Need input on Disneyland length of stay

[cmpeter]

My dd (14) and I went in October. We had three day park hoppers. I have been countless times before (we used to have APs). I would have liked 1 more day...there were some things on my to-do list that we didn't have time to do. But, I don't think I would be up for 5 days. I will add that we really aren't interested in Toon Town anymore (she's feels too old for that area) and felt the same way about some of the Fantasy Land and Bugs Life area at DCA. So, take that into account with your 10 year old...is he interested in those areas of the parks.

We have stayed at the Grand, Best Western Park Place and Tropicana. The BWPPI and Tropicana are both really close walks (5 minutes to the front gates.) I would stay at either of those two hotels again.

 

[GatorChris]

WDW vet here. I'm with you. 8 days in the parks in FL is perfect. 2 days in each park. Man, just talking about it makes me want to go. But for now we're doing the DL thing and it's been great!

Our first family trip last November was 4 days in the parks. It was good. We spent about 2 days in each park - pretty close to evenly split. But this last trip last month we bought APs (since we'll be back next year), and we stayed 5 full days and even the mornings of the weekend. That was really great. I thought that we might get bored, but all we could think about is doing more rides. Lots of fun with plenty of time to do whatever we wanted. More days is always better.

As for hotel, I do wish DLR had affordable options like WDW does. Love staying at those moderates. We stayed at ParPier last year, which even at a 20% discount was $45/night more than a moderate at WDW. It good, but I prefer the mods back in FL. As for nearby hotels, we stayed at HoJo this last time and the walk really isn't that bad. In fact, I'd say it was close to the same walk to El Centro from Rancho at Coronado. Plus DLR is so small, walking won't make much of a difference. As for the water park, my 4'4 9yo daughter liked it alright. But like you said, there's plenty of other closer hotels so you could go with those.

 

[ClaraOswald]

We like 7 days in the parks at WDW.

At Disneyland, 4 day hoppers are the minimum I would recommend in the Summer time.

Hoppers are fantastic at Disneyland and I can't imagine going without.

 

[zshellmatt]

We did the Citypass this summer which included a 3 day park hopper. It worked perfectly fine for us. We had 3 kids (17,8,10) and me and my husband. We hopped each day but we stayed at mostly 1 park each day. We did DL, CA, and 3rd day we were back and forth to both, but mainly stayed at CA and went back to DL when it closed

 

[McNs]

I think a lot will depend on the age of your kids and the park hours.

Older kids can go longer, meaning you can do more in each park each day. If you are on a tight budget or schedule, so long as you can last from rope drop to park closing, there is a lot you can do. But I imagine those days would be quite brutal, especially during extended hours.

Our kids are 8 & 5, our most recent trip we had 10 day hoppers (Antipodean special ticket only), we would start early but by 1pm would be heading back to the hotel for some pool time. We would generally be back in the parks later on (if we wanted), or would just relax or do some shopping. The latest we stayed (after an afternoon break) was around 10pm for a Halloween party.

 

[ClaraOswald]

We just took our first trip and I would say the first option would probably be best. We spent 1 day in California Adventure and we only missed out on 3 things we wanted to do (the ferris wheel, WOC, and Soarin Over California) we actually had time to do these things we just decided to call it an early day and head back to the hotel about 530pm. We did not do California Screamin but there were not long lines that day and you can fast pass it.

We did however need more time in Disneyland. We did almost everything we wanted to do in Disneyland 1 time in 1.5 days but we didn't do everything. We didn't even go to toon town at all since we saw the characters on Main Street and barely saw anything at Innoventions. We would have done more at Innoventions but the kids wanted to go swimming this day so we left Disneyland at 4 and didnt do anything else until 730.

The 1 day being a hopper would be really helpful to help do other things you want to do again. Also, if you could extend it by 1 more day (or the other half of the day) it would probably be much easier on you all.

Just for future reference, there are a couple rides over in Toon Town as well as characters. And there are some play areas. And just a lot of cute things for photo ops.

 

[PrincessDenisse]

Thank you guys SO MUCH for all the replies!

I would LOOOOOVE to stay on-site, but can't stomach the prices! We stay value or moderate at WDW (WITH discounts), but the DLR hotels (even Paradise Pier) are much higher. Even renting DVC points, if I could get my hands on some, would be out of my budget.

