Disneyland 1st Visit

[baivasps]

We have been to all 4 parks in Disney World many times. But it is our first trip as a family to Disneyland. We have two kids (DD 11 and DS 8). We are taking a California trip this summer and splitting our time between LA and San Diego. I don't want this trip to be about the parks like our Orlando trips are. I have one day set aside to see Disneyland. I'm afraid we might be missing something by not seeing California Adventure. At this same time, I don't want to take away from the other things we want to see and do in Southern California. What do you think about California Adventure? Can we skip it or would we be missing out?

 

[Disney Dider]

I'm afraid you would be missing out. But honestly one day isn't enough to see Disneyland either. But I guess it all depends on how much time you have.

 

[ktlm]

We are WDW vets, that also love DL. I would say you are missing out if you skip CA. Radiator Springs Racers is probably our favorite ride in any park on both coasts (it puts test track to shame). Carsland is quite incredible, especially at night. The view when you enter from the wharf took my breath away the first time. California Adventure has the Monster's Inc. ride that you won't find at WDW. They still have the Animation Academy, which you can no longer find at WDW. This summer TOT will have completed its conversion into a Guardians of the Galaxy ride, which from the description looks like it will be pretty impressive. World of Color is terrific (takes planning though since it is a standing only show). If you can only do 1 day, you might at least add a hopper to get in a ride at RSR-- with the kids ages you could do the single rider line which often doesn't have that long of a line. I think we rode RSR about 4 times in a row one afternoon last July with a wait between walk on and 10 minutes in the single rider line. Also, unless they change it before this summer, you can meet and greet Oswald at California Adventure.

Our first DL/CA trip was just DH and I on a business trip. We spent one day with hoppers, went at breakneck speed from open to close (counter service meals only- no sit down) and got a lot done. We fell in love with DL/CA that quick trip- which surprised me because I thought I was a total WDW girl- I had been to DL once as a kid and remember thinking I did not like it as much as WDW. Now, if you ask me which I like best, it is kind of like asking someone which of their kids they like best. With DD (10) we usually spend 3 full days and 2 half days, and still feel like we could spend more time. You can get a taste of DL/CA in 1 day, but it may not be enough for the kids- if you can swing 2 with all your other activities, I would try to fit another day in. Also, with a short time, I would invest in the hoppers. Unlike WDW at DL, the parks are separated by only a plaza, you don't have to go through bag check again when hopping, and it is literally 5 minutes to get out of one park and into the other.

 

[figment_jii]

I agree that one day is not enough to really see even Disneyland by itself. I think you can get a sense of Disneyland in one day, but you won't be able to do all of the attractions, see all of the characters, watch all of the shows, etc. DL has a lot of attractions crammed into one park. While MK is the closest park at WDW to DL, there are still enough differences to make the two parks feel different. DCA is kind of like DHS meets Epcot. As others have said, you'll miss out on World of Color, Carsland (including Radiator Springs), and all of the other attractions/shows/characters at DCA if you skip that park. If you have to skip a park, then yes, I would opt to skip DCA, but if you skip DCA you're missing out on a fair amount.

 

[sohryu]

Honestly I would get a 1 day park hopper and do both parks. Disneyland is the original park and there will be differences from MK, but if you've been to MK several times I don't think you'll really need that much time at DL proper. Additionally, DCA doesn't take *that* long to explore and hit up the must see attractions.

(1) Cars Land (rope drop this park and FastPass Radiator Springs Racers first thing in the morning)
(2) Guardians of the Galaxy aka Tower of Terror
(3) California Screamin'
(4) Mickey's Fun Wheel
(5) Grizzly River Run

Anything else is skippable in my opinion. If you don't care to get wet, you can skip Grizzly. You don't have to do Soarin' because it's the same at Epcot. I think you'll get your money's worth paying the difference for Park Hopper with Cars Land alone as it's pretty remarkable.

 

[figment_jii]

You don't have to do Soarin' because it's the same at Epcot.

Most of the two attractions are the same, but DCA's version has a different queue and the movie ends in Disneyland instead of Epcot.

HydroGuy's A DLR Guide for WDW Vets goes through some of the other attractions that are the same or different at DLR. Just note that just because the attraction name is the same, it doesn't mean it's an identical attraction between the two parks.

 

[sohryu]

Most of the two attractions are the same, but DCA's version has a different queue and the movie ends in Disneyland instead of Epcot.

HydroGuy's A DLR Guide for WDW Vets goes through some of the other attractions that are the same or different at DLR. Just note that just because the attraction name is the same, it doesn't mean it's an identical attraction between the two parks.

True, but in my opinion if OP is worried about 1 day being enough time to visit both parks, I wouldn't recommend seeing Soarin' just for the slightly different ending. If Tower of Terror had never changed, I wouldn't recommend Tower of Terror either just because the differences are so minimal when you're already trying to do both parks in one day.

 

[deetman]

I've lived in Orlando for a VERY long time. I'm a former CM, and a huge WDW fan.
As others have said, if you are a Disney Fan, 1 day really isn't enough--and you really will miss out if you skip DCA.
How much time do you think you could scrape together for DLR?

 

[baivasps]

We could possibly get another partial day but I would have to give something up. We are arriving in Anaheim on Friday 7/28 after spending the past two days in LA. We should arrive late afternoon. I was planning to go to Disneyland all day on Saturday, spend the night in Anaheim, then drive to San Diego after breakfast stopping in a beach town or two along the way (Laguna Beach for example). Then we would have two full days in San Diego which I plan to be more low key after some busy days in LA & Anaheim. The only thing I could think of doing is after checking out of our Anaheim hotel on Sunday 7/30, we could spend the day at California Adventure and leave for San Diego around 3:00. We would miss seeing the beaches like Laguna along the way.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

It sounds like the OP really wants to focus on non-Disney things on this trip. As suggested above, read Hydroguy's thread for WDW Vets to get an idea about what there is to see and to know what you will be missing. If this isn't going to be a once in a lifetime trip to the west coast for your family, then maybe one day at DL will do just fine to get an overview of Walt's original park. Then, since you'll have a much better idea of what more there is to see in both parks having read the super thread, you can plan a future trip with more days at DLR.