Need HELP Please!

[eeyore913]

hello!
So my dbf, his parents and I will be going to the Rose Bowl. My dbf and I just found out that Tuesday Dec 30th we will have the day to ourselves and we can do anything. I've been to Disney World 15 plus times going about once a year since I was 3 and I'm now 20...anyways I've never been to DL or to Cali for that matter. We are considering taking the day and spending it at DL if it would be worth it. Is one day enough? Do you think we should pick just one park or do a 1 day hopper and try to do both?!?!? If we should only pick one which one?!? I would guess Disney Land but who knows maybe I'm wrong haha. Idk we are just concerned with time. We have to figure out the best way to get there and I mean we could probably do rope drop to park close because it would just be the 2 of us so could go nonstop. I literally know NOTHING about DL so is their a firework show nightly?!? I just figured I'd start here I'll head over to the DL site now to check things out further. Wow when we found out we were going we didn't think DL would be an option but I'm so excited right now!!!! Sorry for the Long post and thanks in advance!

 

[ter-moo]

A couple of things to consider:

1. It's about 45 minutes from Pasadena to Disneyland, if you don't hit traffic. Making the rope drop might be difficult unless you get up REALLY early!!!

2. The week of Christmas is absolutely CRAZY at Disneyland. It's wall-to-wall people and the parks often have to close mid-day because they reach capacity.

3. If you DO go and you have to pick one park, go for Disneyland. It's a classic.

You might also consider Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Venice Beach/Santa Monica or Malibu for your free day if you've never been to California. In the Pasadena area, the Huntington Gardens and museum is an awesome place to visit. Are you going to the Rose Parade, too? That's an AMAZING parade to see.

 

[eeyore913]

Yea I was concerned with crowds during that time period. I think we are doing Hollywood/Bev Hills Monday and Weds things around the hotel like pier and what not. We are doing the parade very excited!! Wondering if Universal would be a better bet since it is like 20 miles closer hmmm

 

[LucyDingo]

If you love Disney parks....you may feel like you missed a lot by only doing 1 day at Disneyland. Especially if it's crowded, which is probably will be.

 

[HydroGuy]

IMO one day at DL will feel like 2 days at WDW. Enough to experience everything? No way. Enough to have fun? Sure. But be prepared to miss a lot.

Ter-moo's advice is good. It will be busy. This link might help - "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

During that week there will be nightly fireworks shows. But they get cancelled more often at DLR than at WDW because of tighter restrictions on conditions because of nearby residential areas.

Hope you go and have a great trip. Just get there early!

 

[eeyore913]

Thanks everyone!!! We definitely took your advice and made us reconsider. We want to do DL when we can do it all and not be frustrated with crowds because I don't want to "not like it" because of things Disney cannot control. So we will get there someday. We are probably going to head to universal its 21miles from our hotel compared to disney being 45 miles. Plus we never do it in Orlando because we are too busy with WDW and this way we get done what we get done but no stress or worries about missing anything! Thanks everyone!

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

We live right by Universal and I spent a year working in the heart of Pasadena, so the commute doesn't seem like 20 miles - more like 20 minutes. I used to spend a lot of time on the Universal Studio lot, as I had a friend who's film production office was there. We drove around in her golf cart on the backlot when heading up for lunch at Citiwalk. Therefore, I feel I can give you some insider advice, as you need to have different expectations than when you go to Disney or US-Orlando.

Some things to expect if you do Universal:

• It's not a theme park like FL, it's a real studio that has a them park attached on to it. That is important to keep in mind, as it makes for a much different experience that doing the one in FL, which was designed after the Disney model.
• Everything is extremely compact. Citiwalk is a quick break from the park for lunch. It has better food and more choices.
• You can do it in less than a day and don't have to do a touring plan like DL. Let me explain....
• It has a lot of hills and is on many levels - not like FL. The parking garage is the same. You will take long outdoor escalators to get to the places you need to go. Therefore, you have more of a need to stay in one quadrant of the park and complete that section, since it's more of a hassle to jump around.
• The tram tour takes you into the various effects like Earthquake. They aren't separate attractions like in FL. Keep in mind that King Kong was damaged in the fire, so not a part of the tram tour. You should not miss the tram tour, as it is the foundation of that park.

 

[eeyore913]

Thanks so much for your info...I really don't know anything about Universal...only done the one in Florida once and that was a whole ago. I think it will be something new and exciting and am glad to here a day is pleanty to see what we want. I am excited for the tram, I looked at some more info on it and it looks really neat. Thanks for the tip about going to Citywalk for lunch we would not have even thought to do that! I'm glad the commute is not too bad. Do you think if we leave around 8AM we should make it for 9AM when it opens or close? Also does it have anything like FP that Disney has? I saw you could pay more on your ticket to not wait in lines but its like an extra $30 a person. Lastly being as it will be Dec 30th do you think the crowds will be insane like Disney's or should it be a little less horrible? Thanks so much for letting me know its very new to us and were not even thinking about it until today and then we were like lets just do it!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

As others have noted, Disneyland will be very crowded on the day you're looking at. If this is your only chance to visit Disneyland, do it. However, I think you'd be better off planning a separate visit to SoCal to properly experience Disneyland.

Disneyland itself has more attractions to experience than the MK in WDW does. Since you're a WDW regular, I do not recommend getting a one day park hopper. DCA has very few great attractions that are not at WDW. If you choose to do it, I would focus your time on the attractions unique to Disneyland or those that are either substantially diffferent (Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain) or far superior(Pirates of the Carribean, just about all of Fantasyland).

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Universal has a history of having low attendance. Citiwalk will get a little more crowded. When they offer their Buy a Day, Get a Year Free" promotion - with no blackout days, they tend to "extend the offer" for several months at a time to get more takers. On a really bad year, we would see the billboards for it in September....

I honestly think Universal's problem is that once you've done it - there's really not much of a draw to pull you back. Last time we went was on my birthday 5 years ago. I've really had no yearning to go again and we live 5 minutes away from it. It really does cater to an older crowd, not our little ones. That's why we make the 45 minute drive down to Disneyland. From Pasadena, I'd say it takes about 35-40 minutes.

Let me know if you need any other help, since you'll be in the neighborhood. If you have any problems on your trip, PM me and I'll help. There are a few of us that will make ourselves available to DISers coming in from out of town, should they have emergencies.

 

[eeyore913]

Wow thanks so much!!! Thats really nice! We are excited to do something different and I think be a little less stressed out doing that then trying to see Disney Land in a day. We will be much better off doing that on a longer trip! Again thank you so much for the information it has helped a lot!