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 to go to Disneyland during the Holidays. Because we love it so much we’ve learned quite a few things that make each visit even better. Today, I will be sharing with you my top 15 Must Know Disneyland Tips for Making the Most of your Visit.

{The entrance to California Adventure from our hotel room at Disney’s Grand Californian}

TIP 1 – STAYING AT A HOTEL NEAR THE PARK

I cannot tell you how convenient is to stay at a hotel that is near the park. If you are attending Disneyland with kids, things are bound to happen where you may need to get back to your hotel room quickly. If you are staying near by this helps out so much! Going back to the hotel to get something you forgot, to put a baby down for a nap and more are just a few reasons why staying at a park close by helps out so much. Disneyland itself has three hotels that you can stay at that are all withthin walking distance of the parks. They have Disney’s Grand Californian (whose entrance takes you straight into California Adventure), The Disneyland Hotel (at the end of Downtown Disney) and The Paradise Pier hotel. Althouh each hotel has its perks with character breakfasts and more, the best (in my opinion) perk for staying here is the early entrance to the park. All guests of these hotels get to go into one of the parks one hour before everyone else. This may not seem like a big deal but when you are attending the park on a busy day, that one hour can make the world of difference. For us, it meant going to Cars Land and other attractions like Toy Story Mania without any lines as well as Fantasy Land at Disneyland with a very short line. Have you recently waited in line for Peter Pan? We were in and out of this ride in 5 minutes because of this early entrance, which was amazing!

Whether you are staying at a Disneyland hotel or not, be sure to remember the convenience of staying at a near-by hotel when you have little ones with you. 🙂

TIP 2 – PLAN OUT YOUR DAY

It is very helpful to know when events and parades take place at the parks. If you take the 5 extra minutes to check this out, it will help you through out your day. For example, during the parade, it is often very difficult to go from Tomorrow Land to Fronteir Land. If you knew when the parade was you could be sure to plan that time to stay on one side of the park instead of having to deal with the headache of crossing over and taking a longer and more busy route which can often be stressful with several little kids. It’s also nice to know when these events are because most rides have shorter lines during this time which may provide a good opportunity to ride certain rides. If you are planning on going to some of these events it’s also essential to know when they are so you can prepare and get a good seat or spot.

One more tip for planning your day is to be aware of which park has the early entrance for hotel guests. If that day’s early entrance is for California Adventure, most hotel guests start their day there which means you will want to start your day at Disneyland. Asking any cast member for this information is easy and starting your day at the opposite park as the Early Entrance park will help you enjoy a less busy park that morning. 🙂

TIP 3 – USE FAST PASSES

Fast Passes are KEY to having an enjoyable time at Disneyland. If you have never used them before you must!! A Fast Pass is a ticket that allows you to by-pass the regular line and stand in a much shorter and quicker line that usually allows you to get on a ride within minutes. To obtain a fast pass you need to find the Fast Pass machines, (usually near the entrance of each ride) place your Disneyland ticket in it and a Fast Pass will come out. Super easy! The one thing to remember is that you cannot get another Fast Pass until the TIME LISTED at the bottom of your ticket. If you look at the image above it states that another Fast Pass will be available after 12:40. At 12:41 you can get another one. Using these Fast Passes on rides such as Splash Mountain, Space Mountain and Indiana Jones at Disneyland as well as Screamin’ California and Radiator Springs Racers at California Adventure are ESSENTIAL! Who wants to wait in line for 2 hours when they could’ve gotten a Fast Pass and waited in line for 10 minutes? If you really want to maximize all that you can do at the park these Fast Passes play a huge role and can help with that.

*UPDATED 2013 – You must return to that ride to use the Fast Pass during the time listed on the ticket. Before, they would let you come as long as it was after the time listed but now it must be within that hour.

**Get in line for a Fast Pass for Radiator Spring Racers the second California Adventure opens!! Tickets for this ride run out very quickly once the park opens. 🙂

{Cars Land}

{Love this picture of the lights on the cars of Radiator Springs Racers as they zoomed by.}

**NOTE: Get a Fast Pass for Cars Land’s Radiator Springs Racers (near the entrance of Bug’s Land) as soon as you get to California Adventure. This is the park’s newest and best ride and on many days the Fast Passes for this ride have sold out within an hour or two of the park opening. Trust me – the ride is AH-MAZING and so worth it. You DO NOT want to miss it!

TIP 4 – USE THE RIDER SWITCH PASS (STROLLER PASS)

Another thing to consider using if you have littles ones is the RIDER SWITCH or STROLLER PASS. You are able to use this when one parent goes on the ride with a child and another parent is out waiting with the stroller (whether it’s with another child waiting to go on the ride, a child that is too small to ride the ride or a baby that is sleeping). The person who went on the ride first can ask a cast member for the Rider Switch Pass which will allow the waiting parent to come to the front of the line to ride it again with the same child or another child  that was waiting to go on the ride. This is SO helpful when you have multiple little ones who want to ride a ride and you have others that cannot.

