This Is How We Disney

Disneyland Tip Sheet

Jonathan and Shannon Nay

Updated April 2018

About Us

We have visited Disneyland Resort together now 10 times! Nine of those times have been after getting married in August of 2012. We both love Disney and the parks so much. So much that one of our visits was a 24 hour day to kick of Summer of 2014. Yep, 6am to 6am. Was it the best thing ever? YES! Will we do it again? NO! We are from Salt Lake City, UT and try to make a visit at least once a year but often more. Disclaimer: although we have one, we have NOT been to the parks with kids. We plan too, well maybe. We know that having kids in the park makes a big difference in the way we know Disneyland and although we act like kids we aren’t kids! Just remember that in reading our tips. It is truly one of our happy places where we have had the best memories. We wish the same for you! Thanks for reading and happy Disney-ing!

Planning Your Visit

In recent years Disneyland has become unpredictable when peak and slow times will be. What was once a slow time has proven to be quite busy so it is hard to know when is the best time to visit. When it’s slow there is a lot less waiting but often more attractions down for refurbishments and updates. When it’s busy there is a lot more crowds and waiting but most, if not all, attractions will be open. Throughout the year there are festivities and decorations for holidays and events that add more magic as well. We found the best way to pick when to go is to use online crowd calendars. People who know the park well have broke down the calendar to best guess slow, moderate and busy days according to the holidays and events going on. We just google “Disneyland crowd calendar” but here are a couple we have used: isitpacked.com and undercovertourist.com. Weekdays will be slower than weekends the majority of the time. Even if the only time you can go is busy – we got you covered! It can still (and will) be a magical trip! Take a look at the calendars and see what best suits your party. Do you want slow? Busy? Hot? Cooler? Christmas? Halloween? Star Wars Land Opening Day? That last one you might want to run from.

Overall, the slowest times to go will be mid-September and mid-Janurary to March before Spring Break begins. The busiest will be summer especially Fourth of July weekend, the entire holiday season and March to mid-April during Spring Break.

*When you plan your trip may affect the cost of tickets and hotel. Single day tickets are priced based on the day you go and hotels will be more expensive at peak times. Sometimes even moving your trip by one day can make a difference on your wallet. As we always say, “That’s another churro!”

Tickets

Getawaytoday.com is our first and best recommendation. They will always have discounted tickets. They will usually be $5 off a ticket but often offer bigger discounts throughout the year including adults and kids prices. They also bundle full packages for your vacation including hotel, flight, transportation and other theme park tickets to make it easier for you and at a slightly lower cost. We have only used the hotel and theme park ticket portion. Take a look around the website and see what they can do for you! They are wonderful and easy to work with.

Parksavers.com offers discounted tickets, usually $10 off an adult ticket. We have not used this site personally but have heard great things from other people. It looks like they also offer vacation packages so try out this site as well to compare.

Disneyland.com is obvious but also an option and your only option for Annual Passes. They will never have discounted tickets but if you are looking for certain tickets that the other two websites don’t offer this will be your go-to. You also can purchase tickets and Annual Passes right at the park.

*We prefer the 3-Day Park Hopper ticket. Park hopping can make the most of your day and three days is a good amount of time to fit everything in and more. However, a cheaper option is to do a one park per day pass. See which ticket best suits your trip.

Hotel/Lodging

Our biggest tip here would be to stay within walking distance of the parks! This saves you time and hassle of more steps to go to and from. When booking your stay check the distance between there and the parks. We stay at hotels with a distance of approximately 0.5 miles away which is about a 15 minute walk. This may vary depending on where the hotel is due to traffic lights and tram usage.

These are the lodging options we recommend:

Hotels.com is worth looking into. This is where we look first if GetAwayToday didn’t have hotels we liked or didn’t beat this pricing. You can use filters to break down exactly where you want to stay, price points, ratings and more. They are often priced lower than booking through the actual hotel and some offer promo codes to make it even cheaper. They also have a rewards program to earn free nights. The hotels we have stayed at have let us check-in early or even take our bags if we have flown in and don’t have a place to put them. Call and see if they offer extras like that!

*Quality Inn Anaheim at the Park has been one of our favorites we have used multiple times. It has gotten more expensive the past couple years but it does have breakfast and the staff have been very good to us including letting us check-in early or letting us drop off luggage. This is now a 20 minute walk because they don’t let you enter through the Grand California Hotel anymore, but still a good option.

Airbnb and VRBO are sites are for people to rent out their homes, properties or even just specific rooms. These are great options for any size group, especially larger ones. If they have kitchens you can cook your own meals and have plenty of beds or couches for sleeping arrangements.  These will not be within a comfortable walking distance so plan on driving over and parking. It is $20/vehicle/day.

