Eight-to-ten days too long?

[Jedi Mouse]

I think it would be great and allow you to do everything you want at a nice relaxed pace with plenty of down time.

 

[GatorChris]

I really like option 2. Discalimer: even though I've been doing Disneyland the past 4 years, WDW is still my fave. And if you're going to spend 8-10 days anywhere, I'd go where they have 4 parks, 2 waterparks, tons of dining options, and that true sense of escape when you stay at one of their Disney hotels. You won't get that feeling at DL - especially at a hotel across the street. Plus, you get 3 days of a cruise AND 2 days at Disneyland. The major things at DL that you won't hit at WDW will be at California Adventure (Cars Land, World of Color, Guardians Tower ride). Sure, DL has Matterhorn, but after you hit Expedition Everest, you won't need to hit it's older, slower cousin.

If you do go with option 1, I would at least try to spend a few nights at the Great Wolf Lodge (hotel with indoor waterslide park), or try to get over to Universal or down to Legoland. We have Annual Passes, and the last three mega-trips we've done have been 7 days at DL, and then we go somewhere else. And honestly, by the end of Day 6, I'm getting burnt because we're doing the same thing over and over. And because it's so small and crowded (compared to WDW), it's hard to slow down and take in the ambiance when it's just a giant herd of people moving in two directions.

Sure it'll be blazing hot in August in WDW, but it won't be cool at DL. If you're lucky, you'll get a high in the 80s, but it'll probably be in the 90s the whole time you're there. Have fun choosing! I'd love to have the option of either of these super-long trips.

 

[DLgal]

If you want water parks, there are several in southern California. There is also the Great Wolf Lodge just down the street from Disneyland. Why not do 2-3 nights there and then 5-7 at Disneyland? The GWL is a really fun family getaway (if you are not familiar, it's a resort hotel with a HUGE indoor water park. We love It!

I also agree with doing Universal Studios Hollywood and/or Legoland.

8-10 days at JUST Disneyland is way too long, especially at an offsite hotel. On-site I could see it because of the pools you could spend a lot of time in in August.

 

[DisTXMom]

THis may have been mentioned, but I believe the maximum Day park ticket is 5 days. If you go longer, you should look into annual passes (see blackout dates), since your tickets would not cover your whole trip.

We've done 2 DLR trips- 4 days each. We found this perfect. We took breaks at our hotel each night and rode all of our favorite attractions multiple times.

One thing that makes DLR require a shorter stay is that it has significantly less in terms of nighttime entertainment. I believe Fantasmic is still down, which leaves you with DL fireworks (see schedule, they are not every night off season), MSEP, and WoC in California Adventure. WDW has nighttime entertainment in 4 parks. We would not do a trip under 5 days in WDW, but in DLR, 5 would be our max. Good luck!

 

[Frozen2014]

THis may have been mentioned, but I believe the maximum Day park ticket is 5 days. If you go longer, you should look into annual passes (see blackout dates), since your tickets would not cover your whole trip.

We've done 2 DLR trips- 4 days each. We found this perfect. We took breaks at our hotel each night and rode all of our favorite attractions multiple times.

One thing that makes DLR require a shorter stay is that it has significantly less in terms of nighttime entertainment. I believe Fantasmic is still down, which leaves you with DL fireworks (see schedule, they are not every night off season), MSEP, and WoC in California Adventure. WDW has nighttime entertainment in 4 parks. We would not do a trip under 5 days in WDW, but in DLR, 5 would be our max. Good luck!

I guess the net result is the same but if OP is visiting in August then won't MSEP be gone and Fantasmic back?

 

[SMD]

I guess the net result is the same but if OP is visiting in August then won't MSEP be gone and Fantasmic back?

MSEP gone, yes. Fantasmic back, maybe.

 

[goooof1]

NOT too long! That gives you plenty of time to relax and enjoy the parks, not rushing from ride to ride. Also you'll have time to relax by a pool and not feel that you are missing out on anything when the parks get crowded! Instead of Legoland, get down to San Diego area and go to the zoo and/or Wild Animal Park (inland from San Diego). There's a reason tourists from "Down Under" are offered the 10 day tickets!! ENJOY!!

