Disneyland or DCA Conundrum

[Skibum1970]

In a few weeks, I am traveling to Anaheim for work. My goal is to get there on Sunday before noon and thus I'll have the rest of the day for Disneyland/DCA. I also plan on maybe going back one or two evenings (not getting there until 7:00 or so) but that may not happen if things are too crazy at work.

So, keeping in mind that this is my first trip out there, what would everyone's suggestions be? Go to DCA, Disneyland, or try to do both the same day (seems a bit too much to ask)? I can say that I am currently leaning to Disneyland on Sunday but haven't committed to that track just yet.

Thanks in advance for responses.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I would get a park hopper and spend one part of the day in Disneyland and the other part in California Adventure. Everything is in walking distance, so you'll be fine. You won't see everything in one day, with that in mind, don't worry about it and just have a nice time.

 

[Tuvalu]

It is very easy to park hop between DL and DCA; simply walk across the esplanade from one park to the other. If you only have one day, I suggest you plan to visit both parks, keeping in mind you may not be able to DO everything, but at least you can SEE everything.

My daughter and I (longtime WDW vets) visited in March and surprisingly found ourselves enjoying DCA over DL. If we could only visit one park, it would be DCA.

 

[Skibum1970]

Thanks for the responses thus far. On a Sunday, how bad are the lines, particularly for RSR, going to be? I had understood that FastPasses were gone before noon.

 

[Tuvalu]

They will be gone. Plan on using the single rider line.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Pick the single thing that you would regret missing the most (i.e. Cars Land or Indy) and go to that park first.

 

[thomas998]

Thanks for the responses thus far. On a Sunday, how bad are the lines, particularly for RSR, going to be? I had understood that FastPasses were gone before noon.

Do yourself a favor and don't bother even trying for RSR. It is still new and will still have massive lines, if you aren't there at rope drop you aren't going to be getting a fastpass so you'll have a line to deal with that will eat into your limited time. I've done the horrible lines one time with my kids and they even agreed afterwards that they didn't want to ever wait in line for it again, it wasn't worth it to them.

I would say head to DL and aim for Indy first thing, try to get a fastpass if possible as it could have a line.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I suggest not listening to thomas88 (almost always discouraging people from riding the best ride in DCA) and go for the single rider line for RSR. The line goes by quick and you don't have to wait forever. RIDE RSR.

 

[RandomPrincess]

Indy and RSR both have single rider.

 

[AmongMadPeople]

You didn't specifically say, but are you a WDW regular? If I had one partial day to there again, I'd do something like this-

Go to DCA, RSR single rider line a few times. Do Mater's if the line is short, skip Luigi's. Eat lunch in Cars Land. Walk through the whole park, but skip all WDW duplicates. That basically leaves California Screamin, Aladdin, Red Car Trolley, Monsters Inc, some fancy looking rides that spin, and Grizzly River Run if you want to get wet.

Go to Disneyland, start in Adventureland and get Indy FP if available, or do single rider. My highlights would be (besides Indy) Pirates, SS Columbia, Mr Toad, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Alice in Wonderland, Small World, Subs, the Railroad and Fantasmic.

Coming from someone who wasn't prepared for the lines there, my best advice would be to keep your plan conservative, and know in advance what is expendable and what isn't. Be prepared to skip things if necessary. Stay as late as you can.

 

[stlphil]

If you do go to DCA, please don't ignore the Animation building as this is one of the most underrated attractions at any Disney park and one of the few gems from the original DCA 1.0. It is far superior to the lame Animation attraction at DHS.

Especially on a hot day, at the very least just go into the lobby for a few minutes and soak up the atmosphere that is unfolding all around you. Once I'm in that lobby, I am mesmerized and have a hard time leaving...

 

[Skibum1970]

You didn't specifically say, but are you a WDW regular? If I had one partial day to there again, I'd do something like this-

Go to DCA, RSR single rider line a few times. Do Mater's if the line is short, skip Luigi's. Eat lunch in Cars Land. Walk through the whole park, but skip all WDW duplicates. That basically leaves California Screamin, Aladdin, Red Car Trolley, Monsters Inc, some fancy looking rides that spin, and Grizzly River Run if you want to get wet.

Go to Disneyland, start in Adventureland and get Indy FP if available, or do single rider. My highlights would be (besides Indy) Pirates, SS Columbia, Mr Toad, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Alice in Wonderland, Small World, Subs, the Railroad and Fantasmic.

Coming from someone who wasn't prepared for the lines there, my best advice would be to keep your plan conservative, and know in advance what is expendable and what isn't. Be prepared to skip things if necessary. Stay as late as you can.

"Regular" needs to have some definition. I've only gone to WDW and average trips about every other year (not consistently, though). I am leaning towards Disneyland even more due to the extended Pirates and Indy. I am also preparing myself for the crowds as well. Hopefully, I'll be able to stay until midnight although it may depend on how jet-lagged I'll be from having flown there from EST that morning.

 

[AmongMadPeople]

"Regular" needs to have some definition. I've only gone to WDW and average trips about every other year (not consistently, though). I am leaning towards Disneyland even more due to the extended Pirates and Indy. I am also preparing myself for the crowds as well. Hopefully, I'll be able to stay until midnight although it may depend on how jet-lagged I'll be from having flown there from EST that morning.

Sounds like you've been enough that most of the duplicate rides you can skip without feeling like you're missing much. If I could change only one thing from my trip, it would be to skip Peter Pan. Even though the rides are a little different, there were better uses of half an hour first thing in the morning.

 

[scbb11Sketch]

I had the exact same decision to make when I went to Long Beach for work about a month ago. I chose just DCA, and it was the best decision I ever made. Had such a good time. RSR is a must do, and with the single rider's line I got on 3 times in an hour. The line really does move quick. I agree about seeing the Animation Building - I had not heard anything about this prior to my visit and was pleasantly surprised. I ate lunch at Flo's V8 Cafe, and then went to Downtown Disney for dinner before going back to the park for World of Color. It was a great day. I was happy I chose DCA because there was enough different from WDW, and enough interesting things to explore and see. Good luck!