2 or 3 days for first (possibly only) trip?

[StarSeven7]

We've been to Disney World quite a few times since we live closer to Florida, but we've never been to Disneyland. We are looking into a Southern California trip for this March and want to include Disneyland. I was going to book 3 day tickets but my husband might not be able to take as many days off of work so we may need to either switch to 2 days at DLR or eliminate a day somewhere else in our trip. We would be ok with buying Genie+ and possibly ILL$ if we only do a 2 day trip to make sure we can see as much as possible because I'm not sure if we'll do a trip out to California again while our kids are younger. Do you feel like you can see most everything with a 2 day park hopper pass including Genie+ and ILL$, or do you feel like you really need 3 days to cover everything? It will be my son's birthday on the trip, on a Saturday, and he REALLY wants to go to Galaxy's Edge for his birthday, so that might be a more crowded day than going on a weekday, so that might make it more difficult to get things done. What are your thoughts? I don't want to feel like we were rushed trying to squeeze everything in since I don't know if we will get a chance to go back or not. Thanks!

 

[BrianL]

I think you can really get most of it done in two days, but just a warning, you may become so enamored with Disneyland that you may want that third day anyway. I usually say that three days is about perfect for a DLR tirp. I think with two days you may feel rushed, but it's better than nothing.If any of the shows liek Fantasmic! or World of Color come back you may need to factor in time for those too - the timeline on their return is unsure at this time.

Have fun!

 

[StarSeven7]

I think you can really get most of it done in two days, but just a warning, you may become so enamored with Disneyland that you may want that third day anyway. I usually say that three days is about perfect for a DLR tirp. I think with two days you may feel rushed, but it's better than nothing.If any of the shows liek Fantasmic! or World of Color come back you may need to factor in time for those too - the timeline on their return is unsure at this time.

Have fun!

Thank you! Yeah I didn’t see an exact date on when those shows were returning. We would be going in mid-March. Your assessment is sort of what I was thinking….doable in 2 days but 3 days is better.

 

[Dee MarWil]

Barely doable in 2 is what i think

 

[magsnwonderland]

We’re debating the same thing for our April trip with the added park hop or not element. If we only do two days, I’d spring for genie+ and ILL over hopping but the possibility of the shows returning is making me lean toward 3.

 

[TeamRiley]

If you are constantly on the run you can do it all in 2 days. If you want to relax and have some fun - maybe some time at the pool etc. - you should schedule 3 days.

 

[StarSeven7]

Thanks everyone. You're confirming what I thought!

 

[disneylover102]

We've been to Disney World quite a few times since we live closer to Florida, but we've never been to Disneyland. We are looking into a Southern California trip for this March and want to include Disneyland. I was going to book 3 day tickets but my husband might not be able to take as many days off of work so we may need to either switch to 2 days at DLR or eliminate a day somewhere else in our trip. We would be ok with buying Genie+ and possibly ILL$ if we only do a 2 day trip to make sure we can see as much as possible because I'm not sure if we'll do a trip out to California again while our kids are younger. Do you feel like you can see most everything with a 2 day park hopper pass including Genie+ and ILL$, or do you feel like you really need 3 days to cover everything? It will be my son's birthday on the trip, on a Saturday, and he REALLY wants to go to Galaxy's Edge for his birthday, so that might be a more crowded day than going on a weekday, so that might make it more difficult to get things done. What are your thoughts? I don't want to feel like we were rushed trying to squeeze everything in since I don't know if we will get a chance to go back or not. Thanks!

Whenever I’ve gone for 2 days it’s felt a little cramped. 3 days or more is when I feel like I can easily do everything I want to do. Either way though if you buy genie+ you’ll be able to do a LOT more

 

[Steven G]

Here is what I typically do:

day 1 Disneyland. Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, including toontown.
day 2 DCA. All of DCA.
day 3 Disneyland. Rest of Disneyland.

this doesn’t mean I strictly follow the above. What usually happens is that at around 3pm each day, we decide what else to do. With genie plus, you can definitely go to the other parts of Disneyland, and with park hoppers you can cross over to the other park. Or go back to the hotel And pool.

only two days would make it difficult to really enjoy the parks, like exploring, shopping,etc. If you just want thrill ride stuff, you could definitely do it in 2 days, if you pushed.

 

[gelatoni fan]

I would generally recommend a first time visitor to do 3 days Disneyland, DCA, Disneyland without park hoppers or Genie+. 2 days will feel a bit rushed especially for first time visitors who don't know their way around the parks.

 

[StarSeven7]

Thanks so much for your input everyone! You've convinced me to stick with 3 days at DLR and eliminate a day somewhere else in our trip!

 

[DCcook]

If StarSeven7 doesn't mind me jumping in, any thoughts on choosing to go Wed/Thur/Fri vs Thur/Fri/Sat?

