Early March Disneyland Trip Planning

[ghost hostess]

Hey fellow Disney lovers! So, I'm trying to help plan a trip to Disneyland for a group in early March. Does anyone know how busy it is during that time or have any cool suggestions?

Also, cost-wise, is it worth staying in one of the Disney hotels? I was thinking it might be cheaper to stay in one of the surrounding hotels (like the Sheraton or the Marriott) because that's what I did when my friend and I went last year, but I wasn't sure if it's more beneficial for a larger group or not.

And final question: does anyone have suggestions for flying from Michigan to California? such as what's a good price, the best time to look for deals on flights, etc. I've been looking at sites but I've only traveled to CA once so i'm not entirely sure what I'm doing

thank you all so much

[Amy]

Hi ghost hostess ~
I would think you should be good crowd-level wise in early March. I would think spring break wouldn't have started by then, but I'm not sure if they have school trips to DL out there or not while school is in session. One of the DL regulars probably can chime in to that effect.
We looked into staying on property the last time we went and were shocked at the prices! We have stayed on property for every trip, either 2 or 3 in the past, but had never paid such high prices for lodging. My brother was in charge of the trip and actually wanted to stay in Dana Point, which was about 30 minutes away, so that is where we stayed. The commute on the three days we went to the park was not bad at all, and in fact we ended up on one of our "off-Disney" days going to DTD for a little shopping and looking around. I would think if you are going primarily to DL, you would want to stay in one of the neighboring hotels and then you could probably walk to the parks and save the parking fee. If you already have experience staying off site then you already know that. It might be worth a call to either the resort or a Disney travel agent to see what specials are in effect during that time frame though. You might find something on property at an equivalent rate and it's always more fun to stay on property and right in the action!
We are in Michigan as well and airfare is just expensive no matter how you slice it. I know there are certain days where airfares are supposed to be a bit cheaper, but my Mom is generally in charge of that. I think we usually pay close to $400/ticket, but I have no idea what the going rate is at the moment. I know a friend who was looking into airfare recently and had found some around the $300 mark but that was for later this year, and not to the Anaheim area.
Hopefully others have some better info for you. Sounds like you are in for a fun trip in any case

[cy1229]

With regard to the best time to purchase airline tickets, lots of statistical methods looking at all airfares nationwide said that 54 days out from your trip date is when the least expensive fares can be found. Having said that, I recommend looking every week or so until that 54 days date and if you get a fare that's $350 or less, take it. Assuming you're flying from Detroit, you should be able to get your tickets for that $350-400 amount. If you're flying from TC, Flint, GR, or *gasp* Marquette, they'll be more expensive.

If you live near Marquette, I'm really jealous. But come March, I won't be anymore. (Tech grad here.)

I don't know anything about onsite vs. offsite at DLR except to say that on property is always more expensive. You could always look into renting DVC points to stay at the DVC property there. Dave's DVC rental is the most widely recognized and recommended site. theBIGyowski (dude I cannot remember how you capitalize what in your user name) has experience with them. Or is it yodiwan? One of those two. ANYWAY... with a large group this might prove a financially viable option, especially if you plan on having breakfast in your condo and maybe one or two dinners.

Good luck! Let us know what you find out so we can file it away for future reference.

[Wizzard419]

It's pretty dead during march, so the hours of the parks also scale back severely.

[horizons1]

I was looking at going around that time too. From what I remember when I lived there, the crowds should not be bad around the beginning of the month.

As for staying on property, the rates are significantly cheaper if you avoid Friday and Saturday nights. I know that's common sense, but it is dramatic when you compare the pricing on disneyland.com.

[ghost hostess]

Thank you all for the insight!!! It's all been super helpful. I will keep digging and planning and keep you posted to what works best.

Also, does anybody know anything about the crowds in Disney World during the same time? I realize it's going to generally be more crowded than DL but we're debating which park to go to since DW has all those updates now.

Thanks again <3

[Amy]

Early March in WDW is probably going to be more crowded because of spring break season...but there are more parks to spread the crowds out so it's probably a trade off. Plus as Wizzard pointed out, DL will have shorter hours at that point.

[MmeLeota]

Hello ghost hostess! (I think we'll get along just fine )

My hubby and I have been a bit out of the DLR loop since moving to the Midwest about 3 years ago, but we used to live 4 hours away from Anaheim and frequented DLR as much as possible. I realize some things have changed, but here is my humble advice.

We (it's only the 2 of us) almost always stay off property. Mainly because the on property resort prices are typically out of our budget. (We would rather spend our $$$ on other things...not a room that we don't plan on spending scads of time in.) We like the places where we can walk to the park. Considering you are going with a group, cy1229's suggestion (I think that's who suggested it anyway) might work for you. I don't have experience with renting DVC points, but I've heard it can save a good amount. The only DVC at DLR (that I know of) is at Grand Californian, so the prices might be up there.

Our experience with early March was always pretty good (as long as Spring Break was not within a couple of weeks of our trip). The biggest downside is, there tends to be several attractions down for refurbishment at that time since they're gearing up for Spring Break/Summer. (On the plus side, usually Haunted Mansion has its refurb in January, so at least that ought to be open.)

If there is anything else, please ask. Though I realize a good number of the fine folks around here are more savvy to WDW vs. DLR, there are also some west-coasters. I'm not on as much as I'd like to be these days, but you can always send me a PM as well. Good luck with your planning (and we will be looking forward to the eventual trip report...said the gal who is 8 months behind on her TR )!