The Ultimate Guide To Disneyland: The Strategy

 

If you’ve ever struggled with how to navigate Disneyland, I have put together a mini series of blog posts all about the Ultimate Guide to Disneyland. This is the first of many I will be doing monthly. Disneyland is my favorite place on the planet, and I’m so excited to share all my tips and tricks I’ve learned as a long time annual pass holder!

Here are my strategies for navigating the rides to get the most out of your trip:

The night before:

Go through and pick the rides that you especially want to go on before you get there. Disneyland has a whole section of their website where they outline their attractions. It’s really important to have a game plan so that you can be as efficient as possible with your time. We are currently heading into the busiest time of year for Disneyland, and some of the lines can get to up to two hour waits. I would suggest picking a few big rides like Space Mountain and Indiana Jones that you want to get on with a fast pass because they are the longest lines. Then while you’re waiting for your fast pass time to come, you can pick the rides with shorter waits that you will have more time to go on such as Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion.

The day of:

Before entering the park, check the Disneyland App to see what the wait times are on the attractions you planned to go on. If you plan on getting there when they open, I would still use this app throughout the day to keep track of the waits on each of the rides. The app also has great resources for all other parts of Disneyland that I will dig more into in later posts! If you’re staying at one of the Disney hotels, you will be extended what is known as the Extra Magic Hour. This gets you entrance into the park on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays an hour earlier than the general admission time. That is your chance to get on any rides that you don’t want to wait for, or want to go on more than once.

While in the park:

My best strategy for navigating your time in the park would be, first thing in the morning, getting your first fast pass. I like to go over to Space Mountain and snag one right away before too many people get over there and the come back time for the fast passes gets to be three or four hours after you get it. I then head completely out of Tomorrowland, and head back over to the other side of the park. I don’t know what it is, but every time I go the first thing I notice is everyone tends to head right when they enter the park. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. That is where you will find the long lines. Head left, and start in Adventureland or Frontierland. These areas are always less crowded at the beginning of the day. The rest of the day, stick to the plan you set out the night before and keep checking the app for ride updates and closures (Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain break down a lot!!). Once you use that first fast pass you got, you are able to get another one at the next ride you picked! By then the lines will be long, and you will be thankful you got them.

Later in the day:

Another great time to get on a couple of rides you may have missed earlier is during the fireworks at the end of the night! This is the time everyone is winding down, and most likely ending their day at the park. If you’re okay with missing the fireworks, the lines tend to be a little shorter at this time.

 

Hopefully this guide to Disneyland has helped in aiding your Disney adventure! Please don’t hesitate to comment below, or email me with any other questions!

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