Worth paying for 1/2 a day?

[Supermavs]

Our current plan is just one day in DL, with 2 hotel nights. My plan is on the first day we just take it easy and check out DD. However, I got a gift that might allow for me buying a ticket to get into CA that first day. Is it worth going on a summer day for half a day? I am worried about the crowd levels being so high that it would not be worth the cost to get in. We will be coming from the Bay Area, which could get me there around 1pm i think.
Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[tarheelalum]

What day of the week would the half day fall on? weekend or week day? I'd say yes if its a week day and no if the half day falls on the weekend.

 

[NiceOneSimba]

The CA is open until 10 p.m., so if you got there at 1 p.m., that's 9 hours of park time! Even if you only get 8 hours in the park, it works out to less than $11 per hour. I'd totally spend $11 an hour to be in Disneyland or California Adventure!

 

[disneychrista]

We usually arrive between noon - 1pm and head straight to the parks.

 

[tzeitel]

I was wondering the same thing. We land at 9:30am, but it will be a Sunday.

 

[Supermavs]

We will be coming in on a Tuesday. I am just thinking if we get there that late, and there are huge crowds (like I am mentally preparing for) will we actually ever get on many rides? etc. I figure unless we plan to wait an hour +, RSR is out. But, that being said, i think i might go for it!

 

[Butterfly123]

I don't know the age of the people in your party, but there is always the single rider lines to cut down on wait times. RSR has a single rider line, as does Soarin', California Screaming, maybe others? I'm not sure about Tower of Terror. I think Grizzly River Run is another.

 

[limace]

When are you coming?

 

[Supermavs]

We are arriving on Aug. 4th, planned on DL for the 5th, and head home on the 6th. So, doing the CA partial day on the 4th, or i suppose I might be able to do partial day on the 6th at CA, but it will be so hard to pull ourselves away for the drive home. It will be just my 14 yo and myself.

Frankly I find myself pondering if we should postpone our trip until our school district has a fall break in late September, but the purpose of the trip is a pre-high school mom/daughter trip. My husband prefers us to go in August, as we typically try to do things as a family together during that odd fall break.

I had forgotten all about single rider lines...while of course we'd like to ride together, if the plan is to get maximum rides in, single rider might be the way to do it.

 

[SeattleSuz]

We are going to be doing that, arriving on a Tuesday morning, going to the parks for half a day (local friends will be meeting us), and then spending the entire next day from RD to close. Seems worth it to me.

 

[Daisybelle]

Our first day in the parks is always a half day. We get there around noon and hit our favorites and enjoy a meal and a little browsing. It's alway a fun start. And we always go in summer and arrive on a Sunday.

 

[Angrose]

It's a tough call if you are on a budget since it will almost double your ticket cost to go in on your arrival day. That said, I think it is totally worth it! Believe me, it will KILL YOU to arrive so early in the afternoon and NOT go into the park! Even if you get there in the afternoon you will still be able to do a lot. Definitely single rider line for RSR, Grizzly and CA Screamin'. Grab FP for Soarin' and/or ToT when you get there, whichever is your priority. If you think you'll stay and watch WOC, then grab that when you first get there too. TSMM will have a long line, but it always does. Of course, after the road trip, you may not mind standing in lines after being cooped up in the car! I think it will work out well for you guys that DCA closes at 10pm that night so you can get to bed and up early for rope drop at DL. Oh, and if you want to get an idea of the wait times in the afternoons before you go, you can always call "Ask Otto" at 714-520-7090. Just say the name of the ride you want and it will tell you the current wait time, if FP is available and what the FP return time will be. It's one of the best inventions ever
While DTD would be a nice way to spend an afternoon as well, to be honest, it will be just as crowded as inside the parks. If you decide to go into DCA on your arrival day then visit DTD on the morning before you hit the road. Much nicer that way and you probably only need a couple hours to roam around the shops. If you have time, walk around the hotels too, they are so pretty!
Hope you have a great time!

 

[SMD]

We are arriving on Aug. 4th, planned on DL for the 5th, and head home on the 6th. So, doing the CA partial day on the 4th, or i suppose I might be able to do partial day on the 6th at CA, but it will be so hard to pull ourselves away for the drive home. It will be just my 14 yo and myself.

Frankly I find myself pondering if we should postpone our trip until our school district has a fall break in late September, but the purpose of the trip is a pre-high school mom/daughter trip. My husband prefers us to go in August, as we typically try to do things as a family together during that odd fall break.

I had forgotten all about single rider lines...while of course we'd like to ride together, if the plan is to get maximum rides in, single rider might be the way to do it.

If you're only going for rides and the fact that there will be lines when you get there will be a deterrent, save the money.

 

[Cholula]

I used to skip going into the parks on arrival day, now it's something I personally can't imagine doing. On one of my trips, I didn't get to the parks until 4 and they closed at 8 that night; it was still worth it to me. (To be fair, I usually go for several days, where adding that extra day isn't very expensive.) I like to have dinner in the park and knock out a couple of rides or maybe even a show before I start my full days.

 

[lk2500]

We always arrive at the park around noon after flying in that morning, so I say go for it. We even park hop (we always park hop) that day since a lot of stuff closes down for WOC in the evening and the DL side is open later.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I would do the partial day in CA. You might be shut out of RSR Fast Passes for the day, but single rider is a very good option. You might even end up in the same car, just one behind the other. You should still be able to get FPs for TOT and possibly for Soarin. Again, the single rider lines work well. Midway Mania is almost always busy, but I think it's worth the wait. You should be able to get on Screamin with or without FPs. You may encounter some longer wait times than you'd like, but they shouldn't be too bad. Don't forget about the smaller attractions that are usually easier to ride. Little Mermaid is a fast loader and even if there is a line, it moves quickly. I've also found that when the Aladdin show lets out, many people head to Monsters, Inc. since it's nearby. Try to time that ride when the show is still running to beat the crowd. Even if there's a line, it seems to move fairly quickly.

 

[Supermavs]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I appreciate the help 'talking it through' because quite honestly, i think my husband has had enough! lol

 

[4Siamese]

Now keep in mind that this was in April this yr, but we got to the resort from LAX around 1:30 pm and bought a ticket to go into the park as soon as we checked in. We got lots of stuff in and was alot more fun then wishing we were in the park rather then in DTD .

I would say if you can afford it go for it.

Enjoy

 

[bcla]

Depends on the half day. My wife is a master procrastinator, and once we drove in and I didn't even get to the gate with our kid until maybe 10:20 PM for a midnight closing time. She also wanted to head straight for the hotel (to go to bed) instead of coming in, so that ate about a half hour or more, and I also needed to add a fifth day (we used three days the week before).

That was really easy since a lot of people seem to leave in droves after fireworks are over. Lines were minimal and we must have managed seven rides in that 90 minutes, including IASM, PotC, and Peter Pan (got in line just before midnight - got on at about 12:35).