Add a 4th partial day? First trip!

[bk7700]

Hi everyone! We are rescheduling our first ever DL family trip (canceled because of you-know-what)! Family of 4, kids are teens. Hotel res at Grand Californian. Currently have park hopper tickets and reservations for Dec 23-25.

Before Disney, we are staying in Palm Springs for 4 days. On Dec 22nd we are driving to Anaheim from Palm Springs. We would leave after morning rush hour and probably get to Anaheim around noon.

I called Disney and they said I could upgrade my park ticket to a 4 day park hopper....should I add the fourth partial day for our drive-in day?

Another option is, the day that we leave. Our flight leaves at 9 pm from SNA. We could add the 4th day for our departure day, but we need to leave the park probably by 6 pm. This will be Dec 26th, a Sunday that is bound to be very busy....

Or maybe just stick with 3 day park hopper.

Thanks!!

 

[dieumeye]

I’d add a 4th day and use it on the 22nd when you get in. You probably won’t be able to utilize any virtual queues that day (if they’re still around) but it’ll let you get a “head start” on your Disneyland itinerary.

I find that a start-of-trip half day makes me feel like I’m ahead on my trip, and takes the pressure off subsequent days. I prefer that to last-day half days since I tend to spend that time mostly thinking about when I need to get to the airport!

 

[vacay77]

I would just stick with the 3 day park hopper. We just did 4 days and it was 1 day too many. I’d go to Downtown Disney that first day.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I would add the 4th day to your arrival day. Even if you only do parks for a couple hours, it's better than arriving and just looking/waiting for the next day.

 

[Pluto468]

I would for sure add a partial day! We usually do that and it's been very nice. I think if you will definitely be there for noon it would be nice to do the 4th day on your arrival day since you could stay late. When I am at the parks on departure day I'm distracted about getting to the airport etc. But since your flight leaves so late that may not be an issue for you.

 

[MonocularVision]

The answer to this question will always be answered with this answer on these forums.

 

[bk7700]

@ monocularvision Haha, love it! Being new the forum.....and Disney......

 

[bk7700]

Thanks for the input!

Getting there so late.....does it even matter what park we make our reservation at? Our current tickets are Day 1 DL, Day 2 DCA, Day 3 DL.

 

[DisneylandFan22]

On our arrival days I prefer to do Downtown Disney, spend extra time at the pool, have a nice dinner, possibly watch the fireworks depending on the day, and try to get to bed at a reasonable hour to rest up for our first day. Since it is your first trip, it might be nice to see everything from the outside and build up the anticipation for a magical morning. Then if you really want that half day, do it on the departure day. That gives you an opportunity to focus on anything you may have missed or want to try one last time before leaving. There is really no wrong answer, that would just be my preference.

 

[Pluto468]

Thanks for the input!

Getting there so late.....does it even matter what park we make our reservation at? Our current tickets are Day 1 DL, Day 2 DCA, Day 3 DL.

You can start hopping at 1:00, so it probably doesn't matter too much which park you reserve for your first day. Even if you get into town right at noon you could go to Downtown Disney for a while or maybe even check into your hotel if your room was ready.

 

[bk7700]

Hm, tough choice. Here are my pros and cons:

Dec 22nd:
-Good: slightly less crowded than the 26th (???)
-Good: Exciting to visit the park on the day we arrive
-Bad: Arriving at park during the busiest time of the day
-Bad: Not on property at the beginning of the day....can we even reserve any rides??? (not sure how any of that works)

Dec 26th:
-Good: If we can wake up early, mornings are supposed to be pretty special
-Good: Final opportunity to get a reservation at popular rides
-Bad: Sunday right after Christmas.....crazy crowds???
-Bad: Maybe some distraction about getting packed and getting to airport
-Possible bad: IF flight time gets moved up, will cut into the day

 

[gelatoni fan]

Hi everyone! We are rescheduling our first ever DL family trip (canceled because of you-know-what)! Family of 4, kids are teens. Hotel res at Grand Californian. Currently have park hopper tickets and reservations for Dec 23-25.

Before Disney, we are staying in Palm Springs for 4 days. On Dec 22nd we are driving to Anaheim from Palm Springs. We would leave after morning rush hour and probably get to Anaheim around noon.

