Planning your day at Disneyland

I have been asked numerous times, "What is the best way to go on the most rides and avoid standing in long lines while at Disneyland?" Although standing in some lines is an unavoidable part of Disneyland, in this post I'll share some ideas that help me and my family get the most out of our visits.

(1) Get there early! Even if you are not an early riser (or have teenagers that aren't early risers) make an exception. Get to the park at least 15 minutes before it opens - even 30 minutes before if you can. Disneyland starts letting its guests through the turnstiles about 15 minutes before the park opens. They will have areas of the park roped off so you still aren't able to go on rides until the actual opening time, but being in the park, in the actual area you want to be in right when it opens as opposed to just leaving your hotel room or being in line at the entrance when it opens can help you get more rides in and take nice pictures before the park is crowded. Let me also take a moment here to mention how magical the rope drop ceremony is. While there isn't a lot of fanfare involved, something about hearing the recorded announcer over the PA make the announcements opening Disneyland for the day and then hurrying off to the rides hand in hand with my kids brings a tear to my eye every time. Don't miss the rope drop - at least get there early enough one of the days of your stay to experience it. Also, the locals, who make up a significant percentage of the daily attendance, tend to start arriving in droves around 10:30 to 11:00, so get all the rides in that you can before that time. My family's traditional first ride is Peter Pan, which is notorious for a pretty constant 45+ minute wait throughout the whole day. Even first thing in the morning we still wait 10-15 minutes for it, but because it is one of our favorite rides that we will go on anyway at some point, we feel it better to get on it early and save the 20 or so minutes waiting in line later in the day. We were also able to get on the Matterhorn with only about a 10 minute wait instead of the typical 30-45 minute wait throughout the rest of the day.

(2) Stay late! In the summertime, Disneyland stays open until midnight. Take advantage of every last minute! My kids have gone on Splash Mountain 4 times in a row, just walking on each time, within about 30 minutes of the park closing. I walked right on Star Tours also right before closing. These two rides frequently have wait times of over 40 minutes and, in the case of Splash Mountain, up to 2 hours during the middle of the day. Because of the many parades and shows at night, many of the ride lines are shorter during this time.

(3) Use the middle of the day wisely! Because we wake up early to eat breakfast at our hotel with the desire to get to Disneyland 30 minutes before it opens, we end up getting out of bed around 6:20am. Since we stay at Disneyland until Midnight, we often don't get back to our hotel room until about 12:30am and then we eat a light dinner. That means that we are getting about 5 hours of sleep a night and when you do as much walking as we do at Disneyland everyday, that just won't cut it. So we go back to our hotel during one of the busiest times of the day to eat lunch and take naps. We usually head back to the hotel around 1:00pm and eat and nap until about 4:30pm. This allows us to stay rested, save money on food, avoid the hottest part of the day, and take advantage of the lack of people early in the day and late at night. If you are a machine and don't need sleep, the middle of the day is a great time to see shows such as Disney Junior: Live on Stage (mainly enjoyable for children under 9) or Aladdin (all ages) in California Adventure, the Tiki Room, or to even explore Tom Sawyer Island or try out the Davey Crockett Explorer Canoes. The middle of the day is also a great time to take advantage of the Fast Pass system. Don't forget too, if you want to take family pictures, trade pins, or look in shops, use the middle of the day to do these things since the ride wait times are longest.

(4) The Fast Pass system. Disneyland has a free Fast Pass system set up for its busiest rides. Near the entrance to most of the busier rides is an area with a few machine kiosks. To get a fast pass, you insert your Disneyland admission ticket into the machine and the machine will give you a ticket for that ride. The ticket will specify an hour-long window to come back and ride the ride later that day. When you go back to ride the ride, there is a separate line for fast passes. You show your fast pass to the cast member and he or she lets you in the shorter line. This is the only way to ride Radiator Springs Racers in California Adventure, as its wait times are normally 1 to 2 hours long. With a fast pass on Radiator Springs, we normally end up waiting about 15 minutes. Other rides/attractions that it is wise to have a past pass for are: The World of Color show, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Star Tours, Indiana Jones, Grizzly River Run, Soarin' Over California and Tower of Terror. Only one fast pass is allowed at a time per admission ticket (fast passes for shows, such as World of Color, and Fantasmic don't count toward the limit).

This is what an actual fast pass looks like. For reference, it is the size of an admission ticket.

If you try to get an additional fast pass while you currently already have one, this is the type of card you'll get back. Remember, only one fast pass per admission ticket at a time.

(5)Rider Switch Pass. If you are travelling with infants or smaller children that are too little to go on one of the bigger rides, such as Space Mountain, you are able to get a Rider Switch Pass. This pass enables the person that had to sit out with the small children to avoid the long line and go to the fast pass line after their party has finished riding the ride. In fact, it allows up to three people to go, so the person who sat out can go and take 2 people from their party who already went on it. To obtain a Rider Switch Pass, ask a cast member at the beginning of the line (or fast pass line) about it. The procedure has changed for obtaining one from year to year. In 2016, usually cast members at the end of the ride would give us the Rider Switch Pass but in the past, cast members at the beginning of the line would give it to us.

The Rider Switch Pass is slightly bigger that the admission ticket. It is a great way for families with infants or small children to take turns riding all the rides.

(6) Have a plan! Have a general idea of how Disneyland is laid out so you don't waste time walking clear across the park trying to find rides. As funny as it might sound, study a map of Disneyland before you go. If possible, go on a few rides in each area you are in to avoid wasted time walking back and forth. Know what rides usually have short wait times (Snow White, Pinocchio, Tarzan's Treehouse, Pirates of the Caribbean, Winnie the pooh, all rides in Bugs Land, The Little Mermaid, etc) and go on them during the busier parts of the day. This will especially come in handy if you have to drive to get to Disneyland and can't go back to the hotel in the afternoon.

Hopefully some of these tips help with getting the most out of your days at Disneyland! If you have any more ideas to add, feel free to respond and post them!