Disneyland for a Day, One park or park hopper?
 

Hi Everyone, I have a quick question.

My husband and I are gonna be next weekend in Newport and want to spend a day in Disneyland, I know there are 2 parks but I can't make my mind whether to go to just one park and which, or to buy the park hopper but I wonder if its to much for a day.

Thanks for your advise.

Next weekend the holiday weekend? One park will be fine, no need walking over to the 2nd park just to stand in more 90 minute lines.
Actually this weekend probably the same... graduation parties and such.

Thanks clarkgriswold, I meant next weekend 17-18, Which of the 2 parks do you recomend the most?

Frankly, a lot depends on what you want to see/do in BOTH parks. Are you willing to prioritize and use FastPass? Are you willing to get there when the park(s) open and stay until they close? How fast do you move about?

Yes, it will be crowded, perhaps and no I doubt you'll want to see and do everything but who knows? I'd go for the Park Hopper...when are you going to be back? Ever???

With just one day, a one-park for Disneyland is your best bet. Just not enough time to get any money's worth out of a park hopper.

My son, who is a Disney fanatic, was there last year and only had a single day. Since he's the type that wants to do every single thing, he opted to stick to Disneyland only. Even with a carefully planned day and moving fast, he ran out of time.

Another vote for just Disneyland. CA Adventure is just fine, but if you only have the one day, the "old" park is still magical and fun (I spent my 45th birthday there, and was surprisingly thrilled to do so!).

My niece is going to be in Anaheim at the end of the month for a conference (it's still shocking to me that I have a niece who's a lawyer-- and 32 years old!...), and we may end up among the teeming masses at the Rathole that week. Fun times...!!!

Enjoy your visit. You can do far worse than a vacation in Newport Beach...!! :)

Do prioritize and use the fast pass when possible. And I also vote for just Disneyland.

Also lots of sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat. Sorry, that's the mom in me. :)

Forgot to say, Thunder Mountain Railroad is open again and is a blast - it's my favorite!

I recommend Disneyland only for one day.
Get there when it opens and you will own the park for a few hours. After lunch it gets crowded, but you will have a pocket full of Fast Passes to use on the most popular rides.

I'm going to go against the crowd here, and argue for a park hopper IF you haven't been to Disneyland in the past year and IF you can give it a FULL day (ie, park opening to park closing). We were there in March, and IMO, the new Cars Land is worth every penny for admission. If you've been to Disney at all before, I would do this: get to CA for park opening, then head immediately to the lines for the Radiator Springs Racers fast pass queue (its well marked). One of you goes with the tickets for the FPs, then the other joins the crowds at the general Carsland entrance waiting for rope-drop. You should go and get in line for RSR, and let your husband get the FPs, then he can join you. This ride alone is so amazing, and you'll want to do it twice. Trust me. While you wait for your FP return time at CA, do some of the other mus-see rides there, like Toy Story Mania, or Soarin'. Around mid-day, head over to Dinsneyland and get FP for your must-see ride ASAP, and then go from there.

If you've never been to Disney before, I'd only do RSR once. I'd still go there first for fast passes, but then I'd wquickly head to Toy Story mania and then to Soarin. By this time, your FP should be ready. After those rides, I'd head for DL immediately and pick your must-see attractions. Since you are without kids, I'd skip the Fantasyland section and save that for when there is a parade going on. Adventureland and Tommorowland are where you'll likely spend the most time.

Disney was very tight with the FP return window - we saw people getting turned away if it was more than an hour past their end time. So be careful. Its not like it was a few years ago when you could bank your fast passes.

Also, we went to CA on a day when they didn't have early admission since we were staying with family in Orange County. We were there for rope drop at 9am, and by 9:45 am, the fast passes for Radiator Springs Racers were gone for the day. It is by far the most popular place in CA and DL right now, so even if you choose to not use some of my suggestions, just note that you can't expect to park hop to CA in the afternoon and be able to ride RSR. If you want to Park hop, you've simply got to do CA first this year, or else no Radiator Springs Racers.

The other two rides in Carsland are not that exciting - with no kids, I'd skip them when you are park hopping.

Another vote for Disneyland only, Carsland is still very crowded wait another year or two until the novelty wears off.
Try and get there when it opens which is usually 8am on weekends.

Thanks so much everyone, I thinks we are just gonna do one park even tough my husband and I are very active but with the sun and the crowd, you never know. As for which one to choose, I'm still torn... Because last year we went to Disneyworld, California Adventure sounds more likely with the CarsLand...but Disneyland was the first. I also heard that the night show is better in D.

I love Carsland, especially at night with all the neon lit up. If you do Single Rider on the Radiator Racers, first thing in the am you will not wait terribly long/ and stand a good chance of racing against each other. There are more single rider lines at DCA as well, which with just two people is an advantage.

The faster rides are mostly at DCA and the classic theming is at Disneyland. It used to be that DL was much more crowded but I am not sure if that is true. Still, I think there are fewer circulation pinch points at DCA.

The food is also better in DCA and they have alcohol.

We also enjoy the Aladdin musical and hanging out at the Animation Academy for a midday break.

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Definitely just one park. I vote for Disneyland.

However, since you went to Disneyland last year, I now swing my vote over to DCA. And mlgb is right: As we head into summer, the vacation crowds will probably be heavier in the "classic" park. You might as well get the "new" experience this time around.

If you went to Disneyworld last year, then skip it entirely. Lots of other things to do in SoCal.

Just Disneyland. Because it's classic!