One day in DL Resort... going to DCA...

[Kc0912]

Hi everyone,

Looking for some reassurance please.
My fiancé and I will be in the US for 4 weeks on our honeymoon- including 1 week at WDW. We will be in LA as part of this for 5 nights, and it looks like will only have one day for DL Resort.

I genuinely think we may spend it at DCA. But, am I nuts? I know that for the most part, the *cloned* rides at DL are better than WDW’s version. I know I’ll miss Indiana Jones & the Matterhorn which kills me... But the last time I was in the California parks was 7 years ago- I spent 4 days in DL park and only 1 in DCA. Pre-Cars land, and obviously Incredicoaster & Mission Breakout updates. And I really miss World of Colour.

Please reassure me this is the right decision.... I feel like I’m cheating on Walt!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Is a park hopper ticket out of the question? That would allow you to see both parks. And since the parks are so close together (the length of a football field), hopping is very easy -- just minutes from gate to gate. With MaxPass (Maxpass/Fastpass: an overview and some strategy), you can book FPs for one park while you are still in the other park -- this makes hopping even more attractive and helps you get the most out of a one day ticket. By the way, what would your trip date be? SWGE is going to open May 31st which will change the game at DL for now and forever.

 

[bumbershoot]

I don’t think you’re nuts.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Well I love DCA so I think you’ll have a great time, especially since you’ll be experiencing MK on the same trip. DCA has lots to offer that you can’t find in WDW.

 

[ktlm]

I don't know when you are going or what the park hours are, but I would say get hoppers and max pass. My first adult DLR trip was when I was on a business trip and I took DH with me and we spent one day at the parks. We went open to close and with just the two of us we were able to get a ton done in both parks in one day. We went about a hundred miles an hour and we ate Counter Service instead of table service meals, but we even found time to sit down and watch a show. The only thing that might slow you down are the new Star Wars Land crowds.

 

[dieumeye]

Another vote for Park Hopper to get the best of both worlds!

However, I think in your situation you could certainly have a nice time only visiting DCA. Your day could be kind of thin if you only want to hit a few of the rides. But if you also want to do Animation Academy, see WoC, Frozen, and do TS for lunch and dinner (in park, or DTD, or at the hotels) and then drinks later (again, in park or maybe Trader Sam's) then there is enough to fill a leisurely day.

 

[cinnaminny]

If you have been to Disneyland and know what you're missing out on, I think its fair to only go to DCA. We are going this summer and our first day is going to completely focus on DCA because I feel like I always miss out on most of it. It seems weird to start at DCA but I think its the right choice. I've only been once since CL opened and really didn't get to experience it because my son was really barfy.

 

[FCDub]

Go with your gut. There's plenty at DCA to keep you occupied. If you get the urge to head over to Disneyland, simply upgrade to the hopper.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Whenever I had a one park ticket, I always wanted to go to the other park. I think I had one day where I spent the whole day with my daughter at DCA and we had a great time, but we made that an eating/drinking visit.

I think if you mentally plan out what you are going to do and just focus on that, you'll be fine. In my case, I usually got overwhelmed with crowds or ride closures and would want to expand my horizons to the other park. If I set myself up mentally beforehand, I likely would have had a better time.

 

[disneylover102]

I personally could not handle not going to both parks, especially Disneyland. Park hoppers are only $50 extra per person for one day (last week I had a 1 day 1 park pass and was only going to go to Disneyland but I couldn’t stand the thought of not going on Guardians of the Galaxy, Soarin’, RSR, Incredicoaster, etc and so I upgraded to a park hopper.) and it’s worth it. If you get Maxpass, it makes it very worth it. The parks are very close and it is very easy to park hop. Anyway, I would definitely get a park hopper if it’s at all possible.

