
I hear this question, A LOT! How many days do I need to see Disneyland? How many days should I go to Disneyland for? How long should I make my Disneyland trip?
My answer, make your trip as long as you can, its DISNEYLAND!!!
I recently had someone tell me they went to Disneyland for a day, and by evening they were bored because they had done everything! WRONG. So I asked what they did. All they had done was hit the “headliner” rides. Indiana Jones, Toy Story Midway Mania, Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, and a few others. I smiled and said I hope you had fun. What I really wanted to say was, YOU MISSED THE POINT OF THE PARK!
One big consideration into how many days should you go, is how long are you planning to stay in the park each day. Are you going during a busy season where the park is open 16 hours a day, and you plan to be there for all of them, or are you planning a more moderate (and in my opinion reasonable 8-10 hours a day)? Less hours per day means you get less done, but it also means you don’t come back from your vacation needed a week to recoup.
-How many days should you plan if you want to do every single ride?
-How many days should you plan if you want to see a lot but not get park fatigue?
Day 1 is arrival day. Go to the park for a few hours after you arrive if you can get their early enough. There is nothing worse then knowing the park is right there, and you can’t go until the next day! If going to the park isn’t an option, do a character meal that evening. It still gives some Disney magic without having to use a park ticket.
Day 2-4 Go to the Parks. Enjoy at a leisurely pace. Go on attractions, see shows, meet characters, dine at a slower pace.
Day 5, take a day off! Oh I know, your right there, the parks are so close, and you say take a day off. YES! Enjoy sleeping in late, enjoy the pool, go the gym, watch some daytime TV for the fun of it, check out a non-park restaurant, go to Downtown Disney. Whatever catches your fancy.
Day 6. Party like it’s 1999. Go do whatever you can squeeze in to get your last taste of Disney
Day 7 go home:( If you live close enough you can squeeze in a last morning in the park or a character breakfast. But I normally like to sleep in from the Day 6 dash, and then get on the way home so I don’t get home at midnight.
-How many days should you plan if this is your 6th trip to Disneyland?
-How many days should you plan if you actually want to browse the shops?
One thing, if you really do want to shop, know you can either store your bags, carry them around, or have your packages sent to your Disneyland hotel, or to the Newsstand out front of the park for FREE. No carrying all those BAGS!!
Using the 7 day parks without fatigue approach will give you time to hit up some shops without having to miss your favorite rides.
-What's the shortest Disneyland trip you can take?
I believe you need a minimum of a full two day trip to even begin to scratch the surface of what the parks have to offer.

There is a lot of other “vacation” things to do around Disneyland. Lego Land, Universal Studios Hollywood, the beach, Knott’s Berry’s Farm, San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Hollywood. If you plan to add any of these into your trip, you’ll have to decide how many days you want to commit to Disneyland. I enjoy Disneyland so much that I plan most of my trips to the area solely to go to Disneyland, and I never enter the gates of another destination, and I have a great time.