One day trip - both parks?

[KristinandChris]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I will be in CA over our spring break, the week before Easter. We're taking a day to drive from Riverside to Disneyland by ourselves - my in-laws are babysitting so we can ride the rides together (DD is not quite 5 months old). I haven't bought tickets yet but I'm debating over getting a 1 day ticket to Disneyland or a park hopper. We've both been to Disney World several times and we have a trip planned for there next January.

Is it worth the extra $ to see CA as well as Disneyland? DH missed Soarin' our last trip but it is in Epcot at WDW, and we've done Tower of Terror in MGM too. I'm excited to ride the original rides at Disneyland but I'm torn over CA... any advice would be great TIA!

 

[Judy from Boise]

what are the park hours that day ? If you really want rides ,it would be doable to spend 8 hrs in DL and 3 in DCA( in the middle), especially if you grabed FP in DL prior to leaving, to use later. If you also want to see shows and fireworks, have a sit down meal, I would spend the day in DL.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Well, DCA has Screamin which I really like. I also love the Monsters Inc ride.

On Jan 2 we took our teen boys to DLR. We have APs, they don't. So we had to decide if we wanted to buy them the one day park hoppers or just DLR. We went with the park hoppers which was good because it was VERY busy that day. I've never seen it so crowded! It gave us another place to go in the afternoon when DL got very crowded. DCA was still more crowded than I had ever seen it, but non FP at Screamin was do-able. Also, White Water Snacks is around the corner from the DCA exit into the CGH and even at this busy time, we found it a quiet spot to have an inexpensive meal.

I mention the crowds because I expect it will be busy during the day you visit. However if there are things that you are bound and determined to see at DL because this is your only chance, and you will wait in the lines no matter how long, then you might not need to go to DCA.

 

[Diznut84]

We took my sister and her family to both parks in one day a couple of weeks ago. They enjoyed seeing both! It somewhat depends on what you want to see.

I would tell you that, unlike WDW, it is very easy to get from one park to the other. You simply walk across the plaza. No waiting for an hour for transportation.

So, personally, I'd do it, and plan what are the highlights of each park to see.

Be forewarned, though, that DCA is really ripped up. Construction has taken a big toll on the aesthetics of the park. Nevertheless, the rides are still really fun!

 

[Sherry E]

I think it's definitely worthwhile to do both parks in one day. My friend from out of state was out here last July - during the very busy summer season - and she initially had planned on only going into DL, but I convinced her to park hop, and she and her son were very glad they did. They did a lot in DCA and in DL, and they even squeezed in a character meal at one of the DLR hotels. Even though DCA is under construction now, there are other parts of it which have not been removed/remodeled yet, but will be completely gone in a few years. So you should go in and see it before all of these things change. Plus, even though TSMM is also in WDW, you should go on it anyway because it's so fun! As Pink Budgie previously mentioned, DCA can be a good place to escape to if DL gets a little too crowded. And they serve alcohol in DCA - don't know if that is important to you guys or not, but just an FYI! Its a nice place to go and eat if the DL restaurants are too crazy. Wine Country Trattoria, for example, is quite nice.

You can definitely get a lot done at both parks in one day - a 'highlight tour' of sorts - if you plan wisely and realize you won't get it ALL done. Make lists of what is super important and what cannot be missed and what things you can do without if you have to, and then follow that. Use Fast Passes, Priority Seating for restaurants and anything else that will help save time waiting and standing in lines and maximize the rest of the time to get more things accomplished. Plus, as you said, you will be at WDW again soon enough, so you will have a chance to go on anything you may miss in DLR.

 

[bumbershoot]

If it's a long day in terms of park hours, and it's just the two of you, I'd go for it!

FWIW, and know that I'm a huge DCA fan and I have a 4 year old son who loves watching construction (like the 2 year project going on in front of our condo to "beautify" and update the street and everything that goes under the street) so taht colors my view, I don't find the construction at DCA to be bothersome at all. Most of the time you have brightly painted and decorated walls protecting you from the view of the lagoon work. And where you CAN see the construction in the lagoon, it's absolutely fascinating. I even took video of it!

 

[KristinandChris]

Thanks everyone! We are fully prepared to get there as soon as possible and we have a 5pm dinner reservation at Blue Bayou. I'm not sure how late we'll stay since I'm sure we'll want to get back to DD on the earlier side.

I think I'll try to persuade DH to spring for the park hopper but if we decide it's too much we'll be fine with just Disneyland.

On a side note: has anyone pumped while visiting Disneyland? I'm still nursing but since DD won't be with me I don't want to risk going an entire day without pumping (ouch!). My pump is small and I have a small bag with an ice pack - are the lockers convenient and big enough for a pumping bag?

 

[Hollsey]

My family is from the East coast (Kentucky) and we're WDW vets (I've been 5 times), and we had a week-long trip in California last year and made a day special that we could go to Disneyland. We got a park hopper for both parks and loved it!

We made sure to get there early (I followed all of the tips I read on this board, actually! ) and we got Fast Passes and stuff. My dad has taught us how to speed walk through the parks, and we were able to do a lot of really great things. You're in Disneyland, so if at the end of the day you're super tired and your feet/legs hurt from all that walking, it's worth it for sure!

Don't miss out on certain rides just because they have them in Disney World (like Screamin' or Toy Story Midway Mania or even Splash Mountain) because they're ALL different in some way or another, so it's neat to compare the differences. Fantasmic! is different in both parks (Hollywood Studios and Disneyland) so if you want to see it, then I'd say go for it.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Thanks everyone! We are fully prepared to get there as soon as possible and we have a 5pm dinner reservation at Blue Bayou. I'm not sure how late we'll stay since I'm sure we'll want to get back to DD on the earlier side.

I think I'll try to persuade DH to spring for the park hopper but if we decide it's too much we'll be fine with just Disneyland.

On a side note: has anyone pumped while visiting Disneyland? I'm still nursing but since DD won't be with me I don't want to risk going an entire day without pumping (ouch!). My pump is small and I have a small bag with an ice pack - are the lockers convenient and big enough for a pumping bag?

Haven't done that at DLR but the lockers come in all different sizes so I don't see why it wouldn't fit. Maybe you could use the baby center. I haven't been in there so I don't know but that would be the place I would check out.

 

[Hound 109]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I will be in CA over our spring break, the week before Easter. We're taking a day to drive from Riverside to Disneyland by ourselves - my in-laws are babysitting so we can ride the rides together (DD is not quite 5 months old). I haven't bought tickets yet but I'm debating over getting a 1 day ticket to Disneyland or a park hopper. We've both been to Disney World several times and we have a trip planned for there next January.

Is it worth the extra $ to see CA as well as Disneyland? DH missed Soarin' our last trip but it is in Epcot at WDW, and we've done Tower of Terror in MGM too. I'm excited to ride the original rides at Disneyland but I'm torn over CA... any advice would be great TIA!

With only one day on a moderate (or busy) day, I would definitely get park hoppers. Not necessarily because of the "can't miss" attractions at DCA, but because it (imo) is a more efficient way of touring Disney with only one day to dedicate.

(& also because I love Soarin', Screamin', Griz Rapids, Monster's Inc, the Aladdin Show, Heimlich's, the corny dog palace, the tratoria restaurant....& even Crush).


Here's Hydroguy's tips for a busy day:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=885132


& his FP strategy for busy (& all) days (go down to the 4th post):

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1107718


Here's my one day report at DLR during a moderately busy park last Oct. (the first page is a recap).

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1975805


Have a great time planning a visit to Walt's Park.