Labour Day weekend trip... and some questions

lilsonicfan

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 20, 2003
Hi all! I'm new to the DLR forum, spending most of my time these days in the DCL forum instead. I am planning a trip for around Labour Day weekend this year. We did a couple of days at DLR in May 2017 but really without any sort of pre-planning. We also spent 5 days at WDW in Nov 2017. I've browsed around a little here and am already overwhelmed! So I'm wondering whether it's going to be so insanely crowded that weekend/days before/days after. I guess it's hard to say with SWGE opening...

Some stream of consciousness questions:

1. Will I regret the Desert Inn and Suites? Reviews seem on the "okay to meh" side. Proximity is majorly important for me; we have done the Hojo and Park Vue Inn but both are twice as expensive for this trip for our family of 5. As is the Candy Cane Inn and the BW Park Plus.

2. Flying: it's a tad cheaper to LAX but I feel like SNA is worth a bit more money to avoid the chaos that is LAX....?

3. Number of days. Current plan would give us 4 full days in Anaheim, but thinking of only doing a 3 day park hopper pass - will I regret not adding that 4th day.... I could potentially extend the trip by a day. I am the Disney lover in the family, but my kids (6, 7, and 10) love rides, that being said, this would be our first stroller-free trip and I'm not sure they can do the all day touring, which is partly why the proximity is really important to the hotel.

I'm sure I'll have more questions at some point! Thanks all!
 
1. Will I regret the Desert Inn and Suites? Reviews seem on the "okay to meh" side. Proximity is majorly important for me; we have done the Hojo and Park Vue Inn but both are twice as expensive for this trip for our family of 5. As is the Candy Cane Inn and the BW Park Plus.
Hard to say. CCI and BWPPI are my "go to" places for off-site. I have had good experiences and do not care to chance it on other options at this point.

2. Flying: it's a tad cheaper to LAX but I feel like SNA is worth a bit more money to avoid the chaos that is LAX....?
With a family of 5, it depends on what you mean by "tad". In general I will pay more for SNA and that is worth it. But when the group/family size gets bigger then it depends. I usually think in terms of a $200 difference, and convenience of flight times.

I was just at LAX on Sunday to fly home from a SoCal trip (no DLR this time). I just do not like that airport. But it was a close to where my son lives and gave me a direct flight home. The other SoCal airports do not give direct. So I braved LAX and it worked out fine.

3. Number of days. Current plan would give us 4 full days in Anaheim, but thinking of only doing a 3 day park hopper pass - will I regret not adding that 4th day.... I could potentially extend the trip by a day. I am the Disney lover in the family, but my kids (6, 7, and 10) love rides, that being said, this would be our first stroller-free trip and I'm not sure they can do the all day touring, which is partly why the proximity is really important to the hotel.
Hard to say. If you are literally on Labor Day weekend (Sat-Mon) then I would think a 4th day would be worth it. But if you are there the Tuesday after then that is when things usually really quiet down and the 4th day may not be that valuable.

:wizard:
 
Thanks very much @HydroGuy (and also for your helpful Maxpass thread, great read!)
Tentative plan is arrival Friday, departure Wed morning, but probably no parks on either Friday or Wednesday.

The difference between LAX and SNA is about $150-200 for all five of us. I hated arriving at LAX in 2017, it was a total gong show even though we arrived close to midnight. Both have non-stop flights which is great but the flight to SNA is only once a day.
 
Will I regret the Desert Inn and Suites? Reviews seem on the "okay to meh" side. Proximity is majorly important for me; we have done the Hojo and Park Vue Inn but both are twice as expensive for this trip for our family of 5. As is the Candy Cane Inn and the BW Park Plus.
Having done HoJo once and DI&S twice, I know what you mean. I kind of doubt you'll regret it, though, as long as you don't mind that it's not fancy. If what you need is a place to sleep and shower, it's fine. It's reasonably clean, and it feels nice and safe. What keeps me booking there, like you, is how unbelievably close it is, and how much cheaper it is, booked far enough in advance. Even though I didn't like the shower's low water pressure, and we couldn't eat much at the continental breakfast (because we're gluten free), I love, love, love how close it is.

That said, I booked it for our family trip in September. Then after DH's bonus came through and I got a raise, and we have a little extra lying around, I backpedaled and booked the Disneyland Hotel, which I swore I'd never do. But it's our first big family trip since our first one in 2008! Last time DD23 was there was 11 years ago, when she and I did a mommy/daughter trip! Now her DH of 2 years is coming!... so, splurge. I regret nothing. :laughing: I suppose I ought to really commit and let that DI&S reservation go, so some other nice family can get the B2 Family suite.

