Where to start?

[mum2fourkids]

Hi everyone!

This Is the first time I have posted on this forum but have been lurking quite a while. I am planning a trip to Disneyland for my family of 6 and I don't know where to start!? Would you all be able to answer some questions for me?

Can I purchase airline tickets without having any passports yet?

When do I buy travel insurance? Once all the plans/accomm are finalised or at the beginning of the planning and then added the finer details?

Is the end of May a nice time of year to go? Weather wise as well as the number of ride closures

Thanks for your help! Will have more questions I'm sure

 

[zanzibar138]

Hello and welcome

I am by no means an expert, but will see how I go

1. You can buy airline tickets any time you want, as long as you give them your passport details before you fly. If you use your frequent flyer number when you book them, you can just add these details later through your online account. Otherwise, you'd probably need to call the airline when you get your passports to add the details to your flights.

2. We've always been told to buy travel insurance as soon as we make any big purchases (eg airfares). I generally try to buy it as soon as we've confirmed our dates. That way you're covered in case anything happens before you go. You don't need to give any specific details when you buy the insurance, so it won't matter if you don't know where you're staying etc.

3. From what I've read and heard, May is a pretty good time to travel to Disneyland. I don't summer holidays are on yet, and the weather should be warm, but not too hot or muggy. Someone else who's been at that time of year might be able to give you more information.

Enjoy the process, and feel free to ask away

 

[PrincessInOz]

Welcome to the Dis!

Hi everyone!

This Is the first time I have posted on this forum but have been lurking quite a while. I am planning a trip to Disneyland for my family of 6 and I don't know where to start!? Would you all be able to answer some questions for me?

Can I purchase airline tickets without having any passports yet?

Zanzibar has already responded.

When do I buy travel insurance? Once all the plans/accomm are finalised or at the beginning of the planning and then added the finer details?

I tend to buy travel insurance somewhere in the middle of the trip planning process.
This may be one of those 'personal choice' answers and might even depend on whether you have the cash available to pay for the insurance now or later.

Is the end of May a nice time of year to go? Weather wise as well as the number of ride closures

Thanks for your help! Will have more questions I'm sure

May in SoCal can be rather pleasant. You will find wildflowers...the californian golden poppies....growing along the roads. In the past, it hasn't been too hot a time to be in SoCal; but who knows with the kind of weather patterns we've been seeing lately?

Ride closures.....you're in the lap of Disney there. Generally, they do tend to schedule their refurbs/maintenance in January. But that doesn't mean that Disney won't schedule something in May either.

For what it's worth - I would plan the trip based on the time of year you want to travel; rather than what rides would be available at Disney. You really don't know for sure until closer to the time and by that stage, you may have missed out on a great flight deal. You'll still have a great time even if 2 or 3 of your favourite rides are down.

 

[CJ2001]

Hi there

We went from 24th May -31st may 2012 & the weather was perfect not too hot & not too cold.

Just don't go to any parks on Memorial Day weekend it is nuts think we spent 14 hours at the park & only got on 5 or 6 rides that day!

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Hi everyone!

This Is the first time I have posted on this forum but have been lurking quite a while. I am planning a trip to Disneyland for my family of 6 and I don't know where to start!? Would you all be able to answer some questions for me?

Can I purchase airline tickets without having any passports yet?

When do I buy travel insurance? Once all the plans/accomm are finalised or at the beginning of the planning and then added the finer details?

Is the end of May a nice time of year to go? Weather wise as well as the number of ride closures

Thanks for your help! Will have more questions I'm sure

Welcome to the boards are you planning on going anywhere else or just Disneyland I find America so much easier to travel in with a family of 6 than Australia.

Travel insurance is something I'm quite bad with and I usually get it the week before we go but ideally you should get it as soon as you buy your tickets which I have this time although we are now using the one that comes with our CC as it is the same company and policy.
I like Ouch through Qantas you get FF points and they were really good when we had a claim.

Happy planning it does become quite addictive

 

[azza29]

Hi everyone!

This Is the first time I have posted on this forum but have been lurking quite a while. I am planning a trip to Disneyland for my family of 6 and I don't know where to start!? Would you all be able to answer some questions for me?

Can I purchase airline tickets without having any passports yet?

When do I buy travel insurance? Once all the plans/accomm are finalised or at the beginning of the planning and then added the finer details?

Is the end of May a nice time of year to go? Weather wise as well as the number of ride closures

Thanks for your help! Will have more questions I'm sure

1. Absolutely. The airlines will need passport details to be provided at least 3 days prior to your flight, but you don't need them to make the booking.

2. As others have mentioned, as soon as you start to spend large amounts of money on your trip you'll want it insured. Shop around, check if your car/health/home insurer offers discounted travel insurance for existing customers.

3. End of May is a great time of year. Not too hot and schools are still in. Memorial Day weekend (May 24-26 next year) is usually very busy, so if possible you might want to schedule park visits around that. As for ride closures, Disney almost always have one major ride under refurbishment at any given time (at the moment it's Big Thunder), but that time of year is pretty good for having almost everything open.

Hope this helps!

 

[zanzibar138]

Ride closures.....you're in the lap of Disney there. Generally, they do tend to schedule their refurbs/maintenance in January. But that doesn't mean that Disney won't schedule something in May either.

For what it's worth - I would plan the trip based on the time of year you want to travel; rather than what rides would be available at Disney. You really don't know for sure until closer to the time and by that stage, you may have missed out on a great flight deal. You'll still have a great time even if 2 or 3 of your favourite rides are down.

I forgot to respond about the ride closures.

DH and I went to Disneyland right in the middle of their expansion. Carsland was not open yet, and many rides and attractions across both parks were being refurbed. The whole of Critter Country was closed, and there were no parades.

And you know what? We didn't even miss them! (Well, maybe drooling a little as we passed the soon-to-be-opened Journey of the Little Mermaid...). We were there for a week, and even with all the closures, were never left wondering what to do next. It was just as magical as ever

So long story short, just choose the best time for you, enjoy whatever is on offer, and don't worry about what you think you might be 'missing out' on.

 

[aussie shaz]

We were there May 18 - June 1 this year. The weather was beautiful. Short sleeves every day. I did wear a light cardigan some nights, but not all. The kids swam in the pool most days.

The only thing about May is the Grad nights. We had a 10 day pass, so it didn't matter too much that it was busy, it was more putting up with the bratty high school seniors. Even worse were the high school juniors who wandered around in packs. They must have been having their end of year days out at the same time.

A few times my kids (10 and 12) were a little nervous of the packs of high school kids that would come up in groups behind us and just barge through, or walk straight at you in big groups and not move out of the way. We also had some hollering on some rides, and missed out on our space mountain photo because of a rude gesture from one of the kids in our car.

I wouldn't say not to go at this time (everything else was perfect) but I'd definitely plan my days around Grad nights.

We were there the week before Memorial Day weekend and the week after. The good thing about the week after is the longer hours. We would prefer higher crowds and longer hours than low crowds and short hours. Use Ridemax and the crowds won't bother you at all. It adds to the atmosphere!

Otherwise, whenever you go, you'll have a ball!

 

[mum2fourkids]

Thank you all for your help! Have no definite plans yet but the end of May works out the best for hubby and I due to our work commitments. So excited to finally start planning our trip