First time at Disneyland...

[slbgnb]

Hey there!

I have never been to Disneyland and we are now considering a trip to LA this summer. It feels so weird to think about planning a trip to Disneyland when I know NOTHING about it. I've been to Disney World so many times - that it's just comfortable. Here are my questions, so far:

• is it crazy crowded in the summer, like the World?
• are ADR's and FP reservations super critical to get at their immediate availability, like the World?
• From what I understand, it's way smaller than MK - is 1 day enough for each park (as in 2 days total)?
• We won't stay on-site since Universal & LA seem to be about 30 miles away from Disney - will there be a big downside to that?
• Is RD super critical here as well?

Thanks so much for any help you can provide!

 

[sherilaine]

The dining is not as critical - we have made reservations when there for the next day sometimes. If you want a character breakfast or a viewing dining package then that is best to book well in advance but the earliest you can book is 60 days out. I can't imagine getting all I'd want to do in 2 days - while DLR has a smaller footprint - there is still a LOT of stuff to do.

I don't quite understand your reasoning for not staying onsite due to the proximity to LA and Universal - it is certainly not necessary. There are a lot of accommodations on S Harbor - across from the park which are very close and considered within walking distance. Google maps can be your best friend when planning hotels is concerned.

We love to do Rope Drop - it's so much fun to be the first ones in the park and we find it much quieter in the early hours - and if you are there during the summer with 8AM openings - then you will get a good chance at nice early ride times.

 

[limace]

Definitely try for at least three days. Unlike WDW, Park hopping is a must at DL-you will be thrilled at how easy it is to jump back and forth between parks (it’s like walking between the two halves of Epcot)

I was also confused about your statement about staying onsite...anyway, the hotels on South Harbor are incredibly close to the parks. Best Western Park PlaceInn is literally a crosswalk away from the park.

 

[cobright]

Your questions, in order...

• Don't know, only ever went in Jan and Feb. Sorry.
• ADRs don't seem too critical. Fast passes are. We used the new maxpass service this last trip and it helped immensely.
• One park per day is fine unless crowds are monstrous. If you have young kids there are more rides for them that we skip so you may get constrained a little but we always have time to hit everything we want usually more than once.
• Staying on site at DLR is an act of either casual opulence (if you can afford it) or masochism (if you can't). We stay off-site and use a fraction of the money we save to buy preferred seating dinner packages for the shows we like. Holiday Inn Fullerton was a great King 2 bedroom suite for $165 a night plus $10 Ubers to and from park a day.
• There isn't really a DLR version of AKs Pandora ride yet, where 10 min after RD the line is 3 hours long. With Maxpass you can get your first fastpass soon as you're in the park. We got there early each day but RD would have been too much for me. I can't enter Disney with the previous day's hangover still in my head.

Hope some of that helps. Have a good trip.

 

[cobright]

My family usually Disneys at WDW, and the onsite-offsite dichotomy generally refers to staying at a Disney property or not.

I assumed this was the question when the OP asked it. I thought there are only 3 Disney owned hotels for DLR.

 

[BrianL]

One thing to keep in mins is that while the parks are smaller than at WDW, they have almost as many attractions in two parks as WDW has in four (not counting any closures and such). It's just more compact. I think 3 days is perfect for DL, personally, though you can see the highlights in two. Also, because of the space constraints it may feel more crowded most of the time, but the lines will be similar to WDW (though it depend son the attraction).

 

[HydroGuy]

Hey there!

I have never been to Disneyland and we are now considering a trip to LA this summer. It feels so weird to think about planning a trip to Disneyland when I know NOTHING about it. I've been to Disney World so many times - that it's just comfortable. Here are my questions, so far:

• is it crazy crowded in the summer, like the World?

The standard starting point around here for questions like yours is the link below. It answers most all standard questions and also answers questions you do not yet know you should be asking:

"A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

Crowds at DLR vs. WDW is a question that has several answers.

