2 day ticket, 2 day park hopper ticket, or 3 day ticket?

DManRightHere

DManRightHere

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
My wife and I are planning to hop over to Disneyland at I believe is one of the worst times...Friday, June 5th - Monday June 8th.

We are driving from Vegas to DL on Friday and driving back to Vegas on Monday.

We've never been to Cali, and I'd at least like to hit Leo Carrillo State Park about an hour to hour and a half away on Monday or Friday...preferably Friday..

Let it also be known we are hustlers in the parks, we will go all day and not stop except to eat. We want to visit Disneyland and California Adventure.

Here is my dilemma..

2 day park ticket-
Is it possible to see almost all of the attractions in one day? This also saves us around $40 each and gives us time Friday and Monday to sightsee other points of interest.

Let me note I can get 2 day park hopper and 3 day park pass for nearly the same price.

2 day park hopper-
If California Adventure can be done in minimal time, and it is likely we need more than one day for Disneyland, I would consider this option.

3 day park pass-
We could do this...have plenty of time for parks...but really may be pushing ourselves...we would have to hit the parks Fri, Sat, and Sunday (I know we will go all day everyday). That leaves Leo Carrillo State Park for Monday, and a 7 hour total drive and likely little leisure time at the state park....


Any suggestions, input, inspiration, criticism?
 
croboy82

croboy82

Well-Known Member
The best thing about Anaheim is that DCA and Disneyland are right across each other so you can easily switch parks during the day (by just walking for 5 mins max).

Therefore I agree with raven and think you should get the 2-day park hopper tickets. That way you can always decide spontaniously what attractions you want to go (depending if any attraction is down or has a large wait time etc)
 
JediMasterMatt

JediMasterMatt

Well-Known Member
I would definitely get the hopper any which way you do it since you already mentioned "hustling" while in the parks; but, with a difference of only $40/person - the real question is 2 days or 3 days. I'd get a hopper either way you decide.

You can certainly hustle your way though DL Resort for 2 days.

Will you get to do everything? Probably not.

Will you get to do everything you "want"? Maybe.

If you are a Disney Parks fan that is going to Disneyland Resort for the first time ever, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Make the most of it. If your current touring habits in Orlando (I spy Hogwarts in your photo) are such that you only spent 1 day in each of the WDW parks on your first visit, then you should be comfortable in doing the same in California. However, if your first visit to the Orlando parks required you to spend more time... then do the same in California.

Remember that although there are "only" two parks in Anaheim the are much more attraction dense than any of the WDW parks.

You are hitting DLR during it's 60th, which is a once in a lifetime event as well. You'll have 3 nighttime spectaculars in Disneyland and 1 in California Adventure. Knocking those out will require at least 2 nights.

My thoughts are if you needed more time in Orlando, don't short change yourself in Anaheim. WDW these days is conducive to a commando "attack" approach. DLR is the exact opposite. It can be done; but, you'd be missing out of a majority of the fun of being there.

Leo Carrillo will still be there if you want more time for it the next time you are in the area.
 
Eric The Disnerd

Eric The Disnerd

New Member
DManRightHere said:
My wife and I are planning to hop over to Disneyland at I believe is one of the worst times...Friday, June 5th - Monday June 8th.

We are driving from Vegas to DL on Friday and driving back to Vegas on Monday.

We've never been to Cali, and I'd at least like to hit Leo Carrillo State Park about an hour to hour and a half away on Monday or Friday...preferably Friday..

Let it also be known we are hustlers in the parks, we will go all day and not stop except to eat. We want to visit Disneyland and California Adventure.

Here is my dilemma..

2 day park ticket-
Is it possible to see almost all of the attractions in one day? This also saves us around $40 each and gives us time Friday and Monday to sightsee other points of interest.

Let me note I can get 2 day park hopper and 3 day park pass for nearly the same price.

2 day park hopper-
If California Adventure can be done in minimal time, and it is likely we need more than one day for Disneyland, I would consider this option.

3 day park pass-
We could do this...have plenty of time for parks...but really may be pushing ourselves...we would have to hit the parks Fri, Sat, and Sunday (I know we will go all day everyday). That leaves Leo Carrillo State Park for Monday, and a 7 hour total drive and likely little leisure time at the state park....


Any suggestions, input, inspiration, criticism?
Click to expand...
Well. It depends. I do not recommend three days because you often get tired after a day, and you're usually blown out after the second day. Secondly, I reccomend a two day park hopper: IF YOU ARE SHOW SAVY! If you enjoy the shows and really just want to knock all of em out in two days go ahead! I reccomend the two day one park: IF YOU ARE RIDE SAVY! Then you can ride all of the major attractions each day without the load of stress that you're going to miss one. IF YOU ARE BOTH: Buy a two day one park, then a one day park hopper. Have fun at the parks!
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
You are young and mobile, you can quickly walk between each park daily. Go for the 2 day park hopper, but know Friday night will be very busy. Focus on full days on Saturday and Sunday instead.

