Update in OP- 1 day at Disneyland- 1 park or park hopper?

[SnuggleBuggles]

There was no way I could pull the trigger on the park hopper. Seeing $500 on the computer screen for 1 day at the park was just more than I could do. Yes, I knew how much they cost but hadn't really added them. ;) It was painful enough to do $360. Maybe if we had gone on a day that was open till midnight it'd have made more sense but it closed at 8. We were able to stay busy for the whole day at the park.

Oh, and we did Disneyland vs Carsland. Ds2 is just not a rider and we thought there'd be more for him at DL. So, I may never get out there to see Carsland and it's a bit of a bummer but ok. I thought it'd be nice to do the classics too.

We almost went the morning after to Carsland. Ds1 was sick in the hotel room with dh, ds2 and I went to Downtown Disney. I was so tempted to go to the park! Dh ok'ed it but it didn't feel right. Plus, Friday was a lot more crowded than Thursday had been and we were 2 hours past opening time. It just would have been crowded and overpriced.

The park on Valentine's Day was great though. Longest line was 30 minutes...and that was for Peter Pan (at risk of being flamed...not sure why that one was a must do :)).

Thanks for all the advice! The park hopper would have rocked but I just couldn't wrap my head around the extra $150.
************************************************

Last time we went to Disneyland, we had a park hopper for our 1 day there. We won the park hoppers and had originally planned just DL. I can't decide this time. It'd add about $160 to add the park hopper. I love Soarin' and it would be neat to see Cars' Land but dh remembers liking DL much better. I know the Radiator Springs' ride is supposed to be awesome but also that the fast passes run out fast. We should be at the park 1st thing but we aren't staying on property and don't know the magic hour schedule. What would you pick? Both boys like to ride stuff. Neither are really into Disney (characters...).

[lalasmama]

I'd do a park hopper. Carsland is supposed to be fantastic, yet, I wouldn't want to miss the original park!

[citymama]

We were there last month and I thought park hopper would be insane to attempt, not to mention pricey, so we didn't do it. I kinda wish we had now, because my kids love Cars and Carsland would have knocked their socks off. That said, we spent 10 hours in DL and everyone practically collapsed in the car (except DH, the driver, thankfully), so we would have had to cut out some DL time to do both. I guess next time I would do a 2-day park hopper. I'm not helping, am I? ;)

Let me try this again: since your kids are older, and if you really only have one day, the park hopper may be worth it!

[bisous]

There is plenty to do in just DL. You could have an amazing day no problem. I only wonder if you'll regret missing Carsland. It is pretty fun and you're right there!

[SnuggleBuggles]

There is plenty to do in just DL. You could have an amazing day no problem. I only wonder if you'll regret missing Carsland. It is pretty fun and you're right there!

That is my conundrum in a nutshell. :)

[Tondi G]

Buy the park hopper if you haven't seen Carsland yet. Go straight in to DCA and get a pass for radiator springs racers or get right into the line ... you might get lucky and only have to wait for an hour or less. then hit luigi's flying tires ... ride Soarin and decide if there are any other rides you want to do at DCA ... then split to Disneyland and enjoy the rest of the day.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Buy the park hopper if you haven't seen Carsland yet. Go straight in to DCA and get a pass for radiator springs racers or get right into the line ... you might get lucky and only have to wait for an hour or less. then hit luigi's flying tires ... ride Soarin and decide if there are any other rides you want to do at DCA ... then split to Disneyland and enjoy the rest of the day.

I think I gotta do it. :) 2 questions- is World of Color something that I will really regret missing? It seems like a hassle. 2. anything else we should hit at DCA?

[bisous]

Have you done Midway Mania (Toy Story Ride)? It is pretty fun. We love it. :) Otherwise, I think Tondi's plan is pretty great!

[citymama]

I think I gotta do it. :) 2 questions- is World of Color something that I will really regret missing? It seems like a hassle. 2. anything else we should hit at DCA?

I agree - you should!

[kaitlyns.mom]

Last time we went we did 1-day park hoppers, with two kids (4 and 1 at the time). We were super tired by the end of the day but it was well worth it - and Carsland wasn't even open yet! World of Color was neat, but not something I will be sad about missing if we don't go next time. I like the fireworks more, actually.

