Advice please... Should we add a 5th day?

[pinkprincess30]

Our family of 5 will be in California from Wednesday to the following Tuesday (April 30-May 5th). It is me, DH, DS9, DS10, & DS13. We have 4 day passes to the parks. We will be with family on day 1, visit DLR on Thursday, DCA Friday, DLR Saturday with family, beach day with friends Sunday, DCA Monday, home Tuesday morning.

Last trip we wished we had built in a beach/rest day so that is our plan. Here's the question... For only $80 more for the whole family we can add in a 5th day at DLR. We could go to DLR on Sunday morning since we aren't leaving for the beach until 11 and returning around 8 pm. Since the park will open at 9 that day and close at 12 am (according to past schedules). Or we could visit the park that night after the beach which is most likely what we would do if adding in the 5th day so we can still sleep in.

DH is thinking maybe we should since our main purpose of the vacation is Disney. I am on the fence but worried we might be trying to squeeze too much in and return home exhausted. BUT it could be an opportunity for a more slow-paced evening in the park, taking time for shopping and shows. What would you do???

EDIT: TICKET PRICES HAVE GONE UP SINCE I LAST CHECKED, SO THE EXTRA DAY WOULD ACTUALLY COST US $125. THIS MAKES THE DECISION EVEN HARDER! WAS TOTALLY LEANING TOWARD THE EXTRA DAY BUT WHEN YOU FACTOR IN PARKING AND THE EXTRA $125 TO UPGRADE THE TICKETS THIS IS GETTING MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE. OUR HOTEL IS NOT WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE.

 

[Indiana Scott]

I would take DLR over a beach any day.

 

[Canuck16]

We always get the maximum park day tickets so I would say definitely get the 5th day.

But if you are on the fence then just wait until you get there to decide as you can upgrade then. That way you can see how you feel after a day or two in the parks if the additional is required.

 

[YukonMommy]

I would also get the 5th day! There is no such thing as to much Disney in my world!

Have a magical time!

 

[darcie2000]

I'd go an extra day, even if it means you can spend the evening in the park

 

[cherice95403]

I'd wait and see how you feel that dat. You can add the extra day when you are there if you want. I do think it might be nice to have a "down" day though.

 

[planningjollyholiday]

At 5 days you still won't see everything, there is just so much to do. At only $80 for your entire family to upgrade i wouldnt hesitate at all. In the grand scheme of things, $80 isn't that much, considering what your overall cost for the whole vacation will be. i think the perfect ending to a fun beach day would be to grab a churro and watch the fireworks on main street!

 

[Blue32]

I would add the 5th day even if you don't use it as a "whole" park day. We always need as much time as possible as we like to pretty much do every ride and see every show. Have a great trip!

 

[jenjersnap]

I agree...you won't regret the 5th day.

 

[Carolynleanne]

I'd go for the 5th day. We're heading down next month for 4 nights and 5 days (including our fly in and fly out) and were debating the same thing. Ultimately, if we have three hours free, we're going to want to spend them in the parks. As out of towners we aren't there more than once a year, so it's worth a few extra bucks

 

[letsgoreds]

Here's the bigger problem I see...ALL of your park days are scheduled at the wrong park, assuming you want to avoid the early entrance people (best tip out there). DCA EMH days (DLR hotel guests only) M, W, F, Su. DL has MM on Tue, Thu, Sat, Since you are purchasing a 3+ day ticket, you will get one MM (DL only), so choose wisely. Those early mornings are fantastic! It is NOT fun to enter the park an hour after the resort or MM people.

I would still spring for 5 days, and here is how I would do it...
Wed - Disneyland (DCA EMH), even arriving late, PLENTY of FP will be available and rides to ride
Thurs - DCA (DL has MM), be in line 30 min early, pull FP for Cars and ride Cars or go to TSMM), 2pm or so, leave and head to visit family
Friday - Disneyland (DCA EMH), better night to leave early to visit with family, but I don't think you will want to wait that long ; )
Saturday - Disneyland with family (possible MM entry, but skip if family wants to join from beginning)
Sunday - Beach it up, if free time in PM, head to Trader Sam's at DTD (DL hotel), free 3 hr parking
Monday - Decide what park you want to visit...DCA is EMH, but if you knocked out the headliners on Thurs, no biggie.

