Today’s episode of The Case For with Chris Cox covered three main concepts as it relates to touring Disneyland Resort:
Park Hopping
Lightning Lane (including Premier Pass)
Staying Onsite vs. Offsite
Below are a few polls to kick off the discussion! If you’ve never been to Disneyland, please answer hypothetically. Please keep in mind that at Disneyland, LLMP and LLPP are good for both parks.
When you visit Disneyland, which of these are typically true for you?
Check all that apply. “Typically” = at least once for > 50% of trips.
I stay at an onsite hotel
I purchase LLMP
I purchase LLSP for Rise of the Resistance
I purchase LLSP for Radiator Springs Racers
I purchase LLPP (Premier Pass)
I purchase the Park Hopper add-on
I purchase multi-day tickets
“Other”
0voters
If you had Park Hopper tickets and had the budget to choose ONE of the following options, which would you choose?
Stay at an onsite hotel with LLMP / LLSP
Stay at an offsite hotel and purchase LLPP
0voters
If you had a two-day trip to DLR and only had the budget for EITHER Park Hopper OR LLMP / LLSP, which would you choose?
The discussion on the episode was interesting. One thing I’d point out is that at Disneyland, it is really hard to choose between Park Hopper and LL! LL is much more valuable with Park Hopper tickets since it applies across both parks, so you can get more bang for your buck.
However, I have done a one-park-per-day trip with LL and it worked really well and saved me lots of money. I basically got an extra day for free by foregoing Park Hopper. In some ways it made the trip less manic and more focused.
I have never tried LLPP and am hesitant to ever do so – I have been able to get every LLMP attraction I want if I’m persistent enough. Furthermore, LL does NOT fully skip the line – you can still wait quite a long time at popular attractions, especially if they are only partially operational (this has happened to me multiple times at GotG and Incredicoaster). The LL line for RSR is usually fairly long at night.
I usually stay onsite because of DVC. I don’t think LLPP is needed as I can usually get all the LLMP rides in a day in both parks by using the drops, even with sleeping in. It is so much better than WDW’s version of LL in my opinion.
I do buy LLSP rides at times, we did on our recent trip. But often will use single rider at RSR.
I’ve had two trips off-site (in past 2 years) and without any LMNOP and got to ride everything that I wanted to multiple times. One trip I did not have hoppers and one trip I did have hoppers. I prefer having hoppers.
I think it helps to have five park days. I will always choose a longer trip over any of the other things.
If I was given budget to do something more, I’d try onsite for the experience. The GCH is the closest, but as a huge Toy Story fan I think the Pixar hotel would be a hoot. And DLH is the OG-OG so that would be cool.
I typically go to DL every 10 years. Last time was 2013 when I was at a Long Beach hotel. My sister and I (and 4 others) spent most of a day at DL/DCA with PH.
I’ll be at DL/DCA soon, staying off site - on Harbor apparently right opposite the Esplanade. We have 3 day tickets with Park Hopper and no plans to buy any LLs of any kind.
It’s kind of a matter of principle - I’ve already spent hundreds of dollars to get in the park. I think if Disney wants to charge more for certain rides, bring back a minimal charge to enter the park - maybe $25 per person - and charge for each ride. $1 or two for A ticket on up to $8 to $10 per ride for E ticket rides. Shouldn’t be too difficult to have all the money kept track of electronically.
Families with kids can ride Dumbo et al all day. Older families ride the big kids rides.
LLPP doesn’t appeal to me, as I’ve never had trouble getting on anything I wanted to ride, even with larger parties, when my kids were small, etc. It’s just not a splurge I feel is necessary. If you could repeat rides for the price tag, I think I’d be more willing to purchase it.
I’m also not as tempted to stay on-site as a I used to be, especially with no EE. I used to make a trip every year 1/2 to two years with my kids (the rest would be solo/girlfriends) and always treated them to staying at either DLH or PPH. I’ve stayed at all three resorts more than a dozen times over the years. But now that my kids are older (going on 21 & 18), they don’t care as much about fun pools or themed rooms, so I save the money and stay across the street.
And I’m a hopper, no matter what. I just like the flexibility and the value it adds to LLMP.
My ideal trip is 3 days, with PH. Though I can get it all done in 2 days. I usually buy LLMP and can manage the rides without buying LLSP. I’ve been very lucky with standby times (about 30 minutes) for RISE at DLR and I usually do SR for RSR. While not having to schedule LLs all day do appeal to me, I don’t really see a need for LLPP. Now, if it included more of the FL rides, I MIGHT consider it! But overall, it’s not that much work nor that stressful to get everything done at DLR!
Will be there in 3 weeks(!) staying offsite with 3-day non-PH tickets with LLMP. We used to do only 1-day PH trips and those were exhausting, so having the extra days and foregoing PH makes it more relaxing/enjoyable for us.
We’ve been finding the standby queues at DL to actually be fun to walk through, and there are still quite a few rides that don’t take LL. I think the only real ride that needs it is MB. I had almost never seen IC go over 25 minutes, and the merge point is still about another 12 before actually getting on, so that’s really only a 13 minute savings.
