Disneyland Tips for Making the Most of Your Experience

Food

1. Disney allows small coolers so water bottles and lunches/snacks can be brought into the park. NO glass or alcohol allowed!  We packed a lot of snacks, which we would eat while standing in line to keep the toddler busy.

If you have access to a freezer, freeze water bottles and use them to keep your lunch/snacks cold and will double as additional drinking water as the day goes on.

2. Sign up prior for restaurant e-clubs to get free food. Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea sends discounts and free items as well as Earl of Sandwich.  I signed up for Jamba Juice and got a free smoothie.  We utilized Jamba Juice for breakfast a couple days.  It is nice option because my husband would run and grab us all smoothies while my MIL and I took the kids through the line to get our stroller and items checked.  We all met up inside the park to get our smoothies and head towards our first ride.

3. Kids 2 and under eat free at all Disneyland all-you-can eat restaurants such as character dining locations and Big Thunder Ranch BBQ

4. Express service windows at Downtown Disney restaurants are cheaper with the same menu. Tortilla Jo’s is one of my favorite restaurants in Downtown Disney, however it tends to be on the pricier side and is always busy.  Try the Taqueria which is their express window.  You can get most of the items you can in the restaurant, at a discounted price.  There is a seating area in front of the window if you prefer to eat there.  It’s a great place to grab breakfast burritos from on your walk into the park.

Disneyland

1. Get Fastpass tickets for Fantasmic early

2. Start at Adventureland and go clockwise. Adventureland gets busiest around late morning so make sure you’ve had time to experience all the rides before the lines become too long.  Adventureland is also extremely hard to walk through once busy.  The paths are very narrow.

3. Rider Switch pass- if you are traveling with a child who can’t ride but both parents want to take part ask the attendant at the front of the ride for a rider switch pass. This pass will allow the first group to go on the ride, then immediately after they get off the other parent and or/adult can accompany that same child on the ride without waiting in line again.  This is the best thing out there since fresh squeezed lemonade!

4. When riding the Jungle Cruise ask for a free map when exiting the ride. It is a great souvenir to take with you.

5. Fantasyland is busy ALL the time but it is least busy first thing in the morning. Peter Pan is definitely one of the most popular rides in Fantasyland, due to the fact that anyone can ride it, so be sure to ride it as soon as possible.  If your wait time is 30 minutes or under you’re doing good!

6. There is a hidden family bathroom at the Carnation Plaza in New Orleans. Family bathrooms are hard to come by and when they are they are usually busy.

7. Make sure to save your day parade spot at least an hour prior. I recommend sitting south (facing) of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle on the west side.  This will allow you to see the parade coming, but also keep the sun out of your eyes.

For night parades, sit just south of the Walt statue facing the castle so you can see the parade coming but also have the best view of the fireworks show.  Start reserving your space 1 ½ to 2 hours prior.

For ALL PARADES make sure and bring a light blanket to sit on.  This makes it easier when saving a spot for parades.  One person can sit on the blanket while the rest go an enjoy rides before the parade starts.

See the map below.  The blue line indicates the parade route, the yellow indicates best seating for day parades and the red ovals indicate the best seating for night parades.

California Adventure

1. Get Fastpasses to World of Color as soon as they are available

2. There are free samples of sourdough bread and chocolate at Pacific Wharf

3. If you have any princess lovers sign up to experience the character dining at Ariel’s Grotto. Reservations can be made 60 days out.  Don’t procrastinate, dates will fill up.

4. For the day time parade make sure to get your spot an hour prior. I recommend sitting in front of the Carthay Circle Restaurant or west of Disney Junior Live stage.  See below the path of the parade in blue and my recommended seating location in yellow.

Extras

1. If you are traveling with an infant who nurses there is a Baby Care Center located at the end of Main Street next to the First-Aid. There are changing tables and rockers to make the nursing process much easier and peaceful.

2. If you are visiting for the 1^st time, during a birthday, anniversary, etc. please stop by the Guest Services podium to receive a souvenir button. It is located outside of the Guest Services building at a small podium on the west side of Main Street.

3. If a balloon pops, ice cream drops, or you break a toy you’ve bought at the park ask a vendor for a free replacement. My son broke our Buzz lightyear bubble machine that they replaced, no questions asked.  Best part…we didn’t have the receipt and he broke it after we left the park.

If you buy a bubble machine make sure you KEEP the bubble container.  We made the mistake of throwing it away thinking we could replace it with a new one from a store.  The Disney bubble machines use ONLY the bubble container from the park which are a special size.  We tried every store including Amazon with no luck.  They don’t sell the bubble replacement in Disney stores either; you can only get them at Disneyland, California Adventure, or Disneyworld.

4. Take a picture of the back of your tickets in case you lose them. This will work as your ticket into the park.

I hope these tips help you make the most of your trip!

With Love,

Jackie