 

[tasha99]

I prefer DL to WDW, but I think 8-10 days without a car there is too long. We do trips that long at WDW with no problem, but it's more spread out and we often split between two resorts. I consider DL to be a 3-5 day trip, though we often add some days (and a car) elsewhere in Orange County.

 

[Belle83]

8-10 days at DL is too long imo. For our honeymoon we did a 4 night Disney Cruise followed by I think 8 nights at WDW and I know that the WDW part even began to feel a little long. I can't imagine 8-10 park days at DL. I mean I love Disney obviously but..

I like the 2nd option much more, though I would do 3 nights at DL and 8 in WDW.

If you stick with option 1, at least try to spend a day at Universal Studios Hollywood and maybe even some other theme parks in the area or the beaches or something..

If you do option 2, please do a trip report so I can live vicariously through you.

 

[BarbieGal457]

For me, it would be too long however I am traveling from within the US and I see you are coming from Australia. If I was making such a long journey, I would then agree with spending a longer time in DL/surrounding areas. You mentioned 6 days in LA and 8-10 in DL, what about maybe 7 and 7? Or 8 and 6? I'm not sure how much time you've spent in LA and the surrounding areas before, but I think an extra day or two in LA/SoCal might be nice, but you'll still get plenty of time at DL as well, and you (or I at least) wouldn't feel pressured to run ragged to see all you want. I am going in May-June for 9 days, 5 in LA proper, 4 in DL and I am hoping that will be a good enough period to spend in each.

I vote for the longer trip! Just coming from Australia I feel like it makes a lot more sense to stay longer if it's an option. Also, please take me back to Australia with you! I've been wanting to go for so long!

Also...WDW in August is ungodly hot, so even though you could go at a more leisurely pace over 9 days, I would prepare thyself for almost surely intense heat. I love WDW and am a 2 hour flight away and try to avoid July/August/early Sept at all costs!

 

[barbaraann]

For me it is not too long. On a longer trip like that, I can sleep in some mornings, and not have to arrive always at park opening to feel that I will get my money's worth. I once did a 10 day trip, and I loved it. Wish I could afford the hotel bill for that long a trip. I don't mind the annual pass cost, but it's the room portion that jacks up the price for me traveling from Chicago.

 

[Kkb0517]

There is a new great wolf lodge near Disneyland with a water park and if your kids are younger Legoland and it's water park are a little further south might be of interest if you like water parks

 

[brocklesnar69]

We are having a debate in our household regarding our upcoming trip in August. We have two options.

1: spend 6 days in the LA area followed by 8-10 days at Disneyland staying offsite. We won't have a car. We are DL vets having spent 5 nights onsite each year for the last 5 years.

2: spend 9 nights at WDW followed by a 3 night Disney cruise and 2 days at Disneyland on the way back home to Australia. We have been to WDW three times previously.

I prefer Disneyland to WDW and in August Florida is like the surface of the sun. However, at WDW we get to stay onsite and have many more dining options and water parks we enjoy. Dining is a big deal to us. Then again the idea of only 2 days at Disneyland sounds devastatingly short.

My question is whether 8-10 days at Disneyland is going to be too long?

I did an 8 day trip to Disneyland (specifically 8 total in-park days) and by the end of it I still wasn't ready to leave. You should be fine with 8-10 days.

 

[Monstropolis]

We've not long returned home from 10 park days (12 night at DLH) trip from Australia. We found 10 days perfect! We went hard in the mornings, then took it easy every afternoon and evening.

 

[Malcon10t]

We regularly spend 2 weeks at Disneyland at Christmas. It gives us the ability to take it at a slower pace. You say you spend 5 days at Disneyland regularly. DO you ever say "Wish we had another day or two" at the end of the trip? Or are you saying "Wow, that was so long..." That will give you your answer.

 

[Royal Consort]

OP here. Firstly, can I say a giant THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to this thread. Your suggestions and advice has been extremely helpful. I've been reading the comments during the week and we've had a discussion each evening about our various options.

