How Many Days for DLR?

[SeaCastle]

Next summer, our family of three (one adult, two late teens) will be going on a bit of a CA road trip, starting in San Francisco and driving down the coast until we get to Anaheim to spend a few days at the Disneyland Resort. We first went in June 2009 and spent two full days at the parks and managed to see around 95% of what we wanted to do. However, with the California Adventure additions, I was wondering how much more time to allocate. I had thought that three days would be sufficient, but what is the consensus on this? Furthermore, when would be the best time of the summer to visit Disneyland? In '09 we went in late June and hardly experienced crowds, would this still be the case?

As excited as I am to see the new DLR offerings, I would like to split the time evenly between San Francisco, a night in Monterey, hitting the coastal sights, as well as Disneyland. We're finding it a bit of a task to balance it all!

 

[Californian Elitist]

I'd spend four to five days there. There may be some new things coming next year, not to mention the new California Adventure that has already debuted.

Crowds are pretty neutral during the summer, but tend to pick up when the annual passholders start trickling in during the evening.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Sounds cool! If you thought two days was enough in '09, then three days would probably work for you. The pricing works similarly to WDW, though, where that fourth day won't be that much more money. Going on weekdays and getting to the parks early will always help with any crowd problems you're worried about.

 

[Mukta]

3 days is probably fine to see most of the rides and shows. I recommend 4 days if you want to catch things like live performances, atmosphere performers, Pixie Hollow light show etc.

Mid to late June is a fine time crowd wise. I recommend days that some annual passes are blocked out. Crowd levels are a little lower on those days.

 

[NemoRocks78]

3 days should be just fine, especially since you'll be making the trek down from San Fran. We did that last year and it was a great drive.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

3 days is probably fine to see most of the rides and shows. I recommend 4 days if you want to catch things like live performances, atmosphere performers, Pixie Hollow light show etc.

Mid to late June is a fine time crowd wise. I recommend days that some annual passes are blocked out. Crowd levels are a little lower on those days.

I agree in that I would probably recommend 4 days to someone in general, but since the OP thought that 2 days was fine in '09, I think a whole extra day is enough to see all of the new stuff that's been added since then.

 

[coachwnh]

we spent 3 full days and 1/2 the day we arrived. If you can stay 4 full days, you should be fine (5 would be awesome). There are 4 of us (including a 9 and 7 year old) we started early (7 am) and stayed pretty much all day since it was our first trip and not sure when we will return. the parks are right next to each other which is great, plus the attractions inside the parks are so much closer than at WDW. Lines are usually shorter as well beacsue things are closer, so you can get a lot done in less time. have fun

 

[cheezbat]

Having just got back and spending two full days at the DL resort going from basically open to close at both parks, I didn't have enough time to see and do everything. If you're a 'got to do it all' type person, take at least three days, maybe even four.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Having just got back and spending two full days at the DL resort going from basically open to close at both parks, I didn't have enough time to see and do everything. If you're a 'got to do it all' type person, take at least three days, maybe even four.

Agreed.

 

[Nicole]

We spent four days there in 2010 and got to do pretty much everything (rides and shows). However that was prior to Carsland (Cars Land?) and I would imagine that adds to the time you'd need. It was the start of the Spring Break season when we were there though and I'm sure we had worse crowds than you'll see later in the summer.

 

[WDW1974]

I concur with what you are being told largely, especially since you were there in 2009.

I'd say three days is perfectly fine enough. If you can do four, then that isn't too much unless you are cutting out other things you've never done, but wanted to see.

I'm doing three on my trip next month (four if I can find someone to comp/walk me in another day as I am a cheap Spirit when it comes to theme park admission!)

 

[SeaCastle]

Thanks for the tips all, we really appreciate it! Right now we're largely decided on three full days, perhaps a half-of-a-day more depending on when we arrive on our day in Disneyland. Any advice for particulars on the drive down PCH Rt. 1?

 

[NemoRocks78]

Thanks for the tips all, we really appreciate it! Right now we're largely decided on three full days, perhaps a half-of-a-day more depending on when we arrive on our day in Disneyland. Any advice for particulars on the drive down PCH Rt. 1?

We stopped overnight in Monterey and Ventura on our drive down from San Fran. Our first stop was in Santa Cruz at the Beach Boardwalk, which was neat with a nice wooden coaster, a cool dark ride, and a bunch of carnival rides. From there we went to Monterey, which is a great place to visit - we did the 17 Mile Drive, which had a lot of great stops and views, and Cannery Row is a lovely place for food (Louie Linguini's is definitely recommended!) and shopping on the water. That was my second time there and I would go back often if the drive wasn't a pain from where we live (north San Diego area). You could pull off a full day or two in Monterey if you wanted… lots to do there. The next day we stopped at Hearst Castle, which is in the tiny town of San Simeon. Really cool place with a guided tour and everything. After spending the second night in Ventura we stopped at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades and then hopped off the PCH to go straight to Disneyland because traffic was terrible (and it sucks when you get stuck behind super slow peeps on the drive down, heh).

Those were the major stops… we also stopped often at the roadside parking areas along the way for pictures and such. There are tons of incredible views!