Magic Morning:
When you purchase certain tickets (3+ days), you get a free "magic morning" or early entry. This means you can enter the park an hour early on one day during your visit. Take advantage of this if possible! During this time, almost all the rides are open and you can walk right on to just about anything!Food:
Get a big breakfast before you
head to the park! You'll be walking around a lot, so you'll probably get hungry
faster. There are McDonalds, sandwich places, Denny's Ihop, Subway, etc. right
outside the main gates of Disney on Harbor Blvd. If you ask a cast member or
someone at the gates, they will point you in the right direction so you leave
the park on the correct side. Even in Downtown Disney, food is still very
expensive; so try to get off of Disney property entirely. The exception is
Jamba Juice in Downtown Disney. The have flatbread pizzas, sandwiches, and the
juices of course.
Food inside of the park is very expensive, $3 for a
bottle of water. Bring a backpack or two and fill the bag with sandwiches,
fruit snacks, trail mix, water bottles, etc. You can fill up water bottles at
many stations throughout the park. Technically, you are not allowed bring food
into the park, but they don't enforce this rule. However, if you want to bring
sandwiches, bring them already made. If you bring a loaf of bread, a jar of PB,
and a jar of jam, they will make you leave it outside- no fun. For some reason
though, if it is already made, they will let you bring it in.
If you choose to eat inside the park, they definitely
have some delicious options! If you are looking for food that gets the most
bang for your buck, I recommend Cocina
Cucamonga Mexican Grill or Pacific
Wharf Café in Pacific Wharf, or The
Cozy
Cones in Cars
Land in California Adventure. These places are relatively reasonably priced and
can be easily shared. In Disneyland, I recommend Carnation Café on Main Street, Bengal
Barbecue in Adventureland, The
Tomorrowland Terrace in Tomorrowland, and Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante in Frontierland. Of course, there are
many options, but these are some of the best values in the park, at least in my opinion.
There are two places in California Adventure that you
can get a free little snack! If you are walking past Pacific Wharf towards
Paradise Pier, there will be a sign that says “Bakery Tour” on your left. If
you go into this building, you will get a free slice of sourdough bread! This
bread is made fresh in that building, and is delicious!! Right across the
street at the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain
and Chocolate Shop, you will get a free Ghirardelli chocolate square just
by walking in to the shop. Yum! If you’re wearing your buttons, they just might
give you 2!
Souvenirs:
Hit ebay, amazon, anywhere
online before you go if you want shirts, sweatshirts, a stuffed animal, etc.
When you get into town, you can even stop at a Walmart or one of the discount
Disney stores they have around town. If you google discount Disney merchandise
in Anaheim, it will pull up different stores. These stores sell authentic
Disneyland products from the previous year. It will have last years date on it,
but you can buy items that don't have a date if that bothers you.
Some parents will buy the little one's a stuffed animal,
sweater, pen, notebook, etc., outside the park, then when they ask for one
inside the park, just pull the one you already have out and they'll forget they
ever wanted a different one.
If you want autographs from the different characters,
you can buy autograph books inside the park, but again, they are expensive. You
can purchase a cute journal or notebook outside the park. Another way to get
autographs is to have the characters sign your map of the park. It’s free, and
really fun for scrapbooking. You can pick up maps and performance schedules at
the main gates, or ask and cast member or in any of the stores and they will
give you one.
Time Tricks:
When you first get to the
park in the morning, go to the most popular rides you want to ride first. If
you don't have a particular ride in mind, start at the back of the park
(ToonTown in Disneyland and Paradise Pier in California Adventure) and work
your way to the front of the park. Most people will get excited and step into
line for the first ride they see. Radiator Springs Racers in California
Adventure is the newest and most popular ride! Fast passes are usually gone
about an hour after opening, and the stand by wait time is usually 90+ minutes.
If you plan on getting on this ride, get a fast past first thing in the
morning! The fast pass distributor station is in California Adventure right by
Bug's Land.
If you have a Smartphone, I highly recommend downloading
the MouseWait Disneyland app. This app updates in real time all of the wait
times at the restaurants, attractions, and rides. This is a huge help in
planning your trip so you don’t have to walk 20 minutes across the park to find
that your ride is temporarily closed, or has an hour wait.
