First Trip to Disneyland AND the West Coast--what do I need to know?

[PHamrick]

Just booked flights out to Los Angeles/San Diego for Spring Break 2017. In Virginia, our spring break is the week before Easter. We have a ton planned to do, so we will probably only have one day to do Disneyland. I'm planning on staying the night at the Grand Californian the night before our Disney day. My kids will be almost 8 and 6 when we go. The boy likes rides and the girl likes princesses. This will not be their first time experiencing Disney...they've been to the World twice and on two Disney cruises. Soooooooooo, what do I need to know? How can I best maximize our time there without driving everyone crazy or going totally theme-park commando?

THANK YOU!!!

#totaleastcoaster

 

[IBLarsen]

With such a busy time of year and so much packed into the two parks, I think you just really have to look thru the lists of rides and attractions and narrow down the must dos for your family, as you won't be able to do everything in a day. Park hopping is super easy, it's basically one big park, with a walkway separating the two parks. Downtown Disney is right there as well. On your arrival day, if you have time to have dinner at goofys kitchen in downtown Disney (easy walk), that, I found is a great way to start our trip to get a lot of character meet and greets done so we don't waste valuable park time trying to meet all the characters. Goofys is great for boys and girls, with a great variety of characters. (Both my ds and dd love this place). Remember Disneyland is still using the regular fastpass system, not the fastpass plus like WDW has gone to. I would make sure to be at rope drop. You will get more done in the first two hours than you will the rest of the day. I wouldn't plan sit down meals in the morning to make use of the shorter ride lines.

If you come back with a list of must do's, you can get valuable feedback on general best order to do things to minimize waits. For example, similar to WDW, if you want to ride Peter Pan, do it first...

 

[Laz]

When doing your planning, check the list of rides that will be closed due to refurbishment.

 

[grnflash]

Hi. Yes, you are going at such a busy time. Rope drop is your friend in this case and your only hope to get a bunch of rides in. I would have a commando plan for those first few hours before you will be forced to go at the park's pace. A character meal is a great idea if meet n greets are important to your family, just not for breakfast as that will take too much time out of your prime ride hours.

 

[maltdizzy]

You have a lot to squeeze into one day.

Back when we lived out west and people would come visit,they would want to see both parks. But every one would realize that both parks in one day was way too hectic and wished they had just settled on a day at Disneyland. While my family and I can accomplish everything we like to do at DCA in a half day (there is plenty more to fill the day), it's really hard to do DL in less than one day.

I like the idea of doing the character meal the night before. I would be selective of any table service dining on the parks day to maximize touring time.

 

[Drusilla99]

Since you've done dcl and WDW you might want to consider how important seeing the characters, even princesses, and what rides are important. For my family, when we are at WDW, we tend to hit rides we don't have out west. We also cruise often, so we've always kinda had a rule of, "oh, we just saw them on the cruise, we don't need to see them here." It worked. Off the top of my head, I would say you've gotta hit at dl :Indiana Jones, Matterhorn, Mr Toad, Snow White, autopia (because it's set up cuter), Pirates (because it's WAY better here), at dca: Ferris wheel, screamin, monsters inc, goofys sky school...there's a lot here's that's not at WDW. Happy planning!

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I go on frequent day-trips and you can definitely get a lot done. You won't see or do everything, but you'll see a lot, even during spring break peak season. Be there for rope drop. Prioritize which attractions you most want to see. Are you doing both DCA and DL? If you want to ride on RSR, go to DCA first thing in the morning and either get a FP or just ride. If you don't really care about RSR, start at DL. Anyway, if you plan carefully, give up on any ride that has a huge standby time and no FP, and use single rider and FP effectively, you will still see most of what makes DL unique from WDW. I also recommend not doing any TS restaurants as your meal could take 1+ hours and to me, if you only have one day, that's too long for a meal. Since your daughter loves princesses though, if you do a character meal, consider Ariel's Grotto.

Have fun and enjoy it!

 

[lawdvd]

Whether you park hop or not, maximize your Fast Passes.

1. If you park hop, keep in mind that the two parks aren't connected. If you have a FP at DCA, you are not blocked from getting one at DLR. If we are doing both parks on the same day, I'll get FP's for one park and at the right time, take our tickets (by myself while family is on a break or riding a ride) over to the other and get FP. I end up going back and forth a few times, but it really maximizes the rides.

2. If not park hopping, just make sure you get your FP's as soon as you can (two hours after you obtain FP or when your FP window opens, whichever comes first). Follow ride times on Disney App, and go on rides with shorter lines, have a snack, shop or meet characters in between. You can get a lot done without feeling like your rushing everything.

 

[PHamrick]

These are great suggestions! I don't think we will do any sit down restaurants at all. I may ask my daughter to pick 1-2 princess meets tops and skip the rest. She will still be too short to ride some rides, so that could help us limit them. I like the idea of focusing on what makes DL different from WDW and focusing on those rides. We will def do rope drop and plan on doing extra magic hour too. RSR is high I. Our list for sure.

 

[smartlabelprint]

3 days isn't enough to see both parks so just pick your top rides.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

This thread will give you good tips and info on the similarities/differences between WDW and DLR: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets.

 

[5forMickey]

Could you add a day to your pass and go to the park your arrival day also? That would give you a little more time to squeeze more things in.

 

[PHamrick]

Could you add a day to your pass and go to the park your arrival day also? That would give you a little more time to squeeze more things in.

I hadn't really thought of that. We probably could. We are flying on points and mostly staying for free. That's a great idea. Thanks!!!

 

[becd]

Also, since you ware staying at the GCH do not forget the EMH for hotel guests. I agree with the poster above who recommended adding a day - night time can be a great way to cover a lot of ground and the private entrance for DCA at GCH can be helpful in the evening for getting back to your room and avoiding the DTD crowds.