tabewhite said:
We'll be California from the 12th through the 22nd of September visiting relatives. I think that we are scoring free passes through a friend, so we'll take advantage of that! Not sure what day we'll actually go. But my question is - what would YOU do if you only had one day at DL? We'll be staying in the Sherman Oaks area so I think that we have a bit of a drive each way. My children are 4.5 and 6.5, so I am little concerned about them only being able to handle but so much. My 4.5 daughter would love to see any princesses and they both would love any characters. Should I try to attend a character function (if, so which?) or do you just run into them in the park? Is there a section we should stick to and just enjoy the rides/attraction in one area? Should we plan to eat at a certain time (is the Priority Seating?) or can you just pick up something on the fly?
My kids are now 9, 10, 12 and 13 and we just went on a four day trip in August. My kid's first trip to DL was five years ago when the younger ones were similar in age to your two. Based on that experience, here are some ideas:
DL Rides:
1. Pirates of the Carribean (might scare younger ones - depends on the child)
2. Haunted Mansion (might scare younger ones - depends on the child)
3. Splash Mtn
4. Big Thunder Mtn RR (a fun roller coaster - depends on the child)
5. Matterhorn (a fun roller coaster - depends on the child)
6. Small World
7. Peter Pan (do this first thing in the morning - the line gets long)
8. Alice in Wonderland
9. Dumbo (do this first thing in the morning - the line gets long)
10. StoryBook Land Canal (we try to do this in the evening, before it gets dark)
11. Mr Toad's Wild Ride
12. Tiki Room (do this in the afternoon when it is hot outside)
13. Jungle Cruise
14. Buzz Lightyear AstroBlasters
15. Winnie the Pooh
DL Shows:
1. Fantasmic - this is an outstanding show performed in the evening, but you need to get there early (maybe an hour early) to see it. It may not be worth it for a one-day trip.
2. Parade of Dreams - DL usually has two parades per day. You can get a pretty good spot 30 minutes ahead of time in some parade locations. Again, it may not be worth it for a one-day trip. On the other hand, it may be a ncie way to relax for awhile in the afternoon (lately the parades have beenat 3:15PM and 7PM).
Food:
This depends on what type of person you are. We usually bring a lot of snacks and wing it on meals. I would not recommend a lengthy sit-down meal for a one-day trip. There are priority seating reservations for some places if you want to sit down, although it may be too late for Sept. Typically we try to avoid eating at peak times like right at noon. We will snack and eat lunch at 11AM or 2PM.
OK, if you are only going for one day and it is your first trip, you should probably just stick with
Disneyland itself. However, if you have an itch to also see Disney California Adventure (DCA), the entrance is 100-150 yards from the DL entrance and you can buy a parkhopper ticket to go back and forth.
DCA Rides:
1. Soarin Over California
2. Animation Studio (especially Turtle Talk with Crush)
3. Grizzly River Run (only if you feel you have time and want to get wet - otherwise skip it)
There are many other intesting things to do at DCA, and if you were going for two days I would list them. But if it is a one-day trip, the above is enough.
One huge tip: If you can find a way to get to the DL gate 30 minutes before the park opens and get in line, you will get so much more done. In the first hour or two the lines in the park are short and you can really do a lot of rides. One day on our August trip we went on 29 rides. We used FastPass alot. If you get there early and focus on rides in the morning, I would bet you can get on close to 20 rides. If you are driving in and parking, this will mean getting to DL even earlier than 30 minutes.
Have fun!
