DisneyWorld and Disneyland in one day

[xiphoid76]

Has anyone visited both Magic Kingdoms in one calendar day? This is a dream for my husband and I want to surprise him with this. We are huge Disney fans. Have visited all 5 parks around the world and will do Shanghai in 2017. The one thing he has always wanted to do though is visit Magic Kingdom in Florida and California in the same day. We live in Minneapolis - so would plan on a trip to Florida and go there in the morning and then hop on a plane to Orange County or Los Angeles - but the times don't seem to work - at least on delta. If anyone has done this, please let me know how you did it. Appreciate the help!! Hope everyone has a great 2016!!!

 

[Robo]

I love both parks.
However... visiting them both on the same day would be extremely disappointing to me.

A way that would be less sad to me would be to schedule a week, or so, vacation at WDW...
and on the last morning of that trip, visit MK one last time on an AM EMH day... then head for the airport in a cab to get on a flight to Orange Co., and get to DLR in time ride a couple of attractions and see the fireworks and/or Fantasmic!
Get some rest overnight and begin another two-three day's stay to fully enjoy the Disney parks in Anaheim.

 

[cigar95]

I did it in January of 1992.

On my last day of my first WDW trip, I went to the Studios and rode Star Tours, went to Epcot and saw Captain EO, went to the MK and rode Space Mt, then headed to the airport. My friend picked me up at LAX and we drove to Disneyland, where I held an annual pass - back in the days when it was open until 1am on Sunday evenings, even in the slow season. And I did those same three attractions, although I admit I mostly slept through Captain EO.

If I remember, I had a flight out of MCO that left at about 6, and got into LAX around 9. That gave me plenty of time to get to the park. Now that the hours are less common, it might be a tough task, though a non-stop flight at 4 or 5 pm ought to still get you there with enough time to see a few DL attractions on some nights.

This was one of those novelty things- just doing it for the challenge. I didn't really have much fun in the process.

 

[Christ0pher]

Sounds like a crazy day. Interested to see how many people have done it.

 

[ChloesDaddy]

Some might be familiar with the "justinscarred" channel on YouTube. A couple times he did WDW and DLR on the same day and posted videos on it. It does seem like it would work best to start in Florida and take advantage of the time change going west.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Danielle at the Disney darlings website did this in 2015 aND blogged about it. I want to say she did it sometime in may 2015? It was a fun read

 

[CAL2]

maybe schedule the trip when and if they do the 24 hour opening this year
cal

 

[DizDaD7]

I remember a year or 2 ago, maybe longer, there was a Dad & son that did all 6 parks ( not water parks ) in 1 day...They rode 1 ride in each park..What they did was show the time they entered the park on a small little chalkboard & the time they left. Took a picture & documented it, then proceeded to the next park...And so on & so on... The story had some twists & turns & some CM in DCA let them on the last ride of the night in Cal.

 

[GaryDis]

Look at starting at DLR and then flying to WDW. Eastbound flights are usually (not always) faster because of the tailwinds.

 

[albertamom]

I think that this is a fabulous idea! What an exciting surprise for your husband! It will definitely take some serious planning, but I'm sure you can make it work. Please keep us posted! Best of Luck (and some pixie dust, too)!

 

[A Mickeyfan]

With airport security. ...how did they do this from Orlando to LA airports

 

[larryz]

Much like traveling between parks and resorts at WDW, traveling between WDW and DLR will require some planning and successful coordination to execute. I wouldn't make any ADRs at DLR before 8:00 pm...

 

[bumbershoot]

A diser, lurkyloo, and her husband did it, if memory serves. They chose a very short list of rides to do and stuck to that. I feel like TOT on both coasts was part of it.

You lose so much of the day on the flight going the other way that east to west is really the only way to do it. You gain those 3 hours back that way.

 

[siskaren]

Look at starting at DLR and then flying to WDW. Eastbound flights are usually (not always) faster because of the tailwinds.

I can't see how that would work given the three hour time difference that works against you flying CA to FL. I don't know how long the flight would be, but I would guess about 6 hours since for me flying to LA is about 3 1/2 hours and to Orlando is about 2 1/2. Adding in the 3 hour time difference, and it would be 9 hours between the time you leave CA and the time you get to FL, not to mention the fact that you should be at the airport 2 hours before your flight (although I could see cutting that to as little as an hour if you're flying out of SNA since it's a much smaller airport). On the other hand, flying from FL to CA, with the time change working in your favor, you would be in CA only 3 hours after leaving FL.

 

[GaryDis]

You lose so much of the day on the flight going the other way that east to west is really the only way to do it. You gain those 3 hours back that way.

I guess I was focusing so much on the flight time that I totally forgot about the time zone change.

 

[bumbershoot]

Found the trip report: http://disneytravelbabble.com/trip-reports/free-dining/day-8/

They went on POTC, HM, and Splash. That way they had a strong chance could go on the same ride on both coasts, even if one was down at DL when they got there.

I was looking on Kayak.com and there are two nonstop flights that leaves around 5pm from MCO and get to LAX around 8+. That's about the timing of when lurky got into LAX. So it requires a late night at Disneyland (along with that earlier morning at WDW). One is Frontier and the other is Virgin America. (hint: go for VA...swanky comfy goodness)


I agree with Robo that this would be fun as long as you have a trip on either end. Though I require more time at DLR than 2 or 3 days.

 

[mummabear]

Sounds like great fun, we have done both on one trip but not on the same day. I will warn you that it can take you a long time to get from LAX to DLR, I would avoid renting a car as this would take a lot of time, the Disney bus would go direct to DLH (or one of the other onsite first).
We went to MHP "straight" from our flight from NZ just picking up a car and checking into our hotel/dropping off bags (hotel right next to airport and such a short stop we didn't even get the kids out of the car) and it took us 6 hours to get to the gates

 

[ChloesDaddy]

I doubt we would ever try this, but the idea of it has me wondering what attractions and meals we would try to do. Doing the "same" ride on both coasts is one approach that's been mentioned above. I think I'd try to go for the unique rides and restaurants at each park, if for no other reason than to be able to say something like "we rode 7DMT and Matterhorn last Tuesday" or "we had breakfast at BOG and ate dinner at Blue Bayou" and then see the reactions.

OP -- have you thought about what specific things you'd want to do at each park?

 

[bumbershoot]

I doubt we would ever try this, but the idea of it has me wondering what attractions and meals we would try to do. Doing the "same" ride on both coasts is one approach that's been mentioned above. I think I'd try to go for the unique rides and restaurants at each park, if for no other reason than to be able to say something like "we rode 7DMT and Matterhorn last Tuesday" or "we had breakfast at BOG and ate dinner at Blue Bayou" and then see the reactions.

OP -- have you thought about what specific things you'd want to do at each park?

Both sides sound good. And both ways give a framework for the plan, so you don't suddenly find yourself doing random things at WDW, and suddenly realizing in the middle of small world that you have to leave NOW.

 

[goofy4tink]

Just did 4 nights at DL, then a week in WDW. We considered doing both in one day, but it was nearly impossible. If you can find a day the DL had early park hours and MK us open late, then maybe. We had an early flight, around 9ish from lax. We got to MCO around 4! Got us to WDW around 5:30 after a grocery stop!!
If DL had been open at 8, and we had a flight at noon, or after, and MK was open until close to midnight, then you could do it.
It would be easier going the other way, MK open at 9, then a flight around 2 (leaving for MCO by 11:30), get to lax around 5:40-6, and to DL around 7-7:30....if it's open later than 8 it might be doable.