How many days would you recommend?

[wfloyd]

How many days would it take to see everything in each park and not feel like you are rushed? We have never been to DL before so everything would be new. We are thinking about going in the near future and are trying to determine how long we should stay.

 

[iceskatejen]

3 full park days would be the absolute minimum (2 for DL, 1 for DCA). You might want to go with longer. Many go for 4-5 days.

 

[HydroGuy]

What do you mean by "see everything"? Do you want to go on each ride at least once and see each show/parade at least once? If so, I would say plan for four days minimum. Five would be better if you do not want to be rushed.

 

[LucyKate]

Agree with both of the above - 3 days minimum to do everything, 4 if you want to do favourites again and not be rushed.

 

[abby]

The answer in some ways depends on who is going with you. I travel with a small child so allot extra time, is it's all adults, that's different. My dd and I (almost 5) spend five days and had a great time. But we rested each afternoon and were there during a time the parks we not open late each night. Also a time it wasn't too crowded. So for me the answer depends on who is going,what time of year and what all you want to do.

 

[wfloyd]

We will have a 3 year old with us. We want to see/ride most if not all things at least once since DL is so far away for us. We are AP holders for WDW so we go there quite often and DS is acclimated to running around parks and we pretty much know his limits.

Are there any other places in the LA area that are worth seeing. We probably want to stop by Hollywood and the tar pits since we are out there. Is there any other must see things to do?

We are also looking at spending a couple of days in San Diego as well to do the zoo and Legoland.

 

[Dobie]

4 and a half.

The first two days to commando tour, because we can't stop ourselves. Its a sickness.

THe third day to be tired, hang by the pool all day, and then chill out waiting for the fireworks.

A day and a half to repeat what we like best at a very relaxed pace.

 

[All Aboard]

You mention that it is your first time to Disneyland. How much time have you spent at WDW? I ask, because that may have an impact on what you want to see and do while at Disneyland.

For me, having been to WDW more than 100 times, my first trip to Disneyland was focused on Disneyland Park and the things that make it special and different from the park I was so familiar with. So, attractions like Honey I Shrunk the Audience and Star Tours (which are identical) did not take any of my time. As such, much of DCA did not take much of my time either. I had no burning desire to see Muppetvision 3D, It's Tough to be a Bug, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, etc. when I had seen the exact same attractions many, many times. Instead, I was interested in seeing how Tower differed, the Aladdin Show and the Animation Building. With Soarin' just opened at Epcot, that was about all I really wanted to see at DCA.

Instead, I wanted to explore the detail of New Orleans Square, ride Pirates multiple times to see how Walt had built the attraction, spend a lot of time in Fantasyland, etc. So, I spent nearly three full days in Disneyland and just a small part of one day at DCA. Still, that felt about one day short (especially given that it was my first time). So, I've remidied that with another trip out West next week.

 

[crazymama]

We just did 5 days there (3 in DL and 2 in CA) and still did not see everything we hoped to. Part of the reason of course is that we did a lot of favourite rides (Splash/Space Mountains etc) repeatedly. I would recommend at least 4 days, especially with kids because you will do more bathroom breaks, rest breaks etc. Have fun. I am so jealous and would go back in a flash!

 

[CamColt]

We recently visited DL for the first time in August. We had 3 park days, did EE (7:00am), and really went as commando as we could..with a short break 1 day, and a longer break(pool) another day.

While we did see most of our "must dos", there were a few more attractions that we would have like to get on(Peter Pan, Splash MT, Astro Orbiters), and maybe do our favorites some more. We could have used another day, 2 more if we were going to really take it slow.

 

[HydroGuy]

We will have a 3 year old with us. We want to see/ride most if not all things at least once since DL is so far away for us. We are AP holders for WDW so we go there quite often and DS is acclimated to running around parks and we pretty much know his limits.

If you can stay for five days, that would allow you to see and do everything at DL and DCA without rushing. In four days, you would have to push it, IMO.

 

[BrerMama]

We always vacation for 8 nights (from a Saturday until the next Sunday) and DL will be no exception. I've been assured that we won't get bored with nothing to do but visit DL and DCA, and I like knowing that we can have a relaxed vacation, even in the summer, because we have so much time to spend doing our favorite things.

 

[LuvTigger]

I have found for us (2 adults), 4 days is a nice amount of time to cover everything in both parks without rushing. It is also enough time to allow for afternoon rest breaks, and a few sit down meals.

I recently returned from a 4 day stay, and we pretty much covered everything in the first 3 days. The last day a friend joined us, and because it was a Friday, there were a few things going on that we weren't showing the previous days such as Fantasmic! and the fireworks. Also, the Haunted Mansion Holiday opened that day as well. Other than those things, we just did what my friend wanted to do since we had already done just about everything we wanted to.

With a child, I'm thinking 5 days might be ideal so you can cover all the Fantasyland rides (we did a few of them, but not all), and maybe allow more rest time.

Also, if you go to San Diego, I would suggest spending a night or two there rather than commuting (it's at least 1 1/2 hours each way).

 

[Buttercup26]

With a small child I would say 3 - 4 days if you are going during a slower time of year, 5 - 6 days if you are going during a busy more crowded time of year. Although be sure you are there over a weekend if you go during a slow season.

I love to go shortly before Christmas, but it is far more crowded that time of year and it takes more time to do everything. I always go for at least 5 days that time of year.