How many days to really see everything?

Smiling Cheshire Cat

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 16, 2009
I have seen where some say you can easily see DL and DCA in 3 or 4 days. Is this really enough time to see and do most everything? DS12 and I are lovers of all things disney. This will be our first and possibly only trip during his childhood to see DL. We will be there for 8 nights and 7 days. DH has a conference for the first 4 days. On the first morning we are there, which will be a Sunday, I hope to do the Welcome to Disneyland Tour for DS and I. Also since we will be there the week before Halloween we also will go to the Halloween party hopefully one week night.

I'm considering getting the 6 day hopper ticket. If we do this it will leave us with only 1 day to do something non Disney which will probably be Legoland if it is his choice. We will only have access to go somewhere in the rental car probably the last 3 days of the 7 because of DH's conference.

Will this be too much Disney? We're not big fans of Universal in Florida so are we missing out if we don't visit other places while we are in California?
 
If you are a major Disney lover more is definetely better. From what I have seen on this board October can get very busy. If you have more time for the parks you might feel more relaxed about it.
 
There is a difference between "seeing everything" and merely having a fulfilling trip where one does not feel like they missed alot. Three days is really the minumum so that when you leave you did not feel like you missed a lot. To really see everything then 5-6 days is probably about right.

The answer also depends on how you tour. Do you get to the gates 30 minutes early? Do you use FP aggressively? Do you know which rides are best done in the morning, afternoon, or evening? Do you take hotel breaks? Are you going during high season? Are you going in low season weekdays? Are you in good physical condition and have a lot of stamina?

We did a four day trip once and it was too many days for us. Now we do 2-3 days. But we do not go with the idea of seeing everything. We go with the idea of seeing most or all of the things we enjoy most. :)
 
There are usually 6 of us so we stick to 5-6 days with breaks away from the parks. After an 18 hour drive, we make the most of what time we have. By doing this I am out of the attack mode and more into enjoying the sights and sounds.(getting there eventually if it kills me.)
Everyone in the family has something different planned so we tackle as much as we can.

Jack
 


Last time we went, we went for 4 days. We did EVERYTHING in 3 days and re-did everything we loved again on the 4th day. I thought 4 days was perfect. We had 2 small kids with us, so if you don't have little kids you could move along even faster. I had a plan written out and we got to the parks every day before they opened (we had one MM) if you don't have a plan set, I would think you would need more like 5 days to go around at a leisurely pace.
 
5 day trips usually feel a little bit long for us (we are ready to leave for home by about noon on the 5th day). 2 days is not enough for us. 4 is usually perfect.

HOWEVER, we have to keep track of 4 kids, and many of our trips have been when they were toddlers/preschoolers. being as this might be your only trip to DLR during your son's childhood, coupled with the fact that he's 12 and can take care of basically all his own needs (no diapers, no tantrums, etc....issues that make a disneyland trip pretty taxing for parents taking little kids), then i would suggest taking all 6 days if you think you will enjoy it enough. i'd suggest just 4 except that october has become a really busy month. maybe compromise and do 5?
 
There is a difference between "seeing everything" and merely having a fulfilling trip where one does not feel like they missed alot.

To really see everything then 5-6 days is probably about right.

Obviously I have to tour with HG. Because we've gone several times since '05, I've been there something like 28 days total, and I still have not seen or done *everything*. I haven't even done/seen everything I WANT to see/do!

So obviously I'm doing it wrong.

For what you think will be a once-in-a-childhood trip, I'd do as long as the tickets allow (so annoying they don't have a longer ticket before needing to upgrade).
 


We really like 5 days, and could easily do 6... 4 seems too short, can never get enough done, but we do take afternoon naps which cuts into our time in the parks!
 
Obviously I have to tour with HG. Because we've gone several times since '05, I've been there something like 28 days total, and I still have not seen or done *everything*. I haven't even done/seen everything I WANT to see/do!

So obviously I'm doing it wrong.

For what you think will be a once-in-a-childhood trip, I'd do as long as the tickets allow (so annoying they don't have a longer ticket before needing to upgrade).
Molly, you can come with us anytime. ;) To me "see everything" usually means "go on all the rides", "see all the shows", and "eat at a few good restaurants". If one defines it more narrowly like purists maybe like yourself as in "see every little detail and corner" then I need to go with you as I agree I see something new every time! :cool2:
 
I think you need the whole 6 days. The older I get, the more time I need/want. When you find things you really love, you have time to do them extra. I love 6 days!! :)
 
I say go for it!

