DLR, D23 Expo & USH 2013?
Greetings all,
Next year in August my friend and I are going to be making a trip to California to visit Disneyland and the D23 Expo 2013, with a pit-stop off at Universal Studios Hollywood to check out the new stuff there. However, I do have a few questions I'd like to toss out to you guys. Please make suggestions/money saving tips to the plans I am about to explain.
As soon as we get there, we're thinking of renting a car the first few nights. We would get off our flight, get our car and drive out to a hotel in the Universal City area, then take it back to the airport after we're finished visiting Universal. I am not sure if there would be a place to drop of a rental car near Universal, but even if there is, we would need a ride to the Disneyland area and we are not paying for a taxi, that's for sure. My friend will be 21 and I will only be 20. Is 21 a sufficient age to rent cars in California?
So, as far as Universal goes, how many days do you think we will need there to see everything? I am thinking one full day should be sufficient. I am also wondering what hotel would be the closest, nicest, but also as affordable as possible to Universal Hollywood. We were hoping we could park our car at the hotel and skip parking fees by just walking over.
After we visit Universal, we were thinking of taking a day in-between activity to hunt around for 2 lawn chairs at a WAL-MART or something to sit on in lines at the D23 Expo, especially since it requires lining up many, many hours in advance.
Then, as I mentioned above, we would probably drop off our rental car back to the Los Angeles International Airport and hop on the next available Disneyland Express bus to the Anaheim area. I've used this service before and for $30 round-trip, I find it to be wonderful. This day would probably end up being August 8th and we would be stopping at the Anaheim Convention Centre to get our tickets from the D23 roll-call.
A few questions about the D23 Expo itself. I see that the tickets are available now online and that the sorcerer package tickets are all sold out. I am a D23 member and will be purchasing 2 tickets at the early-bird discounted rate for both my friend and myself. My question comes in though after I purchase them, will both my friend and myself be admitted into panels and events at the expo with preferred member access? I attended the expo in 2011 and I remember them admitting sorcerer package members first, D23 Members second and then general guests last. Any tips, tricks or methods you guys could offer up on expo planning?
We will be staying at the Disneyland Hotel for the 5 days after the expo, while we visit the parks, which leads me to my next question... what hotel would you recommend staying at for the 2 nights for the 3 days we are attending the D23 Expo? We are looking for something close to the Anaheim Convention Centre, that is also reasonably priced and comfortable.
Next, I would like to try some new things as far as dining goes. I know I'd like to try the Fantasmic! Dessert Package while there... how much does it cost and how many days out can I book it? I have eaten at the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ, Blue Bayou, Cafe Orleans, Goofy's Kitchen, Goofy's Kitchen, Steakhouse 55 and a few other places so far, most of which I plan to re-visit. Is there any places you'd recommend eating at? Since we will be staying at the Disneyland Hotel, would it be wise to tack on a dining plan of some sort?
I was pricing out a 6 night stay at the Disneyland Hotel with a 5-day Park Hopper ticket and it was roughly $3,500 for the both of us. What is the best way to buy tickets and such? Is it best to buy a vacation package on www.disneyland.com or buy things separately? What are some of the perks of staying at the Disneyland Hotel? Anything we should check out there? I know they have an awesome new pool and Trader Sam's, so we plan to check those out for sure.
Finally, we may consider booking a tour or something if we have enough time. Anything you guys would recommend doing? I have only been on the Happiest Haunts Tour before and that was alright. Looking for something more behind-the-scenes-ish if any such thing exists in the California theme parks.
Thanks for any help you can bring forth! :mickey:
