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Disneyland is certainly the happiest place on earth, yet also a logistical nightmare unless you have a basic plan. We have you covered! Here are sixteen of the best Disneyland California tips to make your trip the most magical vacation you’ve ever had!
1. Arrive Early!
Have you heard people talking about ‘rope-dropping?’ That means arriving BEFORE the park opens (check the hours in the app for the days you’ll be there). You want to time it so you’re in the security line 45 minutes before the park opens, because they’ll let you into the parks early and you can line up at different cast-member guarded ‘ropes’. The goal is to be first in line at the rope, so that when they ‘drop’ them, you can fast-walk to your favorite ride. It’s basically a way to skip lines without paying for Genie Plus or Lightning Lane, because you can ride SO MANY RIDES before lines are long if you rope-drop. We do it every time and highly recommend.
2. Don’t try to do it all.
Ask everyone in your traveling party to make a list of their top five wishes with regards to attractions and snacks, and focus on accomplishing those things. Anything you get done on top of that will be icing on the cake! Otherwise, you will make yourself miserable rushing around and missing all the magic. If you rope-drop in the morning, consider not staying late into the night. Instead, head back to your hotel right after fireworks for a good night’s sleep (or, take a nap break midday and come back for nighttime fun!). Go with the flow: take turns choosing rides, sit on a bench and people-watch when you’re tired. Remember, you’re on vacation.
3. Make time for snacks and relaxing.
If someone in your travel party seems “off,” they’re probably just hangry. People average about 20,000 steps on a day at Disney! That’s a lot of calories to replace. Stay hydrated, eat snacks, and sit down whenever you can to save your feet and your sanity. There’s always a churro, popcorn or pretzel stand nearby when you need one!
4. Bring snacks.
You can save time and money by packing a few snacks into the parks. Munching on something while you wait in line for a ride is efficient and makes lines more bearable. We even check a suitcase full of food for the flight down and/or order groceries to our room, then haul some of it into the parks so no one’s ever hungry. If our hotel has free breakfast, we grab apples, bananas, bagels etc. on our way to the parks (and we grab to-go coffee. Lots and lots of coffee).
5. Save Money by Using Credit Card Points & Miles to pay for Your Trip!
We like to use credit card points to pay for lodging, flights, and even tickets–learn more reading this blog post:
6. Pack layers of clothing.
Believe it or not, it can get cold at night, even in sunny California! Even though the magical ‘snow’ on main street at Christmas is fake, the low temperatures are for real. Make sure you bring warm enough clothing. In the winter, bring warm coats, hats & gloves. It also rains sometimes, so don’t forget your poncho (which will also help keep you dry on water rides, along with a pair of flip-flops stashed in your bag)!
7. Use the lockers!
Did you know you can go straight from the airport to the parks, and stash your suitcases in Disney’s extra-large lockers? Lockers inside & outside the parks range from $7-$15 per day. Besides suitcases, you can stash layers of clothes, a change of shoes, baby gear, food etc.
8. Get to know the app.
There is so much valuable information in the Disneyland App. Download it before you go and click around through all the menus to get used to it! You can search for bathrooms, water fountains, photo opportunities, park maps, ride wait times, entertainment schedule of shows/parades/nighttime events like fireworks, and so much more (see the shot below which illustrates where in the app I score an Oga’s Cantina walkup every time I visit the parks!).
9. Plan rest days.
It sounds fun to plan a five-day trip to Disneyland, but if you don’t take time to rest, everyone will be crabby and you’ll be seriously dragging by the end of the trip. Try to work in rest days in between your park days. This will give you stamina on the days you’re in the park, and will allow you to TRULY feel like you’re on vacation during the off days. Drive to the California beaches if you rented a car, or swim in your hotel pool. Rest days are something we started adding to our Disney trips just this year, and they’ve made the biggest difference!
10. Bring chargers for your phones.
You’re going to be using the app, taking photos, and maybe using Genie Plus, all of which will drain your battery fast. Make sure to pack battery chargers with enough cords to power up all the devices in your traveling party! And don’t forget to charge the battery and all your devices when you’re back in the room.
11. Get a Disability Access Service pass if you need one.
It will make everyone’s days more magical if you have what you need to keep you or your loved ones comfortable and happy! Designed for accommodating guests with disabilities, you can find out more about DAS passes at Disneyland here.
12. Make dining reservations 60 days in advance in the app.
This is necessary for nice sit-down restaurants like Blue Bayou, Cafe Orleans, Carthay Circle, etc. If you don’t get the reservation you want, don’t panic: set up paid alerts on Mousewatcher and you’ll likely get a reservation before your trip, OR try to get a walkup while you are there.
13. Mobile order food.
Save time waiting in food lines by mobile ordering food in the app. For popular items like the Jolly Holly Bakery’s Raspberry Macaron, mobile order in the morning right when you arrive, and pick it up later in the day! Remember to load a credit card into the app that will earn you 3x points when you order food & drink: we recommend this one:
Open a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, for only a $95 annual fee. We use this card for food & drink purchases in the parks and earn 3x Ultimate Rewards per dollar spent!
14. Pay to skip lines with Genie Plus and Lightning Lanes.
Genie+ is the new FastPass/MaxPass. It’s dynamically priced and allows you to skip the line on certain rides once a day. Some Lightning Lanes are ala carte and charged per ride for premium rides. You will find daily pricing for all this in the app, or can read more here.
15. Skip lines the free way!
Instead of paying for Genie Plus and Lightning Lanes, we like to maximize all the free ways to skip lines; after all, this is an almost-free-traveling account. Here are five free ways to skip lines:
1. Rope-drop and ride a bunch of rides before the crowds come.
2. Ride attractions during parades and shows.
3. Stay late into the night and wait for crowds and lines to dwindle.
4. Anyone over seven years old can use Single Rider lines on select rides.
5. Use rider switch if someone in your party doesn’t want to or can’t ride a certain ride and needs someone to sit out with them; that way, the person who sits out gets to skip the line once the rest of the party returns (here’s a whole blog post detailing ways to skip lines).
16. Stay at a walkable hotel.
There are lots of hotels right across the street on Harbor Blvd which are less than a ten minute walk to the main gates. Or, stay at one of the hotels down the street next to the Toy Story parking lot and ride the free Disney shuttle to the parks. Refer to this blog post for ideas on walkable hotels that accept credit card points & miles as payment:
Takeaways
Now that you’re equipped with these 16 magical tips, you’re sure to save time and money on your next trip to Disneyland! Follow us at @almostfreetraveling on Instagram for more tips and tricks to help you on your next trip.
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