3, 4 or 5 Day Ticket

[mrsmith9]

We are flying into SNA about 1:30pm on a Tuesday, checking into VGC, and flying out of SNA about 1:30pm the following Saturday. Should we purchase a 3, 4, or 5 day ticket?
3 days: Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday
4 days: Tuesday (afternoon/evening), Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday
5 day: Tuesday (afternoon/evening), Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, & Saturday (Morning Magic Hours)

Tuesday, we are flying across country, waking up before the crack of dawn on the east coast, so I’m wondering if we’ll be too exhausted to do anything that day?

Saturday, we have to jump on the Disneyland Express at 11am to get to our flight at SNA. But I believe that is a 7am Magic Morning, there is a lot we can do in 3-4 hours before the crowds arrive. Should we forgo the parks on Saturday and just enjoy the hotels and DTD Saturday morning?

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I personally wouldn't go Saturday because of the hassle of getting up, packed and to the parks at 7am. As far as Tuesday, it'd depend on how late the park is open during your stay.

 

[Huff]

Get the 4 or 5 day. The cost difference isn't very much so it's more than worth it even if you go for only a few hours those extra days. $20 to go from 3 to 4 days, $32 to go from 3 to 5 days.

 

[OKW Lover]

We've done the early morning east coast to west coast flight twice and surprised ourselves at how much we wanted to get out and explore that first night. I guess its the excitement of being there and wanting to see things. We did find that we faded fairly quickly though and were ready to drag ourselves back to the hotel about 8:00 pm (11 pm east coast). Still that was several extra park hours that we enjoyed. It helped us get the lay of the land.

 

[I'm mikey]

What are the dates of your trip?

Heres what i would do.
tuesday... fly into sna, check into hotel, enjoy hotel pool/relax, explore DTD that evening
wed, thurs, fri,...hit the parks
sat...wakeup, have breakfast, pack your bags, fly home

 

[Liray777]

We've done the early morning east coast to west coast flight twice and surprised ourselves at how much we wanted to get out and explore that first night. I guess its the excitement of being there and wanting to see things. We did find that we faded fairly quickly though and were ready to drag ourselves back to the hotel about 8:00 pm (11 pm east coast). Still that was several extra park hours that we enjoyed. It helped us get the lay of the land.

I would go with 4 and decide when you get there if you're up to going into the parks upon arrival or if you would rather save if for early Saturday morning, leave your options open

 

[Huff]

I would go with 4 and decide when you get there if you're up to going into the parks upon arrival or if you would rather save if for early Saturday morning, leave your options open

Thats a great idea but I believe you have to add another day to your ticket before the end of the last day its valid. Meaning it would have to be upgraded from 4 to 5 before the end of the 4th day. I've never done this as I've had AP's so can anyone else confirm?

 

[Lissame]

It really does depend on the dates of your trip...if you're going in the summer with the later summer hours, I'd definitely go on Tuesday. That's a long time to just sit around when you know the park is right there!

And like the other person said, upgrading from a 4 to a 5 day is pretty minimal, you can always do that while you're there if you decide to, or just get the 5 day to start with. I'm all for as many days as you can squeeze in!

 

[Isatricia]

I would definitely go on Tuesday. Going in for several hours on the night we got there really helped with the over-excitement and we walked through DTD once and found it to be a typical mall atmosphere and we didn't care to go back. With a 1:30 flight on Saturday, I would not plan on going to the park.

 

[Eeee-va]

Upgrading from 4 to 5 days at the parks can be expensive, as I believe you'll "lose" any discounts. I THINK Liray777 was suggesting you buy a 4 day hopper and if you feel like visiting the parks on arrival day, do it; if not, go on Saturday instead.

I definitely say at least 4 days. How big is your party? When I'm just buying for myself, I wouldn't hesitate to add an extra day, even if it means just a few hours in the parks. It appears to be $12 to upgrade from 4 days to 5 days. Would I pay $12 to ride Space Mountain twice? I think I would.

