1 day - anything at Calif Adventure worth seeing?

[geochick]

• We'll be at Disneyland July 7.
• We have only 1 day.
• We have a 4yo dd (princess nut) and a 6yo ds (Indy nut) (the 6yo is a chicken on rides).
• I already purchased my 1 day Parkhopper passes.
• I have already made my dinner reservations (July 6) at Goofy's, and our dinner reservations (July 7) for Blue Bayou.

We have a subscription to Ridemax, and have our list for DLand ready to go, but we're flexible.

I purchased the hopper pass just in case we find out something California Adventure has that we simply shouldn't miss. It seems kind of silly to me to run back and forth between parks unless there's something there we shouldn't miss. We are mostly interested in kid rides (dh and I just want to show them a good time, so we don't care about the big, crazy roller coasters).

Anyway, is there any reason we should leave Dland on our 1 and only day? What do your kids (same age) like over there?

Thanks.

 

[HydroGuy]

First time to DLR? Or just DCA? Kids been to WDW before?

Without knowing your backgorund, here are a few things at DCA that are worth doing with young kids:

o Animation Studios - when my kids were younger I would have to pull the out of there after 90 minutes

o Turtle Talk With Crush - a must do

o Aladdin show - a great, hilarious stage show. 40 minutes. Broadway quality.

o Its Tough To Be a Bug

o If they are tall enough, Soarin Over California is the best ride there

o Toy Story Midway Mania

 

[PigletGurl]

A Bug's Land!!!!!

That is my favorite land and I'm 20!

 

[Monkey Monkey]

Since your DD is a princess nut, you may want to do a princess breakfast or lunch at Ariel's Grotto.

The Playhouse Disney Live! show is also really fun if your kids are into Little Einsteins, MMCH, Winnie the Pooh, and/or Handy Manny.

 

[geochick]

First time to DLR? Or just DCA? Kids been to WDW before?

For the kids - first time to DLR and DCA. My oldest doesn't remember WDW.
Dh and I haven't been to DLR since we were teens. Never been to DCA.

Thanks.

 

[Disney Dreams]

The above are all great answers to your question. The piece you may be missing to understand why you want to work these into your plan is: It's only a 3 minute walk from the front gate of DL to the front gate of DCA.

- Dreams

 

[kikiq]

To echo and emphasis pps...DCA is a "short" walk from DL AND your kids might enjoy a bug's land attractions, not scary geared to the little ones.

If your kids like Pixar films, the DCA parade features Pixar characters.

I think it's possible to do both. Start early in morning at DL, then spend some time in DCA and return to DL. If you're concentrating on the attractions for your young kids, you should be able to do both.

 

[geochick]

This is so helpful. I'm so glad I got the Hopper. Thanks.

 

[jlmarr]

To add (and subtract) to the above -

+ Monsters Inc

+ Muppet 3D

+ Toy Story Zoetrope (in Animation building - amazing little exhibit, a 5-10 minute diversion, but don't miss it).

+ Playhouse Disney show (strictly for the little ones)

- Tough To Be A Bug (great show, but probably too scary for little ones)

 

[camouseketeer]

To add (and subtract) to the above -

+ Monsters Inc

+ Muppet 3D

+ Toy Story Zoetrope (in Animation building - amazing little exhibit, a 5-10 minute diversion, but don't miss it).

+ Playhouse Disney show (strictly for the little ones)

- Tough To Be A Bug (great show, but probably too scary for little ones)

I agree with all of the above.

I would also add the Redwood Challenge area. There are lots of nets to climb, slides to slide down, a zip line (must be a certain height), and a great overall place to have kids burn off energy!

My kids also love Mulholland Madness. They are NOT big roller coaster kids, but this one is fast enough but tame enough that it's a great ride for them.

 

[Shimmer]

My kids have enjoyed:

• Flik's Fun Fair (carnival rides for the young set)
• Water sprayers at Fliks' where you can get soaking wet
• Redwood Challenge Trail (great place to be cool as it's shaded and great to get out of standing in lines for awhile)
  Playhouse Disney show which is very cute

 

[jernysgirl]

If you had more time, I would recommend Toy Story Midway Mania, but because the lines can be long at times, you should probably avoid it. I would also suggest avoiding to madness in the evenings for WOC and instead try to catch the fireworks, Fantasmic! or both!

