DL in a day??

[Capt Jack's Wife]

I have been to WDW several times, however have never been to DL. I have the opportunity in an upcoming weekend trip to Cali to spend a day in DL. I’m not sure if I should get the park hopper for the day, or stick to one park. I’m looking for any suggestions of the must-see attractions, shows, restaurants, etc. Also, during the trip we will be celebrating two birthdays (26 yrs) for which we’d be interested to know where to go for a great meal/great cake. Your suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Eac_5981]

This past December, i went to DL for 1 day.
We did the 1 day park hopper pass for DL and California Adventure.
My suggestion, is if you really want to ride ALL the good rides at least once and be able to see the parades, fireworks and go out to eat for a birthday somewhere, then I would suggest not getting the park hopper.

We went, and we were not able to see everything we had hoped to see.

As for a great meal I would suggest Blue Bayou, it is a sit down restaurant right inside The Pirates ride. A little more pricey but good food, but I am not sure if they have cake there. If you decide to eat here you will want to make a reservation ahead of time, because it is very popular.

Must see attractions-Matterhorn, since there is not one at DW, Pirates of the Caribbean, I cant remember but I am pretty sure it is different from WDW.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

pirates dont miss the ride, and BB would be a grate place to eat. I think i heard cakes can be delivered there if you order one from vacation planing.
Haunted mansion, and if you havent seen alladin at DCA go see it it may be the last year and its a good show.
See fantasmic and fireworks if you can.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

and star tours

 

[Gisele]

Sounds good to me, Eac, and agree too yes the pirates ride is different from the one at WDW, I cannot remember exactly how so, just that it is, I do remember one thing right off, and that is at WDW there is no ride drop, there is at DL's pirates. It has to do with the water level being too high, in Fl.
I second the Blue Bayou, please do make a PS, (priority seating) it is a good idea to call ahead of time, for such, the phone # is 1-714-781-3463. If you would like a water side seat, check in at the podium at least 15 minutes early, to request such, that request cannot be accommodated over the phone.
Here is a link for the BB menu, and for other menus as well at DL and DCA. Blue Bayou menus

Fast Passes are a great idea, so definitely get those, and again I agree with Eac, don't bother with the hopper ticket, just concentrate on DL, since it is but one day that you will be visiting the park. Last year, I had a three day park hopper, and I ended up visiting DCA just once, and it was a relatively short visit as well, for that is how it ended up being, timing wise.
Check out Hydro guys tips, it is a sticky at the top of the Disneyland forum,
good advice there as well, to be had.
Have a real fun and great time!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Frankly, DCA has very few attractions that you can't find in WDW, so concentrate your time on Disneyland. And with limited time, you may not want to spend so much time with a meal. I realize it's a birthday and all, but you could do a special meal someplace else on another day and not lose valuable time in Disneyland.

 

[avalon451]

The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland has a pretty darn good touring plan for a one day trip for adults. You can't possibly see it all in one day, but this hits the highlights, plus it tells you how to maximize your plan so you are not waiting in lines much.

 

[Capt Jack's Wife]

Where can I find the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland? Can I find it online?

Thanks for all of the help so far everyone!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Be sure to do some research on the differences between an attraction that is found in both parks. For instance, you may think that you don't need to see POTC because WDW has it. It's worth remembering that Disneyland's POTC is nearly twice as long as WDW's and has a lot more detail and show scenes. So, while the two attractions share the same name, there are major differences.

Make sure you know which attractions are very similar and which ones share only a common name.

 

[DoomBugger]

Just concentrate on DL park and have fun with it. If you are dillignet and smart about it you can do about everything in a full day. You might miss a couple things but don't worry about what you miss, enjoy what you don't.

Don't avoid the attractions that may be repetative from what you have experienced at WDW/MK; to me part of the fun is knowing the subtle or massive differences between the various versions of rides.

 

[S. S. Columbia]

Where can I find the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland? ...

Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2008:

www.amazon.com/Unofficial-Guide-Dis...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215003822&sr=8-1


You can make a custom itinerary using RideMax (it's ~$15 for 3 months):

www.ridemax.com

 

[honeymom]

Atmosphere at BB is great, but the food isn't. It will also soak up a lot of your touring time.

 

[tofubeast]

I recommend just doing one park, if you can only be there one day. There are way more attractions at DL vs. MK, so you can certainly fill the entire day at MK.

Be sure to study a map of DL. The layout is a bit different than MK. The first time I went to MK I was convinced I could walk around Thunder Mtn and be right in Fantasyland. Duh!

Do not miss Space Mtn. It is very diff than MK. As people have said, don not avoid attractions that might appear to be the same as the MK version. Many are quite different. Also check out Fantasmic, as it is unique being that it is on the Rivers of America!

As far as eating, I do recommend the BB, even if you just go there for dessert. The atmosphere is amazing.

Have a great time!

 

[bonita_babe232]

I would just do DL..... and i only say that because one day is not very long and there are alot of things to see and do! DCA is nice but if you were to come back, in 1-2 years for a longer trip then everything is gonna be totally diffrent since they are adding so much, but taking so little out (well nothing i think is dier to see)..... so you really won't miss very much. As for eating at BB i've never eatin there because i don't see anything we would all really enjoy for that price, and i've heard alot of complaints about it! If you would be able to go back to DTD another day and have something to eat there, i would just grab something at the park and use my time doing everything else!!! But no matter what you decied just go have fun cause i'm sure once you've been for the day your gonna love it and be back ASAP!!!

