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Old 05-04-2016, 01:23 PM   #1
Goofy'sGal
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Help for a DL newbie please! :)

Hello all - although we are WDW veterans, I am a total newbie when it comes to DL. Planning this trip late b/c we got great airfare. We are traveling from NJ and are arriving on Sat June 18 about 11am at LAX and heading home on Tues June 21 at 4:20pm. That gives me two half days and two full days. We're staying at Paradise Pier and we do NOT have Park Hoppers.

I have read that DL's EMH days are shared with anyone holding a 3+ day park pass on Tues/Thurs/Sat - is it better to avoid those days? I also read that while weekends are the worse times to visit DL, Sunday is better than Sat, so that seems to fit with avoiding the early mornings schedule. Also DCA's EMH days are Sun/Mon/Wed/Fri.

Trying to figure out where to go when we arrive on Sat afternoon as well as other days. I'd like to make a few ADRs, especially for preferred viewing for evening parade and World of Color - even though I keep reading it's not as necessary as with WDW but I'm worried all the same

Does this sound like a good plan?

Sat afternoon (arrival day) - DCA
Sun day/night- DL (including Paint the Night/DL Forever)
Mon day/night - EMH DCA (including World of Color)
Tues - DL (even though it is an early morning, hopefully not as bad as on a Sat)

Thanks so much for your help!
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My Previous Trips1972, 1985, 1991 - offsite;May 2003 - DD's 5th Bdy/1st Family Trip - VWL; July 2003 - Brand New DVC Members - BCV; Nov 2004 - DD's 4th Bdy/1st Trip Home - BCV; May 2005 - A Little Family Magic - VWL; March 2006 - Spring Fling - VWL; Nov 2006 - DD's 6th Bdy/1st MVMCP - VWL; April 2007 - My bdy/Easter/DN's 1st WDW trip - BCV; March 2008 Easter - SSR; Jan 2009 - VWL; April 2009 Easter - AKV; April 2010 Easter - AKV/BCV; April 2011 Easter - Treehouse Villas; April 2012 Easter - Kidani; March Easter 2013 - VWL/BCV; April 2014 Easter - Treehouse Villas; April 2015 Easter - Kidani Village; March 2016 Easter WVL/BCV; June 2016 1st trip DL/DCA -Paradise Pier; April 2017 Easter SSR/THV; March 2018 Easter with the Whole Family AKLV; Sept 2018 DDs DCP Move-In SSR
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Old 05-05-2016, 10:42 AM   #2
KimmyAnn1147
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That sounds fine, but I strongly recommend upgrading to the hopper. The resorts are a stone's throw from eachother, and if you get swamped at DL, it's so great to be able to hop over to DCA.

You are going to have a fabulous time! Are you planning any ADRs?

Keep posting questions and such over here, the Passporter DL threads are few and far between, and I just love talking about my "home park"!
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Old 05-05-2016, 12:07 PM   #3
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We ventured to the West Coast last summer after numerous trips to WDW. We took advantage of dining/reserved viewing for both World of Color (Carthay Circle) and Fantasmic(Blue Bayou) and enjoyed them both. Glad we did them.
Remember that Disneyland/California Adventure are both on paper Fastpass and we found that not many people use the system. We also found more "single rider" lines at Disneyland/California Adventure than at WDW.
We did not have Park Hopper, but we had 7 days in the park.
Extra Morning Hours for California Adventure are ONLY for Resort guests, but Magic Mornings/Extra Morning Hours for Disneyland are open to those with tickets and staying at Good Neighbor Hotels as well as on site guests.
We stayed at both Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier and found that we enjoyed Paradise Pier more. It was a breeze getting in and out of California Adventure using the "back door" entrance just across the street from Paradise Pier. And, we enjoyed watching the Disneyland fireworks from the pool deck and we could see World of Color from the upper floors.
Enjoy your trip!
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Old 05-07-2016, 12:20 AM   #4
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Thanks to you both!
I would love to have park hoppers but I don't think we can swing them. We usually hop all the time in WDW and it would seem so much easier out there - I hope I won't miss them too much

As for ADRs, I think I would like to do a reserved viewing package for both Paint the Night and World of Color. I was super surprised to see that there are lots of time still available (I still can't believe that the park schedule is not up yet for my dates!). I guess we can get FP for World of Color but I figure we have to eat and I'd rather have an ADR for dinner so any recommendations?

I'm also second guessing the arrival day plan. My family has been going through a list of all the attractions at both parks and it seems like we have a lot more that we want to see at DL vs. DCA. I have 2 teens - am I wrong in thinking that a Bug's Land is definitely for younger kids? Anyway, which park would work better for us when we arrive sometime early Sat afternoon (arriving at LAX at 11am)? I'm afraid that DL would be crazy in the afternoon but what we would be able to do in DCA at that time of day without FPs or long waits? I appreciate any advice you might have. Thanks for any advice you might have for me
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My Previous Trips1972, 1985, 1991 - offsite;May 2003 - DD's 5th Bdy/1st Family Trip - VWL; July 2003 - Brand New DVC Members - BCV; Nov 2004 - DD's 4th Bdy/1st Trip Home - BCV; May 2005 - A Little Family Magic - VWL; March 2006 - Spring Fling - VWL; Nov 2006 - DD's 6th Bdy/1st MVMCP - VWL; April 2007 - My bdy/Easter/DN's 1st WDW trip - BCV; March 2008 Easter - SSR; Jan 2009 - VWL; April 2009 Easter - AKV; April 2010 Easter - AKV/BCV; April 2011 Easter - Treehouse Villas; April 2012 Easter - Kidani; March Easter 2013 - VWL/BCV; April 2014 Easter - Treehouse Villas; April 2015 Easter - Kidani Village; March 2016 Easter WVL/BCV; June 2016 1st trip DL/DCA -Paradise Pier; April 2017 Easter SSR/THV; March 2018 Easter with the Whole Family AKLV; Sept 2018 DDs DCP Move-In SSR
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Old 08-22-2016, 11:01 AM   #5
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Hopping is soooo easy out there! You only have to go through Bag Check one time (when entering initially). You can walk back and forth as often as you like. You can also get fast passes for both parks at the same time (I have gotten to the point where I'd rather walk next door than wait in a line more than 20 min!)

Don't forget to download the app for Disneyland. Not only are the hours posted but they post the actual wait times for the rides. I tell all my clients (I'm a travel agent) to do this. Why waste time walking across the park only to find your desired ride has a massive wait time? Makes planning your day so much easier.
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