Disney Tips and Tricks ... Please Share

[SeattleSheri]

I know many of you have gone to Disneyland in the past. We have too, but it's been years. We are going in mid-August and would love any tips and tricks you have for navigating, places to see/avoid, etc ... Thank you so much!

[nesser1981]

I haven't been to DL, but I'd recommend checking out the www.disboards.com they have a DL section. They're amazing & so helpful there!


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[DawnMarch]

The key for me, especially in the summer is to get there early. You want to be in line toward the front when it opens because then you can pretty much knock off the main rides or get fast passes) early. If you wait til later in the day, you are fighting the crowds and waiting in line all day and end up doing a lot less.

[Nettio]

Are you just doing Disneyland or California Adventure too?

[SeattleSheri]

Originally Posted by Nettio

Are you just doing Disneyland or California Adventure too?

I don't know! Do you recommend both? My boys are 8 and 11.

Thanks for the tips Dawn and Vanessa!

[nesser1981]

Originally Posted by SeattleSheri

I don't know! Do you recommend both? My boys are 8 and 11.

Thanks for the tips Dawn and Vanessa!

No problem. I used them when I was planning Keira's wish trip. So much information. There are some good apps out there too that have menus, prices, wait times, maps, etc, but I'm not sure which ones for DL.

[nun69]

Sherri I think your kids would love them BOTH!

[eranslow]

You'll definitely want to do both - DCA has a lot of big rides (Tower of Terror, California Screamin', Soarin', Toy Story Mania and the rapids ride....can't think of the name!) And there's good food and drink in DCA too!

[jaylensmom]

I agree...you definitely want to do both parks. I would suggest disboards also. I used them for Disneyland and Disney World and my family loved me because they didn't stand in lines for long periods of time. They really help with navigating which rides to ride 1st and in which order to get fast passes (not sure how much the fast pass system has changed in the past 2 years).

[Jjriward]

I've never been to DL, but I've been to DW several times and am planning another trip for this September. I'm a planner, so I plan out what we're doing down to the rides we will be going on each day. I recommend the Touring Plans website for this. You can create custom plans and they will optimize them for you based on waiting times, etc. I've used it each time we've gone.

[DawnMarch]

There's less to do at California Adventure so we usually save that for one of the days that the parks open a little later. If you go there, go straight to get a FastPass for the Cars ride and then head for the Toy Story ride. They are both great rides but get huge lines. If you don't like walking around wet, bring along the cheapo ponchos from the dollar store for the Grizzly River Run. Some people only get a little wet and others get 100% drenched to the skin (happened to me once and I'll never ride without a poncho again!).

It does help to look at some of the sites that discuss ride times and touring suggestions. I used a great book called the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland that talked about how the different types of rides affect the order in which you visit. For example, Dumbo and Peter Pan are both very slow loading rides, and they don't have FPs so if you don't get on those early in the day, you will have to wait in line for hours if you want to go on them. We usually head to Fantasyland first to ride the two I've mentioned early (and sometimes Alice in Wonderland and Mr. Toad if there are no lines), then run over to get a FP for Splash Mountain. While over there, we'll ride Indiana Jones. After that, it's a little more hit or miss depending on how the lines are looking. Some of the ones you can wait a little bit on are the Haunted House and Pirates, because they move people through fairly quickly and the lines tend to come and go. But, if there's no line when we're going by, we'll jump on it. Nemo is another one that gets crazy long lines so should probably get worked in early (although we usually just skip it all together since my kids don't love it). Anyway, it sort of depends on what you want to see (like my kids don't like Space Mountain so we never have to worry about that one), but it does pay to have a plan.

Speaking of lines. the apps that tell you wait times are awesome and can really help you decide whether it's worth running from one side of the park to the other for a particular ride at a particular time. I definitely recommend using one of those.

And back to the topic of going early, it's awesome if you are staying at a Disney Resort and can take advantage of the early park admission. To me, it's well worth the extra cost.

Oh man, you are making me want to go back!

[eranslow]

I forgot about the Cars line! That one is so fun!! But sometimes the line for the fastpass can be super long too so judge wisely

[winipeg1]

We were therein feb and I have a few tips.

1. Definitely do both parks California Adventure is FUN!

2. On magic morning hours do the opposite park that hasnt got the magic morning hours.
The one morning MK had early hours and the line to get in were REALLY long. There was still a massive line once we had gotten in to CA. Plus CA was a little quiter as everyone was heading in to MK.

3. On the day you go to CA head straight for the fast past for the Cars ride- the line through out the day is really long. The fast pass ticket all go in the first half hour of the park opening.

4. If you are getting the photopass ask every photographer if they do magic shots

5. Take advantage of fastpass tickets, we managed to ride Big Thunder Mountain 4 times in the space of a few hours by using fastpass.

I will be back if I can think of any more.