Moving a DLR Trip to Walt Disney World- Let’s Talk!

[TikiTikiFan]

Is anyone changing their plans with the potential DL hope on the horizon?

I'm wary about jumping back on the CA-covid- rollercoaster again so I think I'm sticking with my summer WDW plan. I have my appointment for the vaccine tomorrow (yay!!) so at least I'm lucky to not have to worry about that now.

But ugh, my heart longs for Disneyland. I miss it so much. I live in CO though so who knows when us out of state folks will be welcome... Maybe a xmas trip would make more sense..

 

[shosh1530]

I'm not certain if we'll try to change our plans back to DL. I had finally just made a reservation for WDW for the week of Memorial Day and now I'm wondering if I should cancel. I'd be way more comfortable driving to DL rather than flying to WDW, if we could get tickets as out of state visitors sometime this summer.

But who knows when anyone will know when that might happen.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Is anyone changing their plans with the potential DL hope on the horizon?

I am leaning more towards just going to WDW at this point. When the A Taste of Disney sold out before I even had a chance to look at tickets and I read here that many people were online for several hours to buy tickets, I knew that going to DL won't be anytime soon for me.

 

[Cal-Pie]

I'm wary about jumping back on the CA-covid- rollercoaster again

This. DL has my heart, but it will be a while before my head lets my heart spend my tourism dollar in California. Sticking to my May plans at WDW.

 

[crystal1313]

We have pretty much decided to go to WDW no matter what. We too are worried about making park reservations for DL. We have DL tickets already, but not sure how any of that will work. Of course we totally want to go to DL so bad! But we would want more days than the tickets we have from last year. Last year was supposed to be a quick trip to experience ROTR. We are thinking if we can actually get a reservation, we would just take a long weekend to go. It’s hard though since WDW is so much more money for us. But we have already bought our plane tickets!

I’m most concerned about planning a DL trip and then having something happen where the parks close again. Not sure what will be in all the new guidelines if for some reason OC went back into purple (hopefully that won’t ever happen).

We really need something to look forward too and right now, that is WDW. My kids are so excited to snack our way through the parks and my youngest cannot wait to see the inside of spaceship earth. Lol (we skipped Epcot our first trip)

 

[TikiTikiFan]

And it does seem from what was released that if they go backwards in tiers they'd have to adjust/close accordingly. I'm also not optimistic about the out of state guideline being lifted soon. But at this point, anything DL related I'm not optimistic on when it comes to the governor.

I added Blizzard Beach AND Universal Orlando to our trip we go so if I tried to switch anyways my son would freak- those were his top choices this time around. We're staying at Pop this time and I paid for the preferred pool view so I'm really looking forward to the convenience of being poolside in the summer weather!

As for Disneyland, I've got my fingers crossed for Christmas.

 

[VandVsmama]

Curious to know if any of you who rescheduled your DLR trips to WDW had any regrets?

We were supposed to go to Disneyland staying at the Grand Californian on March 15, 2020. It was so heartbreaking to get cancelled for both me and my 9-year-old son who'd I'd been prepping for the trip for 6 full months (he has a cognitive disability, so needs to know everything about what to expect). We live in Arizona, so DL is a fairly easy drive for us.

But the waiting for news of reopening is driving me crazy. Both me and my DH have now had our second dose of COVID vaccines, so we are more willing to entertain the idea of a Florida trip. But of course, the little one won't be vaccinated and there is so much more to think through logistically.

If I knew for sure that DL would open this summer, I would wait to do WDW in 2022 (even 2023). If we go in 2021, we'd be looking at May 30-Jun 5 (as soon as school lets out for us, but ugh worried about the heat) or possibly Thanksgiving week or the week leading into Christmas (worried about crowds, but would love to see all the holiday decorations).

My son's main priorities will be doing Galaxy's Edge and trying out some different rides (he'll likely have a DAS). I don't think he'll miss character greetings or parades much as he doesn't have the ability to wait long for those things. We normally don't do table service dining either. If we do the summer we'd probably add a water park day or stay at either BC/YC to take advantage of SAB.

Any thoughts from the DL crowd?

