Number of days to see the parks

[uklinus]

What is the best length of time to see both parks in California? I'd be particular interested in comments from anyone who has done Disneyland Paris to compare the two, as they seem not too different in size. We've done 4 days at DLP and wondered if it would be similar at Disneyland/DCA - and we'd be travelling from the UK. Of course, going that far we'll do other things in the area too and would probably be around for 10 days or so.

Linus

 

[V.I.N.CENT.]

I would say buy a 5 day park hopper and see how it goes. If you are there for 10 days, you may spend 3 or 4 days in the parks, or just a couple and return in the evenings on the other days. After paying for 2 days, adding on the other 3 is not much more expensive. If you were happy with 4 days at DLP, I think the same would be good for CA.

 

[SteveMP]

If you've already done DLP, do you still want to ride the same rides at DL? Because you may be fine with just a 3 day hopper, that you can also add to, in case you want to watch all the shows and do other acyivities like meet and greets, character drawings etc. I've never been to DLP but i have been to Gare du Nord and seen the signs for DLP(but i was heading to Frankfurt. Someday would like to just to see the differences.

 

[Mike_M]

I went to DLP last year in October and found it to be much less crowded than DLR can be. Also, aside from Peter Pan, all the rides that trip in Disneyland Park (Paris) had no more than a 15 min wait. The longer lines were over in WDS. Not sure if that was the norm or not, but it made it easy to experience a lot of the park in a short time (I only had one day for all of DLP).

That said, do you enjoy a slow or fast pace in the park? With Max Pass and a good strategy, you can definitely hit all the rides in both parks (DLR) over two or three days. Keep in mind there are more attractions in DLR than in DLP. For me, I like a little slower pace and have always enjoyed my 5 day trips best but IMO you would probably do well with your same 4 day plan.

 

[skippytx]

I feel 3 full days is enough time to see and do almost anything, though I would go ahead and buy the 5 day parkhoppers. It's 35 dollars per ticket more to add 2 more days, and even if you just drop by for a couple hours one morning/evening it would be worth it.

 

[Niltiac]

My first trip we had 4 day parkhoppers. We didn't see everything, but we saw everything we had planned to and had plenty of time to re-ride favorites, though at the end of the last day my partner said she wished we had one more day. Based on that I feel that two days is enough time for a good trip if you're not one to worry missing some attractions and shows, three days is enough time to do just about everything you're likely to want, and four days is enough time for re-rides and to do a lot of activities that might be lower on your priority list. Five days would be handy if you want to have some partial days in there to mix things up. If doing four or five days I would suggest adding a day of something else in the middle to rest feet and get away from the crowds.

We are two adults so we could move quickly and easily, didn't need nap time, and didn't need to make time for any of the kiddie rides. We had short hours when we went, but we stayed open to close. If you need to accommodate a range of different ages and interests in your group, or if you need breaks or early bedtimes, definitely err on the side of extra time. However, also keep in mind that you can add days while you're there, provided your other vacation plans allow that kind of flexibility.

 

[Niltiac]

Accidentally replied to my own post.

 

[smartlabelprint]

3 days minimum parkhopper.

We go annually. Last trip was 6 days. This trip will be 5 because we’re not getting ap’s.

Go as many days as you can imo. If you want to start with 4 you can upgrade to a 5 day hopper before you leave on yoru 4th day.

 

[Frozen2014]

We did 4 day park hopper end of August + MaxPass and it was perfect amount. Didn't feel rushed and I would say even then , we didn't see everything. We were back and forth between the parks, and used MaxPass for headliners. We barely had any waits. Not sure when you are coming. The week we came started low season...luckily we were there Tues-Fri or we would have missed Fireworks/Fantasmic as it only played Fri-Sun....so check the time of year you are coming too to select your days.

As a note, our full trip was also 10 days. We started in Hollywood area and did things around there (universal, Santa Monica Pier, Warner Brothers Tour, and a general LA tour). Lots to do. Makes a great trip!