one day, both parks?

[Mrs. Nesbit]

Hey everyone! I will be going to Disneyland on Labor Day weekend this year for a weekend. We will actually only be at Disney for one day. Is it realistic to see Disneyland and California Adventure in one day? I'm thinking it would be better just to tour DL and leave Adventure for another trip. We will actually be there for the half marathon, so the crowds might factor in? TIA!

 

[avalon451]

The usual recommendation is to concentrate on the original. There's so much to see in just DL, I think if you try to go back and forth you will end up feeling deprived of many things you didn't have time for in CA. Maybe if there's one or two things you really wanted to see, you could do just those? But really, I'd stick with DL. Too bad it's only one day. 3 is really the minimum! Have a great time, regardless!

 

[MyMonkies]

I would say no. We went in May with the kids & just had a 2 day ticket. We did DCA the first day & felt like we were able to do everything-I mean we could have done things again, but we were satisfied that we did everything we wanted. The next day at DL we were beginning to stress because we didn't see this or that....We ended up upgrading our tickets & staying another day

 

[LuLusApple]

Even if you only do DL , get there early. Get Fast Passes try to knock out as many smaller rides before noon, you'll have a better shot at seeing more
see shows/street party/eat/more small rides in the afternoon and use your Fast Passes last. If you want you could have someone run over to DCA and grab a couple FPs for soarin or screamin, but I would like PPs concentrate on DL
enjoy!

 

[Mrs. Nesbit]

thanks for the replies! I think we will stick to just Disneyland. We just got back from a 10 day trip to WDW, so I'm fine with not hitting that many rides. I'm more looking to explore and just experience the park. Thanks!

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

I would also really recommend using RideMax since you'll be going over a three-day weekend. It should really help you get the most out of your day.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Honestly, it's not even realistic to see Disneyland itself in one day. It has a lot more to do than the MK. You could do DCA in one day rather easily though, but you'd be missing out on the unique spirit of Disneyland.

As others have said, you need 2 days for Disneyland and 1 day for DCA.

 

[Grim_Grinning_Girl]

Possibly, but not likely and things would feel very rushed - plus it's a Holiday weekend!

I would rather spend a full day at Disneyland than DCA, or maybe just go to some of the highlights of DCA then spend the rest of the day at Disneyland. Yes, use fastpasses.

You can research DCA and decide if there's anything you'd like to do or see there, some of my suggestions are:

Soarin'
Tower of Terror (unless you are familiar with the Florida ride)
Aladdin Musical Spectacular
Tough to be a Bug 3D show
Toy Story Mania is fun
~Electrical Parade if possible

Honorable mentions:

Turtle Talk with Crush (unless you've seen it in Florida)

The Toy Story Zoetrope inside the the animation building (not a ride, won't take up much time, very cool!)

California Screaming? Scream? - the big rollercoaster!
and that Pixar parade is nice.

 

[radioclash2]

We did DL for only one day prior to our EB Panama Canal Cruise. It took us all day to see just the one park & we still did not do or see everything.

However, I wanted to mention that the agent at the ticket booth told us that if we decided we had time to see CA, then we could just add the park hopper option at that time.

 

[Darkbeer]

Try and avoid Sunday, as that is the day for the DLR Half-Marathon. Disneyland won't open until 10 AM and the parks will be busier than normal.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

We did one day last month! You can check out my mini report here ~ http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32765258&postcount=1