Travel

Traveling to Disneyland will completely depend on where you live or how you are getting there. So we have two small tips –

Driving: We love driving through the night but it isn’t for everyone. Alternate with other adults as needed to get rest and hopefully the kids sleep the whole time. It will also save you on an extra nights hotel stay. We usually get about four hours of sleep each and then have enough energy (or adrenaline) to get through the first day in the parks. That first day we might leave a little earlier to get a good night’s rest then.

Flying: If you fly we recommend using Google Flights as it will show the cheapest airlines, days and flights in one place. Bonus: if you live in SLC, follow @flightsfromhome on Instagram. She finds great deals to flights everywhere and gives you all the details.

Disneyland App

This will be your best friend! Download it to your phone right now and make an account if you haven’t already. It can be a great guide for planning your day. This holds a lot of information to help make your trip go smoothly. Some of the things it shares:

-        Map of the parks

-        Character locations and times for meet ups

-        Ride locations, wait times and status

-        Restaurant locations and your reservations

-        Park hours and show times

-        Park tickets, MaxPass and PhotoPass

Keep this on hand as you will use it a lot. It is very user friendly but if you have trouble ask a Cast Member and they will be happy to help. (Ask Cast Members for ANY help you might need. They know everything and are everywhere!)

FastPasses

Many of the attractions at Disneyland Resort will have two lines: a regular standby line and then a FastPass line. The FastPass line offers guests with reserved tickets to skip a majority of the standby line to reduce your wait time by a large portion. Every FastPass comes with a specific hour window during the day to return and use it. Once you have used it or reached a certain time you are allowed another FastPass. You can do this as many times during the day until they are gone.  All guests with a park ticket have the ability to receive FastPasses. There are two different ways to do so.

Digital FastPass: This way has no extra cost and works from your park ticket or annual pass. You use it by scanning it at the FastPass machines located near the attraction of your choice. You will receive a reminder ticket giving you a window of time to return and a time when you can reserve another FastPass. This ticket is just a reminder. When you get back in line your park ticket will be scanned once or twice to let you access the line.

MaxPass: This has an added cost of $10/person/day and will work directly from your Disneyland app. They are the same FastPasses as the digital way it is just a more convenient way to access them. In the app you can choose which park and attraction you want to reserve a FastPass for. Once reserved and back in line, you will scan the barcode right from your phone. You can keep multiple members of your party on one app to make it easier. MaxPass also includes PhotoPass for the day. Anytime you get your picture taken by photographers around the parks, they will scan your barcode so they save in your app. Download these photos to your phone or computer by the date given and they are yours forever! Don’t forget to add in ride photos as well!

We 100% recommend the MaxPass. We have saved so much time, walking and waiting by reserving FastPasses as soon as we can by just a click of a button from anywhere in either park. It keeps our day moving seamlessly! See if the MaxPass is worth it for you. If you don’t plan to ride the attractions that have a FastPass option you might be interested in having free photos of your party. In that case just have one of you buy the MaxPass to get the pictures and share them later so you only pay once.

*On Disneyland.com it will show you what rides offer FastPasses at the resort.

*FastPasses for shows like World Of Color and Fantastmic! work differently. An actual ticket will always print for these, do not lose them! You can have other FastPasses while having these.

Planning Your Day

You are spending A LOT of money by vacationing at Disneyland so make sure you do whatever you want however you want. Everyone goes at different paces and likes different parts. However, I will share how we get the most out of our trips without getting too tired, waiting too long and getting overcrowded by other guests. If any of your guests aren’t fans of Disneyland due these issues, we are fairly confident our way will change their minds.

Wake up early! We all know Disneyland isn’t a relaxing vacation so get up and be at the gate before park opening! 30 minutes has been recommended to us but we have only done that a few times. Even on the busiest days, you will get so many attractions done and out of the way before it gets too crowded and hot. Refer to disneylanddaily.com for her breakdown of her days at both parks with or without Magic Morning hour. It is incredibly detailed and helpful for those that don’t go often and don’t understand which rides have higher wait times.

*Magic Morning is a perk offered to guests with a 3-day Park Hopper or more. You can access Disneyland an entire hour earlier than others – this is huge! Again, be there 30 minutes prior to make the most of this hour. FastPasses may even be starting to distribute at this time. However, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are the ONLY land open for this hour so add that into your plan.