TIP 5 – COME PREPARED

Come prepared!! If you think in advance and have things planned out I can promise that your visit at Disneyland will be that much better! There are several things to consider in your preparations, but make lists for packing and even a list to pack for the day you attend the park so you don’t find yourself having to go back to the hotel to get things. 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 carting around a ton of jackets when there is no need for them or vice versa, having to buy coats, jackets, umbrellas and more because you didn’t check the weather. I recommend checking the weather before you leave on your trip as well as before you leave the hotel. Most hotels have wi-fi and internet access that can help with this. Knowing the weather is essential in being prepared for that day.

TIP 7 – Know height requirements and your kids’ heights beforehand

Check the height requirements for rides before  you leave on your trip! And be sure to know what your kids’ heights are. You don’t want to be telling your child how much fun they will have on Space Mountain just to take them to the front of the line and find out they’re not tall enough for it. 40 inches is one of the MAIN Height Requirements for rides such as Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror and more. Knowing these requirements can help you prepare your little ones in knowing which rides they will or will not be able to ride and can save lots of walking time if you know in advance if they are tall enough to ride a ride or not.

TIP 8 – Bring Snacks

Bring SNACKS!! You may find yourself standing in line for awhile and you and your kids may get hungry. It’s a good idea to have snacks on hand that are easily accessible and can help with this dilemma. Of course we bought our fair share of Churros, Drinks and Popcorn, but these costs can add up. Having some snacks on hand for the entire family will help with saving money as well as help when you’re feeling a little extra hungry while you are waiting for events and attractions. What we did was pack sandwich bags with gummies, crackers and more for each child (as well as for us adults). The kids knew they had access to that bag of snacks through out the day so they would ask for that when they were hungry. Worked like a charm!!

TIP 9 – Make Pit Stops

If you see a Bathroom or ATM make sure to stop and use them. The worst thing is being in line and almost about to get on when your little one states they need to use the restroom. If you see a bathroom, tell your kids you’re making a Pit Stop and everyone needs to take a potty break. Also, there are some snack and food stations that require cash and do not take cards. Make sure to always have at least a $20 on hand if you’re in a bind and want something from one of these stations.

TIP 10 – MAKE SURE YOUR PHONE & CAMERAS ARE CHARGED

Make sure all your electronic devices are fully charged when attending the parks. My husband and I found ourselves having to return to the hotel room just to charge our phones. We learned our lesson after the first day when we had split up and had a hard time finding each other because one of our cell phones was dead. No good. Make sure to have these devices fully charged before you leave. And make sure your cameras and video cameras are charged and that SD cards are clear for maximum use while at the park.

TIP 12 – USE MULTI-DAY TICKETS

If you want to truly enjoy Disneyland and California Adventure it’s essential to have a Multi-Day Ticket to the parks. There are so many wonderful things to do and see and if you want to enjoy most of what these parks have to offer it’s a good idea to go for at least 2 days. Depending on when you go the park can be very busy or not busy at all and if you happen to go on a very busy day you will find that you were only able to join half of one park. If you get a multi-day ticket it will be so much easier to enjoy yourselves because you won’t be stressed out when you find yourself waiting in line for an hour for one ride. These multi-day tickets are wonderful and can really help you get the true Disneyland experience.

TIP 13 – USE MAGIC MOBILE APP

Use the Magic Mobile App. The best thing about it is it will tell you ALL the wait times for all the attractions at both parks. Sweet, right!? So much wonderful information will be available in the palm of your hands when using this App. Download it and use it, and you will be grateful.

TIP 14 – USE DISNEY’S PHOTOPASS

There are SOOO many Photo Opportunities at Disneyland, and fortunately for us, there are Cast Members ready and waiting to take pictures at most of these places. If you don’t have your camera ready, do not fret! Just get a PhotoPass Card from a cast member and be sure to use it when your child meets characters or wants to take a picture in front of the castle. Then, when you get home you can sign in on your computer from home and see all the pictures that were taken and can then decide if you want to buy any of those pictures. So stinking handy!!

 

TIP 15 – PICK YOUR DAY

Deciding on when to go to Disneyland can be the most important decision you make in attending the park for several reasons. Disneyland has different “seasons” depending on Park Attendance. You want to go during the Off Peak Season if you want the least crowded park. Below I have listed these seasons…

Off Peak Season – Least Crowded
January Through Late February (Presidents’ Day)
April Through the Week Before Memorial Day
Mid-September (After Labor Day) Through Mid-October (Columbus Day)
After Thanksgiving Through The Week Before Christmas

Average Attendence
Late February Through the Week Before Easter
Sundays except for Summer and Holiday Weekends
After Memorial Day ‘Til www.disneyland.com/offers .

Going to Disneyland can be a once in a lifetime opportunity where family memories are made and cherished. Using these tips will help you make the most of the visit for a fun and enjoyable time. I know we sure had a blast and cannot wait to go back again. The kids loved it, and the hubby and I may have loved it even more because Disneyland is simply the best!

ENJOY!