Additional $700 for extra day--worth it?

[Pooh Crew]

Here's the deal: Dh and I are taking our five children to DL for the first time in early June. We are flying into San Diego and doing Legoland and the zoo along with some touring there. We were planning to drive up to Anaheim on Thursday morning and do DL (one day/no hop tkt.) just that one day. If we changed up the schedule a little, we could drive to Anaheim on Wednesday and spend Wed and Thur at DL/DCA...BUT it would cost us an extra $700 (the Anaheim hotel is more expensive and the two day hopper tickets are double the one day non hopper ones). Is the one extra day worth that much???

 

[davidsprincess]

You need at least 3 days at DL to see everything for the first time. Doing it in 1 day will be very tough and you may not get to see or do everything that you want to do. If seeing all of Disneyland is important to your family, then you may want to spend a little less time in San Diego or take a longer trip if you are able. You might want to discuss this with DH.
We went to DL for the first time last October and we went for 2 days. It was not long enough to see everything. That is why I say that our trip in Nov. will be our real first time to DL as we are doing a much longer stay.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

You'll be missing so much if you just do one day at DL, and not even park hop. Really 2 days isn't even enough. It really takes 3 days to really enjoy everything.

DL is the main attraction for us when we go to So. Cal. We are doing Universal for one day of our week trip. But the rest are DL!

Where are you staying near DL? Maybe we can help you find a better deal?

 

[Dopey's MIL]

Let's see.....5 kids the first of June.....hmmmmmmmmm yep it will be worth it. Depending on the ages of your children, you'll want to plan ahead what you really want to see and do. If you just did DL for two days, you might get most of it in...but not both parks to do them justice. IMHO

 

[DangerMouse]

I think you could do it cheaper. What hotel are you looking to stay at? Have you found the biggest discounts on Legoland and Seaworld by visiting the S. Cal section of the Dis?

 

[mikayla73]

I like to spend as much time at DL as possible. We usually always use Anaheim as our "base" and then venture out for day trips to other places, like SW and the SD Zoo. You can do SW in a day, and have done the whole thing. We usually drive down in the AM and back to Anaheim in the evening.

If you can do the $700 difference, I would do it. Although it's usually just DH and I traveling and that seems like a lot of $ to me, but I think am just not used to paying for more than us. That's about $100/person, so if I look at it that way, to me it's a good deal As mentioned above, you may be able to find more deals and do it cheaper

DL is like no other place, it truely is very Magical!

 

[ballarinamom]

To be cautious I would do it. You said you were driving into Anaheim that morning. What if traffic is worse than expected? You may not be there for rope drop and miss even more than expected. I agree with shopping around a little for hotel and tickets. Maybe even driving to Anaheim in the evening so you wake up in DLR area

 

[samkj]

How early in June? Hojo still has the Ent rate of $59/$74 for June 3, 4, and 5 per room. With seven people there is not much you can do about the ticket cost, it will be a lot, but IMHO worth the cost. How many days will you be in the CA?

 

[spaceace510]

i would try to expand the DL part of you trip. But if you can't ... but you do need to upgrade to a one day hopper. when u drive up, i would head into CA, go through that and then spend the rest of your time in DL...but one day is impossible... on my trip i took 3-4 days to really see everything. Cause early in the trip we bypassed things to avoid crowds...please expand your trip if possible!

 

[ronandannette]

We visited Disneyland for a single day in May of '05. I had been waiting all my life to go. My best advice to you if you do decide to limit yourselves to one day is this: don't over-research and over-plan; you'll have no margin for error. Just show up at the gates in the morning well-rested and excited and let the day take you where it may. It was truly one of the most fantastic days of my life.

Conversely, for our 4 day '06 DW trip I had charts, graphs, synchronized watches - the works. Not one single day went like we wanted it to and honestly, we were all disappointed. I look fondly forward to returning to Disneyland, but could care less if I ever again set foot in Florida. Whatever you end up doing, all the best to you and your family - make some great memories!

Annette

P.S. Disneyland is beastly expensive; we went on a four day cruise afterwards that cost LESS altogether than one overnight in Anaheim and our day at the park!!

 

[lulubelle]

I say yes, DO IT!!!
But of course I am a Disneyland freak who would tell everyone go as much as they can.

I hope it works out, you will have an amazing time.