 

[rentayenta]

At DCA, given the ages of your children, I wouldn't miss:

Soarin'
TSMM
Bug's Land
Animation Studio even if for 30 minutes
GRR

 

[mytripsandraces]

If you get to DCA right when it opens and head straight for Toy Story Midway Mania, the wait should only be about 20 minutes. The park is wonderfully themed and laid out in a very relaxed way. Tour the Mission Tortilla factory and get a free tortilla at the end, then the Boudin sourdough factory, if you like sourdough. The Monsters, Inc., ride is great for kids and if you take the path along NY Street, towards Tower of Terror, you may find Sully giving out hugs.

DCA is a fantastic addition to Disneyland, but make sure you spend time in Disneyland. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is still open there, plus the Storybookland Canal Boats, Casey Jr.'s Circus Train, and Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin in Mickey's Toontown. If you ride the Disneyland Railroad from Toontown to Main Street, you'll pass a wonderful diorama, too.

 

[Mugglemama]

o If they are tall enough, Soarin Over California is the best ride there

I second this. If my kids were given time to ride even just ONE thing over in DCA, it would be Soarin'. They are 18, 12, 9, and 5. But they have all LOVED Soarin'. (My 5 year old is STILL convinced that he's actually flying on that ride!) If we skipped it on one of our trips, DH and I would have a mutiny on our hands, lol.

That said, I'm not sure I'd try to fit in DCA if I only had a 4 and 6 year old, and we only had one day. My kids have been going since they were babies, so they already have their faves, but if I was taking 4 & 6 year old kids who had never been before, I'd probably just stick with DL.

We'll be there on the 7th, too. Have fun, whatever you decide!

 

[nana50]

My grandkids prefer DCA. They love Bug's land, (that is where Flick's flyers are). Soarin' is not to be missed. However hit DL first and when it gets crowded head over to DCA.

 

[farmfresh]

As OPs have said , there is plenty to do at DCA...but you do only have one day.
So I would tend to focus on DL, and pop across to DCA for a few things (maybe midday - early afternoon) like the funfair, muppets, and monsters Inc which won't take much queuing time.

You've got Ridemax, so that will make life easy...

As a general rule of thumb, we would get to DL early, do the non FP rides in Fantasyland first, (collecting Fps for other rides through the morning), then Jungle cruise, pirates etc. Some time during that process send a runner to DCA to pick up a soaring fast pass.

Then cross over to DCA, enjoy your rides there.... then head back to DL to finish up with your FP rides.

There are some great shows to see, but I must confess we always put the lower on the priority list than rides. Depends though on what your family likes to do! I'm sure you will have a great time.

 

[Flitterific]

Aladdin is a great show and not to be missed, IMO. A Bug's Land would also be fun and Monster's Inc. is definitely my favorite ride next to Toy Story Midway Mania (line isn't so bad toward the end of the day). However, I agree that you guys should probably do all the rides in Fantasyland in DLR first since it is a non-Magic Morning day (meaning the parks don't open extra early for those with special passes). After a bunch of rides, maybe you or your husband can head over to Princess Fantasy Faire to start lining up to see the princesses (usually opens one hour after the park) while the other brings the kids on a few more rides. It is best to get to PFF at least 15-20 minutes before it opens as the line starts to get pretty long after it opens.

Like a PP mentioned, it would be best to send a runner to DCA to get Soarin' FPs while the rest of the party waits in line for something else. Do keep in mind that the FP machines are not linked between DLR and DCA so you can hold one FP to each park simultaneously. Try to collect as many FPs as possible in DLR in the morning/early afternoon before going to DCA for a break. Have fun!

 

[Barbday62]

You know with only one day Id never do a sit down meal.

 

[Sara*s_Mommie]

You know with only one day Id never do a sit down meal.

I agree. This really cuts into touring. You can get a really good wiff of Blue Bayou from Pirates ..maybe that would hold you over?

My suggestion - go to Disneyland.com and figure out what rides at DL are not to be missed for you and your family. Use Ridemax and try to get a large time gap - like a chunk of time in the afternoon. Use the time gap to go to California Adventure.

For California Adventure: I would not go into Flix's Fun Faire - the rides are slow loading (think Dumbo but lines not quite as long) so you'll waste a lot of time there. Not to be missed are Toy Story Mania and Soaring as other posters have said. Get a FP to Soaring then go ride TSM. There's a lot you could do, but with only one day, I would think DL is most important. You might find that CA just doesn't fit in with what you want to see and do at DL...this would most likely be the case for me with only 1 day.