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| Yes, we have matching Disney shirts... |
Fast Passes:
Fast passes are a HUGE time
saver! The fast pass system is fairly new and is 100% free. However, you can
only have 1 fast pass for each park at a time. So you can have a fast pass
ticket to Radiator Springs Racers in California Adventure, and have a fast pass
for Autotopia in Disneyland. The one exception is for World of Color in
California Adventure, but I'll go into more detail in a second.
To obtain a Fast Pass at either park, you will need to
walk over to the ride that you wish to ride that offers fast pass. Look for the
ride sign that says "wait" or "standby" with numbers under
it. If the wait time is under 20-30 minutes, don't bother obtaining a Fast
Pass. You will also see a ride sign that says Fast Pass Return, that is the
time that you want to look at. You will then go near the ride's entrance, up to
the Fast Pass Machine and scan your Disneyland ticket. The Fast Pass machine
will print out a ticket that has a return time on it (the time that was listed
on the Fast Pass Return sign). When that time comes, you need to be back at the
ride later during the day in order to ride the ride, at that designated time.
When you come back, enter the Fast Pass line instead of the regular line. You
will spend a lot less time waiting in line, though there might still be a
little line (other Fast Pass holders for that time). Once you have used your
Fast Pass, you can then obtain a Fast Pass for the next ride.
When you get a fast pass it will say "Return
5:10-6:10 to ride." You just have to return and give your ticket to the
cast member working at that ride between those times. There is a 15
minute leeway though, so if you're a little late, no worries. Any cast
members will me happy to help you if you have any questions about fast passes!
Adult/Rider/Stroller Swap Pass:
This pass has a variety of names, but if you just ask a cast member, they'll know what you are talking about. This pass is very handy
when you have children with you! You can go up to the cast member at the
beginning of the ride and just ask them for an adult swap pass. These work
really well on rides that a child is too small to go on, too scared, has to suddenly
go to the bathroom, etc. So, for example, say everyone wants to go on Hollywood
Tower of Terror but a child is too small or is scared of that ride. You can go
to the cast member and ask for an adult swap pass. The rest of your party could
go on the ride while you wait with the child or person that doesn’t want to
ride. When your party gets off the ride, they can come and sit with the child
while you get to go on the ride. The great thing is that you can take someone
with you. So, you and your spouse/sibling/best friend could go back on the ride through the Fast
Pass entrance while the rest of your party waits with the person that doesn’t
want to ride. This way, everyone can still enjoy the ride without having to
wait in line for twice as long.
World of Color:
World of Color is the evening show in California Adventure. You can get a fast pass for this show-, which is HIGHLY recommended. The fast pass ensures that you are in an area (sometimes even with seating) that you will be able to see the entire show well. The show takes place on the Paradise Pier Pond, so it can be seen from many spots in the park if you don't get a fast pass, but I still recommend it. You can get a fast pass for World of Color by the main line for Grizzly River Run. It’s somewhat hard to see, but if you ask a cast member, they will be happy to help you find it. Again, this fast pass ticket will not apply to the "one ticket per park at a time" rule. You will need to hold onto this ticket to get into your designated viewing area though. World of Color is usually around *8 or 9 depending when the park closes, but they usually make it an hour before or after the fireworks at Disneyland. In my opinion, World of Color is the best show that Disney offers. I highly recommend seeing it at least once.
*You can get a schedule of all the events (parades,
firework shows, world of color, etc.) at the front gate or in any store. The
parks have different schedules, so make sure to grab a map and schedule of
events at Disneyland and California Adventure.
Photo Pass:
At all the classic photo
opportunity spots in both parks, there will be a photographer there to take
photos for you in just the right spot, at just the right angle, so you can get
the castle, the Ferris Wheel, the perfect shot with Mickey, all of Radiator
Springs and Route 66, everything in the photo! There
are professional photographers just about everywhere and they are
always happy to take a photo for you. They will always take one on their
camera, and one on yours if you ask them to. When they take a photo on their
camera, they will ask if you have a photo pass. If you don't, they will scan a
new one for you. This makes it so that every photo taken for you in the park
will be on this one little card. When you get home, you can jump onto the
website printed on your card. All of the photos taken for you will be online
for you to order prints of or buy the rights to. You do have to pay for these
photos, but they are awesome shots! I recommend always getting a shot on your
camera as well, because to buy the photos is usually $14.95 PER photo!
