how many days at DLR, CA?

[eastcoasterny]

Hi there,

I am thinking of doing the whole DLR thing but wasn't sure how many days I should give it... I was told one day is enough, but some say I need a min of 2 full days... I am not sure what I should do! Of course it depends on my interests and time I have but... what do you usually say? To get the typical DLR experience –*maybe not the whole bcz i would need a week or so to do that, right?! Is DLR really doable in one day? Do you guys often do the other SoCal thing – hollywood, san diego zoo, universal studio, etc??? We will be going there from NY.

Also, what are some amenities for adults, other than spa? I don't know how long of mickey mouse and screaming kids I can take. I know it will be fun but it will be exhausting and i might need some relaxation time alone and/or with my husband.

Thanks a bunch!!!!

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

I think many will say 3 days... but I agree with what Hydroguy has been saying lately, if you want to see fireworks, fantasmic & woc, you need 4 days for sure. We've done 4, felt it was too short, did 5, which was practically perfect, 6 was wonderful--so laid back, and we are about to do 5 again.

As far as getting away from it all, there are some nice places to eat (Napa Rose for example)... shopping in DTD... people that stay onsite have access to Pinocchios Workshop (I think that is what it is called), a daycare of sorts in the GCH, that you could drop your kids off and go out to a nice dinner, or a drink.

We never go do anything else other than DL/DCA, I even started to plan a separate trip to San Diego to go do the stuff there, and changed it all to a trip back to DLR.

 

[eastcoasterny]

I think many will say 3 days... but I agree with what Hydroguy has been saying lately, if you want to see fireworks, fantasmic & woc, you need 4 days for sure. We've done 4, felt it was too short, did 5, which was practically perfect, 6 was wonderful--so laid back, and we are about to do 5 again.

As far as getting away from it all, there are some nice places to eat (Napa Rose for example)... shopping in DTD... people that stay onsite have access to Pinocchios Workshop (I think that is what it is called), a daycare of sorts in the GCH, that you could drop your kids off and go out to a nice dinner, or a drink.

We never go do anything else other than DL/DCA, I even started to plan a separate trip to San Diego to go do the stuff there, and changed it all to a trip back to DLR.

Thank you so much! I have been told by everywhere – hotel receptionists, travel agents, bloggers, and fellow disney lovers here– that a minimum of 2 FULL days at DLR is a must. I guess 3 or more will be significantly better.

but I'm wondering was it difficult to plan the trip else where? you said you ended up just staying at DLR after planning a trip to San Diego... I am thinking of going other places as well, but am curious to know it's not worth the trouble of planning. Maybe it's a whole seperate trip I should take some other time? What do you think?

 

[HydroGuy]

Thank you so much! I have been told by everywhere – hotel receptionists, travel agents, bloggers, and fellow disney lovers here– that a minimum of 2 FULL days at DLR is a must. I guess 3 or more will be significantly better.

but I'm wondering was it difficult to plan the trip else where? you said you ended up just staying at DLR after planning a trip to San Diego... I am thinking of going other places as well, but am curious to know it's not worth the trouble of planning. Maybe it's a whole seperate trip I should take some other time? What do you think?

There is just so much to do in Southern California and really the whole state. You have to prioritize.

For example, you have:

o Theme parks - DLR, USH, Knott's, SF Magic Mountain, Legoland, Sea World, all spread out over roughly 150 miles.

o Beaches - from San Diego on up thru Orange County to Ventura and beyond

o History - Spanish Missions, La Brea Tar Pits, aviation, etc.

o Culture - Hollywood, live TV show filming, music and theater, Hearst Castle, San Francisco

o Natural - Catalina Island, Yosemite National Park (the most beautiful place I have seen on this planet), Sequoia National Park, Lake Tahoe, Death Valley

o Sporting events - Angels, Dodgers, Padres, Chargers, Lakers, Ducks, etc.

and more.

You could easily spend 30 days in California and still not experience it all.

So what do you want to do? You can have fun at DLR on a one-day trip, and in fact that is how most people experience it. However, you will feel like you just scratched the surface. Two days will feel like a more fulfilling trip. Three is the minimum IMO to feel like you saw a good chunk of DLR and did not have to rush. And four is really what you need if you want to take in the excellent shows at DLR as discussed by the PP Mommy2PrincessAbby. We did 4 and 1/2 days in July and still could have used another day or two.

How many days do you have and what are your priorities?

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

What Hydroguy said ^^^^^

When we travel we have a limited amount of time usually... 5-7 days... we aren't ready to go to Southern California yet and not got to DLR, and have no real interest in most of the rest of the theme parks... but someday would like to do Sea World & San Diego Zoo etc... but I think I need to get in the mindset of a "beach vacation" and try and forget how close we are to DLR, because then we'd want to go there too, and I don't think we could limit ourselves to just a couple days there... so long story short, we LOVE DLR too much to go anywhere else in Cali right now. Plus we live in Oregon, we have the beach here too, just not as warm!

 

[skiingfast]

If you want to experience the whole DLR. It depends greatly on what time of year and what days of the week you will be there. Also what ages are your children? Are you limited to some rides or avoiding kiddie rides?

I always suggest at least 3 days. This gives you lots of flexiblity. Just keep in mind on some weekdays they won't have F! or Fireworks, and possibly not WoC in the future.

 

[lillybug]

I think 3-4 days is minimum for Disneyland. There are too many really great shows (Aladdin and Fantasmic are my personal favorites) and attractions not to be missed.

We usually do 4-5 days at Disneyland (7 days total in southern California) and always leave wanting more.
We pick a few things to do other then Disney while we are in the area. We always like to hit the beach for a couple hours on the day we arrive. One year we spent two days in San Diego at the zoo, museums, and beach. That was a lot of fun. Another year we took a day bus tour down to Sea World from Anaheim. We've also gone to the Aquarium in Long Beach which was fantastic! This year we are going to Sequoia to see the trees, ect.

There are a lot of great places to experience in California, but I would say Disneyland is always the highlight and reason for our trip.