Both Parks One Day?

[Carlyzmom]

We will only have ONE day to do both parks. Is this possible and still be able to enjoy it? I can't choose just one! I want to see things at both parks!

 

[Imdboss]

Depends on how much you have on your "must see" list. 1 day isn't much time especially for both parks but if there are just a few rides at each park you want to do then yes you'll be able to accomplish that. Personally I would feel rushed with just one day but if that's all you can do then there are ways to make the most of it.

 

[dreamseeker9]

I agree, it depends on what you want to experience, and there will always be unpredicted surprises. I only had 1 day, my first time at DLR in November 2013. We started off in DCA and just made rope drop, but RSR was closed, so the lines for TSMM and Soarin' were longer than expected. But we managed to fit in 7 attractions in DCA and 5 in DL, and also a counter service lunch and a table service dinner. We wanted to see the fireworks at DL, but they were canceled at the last minute because of high winds.

 

[SMD]

I would start in 1 park and then upgrade to a PH midday if you decide to hop.

 

[cindyland]

We just did both parks in one day during spring break. The longer hours were an advantage, but the best plans sometimes need to be changed.

We started our day at DCA in the hopes of going on Toy Story Midway Mania first. Nope, closed. Walked on to California Screamin, TSMM still closed. Grabbed a fastpass for Tower of Terror, and called Otto numerous times to see if TSMM was open (nope). Tried to ride Monsters Inc (closed). This was very annoying (especially considering what it cost to have one day in the parks). Did what was left of Animation Building (I won't go into my dismay over the Frozen invasion), then Monsters Inc reopened, and we used our fastpassrs for TOT. We grabbed our Radiator Springs Racers fastpasses and headed to Disneyland. Return time on FP was 8:00 (our goal was to get evening fastpasses). By then TSMM had reopened and had a 45-minute wait.

We immediately headed over to Splash Mtn to grab fastpasses. We did Pirates, used our fastpases for Splash, then picked up fastpasses for Indy, and rode Haunted Mansion. We had lunch, then rode Buzz. We could have grabbed fastpasses for Space Mtn or Star Tours, but the kids weren't interested. We grabbed fastpasses for Thunder Mtn, and rode Indy and the train, then grabbed our Dole Whips and watched the birds in the Tiki Room. We got stuck behind the parade, then rode Alice. After that we used our Thunder Mtn passes, and went back to DCA.

We strolled at a leisurely pace through Carsland, used our fastpasses for the Racers, then finally got in line for TSMM. It was the longest line of the day, and we were exhausted by the end of the ride.

We didn't do everything, but we did a lot for a one-day trip. However:
*Long hours for Spring Break gave us more time to do things in one day
*Peter Pan, Soarin' Over California and Matterhorn were closed
*World of Color was closed the night we were there, may have affected crowds
*DL was open two more hours, and we could have gone back to hit more rides, but we were seriously exhausted

We haven't done one day in a long, long time. We missed seeing shows (Aladdin, World of Color), and just having the luxury of sitting and enjoying the parks. And we were sore for three days.

Would I do it again? Absolutely! We don't have another family trip planned until July 2016 (daughter going for grad night next month), so I was thrilled to get my "fix."

 

[YukonMommy]

If you are realistic it can be done. Going in you have to know you are missing out on a lot (gives a reason to plan a return, longer trip!). I would make a loose plan of your 4-5 top rides in each park. Start in 1 park, use FP (if possible) for your must haves and then head over to the other park for your must haves. If you get your must haves done then have a list of secondary choices or redo the ones you already did. Look at a park map so you can plan for less running back and forth across the parks.

Have a magical time!

 

[iKristin]

It's possible. But I can't say it's not stressful. I recommend starting at DCA and riding RSR at rope drop to get that out of the way.

 

[Carlyzmom]

Thanks everyone! I am TRYING to see if we can fit 2 days in our sched. Not sure at this point though. BUT, a 2 day ticket is only about $100 (total for our family of 4) than a 1 day park hopper. Hoping we can swing 2 days. But I would take 1 crazy day over none.

 

[Sherry E]

You know, I would say that it you can't do a 2-day trip (or a longer trip), a 1-day action-packed visit to both parks will be fine. I would do both parks in one day if that was the only choice I had and if I had no option of getting back to the parks any time in the near future. It's not the ideal scenario, of course, but you can do what I call a "highlight reel trip." In other words, you won't be able to get to everything; you will miss a lot of things; you will have to pick the things that are the most important to you; and there may be a bit of scrambling to and fro to squeeze in certain things... but you can get a good taste of each park and experience enough of what each park has to offer in that short time that it will be a full, rewarding, enjoyable day.

A friend of mine from out of state was visiting DLR with her family about 7 years ago -- before California Adventure had been "re-imagined" but after Toy Story Midway Mania had opened. They only had one day, and initially she was just going to go to Disneyland and skip DCA. I convinced her to upgrade the 1-park tickets to Hoppers (at that point the prices were much cheaper and the upgrade price was not too painful) so they could experience TSMM, the Monsters Inc. ride and Soarin.' She didn't think they'd have enough time to get to DCA, but it turned out that it was a good decision to follow my advice because -- while they got a lot done in DL -- TSMM ended up being the biggest hit of the day. And in that busy, action-packed one day trip they also found time for a character meal and a counter service meal.

Of course, now that DCA has become a more fully realized park, there are more things to see and do there, and those things take up more time. So the "highlight reel" will change a bit, but I think you can still work quite a few important things in each park into one day.

 

[coaches24]

I did this June of 2013 with just myself and DD (4 at the time). I knew what rides she liked and didn't like or couldn't go on so I just planned out the must dos, and the try to dos and didn't worry about anything not on the list. We had a great time and got a lot done in both parks. For us it was almost all rides, no shows and very few attractions. Got there at rope drop and spent most of the day there before heading home around dinner time. She slept great in the car

 

[momtotwolittleones]

Everyone has different preferences, of course, but if I had only 1 day for both parks, I would hit RSR and TSMM first thing and then head over to DL for the rest of the day. I'm not into CA Screaming or TOT, but if you are with older kids, they will probably like those rides. Dh and I sometimes split up for these - he takes my older son on those two rides, and I take our younger son on Little Mermaid and some of the Bug Life rides (can't remember the name of the area). If your older ones aren't into Fantasyland or Toontown, that saves a lot of time too. But mine are about the same ages, and they still like most of FL though. They don't care for Toontown or the submarine ride, which can take forever. If you had to choose between the fireworks and WOC, I'd go for the fireworks. WOC is a great show, but the fireworks are more magical, and they don't take as much wrangling and time to see as WOC. The other tip I would give is to just grab snacks to eat for breakfast on the go (bars, bananas, etc.) and then have an early lunch. If you are there on a day that has long hours, I think it's doable. We are a family of four, and between tickets, hotel, and food, I totally understand how expensive that second day is!