One answer is that DL is smaller than MK (like 25% smaller in acreage) and many of its walkways are much narrower. There are certain "gauntlet" points that can get really bad at certain times of day. So in that sense DL can easily feel more crowded than say MK.

On the the other hand, DL has 25-30% more rides in that smaller acreage. On average the wait times for rides at DL and really all of DLR are much shorter than WDW. For example, TSMM. At DHS that was often insanely long for wait times (100-120 minutes) until they added a third track recently. Now it seems wait times are down a bit. But at DLR TSMM was often 40-45 minutes and down below 30 minutes in the evenings.

So when you look at crowds in terms of wait times for rides DLR feels (and actually is) less crowded.

As for summer, all I can say is that is my favorite time to visit DLR and WDW I avoid it as much as possible. This summer I am forced into a time frame at the end of June and first of July I would never, EVER do with my DW. DS21 is going with me and we can handle it but the time frame is based on a professional conference so the date is fixed. Otherwise I would never choose to visit WDW after about mid-June.

Hey there!

• are ADR's and FP reservations super critical to get at their immediate availability, like the World?

In short, no.

WDW feels more crowded in terms of dining because folks can make ADRs 6 months in advance as you know. A DLR vet not acquainted with WDW would look at that in shock. Dining feels much less crowded at DLR.

For more info see "What WDW Vets Need to Know About Dining at DLR" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2914467

Hey there!

• From what I understand, it's way smaller than MK - is 1 day enough for each park (as in 2 days total)?

LOL, but sorry, that is a typical WDW point of view.

DLR's two parks have almost as many rides as WDW's four parks put together. And frankly, the major shows are better at DLR than WDW. You need at least 3 evenings to catch the shows.

You can experience DLR in 3 days which would feel like a 6 day visit to WDW. A solid visit to WDW to be sure, but still you will miss a bit. On a 3 day visit you will most likely leave DLR feeling like you wish you had more time.

At DLR 4 days is really the minimum and 5 is better for a first time visitor who wants to be able to have a leisurely visit.

• We won't stay on-site since Universal & LA seem to be about 30 miles away from Disney - will there be a big downside to that?

Whatever you do, please do not stay far from DLR and drive there. See this recent thread on lodging choices and also the Newbie sticky at the top of the forum.

"Choosing the Right DLR Area Hotel for You" www.disboards.com/threads/choosing-the-right-hotel-for-you.3656512/

• Is RD super critical here as well?

This is not really the right question to ask. A better question is how RD differs at DLR and how do you use that to your advantage?

The question touches on park hours (longer at DLR than at WDW in general), hotel choice (discussed above), summer trips and afternoon breaks (much easier to do at DLR if you are smart about your hotel choice), parkhopping (WDW vets just never seem to be able to grasp how easy it is to do at DLR until they have seen it first hand) and visitor mix and traffic around DLR (lots more local day trippers at DLR and lots more big city traffic).

When you have an hour read the DLR Guide linked at the top and peruse the Newbie sticky thread. That will get you pointed the right direction and put you in a position to have the most successful and fulfilling trip possible.

 

[BadPinkTink]

• is it crazy crowded in the summer, like the World?

Crowded is relative. I go every June, yes there are alot of people but at the same time everything is possible with good planning. You are used to WDW so Disneyland will be easy for you, crowd wise

• are ADR's and FP reservations super critical to get at their immediate availability, like the World?

No ADR only open at 60 days before arrivial. Dining is not such a big deal as at WDW. Character meals and the more popular places such as Blue Bayou will book out early, but at the same time, you should still be able to get ADR less than 14 days before arrival but there may be limited timeslots available.

Fast Pass at Disney are still the paper Fastpasses which you get at the machines on the day. You can not pre book Fastpass before your arival. There is a new system call Maxpass. This is a digital app which costs $10 per day per person. You buy this and link it to your park ticket. You can then get Fastpass and manage Fastpass on your phone, very similar to FastPass+ and Magic Bands. However Maxpass only works on the day and when you are in the parks.