 

[darph nader]

Where can I find the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland? Can I find it online?

Thanks for all of the help so far everyone!

Try your local library. Ours has it.

 

[Cali_Sparrow]

Personally I do not care for Blue Bayou. The food is too greasy and overpriced for my taste. You'll need to check the menu through with everyone in your party before you make a reservation because the food is a bit different. You might enjoy it, but personally I just can't stomach it. I had the salmon entree and it just wasn't up to par. The Monte Cristo sandwich is a favorite and I sampled it off my mother's plate but it wasn't enjoyable for me.
The atmosphere is unique and fun for us POTC fans, but it does smell a bit like the water in Pirates, beacuse you're inside the building haha. We had terrible, rude service at BB last time but maybe that was just bad luck.

You should probably just do one park, but it's a shame that you won't see California Adventures, I think it's a great place, especially if you like a little bit scarier of rides than what Disneyland Park offers. But as said before, it'll all be renovated in a couple years and you can see it then if you come back for a visit.

Make sure to ride all the "kiddy" rides in Fantasyland for classic Disney nostalgia, and don't miss the Finding Nemo subs. Go there first thing in the morning for a short wait time and then hit Space Mountain before it's really crowded.
I don't think you'll regret not having a park hopper because of all the things Disneyland has to offer. Magic Kingdom in WDW isn't as extensive.

 

[Barbday62]

Buy the one park one day pass and if you change your mind you can upgrade for the price difference (as long as the line isn’t to long and prohibitive for time) I’m of the school of people that love California Adventure but time would make you miss lots in DL.

In Disneyland don’t miss storybook canals. Its such a cute kids ride WDW doesn’t have. The Bonsai trees are very very old too. Its one of those things you cant believe until you see it. The houses are cute too.

Space Mountain is 100% better than WDW. I think WDW is too rough, sits single seated and no music I believe. The sound is part of the experience in DL.

Buzz is better too. You can actually take your gun off the holder and aim all around. Then at the end of the ride you will be able to email yourself the picture of your score and you shooing the gun. (For free!!)

Toon town is great just to walk in a little if not ride a little too. Our kids are long grown but I love to walk through toon town just to see it. The buildings and entire town are awesome and great pictures too. WDW pails by that standard.

Tom sawyer Island is cute to go to for a short time,. See if you can find Jack Sparrow there too.

There are so many good things in Disneyland. The only thing I think WDW does better is splash mountain and Fantasmic seating. Disneyland version to me is way less but that’s just me. And I hate the big splash anyway lol.

I would never waste any park time at a sit down restaurant if you only have one day. Eat at counter stuff and then go out after park closes. Nothing wrong with dinner at midnight when you’re on vacation lol Assuming you can get last minute reservations in the summer you can plan on about 1 to 2 hours for the wait to be seated, order taken, cooked and eaten. I would also miss most parades or shows because at Disneyland it seems most don’t mind lining up super early and sit for hours for a show. If you can catch something in passing that’s great!! I have gotten to see Fantasimic, fireworks and parade before in passing. With that said those shows are awesome to catch!! SO is Aladdin show in DCA. It’s like a mini Broadway show in a real neat theater. But then your back to needing park hoppers. If you do plan to go to DCA pay attention to the hours. They end earlier than DL and the shows finish up much earlier too.

 

[Bethann23]

I understand everyone else's post on this subject, but let me offer a different one. I am going for 1 day, and its saturday no less.... I realize this is not a smart choice, but it is my ONLY choice since I am also going to California for a business trip and adding a side trip to disneyland/DCA. I can only stay 1 additional day, and probably will NEVER get back to California.

So I am going to hit both parks and do as much as I can. Disneyland is open 8am-12midnight and DCA is open 10-9pm on the day I am going. Its not what I would have choosen ( I am a GREAT planner for WDW since we go every other year ) but I want to see things in both parks. I have a list of must see and must do, and then I have a list of what I want to do if I have time.

I have printed out HYdroGuy's tips and I have the book "The Unoffical Guide to Disneyland" I plan on being at the park early and staying until they close....a VERY crazy tiring day, but hey I will be at Disney so it will be a GREAT feeling even if I can't get out of bed the next day....

There are so many smart tips on this website.. I feel I have a shot at at least seeing all my must sees, and then at least starting my other list. I will report back in about 2 weeks and let you know how much I got accomplished.

Wish me luck .....

 

[Hound 109]

I'm going to agree with BethAnn.

If i only had one day (& didn't mind paying the $20 difference for the parkhopper).....I'd do BOTH parks. Especially on a weekend.

- DL at rope drop.
- Tour & collect FPs (at least 4) the first 2-4 hours.
- Hop to DCA when it gets crowded.
- Screamin/Griz Rapids/Soarin'/Monsters (maybe a few others).
- For a "nice" sit down meal that's quicker & less $$ than Blue Bayou (& a great place to "rest" during the mid afternoon).....I'd do the Tratoria in DCA...or if you want great food (& high prices) Napa Rose when it opens for dinner.
- Back to DL in the evening with the FPs.

I'd consider RideMax or ask here again with specific time frames (date/times etc.)

 

[Gisele]

I am a bit confused about the fast passes, believe it or not! in and so far as I had been under the complete thought that you can only use them during the returns times, and not beyond, however I have read a number of posts on this site, stating to get them in the morning and use them in the evening. Can some one please clarify this for me?
Sorry for being off topic, but I have been meaning to ask this question for sometime now.



Thank you