That said, because our kids are younger we skipped a lot of the big popular rides at DL so that would have eaten up some time.

[SnuggleBuggles]

But, wait, if we do Carsland and other highlights at DCA, are we going to miss out on getting on bigger rides over at DIsneyland? Will fast passes be gone to Space Mountain...? I'd assume we wouldn't get into DL till 11, which seems late. I plan to get to the parks opening ASAP (what time would that be? we are staying at the Candy Cane and will walk over when needed) but I don't know how long it will take to hit DCA highlights.

[AnnieW625]

One advantage to having park hoppers is that you can send your DH to get Space Mountain fast passes while you wait in line for a Cars Land ride or Toy Story Mania or you just scope put the place. I probably would not recommend Space Mountain for your youngest, and if that is the case they supposedly have a wait line for parents who have to stat with younger children, and then the other parent goes when they get back. Sometimes we have gotten Space Mountain passes for 2 hrs. later at 10 am and other times it has been return at 10 pm, it really just depends.

In all honesty though I really think if you want to see both parks you need one day at each park, and if you can swing it get the second day park hopper and do CA Adventure that day and if you end up getting bored or not wanting to spend all day there you have the option to go back to DL. I have not been to Cars Land yet, but honestly I really found CA Adventure pretty underwhelming so unless we were just going for a half day we would always go to regular DL.

[Tondi G]

well it depends ... you might still be able to get fast passes to Space Mountain but it could be for later in the evening. If you haven't ridden Star Tours since they reopened it, I would get on that one too!

I agree with the other poster who suggest Toy Story Midway Mania .... if you haven't been on it, I would suggest trying to ride it. They don't have fast passes for this ride though so you would have to stand in line... 45 mins.+ is pretty common. They have Calif. Screamin (roller coaster) right there as well as the carousel and the ferris wheel. You can have one adult stand in the line and the other take the kids on those other rides and then meet back up when they get closer to the front of the line, to ride it

Hmmm World of Color is cool .... but personally, I like Fantasmic more.

[SnuggleBuggles]

One advantage to having park hoppers is that you can send your DH to get Space Mountain fast passes while you wait in line for a Cars Land ride or Toy Story Mania or you just scope put the place. I probably would not recommend Space Mountain for your youngest, and if that is the case they supposedly have a wait line for parents who have to stat with younger children, and then the other parent goes when they get back. Sometimes we have gotten Space Mountain passes for 2 hrs. later at 10 am and other times it has been return at 10 pm, it really just depends.

In all honesty though I really think if you want to see both parks you need one day at each park, and if you can swing it get the second day park hopper and do CA Adventure that day and if you end up getting bored or not wanting to spend all day there you have the option to go back to DL. I have not been to Cars Land yet, but honestly I really found CA Adventure pretty underwhelming so unless we were just going for a half day we would always go to regular DL.

That is not an option even close to the table. :) I'm already having trouble justifying the increase of a 1 park ticket vs hopper. I did look at the prices for 2 days but our 2nd day is abbreviated as we are due in San Diego by 6pm. So, it would be a huge expense and it would be too wasted. If money and time were infinite, I'd do it. :)

[SnuggleBuggles]

well it depends ... you might still be able to get fast passes to Space Mountain but it could be for later in the evening. If you haven't ridden Star Tours since they reopened it, I would get on that one too!

I agree with the other poster who suggest Toy Story Midway Mania .... if you haven't been on it, I would suggest trying to ride it. They don't have fast passes for this ride though so you would have to stand in line... 45 mins.+ is pretty common. They have Calif. Screamin (roller coaster) right there as well as the carousel and the ferris wheel. You can have one adult stand in the line and the other take the kids on those other rides and then meet back up when they get closer to the front of the line, to ride it

Hmmm World of Color is cool .... but personally, I like Fantasmic more.

eek! lots of choices and strategies! I get antsy about this stuff. :)

[bisous]

These decisions are so personal. For us, our finances are so tight that $160 would be really hard to justify for one (part) of one day. Carsland is cool, but it will be there forever, right? Maybe you can make the trek in a few years. It might even be less crowded! You sound stressed by the logistics and although I enjoy going between the two parks, I also have passes so it isn't a big deal if I "miss" something. Otherwise I'd have a whole different attitude.

