How many days in each park?

[rufio]

We are FINALLY going to Disneyland early next year! We're about to purchase tickets and make park reservations. Although we're getting park hopper tickets, I'm not sure which park to start in each day. We'll have four total park days (Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday). How many days should we start in Disneyland and how many should we start in each park? Also, any tips for things to do on the weekend since we're avoiding parks those days?

 

[PiratesMansion]

I typically only start at DCA once during my trips. I would reserve the rest of my early mornings for Disneyland. More to do, better park, more opportunities to get on Rise, etc.

I 100% get the impulse to avoid weekends-however, keep in mind that during any time of year that might remotely be considered off-season, the major entertainment (if all of it has returned in time for your trip)-Fantasmic, Fireworks, MSEP-will run only on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. You're already going on a Friday, which is good from an entertainment perspective, but seeing all three in a single night can be, if not always necessarily difficult, certainly taxing. So it may not be a bad idea to swap Saturday or Sunday with one of the weekdays if the major entertainment is a priority-even one extra entertainment night will make it considerably easier to get everything done.

 

[PostScott]

The only reason I'd reserve DCA for the morning is to do Radiators, Guardians, and Spiderman without a long wait. All of the other attractions in the park don't really get a long line. Radiators, Guardians, and Toy Story begin to get long waits after about an hour or so into park operation if the park opens at 8. Personally, I'd do 2 reservations for DL and 2 for DCA. If you feel like during your trip you want to change that though, reservations are pretty easy to come by for ticket holders currently. Esp during the week, you can get reservations the day of but it all depends on what exact time of the year you're going.

DL kinda gets long waits right off the bat. Space and Indy are the two that most people head to at rope drop. However, if you're going early next year like late January or early Feb then wait times shouldn't be a big problem, esp on a Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. If you're going at the end of winter break then it will be completely packed. @PiratesMansion also brings up a good point about getter chances for Rise boarding groups with reservations for DL.

For things to do on the weekends... it kinda depends on where you're staying, how far you're willing to go, and if you have kids with you. There's Huntington beach that's about 20-25 mins away from DL and the Cube Discovery Center in Anaheim that's 5 mins away from the resort. Downtown LA, during a good time of day, is only about 25 mins away and there's a bunch of stuff to do there. There's the Santa Ana Zoo too.

It sounds like a fun trip and I hope you guys have fun!

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

If you're staying in Anaheim, you might want to consider Knott's Berry Farm for one of your non-Disney days.

But agreed that just doing one morning at DCA and the rest DL makes sense unless you have a family looking more for thrill rides as DCA has more of those than DL. In which case you might want to split 2/2.

 

[truecoat]

Going on weekdays does not guarantee it being less busy. I went 4 days in August, Sat Sun, took Monday off, Tues Wed. The Saturday Sunday days were less busy than the Tuesday Wednesday visits.

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

Just visit Disneyland. California Adventure is not worthy of a half day let alone a park hopper

 

[DLR92]

2 days alone is worth it at Disneyland. DCA one day. But I would try to park hop as much as possible. It not worth to stay all day at DCA.

Try to visit Newport Beach area.

 

[DavidDL]

2 days for Disneyland and 0 for California Adventure.

Kidding (kind of). If I were giving this advice to someone whose never been and who is genuinely interested in both parks, I would say two days for them each. If you're skilled or a park regular then you could get everything you wanted done between both in one day (by park hopping) or maybe with one day for each. But if you really want to keep things stress free, relax, explore the parks organically and have more shots at virtual queues, etc., then I would say two days for each park if its your first time or you don't visit very often.

 

[smooch]

I think 3 days in the resort is a good minimum, but last time I only went 2 days. I think 3 days is a good amount to see everything that is important to you. 2 days starting / focusing on Disneyland, 1 day starting in / focusing on DCA. In those 2 Disneyland days there is a LOT to see / do, so prioritize what you want to see most and focus on that but also leave time to just explore things you don't know about, it's a lot of fun to see what you can stumble upon in certain corners of the park.