cali adventure question

[Cadillac_Dreamgirl]

i was planning to go to disneyland may 8 and 9. However i wont be getting to disneys california adventure till noon. but i saw the calendar and they close at 6pm. is there a way to see the whole park in those little hours? or should i wait till friday the 11 when they close at 9pm.

how big is california adventure and how packed does it get?

 

[XTinabell]

I think that should be plenty of time. DCA on average is usually less packed that DL and there is less to see. I think you'll have plenty of time - especially if you take advantage of fast pass for Soarin and Screamin

 

[poohbearrocks]

I bet we spent a total of 8 hours there, with 2 small kids - we rode basically everything, I even did a single rider for screaming and got to ride that...I don't like to be rushed so I would wait just in case...but it seemed to be less crowded and smaller!!

 

[teacups]

It isnt too big but was crowed when we were there, but do-able. It all depends on the ages of your kids Id say. There may be some stuff you have no interest in... do you plan to use the whole day for DCA from noon on? I'd say that is PLENTY of time. I was there a year ago and am going back in a week... I have told my family that we wont stand in any line like that insane line at Monsters Inc last year! That was something like 2 1/2 hours that we'll never get back. Never Again! Even the kids agree... no way!
Live and learn.

 

[DLR29]

You can get a FP for Grizzly River Rapids even if you already have a FP for another attraction.

Plus, if you don't see it all on Tuesday, you still can hop over to DCA on Wednesday if necessary. My guess is that you'd rather stay at DL, even if you hadn't seen everything at DCA.

 

[HydroGuy]

The only potential challenge I can see is Soarin Over California. If you have never ridden it before it is a MUST - Disney Imagineering at its best.

Soarin tends to get longer lines and run out of Fastpass (FP) sooner in the day. One trick that most people do not know is that if you enter DL your entrance tickets (which are used to obtain FPs) are initialized for DCA that day as well - even if no one in your group has entered DCA that day. So what we do sometimes is send a runner (yours truly) over to DCA early 10-11AM to get FPs for Soarin and GRR, then the runner rejoins the group at DL. Then when we enter DCA later in the day we have FPs ready to use.

If you do not do that, and enter DCA at Noon, IMO it is a no brainer to head straight to Soarin to get your FPs then, and then get your GRR FPs. As DLR29 said, GRR is disconnected from the FP network so the delays until you can get your next FP after Soarin do not apply to GRR.

 

[disney_fan_fam]

You've chosen a good time to go, crowds are pretty mild in May. I say you could do it I would prefer Thursday over Friday though.

 

[disneyfansmandl]

HydroGuy is just like me. We usually have a runner get FP's for Soarin and wait for the rest. My wife and I once me a nice Canadian girl and ended up showing her just about everything in both parks in a day. It can be done but not with children. California Adventure, you can move pretty fast through most things. Just remember, you will get wet on Grizzley River Rapids which can be a little annoying to walk around unless it's really warm. Make sure you see Aladin if you have time.

 

[Cadillac_Dreamgirl]

Thanks for all the tips. you guys are great!