15 Must-Know Disneyland Tips
15 Must-Know Disneyland Tips
We love Disneyland. I’ve blogged about this love countless times and just this week shared with you why we love going to Disneyland on the holidays. Because we loved it so much, we learned a lot that made each visit better. Today, I’m sharing with you my 15 must-know Disneyland tips to make the most of your visit.
Here they come:
Entrance to California Adventure from our room at Disney’s Grand California Hotel
Tip 1 – Stay in a hotel near the park
I can’t tell you how convenient it is to stay in a hotel near the park. If you go to Disneyland with your kids, something is bound to happen and you may need to get back to your hotel room quickly. This helps a lot if you live nearby! Going back to the hotel to pick up something you forgot, giving the baby a nap and more are just a few of the reasons why staying at a nearby park helps a lot. Disneyland itself has three hotels where you can stay, all within walking distance of the park. They have Disney’s Grand Californian (whose entrance takes you directly into California Adventure), the Disneyland Hotel (at the end of Downtown Disney), and the Paradise Pier Hotel. While every hotel has perks like a special breakfast, the best (in my opinion) perk of staying here is early access to the park. All guests of these hotels have access to one of the parks an hour earlier than others. It might not seem like a big deal, but when you’re going to the park on a busy day, an hour can make all the difference in the world. For us, that means going to Autoland and other attractions like Toy Story Mania, which doesn’t have any lines, and Fantasyland, which has a very short line, to Disneyland. Have you been waiting in line for Peter Pan lately? Thanks to this early entry, we were in and out of this journey within 5 minutes, which was great!
Whether you’re staying at a Disneyland hotel or not, it’s important to keep in mind the convenience of staying at a nearby hotel when you have young children. 🙂
Tip 2 – Plan your day
It is very helpful to know when events and parades are taking place in the park. If you take an extra 5 minutes to check it out, it will help you get through the day. For example, during a parade, it is often very difficult to get from the Land of Tomorrow to the Land of the Frontier. If you know the time of the parade, you can make sure to plan to stay on one side of the park for that time and not have to deal with the headaches of crossing and walking the longer and busier routes, which often bring some stress to the kids. It’s good to know when these events take place, as most rides have shorter lines during this period, which may provide a good opportunity to ride some of the rides. If you plan to attend some of these activities, it is also important to know when they are so you can be prepared and get a good seat or spot.
Another tip for planning your day is to know which parks hotel guests have early access to. If you enter California Adventure early in the day, most hotel guests will start their day there, which means you’ll want to start your day at Disneyland. It’s easy to ask any cast member for this information and start the day at the park opposite, as early admission to the park will help you enjoy a less busy park that morning. 🙂
Tip 3 – Use Fastpass
A fast pass is the key to a great time at Disneyland. If you’ve never used them before, you must! A fast pass is a ticket that allows you to bypass regular lines and stand on shorter, faster lines, usually getting you on board within minutes. To get a fast pass, you’ll need to find a fast pass machine (usually near the entrance to each ride), put your Disneyland ticket in it, and the fast pass will come out. Super easy! One thing to keep in mind is that you cannot get another fast pass until the time listed at the bottom of your ticket. If you look at the picture above, it shows that another fast pass will be available after 12:40. 12:41 You can buy another one. Using these Fast Passes on rides like Splash Mountain, Space Mountain and Indiana Jones at Disneyland and Screamin’ California and Radiator Springs Racers at California Adventure is a must! Who wants to wait in line for 2 hours when they can get a fast pass and wait in line for 10 minutes? If you really want to get the most out of everything you can do in the park, these fast passes are going to be huge and can help.
*Updated 2013 – You must return to the ride within the time listed on the ticket to use the Fast Pass. Before, they would let you come as long as after the time listed, but now it has to be within that hour.
**Line up for a fast pass for Radiator Spring Racers at the opening of the second California Adventure! ! Tickets for this ride ran out quickly after the park opened. 🙂
car land
Love this photo of the lights on the Radiator Springs Racers car because they are zoomed in.
**Note: Immediately upon arrival at California Adventure, get a fast pass for Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land (near the Bug’s Land entrance). It’s the park’s newest and best ride, and on many days the fast-pass for this ride sells out within an hour or two of the park’s opening. Trust me – the trip was amazing and well worth it. You don’t want to miss it!
Tip 4 – Use the RIDER SWITCH PASS
Another thing to consider if you have young children is a RIDER SWITCH or STROLLER PASS. You can use this feature when one parent is in the car with a child and the other parent is waiting outside with a stroller (whether with another child waiting to be in the car, the child is too young to ride, or is sleeping baby). Those who get in first can ask the cast for a Rider Switch Pass, which will allow waiting parents to come to the front of the line and ride again with the same child or another child who is waiting to get in the car. ride. This is useful when you have multiple kids who want to ride and others can’t.
