Disneyland trip July 2013

[kimrn87]

We are taking our first family trip to Disney in CA (we usually do WDW). We are planning on 4 full days to see both parks. Do you think park hoppers are necessary? We are looking forward to the different attractions and shows in California. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

 

[Californian Elitist]

We are taking our first family trip to Disney in CA (we usually do WDW). We are planning on 4 full days to see both parks. Do you think park hoppers are necessary? We are looking forward to the different attractions and shows in California. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

If recommend park hopper tickets, simply because you can get off one ride at Disneyland and be at another ride at California Adventure within a few minutes. The parks sit right across from each other... From Disneyland's gate, it literally takes less than a minute to get to California Adventure's gates. A couple of seconds.

You don't HAVE to get park hoppers, but I would suggest getting them.

 

[coachwnh]

First off, I'm glad you are taking the trek out west. We did the same and fell in love with DL. It's an amazing place. We love it so much we have upgraded our WDW APs to include DL and we are returning in August.
Now to your question. Raven is an expert here. I agree with the hopper option. We had it last year, but didn't use it. But now that we have experience and realize the parks are literally steps apart, we will visit both on one day. Enjoy your trip. The folks on this DL thread are awesome. I've never been turned down when asking for help, ideas, or suggestions.

 

[Californian Elitist]

First off, I'm glad you are taking the trek out west. We did the same and fell in love with DL. It's an amazing place. We love it so much we have upgraded our WDW APs to include DL and we are returning in August.
Now to your question. Raven is an expert here. I agree with the hopper option. We had it last year, but didn't use it. But now that we have experience and realize the parks are literally steps apart, we will visit both on one day. Enjoy your trip. The folks on this DL thread are awesome. I've never been turned down when asking for help, ideas, or suggestions.

We love you, Coach!

 

[Cosmic Commando]

The funny thing about park hoppers at DLR? They're more appealing than at WDW, but less necessary.

More appealing because the parks are literally steps away from each other. During the DCA rescue mission, Disney reportedly toyed with the idea of having one entrance and combining DL and DCA into a megapark... they're that close. As close as Future World is to World Showcase. Plus, you can game the Fastpass system a little bit if you're up for it. The systems between the two parks are not connected, and there are attractions within each park that are not connected... you can really get a pile of FP's if you want.

Less necessary because the two parks of DLR have almost as many attractions as the four parks of WDW. You're not going to run into a situation (Okay, I'll just say it: Animal Kingdom (P.S.- I love Animal Kingdom)) where there's no nighttime entertainment, the park closes at 5 and you're bored. I think you'll always find something to do, no matter which park you're in.

Either choice you make, I don't think you'll regret it.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

With 4 days, I'd do hoppers. It gives you the flexibility to repeat what you want, when you want after the initial charge.

 

[wild01ride]

One of the biggest reasons that I would go with Hoppers is that "Remember..." and "Fantasmic!" generally occur primarily during weekends (spilling out into the week days, depending on the season/week). In that case, regardless of which park you choose to visit during the day, you always have the option of going to see World of Color at night. (I'm pretty much a walking sales pitch for World of Color! The amazement just never wears off for me!) The option to end the night with WoC is reason enough to go for the Hoppers all in itself.
Enjoy the trip! I can't wait to get back to the 'land!

 

[lego606]

If recommend park hopper tickets, simply because you can get off one ride at Disneyland and be at another ride at California Adventure within a few minutes. The parks sit right across from each other... From Disneyland's gate, it literally takes less than a minute to get to California Adventure's gates. A couple of seconds.

You don't HAVE to get park hoppers, but I would suggest getting them.

This is such a good point. You don't have to worry about buses or monorails or what have you. You literally just walk about 5 minutes and you're already where you want to be.