Thanks for the DL info
@Bruce Dickinson we're staying at the Paradise Pier and the only dinner plan is to World of Color/Ariel's Grotto dinning package one day. We have a 3 day Park Hopper pass and we'll be there for 4 days.
You don't have to go into your entire schpill about DL (we have a pretty good grasp about what all is there), but what is there that we absolutely can't miss? This probably won't be a once in a lifetime trip for the kids, but its pretty damn close.
I'd recommend starting with the attracions DLR has that WDW doesn't. World Of Color is amazing and is not to be missed. FP priority for Radiator Springs Racers at DCA. The Mater ride is a lot more fun than it looks - you really snap though those whips. Guardians Of The Galaxy: Breakout is their new Tower Of Terror. (Haven't ridden it, but saw some of the construction up close.). California Screamin' is about the same pace as the Aerosmith coaster at DHS but outside and cool views.
If the kids need to run around a little, there's a Wilderness Explorers camp/playground with badges to earn.
Out favorite dessert place at DCA is the Ghiradelli shop. The portions are generous, flavors top notch.
Maybe walk through A Bugs Land on your way to another attraction. The rides themselves are only for little kids, but the environment they created to do it is worth walking through once to appreciate the size/scale work they did.
Toy Story Mania, Little Mermaid, Soarin, Its Tough To Be A Bug are exactly the same on the inside as their WDW counterparts. The Little Mermaid ride usually has no line and is centrally located.
Only do the Monsters Inc ride if the kids are fans. It moves pretty slow and the tech is dated.
There's a live-action Frozen musical at the Hyperion. It's almost an hour long and performs almost every song from the movie. If you have Frozen fans with you they will enjoy it, and there are some cool visuals where animations from the movie are re-created to interact with the live characters. But if you don't have Frozen fans with you I'd skip it. It's a big time-consumer: with queueing, seating, the show itself, and exiting, you're approaching 90 minutes.
DCA has Marvel meet-and-greets. Most popular are Spidey and Captain America. A Guardians dance party pop-up with post-show meet-and-greets with Groot is popular this summer and should extend into fall.
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Disneyland has the same basic layout at MK. DL is bigger and there are a few attraction location differences, but you will recognize Main Street, the hub, and spokes out to different lands.
All the Star Wars stuff is in Tomorrowland: Star Tours, Launch Bay, Jedi Training, even the equivalent of MK's Cosmic Ray's is the Star Wars themed Galactic Grill.
The Matterhorn bobsled ride is a fun throwback and is finally on the FastPass system.
Fantasyland has more dark rides. A lot of them are for little kids. Of the ones not in MK, I'd rank Alice at the top, then Mr Toad, then a big drop off to Pinocchio and Snow White.
Pirates Of The Caribbean and Its A Small World are a lot bigger and better at DL. IASM is a big visual focal point. Big Thunder is pretty much the same. Splash Mountain is IMO better at MK.
The Haunted Mansion Holiday ride is a must, and keep an eye out for character meets with Jack and Sally near the ride queue.
Skip the Finding Nemo submarine ride. Takes forever to load/unload, hard to see out the windows, and not much to see anyway.
Take the monorail once. One end is in Downtown Disney on the way from Paradise Pier Hotel to the park entry plaza, and the other end is in Tomorrowland. If you don't mind missing Main Street, it's a cool way to enter the park. If it's not too hot, you can request riding in the front car that has windows in three directions. (The Monorail at DLR does not have air conditioning, so it shuts down if the temperature gets above 90 or so. Shouldn't be a problem in September)
Fantasmic is in the Rivers Of America on the left side of Disneyland. Late in the day it will get crowded over there with people staking out space to watch the show. If you've seen it at DHS, I'd probably skip it. It is interesting to see how they worked Fantasmic into the middle of a park, but when that show is one it's a great time to hit rides with shorter lines.
You won't have all the awesome restaurant options in DLR like WDW has. Embrace the street foods. The corndogs at DL are delicious. My favorite meal at DL is the Bengal Barbeque skewers combined with the Mickey beignets from the Mint Julep Bar. (we divide and conquer: I go to Bengal and order a bunch of skewers to go, the girls go to Mint Julep and get beignets and drinks, we meet at New Orleans Square tables to dine.)