Guest post by Mommy:
Well, it's been a full month since our passes expired for Disneyland and I think I'm finally ready to sum up what we've learned and what advice I would pass on.
First off, I love Disneyland. It is a place I willingly choose over and over to vacation. That being said, any day in Disneyland is considered successful by me! In this post I will offer my top 10 tips on how to make it work better for anyone, but know that you will never be all alone in Disneyland and it will cost you some cash!
I have traveled to Disneyland during every season and on just about every day of the week. (I think over my life, I have actually been during every month!) Each season has its merits. Each season has its drawbacks. I think my favorite time to visit will always be around my birthday around the end of April. Last year my birthday fell 10 days after Easter which was perfect. 99% of all spring breaks were completed! The hours were long, 99% of the rides were functioning, and people weren't quite traveling in droves.
I have also done or experienced everything on their list of Attractions with the exception of Fantasmic! (The Show) and The Moments with Mr. Lincoln.
So here are my tips!
Planning/pre-trip phase:
1. Time of year to go:
So here's the breakdown by month. Remember what I consider cons might be pros for you! For example, I would love to spend 16 hours a day in the park, you might prefer the shorter 10 hours.
January/February- Pros: Smaller crowds, shorter lines (these two are BIG), easier to watch shows
Cons: Colder weather, shorter hours (weekdays), more rides closed for refurbishment, people are catching on to the "Slow Month" thing.
March/April- Pros: Weather is warming up, more rides are open, longer hours (weekdays)
Cons: Weather can still be chilly at night, Spring Break crowds, some rides still closed.
April/May- Pros: After Spring Break crowds are much less, longer hours, more rides open
Cons: Some rides may still be closed, some people start their summer travel and everybody is catching on to May being a slower month!
June/July/August- Pros: Disneyland is running at its best! All rides are functioning (unless major renovations!), new attractions normally open in June, plenty of entertainment, and long long hours, hot weather which makes water rides rock
Cons: Can be very crowded! Can be very hot! Summer prices for hotels.
September/October/November- Pros: Smaller crowds, Halloween decorations, Haunted Mansion is converted to "Nightmare Before Christmas", weather cooling down
Cons: Rides closed for renovation or decorating for Christmas, Space Mountain goes Scary until Halloween which is bad for my sensitive girls, weekend crowds are CRAZY because of the goth/Halloween/party atmosphere at night, shorter hours
December- Pros: The Christmas Decorations and Fireworks are incredible, smaller crowds (excluding the week between Christmas-New Year), generally all rides running, hours are longer towards Christmas
Cons: Christmas crowds are crazy, colder weather, harder to watch shows because of the crowds
As far as days of the week are concerned, weekends are always busy (unless you can go spur of the moment and go when the weather is supposed to be a little icky!) They also have the longer hours all year long. During the school year, mid-week can be better just because less locals will fill in the space that is until later afternoon/early evening!
The most important thing however is making your vacation work for you. If the only time you can go to Disneyland is the end of July on the weekend, oh well! You will still have a GREAT time. And you will just have to do a little preplanning of your days to get it all in.
2. How many days in the park: I've looked at the prices, I've done the math. If you go every year and can save up for it, it's will pay off to do the annual pass with only 50 block out days. However, that isn't possible for everyone so I will recommend THREE DAY PARK HOPPER PASSES. You can save a little money and do one park one day tickets that have you pick which park you go into and that will work especially for the first two days, but on the third day when you are kind of "summing up" your trip, you will want to park hop. So take that into consideration. :) And just know, I could spend a week there and not get bored!
In the park phase:
3. Pick your Experience. By this I mean, are you going to Disneyland to experience the thrills of rides or are you going to meet Princesses and characters and watch shows? Or a little of both. I'm a pack in as many rides and only watch shows if you have little kids or need to sit down for a bit kinda gal. My sister in law loves shows. She would plan her day in Disneyland differently than me which leads into tip number 4!
4. Have a loose plan. I'm not talking a detailed itinerary with times. I mean look at the map the night before and have everyone in the party pick out what rides/shows they consider "must do's" that day. Then kind of get a feel for how you will enter the park and which directions you will go and when. Things like "we will start in Tomorrowland" and then head to the opening of "Toon Town" and then hit "Adventureland" before we stop for lunch. Loose is key here. Broken rides or randomly really long lines will throw you off, but just roll with it.
5. Know how to work Fast Pass. I cannot stress this one enough. Fast Pass is a free service offered by Disneyland on some of its most popular and high demand rides. (Unfortunately Peter Pan and the Matterhorn don't offer these!) Talk to people, ask Cast Members. This system can make or break you! Don't stand in a line for more than 20 minutes on the big roller coasters! The first thing you do when you enter the park is get your first Fast Pass of the day and as soon as it's time comes up, run and get your next Fast Pass and so on and so forth. This is a biggie for managing your wait times! I promise you would rather have unused Fast Passes at the end of the day than find yourself wishing you had one. Also good to know, is that the two parks' Fast Pass systems are not connected. Normally you can only hold one Fast Pass at a time unless your two rides are in different parks but that can mean a LOT of walking!
6. Arrival time. The BEST hours of the day will ALWAYS be the first three hours the park is open. Try your very hardest to make it to the ceremonial rope drop each morning. Especially if you have the Magic Morning option available on your ticket. This means on one day of your trip you can get in an hour before the general public. This option is available on all 3 day+ park hopper passes. You will generally need to plan to arrive at the parking garage or the front gates at least 30 minutes before opening.
7. Attraction Times. Not everything opens right when the park opens, especially Character Meet n Greets. Get a program when you walk through the front gate and pay attention to when specific things open so you can get there early to minimize wait. For example, Toon Town opens an hour after the park which means you could head back there and practically skip right up to Mickey no waiting if you time right!
8. Food! Yes you can bring food in to the park! As much as you want! Just make sure you have no glass containers and that it doesn't look like you have to make your sandwich because it's against Health Codes.
9. Characters. They do still have characters out and wandering to a place to sign autograph books or take pictures with you. The Princesses right now will show up over on the side of the castle by Snow White's wishing well and sometimes you will get to see them with their villains too!
10. TALK. This applies before and during you trip. Find someone who has gone recently to Disneyland right before you and ask what the high demand ride was and which ones you will really need Fast Passes for. Also once you are in Disneyland, don't be afraid to ask a Cast Member a question whether it's about which ride you should go on or how the line system is working sometimes they give you really great tips!
Most of all just remember Walt Disney's purpose for building Disneyland. He wanted "a family park where parents and children could have fun together."