To your other questions, I wonder when are you going? My experience (mostly pre-Carsland) says that getting into DL around 11 will still allow you to get FP for Space Mountain and maybe even Star Tours (so fun!!). On a truly busy day, maybe not. However, I can tell you WILL NOT be able to get a FP for the new RSR (Radiator Springs Racers) unless you get to DCA RIGHT at opening!

I have seen World of Color. It was cool, but not worth the hassle and wait to me.

An alternate strategy for you is to do DL first. Get your fastpasses, ride your Fantasyland rides. Getting in early is a great way to do a lot and quickly. Then you could head over to DCA for the afternoon/evening. The advantage is that you get to do all your faves in DL and then can explore DCA without worrying about not getting onto the rides you love. Carsland is really cool at night and most of the rides in DCA will still be available to ride. The BIG downside is that you can expect to wait about 2 hours for Radiator Springs Racers which really is the big draw...

I realize that the above strategy is completely counter to the general advice I've heard given out, but it is exactly what we ended up doing last time and it worked out okay. The kids were exhausted after waiting in that long line but as it was the last ride of the evening they slept great that night!

[SnuggleBuggles]

We will be there on Valentine's Day (again, its the one and only day that we can work it in). It's a Thursday. No desire for Fantasyland rides so we are good there. :). Decisions, decisions! Thanks!!

[sariana]

I would not do the Park Hopper. There is plenty to do in DL alone, crowded or not. Carsland will be around for a good long while, I'm sure. We went in December, and I did not regret at all that we did not get to see Carsland. We will see it another time. (We are local, but we hardly ever go to DL. The Tix for this last time were gifts--from Christmas 2011. That's how long it took us to find time to go. So it's not as if we are likely to see Carsland any time soon. But I still do no regret not going to CA.)

[Seitvonzu]

personally? i think magic kingdom is more than a full day. i'm not sure how crowded valentine's day is, but it really sounds like wait times at DL are so much more than at WDW nowadays. (my parents lived in orange county when i was in college and i NEVER remember the wait times people are talking about on here.... ). we actually went to DL on valentine's day when i was a kid (that's the only time i went as a child to disney) and it was WONDERFUL :) no crowds! (but that was like 25 years ago ;))

i wouldn't do the hoppers. the money difference is pretty big -- i'd blow that on delicious churros and extra souvenirs! or save it for my next trip- for a 2 day stay to see DCA :)

[SnuggleBuggles]

We just got back from our trip and I updated OP about our decision.

[elektra]

Carsland is really cool, but I have been a few times since it opened and the line for the main racing ride has never been shorter than 2 hours. So unless you were willing to wait it might have been a good move. Hope you had fun!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Carsland is really cool, but I have been a few times since it opened and the line for the main racing ride has never been shorter than 2 hours. So unless you were willing to wait it might have been a good move. Hope you had fun!

That's what I figured. If ds2 were a bit older, we could have single ridered stuff but it'd have been hard just the 2 of us.

We had a great time! Except poor ds1 who only made it through the power of Motrin and being an awesome trooper (no fun to wake up sick the morning of Disneyland!).

[sariana]

I think you absolutely made the right decision. DL alone has plenty to fill a whole day! Sorry about the sickness, but glad to hear you still had a good time.

[BayGirl2]

I'm glad you had fun.

My advice would have been similar to what Bisous said above, I would do DL in the morning then go to DCA in the evening. I think Carsland is totally worth it even if you skip RSR (that ride was cool, but just walking around was amazing to me). I totally think WOC is worth it too, and you could potentially still get a FP later in the day. To me the cost of a park hopper is cheaper than a return trip, and I like to get the most out of my time. But I totally understand the financial challenge and why you made that decision. Sounds like it worked out for your family.

[SnuggleBuggles]

WOC was not running that day. :) The parks closing at 8 was really a big factor too. If Disney had been the priority of the trip, we'd have done it differently. It was just a quick side trip on our already pricey vacation though. :)