How many days in each park??

[Steve Mason]

Hi All,
We re a family of 5 (children 13,12, 9) travelling from Australia and will be in Disney Land from the 26th-31st October, 2022. We are going to get a 5 day pass (will only arrive in the afternoon on the first day) - was just wondering how many days recommended to spend in each park - is 1 day enough in Disney California, and the rest in Disney Land?
If it is I can book a 1 day slot for Disney California (believe you have to pre-book what days you want to go to each park), but if people think may need more time at Disney California we may have to get the Park Hopper tickets, which will add $300 to out ticket prices?

Also was going to get the Genie Plus option - is this worth it?

Any other advice at all - (what days in what parks, ticket add ons etc etc) - on what to do before we purchase tickets would be much appreciated, as this will be our one and only time to go to Disney Land, so want to make it the best time possible for the kids.

Thanks and Regards,
Steve.

 

[disneyfireman]

Well, You can NOT do DL unless it at least 2-3 days.... C.A. you can do one day. But 2 is best. Id do DL 3 days and CA 2. I love DLR. It is much better than WDW. no debate. YES. Buy Genie +. No question.

 

[Steve Mason]

Well, You can NOT do DL unless it at least 2-3 days.... C.A. you can do one day. But 2 is best. Id do DL 3 days and CA 2. I love DLR. It is much better than WDW. no debate. YES. Buy Genie +. No question.

Thank you for your reply - much appreciated.

Maybe then we could nominate the first day we get there at California Disney (as only get there in the afternoon) - then 3 full days at WDW, and 1 more full day at California Disney - do you think this would work well?
Thank you.

 

[disneyfireman]

Thank you for your reply - much appreciated.

Maybe then we could nominate the first day we get there at California Disney (as only get there in the afternoon) - then 3 full days at WDW, and 1 more full day at California Disney - do you think this would work well?
Thank you.

just 3 days at DL for sure....the rest do CA

 

[Steve Mason]

just 3 days at DL for sure....the rest do CA

Awesome, thank you for the advice

 

[marni1971]

Don’t buy genie plus. It’s a rip off scheme for something that used to be free. Unless you feel you have to.

You can easily spend a week in the 2 parks, especially first time. Disneyland will need the most, if you absolutely only have five days spend 3 - 3.5 in Disneyland. 1.5 - 2 in DCA.

Maybe then we could nominate the first day we get there at California Disney (as only get there in the afternoon) - then 3 full days at WDW, and 1 more full day at California Disney - do you think this would work well?
Thank you.

This could work.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

IF you have park hoppers, you can enter either park after 1:00pm regardless of what you made your reservation for that day- "Guests who purchase or have a Park Hopper ticket and an appropriate park reservation may cross over and switch between parks on the same day beginning at 1:00 PM."

You're here during Halloween so from what I see, the Oogie Boogie Bash will take place at California Adventure on these days-
Thurs, Oct 27, 2022
Sat, Oct 29, 2022
Mon, Oct 31, 2022

I am not sure of the details this year, but avoid DCA on those dates as the park will be closing early to regular guests. Keep in mind that Disneyland will then become a bit busier on those days after DCA closes and people with passes/hoppers all migrate to DL.

Are you staying on property? Off property?

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

Bear in mind that Halloween is some of the busiest time of the year at DLR, so expect full capacity crowds and long waits for everything (attractions, food, etc.)

You are also going to be there when three nights will be blocked out for the Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party at DCA. So make sure to choose your DCA day for a day where you aren't kicked out early for the party nights (the 27th, 29th and 31st).

Also bear in mind those reservation dates will fill up the second they are available, because again, most popular time of the year, so make your reservations for the dates you want the second they are available to you.

EDIT: lol @MoonRakerSCM beat me by seconds.

 

[Phroobar]

I would play the Genie+ thing by ear. Watch the wait times. If they are huge get the Genie+ for the day. If the day is lite, save it for another day. The advantage to using the Genie+ is you can book another ride as you wait in line for your current ride. That way, you can walk on the second ride. As you are walking on the second ride, book the third and so forth. It works out great for you. However all the poor people in the stand by line will spend 2-3 times longer in line for one ride than you do.

 

[No Name]

Thank you for your reply - much appreciated.

Maybe then we could nominate the first day we get there at California Disney (as only get there in the afternoon) - then 3 full days at WDW, and 1 more full day at California Disney - do you think this would work well?
Thank you.

WDW stands for Walt Disney World, which is the name of a separate resort in Florida. I apologize on @disneyfireman ’s behalf for forcing it into the conversation when it’s completely irrelevant here.