If your trip crosses over into September, I believe that's when the Disney cruise ships come back from Alaska and start 2-3 day cruises to Mexico out of San Diego.

Unfortunately we are going in August, and actually, doing one of the Alaska cruises first (the real purpose of the trip and the only thing we had locked in). We did look at other cruises around the West Coast but I think we're a bit early for them.

We alternate DLR and WDW each year from NZ. We do 10 days at DLR when we come plus another week either in LA and/or San Diego.

But we don't spend 10 days all in a row, and not full days. One sometimes two we don't enter until dinner time and just go in for a few hours.
Would you be staying somewhere with a good pool so you can hang out relaxing a bit for some of those 10 days?

I personally out of your two options would do WDW with a stopover for DLR, we have done this in the past, when we got to DLR we just focused on DLR only rides/fireworks etc

The hardest part for me is staying offsite. At the moment it's the same cost to stay at the Hyatt as it is at Port Orleans with Free dining in WDW. The pool at the Hyatt doesn't seem great to me. If I was staying at the Disneyland Hotel for the 8-10 days then I'd not even think twice about the Disneyland option. In Anaheim we'd focus mostly on Disneyland each and every day and the concern would be boredom if we didn't utilize our hotel.

I would go with number 2. LA stinks with a car and without a car, LA is simply impossible. Its crowded and no where to park. 9 days at WDW sounds fantastic. Go to the awesome water parks they have every day to deal with the jungle like heat.

This has been a big concern regarding transport. It leads us to feeling more confined if we don't have a car (I refuse to drive in L.A.) and at the mercy of tours.

Option 2! You said WDW, then Disney cruise, then DL, right? I'm a SoCal resident, and that sounds divine, especially if you get to go to Castaway Cay on that itinerary.

As a local and an AP, 8 days sounds like a lot of time at DL given the crowds lately, but you can easily fill 6 days in LA or OC.

Indeed, WDW followed by a 3 night Bahamian Cruise with a stop at Castaway Cay, and then 2 days in Disneyland before heading home.
Thank you for all your wonderful suggestions regarding the various sights. We've looked at many of these and really feel that we'd have to hire a car for the flexibility yet after one really bad US driving experience (the cliche family argument driving in a new place), I'd prefer not to have the driving stress!! haha.

I really like option 2.... And honestly, by the end of Day 6, I'm getting burnt because we're doing the same thing over and over. And because it's so small and crowded (compared to WDW), it's hard to slow down and take in the ambiance when it's just a giant herd of people moving in two directions.

Sure it'll be blazing hot in August in WDW, but it won't be cool at DL. If you're lucky, you'll get a high in the 80s, but it'll probably be in the 90s the whole time you're there. Have fun choosing! I'd love to have the option of either of these super-long trips.

This is a fantastic point as we will be travelling in early August so it will bot hot and crowded in Disneyland as well.

THis may have been mentioned, but I believe the maximum Day park ticket is 5 days. If you go longer, you should look into annual passes (see blackout dates), since your tickets would not cover your whole trip.

We're a bit lucky in Australia as we are sold 10 day tickets

I vote for the longer trip! Just coming from Australia I feel like it makes a lot more sense to stay longer if it's an option. Also, please take me back to Australia with you! I've been wanting to go for so long!

Also...WDW in August is ungodly hot, so even though you could go at a more leisurely pace over 9 days, I would prepare thyself for almost surely intense heat. I love WDW and am a 2 hour flight away and try to avoid July/August/early Sept at all costs!

Ha ha. Australia is a great trip for people from the U.S. The furthest you can get from the USA with a completely different landscape but a culture that's not too dissimilar.

We've been to WDW before in September and it was the surface of the sun - one of the biggest complications when considering it as an option. I coped OK with the humidity and heat since we get really hot weather in Australia during our summer but my partner didn't cope with the humidity (we have a dry heat where we live).

