Park hopping and security

[WendyWhy]

I have not been to DL in over 10 years after leaving LA for the SF Bay Area, never been to DCA and am having trouble picturing how park hopping works. We will be staying at GCH.

In the mornings we will hit DL first and we get into the security check lines before getting into the lines for people with tickets, right? So, do you go thru security again every time you park hop? When entering DCA from GCH - does the person who checks your ticket also check your bags? I am not really getting a good mental picture of this...Thanks in advance!

 

[Susie63]

If you think of a circle...DL entrance is at the top. DCA is at the bottom and security is on the sides.You will enter security at the side of the circle and then you are free to go either way.
I hope that makes sense

The DCA entrance next to GRR has a security table and then your ticket is scanned.

 

[DisSarahK]

There is a big open area between California Adventure and Disneyland. Before accessing this open area, you pass through security--this is where your bags are checked. You can access this open area without having park tickets. Once you go through security, you can go back and forth between CA and DL without going through security again...but if you exit to go to Downtown Disney, you'll have to go through security again in order to re-enter the open area.

Then there are the gates--CA and DL each have their own gates and they are located on opposite sides of the big open area. These gates are where your tickets are checked--these folks don't trouble you about your bags because your bags already were checked.

 

[HydroGuy]

If you think of a circle...DL entrance is at the top. DCA is at the bottom and security is on the sides.You will enter security at the side of the circle and then you are free to go either way.
I hope that makes sense

The DCA entrance next to GRR has a security table and then your ticket is scanned.

All correct. Just to be clear, if you hop from DL to DCA and vice versa you do not need to pass thru security. The exception is the GCH entrance to DCA.

 

[Cal-Pie]

Hope you don't mind if I hijack here. It's been 12 years since my last trip so I'm full of confusion. Are the ticket booths (where you purchase tickets, not have them scanned) inside of this "open area" or are the ticket booths before you pass through security.

 

[DisSarahK]

The ticket booths (to purchase the tickets) are inside the open area (after security).

 

[skiingfast]

Hope you don't mind if I hijack here. It's been 12 years since my last trip so I'm full of confusion. Are the ticket booths (where you purchase tickets, not have them scanned) inside of this "open area" or are the ticket booths before you pass through security.

You walk through the security check first. Pass the ticket booths then into the esplanade between the gates of either park.

 

[GrandBob]

Here, this should help --

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=33.8090899&lon=-117.9189366&z=19&l=0&m=b

The "big open area" is called the esplanade. You enter the esplande from the left or right on this picture through the security check. The esplanade is then a secure area, kind of like the gate area of an airport. Once in the esplanade, you can go up (north) to enter DL, or down (south) to enter DCA. You can hop between the two by leaving one, traversing the esplanade, and entering the other. You'll be in the secure area the entire time, and not have to go through security check again.

As Hydroguy points out, the exception is the entrance from the Grand California Hotel. That's outside this picture, down and to the left, and isn't secure. So they check your bags every time you come in that way.

HTH,
Bob

 

[Cal-Pie]

Thank you, thank you, skiing and grandbob. One more ? We will be doing MM the first day we are there. I wanted to send DH over to DCA to get WOC FP's. Can I send him alone, or do we all have to go over to DCA to have our tickets scanned at that entrance?

 

[A Small World]

You can send him alone as long as your park tickets have been activated at one of the parks on that day