One day at DisneyLand!!!

[Miaka1]

So my husband and I lucked into some tickets to a convention called Blizzcon (nerdy gaming convention) that is taking place at the Anaheim convention center. We are going to fly up from Dallas a day early to go to DisneyLand. We were had a long visit to Disney World in Feburary, so we are only going to be spending 1 day at DL.
I have never been to DL, although I have been to WDW many times. So, to those who have been to DL, what would you say are the best things to see? We want to avoid waiting in line for rides that are exactly the same as at Disney World.
We will be going November 5th, so that is in the middle of the week, so i am hoping it won't be too crowded.
No kids this trip, just DH and myself!

 

[mesaboy2]

So my husband and I lucked into some tickets to a convention called Blizzcon (nerdy gaming convention) that is taking place at the Anaheim convention center. We are going to fly up from Dallas a day early to go to DisneyLand. We were had a long visit to Disney World in Feburary, so we are only going to be spending 1 day at DL.
I have never been to DL, although I have been to WDW many times. So, to those who have been to DL, what would you say are the best things to see? We want to avoid waiting in line for rides that are exactly the same as at Disney World.
We will be going November 5th, so that is in the middle of the week, so i am hoping it won't be too crowded.
No kids this trip, just DH and myself!

Well, first I'd ask this in the Disneyland forum, which will have posters more knowledgable about DLR in general than here:

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=26

Even before that though, I'd check out HydroGuy's awesome thread for people just like you (and me), who know WDW but not DLR:

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

 

[niffer5150]

you can skip splash mountain. skip innoventions unless you're REALLY into seeing a few marvel props, plastic furniture, and some xboxes. skip the car driving thing next to innoventions as well, the wait is NOT worth it. skip the tiki room. you can either do small world or not. i've never notice a difference. personally, if i only had one day, i'd skip california adventure entirely. DL is comparatively packed with rides. they are nearly on top of each other and sometimes, they cross over. skip riding the monorail, it's a massive let down after actually going places on wdw's one. the canoes.... ehhh...i'd just skip it. take one of the boats around to see the sights. the canoes are a neat thing to do once but you're going to end up with gross lake water on you and it stinks.

DO go on:haunted mansion(which will be all nightmare before xmasy), space mountain, jungle cruise, indiana jones, pirates, thunder mountain, and matterhorn. if it's not too long of a wait, do peter pan. do take the train ride all the way around the park. go poke around toontown but i wouldn't waste too much time in it. roger rabbits car spin is fun and the que is cool but the wait is nearly always much longer than they say. in indiana jones, DO pull on the rope that says "do not pull" and DO give a good solid yank on the bendy bamboo pole holding up the ceiling in the skulls on spikes hallways room. fantasmic is very different but actually being able to view it is unpleasant since there's no proper seating for it. pirate island is different and may be something you'd like but we usually skip it. the little shuttle rafts take forever.

 

[bumbershoot]

We want to avoid waiting in line for rides that are exactly the same as at Disney World.

There's nothing EXACTLY the same IMO. But Big Thunder is the one that springs to mind quickly. Splash is the same concept but they are different in some ways.

Go on Space if you want WDW's Space to be ruined forever for you. Same with Pirates.


I love the Canoes. LOVE them. When they are open, I go on them.

 

[LBIJim]

Without kids along, you might enjoy California Adventure more than Disneyland. Radiator Springs Racers is great, so is California Screamin' if you like roller coasters. Toy Story Mania is the same as WDW, but has much shorter lines. Soarin' and Tower of Terror are the same. The World of Color nighttime show is well worth seeing. Ferris Wheel with the swinging cars is lots of fun.

As for Disneyland, its Space Mountain is superior to the one at MK. They have an Indiana Jones ride which uses the same technology as Dinosaur at AK. And the Matterhorn coaster which is not present at WDW.

If you can swing the cost of a one-day park hopper, I recommend hitting the highlights at both parks.

