I haven’t been to Disneyland since the years still began with 19 and California Adventure was a blueprint somewhere
We’re going in a couple of months and have California Adventure reserved on Day 1 and Disneyland on Day 2 of our trip, mostly because my husband and (early elementary) son are huge Star Wars fans so I’m worried if we do Disneyland on Day 1, California Adventure won’t be as exciting.
However, the predicted crowd levels that way (which I understand are done basically by wait times?) are both 5s. If I switch it to Disneyland on Day 1, the crowd level is a 4 and then California Adventure is a 3 on our second day.
Is this a massive difference and I should flip them so we have the 4 and 3 crowd levels, or are the numbers not that different?
Or am I just being too much of a mom trying to plan the best trip… and we just need to pick our priorities for each park and go with the flow and not worry so much about which park which day?
Or is this Genie+ thing going to wreck shop and the next few months will be super interesting and unpredictable?
First of all, what fun planning a trip after so long away! My first trip back with my own kids was after many years not being in a park, so I remember that feeling! You are way ahead of the curve planning before you go, so know that any work you do to plan, even if you don’t end up following that plan, is going to put you ahead on the ground to make all the changes to have a great time with your husband and son.
That said, you’ve hit on some really key advice in your below. So I will start by saying: so much this! Even if there is a big difference in CL between days, I wouldn’t flip them just for the CL because it’s just a prediction and could be off. And as for Genie+, stay tuned! It’s been announced for Walt Disney World (and starts next week) so Disneyland should be very soon and hopefully with enough time to give you an idea of what it will be for your trip.
Yes. CLs are determined by the queue waits between 11am - 5pm
Oh heck no! DCA may not have a castle, but there’s plenty to see. Avengers Campus, CarsLand, Grizzly Peak and even the Pier has it’s charm!
There is almost no statistical difference in CLs that are one or two levels higher. The TP statisticians openly state this in interviews. It when you go from CL 3 - CL 7 you want to be concerned!
This describes the majority of us here! We hang out answering planning questions. I totally get it! Unless it’s a dramatically different CL at one park, then just reserve what you want to see most. It does happen when DLR is a CL9 and DCA is only CL3. In that case, I’m going to DCA that day.
Plus, park hopping is so easy between these parks! You can always walk within minutes to the other park if you desperately want to squeeze in one ride over there!
You know… I really don’t think so at Disneyland. They’ve been using MaxPass for years. People out there are used to how it operates - basically. They’re used to not having Magic Bands and using their phones. All of the G+ attractions are the same as MaxPass before it.
WDW is going to struggle more with it. (IMHO - only because they aren’t going to like having to pay for something they’ve gotten for free for nearly 20 years)
