Disneyland in one or two days???????

[mishtb]

I've been to WDW many times, but this will be our first to Disney Land.... my husband wants to save money and only go for 1 day while staying at a hotel in LA. my daughter is 6yrs old...and doesn't need a nap... she was a trooper when we went to WDW last year... she stayed up from open til close with no nap.....

But with driving there in the morning would we have enough time to do both parks in one day.....???

 

[Leofoenget]

I've been to WDW many times, but this will be our first to Disney Land.... my husband wants to save money and only go for 1 day while staying at a hotel in LA. my daughter is 6yrs old...and doesn't need a nap... she was a trooper when we went to WDW last year... she stayed up from open til close with no nap.....

But with driving there in the morning would we have enough time to do both parks in one day.....???

stay at a hotel on Harbor blvd and do not drive in, walk to the gate.You could to it.

http://www.accommodationsneardisney.com/Disneyland/default.asp

 

[mickeymark34]

You will have to take into account that there will be traffic on the way to Anaheim from L.A., and I would definately not be stuck in it. Especially on my way to visit Disneyland for the first time!

While I have not been to Walt Disney World, I know that it is huge. Disneyland will probably seem small to you. If you plan on going to Disneyland, you may have enough time to do everything in one day, but you will feel rushed. If you plan on visting both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure, I would highly recommend visiting for two days. Both parks offer experiences that Walt Disney World doesn't, and you may want to see them.

I hope that you enjoy your first visit to Disneyland! Please let us know how everything goes.

 

[Funbobbi]

I would recommend going for at least 2 days or more. Personally I don't think that 1 day would be enough time to see everything....especially if you have to drive down from LA. Why not check out some hotels near DL?? It's much easier to stay closer to the park!!

 

[bumbershoot]

How is he basing the cost, to think that this would save money??? He might have some really unrealistic and untrue expectations of the costs of Anaheim area hotels, and I'm sure we could help out with that.

You'll still pay for the LA hotel, pay for the gas, pay with your time being stuck in traffic, have an unsafe tired drive back to LA, and of course pay for parking. There's also the time of parking, walking to the tram, waiting for the tram, etc (and on our two one-day trips from San Diego, the time waiting to get BACK to the car is so much worse than getting in in the mornings!).

DLR is actually packed with attractions and rides...you guys might be surprised! Check out the "sticky" threads for HydroGuy's thread, and find the link to "DLR for WDW veterans". Good stuff.

 

[mechurchlady]

The I5 around Knotts exit is a mess right now and my 12 mile DLR drive can take me 20 to 30 minutes. If you can get a hotel in the DLR area such as Garden Grove then you would not have as much traffic to fight. You would not have to get up as late also and if you were to do in town driving of a couple miles then you would have all night diners and fast food places to stop at. I think you should shoot for a 5 mile radius of DLR for a hotel.

 

[Judy from Boise]

DL alone has more attractions than the MK, even before adding in DCA.

 

[ballarinamom]

Exactly what I was going to say Judy. Imagine doing MK and the Studio park in the same day. Plus as many have mentioned, driving is a mess plus the parking garage does not open until 30 minutes to rope drop. Paying, parking,tramming and security will leave you with a very long line getting into the park. We paid $69 for the Dessert Inn which is a 5 minute or less walk to the gate. If you could swing even one night in Anaheim that could give you a day and a long half day (considering the drive)

Our DD hasn't napped since she was 3 and we hit the park for MMs and leave way after Fireworks. We are fairly commando and stock pile FPs. We could not come close to doing both parks in 1 day.
I know there is the cost of an extra day of tickets. But what would you do in LA an extra day that would not cost the same amount of money?

 

[CanadianPaco]

It is possible and we have done a day and a 1/2 but wished we had more time!!!! DL is so much smaller than WDW but there is so much more to see. My DH wished we had more time and maybe so will yours!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

The I5 around Knotts exit is a mess right now and my 12 mile DLR drive can take me 20 to 30 minutes. If you can get a hotel in the DLR area such as Garden Grove then you would not have as much traffic to fight. You would not have to get up as late also and if you were to do in town driving of a couple miles then you would have all night diners and fast food places to stop at. I think you should shoot for a 5 mile radius of DLR for a hotel.

mechurchlady, (or anyone who knows) why is the I5 a mess right now? Is there massive construction going on?