• From what I understand, it's way smaller than MK - is 1 day enough for each park (as in 2 days total)?

There are 2 parks, separated by a plaza/ esplanade. For the last number of years I have just 2 days and have seen and done everything I wanted. Everyone will have their own opinion. Most people will tell you 4 or 5 days, but in all honesty, you will still have an amazing time with 2 days.

• We won't stay on-site since Universal & LA seem to be about 30 miles away from Disney - will there be a big downside to that?

This I do not understand. I usually 2 a split stay. I stay in Anaheim for Disney, there are off site motels/ hotels on Harbour Boulvard which are less than 10 minutes walk to the security check at the entrance.

I then move into LA to see the touristy places and to go to Universal.

• Is RD super critical here as well?

No, last year the park opened at 8am, I was at security check for about 7.45am and it was about 8.10am when I was walking down Main Street. Disneyland is very different to WDW, the less crowded part of the day is from park opening to lunch time.

 

[slbgnb]

Thanks very much for the help!

What I meant by staying "on-site", was our main trip focus is LA, so I think we might plan on staying in the LA area, not the Disney area. Kids will be 16, 14 & 11. They all love Disney & Universal Orlando, so in addition to the many things we want to do in LA, we were hoping to also include a trip to DL and Universal Hollywood. I honestly didn't even know there was a 2nd park until I started researching! I didn't realize that DL still used paper FP's....that's great! That takes that stress away.

I might be overachieving. LA/Hollywood + Universal + Disney.....CA has so much to offer....I think we might have to make a list of priorities. The traffic I'm reading about is kinda scary too. Maybe, we'd have to stay a couple days in the Disney area in order to avoid the weekday traffic on the freeway...I do like to get to the park early to get in few rides without needing a FP....

Thanks again for your tips!

 

[HydroGuy]

One thing to keep in mins is that while the parks are smaller than at WDW, they have almost as many attractions in two parks as WDW has in four (not counting any closures and such). It's just more compact. I think 3 days is perfect for DL, personally, though you can see the highlights in two. Also, because of the space constraints it may feel more crowded most of the time, but the lines will be similar to WDW (though it depend son the attraction).

For more info see "Ride Count Comparison Between DLR and WDW" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3221332.

Also, as a general rule, WDW vets are more resort-centric and DLR vets are more park-centric. So DLR vets tend to boil WDW vs. DLR questions down to ride count comparisons (i.e., parks). WDW vets tend to boil things down to resort size, hotel count and restaurant count (resort).

Both are equally valid ways of comparing DLR to WDW but both have flaws as they fail to account for the strengths of the non-home resort.

 

[BadPinkTink]

@slbgnb
I would defiantly advise a split stay. The first couple of years I stayed in LA with my friends and we just did a 1 day trip to Disney. We were based in the Santa Monica area and it took approx 70 minutes drive each way to Disney. We would get there around 9am and leave around midnight and get back to Santa Monica at 1am.

Its really hard having to face that drive after a long day in the park.

 

[slbgnb]

"A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

OH WOW - this is exactly what I needed....Thanks so much.

I would defiantly advise a split stay

I believe you are right. I had not taken into account the traffic in LA. And, I would have 0 interest in making that drive on more than 1 day, as well as after a long day in the park. Thanks!

This a great start to my planning and thinking.

 

[BrianL]

Also, as a general rule, WDW vets are more resort-centric and DLR vets are more park-centric. So DLR vets tend to boil WDW vs. DLR questions down to ride count comparisons (i.e., parks). WDW vets tend to boil things down to resort size, hotel count and restaurant count (resort).

To be fair, I am a WDW guy for the most part, but I go by attraction because I am park-centric and usually stay at values because the room is just a place to sleep. The first time I went to DL though I did feel a little underwhelmed because of the smaller scale of things like the Castle, but I have come to appreciate it a lot more. Crowded walkways on the DL side are my number one gripe though.