Jim

 

[wench]

I love the extra dark rides in Fantasyland that you can't get at WDW. POC at DL is a million times better than WDW & you can't miss HM with the Nightmare overlay. It's so much fun! If you're in the mood for a nice sit down meal, I 100% recommend Blue Bayou. It's actually inside of POC, so it's got an amazing atmosphere & you can see the boats go by as people 1st start the ride.

 

[norybell]

I second the suggestion for a one-day hopper...for a WDW vet, it is mindblowing how close together the two parks are, no harder than walking between Spaceship Earth and American Adventure.

 

[wareagle57]

I did DL and CA in one day in January on a crowd level 9 or 10. Radiator Springs Racers is so much better than Test Track in my opinion. Get there before rope drop and either wait in line for the FPs or head over there immediately. Or you could also do what we did and ride single rider. We wen't after riding TSMM, California Screamin' and getting a FP for ToT. So about 9:30. We still waited about 30 minutes in the SR line standby was over 3 hours.

Other than the Cars ride, the best part of the whole trip was the Aladdin show. I have never been a show person, but I will say do not miss this! Also, their version of Fantasmic is much better. I didn't see WOC but I still felt like I made the right choice. It is possible to see both, but I didn't want to push my party to do that.

Duplicate rides that I would say are still worth doing are Small World, Pirates (much longer), Haunted Mansion (though while we were there it had the X-mas overlay. I'm not sure how different it normally is), and Space Mountain. Splash was a little different too and the seat configuration was different, as was Space. They essentially flip configurations on those two ride. Big Thunder was down while we were there but I'm told it's better, and you can do "the goat trick" on it. Google it!

In one day we were able to do: RSR (Cars), ToT (twice), Cal Screamin' (twice), Mickey Ferris Wheel, Soarin, Monster's Inc ride, Aladdin show, Fantasmic, Jungle Cruise, Space, Matterhorn (twice), Roger Rabbit Toon Town Spin, Indiana Jones ride (a must do), Small World, Pirates, Mansion, Splash, Star Tours, Dumbo, Teacups, Mr Toad's Wild Ride, Pinocchio, Snow White, and we would have been just in time for the fireworks (not sure if they call it wishes there) after Jungle Cruise but they cancelled it for the night due to wind (even though it wasn't windy...)

 

[johde]

There's nothing EXACTLY the same IMO. But Big Thunder is the one that springs to mind quickly. Splash is the same concept but they are different in some ways.

Go on Space if you want WDW's Space to be ruined forever for you. Same with Pirates.


I love the Canoes. LOVE them. When they are open, I go on them.

Depending on how closely you define EXACTLY the same. You missed the one at DL I'd consider exactly the same.

Star Tours - Exactly the same ride with a slightly different queue
Captain EO

At DCA in my book the exact copies are

Soarin'
Muppetvision 3D
TSMM
Journey of the Little Mermaid

To my, most everything else listed so far is in the "highly similar" category.
Pirates
BTMRR
Jungle Cruise
Haunted Mansion
Peter Pan
IASW
Pooh
TOT
Railroad
Tiki Room
Gadget Go Coaster/ Barnstormer

Then you have the different ride, similar ride vehicle.
Indiana Jones/Dinosaur
Grizzly River Run/ Kali River Rapids
Radiator Springs Racers/Test Track

When I went, I would tried to hit the 100% unique rides, and the similar rides/different vehicles. They shoot for as many as possible Similar rides. For the most part I skipped the "identical rides"

 

[wareagle57]

I second the suggestion for a one-day hopper...for a WDW vet, it is mindblowing how close together the two parks are, no harder than walking between Spaceship Earth and American Adventure.

Not even that I don't think. I mapped it out when I went and I believe the furthest point from the main gate in DL, to the furthest point from the main gate in CA were right at a mile apart! So you could literally get from anywhere on property in less than 20 minutes if you absolutely had to!

 

[shocker]

Depending on how closely you define EXACTLY the same. You missed the one at DL I'd consider exactly the same.