In the past we have had 7 and 8 day hoppers, (sadly these aren't available any longer) and have used every day. We love having the opportunity to really relax, take in every sight and sound, see Billy Hill twice, ride Space Mountain 10 times, and walk through every shop on Main Street. We love these long trips and never have we left the parks feeling like we were Disney'd out.

I agree with Bumbershoot, I still don't think we have done everything...maybe close but I'm sure we have missed something.

Maybe we are weird...but 7 days in Disneyland/CA for us is the most perfect week ever! :thumbsup2

Enjoy your trip.
 
I'd do the six days in Disney. I don't think it's too much Disney at all. We have always done 3 day trips in the past, and though sufficient to ride most of the rides, this was the first year we have done a 4 and 6 day trip. It was so nice to be able to sit and relax at dinner instead of trying to hurry up and eat to get to the next ride/show. It was nice to know when my son was tired or we were tired, that we could sleep in a little later or leave the park early because we had some extra time in the park.

We have done things that we usually don't do, just because they are not high priorities and we run out of time, like innoventions and Tiki Room, etc and we have learned that my son loves ASIMO and could watch that robot for hours on end :)

So in my opinion, I would do the six days. There's plenty to see and do!!!
 
To our family vacation is synonymous with "sleeping in"......so more days removes the need to arrive early from the equation :). It also allows you to schedule sit down meals, shopping, or a movie in DD.
 
I could definitely spend six days there, but with my husband 4 is pushing it. The first time we went we were there 3 days and I wished we had been there longer. The 2nd time we went, we spent 4 days there. It was good, but I still would've like to stay longer. I'm a Disney nut! :)
 
OP, I would also suggest that, at 12, your ds might be a little old for LegoLand. The huge buildings and cars made out of Legos are neat, but all of the rides/attractions are pretty much geared toward younger kids. Just something else to think about or at least look into before you decide to drive down to LL.
 
OP, I would also suggest that, at 12, your ds might be a little old for LegoLand. The huge buildings and cars made out of Legos are neat, but all of the rides/attractions are pretty much geared toward younger kids. Just something else to think about or at least look into before you decide to drive down to LL.

I agree. LL is more for younger kids like 4-7.
OP, if your kid likes wild rides, there's always Knott's Berry Farm; right down the road and fun for one day. I agree with the others who suggest you go to DL for as long as you can 5 or 6days. Then you can tour commando style and do the MM in the beginning, and take your time to enjoy the small stuff, sleep in occasionally, watch Fantasmic and Fireworks a couple of times, see other parades and shows, and schedule sit down meals for the remaining days with out feeling like you may have missed out on some things. October was crazy busy this past year, so take all the extra days you can to do DL without freaking out over the crowds. If you don't like Universal Orlando, you will probably despise USH, so definitely avoid going there.
 
You really cannot buy a 7 or 8 day hopper anymore???:confused: We had them in Dec. '08.

Sadly, no. I feel your pain. The longest park hoppers now are 6 days. Now, if you want to go longer the next step is an Annual Pass. I know they aren't much more money, but still if you truly were only going once a year the longer park hopper was nice - so were the extra MM's you got when you bought them from GetawayToday.
 
Thanks everyone for all the advice. It sounds like 6 days at Disney will be best for us. We probably will get to the park for rope drop most days but we also will probably do a Table Service meal also everyday. It will be nice to not be under such time stress.

I'm not too excited about visiting Legoland either but it has always been a dream of DS' to go. He has been a huge Lego fan since he was a preschooler. I have seen pics of Legoland and it really doesn't look like there is a whole lot to offer for him, but he is not a huge thrill ride guy so maybe it will be okay.
 
I've been at least 30 or more times and just heard the noises down that one alley by the lockers. In the middle of the day, I'd love to go into the shops on Main Street to look around but we are always running to another ride. On the way out, they are packed so have never really just really strolled through the stores looking. This year I will. 5 or 6 days would give you that option to check out other things other than the rides.

There's the Lego store in DTD, the ocean with the Boardwalk with some rides.
 

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