I think three in a row at one park may be a bit much, maybe switch your fourth and fifth days.

 

[spock8113]

Personally, I'm good for 5 days and then I need reality.
Day 1 - Magic Kingdom
Day 2 - EPCOT
Day 3 - THE studios
Day 4 - Animal Kingdom AM - Magic Kingdom PM
Day 5 - The Studios AM - EPCOT PM

Bah-by now.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Personally, I'm good for 5 days and then I need reality.
Day 1 - Magic Kingdom
Day 2 - EPCOT
Day 3 - THE studios
Day 4 - Animal Kingdom AM - Magic Kingdom PM
Day 5 - The Studios AM - EPCOT PM

Bah-by now.

Wrong resort.

 

[Phroobar]

How the heck did Disney World get into this conversation?

 

[Steve Mason]

IF you have park hoppers, you can enter either park after 1:00pm regardless of what you made your reservation for that day- "Guests who purchase or have a Park Hopper ticket and an appropriate park reservation may cross over and switch between parks on the same day beginning at 1:00 PM."

You're here during Halloween so from what I see, the Oogie Boogie Bash will take place at California Adventure on these days-
Thurs, Oct 27, 2022
Sat, Oct 29, 2022
Mon, Oct 31, 2022

I am not sure of the details this year, but avoid DCA on those dates as the park will be closing early to regular guests. Keep in mind that Disneyland will then become a bit busier on those days after DCA closes and people with passes/hoppers all migrate to DL.

Are you staying on property? Off property?

Qe are first 2 nights off property, then the last 3 nights at Disney Resort. I believe that since we have more that a 3 day pass we nan get early entry for 1 day even though we are staying off property, then when we are staying at Disney resort we can get early entry each day - but specific parks to specific days - is this how it still works do you know?
Thanks in advance, Steve.

 

[IanDLBZF]

Get Park Hopper and go 2 days at LEAST! For me, my preference would be...

• 1st Day - Disneyland AM/DCA PM
• 2nd Day - DCA AM/Disneyland PM

 

[DLR92]

I think 3 days is perfect amount of days at Disneyland Resort for both parks. 4 days is good too. But I think more than that get to redundant.

 

[iLikeMountains]

I’d do hoppers no matter what and then start 2 mornings at DCA. 1 rope drop at Radiator Springs Racers and 1 for Spider-Man to avoid the individual LL for those rides.

My 3 kids are about the same age and our last two trips we spent a lot of nights at DCA at the Incredicoaster, Avengers Campus/Guardians (over and over!) and Cars Land. We still spent more time at Disneyland overall but lots of time at both.

 

[DrAlice]

To fit our style of park visit (there at rope drop and stay all day - no afternoon hotel breaks), we always get 3-day park hoppers. Generally our trip looks like this: one full day DL, one full day DCA, 3rd day park hop to get all the stuff we missed or want to do again. In the days before the reservation system, we would sometimes go the evening of arrival (if we got there early enough) and just upgrade our tickets to add a day. I suppose that is sort-of still possible if there are reservations available, but it would be more complicated now.

If your family likes to take it more slowly (afternoon hotel pool breaks, etc.), then starting with 4 days might be worth it. You can absolutely see everything in 4 days.

As for Genie+, I'm not sure what to say here since I haven't been to the parks since before it was implemented. If I were planning a trip right now, I'm not sure if I'd get it or not. We always purchased max pass, but that allowed multiple passes of a single ride in a day. Genie+ does not. I guess its worth really depends on how long the lines are, how long you are willing to wait, and how many days you go. If it is super crowded and your party is impatient, then it might be worth it. If crowds are manageable and you are there for several days, you could probably skip it.

I hope that helps.

 

[DrAlice]

I would add.... the only time I've ever spent 5 days at the parks was when they had a ticket deal in which 5 days was the same price as a 4. I went with a friend of mine when my daughter was still a baby. This was a girls' trip without partners and kids (a mommy vacation). We had a blast!! We split up park time with lengthy meals and *ahem* refreshments in the various resort restaurants and bars.

 

[UpAllNight]

2 & 2 & 1 day to explore Newport or Laguna Beach and return to DIsney in the evening.

Also think Knotts is worth a visit! It's so much more chill, if you can avoid the fighting teens on a weekend! But the rides are fantastic and it will be a nice change of pace from Disney Chaos.

Disney is awesome, but don't miss out on some of the local(ish) beaches & alternative attractions - they're great