2 or 3 day tickets? PH?

[lspst8]

My family (me, DH, and 2 girls ages 4 and 6) are making our first trip to DL this August. We are starting our West Coadt trip with a week in Seattle, then flying to LAX and staying at the Anaheim HoJo for 3 nights. Our flight to LA lands at noon on Sat 8/19, and we fly out at 3:30 pm on Tuesday 8/22. I'm not sure if I should buy 2 or 3 day tickets or if I should get PH too.

We had APs at WDW last year and rarely hopped, but it sounds like it is much more convenient to hop at DL. My oldest is NOT a trill ride lover (although she loves Soarin). My youngest is pretty short, but she should be 40" tall by August.

 

[agamble]

I'm not one to push for park hoppers, but most people say they can't visit DL without them. We have young kids too and for us park hopping is a pain and something we generally only do after our midafternoon break. IE spend the morning in Disneyland take a break and spend the evening at DCA. I personally would rather spend money on three day non hopper tickets over say a 2 day hopper ticket. Also, with a three day ticket you would get a MM entrance that you could use at DL on Tuesday. You could do Saturday at the HOJO water play area (it's a fun place for little ones). Go to Sunday at DL, Monday at DCA, and Tuesday early at DL before leaving for your plane. Of course You would get more hours out of your ticket if you used the third day on Saturday afternoon, but the morning hours are less crowded so you may get more done on Tuesday morning with a 7AM Magic Morning.