Need Advice from DL Veterans!

[MadMax11]

My family hits up WDW at least once every other year. We've been DVC owners (through my parents) since literally the day the program began...my dad was told we were the 2nd family to ever buy in.

We are taking a trip to the West Coast in June, and we're going to be staying a night at Paradise Pier. We'll have one day to spend at DLR. My kids are really excited about getting a chance to see the DL version of some of their favorite rides at WDW, as well as riding some that we don't have at WDW (Indy and Matterhorn in particular).

My question is...with just one day...do I buy a parkhopper so we can go to DCA too? Would there be enough time in a day to ride all the attractions we'd want to at DL and still see enough of DCA to make it worth it?

I'll tell you, my thought is we just buy a DL ticket and call it that...but obviously I'm open to suggestion.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts/help!

 

[Sage of Time]

Honestly? One day in DL is not enough, for your first visit. I'd implore you to extend your trip so you can truly see Walt Disney's original Magic Kingdom.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

It's not enough time, but if you get there for opening, utilize Fastpass as often as possible and do a long day, you can get a lot done. Think of Disneyland and California Adventure as one big park the size of EPCOT Center, connected by a concourse.

 

[Californian Elitist]

One day is nowhere near enough, especially since you'll be there close to the start of the 60th celebration.

I always suggest visiting both DL and DCA, but given the circumstances, I would just stick with DL. As already stated, make sure to utilize Fastpass as much as you can.

 

[MadMax11]

Honestly? One day in DL is not enough, for your first visit. I'd implore you to extend your trip so you can truly see Walt Disney's original Magic Kingdom.

It's not my trip to DL...it is my wife's and kids' though. We're on a schedule that only allows for 1 day at a Disney park. The trip is more about California than Disney.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Do you think your kids would dig on this? If so, you should probably also go to DCA.

 

[Sage of Time]

It's not my trip to DL...it is my wife's and kids' though. We're on a schedule that only allows for 1 day at a Disney park. The trip is more about California than Disney.

I took a similar trip in 2013, but allotted time to soak up Disney AND Cali...

..if you can't do that, I suppose you should just stick to one day. You won't be able to really do everything, but you can at least get a feel for the park without rushing around too much.

 

[MadMax11]

Meant to say not my FIRST trip to DL...but it is my wife's and kids'.

thanks for the advice. I think I'll stick with DL only due to the time constraint.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I think a week is a must for visiting Disneyland. For WDW, at least 10 days. Otherwise you'll be hurrying too much.

 

[mgat5]

Im nowhere near a DL veteran, been there twice and heading for a third time in a couple of weeks... I worked at Magic Kingdom for 5 months with the College International Program back in 2002.

If you can only spend one day in the parks I would suggest a Park Hopper ticket.
You said your kids have been in WDW several times so they will realize that Disneyland is "pretty close" to Magic Kingdom. I love Disneyland and I would walking up and down all through several times in a day... however, CA will make them feel they did see something new... Hope this helps.

 

[LWB]

I'm a WDW vet that took my first trip out west to DL in about 20 years just recently. If you can only take one day for DL, I'd get the park hopper. I wouldn't have felt like I had "seen" Disneyland unless I went to the original Magic Kingdom!! But I also wouldn't have felt like I had been to California parks until I had seen Carsland! As much as I liked being able to ride things we have at WDW and compare them, I would have been really disappointed if I hadn't been able to see things they have at California Adventure!! I was very jealous of Carsland!! You'll have fun regardless of what you do, but I'd vote for a park hopper.

 

[TP2000]

My question is...with just one day...do I buy a parkhopper so we can go to DCA too? Would there be enough time in a day to ride all the attractions we'd want to at DL and still see enough of DCA to make it worth it?

Sounds like you have a basic understanding of the Disneyland Resort, but it might be good to remember that there are an equal number of rides/attractions/major entertainment in the two Anaheim parks as there are in all four WDW combined. A dirty little secret no one in Orlando will admit to, but it's true.

One day will have to be a brief "hits and highlights" tour of one park, as I don't think you can honestly expect to get your moneys worth with a one day park hopper and kids that will want to see and ride all the E Tickets in each park.

Here's a list of the Anaheim-exclusive attractions in Disneyland Park only. Things you won't find in any of the WDW parks, in no particular order:

Alice In Wonderland
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Pinnochio's Daring Journey
Snow White's Scary Adventure
Matterhorn Bobsleds (E Ticket thrill ride)
Casey Jr. Circus Train
Storybook Land Canal Boats
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
Indiana Jones Adventure (E Ticket thrill ride)
Sailing Ship Columbia
Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes

If you just focused on those Disneyland exclusives, and maybe added in a few extra E Tickets that are family favorites like Pirates or Space Mt. or Haunted Mansion or Star Tours, you would have a list of 15+ attractions that would be very hard to accomplish in just one day.

By only focusing on the 12 Disneyland exclusive rides, plus a few extra E Ticket favorites, you'd be forced to ignore the 30 additional Disneyland Park attractions. You simply don't have time for those. But getting a family of four on 15 rides in one day, plus pausing for meals and a parade or show or two, is aggressive and you'll be exhausted after that long day. It will help that Disneyland is open 8AM to Midnight.

