How many days do I need to devote to really experience Disneyland?

[rhettreaux]

Hi Everyone,

My family goes to WDW every year and we love it. We are pretty experienced visitors there, and feel like it isn't possible to experience the whole place with kids in tow in less than a week.

We plan to go to Disneyland next year. How many days do you think we need (with a 3 year old and 6 year old) to experience both parks in California?

 

[cloudconnected1039]

I would suggest no less than 3 days. It's very reasonable to think that you can get everything done that you want to in less than 3 days, but you need to take time to relax and enjoy DLR For the most relaxing, encompassing experience, 4 or 5 days would be ideal.

 

[sonnyjane]

I usually say at least three days, but there are a couple of factors that affect that. Is your 6 year old (or your 3 year old for that matter lol) tall enough to go on a lot of the big rides (height requirements are on the DL website)? If so, then I'd take at least three days, maybe four or five since you have two young kids. If they can't go on a lot of the rides, however, then you might not need the extra time. It also depends on when you are travelling. If it is in the off-season, you don't need as much time as if you are going during a crowded holiday, etc.

 

[DLtorgo]

Also, will Carsland be open when you plan on going? Crowds might make it harder to see everything you want to see. 3 days is a minimum for me and I have kids your ages. Since you are WDW vets you can pick and choose some things that you want to be sure to see this time. Also, you will want to make sure that you have nights to see all the shows you want to hit- WOC, Fireworks, F! DL closes early during the week in their slower seasons.

 

[Goofy_Mom]

Ideally, I like four days. That way, I don't feel rushed. I can relax and attack the parks at a kids pace (mine is much faster) I have time to enjoy my food instead of inhale it, and we can go on favorites again (and again, and again lol)

 

[I-Bike]

whoops, thought I was starting a new thread. So sorry.

 

[skiingfast]

As you plan you will want to read the post in the link below. It's for WDW vets coming to DLR.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

As far as how many days. A lot depend on when you come. As a PP noted you will probably want to see all three night shows though two of the shows only show on weekends in the offseason and daily during summer and around holiday periods. This also effects crowds and park hours. Even though you go on a slow day like today, it can be hard to get everything done because the hours are short and ride capacity can be lower.

That said I suggest 3 to 5 days. More than 3 if you include a busy day like a weekend or holiday.

 

[villain luvr]

I would say no less then three, especially if you are going on a weekend.

 

[akcire]

My family is like yours in that we are WDW experts, and Disneyland amateurs.

I was in Disneyland/CA last week, on Thursday and Friday.

Thursday we walked onto everything with less than a 10 minute wait, many times they were waiting for us when we walked to the loading area. (Seriously, on Thursday the longest line we waited in was at the bakery on main street. I "needed" a Matterhorn Macaroon). Friday, our wait times were more like 20-30 minutes.

In the two days we were able to go on every ride once, many twice, see WOC, Wishes, Fantasmic, a parade, and the Aladdin show; however we got to the park near opening and essentially closed the park each night. Each day we did a sit down meal in the park (so you can assume 2 hours were lost from touring).

If you can, I would strongly recommend visiting with at least half your trip Monday-Thursday during a non-peak time of year, then you can enjoy the park without the crowds. Also, it is unlikely that your kids, due to their ages, will be able to keep up with the pace we had going.

I would think 3 full days, would be a minimum requirement to try and experience everything; more days required if you are going on weekends, school holidays, or you have particularly pokey kids with long nap requirements.

One really nice thing about Disneyland is that everything is so close together. The Magic Kingdom is much more spread out, so the required walking is a bit less at Disneyland. Also Disneyland seems to have a bench or a seating area everywhere. This came in handy for me, as I am 31 weeks pregnant. [I did not ride the "thrill" rides, I instead rode benches and bathrooms. My husband rode Matterhorn, Big Thunder, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, TOT, & the California Adventure Screaming thing (I think those are the only things I skipped); he of course rode "the good" rides at least twice each so our time estimate is still valid for a non-pregnant family].

 

[rune_74]

I like 7 days, that just because I like having the option to go over and have a short day. Plus the price differance for tickets is marginal.

 

[kguenther8]

I think Disneyland and CA can be done comfortably in 3 days. We went with a 2.5 year old, rode everything with switching off, and still got to ride multiple rides multiple times, and took an afternoon break both days. The third day we spent at CA and there is less to do there, as we don't do the midway type things, but stick with "special" things. We did Monsters Inc. 4 times! We saw playhouse disney, rode soaring twice, rode Buzz, and skipped the rapids as it was cool out. We did the bug fun fair rides as well. We are experts at line avoidance (unofficial guide users) and we tour in the mornings, and get TONS done.

