?

staying at Disneyland Resort. tips on standard room location requests?

Can you book your first LL after scanning into park for Early Entry, or do you need to wait until park opening time?


Thanks in Advance! super excited!

Let me see if I can answer these!

If memory serves me correctly, you will get a hard key card for the hotel but not a cardboard ticket to get into the parks. The cardboard ticket you can get at the entry to either of the two parks. I might be misunderstanding your question but the key card and the entry ticket are separate at DL. TBH, we don't get cardboard tickets anymore, I have everyone's ticket in my DL app and use that to scan into the parks and into the LL.

Favourite sit down restaurant:
Napa Rose - at the GCH
Carthay Circle - in DCA
Blue Bayou - in DL (now, I have a bit of a history with BB, the first time we went was in 1999 for our honeymoon and it was really good, the next 2 or 3 times the food quality went down each time and I had decided not to bother going back. Then, in 2023, I decided to give it one last chance because it was the first time my sister had been able to go there. I told her not to expect good food but that we were there for the atmosphere...and I was totally wrong! The quality of the food was WAY up and BB is back on my list.)

Monorail goes between the DTD station and Tomorrowland. It does go through the Grand but not in the same way as the monorail goes through the Contemporary!

DLH room locations. Well, you are going to get as many answers to this as there are rooms in the hotel! There are 3 towers and each have their own pros and cons. Fantasy tower is the OG and the gift shops are in this tower so many people love it. The Adventure is closest to the DTD entrance and has the concierge lounge in it so most people I think prefer this one. Frontier is probably the least requested tower but is actually my favourite one.

Booking LL during EE: If I remember correctly, yes you can do this.

 

[bandaidqueen]

May 27-May 31 staying at GCH. Can't wait!

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

First time visiting since 2013, now with four kids instead of three. May 1-5 after three days at Yosemite. Looking forward to seeing how Batuu West does MTFBWY after having a great time doing it in 2022 at Batuu East.

 

[Jawwdoc]

Combined solo/work trip May 16-18. Staying at Westin and then Pixar Place. Rope dropping in the morning then heading to meetings at the convention center all day and stacking LL for use when returning to the parks in the evening.

 

[tinytilly]

Has anyone else noticed that the May 2nd Star Wars Nite is not sold out anymore? I'm hoping that doesn't mean it's going to be even more crowded! Has anyone experienced that happen before?

 

[Cal-Pie]

Has anyone else noticed that the May 2nd Star Wars Nite is not sold out anymore? I'm hoping that doesn't mean it's going to be even more crowded! Has anyone experienced that happen before?

When I check, it still shows as sold out.

 

[KPeterso]

May 2-4 at Villas at Disneyland Hotel. Our first stay in the new villas and very excited. Will probably be a fairly low key trip as I will have just had cataract surgery 2 weeks before.

 

[tinytilly]

When I check, it still shows as sold out.

Hopefully it was a glitch that they caught fast. I even refreshed the page thinking it was a mistake.

 

[Cal-Pie]

Did anyone else notice that Pooh is off the refurb list as of May 12? Hmmm...

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Dad and I, God willing, will be at Disneyland on May 12th. My birthday. Being able to go on the Pooh ride would indeed be an extra blessing.

 

[Jawwdoc]

Did anyone else notice that Pooh is off the refurb list as of May 12? Hmmm...

I just checked the DL website and Pooh is listed on the refurb list through 5/14

 

[DizMe]

So my friends convinced me to go with them to a Star Wars after-dark event. I've never been to one before, I'm not a big SW fan and know little about the franchise, but my friends are all avid SW peeps. They're busy getting outfits together but they seem to want to make it a surprise so I'm a little clueless, although one of them shared that she is going to wear an outfit she made for a Starcruiser thing at WDW and she's a female commodore or something like that (she has lavender hair). Can you give me some idea about what sort of things people wear? Is it like Disneybounding, costumey, or just whatever? They told me to choose a character for day and one for the event. I've put together some things but I don't know if I've gone overboard or not done enough, lol! I figure if my friend is going to go with lavender hair, they're fairly serious. I don't want to go and find them all decked out like movie extras while I'm wearing a gold shirt and C3PO ears.