 

[agamble]

We love DCA and I see no problem with 2 adults spending a day at just DCA, especially coming off of a trip to WDW with time at the Magic Kingdom. Yes, you'll miss Indy and Matterhorn, but you'll get to experience other unique attractions. Are you going in the summer? I think with SWGE it is likely that DCA will also be more pleasant. Guardians is AMAZING. It is a lot more fun than TOT and worth riding more than once for sure. Grizzly River Run is also far superior to Kali. And you can walk onto the Mermaid ride most of the day, which is apparently not possible in the Magic Kingdom.

 

[Version 6]

Guardians is incredible.

Rode it once, 13 months ago and am still buzzing from it!

 

[RedVines2001]

I agree with the notion of a day in DCA only will be a leisurely one and a day in both parks with be 100 mph with Maxpass being an absolute necessity. Having said that I love DCA. With your last visit being 7 years ago there is so much new stuff for you to see, including a lot of must do's in my opinion: Radiator Springs Racer, Frozen musical and the WoC would be top of my list. Is your five days in LA towards the start of your trip to the US or the end? If it's in the beginning I would consider a park hopper with max pass but if it's towards the end i vote nice easy day at DCA.

Congrats!

 

[spacecanada]

We spent 3.5 of our 4 days at DCA last week, and I only went to Disneyland for half a day to see the nostalgia items and meet a few princesses. Otherwise, the rides and shows we enjoyed most are all over at DCA. Plus, DCA is generally less busy. If you prefer thrill rides, it's the place to be. If you prefer gentle ride-through rides, you'll want to be at DLP.

 

[Kc0912]

Thanks so much for the feedback guys. I’m glad I’m not completely insane.
The comments about park hopper & Max Pass absolutely noted, however, Pete says he suffers from “add-on-it is”, and I suffer from “gotta-do-it-all-is”. I’ve spent many months making my peace that I won’t “do it all” at WDW. And I think if I did enter Disneyland Park; I might get a bit carried away. I am only allowed “one day” because my beloved Chargers aren’t playing in LA the weekend we are there & I insisted on Disney to cheer me up. I’ll probably get away with DCA as there is a few more unique rides, and rides (or refreshes of rides) I’ve not even done.

We are going to LA after WDW (broken up with a week in Mexico), so we’d get to LA by mid-late November. We’ll see Galaxy’s Edge in WDW- though if ROTR is open by then in DL & we never got to ride in WDW- all bets are off and we’re going to Disneyland Park.

 

[Ross Kratter]

I cannot recommend getting park hopper tickets highly enough. If you play your cards right (weekday at a slower time of year), you don't really even need MaxPass. The extra $15 per person for MaxPass can absolutely be worth it, though, if lines are long. I did a DCA-only day this past January; there was so much I missed, not having been able to go into Disneyland.

 

[bethwc101]

Thanks so much for the feedback guys. I’m glad I’m not completely insane.
The comments about park hopper & Max Pass absolutely noted, however, Pete says he suffers from “add-on-it is”, and I suffer from “gotta-do-it-all-is”. I’ve spent many months making my peace that I won’t “do it all” at WDW. And I think if I did enter Disneyland Park; I might get a bit carried away. I am only allowed “one day” because my beloved Chargers aren’t playing in LA the weekend we are there & I insisted on Disney to cheer me up. I’ll probably get away with DCA as there is a few more unique rides, and rides (or refreshes of rides) I’ve not even done.

We are going to LA after WDW (broken up with a week in Mexico), so we’d get to LA by mid-late November. We’ll see Galaxy’s Edge in WDW- though if ROTR is open by then in DL & we never got to ride in WDW- all bets are off and we’re going to Disneyland Park.

Honestly, after a few hours at DCA our group is usually ready to go to DL. If we are starting in DCA, we will be there at rope drop, grab a FP for RSR while heading to guardians. Then as soon as our RSR is ready, grab one for incredicoaster. Do both those rides, then hop over to DL. If it's a hot day we'll do grizzly and maybe soarin. But that's it. To us, there isn't enough in DCA to justify a whole day.
I would really think about doing a maxpass parkhopper combo. It's honestly going to be an extra $100 ish, but totally worth it.
Keep in mind, park hopping at DL is WAY different from WDW. Within 5 minutes you can walk out of DCA, cross the esplenade, and be in DL. Unless lines are unusually long, which is rare in the afternoon.