On the other hand, with a larger group, is it worth $48 (4 adult admissions) AND the headaches of getting up that early to visit the parks again? Maybe not.

I don't think you can go wrong with either 4 days or 5 days. If you're all (or mostly) about the rides, probably 5, because you'll get some great ride time on that Saturday. If you'd rather have the time to relax, or if you figure you'll be back soon enough that you don't need to squeeze the last couple hours out of your visit, 4 will be just fine. If you're like me, you'll be itching to go on arrival day.

Have a great trip!

 

[ZanderMan]

5 days! Never enough time IMO.

 

[disneychrista]

Get the 4-day, you have too much of the day left when you arrive to not hit the parks.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Get the 4-day, you have too much of the day left when you arrive to not hit the parks.

I agree, the cost difference is probably the price of 2 gallons of gas.

Jack

 

[dougsmom98]

Given your schedule, I would choose a three day option.

We flew from the east coast this past week and arrived at SNA at 3 pm. By the time we got unpacked and had lunch/dinner. We were pretty tired. We ran to the grocery store for drinks/snacks, hit the pool for a short time, and went to bed. I would have felt too disorientated to go to the parks that first night. I like to get everything settled and packed for the next morning, knowing that we will get to the parks early and have a jam packed first day in the park day.

I think you will be too stressed out worrying about leaving on Saturday to go to the parks. I personally would stay as late as possible in the parks on Friday night and then get up Saturday and have a nice breakfast before heading to the airport.

 

[mrsmith9]

What are the dates of your trip?

Heres what i would do.
tuesday... fly into sna, check into hotel, enjoy hotel pool/relax, explore DTD that evening
wed, thurs, fri,...hit the parks
sat...wakeup, have breakfast, pack your bags, fly home

June 5 - 9

 

[mrsmith9]

And like the other person said, upgrading from a 4 to a 5 day is pretty minimal, you can always do that while you're there if you decide to

If I purchase in advance its only $34 extra for the group to add the 5th day. If I upgrade at the park it will cost $103 for the group. The latter is not an option.

 

[mrsmith9]

When I'm just buying for myself, I wouldn't hesitate to add an extra day, even if it means just a few hours in the parks. It appears to be $12 to upgrade from 4 days to 5 days. Would I pay $12 to ride Space Mountain twice? I think I would.

If I purchase in advance its only $34 extra for the group to add the 5th day. So is it worth $34 bucks to run in and ride Space or POC one last time. My only fear is that by the 5th day we will actually be acclimated to Pacific Time, be exhausted, and not able to get up for the 7am Magic Morning hours. But if we don’t make it in, its only $34. We are going to waste well more then $34 on bottle water, cotton candy, and other crap at DLR.

 

[kailuagirl]

I'd get the 4 day for sure, it doesn't cost much more! One summer we arrived early evening and we were so bummed we didn't have tickets. it just wasn't the same to watch the fireworks for the first time of our trip outside.

Do you have kids with you? What are the ages? For us, we'd do that first day for sure! but if you have real little ones it might be better to just take it easy and wake up early the next day!

Good luck and have fun!!

 

[ValpoCory]

If I purchase in advance its only $34 extra for the group to add the 5th day. If I upgrade at the park it will cost $103 for the group. The latter is not an option.

At WDW, once you use your tickets one day, evidence of the advance discount you got disappears, and you can upgrade them cheaply. Is the policy different at Disneyland?

 

[GrandBob]

At WDW, once you use your tickets one day, evidence of the advance discount you got disappears, and you can upgrade them cheaply. Is the policy different at Disneyland?

Yes, this is one of the differences between WDW and DLR. At DLR, when you upgrade you always pay the full gate price minus what you actually paid for the ticket. Sometimes they make a mistake and credit you with the full price of your ticket; but not often, and I wouldn't count on it.

-Bob