Always have a FastPass! This is how we get so many attractions done.  We mentioned above how the FastPasses work and the important part is AS SOON as you can get another FastPass, do it! Since we use the MaxPass we check our app to see what time to return to the ride OR what time we can get another FastPass because sometimes it is sooner. For example: Radiator Springs Racers is a VERY popular ride. The FastPasses will be gone around noon each day. So even if you get to the park at opening but you don’t get your FastPass until an hour in, your time frame might be 6-7pm that evening! Because of this long waiting period you will be able to reserve another FastPass around 11am and then you can keep moving along with your day. This is the most extreme example but very realistic for the parks at peak times. Other rides times will be much closer to the time you reserve the FastPass. By keeping track of when you can get another FastPass down to even the minute, will keep your day moving smoothly! Why? Because you aren’t waiting in the longer standby lines. The sooner you pull a FastPass, the sooner you ride the attraction and can pull another one. And then another. And another. We rarely EVER wait in standby lines for rides that have a FastPass option. (Screamin’ California was the only exception but it is now closed. We will see how the new coaster does.)

Lunch at Noon! Eating lunch around this time has really worked for us lately. Since we get to the park so early we are definitely ready to eat at this point. Because most guests don’t get there until later they aren’t going to eat until later in turn meaning less waits for you while they eat and you have a full tummy. Make sense? Just tryin’ to keep us all happy and not hangry! This means shorter lines to get your food and plenty of shaded areas to sit and eat. This usually isn’t a long break but is a nice resting point since we have done so much all morning.

*Again, the mornings are your golden time to get in as many rides as you can. It is also perfect for getting pictures taken – less crowds and better lighting. Do it for the ‘gram!

Take an afternoon break! Around 2pm the heat may start to seem unbearable, the crowds will have doubled and those little kids will think they can’t walk another step. Now is a good time to recharge. Don’t be scared to stop! You aren’t wasting time. You have done a lot in the parks already and you have your FastPasses and a plan for the evening. It will be far more enjoyable if everyone gets in a quick rest to take on the rest of the day. One option is to go back to your hotel. This will be easier if you are in walking distance and super easy if you stay on the resort. Go back and take a swim, eat lunch, take a nap, whatever! It is worth that 15 minute walk and you can be back at the park by 5-6pm with a whole evening left to enjoy. If you don’t want to leave the park you can just get out of the sun by attending a show. Most will last close to an hour and may even be air conditioned. One of our favorite spots is the Animation Studio in California Adventure. There are small but fun activities for all ages (We LOVE the Animation Academy) or you can sit and watch Disney video clips. Pull out your snack bag or take a nap, either way you will feel much better when it is time to go out again.

See the parades and shows! And wait to get a good spot! A lot of time and money go into these shows so they are worth seeing. You won’t see anything like this outside of Disney. Take the time to wait to get front row so you aren’t stressed about not being able to see over people, especially the kiddos. These parades and shows are pretty extravagant so we have another section specific to them. Please see below.

*Another option would be to do rides during the shows for less wait time.

Stay until close! Alright this might be for only a select few but if you have the energy it is a great time to get in a lot of rides with shorter waits since people leave after the shows and when kids get tired.

Food

Although Disneyland has some very yummy treats and food, we know it is pricey! Have somewhat of a plan for what you want to buy and what you want to bring in. We like having a hotel that offers free breakfast so there is one meal we don’t have to purchase. We also bring plenty of snacks into the park to fill us up when needed. Here is some of our favorite park food and snack to bring in.

Disneyland:

-        Corn Dogs at Stage Door Café or Main Street Cart

-        Mint Juleps and beignets at the Mint Julep Bar

-        Bread bowls in New Orleans Square

-        Churros (at multiple food carts)

-        Dole Whips at the Tiki Hut

-        Skewers at Bengal BBQ

-        Ice cream on Main Street

 California Adventure:

-        Corn Dogs as Corn Dog Castle

-        Flo’s Café (always seating available and air conditioned, a good place to take a break)

-        Chili Cone Queso at Cozy Cone Motel

-        Bread bowls at Pacific Wharf

-        Shmoozies

-        Pasta at Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta

-        Ghirardelli’s

Both parks: caramel apples, chocolate covered pineapple, sugar cookies, churros, turkey legs.

*You can get free water cups at any food place.

Outside snacks:

-        Beef jerky

-        Dried mangos

-        Nutter butter bites

-        Rice Krispies

-        Almonds

-        Sweet Tart balls

-        Fruit leather

-        Granola bars

*Anything that won’t melt or crush in your bag. Otherwise keep it in your stroller or locker. If it needs to be kept cold you can bring in a small cooler to keep with your items.

