Disneyland in October - questions and tips

[Glen_J]

Hi Everyone

I'm planning to take the family to Disneyland in early October for 6 days and 7 nights.

I have two young boys Liam and Ryan who will be aged 10 and 6 years old and my daughter Nyah will 4 and a half years old.

I definately want to do the "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour and the "Welcome to Disneyland Tour and the "Discover the Magic" tour.

Some questions I had were:

Are these tours good/worth doing?
Is the park very busy in early October?
Would you recommend a predominently mid week stay?
What sort of weather is likely at this time?
Any shows or restaurants you suggest as must visits?

This will be our first visit and our first family holiday in about 6 years so I want to make the most of it?

Any feedback will be very much appreciated.

Glen J

[Loomis]

I was there early and late September, and if October is anything like it, you'll find two things:

1) the park is relatively quiet. Certainly not "dead", but we had very little wait, especially mid-week. Saturday (which was our third day in the park) was chockers, but I imagine most weeks are like that. School had just gone back the week I arrived though...

2) the park was full of Aussies. I think we tend to travel in September/October.

My understanding is that later October sees the Halloween celebrations kicking in, and you might run into the odd crowd there.

Weather in late September was perfect. Not a cloud in the sky, except on the last day we were there (when it was cats and dogs). That was ok, we were flying out

Shows
The only show I took in that I can heartily recommend is Aladdin over in California Adventure. It tends to show three times a day, and I recommend getting there at least 1/2 hour early for a session, unless you have priority seating. It runs about 40 minutes, and is a huge spectacle featuring all the big hits from the film. I was very impressed for something that is run thrice daily.

Naturally, the Parades are always good (ours was Parade of Dreams, for the 50th), and Fantasmic is a must-see (show on the Rivers of America by night, which was followed by fireworks in our case).

Restuarants I went to in Downtown Disney included:
- Naples(Italian)
- Rainforest Cafe (mixed American cuisine)
- Tortilla Joe's (Mexican)

All had excellent service and food. The kids will love Rainforest as it features an indoor "thunderstorm" every 15 minutes or so. Tortilla Joe's has a mariachi band that goes from table to table. The desserts in Naples are excellent - big shout out to the brownie sundae.

Generally speaking, I'd say you are on the right track by planning early. I really found that going in with a plan allowed us to see absolutely everything.

As I said, mid-week seems to be best. If you haven't picked a hotel yet, and are not wanting to stay in the park, can I suggest Howard Johnson across the road (great for families, on the cheaper side, and is literally 2 minutes walk from the gate). We also stayed at the Radisson Maingate, which ironically is a little further from the gate (about 10 minutes walk), but also quality. Of course, if you have the money, the three hotels in the park look magnificent. We wandered through the Grand Californian lobby and went all wobbly at the knees.

Hope some of that helps.

[memnv]

So Glen_J how was your trip. We go in 10 days Nov 23. 24th is first day at the park we are staying a bout a block from the park at the Comfort Inn Main Gate. I have 2 young kids like you a 4 year old and a 15 month old.
We are doing Goofys kitchen for our Thanksgiving meal.