We only had 3 days in the park + beach day, and no way would I have traded a beach day. We went to Crescent Bay Beach in Laguna (lab with us, off season) and loved the beach, tidal pools, and sea lions. There are other cool beaches, but didn't permit dogs. Since travel to/from park takes time, I am hesitant to suggest going before/after a beach day, unless you start your beach day earlier or later. We were only there for 4+ hours or so, and that was enough, and we went earlier in the day, leaving around 2pm. Then, it is worth heading to the park afterwards and leaving family for Day 1. If you can't postpone family on Wed, then consider spending money on park hopper...with older kids, you can move faster and enjoy longer days. Or one park in the AM, break at hotel, another in the PM (That is our WDW touring style).

Good luck!

 

[Keels]

Do you not have park hoppers? I would spend the money on park hoppers before adding an extra day. I think you can see everything in four days IF you can park hop.

 

[kirstie101]

I would spend the money and do the extra day. It will enable you to slow down during your Disney days and enjoy them more I think. Thats my reason for always doing 4 trip days. I feel too rushed if we try to cram everything into three days. And we go every summer as a family, and the kids and I take a few shorter trips during the year as well!

 

[pinkprincess30]

For those following along, we did decide to add the 5th day! We figured in the scheme of things, flying all the way from Oregon, what's a few extra bucks...I can't really imagine that we will regret it! If it gets late we'll just take advantage of the DTD free parking and go for a couple hours.

Here's the bigger problem I see...ALL of your park days are scheduled at the wrong park, assuming you want to avoid the early entrance people (best tip out there). DCA EMH days (DLR hotel guests only) M, W, F, Su. DL has MM on Tue, Thu, Sat, Since you are purchasing a 3+ day ticket, you will get one MM (DL only), so choose wisely. Those early mornings are fantastic! It is NOT fun to enter the park an hour after the resort or MM people.

I would still spring for 5 days, and here is how I would do it...
Wed - Disneyland (DCA EMH), even arriving late, PLENTY of FP will be available and rides to ride
Thurs - DCA (DL has MM), be in line 30 min early, pull FP for Cars and ride Cars or go to TSMM), 2pm or so, leave and head to visit family
Friday - Disneyland (DCA EMH), better night to leave early to visit with family, but I don't think you will want to wait that long ; )
Saturday - Disneyland with family (possible MM entry, but skip if family wants to join from beginning)
Sunday - Beach it up, if free time in PM, head to Trader Sam's at DTD (DL hotel), free 3 hr parking
Monday - Decide what park you want to visit...DCA is EMH, but if you knocked out the headliners on Thurs, no biggie.

Letsgoreds THANK YOU for the advice! After all this planning I didn't even realize we were planning to fight the EMH crowds! Yikes!

We really want to see family first. Last trip we saved it for last and were very tired (almost too tired to be good company!). And the fun stuff Great-Grampa had planned (Mastodon Museum and Chuck E. Cheese) PALED in comparison to Disney magic! So we are going to stick with that. Also, we want to be in the parks Friday night because of the longer hours and shows. We originally planned our days as we did because we really wanted to see DLR on our first day. There's just something magical about Main Street. BUT because I think your advice is really good we are changing our plans around.

Here's the new plan:
Wed- Fly in, see family (in Hemet), drive to Anaheim afterward, check in to hotel
Thurs- DCA
Fri- DLR (definitely want to use Friday as a park day because of the long weekend hours)
Sat- DLR with family....use MM, take a mid day break and come back for dinner, parade, F!, fireworks and rides
Sun- Beach day... try to arrive at beach by 11. DLR in the evening (maybe from 7pm to close)
Mon- DLR or DCA (yes it's a DCA EMH day but we will have already had a full day there so it's ok)....whatever the family votes to do!
Tues- Early flight home

The only down side I see to our plan is no World of Color. Other than WOC, park hoppers really aren't going to benefit us so I don't think it is worth the extra expense. MAYBE WE SHOULD DO DCA ON SUNDAY NIGHT...STOP FOR WOC FASTPASSES ON OUR WAY OUT OF TOWN FOR THE BEACH AND DO AN EVENING IN DCA, ENDING OUR EVENING WITH WOC....HMMMMM. Decisions, decisions!

Thanks everyone for your input!