Are you going to DLR this summer or skipping it due to SWGE crowds? I can't decide!

[agamble]

We finished a year of Disney last June. We told the kids we won't be going back until our youngest is 4. She turns 4 in October so they think we should go then. Ha! At the moment I'm excited for all of the new stuff coming, including Marvel the next year, but we haven't made any plans to return yet.

 

[dotfurio]

We went last fall to avoid it, and probably won't go again til sometime after next Christmas.

 

[Disney Frenhines]

Avoiding. Going to Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo instead.

I'm planning that trip next year, can you let me know about transportation from Shanghai airport to Disneyland Shanghai. As a solo traveller, that is my one concern. TIA

 

[Disney127]

I'm planning that trip next year, can you let me know about transportation from Shanghai airport to Disneyland Shanghai. As a solo traveller, that is my one concern. TIA

We used Mr Orange Transfers in Shanghai - visited all 3 Asian parks last summer

We are going to DL next month and probably won't be back until maybe 2021. Maybe by then, SWGE will be more manageble. Planning on visiting Disneyland Paris next year instead.

 

[smga1]

We are going to DL for the first time in August. We plan on hitting DL and DCA for 3 days then work our way north.

 

[BecAus]

I'm planning that trip next year, can you let me know about transportation from Shanghai airport to Disneyland Shanghai. As a solo traveller, that is my one concern. TIA

My 12yr old son and I went to SHDL last March. We caught a taxi from airport to DL and back. It was very easy-followed signs to taxi outside. I did print out the name & address of our hotel (stayed onsite at Toy Story Hotel) in Chinese - just did it on their website, changed format from English to Chinese and printed out hotel details from there.
From memory it was about 100RMB each way. It was all very easy.
I've just booked flights to Japan this December and in comparison I am finding all the info and planning for that overwhelming - I found planning our weekend in Shanghai so much easier. I've just discovered there is a place on DIS that I can go for info on TKDL so I'm going to have to go ask some questions over there - my head is spinning from so much info.

To bring this back to the original thread........
We are going to Disneyland this summer. I hadn't intended to go back till after the mayhem had died down BUT ..... my husband and I are going to Canada / Alaska for our 25th Wedding Anniversary in July (coming from Australia) so I couldn't be that close and not go : ) We will be in Anaheim from July 8th to 11th before flying up to Seattle.
We are staying onsite at GCH for the first time (rented points through DVC) and I bought my tickets from D/L with MP already included.
We will just play it by ear and go with the flow. Hopefully SW:GE will have been open a week or two and we can get a feel for how it is going. If we can get in the new land without hours of waiting then we will but otherwise we will just do the other areas and things like: WOC DP, Fantasmic pkg at BB etc..
I actually have no interest in Star Wars, not my thing at all and not particularly my husband's either I don't think, so if we don't see it we won't be upset by it.

 

[cdatkins]

we are going because of SWGE opening! Staying at the GCH. We will actually be there for 10 days. Dedicating 2 entire days to SWGE. I am hoping staying at the GCH will give us an advantage over locals who are just coming for the day - since they have to park, walk, etc.

What time does everyone think people will start lining up outside the main gates after GE opens?

 

[HydroGuy]

we are going because of SWGE opening! Staying at the GCH. We will actually be there for 10 days. Dedicating 2 entire days to SWGE. I am hoping staying at the GCH will give us an advantage over locals who are just coming for the day - since they have to park, walk, etc.

What time does everyone think people will start lining up outside the main gates after GE opens?

For opening day? The line will start the night before. Maybe the morning before.

Once things are past the initial shock (2 days?, 5 days?, 10 days?) then my guess is 90 minutes each day. The locals will have a hard time getting there early because of the parking garage and when it opens. I suppose Disney may change policy and open the garage earlier each day for awhile, but that will keep the morning crowds from getting super out-of-hand after the initial shock. If I were you I would plan my "2 entire days at SWGE" for EMH days. That will let you bypass all the local day trippers and get into DL before them. And for that I suspect arriving 45 minutes before EMH starts will be fine - so we are talking 6:15AM.

 

[cdatkins]

For opening day? The line will start the night before. Maybe the morning before.

Once things are past the initial shock (2 days?, 5 days?, 10 days?) then my guess is 90 minutes each day. The locals will have a hard time getting there early because of the parking garage and when it opens. I suppose Disney may change policy and open the garage earlier each day for awhile, but that will keep the morning crowds from getting super out-of-hand after the initial shock. If I was you I would plan my "2 entire days at SWGE" for EMH days. That will let you bypass all the local day trippers and get into DL before them. And for that I suspect arriving 45 minutes before EMH starts will be fine - so we are talking 6:15AM.

HydroGuy - we are east coasters, so that is more than doable! In fact, especially early in our Disneyland trips, we feast on the locals in the morning!