*We pack ziplock bags to portion out the snacks that aren’t individually wrapped like beef jerky.

 These lists could go on and on. There is a variety of different foods so look on the website or app ahead of time to get a better idea of what you will want. Kids especially can share meals to save money. If you are in walking distance it is really easy to have lunch back at your hotel with some sandwiches. We have heard great things about the table service restaurants but haven’t personally used them. Food is one of our favorite things about Disney so definitely buy a few things!

Your Park Bag

Disneyland Resort is a very bag friendly park. You are able to take it on any ride. Seriously, on every single ride. Since you have a long day at the park, making sure to pack the essentials and then some will be so helpful. Here are some of our must-haves:

-        Water Bottles

-        ID, cards, cash

-        Cell phones and portable charger

-        GoPro camera

-        Hand sanitizer, lotion, chapstick, goldbond

-        Outside snacks

-        Sunglasses

-        Medications

-        Ponchos (if there is a chance of rain)

-        Bandaids (each park has a First Aid station but having some right where you are is nice)

-        Ziplock bags for protecting phones and wallets from getting wet if needed

If you have a stroller you can store items in there. We have also rented lockers (small for $7/day). These are great for things you don’t want to carry around all day like jackets and extra layers when the evenings get cold or even a small cooler for other food you brought.

Shows and parades

We are suckers for the shows. They are truly magical and give you all the feels. We feel it is worth it for you to take the time to see these shows and that it will make your trip that much better. We have listed a breakdown of the bigger shows but know that there are many more at the park. The app will show every single one.

Daytime:

Pixar Play Parade – This is now in Disneyland. The parade route goes from It’s a Small World down to Town Square. Finding a seat about an hour before will give you front row and in the shade. The benches will go first but there will still be seating along any curb. Not as comfortable but it’s a seat! This is a fun parade filled with your favorite Pixar characters, gymnastics and maybe even a spray of water. We are hoping they kept the theme song because it is awesome.

Frozen – This live show goes on at the Hyperion Theatre in California Adventure four times a day. This one is the best if you can get on the lowest level. If you get there an hour early you should be on the first level. The later you are the higher your seats will be since that’s how they load. On slow days you can get there 15 minutes before and get up close just fine. This show has a lot of technology updates that are super fun. This is a completely air conditioned room for an entire hour. Worth it.

Disney Junior Dance Party! – We have never done this but we hear it is a kid’s dream.

Nighttime: (If there are two show times for these shows, the later will have less people)

World Of Color – is located in California Adventure. This show requires a FastPass which you can get at the carts between Ariel’s Undersea Adventure and Grizzly Bear River Run. We recommend returning a half hour before the return time printed on your ticket for the best seats on busier days. Guests will start gathering around their designated zone to get in line first so when the ropes open they can get front row. There are a few options for seating depending on the color zone you get. For yellow we like the wet zone! This is right up against the water with a super close view at the show but you will get wet! Other options would be to go to any level above that and get front row up against the railings. This way you still get a front row view since you are higher up but won’t get wet. For blue we recommend the bridge to the pier. Find a spot up against the railing and you are golden. It is far enough away you won’t get wet at all and it is at an angle where the show is pointed towards you! A Cast Member once told us the Imagineers made the show with this spot in mind. Another spot is to go down up front for the other side of the wet zone. We haven’t watched from here but would assume it is similar. You can sit down while you wait but they will have you stand for the actual show.

Fantasmic! – is located in Disneyland on the Rivers of America. This used to be my favorite show to watch and wait for until they changed the seating arrangements. This show you will need a FastPass and those are distributed by the Mark Twain Riverboat. This is where you will return for the show. The audience is in a half circle shape for this show and those with FastPasses get the ends of the half circle to stand and watch the show. The entire middle portion is set aside for those with dining packages for the show. They also get to sit the entire time. They are awesome seats but you have to pay for your spot. Instead, we have found that if we show up again about an hour before the show, we can find a spot on up against the railing on the bridge above Pirates of the Caribbean. You are high enough where anyone walking won’t be in your way and it pretty centered on the show. Again you can sit down and wait there and stand up when the show begins.

Fireworks – are in Disneyland. They sometimes get cancelled due to windy conditions. The best places to watch are in front of the castle or by It’s a Small World. With the special Pixar Fest fireworks in summer of 2018, in front of the castle or even down Main Street will be the best because they will add projections onto the castle or other attractions. And we are sure they will have something flying over the castle!

