How Many Days Are Needed at Disneyland Resort?

Planning a trip to Disneyland Resort? You may be wondering how many days it takes to experience the resort, and that’s a valid question to ask. Disneyland Resort is home to Walt Disney’s original theme park—it’s where the magic was born, and it’s the only Disney theme park destination Walt Disney stepped foot in. This magical kingdom has so much to see and do, so it can be a bit difficult to determine how many days you’ll need for your trip.

A lot of sources may tell you that you need a specific number of days to experience Disneyland Resort, but we think that question is best answered based on what you’re interested in doing and what your budget is. Why? Everyone has different interests and budgets, and those factors will determine how many days youand whoever you’re traveling with—need.

To best determine how many days you’ll need at Disneyland Resort, we broke this guide down into scenarios/sections so that you can select which one best applies to you.

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Experience it All: 3 Days or More

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland Park
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland Park

Disneyland Resort features 2 theme parks—Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure—and 1 dining/shopping/entertainment complex—Downtown Disney District. The resort’s 2 theme parks require valid theme park admission, but Downtown Disney District does not charge for entry.

If you’re interested in truly doing it all and it’s within your budget, you’ll need at least 3 days at Disneyland Resort’s destinations as a minimum.

How’d we come up with that number? Great question! Although Disneyland Resort has just 2 theme parks, we consider Disneyland Park to be at least a 2-day experience and Disney California Adventure to be at least a 1-day experience. Both of Disneyland Resort’s parks have phenomenal rides, shows, themed areas, and additional attraction offerings, but Disneyland Park, specifically, is jam-packed with so many things to do—more so than any other theme park—that we truly see it as a 2-day or more experience rather than a single day experience. If you wish to go at a leisurely pace and revisit attractions, perhaps you may want to visit both parks more than that, however. To add to your trip, you can also visit Downtown Disney District. The dining, shopping, and entertainment complex is located just beside both theme parks, making it convenient to get to and serving as a great way to end one of your days after visiting the parks.

As you can see, Disneyland Resort has so much to offer. In our opinion, 3 days is just the bare minimum you’ll need to experience the resort, but your priorities can easily extend that.

To help you get the most out of your trip, you can use our free Disneyland Resort planning guide.

A Short Getaway: At Least 2 Days

Quinjet at Disney California Adventure's Avengers Campus
Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure

Disneyland Resort has some pretty awesome theme parks, and we believe both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure are worth visiting.

As a bare minimum, you should visit Disneyland Resort for at least 2 days—1 day per park. 2 days provide a decent amount of time to visit the attractions you may be most interested in at both theme parks. In all honesty, though, we believe it’s not enough time to experience everything. If it’s within your budget, we highly recommend visiting for at least 3 days. Disneyland Park, specifically, has such a vast collection of rides, shows, and other offerings that we truly see it as at least a 2-experience. Disneyland Park has more things to do than any Walt Disney World park.

As a bonus, you can also visit Downtown Disney District, a dining, shopping, and entertainment complex located right next to the resort’s theme parks. The complex’s convenient location makes it easy to get to and serves as a great way to conclude your day after visiting the theme parks.

No matter how many days you decide to visit, our free Disneyland Resort planning guide, equipped with planning resources and information about the resort, will help you get the most out of your trip.

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Just for the Day: 1 Day

Disneyland Resort Esplanade serves as the resort's hub, connecting both theme parks and Downtown Disney
Disneyland Resort Esplanade

It’s not practical to truly experience Disneyland Resort in just 1 day, but perhaps it’s not within your budget or time to visit for a longer period. Our free Disneyland Resort planning guide features planning resources and information about the resort to help you maximize your time.

If you’re not able to visit Disneyland Resort for more than a single day, we highly suggest visiting Disneyland Park. This applies even if you’ve visited Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom; despite their similarities, Disneyland Park has much more to offer than Magic Kingdom. It was also the first Disney park created and the only Disney park Walt Disney himself saw (fun fact: Walt Disney owned an apartment inside the park). You simply can’t visit Disneyland Resort and not visit Disneyland Park.

To conclude your day, you can spend the night at Downtown Disney District, depending on the complex’s operating hours. It’s free to visit and features some shops, restaurants, and entertainment offerings you may be interested in.

If you can budget for more than one day, we highly recommend doing so. The cost per day for tickets is slightly reduced for each additional day, so it may be less expensive than you think. In our opinion, such limited time is not enough to experience the magic. Our other scenarios may be a better fit for your trip.

Ready to purchase tickets?

You can purchase tickets directly from Disneyland Resort or from a trusted agency. If purchasing from a third-party seller, be wary of possible scams. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.