We did this. I have no regrets. DH & I went to WDW the 3rd week of January for 6 days. It was pretty darn great. Star Wars Galaxy's Edge was amazing.

Even with none of the following, we had a wonderful time:
- no FP
- no fireworks
- no parades
- no shows
- no character meet & greets
- hardly any character meals (we didn't go to any, but the ones they do have are NOT like the typical character meal experience)
- reduced park hours (there's no 8 am - 11 pm like they had all the time at DL pre-COVID)
- only able to park hop after 2 pm and you MUST go to your park pass/reservation park FIRST.
- have to use Mobile Order to order QS food almost everywhere.

We are going again 6/1-6/7 after a cross-country road trip with our 2 kids. Yes, it's going to be hot as heck. Yes, we'll have to wear masks in the Florida sweaty humid heat. Yes, we'll have to take more breaks than we normally do on a DL day.

But none of that will matter because we'll be on vacation, we'll be at WDW, and a bad day at WDW is better than NOT going to a Disney park at all.

We have tickets that I purchased in January 2020 for DL which we haven't been able to use yet. We don't live in CA, so we won't even be able to go to DL right away when it first opens. I'm not worried about it. It was an emotional roller coaster for a lot of 2020 with the DL stuff...will they reopen soon? If so, when? I got so sick of it that I stopped following the CA news about it for a few months.

I'm thrilled that 10,000 DL CMs will be able to go back to work. I'm thrilled that DL is reopening. There are things about DL that I miss, which WDW doesn't have. But that's ok. It'll make me appreciate it all the more whenever we do go back to DL.

So for now, we're sticking with our June trip plans. I even bought 1-way plane tickets recently for our flight home at the end of that trip. We stayed at Pop Century in January and are staying at Pop Century for our June trip. Best wishes with whatever you decide to do!

 

[vacay77]

I’ve been thinking about switching, too. We have reservations at the Grand Californian through DVC for this May, but if DL is open to California residents only, then I don’t want to go and waste our points since we are from Arizona. I’m really thinking about switching to WDW for this fall especially since WDW will be celebrating its 50th anniversary and the Ratatouille ride will be opening in October. I love DL and it will always have my heart. But I just don’t know when it will open to non Californian residents and even so, how difficult it will be to get reservations even though my husband and our son have park tickets that we purchased pre-Covid. I had an annual pass so obviously no ticket for me.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

If anyone is holding off on buying their flights- I wouldn't wait! I just checked ours again (was waiting to purchase till it got closer) and the prices went up about $150! I think the airlines know that people are ready to travel this summer.

 

[KPeterso]

I just got back on Friday night from my trip to WDW. I had a wonderful time and no regrets going. I am back on the DL roller coaster as a local though. I have reservations at VGC in July for 4 nights, so I would like to get park reservations for those dates (but of course, I have no tickets due to APs being cancelled). We will be back at WDW in late September / early October for the 50th anniversary.

 

[mouschievous]

I just emailed the place we rented DVC points about rescheduling for 2022. If it's going to be too much (because have you looked at points rentals for VGC lately?! YIKES!) then we'll switch to WDW. Here's a question - when is the best time to go to WDW based on Florida weather?

 

[midnight star]

I just emailed the place we rented DVC points about rescheduling for 2022. If it's going to be too much (because have you looked at points rentals for VGC lately?! YIKES!) then we'll switch to WDW. Here's a question - when is the best time to go to WDW based on Florida weather?

I’ve been told January-June.

January can be cold that’s when I went.
June can be hot but isn’t as brutal as July and the rest of the summer months. Plus going into fall that’s when hurricanes are more active.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

I’ve been told January-June.

January can be cold that’s when I went.
June can be hot but isn’t as brutal as July and the rest of the summer months. Plus going into fall that’s when hurricanes are more active.

I think overall, folks say to avoid July-October because of the heat and hurricane season. We went in mid-November and had great weather- it only rained once in the evening when we weren't even in the parks and the temps were mild but still warm enough to swim. Maybe we just got lucky? But I'm definitely a fan of November now lol! Ask me again about June when we get back... I'm so nervous about the heat!