I have my eye on Best Western Park Place Inn, or Park Vue Inn. I like that they're both across the street from the entrance and have free breakfast. Obviously I have never been to either place, but from pictures, the pools look small and just not really like a place we'd want to hang out a lot in the off-time. (Hence me worrying about too long of a trip). I looked at the HoJo, but it's a further walk and I think the water play area looks a bit too babyish for my 5'2" DS10.

I´ve heard very good comments of HoJo , distance is no so far from the parks

 

[tarheelalum]

Thank you guys SO MUCH for all the replies!

I would LOOOOOVE to stay on-site, but can't stomach the prices! We stay value or moderate at WDW (WITH discounts), but the DLR hotels (even Paradise Pier) are much higher. Even renting DVC points, if I could get my hands on some, would be out of my budget.

I have my eye on Best Western Park Place Inn, or Park Vue Inn. I like that they're both across the street from the entrance and have free breakfast. Obviously I have never been to either place, but from pictures, the pools look small and just not really like a place we'd want to hang out a lot in the off-time. (Hence me worrying about too long of a trip). I looked at the HoJo, but it's a further walk and I think the water play area looks a bit too babyish for my 5'2" DS10.

I've stayed at the Park Vue and its an excellent value. Its directly across from the park. Its closer than all of the Disney Hotels to the main gates of the parks. Free parking and Free hot breakfast so you get to save a lot of money. And to top it all off, at the Park Vue you can make your own waffles for breakfast !

 

[707MickeyGirl]

I looked at the HoJo, but it's a further walk and I think the water play area looks a bit too babyish for my 5'2" DS10.

I've stayed at HoJo twice with my DGD6 and the walk to the parks is about 10 minutes at her pace. It's about 1/3 of a mile from the lobby to the center of the Esplanade. The longest part is waiting for the stop light to cross Harbor. She loves the water park area and there are always lots of kids older than she is, but HoJo also has a really nice regular pool. The hotel is clean, the beds are super comfy and the customer service can't be beat. They really do everything they can to make your stay perfect.

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

I usually go for three days total, usually with one full day at DL, one at DCA, and the third day hopping back and forth. Doing this, I have been able to ride every ride at DL and all of the ones I wanted to at DCA (I have no desire to go on certain rides there and skip the Bug's Land area completely). I have never felt rushed doing this, but I also go during the least busy times of the year, so I don't spend a lot of time waiting in lines. I also don't usually stop to watch parades or Fantasmic. This year I am taking along someone who has not been to DL since they were a small child, so I am going for 3.5 days instead and will try to fit in fireworks and Fantasmic if possible.

If you are going during a busy time, I would definitely choose at least 4 days. Even if you get to everything earlier than you expected, there is plenty to fill your "extra" time.

I wish I could go for longer lengths of time, but I am on a budget and can't always use that much vacation time at work, so this is what I have found to be my happy medium.

 

[Just Peachy]

freckles04 - Since you say you’re a WDW veteran, I found this stuff from the Hydroguy to be really instructive and contrasting. Maybe you already know all this...but in case you don't...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

Our family typically stays 5 days/4 nights at the DLR with 5 day Park Hoppers and can cover almost all that we want to in the summer and other busy times like Thanksgiving week. However, we have always stayed on property and use the EMH extra access time every day.

 

[njpyro]

I've stayed at the Park Vue and its an excellent value. Its directly across from the park. Its closer than all of the Disney Hotels to the main gates of the parks. Free parking and Free hot breakfast so you get to save a lot of money. And to top it all off, at the Park Vue you can make your own waffles for breakfast !

Here's another vote for Park Vue Inn! Clean, safe, affordable, closer than staying on site, free breakfast and wifi. It's close enough that we went back to the room for a mid day break, when the day was at its hottest and most crowded. Otherwise I wouldn't make it from rope drop till midnight.

 

[freckles04]

Thank you so much to everyone for your input!

I got varying opinions, but have decided to do Option 2 and stay a day longer. This may be our only Disneyland trip (airfare from here to CA is pricey and we can drive to WDW) and so we want to do everything we can (see shows, parades, World of Color, etc.).

Strangely, I'm also REALLY considering the Hojo now! With the mousesavers' discount, it's more in my price range, and after watching some videos of the water play area, I think my DS would actually enjoy it. Unfortunate that there's no free breakfast, but I see there's a McDonald's on the way.