 

[teamtreto]

Anyone think SWGE crowds might not be AS bad due to price hikes? I’m taking a mid July trip because I’m a teacher, and I have young kids, so we are limited in travel window. Plus, we want to not be there when SWGE opens, so we opted out of June, hoping July would be better. I was there for the Diamond celebration and that was nutty, but tolerable. Will this be crazier than Diamond???
I don’t like Star Wars, either. Don’t get the hype. But that is a separate discussion...,

 

[HydroGuy]

Anyone think SWGE crowds might not be AS bad due to price hikes? I’m taking a mid July trip because I’m a teacher, and I have young kids, so we are limited in travel window. Plus, we want to not be there when SWGE opens, so we opted out of June, hoping July would be better. I was there for the Diamond celebration and that was nutty, but tolerable. Will this be crazier than Diamond???
I don’t like Star Wars, either. Don’t get the hype. But that is a separate discussion...,

You are talking about people who pay $2,500 to be "Sorcerers" at the D23 Expo. No, the price hikes will have no impact. This is epic. Maybe the most epic thing at DLR since it first opened. It brings not only Disney fans (who are crazy fanatics) but Star Wars fans (also crazy fanatics). And then there are people like me who are Disney AND Star Wars fans (who are just plain beyond rational discussion).

Sorry, did I say NO?

 

[cdatkins]

You are talking about people who pay $2,500 to be "Sorcerers" at the D23 Expo. No, the price hikes will have no impact. This is epic. Maybe the most epic thing at DLR since it first opened. It brings not only Disney fans (who are crazy fanatics) but Star Wars fans (also crazy fanatics). And then there are people like me who are Disney AND Star Wars fans (who are just plain beyond rational discussion).

Sorry, did I say NO?

Uh, to back that up - we are east coasters coming to DL this summer solely because its SWGE opens first.

 

[teamtreto]

Interesting. Thanks for the feedback. From cruising around on these boards, which I've done (I rarely post) for some time, I do notice a theme of people trying to get their trip in early to avoid this opening, and people on the board avoiding this in anticipation of the crowds. I went to DLR during the 1984 Olympics, and many thought park would be slammed, and it was dead. I do understand this is not the same scenario at all, but I do wonder if the crowds won't be as massive as folks are thinking...
I also look forward to the trip reports from folks who go in June, just for some tips on how to navigate through the madness.

 

[kristenabelle]

I've been going to the D23 Expo since 2013, so I combine it with a Disneyland trip. I feel your hesitation, but I'm mostly excited. Definitely watching disboards like a hawk for any tips, booking TL reservations or upgrades (Fantasmic, etc.), and getting Maxpass.

I'm also used to waiting in huge, hours-long lines because of D23 Expo, so if that's what it comes to at Disneyland I'm woefully prepared

 

[theluckyrabbit]

...I'm also used to waiting in huge, hours-long lines because of D23 Expo, so if that's what it comes to at Disneyland I'm woefully prepared

Ain't it the truth?! Hey, any line that doesn't make me spend the night in a freezing concrete bunker can't be that bad, right?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Interesting. Thanks for the feedback. From cruising around on these boards, which I've done (I rarely post) for some time, I do notice a theme of people trying to get their trip in early to avoid this opening, and people on the board avoiding this in anticipation of the crowds...

That theme is definitely going on this forum. But don't forget all the Disney fans and SW fanatics who don't even know this board exists (and there are a surprising number of them!). We can't know how many of them are planning trips this summer, just to see SWGE.

 

[tzeitel]

We usually go in May and Oct. This year we are doing a cruise this April, not sure what we will do (if anything) in Oct but it will not be DLR. We are skipping 2019/2020 - thinking Hawaii next year...but DD has been hinting at WDW for a few weeks now

Our APs are good until May and it is really driving me crazy not planning a trip before then, but we can't get enough time off work for DLR and a cruise.

 

[GatorChris]

We're not going this year...as planned. It'll be the first year since 2009 that we won't visit WDW/DL. Kinda sad. But it's combination of a lot of things. First, I used to home school and now I don't. So going to DL during Spring Break and Summer are my options, and those aren't good options. Second, as much as I NEED to see Star Wars Land, DL is already stupid crowded. I'll just end up hating the trip from the Summer/SWL crowds. Third, tickets have gone up so much, as have many of the Good Neighbor hotel options I usually choose. The trip will cost far more, but will I get ROI???

This year, we're gonna do some other stuff. Taking the kids to DC for Spring Break. And then to Universal in June because the kids love Harry Potter. It does seem strange that my kids have "grown out" of the Mickey and friends phase. Sad, really. But life goes on...and I'll be back to Disney soon enough. Just not 2019.

 

[maltdizzy]

We got in a DLR trip in last Summer specifically to get in ahead of the hustle and bustle of SWGE. Our intention was to hit WDW this summer for the same reason, but I doubt our schedules will allow for that trip.

Don't get me wrong, we are excited for SWGE, but appreciate the pre-SWGE crowds while we can.

 

[Bluewild79]

We're cautiously optimistic about summer crowd levels and are tentatively planning a trip for the 2nd week in August. I am a Star Wars fan as are my big kids. But mostly we just want to go again. The bonus is that my youngest is still free, my second oldest is still priced as a child and my oldest wants to do BBB one more time before she is too old. We've got 4 kiddos so these trips are pricey! This will be our 3rd trip in 3 years although we said we wouldn't go more often than every other year at most. Ha! We've all been bitten by the Disney bug especially the little guy who asks daily to "I go see Mickey, peese?" If we don't follow through with this trip, I don't know when we'll go again. I would like to tackle WDW in 2021 or 2022 when my youngest is a bit older.