Disneyland California planning

[heighho]

Hi Dibbers!
The DW and I are looking to have a 10 day trip to Anaheim, California and want to include trips to Disneyland, Disney California Adventure and Universal Studios.

We know these parks won’t be as big as when we went to Florida but are interested to know opinions from anyone who has been. In particular, how flexible the park tickets are (do you have to go on consecutive days) and how many days do you need for each park?

Also, any extra bits of information such as other things to see and do.

Thanks everyone.

[smedley]

We just did a single day at universal (late September) and were able to happily do everything in the one day.

We had 5 days at disney which is more than some suggest but meant we had more time to stop and smell the roses so to speak, our hoppers for Disney had to be used within 13 days so pretty flexible

Edited to add I would consider staying at Burbank for your universal part of the trip and maybe consider a trip to warner bros studios tour as well, then stay at Anaheim for Disney, it took a good while to drive across LA

[pompeyboy]

Multi day Disney tickets have to be used within 14 days of first use so pretty flexible. The parks might cover a smaller area than MK in Florida but I believe Disneyland has as many rides, we had a 2 day ticket but felt 3 would have been more relaxed. We stayed 6 nights in Anaheim done 2 days at Disney, a day at Knotts Berry Farm, another in Hollywood doing the walk of fame and a bus tour of the "stars homes" well who knows if they live there but it was quite entertaining!

We had another day at Santa Monica and Venice beaches a day shopping and that was it for us. Would have liked to have done 6 flags but it was only open at weekends in Nov so couldn't fit it in.

Some will say 10 nights in Anaheim is too long and I'm sure they will offer alternatives. Anaheim is around 35 miles from LA and it can take 45 mins or a couple of hours depending on the notoriously bad traffic around LA.

[shack69]

1 day will be enough at universal. you may want to look at the go las card as this may work out good value for you.
Disney 3 days should do you.
You may want to consider the warner bros tour as well it is a true backlot tour.
if you are doing disney and universal i would suggest a split stay eg stay near universal when you arrive for 2 nights and then stay anaheim area for disney.

[red cuillen]

Defo 1 day for Uni, and that includes the backlot tour, (best done first thing). Warner bro is good for half a day, it has another good tour of movie/TV backlots. 2-5 days in disney depending on how much you love disney! The disney travel co often run special offers for 3 or more night packages, (hotel plus tickets), think they're currently doing a one night free offer, we had an 5 day ticket for the price of 4 earlier this year.
So much else to do in and around LA depending on what rocks your boat - beaches, Griffith Park, Hollywood etc, check out trip reports! You'll find a theme developing on spliting your stay between north and south, you can get to Uni from Anaheim but it is much much easier if you can split stay. Enjoy the planning!

[arielrocks]

1 day for universal is enough, I’d say 3 days min for Disney. We always stay for 5 nights at Disney as although only 2 parks there is a LOT to see and do. The parks are charming and in some ways I prefer them to Florida.

Rent dvc points and stay in the grand Californian for a truly unforgettable stay. We adore it there.

[heighho]

Thanks everyone. Great advice as always

[400ixl]

Disney can be comfortably be done in 3 days, anything more and you are doing a lot of repetition or trying to find obscure things. Universal is a day to do everything there.

Universal, Warner Bros, Hollywood etc are all 90-120 minutes drive from Disney at Anaheim, so better to do a split stay. There really isn't anything within 30 minutes of Disney worth doing.

[armo102]

Im following this thread as I would like to know if you think we will be disappointed with the Disney & Universal California compared to their Orlando counterparts? We've done the Orlando parks x4 times already and as the kids become teenagers what to try something a little different. Is there plenty to do at the California parks to keep teenagers entertained? Do they also have similar waterparks attached to the main theme parks? Thanks

[400ixl]

California is pretty much the same layout as Euro Disney if you have been there. Two parks adjacent to each other.

There are no waterparks as part of Disney in California.

The layout and number of parks is entirely different to Florida. Personally I much prefer the original layout to the sprawling mass of Florida. Waterparks are probably the only missing part.

There is Six Flags Magic Mountain north of LA which has high speed thrill rides and a waterpark next door if you do want that.

There is also Knotts Berry theme park 20 minutes from Disney, but our DD found that to be pretty boring and her description was its for those up to teenagers. So really depends on what your will enjoy as they seem to be on the cusp of that age.