One-day trip to DL - help! About This Page:

[koquinn]

I'm going to be at DL for one day - the last Sat in May, going with DD (1yr) to visit a girlfriend of mine just for the weekend. I've never been to DL but have spent a lot of time at WDW. Is it worth it to try to do both parks in one day? How close together are they? If not, which one should we do? DD will sleep in the stroller so I think we can cram in a lot in one day. Are there must-dos that I won't have seen at WDW? Or things that are different yet similar that I should see just cuz it's cool to see what's different? I am tempted to buy a guidebook but it seems silly for a one-day trip. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[HeatherD]

If you want to try to fit both parks in, you can do it - but you'll have to skip things. Last year, we only had one day and decided to go only to Disneyland, which is a cheaper ticket (the one-day tickets have a single park option). Of course, we also go all the time, so we weren't "missing out" by not going to DCA that time. You are going as the crowds are picking up, though you're missing Memorial Day weekend, so that's good. But lines will be getting longer and crowds will build throughout the day. Here's what I suggest:

Go early. I don't care if you are not an early riser. Make an exception! You will want to hit Fantasyland early for several reasons: 1) your DD will be wide-eyed and bushy tailed in the morning, 2) there will be less crowds and smaller waits, 3) it flows with going from Fantasyland into Toontown. Toontown opens an hour after the rest of the park. Will you have your girlfriend with you? Maximize your time by sending her to get a FastPass to something you "have" to ride (Space Mountain, Big Thunder, Indiana Jones). If you utilize the parent swap option, you'll be able to use 1 FP for the first rider and then the parent swap for the second rider (double check this, as I've not parent swapped at Disneyland recently like I did at WDW in Feb). So, you can use each person's ticket for a different ride.

Anyway, you've hightailed it to Fantasyland, where you can hit Dumbo, Casey's Train, Storybookland, some of the dark rides (depending on what DD can handle). Work your way over to Small World as you finish up in Fantasyland and then you'll be right there for Toontown when you exit SW. When our kids were little, we'd then head over to Tomorrowland, then Frontierland/New Orleans Square and then Adventureland.

If you decide to park hop, get your must-do rides done at Disneyland and then head over to DCA. Get a FP for CA Screamin' and get on Toy Story Mania (no FP for this one). We actually can spend an entire day in DCA, which is why we don't split it - too much is skipped, missed, glossed over if we do that.

Hope that helps some....have fun, whatever you decide!

[w-steele]

That is a very good plan of 'attach' there Hearther, I agree totally with you. So that she knows, DL will open at 8am on the 30th and close at midnight while across the plaza at CA, they will open at 10am and close at 9pm. I would try to get to TSM in CA as early as possible because the line does get longer towards noontime and after, same with CS. I would hit Soarin' first for the FP and the on over to CS, another FP and the TSM. Even though you may miss your 'flight time' at Soarin', they have in the past still honored a FP that has ran past it's printed time, at least it has worked for us every time.

[koquinn]

I don't care too much about Soarin, I find it underwhelming at WDW. I'm really not planning on doing too many rides for DD, she'll get her trip with DS (4) in Oct. I'm being completely selfish, I know, but she won't know the difference anyway as she's just turning 1 next week. My girlfriend and her boyfriend are going with me, so we should have plenty of people to hang with her while doing FP & PS. Other than the rides that are classics, like Small World, and ones that I can't do at WDW or that are significantly different, I'm not planning on doing little kids' stuff or stuff that I can do at WDW. That's good to know about the park opening/closing times. I have to find out from my friend if they can handle a whole crammed day of park hopping - I know I'm up for it but I might wipe them out!! And yes, as tired as I'll be getting in late, I'm hoping we can get an early start and do it all!

[chezp]

I agree with going early. It is possible to hit both parks and, to be honest, I would, as it's definitely worth seeing the California Adventure to enjoy all the theming there. I would plan on more time at Disneyland though, as there's probably more to enjoy there. I think you've already had some great advice on the not-to-be-missed attractions.