How Many Days? Need advice!

[AndrewMickey86]

Hello! I'm thinking about coming out to the Disneyland resort in September. I've only been to Disneyland once, and that was for 1 day, many years ago. I have a few basic questions to help me get started!

How many days are needed to fully experience everything? I'm currently thinking maybe 4 days, 2 days for each park. Do I need more than this? Is DCA a 1 day park?

Are park hoppers worth it? Especially with capacity concerns? Or should I stick to single park tickets?

What are some of the best places to stay off property that have transportation? Trying to do this trip somewhat affordably.

Thank you!!

 

[avalon451]

That's a lot of questions, and you will get many different answers.

I personally like 5 day parkhoppers, where the first day is our arrival-- fly in and get to the parks by mid to late morning, then 3 full days, then last day leaving around midafternoon to fly out.

Parkhoppers are nice because there are different things you may want to try at different times of day. Early touring in one park vs. shows, meals or fireworks in another, etc. (that's assuming shows are back by Sept-- please please, World of Color!). Also then you don't have to worry about how many days for each park-- they are so close, it's easy to hop. September may be your best bet to not have to worry about capacity concerns-- kids are usually freshly back in school. I could be wrong on this, but it seems like a good time of year. That said, it's also a high possibility of being meltingly hot (been twice in Sept).

When you say "transportation" you mean, to the parks? Nobody as far as I know except Majestic Gardens and Candy Cane Inn has their own shuttle. Most people either take ART or walk. I'm a big fan of staying directly across the street at one of the plain but clean motels, which makes it really easy to just walk back to the room for a midday break. Think Best Western Park Place Inn, Desert Inn, Park Vue, Tropicana, Camelot, Fairfield, HoJo, Grand Legacy at the Park, etc.

Also, please check out the sticky threads at the top of the forum, particularly Hydroguy's tips. Lots of great info there! Happy planning!

 

[pharmama]

Can you tell us more about your party and what you like? Is this a solo trip? What are your trip priorities?

 

[Piglet99645]

We always do at least 3 but usually 4 or 5 days.

I always get Parkhoppers. The parks are so close they are really like one big park, not at all like WDW.

I always stay at the hotels across the street from the entrance. No need for transportation, but way cheaper than on-site. Desert Inn and Suites has been the most consistently reasonable/clean/close hotel for us, but there are others people will recommend.

If you do 5 days, plan for a rest day between 3rd and 4th days if you aren't in peak condition, or have little kids.

Happy planning!!!!

 

[AndrewMickey86]

Great info already, thank you! To answer some questions, it would be 2 of us, both adults. We did WDW several years ago, and I knew how to plan that out, but Disneyland is like a whole new world to me lol. We're really into the attractions, and the night time shows, if those are back by then. Dining isn't as important, but I would like to make 2-3 dining reservations.

I didn't realize the hotels across the street were so walkable. That's good to know! In that case I would only need transportation to and from the airport.

 

[JWelch62]

The benefit of additional days is that you can take a break. You don't have to try to get everything in. If you are staying on property it's great to be able to go relax in your room for a bit.

 

[avalon451]

I didn't realize the hotels across the street were so walkable. That's good to know! In that case I would only need transportation to and from the airport.

Most of the hotels across the street are actually closer than Disneyland Hotel, and even Grand Californian unless you are talking about the GCH side entrance into California Adventure. It's still a LOOOONG walk, especially at the end of the night, to the Downtown Disney entrance into the GCH (wayyy down next to Sephora-- take a gander at Google Maps to get an idea of hotel distances), and then you still have the walk to the room, which in that large warren of a hotel, can be formidable. Best Western Park Place Inn, or Desert Inn, in contrast, are literally 5 minutes to the turnstiles not including any lineups at security.

Man, we stayed at DLH in 2019, and it was fun and cute and all, but that walk killed us. Especially with heat in the 90's.

 

[Kit Jackson]

If you want a leisurely trip where you don't have to rush and have time to do all of the food, shopping, rides, and shows you want, I would reccomend 4 to 5 days. Also, this gives you more chances to get boarding groups for Web Slingers and Rise of the Resistance (if either of those rides interest you).

 

[BayGirl22]

Agree on 4-5 days. You could get away with 4 park days and maybe one rest day in between, but at that point you might as well add the 5th day for flexibility. September is more quiet and you should be able to cover the rides in 4 days but its fun to go back and do shows, dine, shop, etc.

Always park hoppers, it's just so easy to go back and forth. You can hop multiple times in a day without losing much time.

Agree if you are on a budget there are good options across the street that are an easy walk to the parks and DtD. Lots of recommendations on here. I've stayed at Park Vue Inn, but if you can do Courtyard or Fairfield in (both are Marriott properties) those seem like good options too.

 

[fac429]

The answer is pretty dependent on what time of year (and also what time during the week) you're planning on coming down. It's also really hard to determine at the moment given the questions about how busy the parks will be 2, 3, 4 months from now. During a normal year, I would say that you could knock everything out in 2 days if you came at a slower time (like September) and had park hoppers. But if you're coming this summer I think you would need at least 3.

As for park hopper vs. non-park hopper, I definitely think DCA is a one day park unless it's slammed. My family did just about everything in the park other than the kids rides between the hours of 8 and 5 last weekend. Disneyland has a lot more to do. As mentioned, park hopper is helpful if you're trying to get on ROTR (and you should!!!) or Spiderman (meh), but otherwise I think as long as you plan at least one day at DCA and 2 at Disneyland you probably don't need the park hopper.

