If you only had one day...

[Frye7127]

Would you buy park hoppers so you can go from DL to DCA or would you just buy a single ticket to do Disneyland only. Since so many people say their biggest disappointment was DCA, I am thinkin that maybe we should just skip it altogether. What do you all think? We will feel like we are missing out if we don't go?

 

[audrabolster]

I would just do Disney IMO. I haven't really spent much time in DCA, and I think with the new ride opening it will be busier in there too.

 

[NostalgicDad]

I recently did one day. Since I arrived around noon time and DL was closing at 9pm, I just bought the single park ticket. I knew I wouldn't spend enough time at DCA to justify the extra $25 for the PH. Back in February I had a full day and did purchase the PH. I was glad I did and felt like it was worth it. I certainly want to be in DL as much as possible but I also must get my fix on ToT and Soarin'!

 

[DLR29]

It depends on what you want.

If you go with the one day base, obviously it's cheaper and there's definitely enough at DL to spend a day at. However you will have to deal with the crowds of DL (I'm assuming you are talking about your upcoming summer trip) all day which can be very large during the middle of the day.

If you go with the one day park hopper, you can get away from those large crowds in the middle of the day to go ride some still really fun, high quality attractions such as Tower of Terror (seldom has a long line), Soarin, or Grizzly River Run (disconnected FP, which is great on a hot day). Or some really good entertainment including the Aladdin show or the Electric Parade. Then hop back in the evening for more DL and some night entertainment.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

It really depends on how important the attractions in DCA are to you and how often you experience Disneyland. The park itself is a work in progress, but it's headliner attractions like Soarin' over California, Tower of Terror, and (I'm guessing) Toy Story Midway Mania are amazing. Of course, if you're going to WDW anytime soon or went recently, you can experience the same attractions. Aladdin is an outstanding show, but at nearly an hour long, you really have to decide if it's worth it considering you only have one day.

 

[Me40Diz50]

IDEA After you buy a single ticket only and you have done the DL thing or maybe this is the part of day your feeling like you want to go see it, you can always go back out and UPGRADE to the park hopper for DCA the same day at the ticket booth.

They do not have a problem with that. Plus you might see in DL the dream team people standing around in a certain area handing out fastpass necklaces run over there, ask people where they got theirs if they have them and if it just happened run like heck to that area and get them too, if you have alot of your people running and you miss it, they will give you one in City Hall since most of your people got them, and if that happens for you, then you have an automatic tic for DCA because that will get you into that park, or visa versa also. We have asked people alot and ran as quick as we could to that area and got them too, works every time.

If you do not see them by at least 10:30am at DL they they won't be out anymore. Now DCA we have won them over there at the latest at 11:20am because they open up later. I think it is easier to win them there and to run its more spread out over there to get through people to run.

Now once again they have told me this as we win them, that if we do not have a park hopper to go into the opposite park we can now get in with the fastpass necklace. We never had to use them for that because we have passes.


So go in with a single ticket check everything out and you now want to see DCA then go back to the ticket both and upgrade.. Imagine some people getting there only buying the one park ticket then thinking darn I should of bought both after all, thinking they had to do it at the begining.

Not at all, you can even verify ( verify a couple times at least because no one answers down there the same way) , even if you bought your tickets somewhere else, just bring your receipt to be safe.

I love DCA also, my kids are little 11,9,6 and there are days we are there all day. My kids ride all the rides not afraid of any of them, my 6 year old can't wait to ride screamin, still to short.

You'll have fun!!

 

[Husker Mickey]

It is a matter of preference. We like DCA. I know I'm probably in the minority, but that is what our family likes. We do both parks, but would really miss not going on Soarin', Mulholand Madness, Aladdin, Screamin', Grizzly Bear Rapids, A Bug's Life, . . .

 

[Sleepless Knight]

When I read the terms on the Dream FP, it says that having a Dream FP is not a ticket into the park, so be prepared for that. However, should you win a Dream FP, it's worth upgrading if you need to because you can experience the best of DCA in a very short period of time.

 

[bumbershoot]

The first two times we went to DLR, we only went to Disneyland, thinking DCA was a waste of time (we knew nothing about it).