We regularly spend 2 weeks at Disneyland at Christmas. It gives us the ability to take it at a slower pace. You say you spend 5 days at Disneyland regularly. DO you ever say "Wish we had another day or two" at the end of the trip? Or are you saying "Wow, that was so long..." That will give you your answer.

We always say ''I wish we had another day'' each and every time. It's awful leaving! We've just got back from a week at Shanghai Disneyland (which I thought was going to be too long for one newly built park) but we were never once bored and utilized the hotel facilities a great deal.


We have reached a decision regarding our options. This week we developed a budget spreadsheet and by doing so discovered that 9 nights at WDW with our free dining promotion (upgraded to deluxe dining) and a 3 night cruise on the Dream will cost the same amount as six nights in SoCal and 9 nights at Disneyland staying offsite. Therefore we have decided to return to Disney World, the cruise, and spend only 2 days at Disneyland before we fly home. I think this gives us the most bang for our buck. Whilst I'd prefer to spend more time at Disneyland, I think I'd like to do the cruise as I haven't sailed on the Dream before and I love Castaway Cay.

Again, I appreciate all your comments as you've given us things to consider that we wouldn't have thought about otherwise.

 

[barbaraann]

I appreciate you decision. Probably for the best. If you enjoy Disneyland this time around, you may choose to return again after all the Star Wars construction is finished.

 

[Butterfly123]

OP here. Firstly, can I say a giant THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to this thread. Your suggestions and advice has been extremely helpful. I've been reading the comments during the week and we've had a discussion each evening about our various options.



Unfortunately we are going in August, and actually, doing one of the Alaska cruises first (the real purpose of the trip and the only thing we had locked in). We did look at other cruises around the West Coast but I think we're a bit early for them.



The hardest part for me is staying offsite. At the moment it's the same cost to stay at the Hyatt as it is at Port Orleans with Free dining in WDW. The pool at the Hyatt doesn't seem great to me. If I was staying at the Disneyland Hotel for the 8-10 days then I'd not even think twice about the Disneyland option. In Anaheim we'd focus mostly on Disneyland each and every day and the concern would be boredom if we didn't utilize our hotel.



This has been a big concern regarding transport. It leads us to feeling more confined if we don't have a car (I refuse to drive in L.A.) and at the mercy of tours.



Indeed, WDW followed by a 3 night Bahamian Cruise with a stop at Castaway Cay, and then 2 days in Disneyland before heading home.
Thank you for all your wonderful suggestions regarding the various sights. We've looked at many of these and really feel that we'd have to hire a car for the flexibility yet after one really bad US driving experience (the cliche family argument driving in a new place), I'd prefer not to have the driving stress!! haha.



This is a fantastic point as we will be travelling in early August so it will bot hot and crowded in Disneyland as well.



We're a bit lucky in Australia as we are sold 10 day tickets



Ha ha. Australia is a great trip for people from the U.S. The furthest you can get from the USA with a completely different landscape but a culture that's not too dissimilar.

We've been to WDW before in September and it was the surface of the sun - one of the biggest complications when considering it as an option. I coped OK with the humidity and heat since we get really hot weather in Australia during our summer but my partner didn't cope with the humidity (we have a dry heat where we live).



We always say ''I wish we had another day'' each and every time. It's awful leaving! We've just got back from a week at Shanghai Disneyland (which I thought was going to be too long for one newly built park) but we were never once bored and utilized the hotel facilities a great deal.


We have reached a decision regarding our options. This week we developed a budget spreadsheet and by doing so discovered that 9 nights at WDW with our free dining promotion (upgraded to deluxe dining) and a 3 night cruise on the Dream will cost the same amount as six nights in SoCal and 9 nights at Disneyland staying offsite. Therefore we have decided to return to Disney World, the cruise, and spend only 2 days at Disneyland before we fly home. I think this gives us the most bang for our buck. Whilst I'd prefer to spend more time at Disneyland, I think I'd like to do the cruise as I haven't sailed on the Dream before and I love Castaway Cay.

Again, I appreciate all your comments as you've given us things to consider that we wouldn't have thought about otherwise.

It sounds like you have a great, well thought out plan. Have an amazing vacation!!