Dining at Disneyland isn't nearly as exciting as dining at WDW, but there are some good spots. Just be careful about booking meals at Downtown Disney. As mentioned on this thread there's quite a walk out of the park and back. Takes a lot of time out of your day. And most of the restaurants are overpriced and not great anyway...

BUT if it happens to open before you arrive (I think it's currently closed), be sure to visit Trader Sam's over at the Disneyland Hotel. Maybe after a day in the park. Even if you're not a drinker it's a can't-miss spot at the resort. Jungle Cruise themed tiki bar with great drinks and fun atmosphere.

Take all of this with a grain of salt- you've only been there once, and I have no idea how many times I've been there. So you might be trying to do more in the parks than we would.

 

[GeneralTso]

We're going to be there for 7 days and have a 4 day park hopper. That's enough for us. We like to do other things around Orange County and LA while we're there. I get a little "Disney'd out" any longer than that. One thing I'll miss though is hopping into a park for about half a day with an AP on our final day. That was always fun for a final shot of Disney before we flew home.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

In general you can have a very lovely vacation and experience most things with a 4 day trip using a 3 day hopper. This will definitely depend on whether or not the 1pm time for hopping to start stays in place or not. Spending your first evening/last morning exploring Downtown Disney and/or going to one of the Disney hotels for a meal is a great way to explore DLR without using a ticket day. Spending a full day in DL and a full day in DCA (or the rough equivalent using hoppers) and you can do nearly all the 'must do' items - rides, meals, etc. You use the 3rd day to revisit any favorites and to try anything you missed the first time through.

Traveling with younger children, or anyone who isn't really in themepark gangbuster mode, adding a 4th or 5th day means you can spend 2 days in each park without feeling the need to be open to close. Many travelers enjoy some downtime in the afternoon to nap/decompress from the rush of the morning and avoid the heat of the day. Others like to sleep in and skip the stress of early mornings in favor of spending afternoons and evenings in the park. If that's your style, 4 or 5 days probably works better to enable you to see all the things.

 

[SeaDis]

2 full days = not enough.
2.5 days (arrival or departure day) = Enough time for attractions... but not much else.
3 to 3.5 days = solid trip.
4 to 4.5 days = totally fulfilled, but sad to leave.
5 days = total experience; never regretted it.
6 days with a pool, beach, or Universal day = a serious So. Cal swing.

*We used to buy 6-day hoppers, when they were offered. Never regretted that either.
**We take mid-day breaks at "peak time", every day. For commando park touring, open to close... can shave off .5 to 1.0 days above.

 

[AndrewMickey86]

Thank you all for the advice so far! I'm thinking about staying 5 nights with 4 day park hoppers.
New question - is the Max Pass thing worth it? I've been trying to read up on the regular Fast Pass versus Max Pass.

 

[JWelch62]

Thank you all for the advice so far! I'm thinking about staying 5 nights with 4 day park hoppers.
New question - is the Max Pass thing worth it? I've been trying to read up on the regular Fast Pass versus Max Pass.

At the moment, Max Pass and Fast Passes are not available. Assuming they become available when you visit, and your goal is to get in as many rides as possible, then I would splurge for the Max Pass. I went to the parks mid May and really missed not having them. Since you can add them (theoretically) later, I would keep an eye on how the crowds and lines look over the summer. This is going to be a new Disney environment with no APs. It will be interesting to see how that impacts crowds.

 

[AndrewMickey86]

At the moment, Max Pass and Fast Passes are not available. Assuming they become available when you visit, and your goal is to get in as many rides as possible, then I would splurge for the Max Pass. I went to the parks mid May and really missed not having them. Since you can add them (theoretically) later, I would keep an eye on how the crowds and lines look over the summer. This is going to be a new Disney environment with no APs. It will be interesting to see how that impacts crowds.

Ah, I didn't realize that! I wonder if the passes will be back by mid September. The more rides the better for me!

 

[BayGirl22]

Pre-Covid we've done traditional paper FP and then MaxPass, and I totally think the latter is worth it if available. Its a lot more spur of the moment than WDW FP+. If you're only paying for 2 people the cost is not as bad as a whole family. It really allows a lot more rides, especially the e-tickets.

 

[Kit Jackson]

Thank you all for the advice so far! I'm thinking about staying 5 nights with 4 day park hoppers.
New question - is the Max Pass thing worth it? I've been trying to read up on the regular Fast Pass versus Max Pass.

My last trip was pre-Covid, so keep that in mind. If Max Pass is available, I would say it is totally worth it. You can book Fast Pass from your smartphone/tablet throughout the day while you are in the parks. It also includes photos (None of us know what the situation with photographs/characters will be months from now, so this part may or may not be relevant).

I would not be worried about being glued to your phone constantly refreshing FastPass availability. You make the FastPass reservation, do other stuff, ride the attraction you have the FastPass for, and then pick another FastPass.

 

[mseyre]

Loved MaxPass last time we were there. Better than having to hoof it across the park to get a paper FP. We usually do 4 days in the parks. We go on our favorites multiple times. I love it all.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

We were able to do MaxPass at the initial price of $10/person per day, and it was a HUGE value add. I'm still debating whether we can double the cost and include the $20/person per day if/when it comes back, and it will also depend on whether or not hoppers continue to lock you into your first park until 1pm, or if you are free to hop back and forth a bit more freely.

With 4 day hoppers, you are likely to be able to ride all the things you want, with at least a few repeats, even without MaxPass. It'll definitely be worth considering though, if they bring it back, and also if you enjoy doing the picture packages.