 

[happydisneyfamily]

I would say at least 3 days or maybe 4 if you've never been there before. We've been many times and 3 days is the minimum for us to be able to enjoy everything we want to do plus go at a relaxed pace. Of course we went a few weeks ago when it was slower and rides were mainly walk on. As mentioned, the weekdays are less crowded than the weekends.

 

[GrandBob]

I like 7 days, that just because I like having the option to go over and have a short day. Plus the price difference for tickets is marginal.

US visitors can't buy a 7 day ticket. That's reserved for you folks from farther away. Sometimes I feel like us NorCal folks are orphans. Further north, we could get longer tickets. Further south, we could get the cheaper SoCal APs. Disney, where's the love?

To answer the OP, I also agree that 3 days is an absolute minimum. For us, 4 days is better, and 5 allows for very relaxed touring. For us, by the 5th day, we're done. Usually, we're there for 4 full days and a half day for the fifth. We then leave for home in the early afternoon of the 5th day.

-Bob

 

[rhettreaux]

Thank you for all the good advice. We can't possibly open and close the park (both of my kids would be screaming, crying messes after one 13-hour park day) as someone suggested, so we are making a reservation for 5 days. That way we can take our time and still enjoy everything.

My kids are both early risers, so we always enjoy that first hour when the park is still mostly empty, then leave around 2 or 3 pm.

Thanks again!

 

[CrazyDuck]

2 for Disneyland and 1 for California Adventure

but 10 and 5 would be better!

 

[forevercruising]

We started out with our annual trips being about three days; now, we have a son and are able to stay longer, so, we now will not stay any less than seven days; we stayed for eight nights the first time we took our son to Disneyland and it was wonderful not having to rush anywhere; we were completely relaxed and took our time, which was nice. In fact, even after staying eight days, at the end of our stay, when we were packing to leave, my husband and I realized that, even though we more than doubled our normal time there, we still were not able to do everything we wanted to. We love to visit the different eating establishments and we found that we still did not have time to eat everywhere we wanted to.

Anyway, we won't even go now if we cannot stay at least a week! We love the relaxing, no-rush approach to Disney.

 

[Jazziered]

The longest trip I have done is two days. That was not enough, everyone says three days, I say five.

BUT I have to ride my favorite rides twice a day and other rides once each day. That eats up a lot of time. AND I do take the mid day break at the hotel for at least two hours because I like to open and close the park.

I do utilize fast pass, and I am also a huge fan of Ridemax.

I am GOING to do the five days on my 50th birthday next year. I am exercising, and watching what I eat to get in shape for it.

 

[Funball]

We started out with our annual trips being about three days; now, we have a son and are able to stay longer, so, we now will not stay any less than seven days; we stayed for eight nights the first time we took our son to Disneyland and it was wonderful not having to rush anywhere; we were completely relaxed and took our time, which was nice. In fact, even after staying eight days, at the end of our stay, when we were packing to leave, my husband and I realized that, even though we more than doubled our normal time there, we still were not able to do everything we wanted to. We love to visit the different eating establishments and we found that we still did not have time to eat everywhere we wanted to.

Anyway, we won't even go now if we cannot stay at least a week! We love the relaxing, no-rush approach to Disney.

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Ok then I would say do 2 days for Disneyland, and one day for DCA(although it only takes half a day).and then anything that u havn't done at DL on the 2nd day you could always go back and do, so maybe a total of 3 days..[/FONT]

 

[abouley]

Are you planning any other Southern CA attractions? If you can, I would try to hit SD for a couple of days too! I personally like to do 2-3 DL days then a day or 2 in SD and then back to DL for another 2 days! My kids like to ride the same rides over and over again so this breaks it up for me! LOL!

BTW- my kids love CA adventure. They could spend 1/2 a day just playing in the water play areas and they love bugs land. It's not my favorite park but it does get a fair amount of our time and on longer trips helps to break up the busy/warm afternoons nicely!

 

[rhettreaux]

As you plan you will want to read the post in the link below. It's for WDW vets coming to DLR.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

As far as how many days. A lot depend on when you come. As a PP noted you will probably want to see all three night shows though two of the shows only show on weekends in the offseason and daily during summer and around holiday periods. This also effects crowds and park hours. Even though you go on a slow day like today, it can be hard to get everything done because the hours are short and ride capacity can be lower.

That said I suggest 3 to 5 days. More than 3 if you include a busy day like a weekend or holiday.

Thank you for the link! I will be going in January. I'm not sure when the shows will be playing so I'll have to check.