 

[cinnaminny]

We love DCA and I see no problem with 2 adults spending a day at just DCA, especially coming off of a trip to WDW with time at the Magic Kingdom. Yes, you'll miss Indy and Matterhorn, but you'll get to experience other unique attractions. Are you going in the summer? I think with SWGE it is likely that DCA will also be more pleasant. Guardians is AMAZING. It is a lot more fun than TOT and worth riding more than once for sure. Grizzly River Run is also far superior to Kali. And you can walk onto the Mermaid ride most of the day, which is apparently not possible in the Magic Kingdom.

Grizzly River Run is soooooo much better than Kali. I didn't even get a drop of water on me in Kali and it felt like they were missing some drops. I found the majority of AK to be a let down though. Although Everest is one of the best Disney rides ever IMO.

 

[agamble]

Grizzly River Run is soooooo much better than Kali. I didn't even get a drop of water on me in Kali and it felt like they were missing some drops. I found the majority of AK to be a let down though. Although Everest is one of the best Disney rides ever IMO.

I also wasn't a fan of the theme of Kali. It had a deforestation theme with the smell of smoke. Grizzly is themed on the beautiful CA rivers. Much nicer.

 

[sharksfinatic17]

The following is copied from my post regarding my one day at DCA. I never thought I would go without a park hopper, but this day proved that one can have a great day at DCA.

We got the gates at 7:45 and there was no line, so we walked right in. I purchased MaxPass immediately and made our first FastPass for Toy Story Mania. We also decided to walk away from the crowd and walked towards Soarin'. On our way, we grabbed FastPasses for World of Color. We got Blue. I didn't really care what color section we were assigned because I know that we were going to be riding rides until close and then head over to World of Color.

The following is what we did during our very full day:
8:00 AM
Toy Story Mania - MP
Incredicoaster - MP
Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters
Radiator Springs Racers - MP
Mater's Junkyard Jamboree
Guardians of the Galaxy - Hit Me with Your Best Shot - MP
Soarin' Around the World - MP
11:00 AM
We sat down and grabbed some snacks from the Food and Wine Festival, enjoyed the Red Car Trolley News Boys, and using the Disneyland app, grabbed a dinner reservation at Lamplight Lounge
Guardians - Born to Be Wild - MP
Monsters, Inc.
Turtle Talk with Crush
The Pixarmonic Orchestra
Incredicoaster - MP
Toy Story Mania - MP
3:30 PM
Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats - 1/2 lemon and 1/2 vanilla soft serve - yum!!!!
The Little Mermaid
Blue Sky Cellar - Pixar Pier
5:25 PM Lamplight Lounge - dinner - Lobster Nachos, Cocktails, and Donuts - Yum!
Guardians - Burning Love - MP
Radiator Springs Racer - MP
The Bakery Tour
Incredicoaster - MP
Guardians of the Galaxy - Free Ride - waited in line
World of Color - We arrived at 9:45 PM and stood right above the desert party. In the past, I have researched and researched what color ticket is the best, what time to get there, etc. After today, unless we are doing the Dessert Party, this will be what I do from now on as our location was great.

After World of Color, we decided to do some shopping at the World of Disney and then headed to the tram. We had to wait about three minutes for a tram and then headed back to the parking garage.

We had such a great day. I wouldn't hesitate to do non-park hopper for a single day ticket again. Until this trip, I thought I would always want a park hopper, but we were already paying a premium price, so I decided against it. Now if I was going to be there for multiple days, I would still want a park hopper ticket. We walked 28,055 steps which equaled 12.66 miles.