Help a WDW pro, DL newbie! Please!

[MamaMermaid]

Hi Disneyland Friends!
I’ve been going to Disney World for 30 years… but just planned a Disneyland trip for 6 nights next May/June.

Travel party includes me, hubby, my mom, and our son who will be 4.5.

I have no idea how to begin. Do we park hop? I figure 2 days per park and then one for wiggle room?

We know we want to eat at Blue Bayou but that’s all we got. Any help? Would love some ideas or pointers. I don’t even know how to begin with Disneyland!

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

There is a great thread on here somewhere for DL for WDW vets… someone will link it

But first, DL is way more chill, so you don’t have to have a big plan. I personally love park hoppers, the two parks are so close to each other you will be amazed. But if you have 5 days you may not need them. Who knows if you will still have to reserve your days in advance by then, but if you do, I think you may want hoppers just so you can hop if the park you chose is unreasonably crowded or your kiddo is begging to do some ride in the other park.

Whether you have ridden the ride at WDW or not, ride it again at DL, often whatever ride is different at DL (some say better!) so experience what you can. Same goes for Fantasmic, DLs version is awesome. Big shows and fireworks tend to only be on Friday, Sat and Sun night. If WOC is up and running it is possible to see it nightly.

DL has way more yummy quick service options than WDW IMO… corn dogs as big as your kiddo‘s head, Rancho del Zocolo for Mexican food, Bengal BBQ has amazing skewers, so don’t stress about the food. When my kiddo was little, I aimed for 1 sit down a day, to get a break and have someone else wait on me

Have fun planning!

 

[Matrixleos]

I created the thread linked below. Has tons of details and planning to add more. I've updated Parts 1 and 2 with more updates to come.

Working on adding Part 3 now. Adding info on Table Service reservations, how to do Mobile Ordering, locations of all the filtered water bottle refill stations at both parks, updates to Rides\Attractions that are set to be closed for refurbishment and several other updates.

Check it out and let me know if there are any other information you're looking for that's not covered.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...d-information-thread-updated-7-12-21.3843617/

 

[ktlm]

We are WDW vets who also love DLR. DLR is so much easier than WDW. It is much more flexible.

I absolutely would recommend that you hop-- by WDW standards DL/CA are like one big park. You can get from the back of one to the back of the other in 10 minutes. You do not have to go through security again to hop like you do at WDW. At DLR the parks are separated by a plaza and crossing it is about the length of a football field (shorter than most places where the bus from the resort drops you off at a park at WDW.

I think your idea of 5 park days with a 4.5 year old is pretty good. That should give you time to really explore and enjoy everything. We typically get to the parks about noon or 1:00 p.m. on arrival day; have 3 full days; and then leave the parks at around 3:00 p.m. on departure day. I'm never ready to leave.

 

[PalmettoPath]

It's such a totally different world at DLR. We're WDW vets, but have nearly 20 weeks/trips at DLR as well. My wife actually prefers it because the entrances to the two parks face each other and everything is in such close proximity. So if you imagine the MK entrance at WDW being Disneyland Park, the ferry boat launches of Seven Seas Lagoon would be Disney California Adventure park. Downtown Disney leads right up to the park entrances. So it's truly all in one spot. Six nights is a ton of time there! We often would go for three nights and can easily see and do a lot (then we'd do four nights at the beach). I would indeed get a Park Hopper because with the parks being in such close proximity, it's very convenient to go between them (especially if you're staying onsite). You won't be getting on any Disney buses, lol. You will love it! So different and so fun. I agree with the comments above about the same rides being different. That's what makes it even more fun. Have a great time!

 

[ktlm]

I created the thread linked below. Has tons of details and planning to add more. I've updated Parts 1 and 2 with more updates to come. Check it out and let me know if there are any other information you're looking for that's not covered.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...d-information-thread-updated-7-12-21.3843617/

This is fantastic!!!!! Love it! Maybe add a section on photopass at DLR (price and options) and also when (how many days in advance) and what time in the morning it opens to make dining reservations? I'm always looking trying to remember what time of the morning the reservations open up online

 

[kappyfamily]

I will be the oddball and say we never get parkhoppers. The option, just like at WDW, you can always add the PH feature once you get onsite if you feel you would need it. Just remember, DL is MUCH smaller than the WDW parks. 4 days I feel is plenty to really take your time and see everything. If you can, stay onsite or one of the close hotels on Harbor. You will love having that with a 4.5 year old. Everytime we stay offsite, even the close hotels, I always get there and say I wish we wouldve stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. Our trip in September we will be staying there again! For DL, Rancho del Zoccolo and Blue Bayou are the go to's for us and at CA it's Wine Country and Lamplighters. Oh jeez, and Corn Dog Palace! Greatest corn dogs ever..... have fun!

 

[Matrixleos]

I will be the oddball and say we never get parkhoppers.

Same here, never seen the need for the way my family likes to do the parks. We like to "Commando Style" the parks and planning to do one full day in Disneyland and one full day in DCA.

Although initially, back in March, I did think about getting a Park Hopper for DCA, since I thought it might be a half day park. Although once they announced Avengers Campus was opening up in June, that changed everything for us.

We're HUGE fans of Marvel and the MCU, so planning to spend several hours there both early on and at night time and see Avengers Campus with the lights on when the sun sets. Plus planning to do Mission Breakout a couple of times in the day, eat at Pym's Test Kitchen and try out Shawarma's Palace. Not to mention Stage 17 has the largest collection of Marvel themed merchandise that I've ever seen, that we can easily spend an hour just there looking around. Kids already told me they want to spend their vacation allowance in Stage 17, so we'll be there awhile. Then factor in that we want to see the Spiderman, Dr. Strange, Black Widow\Black Panther\Taskmaster, GotG shows through out the day, then all of a sudden, DCA is a full day park......at least for my family.

 

[goooof1]

Check up in the "stickies" for Hydroguy's tips. It's all pre-covid, but quite extensive and always helpful. A thread just on DL for DW vets. Here is the link:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

 

[Matrixleos]

Check up in the "stickies" for Hydroguy's tips. It's all pre-covid, but quite extensive and always helpful. A thread just on DL for DW vets.

I looked there when I first came to this site. Tons of great info but majority of it was posted in 2006 and the 2010's. At this point in time, they're outdated compared to what Disneyland Resorts look like today and several of those older links don't work anymore. That's why I tried creating something a bit more updated in the link above.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

This is an older but still outstanding overview put together by Hydroguy a few years back. Obviously there are a few changes due to Covid such as the necessity of having park reservations and the difference in crowds right now with the discontinued AP program. Most of the other information should definitely help you acclimate.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/a-dlr-guide-for-wdw-vets.1162599/
Edited to add that it looks like this thread was already suggested while I was writing my post, but it really is helpful in describing the similarities and differences.

 

[goooof1]

I looked there when I first came to this site. Tons of great info but majority of it was posted in 2006 and the 2010's. At this point in time, they're outdated compared to what Disneyland Resorts look like today and several of those older links don't work anymore. That's why I tried creating something a bit more updated in the link above.

He kept updating the information, so pre-covid but not that far back. the link was to the DL guide for DW vets, which is a comprehensive look at the differences and what to expect. Obviously this post-covid DL is not exactly the same.....

 

[MamaMermaid]

Thank you all!