2. Flying: it's a tad cheaper to LAX but I feel like SNA is worth a bit more money to avoid the chaos that is LAX....?
I'm with you, questioning on this one. I've always flown into SNA. However on this next trip we were saving around $80-100 apiece doing LAX. So LAX it is, this time. We're going to Uber to the parks. The one good thing for us is that we are from the Seattle area, and the airport is on the opposite side of the city from us. But they just opened up the small regional airport, Paine Field, to some Alaska Airlines flights into SNA and LAX-- and it's less than 6 miles from us. So that kind of compensates for the SNA thing.

Re: the number of days... I think I'd go for the 4-day, but like you said, that would be with taking good long midday breaks. Another option, you can go for your three days, then add on one more day during your last day, if you feel like you need it.

Sounds like a great trip in the making!
 


Thank you @avalon451 ! I priced out the Desert Inn and a "A Parlor Suite" is what I'm looking at for $120/night.... seems hard to beat. I'll have to keep an eye on pricing. We are already doing a big DCL trip this year so I really was hoping this one would be a cheap little weekend trip but I have to say that being on the DIS makes me want more and more out of this "little" trip :D

I would love to stay on property one day, the Grand Californian started at $650/night for the dates I'm looking at, that seems .... steep!
 
Thanks very much @HydroGuy (and also for your helpful Maxpass thread, great read!)
Tentative plan is arrival Friday, departure Wed morning, but probably no parks on either Friday or Wednesday.

The difference between LAX and SNA is about $150-200 for all five of us. I hated arriving at LAX in 2017, it was a total gong show even though we arrived close to midnight. Both have non-stop flights which is great but the flight to SNA is only once a day.
Wow, I would totally head back to DLR on Tuesday after Labor Day. If any day is going to be a slow day, that is it. That is usually the day when rides go down for refurb or for Halloween prep (SMGG) so make sure you pay attention to that.

:wizard:
 
Thank you @avalon451 ! I priced out the Desert Inn and a "A Parlor Suite" is what I'm looking at for $120/night.... seems hard to beat. I'll have to keep an eye on pricing. We are already doing a big DCL trip this year so I really was hoping this one would be a cheap little weekend trip but I have to say that being on the DIS makes me want more and more out of this "little" trip :D

I would love to stay on property one day, the Grand Californian started at $650/night for the dates I'm looking at, that seems .... steep!

Oooh, I forgot-- call the front desk and ask very sweetly if you can put in a request. Ask for top floor, as far forward as possible. I had one of the parlor suites and asked for that, and it was so nice--- window overlooking the crosswalk, right near the steps (not the elevator, but hey) and close to the front. Also, if you have top floor, you are not listening to the tiny excited feet of the kids in the room above you bumping around at all hours! :)

That is an incredible price for a Parlor Suite! Usually they're at least 140.

And I know what you mean. It keeps snowballing. At this rate I'll have blown the budget meant for Christmas gifts. Not really, but...
 


I switch between SNA and LAX quite frequently. The times mean a lot to us. Also, when they had the runDisney races, having a direct flight was important. One thing to consider is ground transportation. So when doing your calculating, factor in ground transportation for both airports. I have found that it usually is within $50 of each other.
 
Thank you @2tinkerbell! At this point we will likely rent a car; I usually find it's not a ton more to rent a car than to arrange transportation for 5 of us plus I often like to hit up outlets etc for shopping.
 
Thank you @2tinkerbell! At this point we will likely rent a car; I usually find it's not a ton more to rent a car than to arrange transportation for 5 of us plus I often like to hit up outlets etc for shopping.
As I was reminded on Sunday, the time involved in returning/pickup up a car to LAX is substantial. It depends which terminal you are at of course.

SNA, on the other hand, is a dream for car rental. The cars are in the parking structure at the airport - right across from the terminal.

:wizard:
 
1. Will I regret the Desert Inn and Suites? Reviews seem on the "okay to meh" side. Proximity is majorly important for me; we have done the Hojo and Park Vue Inn but both are twice as expensive for this trip for our family of 5. As is the Candy Cane Inn and the BW Park Plus.

If proximity is your main concern, Desert Inn is the way to go. I have stayed here a few times and I thought it was great for location. It's not updated but it's also clean. So for me, as long as it's clean, you can't beat the price/location. However, my BF is kind of a hotel snob so we are staying at Grand Legacy this next trip. Slightly further walk but more up to his standards :rolleyes2

2. Flying: it's a tad cheaper to LAX but I feel like SNA is worth a bit more money to avoid the chaos that is LAX....?

The last 2 trips I've flown into LAX and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I don't like that airport but it isn't the hell that everyone makes it out to be. This could be skewed by our flight times though: I've generally flown in EARLY (like ~7-8 am) and headed straight to Disney then flown out early enough that we were needed to leave our hotel around 7-8 am to make our flight. This time around we are flying through SNA but the price was comparable.

