Only one day to visit, would you do it? About This Page:

[Nimros]

I am soooo glad I cruised over to this forum and found this post!

We're facing a similar situation in that we'll be out at Camp Pendleton for DS's Marine Corps. grad. ceremony in April - and it seems just pointless not to at least see a bit of DL while we're there.

Since I know absolutely nothing about DL (and all about WDW), guess I'll have to get out the planning videos and start checking things out!

Thanks so much to all of you!

[DogLady]

Thanks for all of your replies.

Silly of me to think that anyone would say don't do it, LOL.

[kmurburg]

Yes - you should go! A few years ago, I was in Anaheim for a 4 day training session for our lab's new analyzer and one of the perks was staying just down the block from Disneyland. Our last day of class was only half a day so I got to go to DL for the other 1/2 of the day. I loved it even though I only got to ride a few things! The main thing was being able to see the "original" park and soaking up the whole Disney atmosphere! Being from the east coast, I knew I might never get another chance to fly to California (and for FREE!) so I took even that short visit as a must do! Take your DD's and have a blast!

[LauraBelle V. Hime]

If you love Disney, and you are in the area, how would you feel if you didn't go?

Once you've been, you'll want to go back...so hopefully college in SoCal is in the future for your family and you'll have many return trips!

[wayneava81]

One day is better than none! Definitely

[tdandboys]

There are so many people that would die for just one day.

[Two4Disney]

Since I grew up when you only went to Disneyland for a day - tried so hard to stretch it but it just didn't work for more than that - it's funny to even think of such a question. So if you skip DCA and just focus on Disneyland, you can definitely do it in a day. In fact, on one trip driving down from San Francisco, I did Knotts Berry Farm in the morning and Disneyland at night.

Do the things that are different from WDW. Having just moved back to the west coast from living in Orlando, I would recommend these attractions:

All of Fantasyland - this is where Disneyland shines over WDW - especially do the Matterhorn (the first time I went to the MK at WDW I asked, "Where's the Matterhorn?") and this fabulous version of "It's a Small World"
Indiana Jones
Original Tiki Birds
Jungle Cruise (it's different)
Submarine ride now that it's up and running
New Orleans Square including Pirates and lunch or dinner at Blue Bayou inside Pirates
Sailing Ship Columbia (if it's running that day)
Toon Town

This is what comes to mind right now.

[sparks74]

1 day is better than 0 days!!
Go for it!

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Originally Posted by aka pastor guy

Because you have already experienced some of the rides (for example, Small World), you can focus on the things you haven't seen & are unique to DL:

• Indiana Jones
• the longer (and better) version of POTC
• the better version of Peter Pan's Flight
• Casey Jr Circus Train/Storyland Canal Boats
• Matterhorn (ride BOTH sides)
• Fantasmic! (on the Rivers of America)
• Roger Rabbit
• Finding Nemo Subs
• Tom Sawyer Island Pirate's Lair
• the better version of Space Mtn

This is a great little list of the differences between DL and WDW. I'm just now starting to plan for our DL trip (even though it's not until 2009!) and this is a nice jumping off point.

To get back to the point of the original post, though, I would say go for it. We went for one day in 1999 and it's the only time I've ever been there. It was worth it, even for the very few attractions we were able to hit.

[disney777]

I agree with the previous posters who listed the rides that aren't at WDW. I wouldn't waste the extra money on DCA. Get the experience of DL as much as you can. Go when the park opens, you can get a lot done before noon. Use the fastpasses wisely. In the afternoon, no matter what day, you start getting the locals in the parks. On the weekdays, people show up after the kids are out of school. On the weekend, people sleep in, then hit the parks later in the day (or after church on Sunday.) As for food items you don't find at WDW, hit New Orleans Square for Mint Juleps and Fritters. They have Mickey shaped beignets at Cafe Orleans. And if you like corn dogs, the corn dog cart near Plaza inn has hand dipped dogs! I love the bacon wrapped asparagus at the Bengal BBQ stand in Adventureland. Don't miss this opportunity

[IdahoDisneyMom]

I would definetely go for it!! Especially if you can work it out to go on a weekday, Feb is a quieter month to go. You'd be able to do quite a bit on say a Tues or Wed in Feb! Good luck with the tour!

[Joy J]

I also say to definitely go for it. Because of its smaller size, you can hit a lot more attractions in a much shorter time period at DLR than you can at WDW. I would concentrate on all the rides that either do not exist at WDW or are very different from their WDW counterparts. After that, anything extra is just gravy. Whatever you do, don't miss the Disneyland parade or Fantasmic or the evening fireworks. All of these spectacles are nothing short of incredible.

Joy