For those of you who say DLR is a 5-day trip...

[Davey Jones II]

To me, five days is a minimum, and I'm still upset that they stopped selling six day tickets. On our upcoming (very soon!) trip, we will be doing 5 days, plus the Halloween Party.

Fantasmic! and WOC are great shows, not really missable. And make sure to catch Aladdin, since Disney has made the lamentable decision to get rid of that fantastic stage show, in favor of (groan) a Frozen show.

 

[madmaxx]

We've done 3, 5, 6, and 7 day DLR trips, and for us 5 days never quite feels like enough.

• 3 days gets you one of each ride in both parks, a few repeats, and a few shows. Our experience though was that 3 days didn't allow for much wandering or repeat rides, and we felt like we were hitting our stride on day 3.
• 5 days gets you a few of each ride in both parks and a few shows (depending on the overlap with weekends). 5 days is technically enough time, and yet it has always felt short to us. We're tired after 5 days, but we're still craving some slow time in the parks.
• 6 days is pretty good, but 7 is better. With a few extra days, you can slow it down. You can spend a day shopping and looking at art (and watching shows), and you can spend a day checking out those special things you may otherwise miss (like the Carsland lighting, or riding BTM at night)

But many of our friends find 5 days too much, so it must depend very much on the fandom of the family. I love Disney artwork, so spending a day just adoring the galleries, stores, and other art installations is fun for me, and my wife can spend a day just watching parades and shows. Our kids can ride Indiana Jones a dozen times in a day (and want to do it again the next day). This may be a gluttony of some sort, but it also makes for an incredible escape for us.

 

[dadofnicholas]

I think 4 days is not enough as a first-timer but after that it might be OK depending on your likes and dislikes. 4 days is enough for us now - we know which rides we like so we focus on those. We also know which rides we don't like (or are "time-wasters") so we skip those now. If you like to go on every ride multiple times, you'll need a lot more time. We know the drill pretty well

After saying that, we are going for 5 days next week. It's my daughter's first time and my parents' first time in over 30 years so we'll be hitting the younger rides (which my son and I always skipped) plus I've scheduled in time for character dining, fireworks, etc. which again my son have "been-there-done-that" but my daughter and parents have not.

Half-full versus half-empty. We focus on what we accomplished versus what we missed (or feel like we missed). It's the happiest place on Earth after all! In the end, the more time you can spend, I say go for it! Even though 4 days is enough for us, it doesn't mean we wouldn't have fun if we stayed 10 days We make the best of the time we have there.

Enjoy!

 

[sunshine1]

Was only there for three full days. Two days in DL and a day at DCA.

Not long enough, i would have liked 5 days or even better a week in Anaheim so i could have chilled at some point.

 

[Indiana Scott]

We go at the slowest times of the year and 4 days isn't enough that when we leave on that fourth day, We really want to come back again the next day.
We truly enjoy immersing ourselves in the experience and are not satisfied to just "do everything". (In fact, we probably wont do everything because it's not important to us.)
Don't forget how cheap that extra day is either - $15 for one more day in the park over a 4 day PH is a bargain. (plus hotel and food .of course)
So this year we're doing 6 days and getting AP's so we can do the extra day save money on tickets for next years trip.

 

[agamble]

So this year we're doing 6 days and getting AP's so we can do the extra day save money on tickets for next years trip.

Great idea! Honestly if you make a yearly trip of 3+ days, a Deluxe AP is a great deal. That is how I justify buying them. A Disneyland vacation for us is usually 5 days. By buying the AP we're getting the next year's tickets at a great discount. And we live close enough that we can visit a few more times in a year for shorter trips. Those days are basically "free" days as far as the tickets go. Our last two vacations at Disneyland had us going in the parks for part of 6 days both times. Waiting for January 2017 when we plan to buy a new set of APs and spend the year visiting the parks. We're waiting so long because we're having another baby and we want her to be at least one when we go. Otherwise we'd be buying new APs this spring or summer.

 

[Indiana Scott]

Great idea! Honestly if you make a yearly trip of 3+ days, a Deluxe AP is a great deal. That is how I justify buying them. A Disneyland vacation for us is usually 5 days. By buying the AP we're getting the next year's tickets at a great discount. And we live close enough that we can visit a few more times in a year for shorter trips. Those days are basically "free" days as far as the tickets go. Our last two vacations at Disneyland had us going in the parks for part of 6 days both times. Waiting for January 2017 when we plan to buy a new set of APs and spend the year visiting the parks. We're waiting so long because we're having another baby and we want her to be at least one when we go. Otherwise we'd be buying new APs this spring or summer.

My devious side is hoping I can talk my wife into a another trip in the spring since we wouldn't have to pay for tickets.

 

[mummabear]

We did 10 days last trip and it was awesome, didnt tire of it at all. Usually we do 5 but our first trip we did 3. I think almost any trip one more day would be great.
Maybe add the 5th day and go in on the Tuesday evening for the fireworks. We did this last trip since SM was closing for a refurb that day and it was the last night of RDCT for the season so we went in just to do those two things and ended up meeting a couple of characters and had one of the best times ever, totally surpassed expectations.

 

[meggles]

In 2013 we did 2 days plus a Halloween party.
In 2014 we did four days but had to leave for a chunk every afternoon so our toddler could nap (or try to).
This year we are doing 3 days but will have EMH. Ideally I'd do 3 or 4 park days and 5 hotel days. Meaning, you'd go to the parks Mon and Tues, take off Wed and just do the pool and DTD, then do parks Thurs and Fri. Last year when I tried to get my family to do 4 days in a row it was too much. Kids were tired and cranky, husband was over it. And this was with taking afternoon breaks, not waking up super early (park opening was 9 or 10) and not doing late nights either. I say it really depends on your family and touring style. My kids were 2 and 7 last year so even one full day at Disney is a lot. My husband goes because we love it and he's sweet and loves the happy family time. We don't go on tons of big rides multiple times. Maybe we will rider swap on BTMRR or IJ. We do more parades and shows, Fantasyland, and Tiki room type attractions. So, for those needs, 3 days is pretty perfect without wearing everyone out.