3. Number of days. Current plan would give us 4 full days in Anaheim, but thinking of only doing a 3 day park hopper pass - will I regret not adding that 4th day.... I could potentially extend the trip by a day. I am the Disney lover in the family, but my kids (6, 7, and 10) love rides, that being said, this would be our first stroller-free trip and I'm not sure they can do the all day touring, which is partly why the proximity is really important to the hotel.

I've never gone to DL longer than 2-3 days (this includes Christmas time when there was wall-to-wall crowds). Every time we've been able to ride our favorites multiple times and still take naps. I think the biggest thing is to have a game plan and arrive at rope drop. You can knock the big things out by noon and then go take a nap for a few hours. I'm curious to see how MaxPass will affect our touring strategy (for the price, I'm hoping it enhances it!) because we have always had success with the way we do things.
 
I personally would choose to fly into SNA or Long Beach before LAX, if I had a choice. SNA is much smaller, so it's faster to get anywhere and generally easier to deal with everything. LAX is a big airport and can be pretty time consuming to just get around the airport.

In terms of car rental, don't forget to factor in any parking fees that DI&S might charge (I don't know if they do, but a lot of the motels in the area do).

I also think that it's hard to say what the crowds will be like at the end of summer this year because of SW:GE. The SoCal Select AP summer blockout in DL ends on labor day (9/2), so Tuesday, the 3rd is the first day they can get into DL since June 6). I don't know if that means they'll be a rush or not (given that it is a Tuesday and people have to work/go to school/etc.). Still, I wouldn't expect the crowds to drop down as much as they normally have in the past.
 
1. Will I regret the Desert Inn and Suites? Reviews seem on the "okay to meh" side. Proximity is majorly important for me; we have done the Hojo and Park Vue Inn but both are twice as expensive for this trip for our family of 5. As is the Candy Cane Inn and the BW Park Plus.

Plenty of good advise already here but I would agree that overall Desert Inn is Meh, but when you combine it with the location, it becomes a lot more appealing...we stayed there last May and it was so handy to be able to pop back to the room (we were napping toddlers) and had the suite that had 3 rooms, so it was so nice to be able to put a toddler down in each big room and then have the middle room still..we had a couple of negative things occur, which are 1 offs, but it's hard to beat the price. Would I stay there again...if I needed the big room yes, but otherwise I'd prob check out the price differences between some of the other close hotels.

2. Flying: it's a tad cheaper to LAX but I feel like SNA is worth a bit more money to avoid the chaos that is LAX....?

Not sure what a tad is, but I'd do it if the cost was minor..getting car rentals at LAX is a pain.

3. Number of days. Current plan would give us 4 full days in Anaheim, but thinking of only doing a 3 day park hopper pass - will I regret not adding that 4th day.... I could potentially extend the trip by a day. I am the Disney lover in the family, but my kids (6, 7, and 10) love rides, that being said, this would be our first stroller-free trip and I'm not sure they can do the all day touring, which is partly why the proximity is really important to the hotel.

Our last trip we did 5 day hoppers and we still had lots more we could do, I'm always in the "more days always" boat, especially with the craziness if SWGE coming
 
As far as the Desert Inn and Suites (DI&S), I used to be one of loudest detractors. We had a couple issues about 5 years ago, and wasn't willing to risk it again.

Well, price and proximity won out and I decided to give them another try for my trip last month. I won't say I was "impressed" but I didn't have as many issues this time!

Their website said they recently updated. My room didn't appear updated, but it wasn't bad. Bed wasn't very comfy, but there was like 8 pillows so I could make a bit of a pillow nest to be a little softer. I was in the very, very end of the property, facing the courtyard (really, a few big-leafed trees, but more than most places). Linen was clean and soft. Towels were small and not soft. I've been told the parlor rooms are better than the 2Q rooms (I was in a 2Q room).

For flying, I saw you note that it's a $150-200 difference to fly into LAX, and that you will be renting a car. I hate LAX, but I've only flown in 2 times, and out 2 times. Very meh. Had a ridiculous wait for TSA lines once (over an hour in line), and that kind of soured me. So, I suppose I would consider that $200--is it going to make the budget more comfortable? Would possible traffic jams going to start or end your trip on a sour note?
 
Thank you all for the advice and thoughts. I've reserved at the DI&S with the thought that it simply isn't worth double the price to go with Park Vue or BWPPPI since I'm trying to make this a 'cheap' trip, ha. I do think I'll probably end up paying the extra $200 to fly into SNA, I will keep an eye on flight prices, but I really disliked LAX and the traffic last time, admittedly that was 2 years ago. TSA lines not so much an issue as we have Nexus / TSA pre-check. Now I just need to decide on the exact dates! Thanks all :)
 

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