Buttons to Celebrate:
When you first arrive in
Disneyland (or anytime during your visit) if you go to the first building on
the left side (City Hall) there is usually someone standing on the steps at a
podium. You can go up to this person and tell them that this is your first
visit and they will give you a fun button that says, "this is my first
visit." Besides these being just fun, if you wear them on your shirt or
backpack, cast members will almost always recognize you, sometimes they will
even let you to the front of the line just because its your first time! Also
fun for a souvenir and scrapbooking! Buttons can also be picked up at
the Information Desk on Carthay Cirlce in California Adventure. City Hall in
Disneyland and The Info Desk also serves as the first aid station and guest
services. If you have any problems whatsoever, questions, concerns, or seeking
medical attention, go to one of these stations. They also have buttons for
birthdays, anniversaries, just engaged, just married, or simply “I’m
Celebrating!”
Pin Trading:
The pin trading in Disney is really a fun thing! At any of the
gift shops (or on Ebay/ Amazon for a ton cheaper,) you can purchase pins to put
on your lanyards. While the pin trading is MUCH more prevalent in Disney World,
you can still do this in Disneyland. You can ask any guests that you see to
trade, and they just might switch with you! However, if you ask any cast member
with pins they will absolutely trade with you! Again, you have to keep your
eyes out for this in Disneyland because there aren’t as many traders there.
Character Meet and Greets:
There are many characters in both parks available for
meet and greets! Many of the time/place of when and where the characters will
be can be found in the entertainment guide that you can pick up at the gates.
However, if you ask the any of the cast members (employees of the park,) they
are happy to help you. I know you asked specifically about the Frozen and The
Incredibles characters. As far as I am aware, The Incredibles do not have a
meet and greet; however, this could certainly change when you get there, so ask
a cast member! The Incredibles do make an appearance in the “Phineas and Ferb’s
Rockin Rollin Dance Party” parade in California Adventure.
As for Frozen, there is a meet and greet in Fantasyland
near the carousel. The Frozen Characters are here nearly all day, and usually
this attraction typically has a 2+ hour wait, so get there first thing in the
morning! Anna and Elsa are there for photos/autographs. Olaf is outside on the
roof telling jokes while you are waiting in line.
Favorite Rides:
*Disneyland*
Tomorrowland
Star Tours
Space Mountain
Astro Blasters (This ride usually
only has a 5-10 minute wait. If its more then that, wait and come back!)
Toon Town
Gadget Go Coaster
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin
Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy's
houses are also here if you want to meet, get photos with, and autographs:)
Adventureland
Jungle Cruise
Indiana Jones Adventure
New Orleans Square
Haunted Mansion
Pirates of the Caribbean
Critter Country
Splash Mountain (Get a fast pass!!)
Frontierland
Big Thunder Mountain
Fantasyland
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Mad Tea Party Teacups
The Matterhorn
There are a lot of very low key
rides here that have short lines. If you need to relax for a while, come to
Fantasyland:)
You can also catch the train at any
station around the park. There is a station in each land, and it takes you
around the entire park. This is a nice activity if your feet hurt, you're
getting tired, or just want to see a different view of Disneyland. It also
takes you through some "behind the scenes" areas, but don't worry, it
doesn't spoil any of the magic!:)
*California Adventure*
Hollywood Land
Mad T Party (This is a "night
club" of sorts for all ages. A lot of fun! Usually starts around dusk.
Live music, dancing, etc.)
Monster's Inc.
Tower of Terror
Disney’s Animation Academy- There are
a lot of things to do in here! It is really laid back and so fun to explore!!!
Turtle Talk with Crush
A Bug's Land
This is mostly a land for younger
kids, but its still a lot of fun!
It's Tough to Be a Bug (This is a
show meant for little kids, but it was one of our favorites! I think you'd all
enjoy it!)
Car's Land
Luigi's Flying Tires
Radiator Springs Racers
Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree- This
looks like a little kids’ ride, but is is SO FUN!
Paradise Pier
Mickey's Fun Wheel (Ferris Wheel)
California Screamin'
Golden Zephyr
Goofy's Sky School
Toy Story Mania (AWESOME ride, but
a long line. The morning or right before/after world of color is the best time
to go!)
Condor Flats
Soarin (this is an awesome
experience, but wait for a small wait time. Usually right before the park
closes.)
Grizzly Peak
Grizzly River Run
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
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