Both Parks in One Day??

[lphillip459]

My 18-year-old DD is convinced that we can visit both parks in one day if we just do the highlights. I'm not so sure. Anybody have any advice/suggestions? BTW - we are going on a "busy" week in April.

 

[MattsPrincess]

Yes, you can. Dh and I always set one day as our "bounce" day, where we go back and forth between the two all day.

However, if one day is all you have, I wouldn't suggest it. There's too much in each park to try to see all of it in one day.

 

[AlexJanessa]

Hmm... on a slow day, you could do it but on a busy day, you'll be spending a lot of the time in lineups, even with Fastpass so I honestly don't think you would get much out of it.

When we went in February, we spent many of our days going back and forth but we also had minimal lineups and crowds. Even then, there's no way we could cover the main attractions at both parks in just one day.

 

[blackjackdelta]

If you have very few highlights it would be possible, make a list. Time of year will make a huge difference.

Jack

 

[DisneyMomma81]

*Here's* how we spent 1 day mid July 2009 ~ why are you spending just 1 day in the park(s)?

 

[JH87]

I've done it on a busy Saturday last March. (pretty sure it was during Spring Break, and it was the first day of Spring ) As long as you just hit the main rides you wanna do and get FP you should be good!
I was "babysitting" so we mainly stayed in Fantasyland and Bugs Land, but we did do some of the bigger rides at night with no FP. I'm sure if we skipped Fantasyland all together we would have hit all the major ride.
We also didn't get there right at park opening and left for 2 hrs for a break and dinner.
So it is possible! Just be prepared for it & i would suggest getting there right at park opening and if possible staying until closing.


Oh! and to add, this past October it was the busiest I had ever seen DLR on any of my trips, and it was the weekend...but on the first day we pretty much accomplished everything we *had* to do, and even some little rides that we decided to ride just because we did everything else! It was my first time ever staying from open-close (8am-midnight) and it was so much fun! I didn't even really feel rushed.

 

[ludari]

I agree, it can be done but start as early as you can.

 

[lphillip459]

*Here's* how we spent 1 day mid July 2009 ~ why are you spending just 1 day in the park(s)?

To answer you "Why only one day?" question: My Dd has only been to WDW where we spent all week in just the world and hopped from park to park with ease. I think she thinks the parks in CA are not as big and will not have any trouble going from ride to ride. To really answer your question - because my 18-year-old is 18 years old and thinks she knows best!!

 

[HydroGuy]

Yep, we have done it. It is a long day and you need to parkhop obviously at least once but probably 2-4 times if you want to make it to everything big.

 

[Hound 109]

I think the "Why only one day" question was more of a "Why would you only dedicate one day to visit the original.....the park where Walt walked.....the parks that have many superior rides......the parks that have several shows & attractions worth seeing.....when it requires 4+ days to do it right?"

(& you do "the resort in the swamp" a week at a time)


It's doable, but you MUST start at ropedrop. You must have a plan. You must know Hydroguy's FP tips backwards & forwards. You must understand the need to Park Hop....& when & for what. You probably want to skip most shows & parades....(but Aladdin & the Fireworks are must do's). Counter service on the fly.....no sit downs. You must make hard decision on what you will see & what you'll need to skip.

Read DisneyMomma's one day report. Read my one day report linked in my siggy below. Read (& print & read again) all of HG's FP threads & his DLR for the WDW veteran thread. Start early (in line 40 min. prior to rope drop).

After you read all of the links & requested reading, post back here with your plan.....You'll get further opinions.

Have a great time planning a visit to Walt's Park.

 

[Huff]

To answer you "Why only one day?" question: My Dd has only been to WDW where we spent all week in just the world and hopped from park to park with ease. I think she thinks the parks in CA are not as big and will not have any trouble going from ride to ride.

Can you do Magic Kingdom and Disney Studios in one day? Yes, you can probably do all the major rides in each in a single day but you'll miss a few shows and many of the smaller attractions. If its a packed day the chances are greatly reduced.

Same goes for Disneyland and California Adventure. The parks are physically smaller that WDW but the two parks have 80% of the rides and attractions that WDW has in 4 parks. Disneyland itself has quite a bit more than Magic Kingdom.

On a busy day it would be tough to hit all the major rides but with know how, good use of fast passes etc. it can be done but VERY rushed. Park hopping between the two takes only a few minutes walk so its easy to go back and forth several times in a single day.

Biggest mistake some make is thinking that Disneyland Resort doesn't have many rides, attractions and shows compared with WDW. That is very wrong. Theres a TON packed into two parks. The ability to walk between the parks, downtown Disney and resorts does speed things up some. A typical trip to Disneyland Resort and see all major rides, all shows and fireworks and some of the smaller rides would be 3 days.

 

[Funball]

My 18-year-old DD is convinced that we can visit both parks in one day if we just do the highlights. I'm not so sure. Anybody have any advice/suggestions? BTW - we are going on a "busy" week in April.

im sure if you utilize the FP's and do the highlights you can do both parks in one day. it's been done before. so your 18 year old is right!

 

[pixiewings71]

It has been done, but I don't recommend it...why are you letting your DD dictate how many days you spend in the parks? If this was my trip, personally, I wouldn't go for less than 3 days, but if I absolutely had no choice...I'd go for 2 days.

 

[Taylor_moonwalker]

I did both in one day a couple years ago and i wish i had more. i live alot closer to Disney World so that trip was a very rare occassion so i took what i could get. but if you have more than one day that you are able to do the parks, do as many days as possible! there was so much that i wanted to do but didnt get to. i didnt get to stop for any characters which stinks because they just get to roam around the parks without escorts. and if you get the chance, find the mad hatter. he is hysterical at Disneyland(i've seen TONS of videos lol)

 

[LisainCalifornia]

We do one day trips all the time and do both parks. This is easily doable! Most people do hop between the parks in one day. It is better to have a few days at least to do this, but you can still see a lot same-day park hopping. We have never actually been there for rope drop, so I can't comment on that.