First time Disneyland, 1 day only

[susquehannaretriever]

Wife and I are travelling west for our 30th anniversary for 10 days, first week in November. Part of our plan is to go to the San Diego zoo and then hit Disneyland for a day. Staying off site at the Best Western across the street from the park. We've been to WDW but not DL. Need to know since we only can spend 1 day what are the must see attractions? I understand it is much smaller than WDW, there are 2 parks correct? Which park would be more interesting or fun for 2 adults in their 50's? Suggestions? Can't do more than 1 day as our time is limited. Please comment, suggest, etc. need input. THANKS!

 

[VandVsmama]

DL & DCA together have more rides/attractions than WDW. You won't be able to see and do it all. Stick to one park and make it Disneyland.

The must see attractions vary a lot by person, so it totally depends on what sorts of rides & attractions you are interested in. For me personally, I think that a visit to Disneyland is really great if it includes:

• Pirates of the Caribbean - which just celebrated its 50th anniversary this past Saturday!
• Haunted Mansion
• Mr Toad's Wild Ride
• Star Tours
• Space Mountain
• Autopia - for nostalgia's sake. I have fond memories of going on this as a kid. I really love this ride.
• Dumbo
• It's A Small World
• Space Mountain and/or Star Tours
• Indiana Jones
• Jungle Cruise
• a brief visit to the Shrunken Ned machine in the Adventureland Bazaar shop
• Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln - because Walt Disney played a major role in getting this attraction up and running and because Walt Disney was very patriotic and loved American history.
• eat some Mickey beignets in the covered outdoor eating area next to the French Market while a jazz band is playing

What I've always wanted to do, but have never had to the time to do, is to see the flag retreat ceremony in Town Square.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

This thread will give lots of helpful info on the difference between WDW and DLR and what to expect: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets. This should be a good start to help you make the most of your one day.
I agree with choosing DL. For a one day visit, we tell friends to focus on the things that are original to Walt's original park, things that make this park unique from all the others that came after. This is the park that started it all, so that makes it pretty special. The first glimpse of Sleeping Beauty's Castle at the end of Main Street isn't about size, but about history. This was Walt's castle, which he loved and helped design. It was the only castle he lived to see. These kind of things make DL really unique. What day will you be there?

 

[Belle83]

I went one day a few years ago and split my time between the 2 parks with a park hopper. I was by myself though (work trip) so I could use single rider lines. I would either just do Disneyland or do a park hopper and do a little of both.

If you do both, I would recommend trying to see at least the following in California Adventure: Cars Land and Radiator Springs Racers, plus the World of Color show at night (best Disney show I've ever seen).

At Disneyland, I would make sure to go on Pirate's of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, and Haunted Mansion. Those are all pretty different than the WDW version. I think the BTMRR is a little different now too but am not positive. Indiana Jones is a must-do, it's awesome. Matterhorn is also a must-do but it's very jerky and a one-time thing for me. Toontown is also unique to DL.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I find that I spend more time on rides at Disneyland and more time on food/drinks at California Adventure Park. It will boil down to what you like to do. Disneyland is generally more "fun" for me, but I like to escape to California Adventure where there is more elbow room and it's nice to be able to get a cocktail or a sangria once in a while. I feel a lot more relaxed at California Adventure.

 

[Traver Freeman]

Staying off site at the Best Western across the street from the park.

DLR is a little different than WDW. DLR has what they call "Good Neighbor" hotels and a large majority of people stay off property. So it's usually not a big deal to be off. Since you're within walking distance, that'll be great.


As far as the which park, if you really don't care about the "nostalgia" of being where Walt walked, then DCA is going to have more "unique" stuff. Disneyland is basically a little MK with a few unique rides. The castle is smaller, main street is smaller, it's far more crowded (especially in Adventureland). As others have mentioned, many of the DL versions of the MK rides, though, are much better like Pirates and Space Mountain.

But again, if you want a unique experience, DCA will be completely new for you. The two parks are right next to each other (some people don't realize they are literally a 2-3 minute walk away), so you can reasonably hop if you wanted, and I would recommend doing that, even for a first timer. Basically do the rides you know you love from MK over at DL and hit up the unique rides like Matterhorn and Indiana Jones and then hop over to DCA and do CA Screamin, check out Cars Land and do Radiator Racers.

Or as one person suggested, you may start at DCA, grab fastpasses for World of Color, ride Screamin and Radiator Racers, then hop over to DL until the evening and go back to DCA for World of Color.

If you don't want a hopper though, DL is the easy answer as you'll have more to do.