Still debating: two parks in one day?

[KristinandChris]

DH and I are going to wait and buy our tickets at the park for next Monday (less than a week away!) but we're still debating about trying to do both parks. We only have one day to visit and we're coming from Riverside. The plan is to be there when the park opens - I know it will be crowded with spring break so should we just concentrate on Disneyland and forgo CA? We've been to WDW before so we've done Soarin' and Tower of Terror. Isn't there construction going on at CA? Is it really worth the extra money and will we be able to get through all of both parks in one day with the crowds?

Sorry for all the questions! I'm nervous about only having one day but obviously very excited!

 

[KCmike]

Disneyland is definitely where you need to spend most of your time if not all but if you do hop over to DCA you must hit:
Toy Story Mania
California Screamin'
Aladdin Show (It's great)
and it wouldn't hurt to ride Soarin' again, right?

 

[ScooterL]

Unfortunately Aladdin won't be showing next Monday - but otherwise I agree that it's a "Must See!"

You will NOT be able to do all of both parks in one day - you can't even do all of Disneyland in one day with the crowds. But you can certainly choose to visit both parks in a day - I do it all the time. You just have to decide what's most important to you at each park. If it were me, I'd plan to be at the DL turnstiles BEFORE the park opens at 8:00 so that you can get into the park right when it opens. You can get a LOT done before 10:00! It's usually between 10:00 and 11:00 when the real crowds start pouring in.

I'd head over to DCA about 11:00 (getting a FP for something at DL for later use on my way out) and then do whatever I wanted over there - like get a FP for Soarin', ride California Screamin' check out the line for Toy Story Mania, and then head back over to DL when I was done.

Or if you want to see the Pixar parade at DCA, I might wait and not head over to DCA until 2:00 or so - though by then you're probably out of luck for a Soarin' Fastpass.

So it's really up to you - what things to you want to be able to see at DCA that would make it worth the extra money for the hopper pass?

 

[glendalais]

Never mind. I thought you were living in Riverside, lol, as opposed to just staying there.

 

[Sherry E]

I have to respectfully disagree with the folks who say it is impossible to do both places in one day, and I agree with ScooterL about the modified visits to each park. You not only CAN do both parks in one day, but my friend did it successfully last year - in the PEAK of summer - based on my suggestions and proper planning, and she threw in a character meal on top of it. They got a LOT done in that one day. The thing to realize is, you can't do everything. You are getting, basically, a 'highlight' tour of both parks and leaving certain things out, so you can have the best of both worlds. I never assume that everyone who goes to DLR will want to do every single thing there is to do in Disneyland because some folks just are not interested in certain things, and quite frankly, at times DL is so crowded that is is very handy to have DCA to escape to because it is less crowded. You can breathe and move around if you go into DCA during the busiest times of the day in DL. Surely, if you wanted to see every single thing there is to see in DL, you wouldn't be able to fit in a trip to DCA, but you wouldn't be able to fit in all of what there is in DL in one day, either. So since there is no way you can do ALL of Disneyland itself in one day, then you may as well pick the important things you want to do and then hop over to DCA for a few hours to do some things there, and then hop back over to DL to finish off your MUST-DO list. DCA has some very nice elements to it but you have to actually be in there to see them. And they serve alcohol, which may or may not be of importance to you. Many of the current sites and decor in DCA now will not be there in the next few years or will be dramatically altered, so it would be a good idea to see it in its current state.

I think it is well worth the money to get a one-day hopper.

 

[Teki]

There are quite a bit of amazing attractions at DCA. (IMO I thinki n Soarin is better here then at WDW). You really should look at all the attractions offered and decided if its worth it to you to do both parks. If your worried about the construction its only in one area of the park.