how many days for DL vacation?

[minnie4me]

We are WDW vets, who are considering DL for next summers vacation. We are coming from the Pittsburgh, PA area, so want to spend a week on vacation. It seems too long for DL though. Probably would stay at GC, as we like GF. How long would we need to enjoy the DL parks, downtown area and resort? How far are we from other fun things to do? Is there a transportation option to DL from airport, or must we rent a car? Are there any off-site adventures/tours/daytrips from the resorts?
Thanks for any and all info....

 

[disneyfaninaz]

If you are WDW vets, I would check out HydroGuys stickey on top of the forum. Also, since you are vets, I would suggest that 3-4 days in the parks would give you sufficient time to enjoy them at a comfortabe pace. Then you could see the other So. Cal. sights for the other few days.

I believe there is a bus available to the DL resort from the airport for a charge. However, if you're going to see other sights, you may want to arrange for a car rental following your visit to the parks. Hollywood is about 1 hour away from DL, San Diego is about 2 hours away.

 

[Sherry E]

We are WDW vets, who are considering DL for next summers vacation. We are coming from the Pittsburgh, PA area, so want to spend a week on vacation. It seems too long for DL though. Probably would stay at GC, as we like GF. How long would we need to enjoy the DL parks, downtown area and resort? How far are we from other fun things to do? Is there a transportation option to DL from airport, or must we rent a car? Are there any off-site adventures/tours/daytrips from the resorts?
Thanks for any and all info....

Staying a week at DLR may seem to long, but it all depends on the pace that you are used to keeping, how much energy you have, how much rest you need and what you like to do. See, obviously WDW has SO much to see between the parks and hotels that a minimum week's stay is almost manadatory! If you are one of those people like so many of us on this board, who likes to really take time to appreciate all the hidden surprises and clever details of the parks, AND look in all the shops, AND ride a bunch of rides, and eat at as many of the restaurants as possible, AND look through DTD, AND spend quality time at the hotel, taking advantage of the GCH's amenities, you would be surprised how fast a few days can go by. When you have a hotel room to retreat to over several days, you can kind of spread everything out and don't have to cram a bunch of stuff into a couple of days. My friends and I live in SoCal - one of them lives 5 minutes down the street from DL - but we always try to get AT LEAST two-day Park Hoppers, usually 3-day ones, and stay at the hotel at least two nights, preferably three. And we get a lot done by being able to stretch everything out, take appropriate rest breaks at the hotel, and go back in. BUT we never get EVERYTHING done. I always feel like, Oh, if I only had one more day and night, I might have been able to do this or that. And there are special little things that people do on these boards, like taking photos of all the attraction signs or finding all the Hidden Mickeys, that would require at least another couple of days for me!

One thing, though - if you DO decide to venture out for a day and see something else, try to get over to Catalina Island for a nice day-trip. You could drive to Newport Beach from Anaheim, or drive to Long Beach, where the boats are, and catch the express over to the island. During the summer, they have nice boat tours out to Seal Rock and there is a Flying Fish boat tour as well. You can rent a golf cart for three hours at the price of two and cruise the island, soaking in the sea air and the beautiful scenery. I love it there almost as much as I love Disneyland. Avalon (Catalina's main town) is small and very un-fancy, but the people there are welcoming, the atmosphere is tranquil and you can get in a really good day trip if you plan it well.

 

[PinkBudgie]

At least 3 days. If you do 2 you will feel rushed. With 4 you can be pretty relaxed. There is also Legoland down South further. The San Diego Zoo is supposed to be pretty cool, I haven't been able to get there yet.

Maybe you would consider staying at DLR a few days then moving hotels to one further south to see those things?

 

[HydroGuy]

If you are WDW vets, I would check out HydroGuys stickey on top of the forum. Also, since you are vets, I would suggest that 3-4 days in the parks would give you sufficient time to enjoy them at a comfortabe pace. Then you could see the other So. Cal. sights for the other few days.

