First time visit to Disneyland

[Thalia16]

Hi friends!

I am planning on going to the D23 expo in 2019 and taking a few extra days to visit Disneyland for the first time. I'll only have 2 or 3 days to spend in Disneyland, as my budget won't allow for too much more. I'm looking for a little advice. I am curious how beneficial the park hopper option would be? Especially if my budget only ends up allowing for 2 days? Also, what are some must dos? I've been watching more and more of The Dis: Disneyland Edition videos, but I'd love to get some more opinions? If there are any other pieces of advice you may have, I'd love to hear them!

Thanks!

 

[JenniBarra]

First off, good thinking on extending your trip to get in the the Disneyland time! There are some visitors who come for the Expo and figure, "Oh, I'll get in park time in the evenings, after the Expo is over each day." That's a sure fire way to wear yourself out! Personally, I do two days in the parks before Expo, then Expo, and then one final day in the parks.

If your frame of reference is WDW, park hopping at DLR is not the same at all. There literally is just an esplanade that separates the two parks.

In regard to budget, people who purchase Expo tix will usually receive an additional email that allows you to buy park tickets at a somewhat reduced rate.

As far as "what to see" goes, again, I would want to know if your frame of reference is WDW, or if you've never been to a Disney park, period.

 

[Sue M]

Must do: Guardians of The Galaxy, Indy, California Screming, Pirates of Caribbean, Space Mtn, Big Thunder, Haunted Mansion, Soarin, Buzz, Toy Story, Cars Land.

 

[Thalia16]

I really like the idea of sandwiching the expo between Disneyland days. We're also doing a day at the beach, so that may be perfect to kind of even everything out.

I've been to WDW twice, once with park hopper and once without. I actually preferred to go without park hopper because my days didn't feel as rushed, but that could just be me. I would really like to get the most out of the Disneyland parks in the short amount of time we have and I'm just wondering if that would be easier with park hopper.

Everyone in my party has been to WDW and we all claim Magic Kingdom as our favorite park. I know that there are some shared attractions, but some of them are different from those at Magic Kingdom. There are a few attractions that we are definitely going on, like The Haunted Mansion because that is my Mom's favorite attraction at Magic Kingdom. We'll want to try as many non shared attractions as we can, but I'm sure there will be more shared attractions that we'll want to ride.

 

[Sue M]

I really like the idea of sandwiching the expo between Disneyland days. We're also doing a day at the beach, so that may be perfect to kind of even everything out.

I've been to WDW twice, once with park hopper and once without. I actually preferred to go without park hopper because my days didn't feel as rushed, but that could just be me. I would really like to get the most out of the Disneyland parks in the short amount of time we have and I'm just wondering if that would be easier with park hopper.

Everyone in my party has been to WDW and we all claim Magic Kingdom as our favorite park. I know that there are some shared attractions, but some of them are different from those at Magic Kingdom. There are a few attractions that we are definitely going on, like The Haunted Mansion because that is my Mom's favorite attraction at Magic Kingdom. We'll want to try as many non shared attractions as we can, but I'm sure there will be more shared attractions that we'll want to ride.

I just posted my thoughts on our trip to DL. There are some rides that are in WDW but are different in DL/CA. Sadly both Space Mtn ((which I hear is so much better than WDW version) and Haunted Mansion were down.
Our plan was the same. To do all the attractions that aren't in WDW, or are different versions first.
Pirates is different, longer with more scenes, HM Is a bit different I hear, Big Thunder has some different scenes, first scene in Peter Pan is different, Small World has Disney Characters in it. ToT is re-themed as Guardians of The Galaxy. Loved it.

We had a 5 day hopper, and we bought MaxPass. We used the hopper a lot. Unlike WDW, hopping is easy, the parks are walking distance from each other.

 

[wench]

Pirates!

Pirates! Pirates! Pirates!

And I'm not really even that big of a fan. It's just that pirates at DLR is so much better. If you've only done it at WDW, you're missing half the ride.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

If your budget allows you to buy a 3 day or longer ticket (1 park per day or park hopper -- and D23 does have discount park tickets for Expo guests), you will receive a Magic Morning for one early entry (one hour before opening) at Disneyland (Tues., Thurs., or Sat.). That extra hour can help you get a lot done in either Fantasyland or Tomorrowland. You will only receive your MM if you purchase your 3 day or more ticket ahead of time, not at the booths.

Also, this thread will give you lots of good info about the differences/similarities between WDW and DLR to help with your planning: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets.

 

[Thalia16]

Sue M- Is MaxPass similar to FastPass? I love ToT at Hollywood Studios- so I'm very excited for Disneyland's.

Theluckyrabbit- Thank you so much for the link to that thread! It's great!

 

[Sue M]

Sue M- Is MaxPass similar to FastPass? I love ToT at Hollywood Studios- so I'm very excited for Disneyland's.

Theluckyrabbit- Thank you so much for the link to that thread! It's great!

Pretty similar, but unlike WDW you can't pre book first 3 FPs. It works from the DL App. We had the Canadian Tickets and Max pass option wasn't available at that time. So each day after I went thru the turnstiles I had to buy it for the day, $10/day. Works well.

 

[Winnowill]

Sue M- Is MaxPass similar to FastPass? I love ToT at Hollywood Studios- so I'm very excited for Disneyland's.

Theluckyrabbit- Thank you so much for the link to that thread! It's great!

Just FYI - ToT is no longer. It is now a Guardians of the Galaxy-themed attraction. It's great, IMHO, but it's not ToT.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Also note that the $10 per day price for Max Pass is the introductory price. There has been no official word on when that price will increase, but be aware for budget planning that it might be (much) higher by 2019.

 

[JenniBarra]

I've been to WDW twice, once with park hopper and once without. I actually preferred to go without park hopper because my days didn't feel as rushed, but that could just be me. I would really like to get the most out of the Disneyland parks in the short amount of time we have and I'm just wondering if that would be easier with park hopper.

Everyone in my party has been to WDW and we all claim Magic Kingdom as our favorite park. I know that there are some shared attractions, but some of them are different from those at Magic Kingdom. There are a few attractions that we are definitely going on, like The Haunted Mansion because that is my Mom's favorite attraction at Magic Kingdom. We'll want to try as many non shared attractions as we can, but I'm sure there will be more shared attractions that we'll want to ride.

I would vote for going with a park hopper because you'll have ultimate flexibility then.

Things you can't do at MK would include the Matterhorn, Indiana Jones & The Temple of the Forbidden Eye, Tarzan's Treehouse, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland dark ride, Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin, Sleeping Beauty castle walkthrough.

As has already been stated, Pirates is a must do as Florida's version is a truncated version of DL's. Even though Epcot does have a Nemo attraction, DL's version is a submarine voyage so it's similar but not exactly alike. The DL monorail is classed as an "attraction" rather than "transportation" so it's more of a sight seeing trip, but it does run between Tomorrowland and Downtown Disney. The Autopia has cars like the Speedway, but it's more a meandering drive and some little scenes were added earlier this year with the robot ASIMO.

At DCA, the highlights would probably be Radiator Springs Racers (and Carsland in general for its theming), Guardians of the Galaxy, California Screaming, Frozen musical at the Hyperion.

All of the nighttime entertainment at both parks is worthwhile. Even though DHS has Fantasmic!, the shows differ quite a lot.