Disneyland in 1 day?

[travelgip]

I will be in San Diego on business at the end of the month, but will have some time free on Saturday and thought I would like to visit DL. I have been to WDW at least 20 times, but never to CA so my question is - Is it possible/feasible to do DL in just a day? :shrug: Will I be able to see everything or is it wishful thinking? Thank you

 

[Admiral01]

I will be in San Diego on business at the end of the month, but will have some time free on Saturday and thought I would like to visit DL. I have been to WDW at least 20 times, but never to CA so my question is - Is it possible/feasible to do DL in just a day? :shrug: Will I be able to see everything or is it wishful thinking? Thank you

Good question. Simple answer is yes.

My first trip to Disneyland, back in April 2009, was done because I was in SoCal on business and my girlfriend and I decided to do the west coast park. I've been to WDW dozens of times, but had never been to DL. We stayed across the street at the Days Inn, got in late on a Wednesday night, had dinner at Downtown Disney. The day we chose to visit had DL open until midnight and DCA open until 9 or 10 (pre-World of Color). We got up around 9 AM on Thursday and headed into the parks. We did both DL and DCA in one day, hitting most of the biggies. Being able to walk between the two parks was amazing. We did most of the rides, and some twice or three times. We didn't waste time on parades or fireworks. For example, I think we rode the Submarine Adventure during the Wishes fireworks. We love the DL version of Pirates much better than WDW, so we did it a few times. Fastpasses for Soarin, Indiana Jones, and a few others. We stayed until DL closed, doing stuff right until the last moment, then got a snack at DTD before driving back to the work hotel.

Saturdays can be busy, but the parks are open later than during the week days. The cheap SoCal annual passes are typically blocked out on Saturdays, and that helps. Friday, Satuday, Sunday hours at the end of February are 8 AM -midnight at DL and 10 AM -10 PM at DCA.

Be sure to take a little time to just walk around California Adventure, if you decide to get a park hopper for the day (I suggest you do). It is a neat park, though it is full of walls right now because of all the construction. It definitely lacks attractions (though Soarin is one of my favorites), but it has a charm to it...one that I hope will keep getting better. Disneyland Park itself will feel familiar, but with some differences. Note the really short and stubby castle at the end of Main Street I love the theming of New Orleans Square. Plus, it holds Pirates and Haunted Mansion. Good food to.

So, again, the simple answer is yes. If you do it right, you can do a lot of DL and DCA in one day. It was great, and solidified in my mind how much better DLP is than the Magic Kingdom. Nothing is as good as EPCOT, but Disneyland Park is my close second favorite US park now. We go back to Disneyland now when I have to be in SoCal on business (Premier Passes for both of us) and we don't spend much time at the Magic Kingdom when we are at WDW any more. We were at WDW for 9 days in January, and spent 5 total hours at the Magic Kingdom. Its a personal choice

I am actually on a plane (with internet access) right now, heading toward LAX, and planning to spend a few hours at Disneyland tonight before I check into my hotel for work tomorrow. Just a quick trip down I-5...and it feels really good to get on that Tram at the parking garage and pull up in front of the parks for a little taste of Disney...until the park closes at 8 PM tonight...

 

[TP2000]

Great advice there above! ^^^^

If you are going to focus just on Disneyland, you need to realize that while Disneyland is physically smaller than the Magic Kingdom Park, Disneyland has a lot more rides and major entertainment packed into it than any other WDW park.

You should focus on at least a few of the rides/attractions that don't exist at Walt Disney World, and probably never will exist. Or, the growing list of attractions about to be torn out at WDW's Fantasyland, but still exist and have recently been plussed up at Disneyland. (Snow White, Toontown, etc.)

The rides that only exist at Disneyland circa Spring 2011 are;

Fantasyland
Matterhorn Boblseds
Alice In Wonderland
Pinnochio's Daring Journey
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
StorybookLand Canal Boats
Casey Jr. Circus Train (an overhead view of StorybookLand, and a great way to kill two rides with one stone)
Snow White's Scary Adventure
Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough Tour

Mickey's Toontown
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin
Mickey's House/Movie Barn

Tomorrowland
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
Disneyland Monorail

Frontierland
Big Thunder Ranch Petting Zoo
Sailing Ship Columbia
Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island (don't miss the caves!)

Adventureland
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room (original 1963 show)
Indiana Jones Adventure
Tarzan's Treehouse

Critter Country
Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes

Main Street USA
Disneyland Story featuring Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln
Main Street Cinema
Disney Gallery

Add to that list the other major attractions that exist in both WDW and Disneyland, but are noticeably different and/or thought to be superior at Disneyland, stuff like;

Pirates of the Caribbean (see where the missing 8 minutes of ride time went)
Jungle Cruise (Explosions! Pirahna Attacks! Regular Maintenance!)
It's A Small World (another 7 missing minutes of ride time found at Disneyland)
Haunted Mansion
Big Thunder Mountain
Autopia
Space Mountain (true 21st century coaster here)
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Peter Pan's Flight (see what happens when a ride is updated regularly)

There are only about two attractions that are widely thought to be inferior at Disneyland compared to their WDW versions, but they are currently closed for rehab this winter; Splash Mountain and Winnie The Pooh.

Disneyland can be done in one day, but you'll need to prioritize what you want to see and do. Remember, Disneyland has more rides than any other Disney theme park, and has a ride count that would take a couple of WDW parks to equal. Add in DCA with 25 different rides, and it's a daunting task to try and do it all in one day. You need to prioritize what's important to you, and I would strongly suggest focusing on the things WDW doesn't have, or the things that are much different or superior at Disneyland.

Get there early and stay until closing. Check Disneyland.com for exact operating hours for the Saturday you are visiting.

Good luck!

 

[travelgip]

Thank you both for your suggestions. I only plan on seeing MK park and just doing the rides that appeal to me. I don't want or need to ride everything, just to experience this park. Very helpful so I think I will plan on going.:sohappy:

 

[Admiral01]

Thank you both for your suggestions. I only plan on seeing MK park and just doing the rides that appeal to me. I don't want or need to ride everything, just to experience this park. Very helpful so I think I will plan on going.:sohappy:

My last piece of advice is to do both parks. Buy a Park Hopper, so you can at least experience a little of California Adventure. It is so cool walking out of the front gate of Disneyland, across the courtyard (330 feet), and being in a different theme park. Plus, the additional cost of the 1 Day Park Hopper is not too much more. And, if you are there on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, you will have a lot of time to explore both parks and choose what you want to do. I almost made the same decision you are thinking about for my first trip: just do Disneyland, no need for DCA. Luckily, I the girlfriend changed my mind at the last minute and we bought Park Hoppers instead. It was worth it.

I spent 2 hours at Disneyland last night after work, and I did attractions in both Disneyland and California Adventure. You can get a drink in California Adventure, and that is always nice You are absolutly right that you shouldn't try and do everything...that isn't any fun cause all you do is rush. Just go and have fun in the oldest and the newest US Disney theme parks.