2 days or 3?

[Otter49]

Guy here going solo in late August. Never been to DCA and a long time since DL.

I won't be doing kiddie rides and skipping some coasters. Single rider and FP will be my thing. Very interested in the night shows.

I'm as interested in non Disney things as Disney so while I want to enjoy the parks I don't want to go more than needed.

So - 2 days or 3?

And what are park hours likely to be?

Thanks.

 

[peterpanandwendy]

2 will be fine I would think. You could easily do a day in each park, or even a day and a half in disneyland and half a day in DCA. Hours in August are usually 8:00am-12:00pm.

When we went commando style as adults (no kids) we would get to the park for rope drop, do as many rides as we could in the AM before the crowds got bad, head into DTD for a beer and some lunch, then try to hit up shows/parades etc in the afternoon/evening with a few rides thrown in.

 

[Imdboss]

I always vote for the longest trip to DL possible! With 3 days you could plan for one in each park and then split the 3rd. If you are planning on all the nighttime entertainment I think 3 would be best so that you can split the DL stuff between two nights and get good viewing for each of the 3 offerings and one night for WoC at DCA.

 

[Otter49]

Thanks

 

[mgd]

Aside from hotel and other costs, it's fairly cheap to add the 3rd day ticketwise, so that is my vote, but you can probably do almost everything in 2 days, assuming the lines for radiator racers, space mountain, indy, matterhorn are in your favor.

If you plan to see ALL the shows, (fantasmic, paint the night, woc, forever fireworks, soundsational parade, pixar parade, aladdin show...) AND all with good views, then I would say do 3 days or you will be running from show to show all day.

 

[Canuck16]

I would suggest 3 if you want to see all of the night time shows in each park.

 

[maltdizzy]

2 days. Since you are skipping chunks, you can easily get your fill in 2 days. There is a caveat of crowds in August, which may slow you down to the point where you'll want a third day.

After two days dealing with the lines, crowds, etc., I would be looking for something more laid back. You've already said you want to do non-Disney things as well, and unlike WDW, the resorts doesn't offer much beyond the park. But that is because Southern California may have the most diversity in activity in all of North America....get out and enjoy it. There are times of year you can go skiing in the morning, surfing in the afternoon, and finish at a club in West Hollywood. There is hiking in the Santa Monica mountains (or in Griffin Park to stay closer to civilization), art museums (MoCA and LACMA), repertory cinema, shopping, beaches, movie studio tours, Point Break Live!, etc.

I know people travel to DL and WDW just for the parks, often staying much longer than I would have patience for...but the real world is just as incredible.

 

[Otter49]

A follow up question - thank in advance.

If I spend 3 nights in the Anaheim area and then want to spend another 3 or four nights in the LA area - how or where would you spend them. Where would you spend the additional hotel nights. Price matters but I'd be willing to splurge a little.

I was thinking a guided tour might not be a bad idea.

 

[figment_jii]

And what are park hours likely to be?

It's hard to say what the hours will be in late August because DLR usually starts to transition from their summer operating schedule to their non-peak schedule in late-August. You can skim through the historic operating calendars archived by wdwinfo to get a sense of the operating hours. DL is generally open longer than DCA (by one or two hours) and weekend hours are generally longer than weekday hours.