Star Tours - Exactly the same ride with a slightly different queue
Captain EO

At DCA in my book the exact copies are

Soarin'
Muppetvision 3D
TSMM
Voyage of the Little Mermaid

To my, most everything else listed so far is in the "highly similar" category.
Pirates
BTMRR
Jungle Cruise
Haunted Mansion
Peter Pan
IASW
Pooh
TOT
Railroad
Tiki Room
Gadget Go Coaster/ Barnstormer

Then you have the different ride, similar ride vehicle.
Indiana Jones/Dinosaur
Grizzly River Run/ Kali River Rapids
Radiator Springs Racers/Test Track

When I went, I would tried to hit the 100% unique rides, and the similar rides/different vehicles. They shoot for as many as possible Similar rides. For the most part I skipped the "identical rides"

I think you mean Jouney of the Little Mermaid is the same. Voyage of the Liittle Mermaid in DHS is not at DLR, but Under the Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid in MK is at DLR in DCA.

 

[got2sammies]

The Fantasmic Show at DL blows WDW out of the water! LOVED IT! But you might want to check the schedule because they might only do it on the weekends.. The HM will have the holiday overlay and it is soo cool! The fireworks are nice and Tink and Dumbo fly! However I liked Wishes better so I would go over to see World of Color since WDW has nothing like it! Californina Screamn was just like my roller coasters at home, RSR was awesome!I would spend maybe the morning in DCA then head over to DL for the rest of the day then back to DCA for World of Color... They still use the old fastpass system so you can hit the big rides with that ( Indy is a good fast pass to have).Skip Mickey and the magical map...Its ok..Matterhorn is ok ( I think it may have a single rider so you could do that fairly quickly) You will be pleased with how much easier it is to travel between parks

 

[wench]

Not even that I don't think. I mapped it out when I went and I believe the furthest point from the main gate in DL, to the furthest point from the main gate in CA were right at a mile apart! So you could literally get from anywhere on property in less than 20 minutes if you absolutely had to!

Agreed! I believe all of the DL Resort, including the hotels, is about 1 square mile. Maybe a bit larger, but not much. From front gate to front gate, it's only a minute or two walk.

 

[tinkfan160]

Back in the summer of 2009 I did both Disneyland and California Adventure in one day...it was hectic, but we did a ton. We spent more time at Disneyland as it was pre Radiator Springs. We didn't do any characters so it was all rides. I don't remember exactly everything we did, but Indiana Jones was awesome and I really enjoyed the special little differences on DL's IASW! We didn't get a chance to see Fantasmic as I wasn't prepared to find a spot in its set up since it isn't like the one at Disney World. Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[johde]

I think you mean Jouney of the Little Mermaid is the same. Voyage of the Liittle Mermaid in DHS is not at DLR, but Under the Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid in MK is at DLR in DCA.

Yea, caught me on too many Little Mermaid attractions, I fixed my original post.

 

[mummabear]

#1 would be world of colour.
You will want hopper tickets as DCA is different than anything at WDW, particularly Carsland.
I would book dinner at Blue Bayou.

Ride wise:
Indiana Jones
California Screaming
Matterhorn

IMO better than WDW version:
TOT
POTC
HM

 

[SnowBelleAlice]

Here's how someone I know very well spent one day in the parks, pre Cars Land, hours were 8am-12am
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2232766

 

[KingLouie7]

WDW long time vet but Disneyland lover. You can get a lot of damage done at DLP in November mid week. Park hours will probably be 10 am to 8 pm. Use legacy fastpass. Do Pirates as many times as possible because it is infinitely better than MK. Here's what we did in 2 different 10-8 days at DLP in November in setlist form (I'm a phish/deadhead):

Day 1:

Space Mountain
Finding Nemo subs
Alice in Wonderland
Space Mountain
Village Haus
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Snow White
Pinocchio
Gadget Go Coaster
Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin
Small world
Roger rabbit
Pirates
Indy
Haunted Mansion
Pirates
Indy
French market cafe
Pooh
Haunted Mansion
Storybook canals
Buzz
Buzz
Space Mountain


Day 2:

Peter Pan
Matterhorn
Space Mtn
Star Tours
Space Mtn
Hungry Bear Restaurant
Winnie the Pooh
Haunted Mansion
Pirates
Indy
Jingle Cruise
Pirates
Haunted Mansion
Mr. Toad
Snow White
Pinocchio
Alice
Small world
Mr. Toad
Roger rabbit
Tiki Room
French Market
Haunted Mansion
Indy
Pirates
Buzz
Buzz
Space

 

[Retro Magic]

I just came back from my first ever visit to Disneyland and had a fantastic time! Very similar yet completely different. We were only able to spend one day there with a park hopper, yet found it very manageable. Though it still was a little rushed since both parks closed early.

If you have never been to a Disney park before, then that would not be the case. You would need more than one day. But if you have, for the most part sticking to strictly attractions that are unique to Disneyland not found in WDW will help.

We started off going to California Adventure First to do Cars Land. Then got our World of Color fast pass. Walked on to Mermaid because there was no wait. Then went to Disneyland. Had lunch at Blue Bayou. Sadly Pirates was closed. The night was finished off at at California Adventure and DTD. The only fast passes we needed in Disneyland was for Indiana Jones and Splash. Everything else was pretty manageable except for Matterhorn that broke down and caused a lineup. So we had to unfortunately skip that since it doesn't have fast passes.

You will have a wonderful time. World of Color was amazing!!! Indiana Jones was LOTS of fun as was California Screamin! It was interesting to ride some rides found in WDW and compare them. Some personal notable comparisons:

Haunted Mansion - Prefer WDW
Thunder Mountain - Prefer DL waaaay more(WDW is really missing out not having the Dynamite explosion)
Little Mermaid - Prefer WDW. Same ride but WDW has beautiful scenery and que.
Tower of Terror - Prefer WDW. The CA one is great too and I like the differences, but the grand nature and the outdoor scenery of WDWs can't be beat! The Studios one also has more of a ride track too.
Splash - Prefer WDW as well. I did enjoy the differences between the two however which sets them apart.

 

[pjhootch]

You will have a great time. My daughter and I did Disneyland the Monday before Thanksgiving 2013. We have a lot of experience so will pop over for a day whenever we get anywhere close at all.

Personally, I would just do Disneyland and not California Adventure. That week in November is not too crowded but even so I would concentrate on enjoying one park instead of spreading myself too thin. The distance between rides and parks is nothing... but it can still be time consuming getting from one place to another.

Here is my advice.

Go in at rope drop and head directly to Fantasy Land. As a WDW vet, this advice should sound familiar. Do Peter Pan first, and then go do the Matterhorn. Matterhorn does not have FP and the line moves slowly because of how riders load in.

After Matterhorn, work your way either clockwise or counter clockwise around the park. Indiana Jones is a lot of fun. Disneyland pros spend time noticing what effects no longer work correctly on a day by day basis. It doesn't matter... the ride is a hoot. You can fast pass that one, and I suggest it if you don't head straight there after Matterhorn.

Space Mountain can't be missed, and it is definitely in the "better than WDW" group. Pirates is a lot longer and I prefer it. Haunted Mansion is fun with the Nightmare Before Christmas theme going. It won't have any surprises for you but the graveyard area is cool.

Make a reservation at Blue Bayou for either lunch or dinner. It is in New Orleans Square and the tables are inside next to the "river" for Pirates. When you check in for your reservation ask if there are tables near the water. The food is so so (except for the Monte Cristo which is only on the lunch menu I think) but the atmosphere is the treat.

Up in fantasy land there is a ride called "Storybook Land Canal". It is hokey but you should do this anyway. It is one of the original rides from when DL opened and it is barely changed. It doesn't run after dark and the line is rarely too long. I like doing it in the afternoon when the sun is strong because you go into a cave for a few minutes and it is cool and damp!

Also take a couple of minutes and go east of the castle before the fantasy land entrance to Snow White's grotto. It is charming and peaceful and a nice sidestep from the crowds.