First Trip to Disneyland

[gcferg]

I am taking my family to southern CA next year for 10 days. We are WDW vets and have been on more than 15 WDW vacations, but have never been to Disneyland.

My question is will three days be enough for Disneyland and California Adventure, and is it best to schedule these three days to be Tues-Thurs?

We are also planning on Legoland, maybe Universal, and 4-5 days in San Diego area.

 

[HydroGuy]

I am taking my family to southern CA next year for 10 days. We are WDW vets and have been on more than 15 WDW vacations, but have never been to Disneyland.

My question is will three days be enough for Disneyland and California Adventure, and is it best to schedule these three days to be Tues-Thurs?

We are also planning on Legoland, maybe Universal, and 4-5 days in San Diego area.

By summer of 2012 and the completion of Cars Land, four days will really be the minimum needed for a solid DLR experience. Can you have a good trip in 2 or 3 days? Sure. But you will feel rushed.

Chossing days of the week depends highly on time of year. So can't answer that. At some times of year such as summer, Tue-Thur is best for a three day trip. During off-season IMO those are the worst days to choose.

 

[Liat]

Even now, before the addition of Carsland I would say 4 days is the shortest for DL trip to get on most everything and not be totally rushed.

If you are staying on property the MM days are Tues, Thurs and Sat, Sun so that may play into what days you want to be there. Even if you just get a 3 day hopper you'll get one MM. (at least I think so?)

 

[ktlm]

As a WDW vet, I would say it depends on how old your kids are. We went to DL in June both last year and this year. DD was 4 the 1st time, 5 the second. Last year we arrived on DL property and were in the parks by 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, and we left the park about 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. I was not ready to leave and felt like we needed another day. This year we hit the parks by about 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and left around 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday (we planned to leave by about noon on Wednesday, but we find it hard to leave Disney!). That felt about right (or as right as it ever feels to leave Disney). DD loves the characters and meeting them can really eat up time (as does climbing Tarzan's treehouse 5 times in a row- UGH). If it were just DH and I, we could easily do everything we wanted in 3 days.

Both years, the crowds were fairly low on Saturday and Sunday and crazy on Monday and Tuesday.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I think it really depends on how you vacation and eat your meals. I went last year and found that with getting up early and stopping for sit down meals that we hit everything in about three days. We were there longer and were able to relax afterwards though and do favorite attractions plus shopping. Either way, go and enjoy Disneyland. It is a very special place!

 

[mousterpiece]

I agree with the previous posters; it really depends on you, your family and their needs, and your travel schedule. Clearly, you're no stranger to preparing for a Disney trip, but depending on your pace, you may need 4 days even before Carsland opens. 3 days is a nice baseline, but you may need more time if you want to get the full effect of the parks.