Then we finally went over there in September, and I swear, if I could ONLY go to one park in Anaheim forever, I'd choose DCA. It has the BEST river type ride (Grizzly), a terrific rollercoaster (not in the same class as the BIIIIIG coasters at other theme parks, though), a sweet little kid's area that we all prefer (including my 4 year old) to anything in Fantasyland AND there's only one entry/exit so if a kid bolts it's not as scary as a kid bolting in FL. Wide open walkways, pretty views. Soarin' is wonderful. Good food (the Trattoria and Pacific Wharf Cafe), drinks (Cove Bar), and the ability (as my tag says) to cheer yourself up (if you have a nasty headache like I did) by watching unsuspecting Grizzly riders get soaked by the geyser.

That said, considering how slow we were moving on our first two visits (our son was 1, then 2, on our visits, and we were coordinating with my brother and SIL on what to do) I'm not sure we *could* have made it over there even if we had bought the hopper. You know your group best!

But don't not go b/c it'll be disappointing. It surely hasn't disappointed us!

 

[stacymomof2]

It depends...have you been to DL before? How recent?

Like the others have said, it also depends on your group.

For us, it would be all day at DL. We liked DCA but for me it's all about DL.

Is there anyway you can stretch it to 2 days or a day and a half?

 

[HarbinsMom]

We actually like DCA, so I would buy a park hopper. Do DLR in the morning and hop over to DCA in the late afternoon. The only problem is *Soarin'*. The line for that is terminally long and fast passes usually are all gone early, so you could send someone over when the park opens and FP that, then come back whenever you want. *Soarin'* is not to be missed. Just make sure you pay attention to when DCA closes. It does close earlier than DLR. We enjoy DCA. We love ToT, California Screamin' and just missed the opening of *Toy Story Mania*. I hear it rocks.

Have a great time.

 

[CalvaryMike]

Do you know anyone in the So Calif area? A lot of corporations out here sell one day discount park hopper tickets to their employees. My company sells us one-day park hoppers for $66.

 

[Sy-]

DCA is getting better now that they are bringing more rides online. They have steadily openend new rides since their grand opening in 2001. Most people who despise it probably haven't been there since the grand opening!

 

[ReelMike84]

I agree with the above.

 

[Frye7127]

Thanks for your input...my son and I are like energizer bunnies - we ride everything and take everything in and really don't stop - my SD and husband are not big riders and don't get into it like the two of us. They likely will even go back to the hotel before us.

This is our first time and likely only time for Disneyland/DCA. I just don't want to feel like I am missing something by not going to DCA. We are cruising on the Magic the week before and this provided us an opportunity to go. DH feels like we are already dropping a small fortune for the cruise, but I was able to talk him into staying so we could go to the park on Monday after we get back.

We do not know anyone in SoCal, so buying a discounted park hopper is out unless someone wants to be my new best friend - LOL! I have looked for discounted tix, but none are to be found.

Again, thanks for your time and input on the matter - keep talking amongst yourselves and I will glean every bit of information I can. DCA almost sounds like a must do if not only for the fact that all of the Pixar stuff is over there, like Cars, Toy Story, and Bug's Life. We love us some Pixar movies now!

 

[disneychrista]

I would buy a hopper get there at opening stay at DL until noon, eat lunch, go to DCA until dinner time, eat dinner and then finish the day at Disneyland.

 

[Dobie]

I would make my decision based on how long I was going to be there.

If you are arriving on a day that Disneyland is open 8-11 or 8-12 and you plan to arrive at opening and close it down, by all means, get a parkhopper. In this case, I would also make PS's for dinner and lunch ahead of time so I had a couple of nice, relaxing airconditioned breaks in my day.

If you are not planning to arrive at opening, or will be coming on an offseason day where the parks open at 10, then you really don't have time for a parkhopper.

 

[Judy from Boise]

you will find that DCA is generally well liked on this board. It is really a nice addition to DL, and the perfect place to spend an afternoon (especially lunch ). It is just a hard sell to charge the same as DL for a single day ticket. So....not so successfull as a stand alone, but a great addition to the multi-day DLR experience. Coupled with DTD and the resort restaurants....most of us can easily fill a week.