Surviving Summer 2019 at Disneyland!

Didi8367

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 8, 2013
Per a suggestion on another post, this thread will be for those of us who actually ARE planning to brave the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opening crowds and visit DLR in summer, 2019. Here, we can post tips, ideas, plans, strategies, information, and just general support & preparation for enjoying our visit next summer.

My extended (14 of us in all.) family and I will be there from July 6-9--a short stop off before heading on to Maui for 8 days. We planned our vacay with no idea that we'd be (possibly? probably?) hitting the SWGE crowds head on while we are there. Of course, now that we know seeing it is a distinct possibility, my DH, DS, DB, & DNs x2, are VERY excited!

In any case, it is what it is, right? We've done WDW in the week btwn Christmas & NYD, so we an do this too, right? RIGHT?! ::yes::

Looking forward to hearing about everyone else's plans!
 
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I already have a hotel booked for July 12-19, 2019! I'm a little nervous because we're not using our VGC points (it's SO expensive!). Our original plan was June, but we decided to not chance a CRAZY opening weekend or missing the opening altogether. We will go back in Sept and Dec 2019 using our points when it's cheaper.

My head tells me we should wait longer because of the madhouse, but we LOVE star wars and have been counting this down for so long. We're just gonna go for it (that's my birthday week!) and hope for the best!

I'm trying to decide if I should buy our signature APs in advance to save money in anticipation of a price increase, or 5 day park hoppers so we get an early entry day (then upgrade at the end).
 
We are still debating dates, but are aiming somewhere between July 22-August 15. I'm going to be booking in the next week or so. We will absolutely be staying onsite for this one just in case the park starts reaching capacity and we want to make full use of early entry; even if it's just to use that hour to go wait to get into Galaxy's Edge. Our current thought is that if we go Tuesday-Saturday we will get all three magic mornings :) Of course we are planning on getting Max Pass.

We used Max Pass last February and it was an absolute game changer and really made doing Star Wars land right away very doable. Our general plan is to head directly for it, use max passes on the two rides, maybe check out the shops then get out of there. Then I'm hoping that reservations for dining show up as well.

I'm also debating on somebody getting an annual pass in our group. We used to just have one person get one for the discounts but the price went up so much that it wasn't worth it anymore. We might be getting a suite this time so that changes things a bit.
 
I am thinking that this Star Wars Land will be a big draw for Disneyland for at least 2 to 3 years especially with all the movies.
I would hope Star Wars Land would be open during Magic Morning but who knows.
 


We are still debating dates, but are aiming somewhere between July 22-August 15. I'm going to be booking in the next week or so. We will absolutely be staying onsite for this one just in case the park starts reaching capacity and we want to make full use of early entry; even if it's just to use that hour to go wait to get into Galaxy's Edge.

Good point. Maybe I'll book 1 night in a studio in the middle of our trip so we get 2 days. Do they have rules about letting onsite guests in even if they reach capacity?
 
Onsite resort hotel guests are usually allowed entrance over other guests if there are issues of crowding. I do know that the fire marshall has the ability to bar entrance if it is beyond capacity.
 
...Do they have rules about letting onsite guests in even if they reach capacity?

DLR has different levels of gate closures/capacity. The first level means that they stop selling 1 day 1 park tickets (usually to DL, but not usually DCA) at the booths. So if you already have a ticket in hand, this level would not affect you. The highest level of closure means no one enters until enough guests leave said park to make it safe enough for more people to enter -- the fire marshall decides this and no one, even Disney management, can override the decision. If this level is reached, then even being a guest at an on site hotel, being a Club 33 member, or being an AP can help at all. No one can get in until the fire marshall says so. Usually this level of closure only lasts a few hours, e.g. until a parade is over and lots of people leave.
 
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After our trip last week I was exhausted and tired of the heat and told DH I was never coming back in the summer...and he informed me that his conference is already booked for next summer in Carlsbad. It looks like I might just need to drive over and check out SW so I’ll be keeping an eye out for the details.
 
We are booked into the Desert Inn & Suites. We debated whether to stay onsite, but in the end it came down to:

A) Cost (Overall, this is a pricey trip already and staying onsite would price it out of reach for some people in our group);
B) Proximity (we have a couple of little guys; and my late 60s age mom for whom being w/in a 5-10 min walk to the park is a very high priority.), and
C) The fact that we need 4 rooms, and would prefer them to be together, and DI offers us the ability to do that, for a decent price.

We will do RD in any case, so hopefully the capacity issue won't come into play for us--at least first thing in the morning. I do think that it could be problematic for anyone who wants to go back and nap. But, we'll just have to play that by ear, I guess.
 
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The fact that they’ve completely revamped the AP system in anticipation of SW:GE would make me hesitant to make plans based on current conditions/policies. The MM structure or days may change, Maxpass price may change, there may be something completely unforeseen like some sort of reservation or FP system just to get into the land itself...

