Is one day enough?

[Chernabog1326]

My DW and I are going to Las Vegas for a convention in August. I was planning on playing hookey for a day and driving the 4 hours to DL. Our children are not coming on this trip, so we wont' be doing a lot of the Fantasyland rides. Although we will walk through the entire park. We are frequent WDW visitors, so we thought we might not get this close to DL again, so why not try it.
I guess my question is: Will one day be worth our while? We plan to leave Las Vegas at 4 a.m. to arrive at DL by 8 a.m. opening. And I checked the park hours, and they will be open until 12 a.m. . Am I crazy?

[KineGirl]

Ive never been to DL or been able to drag my DH away from Vegas long enough to do it even for a day. If I could I would though! I say go for it!!!!!

[BronxTigger]

Enough? No.
Worth it? Most likely.

I'm just wondering....would you drive the 4 hours back at midnight that night? I think you would need to spend one night in Anaheim to rest before driving back...I know I would.

[disneymom15]

I agree with bronxtigger. That would be a very long day.

[BluewaterBrad]

Go for it!!

[Aisling]

You could do Disneyland in one day if you plan to skip a lot of stuff. Get fastpasses, skip the shows and eat on the run and you'll have a fabulous time. I think you and your wife will be exhausted but glad you did it!

And I agree with the others - get a hotel room and be a safe driver back to Vegas. You'll be exhausted if you don't! The road between Vegas and Disneyland can be long and boring in spots, the type that invites drivers to fall asleep at the wheel. That would really put a damper on your fun day at Disneyland!

[NotaGeek]

With the cost of gas, car rental and the exhaustion factor I would investigate Southwest Airlines ... they often have $49 one way rates and the flight between Santa Ana and Las Vegas is less than one hour. If you find a cheap hotel by the airport and if you take the earliest flight you would be back in Vegas WAY before noon.

[tinkwest]

Even driving back the 90 minutes it takes me after a full day at Disneyland can be rough. If you want to give it a shot I would agree with the others and spend the night before trying to make the long drive back. Michael's idea of flying in to Santa Ana is a good one also.

[ChipnDaleGal]

One day is not enough time to see all that Disneyland and DCA have to offer, but one day would be way better than no days! I agree 100% with Michael. If you can get flights in and out of John Wayne Airport, I think it will be a more enjoyable time. Good luck! I hope it works out for you.

[MatterhornMiss]

DLR is pretty busy during the summer months, so if your plan is to ride everything in both DL and DCA, you won't be able to do it. It would still be fun to go (if you're picking one park--DL is the obvious choice for me) if you're up to the challenge of all that traveling. Traveling may take longer than just four hours depending on which day you go and what time of day. (SoCal always seemed to me to migrate to Las Vegas on Friday and come back Sunday. Also consider rush hour traffic in the morning starts about 5:30 and goes until after 9.) Flying may save you some time (though you would still have to get to the airport for check in and get a ride from the airport). If you took public transportation, you could save on the $10 (or maybe it is $11 or more by now) for parking. I do think it is worth it if you want to go; but I agree with the others, to try and be safe. You can find cheap hotels in Anaheim. Though it was suggested you skip shows, I would have to recommend Billy Hill and the Hillbillies as a nice break to your day. I always try and go when Kirk is the head Billy.

[Tinkerbellaella]

One day is not enough time if you plan on doing many rides and shows/parades. Just go knowing it will be busy and you won't have time to do a whole lot.

I think it is worth going. This is coming from someone who would be happy sitting on a park bench just taking in the sights and smells of Disneyland/World.

[RBrooksC]

I would never skip the Fantasyland rides. When my wife and I went to Disney for our Honeymoon, we ate breakfast at the Castle and then rode all the Fantasyland rides first. I think those ride encompass what Disney is and would be a shame to miss it.

[quest4dl]

I'm going to go against the grain here and suggest you do not fly since it is more unpredictable (flight could be cancelled, delayed) and you could end up with much less time. At least with driving, it is under your control. The idea to stay the night and rest is a good one.

Since you go to WDW often and most rides are the same, I will suggest spending the time walking around the park, soaking up the ambiance and experiencing the differences. First, enter the park and grab fastpasses for Space Mountain (better than WDW) and Indy so you can do these popular rides at your leisure. Then walk to New Orleans Square to ride pirates (much longer at DL than WDW) and enjoy the NOS area - theming, shops, food is great here and not duplicated at WDW. Other differences are riding the sailing ship Columbia and taking the raft to Pirate's Lair. You can also ride the canoes. I second the suggestion to see the Billy Hill and the Hillbillies show at The Golden Horseshoe - absolutely not to be missed - they may look goofy in their pictures but the musicianship is astounding (and they're really funny)! The Main Street stores actually have different merchandise and not just different store fronts like WDW. You may not ride the Fantasyland rides but take walk thru the area and enjoy all the detail.

The Fantasmic show is good but can be missed (yes, I know the ship is better and bigger than WDW but the rest of the show is pretty much the same) but do not miss the Fireworks - make sure you watch from in front of the castle to see the projections.

Restaurants we liked - Carnation Cafe has really fresh food and you may get to meet Oscar the chef who has worked at DL since it opened and served Walt Disney himself (we did get to meet him!). Blue Bayou is a lovely, romantic restaurant right inside the Pirates ride - make a PS or this one right at 11:30 and request waterside seating. We also liked French Market which is a counter-service restaurant in the same area - really good soup and fried chicken! For snacks we really liked the churros - I don't think you get them at WDW? My mother and brother live in Canada so it was their first encounter with a churro.

If you are a Star Wars fan, watch a Jedi Training Academy session - Darth Vader and Darth Maul make an impressive entrance and the commentary is really funny!

Other different rides: Alice in Wonderland, Nemo (good but not worth standing in line for a very long time and the lines are always long), Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Pinocchio, Roger Rabbit Toontown Spin, Storybook Boats.