How many days?

[DMA832]

How many days do you need to experience Disneyland/California adventure? My family and I go to Disney World 1-2 times a year with at least one trip being 10 days. I’ve only been to Disneyland once, only for a day, so I have no idea how much time is needed.

 

[sjmac42]

3 days with a parkhopper and MaxPass would be my advice but it does depend a little on time of year. Christmas/Easter I’d say a 4 or 5 day parkhopper.
All the best.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We always recommend 5 days (the most possible for a multi-day ticket) for the most relaxed trip. 5 days allows for rides, re-rides, shows, parades, dining packages, character meals, shopping, beach days, pool time, sightseeing outside of the parks, etc. Depending on when you visit, the extra time also allows for any events that are going on in the parks, e.g. Food and Wine, holiday events, Halloween parties, etc. And if the parks are very crowded, the extra time still allows you to relax and see everything you want. Park hoppers are great, but if you have 5 days, you could still do one park tickets with MP and be fine. Agree with the pp that 3 days would be the minimum with park hoppers and MP.

 

[gerilyne]

I always go for as many days as I can. For me personally 5 days is a must in order for us to take our time seeing and doing all that we want to while allowing time to rest in the middle of the days. I think with park hoppers and maxpass 3 days is doable but if you have the budget for it I will always say 5.

 

[WonkaKid]

How many days...?

All of them ;-).

 

[mouschievous]

No less than 3. We did 3 last year (no hopper, yes Maxpass) and while it was enough, it was not relaxing at all and we were exhausted when we were done. Totally doable, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but more days would mean an opportunity to slow down a bit. We have 5 days planned for our next trip, which will give us some flexibility.

 

[MonocularVision]

Always applicable.

 

[MrJT]

We did 3 a couple of summers ago, and it was perfect.

 

[Howry]

5 days is what we choose. Would do more if I could.

 

[Blue32]

I’ll echo the others...

3 days minimum
4 is better
5 is best

We do love theme parks though, and enjoy reriding favorites as well as seeing all the shows.

 

[Indiana Scott]

We always do 5 days but after 4, I'm pretty much done.
Then a funny thing happens, a few months later I'd give anything to be back in the parks!
So when time comes around to book another trip, we do 5 days again.

 

[StarlitNight05]

We live about 7 hours away by car (1.5 hrs by plane) and go about 3 times a year. Those trips are usually 2-3 days. If we went less frequently, I'd definitely do 4 days -- 5 days if you can swing it. It's nice to have a day or two to sleep in and not have to go commando in the parks. We are definitely exhasted after a 2 day trip! But a fun kind of exhausted...

 

[jbh275]

I would recommend 4 days with a day off in the middle.

 

[goooof1]

We have been going for 4 days, 1 - 2 times a year and each time feel like there was so much more that we did not get to do. We don't do commando anymore, so appreciate being able to relax and enjoy many different things.
Really wish they would bring back 6, 7 day tickets !

All of them ;-).

SO AGREE !!!!

 

[sjmac42]

Really wish they would bring back 6, 7 day tickets !

Move to Australia or NZ so you can get the 10 day tickets

 

[Hettie]

We're planning our first trip to DL (WDW veterans) and coming from Eastern time zone with a 5-year-old, so we are going to do 5 days with PH and MP for sure. I don't know how the jet lag will go, so if we end up going back to the room early every evening, I want to make sure we have plenty of time in the parks and are able to relax. Or make sure we can take midday breaks for a nap. I'm not a commando-style theme park person anywhere, anytime.

 

[Bossy22]

We have went 8 times over the last 10 years and the least we have went is 5 (the most as well, stupid no 6 or 7 days). We always try to have a couple of off days in between and we go for 5 full days and never get bored or regret it. We love DL though and I have a brother that went for 5 days and wished he only went for 2-3 (ba hum bug)!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We're planning our first trip to DL (WDW veterans) and coming from Eastern time zone with a 5-year-old, so we are going to do 5 days with PH and MP for sure. I don't know how the jet lag will go, so if we end up going back to the room early every evening, I want to make sure we have plenty of time in the parks and are able to relax. Or make sure we can take midday breaks for a nap. I'm not a commando-style theme park person anywhere, anytime.

This is a very good point about park days with young kids. Travel, jet lag, park excitement and fatigue, etc. all affect kids differently, so having more days allows for rest time, down time, time adjustment, etc. And allows for grown up rest time and adjustment and recharging, too!

 

[azdisneylover]

We're planning our first trip to DL (WDW veterans) and coming from Eastern time zone with a 5-year-old, so we are going to do 5 days with PH and MP for sure. I don't know how the jet lag will go, so if we end up going back to the room early every evening, I want to make sure we have plenty of time in the parks and are able to relax. Or make sure we can take midday breaks for a nap. I'm not a commando-style theme park person anywhere, anytime.

Right when the gates open really makes a difference, especially if you are staying on site. That extra hour is awesome.

 

[Dr.Mickey]

We are also east coast, WDW regulars. We had our first family California trip in June with 3 days at Disneyland. Three days was “enough”, technically, to check off most of our list. But we all agreed that we would prefer 5. We have done WDW so much that we are rarely in a hurry at WDW. But we nearly killed ourselves with the pace on the first day and a half. To do DL like we do WDW, five days would be a must.

We followed our time at DLR with a trip to Sequoia and Yosemite (wow!), but if your trip is primarily for Disney, you will not regret five days. Have fun!