 

[pharmama]

I just emailed the place we rented DVC points about rescheduling for 2022. If it's going to be too much (because have you looked at points rentals for VGC lately?! YIKES!) then we'll switch to WDW. Here's a question - when is the best time to go to WDW based on Florida weather?

I've been to Orlando in late July/early August, mid-February and mid-December. Purely from a weather standpoint, I found December and February to be quite pleasant. It was cooler in the evening than I expected on the December visit but that just gave me an excuse to buy a cute scarf at the MVMCP I attended when I got cold
The humidity and heat in July/August was brutal. I will say that we are not "humidity tolerant" so others may find it less horrible if they are more accustomed to that type of climate.

I experienced at least some rain on all three visits but nothing horrible. I think you need to just expect there will be some amount of rain no matter when you go.

We've rescheduled our WDW trip to the week after Christmas even though I know the crowds will be horrendous because we just can't handle the summer in Orlando.

 

[mouschievous]

I’ve been told January-June.

January can be cold that’s when I went.
June can be hot but isn’t as brutal as July and the rest of the summer months. Plus going into fall that’s when hurricanes are more active.

I think overall, folks say to avoid July-October because of the heat and hurricane season. We went in mid-November and had great weather- it only rained once in the evening when we weren't even in the parks and the temps were mild but still warm enough to swim. Maybe we just got lucky? But I'm definitely a fan of November now lol! Ask me again about June when we get back... I'm so nervous about the heat!

I've been to Orlando in late July/early August, mid-February and mid-December. Purely from a weather standpoint, I found December and February to be quite pleasant. It was cooler in the evening than I expected on the December visit but that just gave me an excuse to buy a cute scarf at the MVMCP I attended when I got cold
The humidity and heat in July/August was brutal. I will say that we are not "humidity tolerant" so others may find it less horrible if they are more accustomed to that type of climate.

I experienced at least some rain on all three visits but nothing horrible. I think you need to just expect there will be some amount of rain no matter when you go.

We've rescheduled our WDW trip to the week after Christmas even though I know the crowds will be horrendous because we just can't handle the summer in Orlando.

I wish we could go in December. That's when our anniversary is, so it'd be a great anniversary trip, and it's when I have built in time off. Sadly, H has blackout dates at work then.

I honestly don't know what we're going to do. The rates at VGC are double what they were when we first booked. We have a credit with a DVC rental company, but now that credit won't cover our whole trip to DLR. If we go to WDW, it would cover it 100%, but then we have to find time to go to both because we still need to reschedule the DLR trip. Either that or convince my parents that they actually want to go to WDW.

 

[mouschievous]

Looks like we are officially moving our Sept 2020 DLR trip to an early 2022 WDW trip! I am excited and also scared to death about planning this trip.

 

[Cal-Pie]

My dining reservation window opened today, and I discovered the hype is real, lol. I'm staying off site, so can only reserve one day at a time. Woke up at 3:45 MDT to start refreshing, trying for Sci-fi. The only thing that was available in DHS right at 6am EST was Mama Melrose's. I took it, but I don't know if I'll keep it. Might end up being a counter service only trip, which is OK.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

My dining reservation window opened today, and I discovered the hype is real, lol. I'm staying off site, so can only reserve one day at a time. Woke up at 3:45 MDT to start refreshing, trying for Sci-fi. The only thing that was available in DHS right at 6am EST was Mama Melrose's. I took it, but I don't know if I'll keep it. Might end up being a counter service only trip, which is OK.

There's a few websites that notify you of cancelled reservations and I was able to get everything I wanted using them!

Touring Plans reservation finder, Mouse Dining and Mouse Watcher are what I used!

 

[vacay77]

I just emailed the place we rented DVC points about rescheduling for 2022. If it's going to be too much (because have you looked at points rentals for VGC lately?! YIKES!) then we'll switch to WDW. Here's a question - when is the best time to go to WDW based on Florida weather?

I liked the weather in November and February the best but I’ve heard it can be hit or miss.

 

[Cal-Pie]

There's a few websites that notify you of cancelled reservations and I was able to get everything I wanted using them!

Touring Plans reservation finder, Mouse Dining and Mouse Watcher are what I used!

I already put in a request with Touring Plans, I'll take a look at the others, thanks for the tip!