I make no assumptions about next summer.
 
My original plan:
15-26 July to see San Francisco, then L.A., then ending the trip Disneyland.

I have booked Castle Inn already, I stayed here in 2014 during my first visit and was happy enough with the accomodations to repeat the stay. We plan to get Maxpass.

Me and my Disney friend both go back to school, we know for sure summer is the time we both have off. Last year I finished the list to see all Disney parks in the world with a Disney Asia trip. Disneyland Anaheim is the last one my friend needs to see.

We might change to late August as someone else suggested in the other thread, the D23 Expo is 23-25 August, which will make the parks even more crowded :p but the Expo is something I would like to go to one day, so why not now!

Either way, we are not into Star Wars, so we will probably avoid the land or use a fastpass and just hope the crowds in the rest of the park will be manageable. Rope drop, focus on the rides unique to Disneyland, we are show/parade/character guests, we will find ways to enjoy ourselves. :)
 
We just booked VGC for June 21-26th... which looks like it's the first weekend the complete Deluxe AP blackout for SWGE starts :crazy: I highly doubt it'll even be in soft open by then, though, and I'm guessing it won't even affect the crowds a little bit.
 
We are tentatively planning a California road trip next summer (San Francisco, Yosemite, Monterey Bay / Big Sur, Anaheim / LA). It's looking like our 3 nights at Disneyland will fall sometime the week of July 29. I've booked a standard room at Disneyland Hotel & a club level room at Paradise Pier, both with park hopper + MaxPass tickets. I plan to hold on to both until I figure out if onsite perks will be differentiated by hotel or room class with Star Wars Land opening.

We are casual Star Wars fans, but die hard Disney fans & Disney World vets. I'm not going to be devastated if we miss (or decide to skip) Star Wars Land itself, but I'll be bummed if crowds make the other areas of the parks completely unenjoyable.

Thanks for starting this thread!
 
We are tentatively planning a California road trip next summer (San Francisco, Yosemite, Monterey Bay / Big Sur, Anaheim / LA). It's looking like our 3 nights at Disneyland will fall sometime the week of July 29. I've booked a standard room at Disneyland Hotel & a club level room at Paradise Pier, both with park hopper + MaxPass tickets. I plan to hold on to both until I figure out if onsite perks will be differentiated by hotel or room class with Star Wars Land opening.

We are casual Star Wars fans, but die hard Disney fans & Disney World vets. I'm not going to be devastated if we miss (or decide to skip) Star Wars Land itself, but I'll be bummed if crowds make the other areas of the parks completely unenjoyable.

Thanks for starting this thread!

We did almost the exact same trip last summer, only in reverse. We started in LA and ended in San Francisco. We missed Big Sur due to a major bridge on Hwy 1 being washed out, but that just meant we got an extra night in Monterrey, which was lovely. And, we didn't go inland to Yosemite, as we'd just spent a week there the summer before--but it is so, SO amazing! If you haven't been before, you will love it.

Regarding SWGE, I am also ambivalent about it. The plan was just to hit Disney on our way to Maui, so that my youngest nephew (who will be 4.5 next summer) could go, as he's never been. We really had no clue SWGE might be a factor. (For some reason, I had it in my head that it wouldn't be opening until 2020.) In any case, if it's open and we see it, great. I'm sure it will be incredible. But, I'd also be very happy to avoid it if I can.
 
Unless our plans for next year change dramatically, we should be there in early August.
 
We are already booked at GCH from Aug. 14-24, 2019 in a woods/courtyard room. We are actually starting our trip from our home in Oregon and heading thru Vegas to the Grand Canyon for a couple of nights and then we will end up at Disneyland. We are celebrating my daughter’s HS graduation. We plan on reserving a cabana for half a day at least once. We are all really excited to SWGE, but we are spending so many days so we have time to explore and, hopefully, not leave frustrated. I have always wanted to be able to explore like a local and this amount of time may give me that opportunity. I know a lot of people go to DL every year, but we only go every 4-6 years and we tend to do it big if we can save enough. Does anyone know if you still have 1year to redeem a AP that you purchase online and then your year starts when you redeem it at the parks? I know I am buyIng 1 AP for the discounts, and 2 5-day PH for everyone else, unless we decide we can do a cheap trip the following summer and then I may get all of us APs. Any thoughts?
 
Thanks for starting this thread!!

We are planning for the 4th of July-ish again next year. Haven’t booked a hotel yet cause we’re debating....having donated a kidney to the Grand last month ;) ....

1. Stay onsite? The Grand California. Take advantage of the EMH...if it still exists!

2. Or! Stay offsite and book a VIP tour?? One day. 6 hours. Don’t leave GE, if that’s allowed.

Thoughts? Think GE will be on the VIP list to access?

I love reading everyone’s plans!! So exciting!! :)))))
 

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