This past spring break, I went on a trip to Disneyland with my family. I’ve been before, and it’s always loads of fun! If you can, definitely try to visit someday. Here’s a few tips and some of my favorite things to do.
- A few of my favorite eats at Disneyland:
- Churros: there are churro stands everywhere. They are messy, cinnamon sugar deliciousness
- Beignets: you can get the Mickey-shaped French doughnuts in the New Orleans area near the Mark Twain riverboat and Haunted Mansion.
- Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen: Located in Downtown Disney, this is an amazing restaurant! Another great place to get New Orleans cuisine like beignets.
- Clarabelle’s Hand Scooped Ice Cream: Located in California Adventure, Clarabelle’s lets you build your own ice cream bar and it is the most incredible ice cream ever; naturally I did all chocolate everything, and it's making me hungry just thinking about it
- Churros: there are churro stands everywhere. They are messy, cinnamon sugar deliciousness
- Download the Disneyland app:
- Disney has an excellent app with a lot of useful features. For example it has a map that shows wait times for rides, where characters are and how long they’ll be there, bathrooms, and restaurants. You can even schedule reservations at restaurants through the app. Another fun feature is that it syncs with the professional photographers who roam the park and take your pictures, so you can see them and download them. The ride wait times is a real lifesaver though. If you’re going to Disneyland, you must be prepared to wait in lines, because that is how a lot of time is spent there. That said, the app allows you to be a little more strategic with what rides you’ll ride when.
- Disney has an excellent app with a lot of useful features. For example it has a map that shows wait times for rides, where characters are and how long they’ll be there, bathrooms, and restaurants. You can even schedule reservations at restaurants through the app. Another fun feature is that it syncs with the professional photographers who roam the park and take your pictures, so you can see them and download them. The ride wait times is a real lifesaver though. If you’re going to Disneyland, you must be prepared to wait in lines, because that is how a lot of time is spent there. That said, the app allows you to be a little more strategic with what rides you’ll ride when.
- Magic Hour:
- if you stay in one of Disneyland’s hotel, you can participate in one of the Magic Hours, when the park opens an hour early for those staying at their hotels. It’s an excellent way to go on a ride like Radiator Springs Racers without the two hour wait. The Magic Hour alternates between being for Disneyland Park and California Adventure Park.
- if you stay in one of Disneyland’s hotel, you can participate in one of the Magic Hours, when the park opens an hour early for those staying at their hotels. It’s an excellent way to go on a ride like Radiator Springs Racers without the two hour wait. The Magic Hour alternates between being for Disneyland Park and California Adventure Park.
- Fast passes:
- Rides like Space Mountain, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Matterhorn consistently have wait times over an hour, so they’re great rides to invest in fast passes on. You get the fast passes and a time to return. Then you get to skip ahead to the front of the line.
- Rides like Space Mountain, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Matterhorn consistently have wait times over an hour, so they’re great rides to invest in fast passes on. You get the fast passes and a time to return. Then you get to skip ahead to the front of the line.
- Single Rider lines:
- If you’re desperate to go on a ride with a long line and you don’t mind riding with strangers, look for a single rider line. Not a lot of rides have them, but if they do it’s a great way to skip the line.
- If you’re desperate to go on a ride with a long line and you don’t mind riding with strangers, look for a single rider line. Not a lot of rides have them, but if they do it’s a great way to skip the line.
- Bring your own snacks:
- Food at Disneyland is everywhere, but often expensive, so at the very least bring some granola bars or something to tide you over between meals. When we were there, we probably ate one real meal a day and subsisted on snacks the rest of the time.
- Food at Disneyland is everywhere, but often expensive, so at the very least bring some granola bars or something to tide you over between meals. When we were there, we probably ate one real meal a day and subsisted on snacks the rest of the time.
- Choose your battles:
- If you want to meet characters, try and pick the ones you really want to meet because lines are always an issue. If you catch a character right when they arrive at their little spot it’s usually a little better. Mickey, Minnie, & co can usually be found at Main Street, and sometimes princesses hang out by the front gate. Otherwise characters can be found in the regions that correspond to the character (Darth Vader in Tomorrowland)
- If you want to meet characters, try and pick the ones you really want to meet because lines are always an issue. If you catch a character right when they arrive at their little spot it’s usually a little better. Mickey, Minnie, & co can usually be found at Main Street, and sometimes princesses hang out by the front gate. Otherwise characters can be found in the regions that correspond to the character (Darth Vader in Tomorrowland)