I was previously looking at 2 days but we've been swayed to go with 3. We'll do parkhoppers, and we're looking at the third week of March.

 

[mouschievous]

I agree that with a Park Hopper and probably G+, 2 days will work but 3 days will be more enjoyable.

We’re debating the same thing for our April trip with the added park hop or not element. If we only do two days, I’d spring for genie+ and ILL over hopping but the possibility of the shows returning is making me lean toward 3.

I would actually argue that the hopper is even more important with 2 days than with 3. We haven't been since Avengers campus opened, but before that we found that DCA was more of a 1/2 to 3/4 day park. Also, DL tends to be open later than DCA and you can get a lot done in that time after DCA closed.

 

[magsnwonderland]

I agree that with a Park Hopper and probably G+, 2 days will work but 3 days will be more enjoyable.


I would actually argue that the hopper is even more important with 2 days than with 3. We haven't been since Avengers campus opened, but before that we found that DCA was more of a 1/2 to 3/4 day park. Also, DL tends to be open later than DCA and you can get a lot done in that time after DCA closed.

I hadn't thought about that - I'm used to WDW where park hopping is a giant PITA and it would never be worth it to hop for just an hour at the end of the day. Looking at the list of attractions, it seemed like a full day with Avengers campus - I'm visiting with my 7 yo Spidey fan, so he's going to want to stop and see the shows and meet the characters to the extent possible. He loves rides and is tall enough for everything, though he may not want to ride Guardians and I don't do water rides so no Grizzly River Rapids for us.

 

[ktlm]

With a young kid and during spring break crowds, I would say 3---- but what are your other plans and what do you have to give up?

 

[gelatoni fan]

If StarSeven7 doesn't mind me jumping in, any thoughts on choosing to go Wed/Thur/Fri vs Thur/Fri/Sat?

I was previously looking at 2 days but we've been swayed to go with 3. We'll do parkhoppers, and we're looking at the third week of March.

I would prefer Thursday to Saturday. The reason is that there will be longer park opening hours (likely by an additional 3 hours) and fireworks only go from Friday-Sunday. If Fantasmic or World of Color return by then (not guaranteed but many people think Spring 2022 seems likely), it's possible they'll only be Friday-Sunday as well. The downside of Saturday compared to Wednesday is that during the day, wait times may be a bit longer.

 

[ktlm]

The downside of Saturday compared to Wednesday is that during the day, wait times may be a bit longer.

I wouldn't be so sure about that, because in March I think a lot of the Saturdays are blocked for the passholders (okay keyholders). In our experience going in busier times, the Saturdays when the passes are blocked are really nice as far as crowds even in what you would expect would be a busy time--- maybe because they are travel days for a lot of people arriving from other places. We have had several trips where Saturday was a lot less crowded than the weekdays we were there. I will say that October 2021 was completely insanely crowded and I think there were some passes blocked out those Saturday's too, but the weekdays weren't much better-- Sunday was our decent park crowd day that trip and sadly it was our departure day so we didn't get to spend the whole day there.

 

[DCcook]

I would prefer Thursday to Saturday. The reason is that there will be longer park opening hours (likely by an additional 3 hours) and fireworks only go from Friday-Sunday. If Fantasmic or World of Color return by then (not guaranteed but many people think Spring 2022 seems likely), it's possible they'll only be Friday-Sunday as well. The downside of Saturday compared to Wednesday is that during the day, wait times may be a bit longer.

Thanks! I was leaning toward Wed-Fri to avoid some of the crowds but still have a chance at seeing fireworks on Fri (at a minimum). We arrive on Tues and leave on Sun, though so I'm also trying to decide whether I should shift things to the weekend so we can spend 1.5-2 days in Santa Monica or somewhere along the beach for another, different taste of SoCal.

 

[DCcook]

I wouldn't be so sure about that, because in March I think a lot of the Saturdays are blocked for the passholders (okay keyholders). In our experience going in busier times, the Saturdays when the passes are blocked are really nice as far as crowds even in what you would expect would be a busy time--- maybe because they are travel days for a lot of people arriving from other places. We have had several trips where Saturday was a lot less crowded than the weekdays we were there. I will say that October 2021 was completely insanely crowded and I think there were some passes blocked out those Saturday's too, but the weekdays weren't much better-- Sunday was our decent park crowd day that trip and sadly it was our departure day so we didn't get to spend the whole day there.

Ah, good to know!

 

[Malcon10t]

Also realize if someone is an avid Avenger's fan or Star Wars fan, exploring the areas can eat a lot of time. You can easily spend several hours waiting for and watching the various shows in Avengers campus. Between watching for Spidermans show, waiting and watching Dr. Strange, seeing the Wakandas, watching the Black Panther, etc can take a big part of the day.