10 essential Disneyland tips
Your quick-start guide to the Happiest Place on Earth
Hi everyone! Today I’m answering one of your most frequently asked questions - “What should I know about Disneyland?”
For anyone who’s Disneyland-curious, East-Coasters who want a change of pace, or you guys whose kids are hounding you to go, here are 10 essential Disneyland-savvy tips.
Got questions? That’s what this comment button is for. ⤵
Clueless about Disneyland? Here’s 10 quick-start tips
1) It’s not just for kids
The Disneyland you remember from childhood is still there, sort of. But it has grown up A LOT.
With immersive lands dedicated to Marvel and Star Wars, there’s a lot to entertain guests of every age. Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge boasts one of the most advanced theme park rides in the world and a cantina that would make Han Solo proud.
If you’d like a craft cocktail, beer, or a glass of California wine, you can find those in the parks too.
2) Stay 3 nights for the best experience
Disneyland Resort is not just one theme park. There are two parks - Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure - plus the Downtown Disney entertainment, shopping and dining district; and three Disney-operated hotels.
There are also numerous non-Disney hotels just off-property, so you’ve got lots of options. Besides the convenience of staying right in the heart of everything, Disney hotel guests get early admission to the parks each day.
I recommend a three-night stay at Disneyland. This gives plenty of time to explore both parks, and double-back for favorite attractions, without exhausting yourself or your family.
3) Plan ahead
Even if you’re just doing a one-day strategic Disneyland visit, you need to plan ahead. (Actually, especially if you’re only going for one day!)
These days, Disneyland requires a park reservation just to get in. You’ll need to buy your tickets in advance to select the dates you plan to visit.
These date-based tickets are priced according to projected crowds. So you can use the ticket pricing calendar to see just how busy Disney thinks your dates will be. More expensive = more crowded. If your dates are flexible, you can use this info to choose a less-crowded, less-pricey week.
Planning ahead also means doing some homework to figure out what your group wants to do, see, eat, and explore. Here are some of the top resources I use.
4) Get park hopper tickets
The two Disneyland parks are right next to each other, so it’s easy to visit both on the same day. This is called park hopping.
Park hopping is a great way to elude crowds, explore to your heart’s desire, and sometimes just get that snack you really want.
In order to enter both parks on the same day, you’ll need to pay extra to get the park hopper option on your ticket. This is totally worth it.
5) Holiday season is extra special
Fall is the best time of year to visit Disneyland. From late August all the way through New Year’s, the parks are decked out in holiday decor. First Halloween, then, magically, it’s Christmas.
Both parks get tons of extra decor for the holidays, and some of the rides are different too. Jack Skellington takes over The Haunted Mansion, monsters invade Mission Breakout, and guests can meet Santa on the Redwood Creek trail.
Last month I was at Disneyland for the Oogie Boogie Bash halloween party! Watch my trip report on YouTube here.
Check out my post about Christmas at Disneyland, from my GoInformed.net website. It’s also a podcast episode you can find on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.
6) Fly into SNA John Wayne Orange County airport
If there’s any way to avoid it, DO NOT fly into LAX. This airport is huge, traffic is a nightmare, and it’s a solid hour drive to Disneyland (double it during rush hour). This is no way to start or end your vacation.
By contrast, SNA has only a few gates, is 20 minutes from Disneyland, and usually has no wait for TSA. It’s almost like flying private.
We are often literally at the park gate within an hour of landing at SNA. The close proximity also means we can get a solid 6 hours of park time on our departure day and still catch a 5:30pm flight home.
Also, if your entire trip is just Disneyland, you don’t need to rent a car. You can walk between the parks and your hotel, and there’s no reason for you to fight LA traffic just to get to the hotel from the airport.
SNA has easy access to Uber/Lyft just outside the terminal and the fare to Disneyland is about $35. Easy and quick.
7) Also doing Universal? Split your stay
We love theme parks (obviously 🙄), so it’s super-tempting to visit both Universal Studios Hollywood and Disneyland in the same trip.
What I’ve learned the hard way is that it is not practical to stay at Disneyland and do a day at Universal. While the distance between these parks looks not-too-far on the map, you can easily spend 90 minutes each way in SoCal traffic.
If Universal is on your itinerary, switch to a hotel in Hollywood for that part of your trip. It will be way less stressful and might be cheaper too, especially if you buy your Universal tickets and hotel in a package. Here’s a link to Universal’s hotel package info (they are not paying me to send you there).
This is my post about how Universal Studios Hollywood compares to Universal Orlando.
8) You will walk a lot
Get ready for a lot of exercise. The good news is that all those treats you eat will be (mostly) offset by all the miles you walk.
9) An early start is essential
If crowds and long lines are not your thing, take heart that there are lots of tactics to avoid them.
Getting there before the park opens is the number one way to stay ahead of the crowd. This is called “rope drop” and you need to try it at least once on your trip.
I’ve written, and talked, so much about rope drop that I won’t say more here, but instead direct you to these past posts and podcast episodes.
Go Informed Podcast episode 44, How to Rope Drop - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube
How to double-up your rope drop (advanced)
10) Don’t stress too much about the Lightning Lane system
Lightning Lane is Disney’s current skip-the-line system. If you have any experience with FastPass, you already know a lot.
Today’s Lightning Lane works through the Disneyland app and it’s not free. (The app is free, and you definitely need to get it. Lightning Lane access is a daily charge).
At Disneyland, Lightning Lane can save you hours in line, plus it includes all your ride photos. I think it’s really worthwhile.
The downside to Lightning Lane (besides the fee) is that you’ll be spending time on your phone hunting down ride reservation times. At Disneyland this is not super-hard. Almost every attraction in both parks has LL availability throughout the day.
You will want to be familiar with how this all works before you go. Spend 20 minutes to watch this excellent video from Chris at Provost Park Pass. (Subscribe to his channel too - he’s got tons of great insights).
One more thing) Be sure to subscribe to this newsletter
I’ll be back 3 weeks from now with more helpful theme park tips. If you’re considering a trip, be sure to join the mailing list so you don’t miss anything.
You can also access all my past newsletters in the archive here.
Questions?
You can reply to this email to ask a question directly, or leave a note in the comments. Have fun in Disneyland!