2 days - hoppers or not?

[ncbyrne]

DH and I (seniors, mid 60's) are leaving on a cross country road trip at the end of August to celebrate our retirement. We have planned two days in DL, Mon, Tues Sept 28,29. We will buy our tickets at the gate. We are figuring one day for each park, and DH thinks that buying single day, single park passes will suffice. Should we stick with that plan, or do you think we should spring for hoppers to allow us to roam in both parks?
We have been to DW 11 times, but we have no idea what the layout will be like at DL.

 

[nzdisneymom]

If money isn't an object, I'd do hoppers -- that way you could get in at DL early in the day, head over to DCA when DL starts getting busier or if you feel you want a break -- and then back to DL which may be open later (I guess actually I should say it would depend on the times for DCA and DL being open -- we were just there when DL opened at 8 and DCA didn't open til 10, and DL stayed open til midnight and DCA closed at 9).... also if you have hoppers and for some reason something you really really really want to do is down for a day, you could go back and try the next day.

Happy retirement planning!

 

[HydroGuy]

DH and I (seniors, mid 60's) are leaving on a cross country road trip at the end of August to celebrate our retirement. We have planned two days in DL, Mon, Tues Sept 28,29. We will buy our tickets at the gate. We are figuring one day for each park, and DH thinks that buying single day, single park passes will suffice. Should we stick with that plan, or do you think we should spring for hoppers to allow us to roam in both parks?
We have been to DW 11 times, but we have no idea what the layout will be like at DL.

Unlike WDW, at DLR all tickets of two days or more are automatically parkhoppers. So no extra cost.

Historically the reason for this is the poor attendance at DCA which opened in 2001. Rather than be embarrased by an empty park, Disney tried numerous gimmicks to get more people over there. Eventually they decided on this current policy.

BTW it might change in 2011 or 2012 once the DCA makeover gets completed.

Finally, some lingo advice so you will not sound like a newbie.

Around here "DL" means DisneyLand which is a theme park like MK.

"DLR" means DisneyLand Resort which is a Disney Resort like WDW.

So techincally you would be visiting DL, but it is sort of like saying "hey, we are going to MK this year". And everyone else would say, "Only MK? Aren't you going anywhere else at WDW?"

We know what you mean when you say DL but you will sound more knowledgable if you say DLR.

OK, here is a good starting point for you.

"A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

And with Sept 28 and 29 being weekdays, this will impact you more than an off-season weekday at WDW. Read more here:

"What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

2 Single Day/Single Park tickets would be $138/person and a 2 day hopper is $143. For $5 I would rather have the freedom to hop. The hours that time of year for a Monday/Tuesday is DL 10 am-8 pm and DCA 10 am-6 pm. So even if you spent all of day 1 in just DL and all of day 2 in just DCA, you could still hop to DL for the last 2 hours of day 2!

 

[JoytotheWorld]

I think the main reason to go for two-day park hoppers instead of two separate one day one park only tickets is the extremely close proximity of the two parks. Unlike WDW, where travel to and from the different theme parks can be quite time consuming, Disneyland and California Adventure are only a very short two-minute walk apart. This also gives you the ability to gather a lot more Fastpasses at the two different parks since they are on two different systems.

Joy

 

[Sherry E]

I agree with everyone else! Ordinarily, I am the sort of person who would be crunching the numbers and trying to save money out of necessity - yes, even just a few dollars (hey, I could make good use of that extra $5 per person difference between the two 1-day/1-park tickets and the two 2-day Hoppers!!), but in this case, it would be a good value to get the Hoppers. As others have stated, you may find that you want to retreat to DCA when DL starts to get a little too congested. You also may, for example, want to spend a leisurely time in Disneyland taking in the sights during the day, but then cap off the night with a nice meal at Wine Country Trattoria in DCA or something. Or, on the reverse, you could spend time at DCA and (because it is smaller than DL) realize that you have seen everything you want to see for that day and prefer to go back to Disneyland to end your night. I found that is just nice to have the option to do either and the Hopper gives you more freedom.

 

[disneynerd420]

The park hopper is a necessity. It will allow you the most freedom in your DLR stay. I hope you have a great time

 

[Chris420]

I would definitely get the hoppers for all of above stated reasons plus this will open up the option of doing the things you enjoyed most a second time if ya finish early on day 2

 

[bumbershoot]

If you do go with the one day one park tickets, go to the ticket booths on the Harbor side of the esplanade...much shorter lines.

But I would get the 2 day ticket.

 

[pixiewings71]

Get the 2 day hopper, you'll get more use that way. Enjoy!!!