 

[HydroGuy]

To be fair, I am a WDW guy for the most part, but I go by attraction because I am park-centric and usually stay at values because the room is just a place to sleep. The first time I went to DL though I did feel a little underwhelmed because of the smaller scale of things like the Castle, but I have come to appreciate it a lot more. Crowded walkways on the DL side are my number one gripe though.

Thanks and I was not trying to say anything specific about you.

I suspect if you know enough WDW vets and DLR vets (or you just visit online forums a lot) you would agree about my generalization.

I would say that WDW has transformed me from a park-centric thinker to someone who truly appreciates both approaches.

 

[BadPinkTink]

@slbgnb you are welcome

Also another thing to consider, dont focus on the onsite Disney hotels. There are only 3 and are hugely overpriced. The 3 onsite Disney hotels are located on the west side of the property and you need to walk from the hotels through Downtown Disney to reach the main entrance turnstyles. In comparision the off site independent motels / hotels on Harbour Boulevard on the east side of the property have a shorter walk to the main entrance turnstyles, about half the distance. I have read trip reports where they have said the walk from the independent motels / hotels on Harbour Boulevard at Disneyland is shorter than the walk from some of the bus stops at Walt Disney World! Have a look on Google Maps

 

[BrianL]

Thanks and I was not trying to say anything specific about you.

I suspect if you know enough WDW vets and DLR vets (or you just visit online forums a lot) you would agree about my generalization.

I would say that WDW has transformed me from a park-centric thinker to someone who truly appreciates both approaches.

Oh, no, I think you're right for the most part. I just wouldn't consider myself a "DLR Vet" compared to a WDW one, and I wouldn't want someone to think I am the expert on DL (getting there maybe - was hoping to have anotehr DL trip next month, but it has to wait for now. Boo!). Everyone knows that you are the expert on the DL scene, Hydro!

 

[HydroGuy]

Oh, no, I think you're right for the most part. I just wouldn't consider myself a "DLR Vet" compared to a WDW one, and I wouldn't want someone to think I am the expert on DL (getting there maybe - was hoping to have anotehr DL trip next month, but it has to wait for now. Boo!). Everyone knows that you are the expert on the DL scene, Hydro!

Well, I am no @Robo but lots of folks around here view me that way. I try and offer balanced and solid guidance.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Whatever you do, don't try to stay in LA and drive to the parks. That will be a nightmare. There are many inexpensive hotels literally steps away from the parks... you don't have to stay "on site" as in "a Disney-owned" hotel. Actually some of the non-Disney hotel are closer to the park entrance than the Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier (the third Disney hotel, the Grand Californian, has a gate right into one of the parks, so that one is close!).

Yes, there are two parks and California Adventure is wonderful! I love it almost equally as much as Disneyland. Hopping back and forth is great, especially if you utilize the new Maxpass, which allows you to get fastpasses on your phone all day long.

 

[slbgnb]

Whatever you do, don't try to stay in LA and drive to the parks.

One of my favorite things about this site....Something seemingly so simple, that I had not thought about....and, then...it's so clear with the help on here....I will definitely stay at one of the hotels across the street (the Best Western seems a great option) as it has a little more room for my family of 5 and seems to be the closest. Will make our days here SO much easier/better! Thanks!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

One of my favorite things about this site....Something seemingly so simple, that I had not thought about....and, then...it's so clear with the help on here....I will definitely stay at one of the hotels across the street (the Best Western seems a great option) as it has a little more room for my family of 5 and seems to be the closest. Will make our days here SO much easier/better! Thanks!

I agree, I love this site! Another thing you might consider... I recently visited Universal and it was a little bit of a let down to me after being at Disneynap much. The Wizzarding World of Harry Potter (which was our main reason for going) was AMAZING. Everything else was a little blah for me. Most of the rides are simulators and unless you pay for the front of the line pass you will be waiting a very long time for the rides. My suggestion is to do Universal first and then end with Disney so you're not disappointed.