Park Hopping - Start in DL or DCA

[Porsche4]

We have five day park hopper passes and I am wondering what peoples opinions are of what is the best strategy. Is it better to start in DL and park hop to DCA or the other way round. We will be buying Genie+ for the length of our stay and I am happy to buy ILL's for the headliner rides. I saw a recent video by Molly which showed huge lines to get into DL at opening but she just walked straight into DCA so curious to hear about others experiences and thoughts.

 

[DLgal]

Generally, on a 5 day ticket I'd suggest starting in DL on days 1, 3 and 5 snd DCA on days 2 and 4.

Disneyland always has longer lines to get in, except right at 1 when the lines to get into DCA can get long once park hopping starts.

In my opinion, I often get bored when we start at DCA and I'm ready to hop over to DL before 1. On the other hand, being in DCA in the morning means you can get into the "walk on waitlist" dining spots easily, and DCA has a great breakfast at Pym's Test Kitchen and Lamplight Lounge brunch. When you park hop over to DCA at 1pm, lines for *everything* are long and most walk up waitlists are already closed.

 

[Pluto468]

We usually start at Disneyland 3 days and DCA 2.

 

[DisneylandFan22]

I wouldn’t let lines to get in during the morning impact my starting park. It won’t be that significant. I agree with 3 days at Disney and 2 at CA. However, I prefer to start the trip at CA. It has been the way I have always done it.

 

[DLRExpert]

If Fantasyland is important Disneyland
If Fantasyland is not DCA.

If you plan to use ILL, DCA (so you can rope drop one ILL). You are limited to two ILL per day at the resort (not sure why).

In all scenarios you need G+ for LL.