Will have two days for Disneyland and never been...

[DEDisneylover]

Hi all-

Very experienced WDW person (as in don’t need maps, go multiple times a year) but have never been to WDL and will have the chance to go two days in July. Advice needed- should I do one park for each of the days or are park hoppers better? Will I want to spend more time in the main park and just do one day of a hopper to see CA? At WDW, Magic Kingdom is def my favorite if that helps. TIA!

 

[DEDisneylover]

So now I’m seeing only CA residents allowed to the park?

 

[BadPinkTink]

So now I’m seeing only CA residents allowed to the park?

yes currently only California residents are allowed into the parks. We have no idea if or when it will change. Many people are speculating that Disneyland will allow out of state visitors after June 15, when The State of California changes their Covid restrictions HOWEVER this is just speculation and Disneyland has not announced any changes.

Many out of state people are planning trips for July and August HOWEVER they do so with the risk that their plans many have to be changed and their trip rescheduled. Any out of state visitors planning a trip summer 2021 do so at their own risk.

Out of state people can buy Disneyland tickets. Disneyland has a park reservation system and to visit the park you will need a park ticket and a park reservation. The park reservation system has a box that you tick to confirm that all ticket holders in your party are California residents.

You should also read this thread The Magic Is Back Share Your Experience where California residents are sharing their experiences of what Disneyland is like since it reopened a few weeks ago. It will give you a great idea of what to expect when you visit Disneyland, as any trip reports and touring plans from before Covid are now out of date and should not be used when planning a trip.

 

[dieumeye]

When you are able to visit, if you are coming for two parks days, I would recommend park hopper tickets. That’ll give you maximum flexibility to experience both parks and make the most of park hours.

The two parks are right next to each other so hopping is easy. Currently, there is a restriction on park hopping - you can’t go to the other park until after 1pm - so be on the lookout for any rules that may apply when you visit.

 

[Matrixleos]

We're in a similar situation, traveling from the East Coast. WDW veteran with many visits there. This will be our first time to Disneyland and have only 2 days to visit in July.

My initial thoughts were that DCA would be a half day park (kind of like Animal Kingdom at WDW). Although with Avengers Campus opening up on June 4th, I'm thinking we just might do a whole day there.

Plus remember that if you are coming in July, they are extending the park hours to the following...…

Disneyland will be open from 8am to 10pm (if you are a Magic Kingdom expert, you should be able to navigate most items you want to see in one day)

Disney California Adventure will be open from 8am to 9pm (Before Avengers Campus, most described it has half day park but with it open your family might want to spend more time there)

Downtown Disney will be open from 8am to 11pm

 

[Matrixleos]

BTW, check out these great DLR park strategies for both parks by @DLRExpert, who will be updating them also on future visits.


https://www.disboards.com/threads/disneyland-park-opening-strategy-5-18.3837037/
https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-california-adventure-park-opening-strategy-5-21.3837150/

 

[ktlm]

I would say hop. By WDW standards DLR is like one park. The distance between the parks is a walk across the plaza -- a shorter distance than getting off at your resort bus stop and walking to the park gates at WDW. Being WDW people- we love the flexibility of going back and forth between the parks-- we have literally made it from the back of DL to the back of CA in 10 minutes. If lines seem long in one park, it is so nice to look at the app-- see lines are shorter in the other and then just switch parks for a while on a whim. DH likes hoppers for the Karl Strauss beer truck on the CA wharf--- he has been known to disappear if DD wants to ride small world a 2nd time. Of course, the restrictions now make things a little different, but it would still be nice to have the flexibility to move back and forth after 1:00 p.m. Right now there is no maxpass, but it was also nice to be able to be in one park and book a fast pass in the other park for a ride that someone really wanted to ride that day and hop over for that.

 

[coaches24]

Yes park hoppers are the way to go at DLR for sure.

 

[Jason2015]

We usually go for two days and don't use hoppers. We focus on one park per day. Even though the parks are close my family feels the extra walking isn't necessary. there have been a few trips that we had the option to hop and never used it so we don't spend the money anymore.

On other notes, don't think of DCA as a 1/2 day park. There is plenty to do there including, RSR, Soaring, GoG, GRR, IncrediCoaster, plus a lot of smaller rides. Plus Avengers Campus is opening. The California parks pack in a lot more rides than their FL cousins.

 

[Mimi2Cam]

On other notes, don't think of DCA as a 1/2 day park. There is plenty to do there including, RSR, Soaring, GoG, GRR, IncrediCoaster, plus a lot of smaller rides.
I completely agree. Although it's not a popular opinion on the boards, we love DCA and have never been able to understand why everyone else doesn't agree .

 

[DEDisneylover]

yes currently only California residents are allowed into the parks. We have no idea if or when it will change. Many people are speculating that Disneyland will allow out of state visitors after June 15, when The State of California changes their Covid restrictions HOWEVER this is just speculation and Disneyland has not announced any changes.

Many out of state people are planning trips for July and August HOWEVER they do so with the risk that their plans many have to be changed and their trip rescheduled. Any out of state visitors planning a trip summer 2021 do so at their own risk.

Out of state people can buy Disneyland tickets. Disneyland has a park reservation system and to visit the park you will need a park ticket and a park reservation. The park reservation system has a box that you tick to confirm that all ticket holders in your party are California residents.

You should also read this thread The Magic Is Back Share Your Experience where California residents are sharing their experiences of what Disneyland is like since it reopened a few weeks ago. It will give you a great idea of what to expect when you visit Disneyland, as any trip reports and touring plans from before Covid are now out of date and should not be used when planning a trip.

Thanks for this- I was considering just taking a chance and buying our tickets and then making the park reservations but didn’t realize I would have to check a box for residency. If I’m thinking about it correctly, I’m not at any advantage to buy the tickets now then. If the park reservations don’t open or fill up, I’m out of luck anyway. I would use the tickets one day one way or the other though- so they wouldn’t be a loss which is why I was just going to buy. But I appreciate your help!

 

[DEDisneylover]

THanks everyone! Very helpful!

 

[Jason2015]

Thanks for this- I was considering just taking a chance and buying our tickets and then making the park reservations but didn’t realize I would have to check a box for residency. If I’m thinking about it correctly, I’m not at any advantage to buy the tickets now then. If the park reservations don’t open or fill up, I’m out of luck anyway. I would use the tickets one day one way or the other though- so they wouldn’t be a loss which is why I was just going to buy. But I appreciate your help!

Sounds like Disneyland is opening to everyone on 6/15. Not sure if that means the box will go away or what.

 

[Matrixleos]

I'm an Out-of-Stater visitor and I was just now just able to book late July ticket and reservation. I've attached the updated Terms and Conditions and Covid-19 liability waiver in case anyone was interested.