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

OP, the first day of park admission is actually the most expensive. As you add on more days, the cost of daily admission drops significantly. I can't see how your husband thinks you'll save money by staying in L.A. ? Unless you are already there for something else (convention, wedding, etc) you will very probably save a lot more money by booking a hotel/motel on Harbor. Or Priceline 3.5* and you can often get rooms in the convention area of Anaheim for around $50 a night (not including taxes, fees and parking) unless there's an event or convention occuring. My Dh often goes off on his own all over LA on business when I'm at the park. He has gotten stuck many times 3 hours or more in insane traffic that's hardly moving or crawling along. Unless your DH is used to LA traffic, I would strongly recommend you look at staying in Anaheim at an offsite property. The offsite hotels/motels are a closer walk than the onsite ones, except for GCH which costs 2 arms and half a leg! Good luck on your decision & have fun planning!

 

[mechurchlady]

mechurchlady, (or anyone who knows) why is the I5 a mess right now? Is there massive construction going on?

The I5 was built in the 1950's and was fine until traffic got so bad that they needed wider freeways. It has been a long battle to widen the freeway because it has businesses and homes right up against it. It is not like being out in the desert where you can buy or take cheap land.

Currently they are widening the area from Buena Park to the 91 freeway. As you get to Knotts or Beach, I do not pay attention to names after 35 years f driving hat freeway, you come across a zag to the left, zag to the right and a long corridor with them cement retaining walls and a swath of land on the other side. As you go south you have to merge right unless you are doing car pool. Right past the 91 you suddenly have 2 right lanes open up.

People slow down in that area and do not speed up until the 91 freeway.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

The I5 was built in the 1950's and was fine until traffic got so bad that they needed wider freeways. It has been a long battle to widen the freeway because it has businesses and homes right up against it. It is not like being out in the desert where you can buy or take cheap land.

Oh yeah, that's right...In January when we were going to DL I noticed that we got detoured and stuff. But at night there wasn't much traffic so not too bad. Thanks... Geez, now I'm wondering what time I'll have to leave Vegas to get there and avoid as much traffic as possible without losing too much time at the parks.Is it crazy busy during the day? Or do they do the construction overnight to avoid day time traffic, or are they working round the clock?
Thanks!

 

[mechurchlady]

You wont be on the I5 so you should not have problems. I have had to make the detour onto the 91 form the north I5 recently when I came home at midnight from DLR. Yep they closed the whole northbound freeway and rerouted it.

 

[MoniqueU]

We do both parks in one day because we have passes but we miss alot and do it the next time. I don't think 1 day for both parks on your first trip is enough. We miss all of fantasy land and alot at DCA. We just hit our favorites and even then still miss some of our second favorites. Talk him into 2 days. We start out at DL and as it gets super busy we go over to DCA and then back to DL in the evening.

 

[phisigprincess]

I agree with the PPs that if you could do at least 2 days, that would be better. We had 3 days during VERY low crowd levels (little to no waits for anything) and felt that was the perfect amount of time. We're WDW vets too and found Hydroguy's tips to be a huge help. Definitely check them out.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

You wont be on the I5 so you should not have problems. I have had to make the detour onto the 91 form the north I5 recently when I came home at midnight from DLR. Yep they closed the whole northbound freeway and rerouted it.

Uh yeah, duh! We exit 57 to Ball road! I guess I was having another senior moment!

 

[S. S. Columbia]

I've been to WDW many times, but this will be our first to Disney Land.... my husband wants to save money and only go for 1 day while staying at a hotel in LA. my daughter is 6yrs old...and doesn't need a nap... she was a trooper when we went to WDW last year... she stayed up from open til close with no nap.....

But with driving there in the morning would we have enough time to do both parks in one day.....???

Like a PP mentioned, visiting DL and DCA in one day is like visiting MK and DHS in one day. You'll have a fun day (park hopping is much easier at DLR), but you would have to skip many things.

 

[Leofoenget]

What are you dates? Is there some reason he wants to stay in LA? If it's to save money not sure it will work. I picked some random dates in June and the Super 8 on Ball road was about $79 and that's across the street. I think it will be much cheaper to stay close by than in LA.