 

[disney-inspired]

I would say skip the zoo and add on another day at Disneyland. One day is not nearly enough to enjoy every ride and show. Also if you upgrade to parkhoppers, then you could see both DL and DCA.

 

[twinspluscade]

Gosh, that's a tough one! $700--at least for our family--is a lot of money!

I guess for my family, personally, I would not be adding the extra day, because we loathe crowds--to the point where I refuse to ever do a Disney park in the summer. . So for OUR family, the extra $700 would not be worth it. But your family might be different.

How old are your kids? How do they handle waiting in lines? Will you be doing all sorts of rides, or mainly the non-thrill rides? If I were you, I'd make a list of all the rides and shows you want to see, and then try to figure out if it's possible to do in one day. If you plan on doing just the Fantasyland-type rides; I'd probably just stick with one day. But if you want to do every single ride in the park; I'd look to trying for two.

If it isn't possible, maybe you can find a cheaper hotel rate?

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[MaiynaMouse]

I would say add the extra day. The first time we went to Disneyland, we spent 3 full days. I took my younger kids for one night while my husband took my oldest son to an Angels baseball game. So, in all, we really had 3 1/2 days. I felt like we were able to do most everything we wanted. We missed a few things but for the most part, could do a lot. However, this time, we opted for 5 days in just DL/DCA. The friends we are traveling with think we are crazy and that we should spend more time exploring CA. I told them they could if they wanted to but that we are definitely going to be spending the full five days at the resort. There are just so many things to see and do and you can't do it in a day. I would make a list of your priorities at the park and see if it is doable in a day. If not, I would definitely upgrade to a 2 day park hopper. At the very least, I would upgrade to a park hopper for the one day you will be there. There is quite a bit to see and do in DCA and I think it would be worth it to spend a couple of hours there.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
~mm

 

[Pooh Crew]

Well, you've all pretty much confirmed exactly what I've been thinking. We are staying at the Residence Inn Maingate, but with seven people, we have to get two rooms because we are over fire code. Now, some hotels have told us that seven is fine, but we still have to have a suite, so that's a big part of the problem. The other thing is that the US Open is going on during the week we go, so hotel prices are all jacked up for that. We're using the Go San Diego card for those attractions, so I do think we've gotten a good deal, but probably not the BEST deal, kwim?

Our kids are 7, 8,8,8, and 18. They are fully capable of walking, but are not much on long lines...like any other child.

Thank you so much for the "confirmations"--now I've got to figure out a way to convince dh that DL will definitely take two days.

 

[mikayla73]

Good luck with your decision. Send your DH over here to us if he needs more "convincing" We'd be glad to help him see the "light"

If you haven't already purchased your San Diego cards, have you checked into the Southern CA city pass? It includes tickets for DL and San Diego. Of course the DL tickets are 3-day PH so that might be out for you anyway. But I thought I'd let you know about it away for future refrence.

Have a great trip. I am sure what ever you guys decide you'll have a great time and make lots of magical memories

 

[ploeb]

Wow! You have your hands full! If it were me, and by the way kudos for you on keeping it to $700 a day for 7 people!, call ahead to the resort and ask what days the "Grad Nights" are-they sound very close to the time you are going....! Maybe you could swithch the days up with your San Diego Plans. Are you going for fun or for a birthday?? Looks like you have triplets Call the hotels of Disney and tell them your plight and maybe they can help you out with a "room-Break" Like John and Kate#8!! Ha! HA! Yeah, like suggested skip the zoo and stay an extra day at the park, its well worth it!!

 

[Huge5]

just skip legoland...trust me, from experience, you will very disappointed and wish you would've saved that money for disney stuff.

 

[Rapunsel]

I agree with pp......
Skip lwgoland unless you have lego freaks. the 18yr old. will most likely be bores.. I went and love legos.. I could have skipped it.

Also I found a hotel in Carlsbad that was by lelgo land. Was a suite and was $113. on Hotels.com.


If you do choose legoland. Go to AREStravel.com. See if they have tickets for $40. That is where I found mine.

 

[Brady's Mom]

I know Residence Inn gets good reviews on this board. But have you considered Desert Inn and Suites? I recommended it to friends based on reviews here and how close it is to DLR. The went last week with their family of 7 and had a good stay. It was also cheaper than Residence Inn. And its hard to beat right across the street and not having to park at DL!!