We bring this photo out a lot here when East Coasters venture past Branson, Missouri for the first time and discover the West Coast.

This is a side-by-side equal scale comparison of the entire Disneyland Resort and the Epcot resort complex of one-park and two hotels. When looking at this image, realize there are just as many rides/attractions and more daily spectaculars (parades, fireworks, water shows) at Disneyland Resort than there are in all four WDW parks combined. You will have a lot to see and do, but your walking shoes paired with park hopper tickets will make that easy.

dlrepcotcomparison.jpg
 
F

fosse76

Well-Known Member
Judicious use of FastPass and single rider lines will help you get through the parks in two days easily. Depending on park hours, you can experience all the major must-sees and some of the smaller under-the-radar attractions in both parks in a day. It always annoys me when people claim you won't see everything in a day or that it is impossible, because you won't need or want to see everything. I mean seriously, what point is there to ride both the Columbia sailing ship and Mark Twain? How many people without kids would ride the Autopia? Even less explore Pirate Lair on Tom Sawyer's Island. There is skippable stuff. Just do what interests you. Hoever, I agree that 2 days is ideal.

Also, what is interesting to note, is that the popularity at attractions at DLR can be different from the same/similar attractions at WDW. For instance, Star Tours (Disneyland) seems to fluxuate between a 40 minute to 90 minute wait, whereas I've never seen it above 30 minutes at WDW (except once when it re-opened as Star Tours 2, it reached a whopping 60 minutes and that was during Star Wars weekends!). The Little Mermaid ride at DCA and Winnie the Pooh ride at Disneyland are almost always walk-ons (and I mean that literally). Inexplicably, Peter Pan is just as popular, though it doesn't have FP so it is always around a 45 minute wait.
 
DManRightHere

DManRightHere

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thank you for all the tips and advice.

So it looks about everyone is saying 2 day park hopper...

The only shows we'll see is Disneyland fireworks and California Adventure World of Color. All other time should be attractions and exploring.

I'm still assuming California Adventure should be a half day park, I know wife cares more about DL, but she still wants to do both.

I guess park hopper we can wing it a little more, and it gives us a couple more hours in Disneyland as it looks like California Adventure usually closes at 10pm and Disneyland 12am.

Maybe DCA first thing Sat, hit the big rides or till we ger bored, head to DL, then back to DCA for WOC, then back to DL.

Sun can be up in the air depending how Sat went, i'm thinking it will be almost all DL, maybe hit DCA for a couple favorite rides and finish up DL.

I'll let wife know so she can revise her commando schexule. :cool:
 
GiveMeTheMusic

GiveMeTheMusic

Well-Known Member
raven24 said:
^^^ I wouldn't take DCA as a half-day park if I were you. There's more to do at DL, but it might be tough to get everything done at DCA in half a day.
Click to expand...

If you subtract WDW clones, you can get DCA done reasonably quick. RSR, Screamin', Wheel of Death, GRR, Monsters, some time on BVS. If you're really interested in seeing Soarin' HD or TOT just to see the differences, even then not much time is added.

Make sure to start your day in DCA on whatever day it does NOT offer early entry so you come in on a level playing field for RSR access.
 
George Lucas on a Bench

George Lucas on a Bench

Well-Known Member
It's pretty easy to knock out DCA in a few hours, if you skip attractions that just flat out suck...I'm referring to basically all the "flats" with the exception of the Golden Zephyr. But if you do it in the morning, you should be able to blow through Cars, Tower, Heimlich (a must-ride, the best attraction in the park), Monsters Inc., Screamin', Goofy ride, Soarin', Grizzly River and...what else is in this park? Well, you can catch the Aladdin show by that point.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Toy Story Midway Mania is in DCA, but if you aren't a fan you can skip it as its a clone except for the queue. If you are a Midway Mania fan it's good to do since it doesn't offer Fastpass and you can always expect a 30 to 45 minute line, shorter in the morning or in the evening.
 
F

fosse76

Well-Known Member
Even if you don't skip attractions at DCA, you can probably knock it out by 3pm at the latest if you arrive at park opening. Judicious use of FastPass and single rider lines make it much easier to do this (definitely do single rider for Radiator Springs Racers if you don't get a FastPass, which is probable). Unless you have small children, you will be able to skip Bugs Land completely (except to pass through on your way to Cars Land from Tower of Terror). You should definitely check out Aladdin.
 

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