Newbies to DL

[bgula]

We are heading to DL for the Disney Run at the end of January. Never been there before, but been to DW at least 50 times. We're planning on 2 days only and wondering if: 1) Should we get PH's or just individual days to each park? 2) Should we consider LL addon as this is probably our only time going to DL? Do we need it in order to get on everything?
Unless I'm incorrect, I believe that Fireworks and Fantasmic are at DL, not CA?
Any suggestions would be welcome.

 

[elvispursley]

Given you only have 2 days for parks, I’d definitely consider the LL if you’re trying to “everything”. I would bother with PH. I’d also consider knocking out the fantasyland rides (most don’t have LL) early in the day, stacking your LLs as you go. If g trying pressed for time, skip the duplicate rides that you’ve done at WDW (MMRR, Soarin’ unless it’s “over CA”playing). And yes, Fantasmic and fireworks are always DL but don’t occur daily).

 

[LKing]

Welcome to the Disneyland Forum! We love helping WDW vets visiting DLR for the first time.

How many people and what are the ages of the people in your party?

Are your two days before or after your runs? That might impact how much you can get done. While the park hours haven't been posted yet, Disneyland is usually open from 8 am - 11 pm or midnight and DCA from 8 am - 9 pm or 10 pm. Assuming that you aren't tired from a morning race or going to bed early to get up for a race the next morning, the longer park hours give you a lot more time to experience DLR than what you have had at WDW. While there are only two parks, together they have close to the same number of rides as all four parks at WDW.

Personally, I feel that LL is more valuable at DLR than at WDW. At DLR, you don't book any LL attractions in advance. Once everyone in your group has passed the entrance turnstile, you can book your first attraction. After that, you can book another attraction every two hours, or after you used one of your LL. There are several threads on how to get the most out of LL. If you are interested, I can provide links.

DCA was originally Disneyland's parking lot so the two are very close. In fact, you'll run through both during any of the Run Disney courses. I think the estimate I read was that it is 250 feet from turnstile to turnstile. Lunar New Year is a very popular festival at DCA. It usually takes place from mid January to mid February and includes food booths, activities and a special processional. You could do one day at each park or you could do one full day at Disneyland plus a park hopper day for DCA and DL.

Regarding shows - Disneyland should have Paint the Night, Fantasmic, fireworks, Fire of the Rising Moon/Shadows of Memory & Tapestry of Happiness. I'm not sure how much of the 70th celebration will return that early in the year. They may also have the 70th daytime cavalcade. DCA should have World of Color: Happiness and possibly a Lunar New Year processional. I say possibly because there is quite a bit of backstage construction at DCA and it may impact the parades. Construction is part of the reason RunDisney won't be returning to Disneyland for a while.

@BrianL do you have an updated list of ride comparisons between DLR and WDW?

 

[BrianL]

@BrianL do you have an updated list of ride comparisons between DLR and WDW?

I haven't really updated it in a while, but I don't think much has changed:

DL Exclusive Attractions:
Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye (uses same ride system as DINOSAUR at AK)
Snow White's Enchanted Wish
Pinocchio's Daring Journey
Mister Toad's Wild Ride
Casey Jr. Circus Train
Storybook Land Canal Boats
Alice in Wonderland
Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough
Roger Rabbit's Car-Toon Spin
Chip & Dale's Gadget Coaster
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
The Matterhorn (note this uses the same ride system as Space Mountain at MK)
Space Mountain (same theme but completely different ride)

DL Similar but not exactly the same:
Enchanted Tiki Room - longer show
Jungle Cruise - No temple/tunnel, a bit shorter
Pirates of the Caribbean - longer with more show scenes
Haunted Mansion - even without the Nightmare overlay it is slightly different
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Big Thunder Mountain - some additional effects and scenery
it's a small world - very similar though with Disney cahracter peppered in - it does have a much nicer exterior.
Autopia - much longer than the Tomorrowland Speedway, but basically the same
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters - removable laser blasters make it a little better

DL Exactly (or basically) the same:
Peter Pan's Flight - technically some minor differences
Dumbo
King Aruthur Carousel
Milennium Falcon: Smugglers Run - all of Galaxy's Edge is practically identical
Rise of the Resistance
Mad Tea Party
Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway - The queue is very different and cool - may be new to you and is worth it if so.
Star Tours
Astro Orbitor - though at ground level

CA Exclusive Attractions:
Monsters Inc. Mike & Sully to the Rescue
Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout - based on Tower of Terror, though the DL version works a little differently
WEB Slingers
Radiator Springs Racers - this is like a massively bigger Test Track
Luigi's Rollicking Roadsters
Incredicoaster
Inside-Out Emotional Whirlwind
Silly Symphony Swings - though this is an off-the shelf "wave swinger" ride
Jumpin' Jellyfish
Golden Zephyr
Goofy's Sky School

CA Similar but not exactly the same:
Mater's Junkyard Jamboree - the same as Alien Swirling Saucers
Grizzly River Run - longer version of Kali River Rapids - definitely a wet ride!

CA Exactly (or basically) the same:
Mickey's Philharmagic! - smaller screen though
Turtle Talk with Crush
Ariel's Undersea Adventure - same as Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid
Jessie's Critter Carousel
Soarin' - though note sometimes they run it with the original Sorain' over California, in which case it is a must do!

 

[mdmost]

Given you only have 2 days for parks, I’d definitely consider the LL if you’re trying to “everything”. I would bother with PH. I’d also consider knocking out the fantasyland rides (most don’t have LL) early in the day, stacking your LLs as you go. If g trying pressed for time, skip the duplicate rides that you’ve done at WDW (MMRR, Soarin’ unless it’s “over CA”playing). And yes, Fantasmic and fireworks are always DL but don’t occur daily).

I would agree with this. I wouldn't bother with park hoppers since you only have 2 days and one day at each park makes more sense. Definitely get the Lightning Lane so you can skip lines on rides like Indiana Jones, Matterhorn, and Space Mountain.

Brian's list is a good one. I would skip any duplicates or at least move them to later in the day and give priority to things you've never ridden or are exclusive to Disneyland. Starting at Fantasyland is also a good idea as you can knock out so much if you rope drop and those rides do not offer a Lightning Lane option. Unless you're a big Star Wars fan, I would skip Galaxy's Edge entirely as it is at the top of the park and it takes a while to get up to it.

You may want to give some thought to riding the Mark Twain Riverboat since that's no longer an option at Magic Kingdom. I would also recommend the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough as it is just something very unique to DLR. I'd also recommend taking the train around the whole way or catching it at Toontown so you can see the Primeval World portion before you get to Main Street station. Another unique thing you can only get at DLR.

California Adventure offers very few WDW repeats and the Lightning Lanes are so easy to get you from ride to ride there. If you don't plan on rope dropping Radiator Racers, I would just buy the single Lightning Lane for it. It's a lot but I feel it's worth it to skip the line and rope drop other attractions like Guardians or Incredicoaster. Cars Land at night is a must.

One final thing on Park Hoppers, I could see it making sense on your California Adventure day given the park closes earlier than Disneyland. You may want to go to Disneyland one final time after DCA starts closing. You would just have to decide if the extra price is worth it for the park hopper tickets. There would be no reason to use the park hopper on your Disneyland park day. There's just so much more to do at Disneyland than DCA. We normally do at least 2 days in DLR and only 1 in CA. We had park hoppers last trip and only used them once. We could've saved ourselves a decent amount not getting them since we go more than 3 days.