Tip 5 – Be Prepared
Get ready to come! ! If you think ahead and plan things out, I can guarantee your visit to Disneyland will be even better! There are a few things to consider in your preparations, but make a packing list, even for the day you go to the park, so you don’t have to go back to the hotel to pick up your stuff. Here are some more tips and things to consider…
**Tip 6 – Weather
Check the weather beforehand so you know how to pack. The worst thing is to carry a lot of jackets when you don’t need them, and vice versa, and have to buy coats, jackets, umbrellas, etc. because you didn’t check the weather. I recommend checking the weather before you leave the tour and before leaving the hotel. Most hotels have Wi-Fi and internet access that can help with this. Knowing the weather is essential to preparing for that day.
**TIP 7 – Know the height requirements and your child’s height beforehand
Check the ride’s height requirements before you go! And be sure to know what your child’s height is. You don’t want to tell your kids how much fun they’re going to have on Space Mountain just to take them to the front of the line, only to find out they’re not tall enough. 40 inches is one of the main height requirements for rides like Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, and more. Knowing these requirements can help you be prepared to let your kids know which rides they will or cannot ride, and can save a lot of walking time if you know ahead of time if they’re tall enough to ride.
**Tip 8 – Bring snacks
Bring snacks! ! You may find yourself standing in line for a while, and you and your child may be hungry. It’s a good idea to have easily available snacks on hand to help with this dilemma. Sure, we bought the churros, drinks and popcorn we deserved, but those costs can add up. Having some snacks for the whole family will help save money and help if you’re feeling a little extra hungry while you wait for events and attractions. What we do is fill every kid (and us adults) with sandwich bags with fudge, cookies, etc. The kids know they’ll have that bag of snacks throughout the day, so they’ll ask for it when they’re hungry. Works like a charm!
**Tip 9 – Pit Stop
If you see a bathroom or an ATM, be sure to stop and use them. Worst of all, when your kids say they need to use the bathroom, they’re lining up and almost going to the bathroom. If you see the bathroom, tell your kids you’re pitting and everyone needs a break. Also, some snack and food stations require cash and do not accept cards. If you’re stuck and want to get something from one of these sites, make sure to always keep at least $20 on hand.
Tip 10 – Make sure your phone and camera are charged
When heading to the park, make sure all your electronic devices are fully charged. My husband and I found ourselves having to go back to our hotel room to charge our phones. After our first day of separation, we learned our lesson that we had a hard time finding each other because one of our phones died. not good. Make sure to fully charge these devices before you leave. And make sure your cameras and camcorders are charged and the SD card is clear for maximum use in the park.
Tip 12 – Use a multi-day ticket
If you want to really enjoy Disneyland and California Adventure, having a multi-day park pass is a must. There are so many wonderful things to do and see, it’s best to spend at least 2 days if you want to enjoy most of what these parks have to offer. Depending on when you go, the park may be busy or not at all, and if you happen to go on a very busy day, you will find that you can only join half of a park. If you get a multi-day ticket, it’s easier to enjoy yourself because you won’t feel stressed when you find yourself waiting in line for an hour. These multi-day tickets are great and can really help you get a real Disneyland experience.
Tip 13 – Use the MAGIC mobile app
Use the Magic Mobile App. The best part is that it will tell you all the waiting times for all the attractions in both parks. Sweet, right! ? You will get so much great information while using this app. Download and use it, you will appreciate it.
Tip 14 – Use Disney’s Photo Pass
There are plenty of photo opportunities at Disneyland, and luckily for us, most of these places have actors ready and waiting to be photographed. If you don’t have your camera ready, don’t worry! Just get a PhotoPass from the cast and be sure to use it whenever your kids meet the character or want to take a photo in front of the castle. Then, when you get home, you can log into your computer at home and view all the photos you’ve taken, and you can decide if you want to buy any of those photos. So smelly and useful! !
Tip 15 – Choose your day
Deciding when to go to Disneyland is probably the most important decision you’ll make at the park for several reasons. Disneyland has different “seasons” depending on park attendance. If you want the least crowded park, you want to go during off-peak seasons. Below I list the seasons…
Low season – least crowded
January to late February (Presidents Day)
April to the week before Memorial Day
Mid-September (after Labor Day) to mid-October (Columbus Day)
After Thanksgiving to the week before Christmas
average attendance
Through the week of late February…