I called Disney and they said I could upgrade my park ticket to a 4 day park hopper....should I add the fourth partial day for our drive-in day?

Another option is, the day that we leave. Our flight leaves at 9 pm from SNA. We could add the 4th day for our departure day, but we need to leave the park probably by 6 pm. This will be Dec 26th, a Sunday that is bound to be very busy....

Or maybe just stick with 3 day park hopper.

Thanks!!

If I were adding a day, I would personally go with the 26th because I would get a rope drop and another chance to do Rise of the Resistance and Web Slingers. I'd probably spend the 22nd using hotel amenities like the pool and possibly drive out to get groceries for breakfast or dinner at a nicer place. This is assuming no nighttime entertainment on weekdays like what we have now. But if they have fireworks and other evening entertainment on the 22nd, I would consider doing that day although three nights of fireworks would already be enough for me.

But I personally find that nobody I travel with can keep up rope drop to closing for even three consecutive days so buying a fourth day would always be a waste of money. I'd rather sleep in on the last day and if I wanted to fill some time, I'd visit Downtown Disney, the Santa Ana Zoo, one of the beaches, etc to change things up. Since you have a car, you're not constrained geographically so I say take advantage of it to go somewhere you otherwise wouldn't visit.

 

[sjmac42]

I’d add a day. It’s $120 total for your group to add a 4th day, less than the price of a 1 day 1 park ticket, an absolute bargain. Whether you have 1 hour or 5 hours it’s absolutely worth it. Main thing is those extra few hours mean you don’t necessarily have to go rope drop to close every day.

 

[twodogs]

I personally would add both partial days. We fly in so those partial days add a lot to our trip. Once you have decided to add a fourth day ($30 pp), then the 5th day is only $15 pp I think. So to me it is easy to say I’ll spend $60 in case we want to pop over and ride a few things we missed on departure day. Or get some merch that we failed to buy. Or grab one more Cozy Cone Mac and Cheese…

 

[bk7700]

I personally would add both partial days. We fly in so those partial days add a lot to our trip. Once you have decided to add a fourth day ($30 pp), then the 5th day is only $15 pp I think. So to me it is easy to say I’ll spend $60 in case we want to pop over and ride a few things we missed on departure day. Or get some merch that we failed to buy. Or grab one more Cozy Cone Mac and Cheese…

We are strongly considering this option!! Then we don't have to choose.

 

[Geemo]

For a first trip to Disneyland, go with the max number of days you can.
Especially now with the volume of people in the parks and the Covid restrictions.

 

[twodogs]

For a first trip to Disneyland, go with the max number of days you can.
Especially now with the volume of people in the parks and the Covid restrictions.

Agree 1000%

 

[twodogs]

To go from 3 day PH to 5 day PH for 4 people is a difference of $200 total. Completely worth it during an extremely busy time of year. You can take more time, not rush, and not feel you have to “get it all in” for 3 days only. We always do arrival and departure day, even if only for a few hours. Worth it when the total tickets are $1460 vs $1660; $200 is a tiny fraction of the total.

 

[bk7700]

To go from 3 day PH to 5 day PH for 4 people is a difference of $200 total. Completely worth it during an extremely busy time of year. You can take more time, not rush, and not feel you have to “get it all in” for 3 days only. We always do arrival and departure day, even if only for a few hours. Worth it when the total tickets are $1460 vs $1660; $200 is a tiny fraction of the total.

Thank you so much for that perspective. I was discouraged from doing more days *because* of the crowds (like, it might not be worth it if lines are too long??) - I didn't even think about it taking the pressure off of each day.

$200 is definitely worth that (well, it will actually be $180 because we booked through Costco and will get a higher gift certificate as a reward).

1. For the partial day that we arrive (Dec 22nd), is it possible that we would get shut out if we get there around noon? Is there any chance we will get to ride some rides? It seems like people say you have to get there right at the beginning of a busy day for any hope to ride something? (If not, maybe we would prioritize shows?)
2. For Sunday Dec 26th.....do we have to get in right at the beginning of the day? I've heard the crowds will be crazy that day. If we got there at 9 am would that be really bad?

Thanks!!

 

[OlliePop27]

Has anyone had success adding days to an existing ticket? I reached out out via app chat and was told that ticket upgrades can only be handled in person at the resort. Surely, this can't be possible?