Paint The Night Parade – is now over in California Adventure. This is our absolute favorite! We have yet to see it in all its new glory but hopefully the magic and fun is all the same if not more. This parade route will most likely go from Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout up past Carthay Circle and ending near or past Goofy’s Sky School. We have only watched the former Pixar Play Parade here and we sat on the curb/sidewalk somewhere between Carthay Circle and Bug’s Land but with our backs up against Grizzly Bear River Run. I’m not sure how they will have the watching areas set up but the earlier you get a seat the better it will be. Most likely you will get to sit for the entire thing if you get up front. We have waited for front row seats for this parade for two hours. Two! We hang around the area until people start saving spots and then take our seats.

If want to get good spots like us, the earlier the better. It does take some waiting so be prepared. This is when one of us saves the spot and the other runs to get some yummy treats to snack on. We also play games to make the time pass like Head’s Up on our phones. We also just enjoy sitting down because by this point your legs, feet and whole body might be aching real bad! Plus you get to people watch. Who doesn’t like people watching?!

*If this plan doesn’t work out for you (probably just due to massive amounts of people or unforeseen circumstances) don’t get discouraged. You are still about to see an amazing show! We just prefer waiting so we don’t have people shoving their way past us or having anyone in our line of site. We paid a lot of money to be here, we want the best show!

Kids

Like we mentioned before, we have never done the parks with kids but Disneyland is known for being so kid/baby friendly. There are a couple things we know will help out your trip with little ones.

Baby Center. In Disneyland there is a building with so many things to help with babies! Changing tables, high chairs, nursing room, a fridge, microwave, etc. It also has a shop for things you might need. Yes, a lot of these things you can do out and about at the park or even in the restroom but sometimes it is nice to give you and those babies a break out of the crowds and with air conditioning!

Rider Switch. This is a pass for your party to use if there are members who can’t ride certain attractions – like kids who are too short. It allows half of your party to wait to go on the ride and then the other half to go through a shorter line after so someone is always waiting with the kids but everyone can ride that wants to. Check with the Cast Members at the attraction to see if they do rider switch.

Added Magic

Here are some extra things that might make your trip more magical!

-        Wear Mouse ears

-        Get a button from City Hall in Town Square (First visit, anniversary, birthday, etc.)

-        Get recipes to all Disneyland Resort food also at City Hall

-        Laugh at the Jungle Cruise jokes no matter how cheesy

-        Stop to watch the band play - they are good!

-        Get pictures taken with characters! We don’t care how old you are, give Mickey Mouse a hug!

-        Chase card holders – if you have a Disney debit/credit card you get a personal Meet n’ Greet with a mystery character over in California Adventure (over by Monster’s Inc) between 10:30am and 1:30pm. If you have a Star Wars card you get the same thing with a mystery Star Wars character over at the Star Wars Launch Bay in Disneyland.

What’s Going On at Disneyland Resort?

Pixar Fest starts April 13, 2018 and ends September 3, 2018. This is Disneyland Resorts summer party with the Pixar Play parade, Paint the Night parade, special activities and added themed food items for the duration of this time. It is unknown if the parades will stick around after Pixar Fest is over. Our fingers are crossed over here!

Pixar Pier opens June 23, 2018 and is there to stay permanently. What used to be Paradise Pier will now be transformed with Pixar movie décor and themed rides.

Bug’s Land is on its way to being replaced with more Marvel attractions. The theatre is already shut down and the remainder of the land will shut down after summer.

Star Wars Land is set to open in 2019. This 14 acre addition is highly anticipated. Our guess is high (if not record breaking) crowds to visit during this time. We are hoping just the land is crowded and the rest of the park and California Adventure empties out some.

Odds and Ends

The tip we tell people the most: Disneyland is expensive. It just is. Yes, there are ways to save for your trip so do them! Save wherever you can! But overall just know, expect and budget with that in mind and you will have more fun. Is this churro worth $4? No, but we are going to eat it anyway.  With that being said, we NEVER recommend going into debt to go on vacation including Disneyland. It isn’t worth it! But that isn’t what you are here for and we aren’t your parents so do whatever you want.

We know this is so much information. We also know some of this information won’t apply to you or there is other information you need. You can always email us at shannon.nay@hotmail.com and we will try and find the answers for you if we don’t know OR call Disneyland directly. They are nice to work with and a wealth of knowledge. You can also follow us on Instagram @naysbaby for more tips, updates and adventures. They are nice to work with and a wealth of knowledge. 

We hoped this helped you plan your trip. We know Disneyland is a lot to take on. There are still things we have yet to do and try out. We will keep going back and updating this page.

With Mickey hugs and magic fairy dust,

Jonathan and Shannon Nay