How many days?

[mds88]

Hey everyone! My husband and I are trying to plan our trip to Disneyland and aren't sure how many days to do. We will be in California for a week and plan on doing some typical tourist things outside of Disney. We have been to WDW several times, but never disneyland. Is 3 days enough (possibly with Maxpass) or should we just buy the 4 day ticket since it's only $25 more per person? Any other tips welcome!! Thanks

 

[tzeitel]

If you have other things you would like to see in the area 3 days would be good. 3 day park hoppers is the minimum I would do. Of course 4 days is always better Really depends of what you would like to do outside the parks.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I think it depends on your touring style in the parks. Are you rope drop to closing warriors? Do you want to do everything (!), e.g. rides, shows, character meals, all the rides multiple times for your favorites, M&Gs, shopping, higher end TS, dining packages for shows, etc.? Or do you like a more relaxed, go with the flow, type of park day? Will you be taking a tour, e.g. the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour (has great history of Walt's original park!)? Depending on your answers to the above questions, I would say that 3 days is the minimum (get the park hoppers -- hopping is sooooo easy at DLR and totally worth the cost -- and MP makes hopping an advantage) and more days are even better. This also depends on the time of year for your trip -- when are you planning to visit? SWGE will open, most probably by end of May or by mid June of next year -- this is a major game changer regarding crowds. Other crowded times, like Spring Break or major holidays, also require more days for a less stressful trip. Will you be staying on site or off? On site gives you one hour early entry to each park on alternating days. This perk can help you get a lot done since mornings are key lower crowd times at DLR. On the other hand, staying on site isn't the necessity at DLR that it is at WDW. Some of the off site hotels across the street from the parks are closer to the gates than some of the on site hotels!
These links will give you lots of good information for your trip planning. Start with these, then come back with more questions!

A DLR Guide for WDW Vets -- read this for a good overview of the similarities and differences between DLR and WDW so you can have a better idea of what to expect and how to plan.
www.disboards.com/threads/choosing-the-right-hotel-for-you.3656512/ -- choosing a hotel at DLR is totally different from doing the same at WDW. This thread has great info.
HydroGuy Tips Compilation -- so many good links for helpful planning info contained here!

 

[hootey]

Go F O U R days! We always go for at least FIVE ourselves. We do everything, character meals, shows, rides, trolleys, hey-we even just walk around watching other people interact with Characters(especially the kids). From the Corn-Dog Castle, Dole Whips, and dinner at Napa Rose, ya gotta do it all

 

[j9isawesome]

2 days is enough to see MOST of everything once if you’re the kind of person that goes all day from open to close. 3 days gives you enough time to relax your pace a little & truly enjoy it. 4 days gives you time to sleep in/take pool or nap breaks/head back to your hotel early, actually see & do everything you’ll want to, do repeats of favorite rides or shows. 5 days at Disneyland actually starts to feel like too much to me even though it feels like barely enough time when at Disney World. I would say either 3 or 4 days is fine depending on your touring style and what else you wanted to do in the area.

 

[gerilyne]

For me, I think 3 days would be enough to ride most everything I would want to and take it at not too bad of a pace, but 4 days would be better. This year I will have 7 days in the park for my birthday but that is because I cannot move as fast as I would like to so I think I will be spending more time sitting and soaking up the atmosphere. But as others have said, it really depends on what your priorities are and your touring style.

 

[JeffB13]

Three is perfect for us. We used to do one day in each park then jump around the third, however I've fully embraced park hopping and now I hit both parks all three days.

The length of time also depends on the size and ages of your group. When my fiancee and I went, we saw a lot very fast. When you add kids or grandparents into the mix, it really slows things down and you need more time to see everything.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

For the OP: when are you planning to visit? For 2019, this matters a lot. Whether you visit pre or post SWGE or on/during a major holiday can really make a very big difference in your trip planning and in how many days you may want for DLR.

 

[Eve & Wall-e]

At least 3 days. For a first time visit, 4-5 days would be even better.

 

[Pamela M]

I think 3 and 1/2 is good. Depending on when you are getting in to California I would recommend going to disneyland the 1st night you are there.
It also depends on when you go - if the hours are short you'll need more days.

 

[mds88]

Thanks everyone! We are going at the end of october. We normally are big planners, but things have been crazy and we've barely done anything yet! We are rope drop to close people and we dont really do much table service. With that said, I found out I get a work discount on tickets so I might as well splurge on 4 days I figure it will be worth it just in case we need it. Also we will be dealing with the Halloween party hours. Does anyone know if it's usually less crowded in DL on party days because of shorter hours? I know we experienced this with the Christmas party in WDW at magic kingdom and was wondering if it was the same way.

 

[mymaxisbig]

Depending when you go 3 days is perfect. Last week of November we went 4 days and the 4th noted out of our minds

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Are you talking about the end of this October (2018)? If so, look over the Halloween Time/MHP Superthread we have going on this forum. You'll find lots of good information about Halloween Time at DLR and about the parties. People have started reporting back about the parties, about crowds, and other details. You'll find that the parks during the early entry party hours (3-6 pm or 4-7 pm, depending on the party date) will be pretty crowded as party guests arrive and mingle with the day guests. DCA will get increasingly crowded as the day guests leave DL and hop over.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Definitely recommend park hoppers with MaxPass for this time of year! It is a really fun time of year in the parks but busy for sure! But with park hoppers and MaxPass you will have a great time! If you are debating between MaxPass and an extra day I would probably vote for MaxPass, especially if you are ride people. If you don’t care about the big headliner rides then go for the extra day. You will be amazed at how many awesome rides you can do in a day with MaxPass! So much better than FP+ at WDW.

I don’t think Disneyland is noticeably less crowded on parties days (not in my experience at least). I am guessing this is because there are so many annual passholders here who can just hop... and I think more people probably park hop at the DLR in general than at WDW given how easy it is with the park gates right next to each other.

 

[WDWvet]

We’re WDW vets, we just did our first DLR trip in August- we did 5 days with hoppers and MaxPass. However, we re-rode every headliner multiple times and took long breaks every day. 3 days is very doable, you’ll experience close to everything-all the must-dos and a lot more. 4 days would give you time to slow down, do basically everything, and re-ride your favorites.

 

[mds88]

I don’t think Disneyland is noticeably less crowded on parties days (not in my experience at least). I am guessing this is because there are so many annual passholders here who can just hop... and I think more people probably park hop at the DLR in general than at WDW given how easy it is with the park gates right next to each other.

Ok thank you! That makes sense. I bet DCA gets crazy on party nights with everyone hopping there from DL!

 

[Disney_Alli]

We just did 5 days PLUS a Halloween party with a first timer and I missed out on a couple things I wanted to do (Frozen, Mickey and the Magical Map, etc) because of limited hours and showings combined with our first timer not moving at quite our usual pace. It will completely depend on your priorities and I think 4 days was a good call.

 

[Malcon10t]

Everyone is different. We enjoy the park and 3 days is great, but we always love when we have more.