Most rides are about 10-15 minutes from the merge point to actually getting on, including any preshows, so also consider that in the wait time listed on for the ride.
And with how close the two gates are to each other, it’s almost silly not to get the hopper. Given the choice between hopping and LL, I’ll pick to hop every time I’m there.
I like having the option to hop, but I don’t really like paying for it, because I can do the parks at a more relaxed rate if I don’t hop. I recently purchased a Magic Key pass (after a 9 month break from it), and only did it because, comparing costs of tickets vs MK, I basically got the hopper for free.
My ideal trip is 1.5 to 2.5 days, with LLMP on one or both of the full days. While many of the LLMP rides have entertaining queues, and others offer good Single Rider, I get totally worn out in standby lines on those that don’t. I like to have a day with no LLMP to drive my plans, leaving me time to smell the flowers. I’d never consider LLPP for the reasons others have stated, but I wouldn’t discourage Daddy Warbucks who is making a rare, one-day visit, from doing it. I always do SR on RSR (another grueling SB queue). We pay for LLSP for Rise if my husband is with me, because he won’t come with me if he has to stand in long lines. (He calls it “Lineland”.) I won’t get in the SB line for it unless I’m with someone that really wants to do it. It almost always pauses when I’m in that line.
I’ve stayed in GCH and the DLH three times total. I got burned out on feeding the Disney Money Monster after the 3rd visit. I just can’t stomach the price for the value, though I’d consider DLH again some day for 2 nights.
Matterhorn is actually a great one for Single Rider, in my experience, except on Friday evenings when young So Cal passholders fill the SR line. My travel companions almost always decline to ride it, so I get a two-for, and use their LLMP and mine if it doesn’t hold up our bookings. (Matterhorn is my favorite.)
You make a good point on the merge points. I’ll have to start keeping track. It sure feels like I’m zipping past a lot of people.
I found this video very educational and interesting, and increased my appreciation for Matterhorn!
I timestamped it at a discussion that explains why Matterhorn is so jerky compared to modern coasters. Apart from being old and the first steel tube coaster (designed by Bob Gurr!), there is some physics involved:
In short, early coasters anchored the banking around a point between the rails:
Essentially, you twist the track around the heartline of the rider, which makes the banking feel more smooth. Makes so much sense when you think about it!
Interesting! When I watch bobsledders in the Olympics, they look like they’re getting rattled around a bit, heads bobbing in unison. I like to think Matterhorn is a realistic experience (whether it is or not).
I’ve never been to Disneyland, but based upon how close the two parks are I would definitely get park hopper. It looks like it’s very similar to how Universal is with IoA and UOR.
I definitely wouldn’t bother staying on site. Taking away early entry and then giving one LL per trip is an insult.
East Coast family went in Feb 2025. We had 2-day tickets with Park Hopper and LLMP included. We stayed first night onsite then 2 nights off-site close by.
We stayed at DLH first night so we could just do pool for the night and (at the time) do EE at DLR the next morning. What I liked about the PH & LLMP combo is we stayed at DLR until early afternoon, then moved our luggage to our off-site hotel and went to DCA for WOC Dessert Party. At that time of year, the nighttime entertainment isn’t every night so I liked that the PH gave us the freedom to do whatever nighttime park we wanted no matter where we started. We stacked LL during our afternoon break to use later when we were tired. EE was a big motivator for staying onsite, but the heated pool, room service, and being right at Downtown Disney was so nice too. Out of everything, I’d definitely stay onsite, stay offsite, PH and LLMP again; but I have never used LLPP anywhere because I can’t justify the splurge for us
I very often do not get hoppers. It’s not worth the extra $$ to me. I am in the minority, I know. I also don’t get LLMP very often, and never LLSP unless I’m with a group who really want it. (LLPP isn’t a consideration for me at all!) I just feel like I can do everything I want without it. Sometimes we’ll buy LLMP for one day of our trip, but not all. Sometimes the tickets we buy (Costco special last year or DVC Beyond) have it included. If I have hoppers, I will hop, but not as much as you might think. I do like staying on site, but would never pay cash. I’ve used DVC points to stay at GCH and DLH and love them both. I’m kind of salty that they took away early entry - mainly because their excuse (people don’t use it/want it) was so patently false based on early entry crowds! But I still like staying in the bubble.
I just watched it. I now love MH even more! It’s an engineering and artistic marvel in addition to a kick in the pants. I always get a surge of excitement on my drives to DL from Nor Cal when I finally see it towering in the sky, welcoming me to Disneyland. We always exclaim, “There it is!”
I’ve ridden several other old-style coasters, including the Big Dipper at Santa Cruz Boardwalk, and the Demon at Six Flags in Santa Clara. I can’t repeat those…too uncomfortable. I think I can tolerate MH’s jerking because, unlike the others, the scenery and sounds distract me from my pain.
Watching that renewed my longing for my next visit, in July. Thanks for posting that.
I have such a soft spot for Matterhorn! It was my first real coaster. I was a senior in high school back in the 80’s! I don’t ride it much now, though. I do love hearing the sounds as I walk by it and seeing it towering over the park!
But overall, it’s not that much work nor that stressful to get everything done at DLR!