 

[TP2000]

You should also consider major shows and entertainment spectaculars. In June there will be more of those in the two Anaheim parks as in all four WDW parks combined. Another Orlando shocker.

WDW Parades/Spectaculars
2 Parades (Festival of Fantasy @ MK, Main Street Electrical Parade @ MK)
1 Fireworks (Wishes @ MK)
2 Water Show Spectaculars (Fantasmic! @ DHS, Illuminations @ Epcot)

Disneyland Resort Parades/Spectaculars
3 Parades (Soundsational @ DL, Pixar Play Parade @ DCA, Paint The Night @ DL)
1 Fireworks (Disneyland Forever @ DL)
2 Water Show Spectaculars (Fantasmic! @ DL, World of Color @ DCA)

If your family wants to see any of those Anaheim offerings, you'll need to focus on one park. Since it sounds like you'll just do Disneyland and avoid DCA, you'll need to decide which of these offerings you do. You won't have time to see all of Disneyland's major entertainment, or else abandon your aggressive ride plan, but you could see Paint The Night or Soundsational. If you got a Fastpass for it or did a dining package you could catch Disneyland's superior version of Fantasmic!, and also see Paint The Night, which looks promising.

There's also several major musical-production stage shows in each Anaheim park that are fresher and more elaborate than WDW's aging stage shows, but not sure you can fit them in. Or would want to.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

With one day I'd only do Disneyland. DCA is amazing but both parks really need a minimum of a day each to do them justice. Upgrading to park hoppers would be $200 for the four of you and I just don't think you'd have enough time to justify the cost.

 

[TP2000]

And finally, just to confirm you don't want to see DCA, here's the DCA offerings that don't exist in the WDW parks:

Red Car Trolley
Disney Animation Pavilion
Flik's Fun Fair - Four small family or spinner rides
Cars Land - Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, Radiator Springs Racers (Mega E Ticket thrill ride)
Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley To The Rescue!
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
Golden Zephyr
Jumpin' Jellyfish
Silly Symphony Swings
Mickey's Fun Wheel
California Screamin' (E Ticket thrill ride)

Plus a dozen other DCA rides that also exist in WDW, or are similar to WDW rides.

 

[JediMasterMatt]

My 2 cents...

Don't do it unless you are going to do it right.

You only get one chance in life to make a first impression, so don't squander it by trying to cram in a one day trip to DLR just to put the notch on their belts.

As DVC owners, you obviously love Disney Parks (at least the Orlando flavor). I can assure you that if you do the trip to DLR right, you will look at WDW in an entirely new light. Good and bad.

I would recommend at the very minimum 3 days with time devoted to both parks; but, even then - that's pushing it.

This summer at DLR will be absolutely magical with so much new and renewed that you'll want to take the tiem to appreciate it.

 

[PacNWTigger]

I agree with @JediMasterMatt in regards to taking the time to do it right. This isn't YOUR first time, but it is for your kids...one day isn't even remotely close to being able to fully enjoy just one of the parks. They are going to miss out on a ton of stuff, and you'll probably have to plan a return trip to DLR sooner rather than later because they're going to want to see everything.

 

[loveglobe]

I've got a DL and WDW AP so I've got some experience with both sides of this coin. I agree that one day is not enough, but if that's truly all you can spare, then I'm going against the grain and say I think you will still want to have a park hopper. If memory serves, Paradise Pier has views of DCA from windows in the hallways even if you don't get a resort view room, so I can't imagine your kids will be happy staying there and seeing that big ole Mickey Wheel but not visiting it too. There's a lot of stuff at DCA that is similar to DHS so in that respect you can cross a lot off the list to see at that park. You've already got some great specific lists of what is unique/special on each side, so my broad brushstroke suggestions would be to spend about 2/3 of your time at DL and 1/3 at DCA. Remember that they still operate with the old FP system so you can't schedule anything in advance. Also, IMHO the west coast parks tend to be much more crowded on average (in part because they're physically smaller but also because there are so many APs like me) so if you don't go to DCA in the morning, you will likely not get to ride Cars without a 1.5-2 hour wait. Seriously. You have been warned! : )

That said, I think even if you popped over there just to walk around, have a pampering dinner at Carthay Circle (get the World of Color package for priority passes to the show later) and do a couple rides like California Screamin' and Tower of Terror, you will have gotten a nice feel for that park. Without giving away too much, the west coast version of Tower of Terror is slightly different from WDW - and you'll be able to debate which is better.

 

[JillC LI]

I would stick to one park. We went to DL for the first time last May. We only had 2 days so we did one park each day. We barely finished everything we wanted in each park (which certainly wasn't everything available) in a full day at each. While you could park hop and hit a few highlights in each park, I don't think it is worth the extra huge cost when you could stay at just one park and see so much. You'll hit the other park on another trip. As for which park to hit, if your kids want Indy and Matterhorn, then your decision is made. Don't miss POC too - it's far better at DL than WDW.