See it all in 3 days with hopper?

[Meldev]

Ok, debating my fall trip.

Could leave Saturday, tour hollywood Sunday and laid back visiting of parks/hang out at hotel Monday and Tuesday (DH will be working)
Full tilt DL fun Wednesday (MHP) Thursday and Friday

Columbus Day Weekend at the beach.

OR

Arrive late Tuesday night.
DL Wednesday all day and MHP
Thursday/Friday DL
Saturday (maybe quick Hollywood stop) - Monday at the beach


Tuesday option gives us less days in park of course, but saves money on hotel/food/tix by 3 days and kids miss less school (monday/tuesday)....

Decisions, decisions....

*I feel I should include the fact that my DD10 will likely be competing in a gym meet in WDW in February - so another Disney trip 4 months later. Not that we'll spend a whole week or anything, but it will be a very busy/expensive couple of days in the WDW area.

 

[ehrawn]

It is possible to see it all in 3 days...actually, it's possible to see it all in 1 or 2, but it's really a question of pace. Where are you coming from? Do you really care about the beach and Hollywood or do you just feel obligated to go do the tourist things? How old are your kids and do they have the stamina to do the back-to-back, all day in the Park thing?

Our family is probably different than yours. Our kids (7&5) need their sleep. Back-to-back days aren't possible with early gate openings. And the LA tourist sites aren't a priority so when we go to DLR, we rent a house for about a week and only spend three days in the park over than time.

 

[Meldev]

Kids will be DD12 (almost 13), DD10, DD8, and DS4 (almost 5) we'll still have him in stroller to keep up with our pace...beach is our unwind time after the park's that's non negotiable for my DH ;-)

We don't have to see it all but would love to do a lot I suppose.
My oldest DD would love to hit the Hollywood stuff and I wouldn't mind seeing some either it's been a while- we're from PA

 

[figment_jii]

I think you can see and do a lot of the parks in 3 days, but I don't think you can actually see everything in three days. It depends on whether you want to see all of the shows, meet all of the characters, and ride all of the attractions. If that is your goal, then I don't think three days is enough. If you were willing to forgo some things and prioritize what you wanted, I think you'll make pretty good headway into the list in 3-days.

 

[Meldev]

We won't be seeing the Frozen show (the girls got their Anna and Elsa fix when they were first in WDW), in fact shows are never a top priority, not that we would rule them out all together but we're more rides and characters people. With 2 must do meals - Surfs Up breakfast and Ariels Grotto.

 

[figment_jii]

That helps because the Frozen show can take up a good chunk of time, as can any of the nighttime shows (although, when you're there, it might only be WoC and Fantasy in the Sky on the non-MHP nights). DLR actually has a lot of characters scattered throughout the park and you can easily spend a whole day trying to meet as many characters as possible. I would allocated between 60 and 90 minutes for TS meals.

 

[Meldev]

I think I need to make a list of characters at DLR that we can't see readily at WDW and prioritize them.

 

[cali_crafter]

3 days has always been great for us (trips when my kids were ages 1&3, 4&6, 7&9, and this time 10&12). One day for Disneyland, one for DCA, and one to catch whatever we missed at either one. We go on pretty much all of the rides, we don't meet characters though and are ok with missing some shows and parades. So, maybe not enough to do every single thing but certainly enough to feel like we have done everthing we wanted. It looks like we are going the same week as you - we are doing the party Wednesday, DL Thursday, DCA Friday - so 2.5 days and I still think it's enough for us.

 

[tarheelalum]

Everyone always wants to go see Hollywood but I got to say, its a dump.

 

[Indiana Scott]

My advice is to not try and "see everything". Instead, just take the park in do what you can do and enjoy some of the small details that can only be appreciated by taking some time. These are the things that make DLR special and not just another amusment park.
After all, the park will be there when you return in the future. And you will return

 

[rentayenta]

Everyone always wants to go see Hollywood but I got to say, its a dump.

I totally agree!

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Everyone always wants to go see Hollywood but I got to say, its a dump.

Yes, it's truly is! I hear so many people say they want to visit Hollywood and I always tell them not to go. They will be disappointed.

Back to the topic at hand, it's impossible to see "everything" in three days. But you will be able to see most things, ride plenty of rides, meet lots of characters and see some parades and fireworks. There is so much to do but even with three days, open to close you will miss things. I'd say sort out your priorities and focus on those. Since you have visited and will be visiting WDW in the near future, focus on the differences between the parks and focus on those.

 

[Winnowill]

I can't do everything I want to do in five days, most trips! But that's because we ride the headliners over and over and over (seriously, our last five-day visit we rode CS 11 times - and we weren't even in DCA every day) and forget about the other good things, then realize at the end that, darn it, we missed the Storybook Canal Boats again.