Well, let me ask this: are you intending/hoping to do both DL and DCA in one day? I think you should! Many will disagree with me, but since you are really not going to have time to do everything at
Disneyland itself anyway, you might want to consider doing what I call a 'highlight tour' and seeing both DL and DCA. Now many will say that you can't do both parks in one day because you can't do
everything in both parks in one day - or even two days - but you don't necessarily need to do everything, especially if you have been to WDW, and a one-day highlight tour of both parks is definitely possible with some carefully thought-out planning. In fact, my friend from Georgia was out here last year - also in July - and she was initially intending to only go to DL, but I convinced her to work DCA into the schedule too, to be able to ride Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Soarin', A Bug's Land, King Triton's Carousel, etc. She LOVED DCA and was so glad they fit it into the day. The two parks are right across the esplanade from each other, so it takes literally 2 minutes to walk from one to the other. And DCA is not nearly as large as DL so it is possible to get in and out of DCA in just a few hours. Also, DCA will be changing significantly over the next few years - the changes are underway now - so it might be interesting to see it in its current format because a lot of it will be gone by 2012. Would any of the little ones in your group be interested in dining with the Princesses at Ariel's Grotto (Aurora is there too)? That is over in DCA!
But whether or not you decide to do both DL and DCA or only DL, one important thing is to get to DL (which opens before DCA) when the gates open. Summer is very busy and it can get very hot out in the California sun by mid-day. Try to hit things with crazy lines like Nemo early on, and of course rides such as Peter Pan are extremely popular. ToonTown gets busy early on too, but seeing as this ToonTown is different than the one in WDW, I think it is worth seeing. Roger Rabbit is a fun ride! Collect Fast Passes, as Pink Budgie said. That will save time, and if you decide to eat in DL, DCA, DTD or one of the 3 hotels, make sure you make a PS (the DLR equivalent of ADR) to cut down on wait time. The main idea - whether you do one park or two - is to maximize time for activities and cut down on wait time, so you need to get to DLR as early as possible and stay as late as possible. Sometimes when DL gets really crowded, people escape over to DCA to get away from the throngs of people because it is less packed and easier to walk around.
you can do haunted mansion and pirates in the afternoon. 
)