I agree. Three days is the minimum and four is enough to experience most everything there. For the OP here are some links to get you started:

"A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

"Getting The Most Out of a Summer Visit To DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1345319

You will probably want to rent a car. SoCal has lots of things to do. I discuss some of them in the first link above. Hollywood, the beaches, San Diego, etc. I would plan four days at DLR and in August try to make them Monday-Thursday. Then choose your other activities based on how far you want to venture and what you want to see.

 

[DSNY4ever]

I agree with the previous post comments- I say 3 days is all you will need in Disneyland, then head to San Diego and enjoy the beaches, zoo and wild animal park, or catalina island is also a great suggestion- that is a more relaxing place with mostly just enjoying the view, the food and maybe taking a little tour or glass bottom boat ride. I am not a Hollywood or Universal fan personally. You won't need a car for your time in DL, but I would suggest renting one for your time in San Diego (if you did Catalina, you'd have to probably rent a car to get to the ferry, but then once on the island you don't need one).

Have fun!

 

[Sherry E]

I agree with the previous post comments- I say 3 days is all you will need in Disneyland, then head to San Diego and enjoy the beaches, zoo and wild animal park, or catalina island is also a great suggestion- that is a more relaxing place with mostly just enjoying the view, the food and maybe taking a little tour or glass bottom boat ride. I am not a Hollywood or Universal fan personally. You won't need a car for your time in DL, but I would suggest renting one for your time in San Diego (if you did Catalina, you'd have to probably rent a car to get to the ferry, but then once on the island you don't need one).

Have fun!

If the OP has a rental car already, like for San Diego or whatever, then use that to drive to the Catalina boat docks in Long Beach or Newport (those two are closet to Anaheim, but there is also San Pedro). However, if you decide not to rent a car but you want to go to Catalina, look up Karmel Shuttle online, and they have package deals that include round trip shuttle service and boat fare for Catalina (the will pick you up from DL and drop you off at the ferry, then pick you up at night when you return and bring you back to DL or wherever). I have used them several times and they are great. But if you do hit Catalina in the summer, you MUST get the three-hour golf cart and do the Seal Rock tour and/or the Flying Fish tour - it is worth it, believe me. I have stayed in Catalina for over a week before and did very little, but I went for one day once and squeezed in four tours AND the 3-hour golf cart, as well as shopping and people watching and eating. You can get a LOT done if you plan it well!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

i say 5
there are lot of new things you will want to excpirnce and it will be summer time so id do 5.

 

[cheshiregirl]

While we have never used this ourselves as we are Premium APs, one of my sorority sisters came out West last summer and she and her family bought the Southern California City Pass http://www.citypass.com/city/socal.html

The pass is good for 14 days and gives you 3 days of parkhopping at DLR and then you can also visit Sea World (assuming it still exists next summer due to Anheuser-Busch getting sold), the San Diego Zoo OR Wild Animal Park, and Universal Studios.

It cost $247 per adult, $199 per child off the website that I linked above, but it can also be purchased through Costco for a reduced rate ($217 for adults I think).

Assuming you buy at Costco, if you use all 3 days of your hopper and visit at least 2 of the other three attractions, you will get more than your money's worth!

Also, other posters have said this already, but make sure to take a day to visit the beach. Coronado in San Diego (home of the famous Hotel del Coronado which is one of the inspriations for the GF) is gorgeous and should not be missed if you head south.

I would also recommend checking out the Santa Monica pier as it is another pop culture icon. http://www.santamonicapier.org/

Another great spot to visit is Long Beach. They have an AMAZING aquarium with these really cool looking sea horses that are called sea dragons. www.aquariumofpacific.org And, the Queen Mary is permanently docked there. It is reportedly haunted and they have ghost tours set up...some in good fun with special effects and some that are more serious in nature. www.queenmary.com

If you want to add some historical perspective to your trip you could visit the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda. It is not very far from DLR, but feels like a whole different world.

My DH would be shocked to hear me say this, but SoCal has so much more to offer than just DLR and you would be missing out to spend your entire trip with the Mouse!