GUIDE TO DISNEYLAND ANAHEIM
Welcome to your guide to Disneyland in Anaheim!
Author: Amy & Albert
Nowadays, if you want to feel prepared for Disneyland, it is not just a simple go-to-Disneyland-and-have-fun, it requires meticulous planning and know-hows to get on rides and efficiently use your time!
In this blog, I’m going to list some things my boyfriend and I did to prepare for Disneyland and hope whoever stumbles upon this article finds it helpful!
For context, we went on December 27, 2021, the Monday after Christmas. We did not purchase Genie+ or any Lightning Lane tickets.
We did research using Youtube (shout out to Magic Journeys youtube channel) and Reddit!
STEP 1: DOWNLOAD DISNEYLAND APP AND UPLOAD YOUR TICKET
This is a pretty straightforward AND ESSENTIAL step. After you’ve decided on the date you want to go to Disneyland, you can begin downloading the app and uploading your ticket. The app is super helpful because it contains a detailed map of the park, the wait times of each ride, locations for everything (attractions, entertainment, dining), and even menus of each restaurant!
When you are at the park, you will be able to do mobile orders for pick-up at the park too. You can include the timings you want to pick up the food too.
We also used the app map to see where to park our car since we were driving the day of going, which brings me to the next step.
STEP 2: DECIDE WHERE TO PARK
We decided on parking at Toy Story Parking Lot, which requires you to park in the parking lot, then go through security bag check, then hop on the bus that takes you straight into Disneyland Park (no second round of security check). The buses also take you back to Toy Story Parking when you decide to leave the park. There are a ton of buses for peak arrival/departure times, so it is unlikely you’ll have to wait for the bus to show up (though do keep in mind that the buses stop running around midnight).
We arrived at the park around 7:40 am and stood in line for security check at around 7:45 am. The line wasn’t too long and we hopped on the bus around 8 am. We were so happy to decide on this parking lot because 1) you don’t have to walk 16-20 minutes to the park and back after a long day of rides and 2) you get to skip the HUGE line we witnessed at the actual park if you just went on foot to the entrance.
We left the park around 9:15 pm and only waited a minute to get on the bus.
(Note: We also explored parking at nearby hotels that offer public parking and are a closer walking distance to the entrance. However, the cost is approximately the same $30 as the Disney lots, and you will have to wait in a more crowded security line with other drop-off and walk up visitors.)
STEP 3: KNOW YOUR MUST-DO RIDES AND FOOD OPTIONS
Even though we planned to be in the park from 8 am to 9 pm, we knew we could not do everything. So we made mental notes of all the rides that were must-do’s (e.g. Rise of Resistance, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Mad Tea Party) and nice-to-do’s (e.g. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters). We also noted down food options we would like to try if we were in the area (e.g. Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe, Milk Stand). We watched a bunch of videos on Youtube (shout out to Magic Journeys) on the food at Disneyland and went through many reddit threads to find crowdsourced feedback.
We planned a clockwise orientation around the park, hitting the rides in Adventureland (Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean...) first and then working our way to Rise of Resistance in Galaxy’s Edge, then Fantasyland and beyond.
Recommendations:
Rides
Indiana Jones
Rise of Resistance
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Tea Cups
Star Tours
*SPECIAL TIP: Do Single Rider Lane for Millennium Falcon! It cut the wait time by so much!!
Food
Toffee Pretzel at Tomorrowland Pretzel Stand - it is a cream-cheese filled pretzel with toffee sugar on top. It also comes with a marshmallow creme to dip the pretzel in. Holiday Seasonal Offering
Pork Pozole at Rancho del Zocalo in Frontierland - The pozole is a spicy, flavorful stew perfect for the cold night.
Grilled Half Chicken at Rancho del Zocalo in Frontierland -The grilled half chicken is tender and comes with tortillas, beans, and lettuce to balance. It is a hearty meal with tremendous value for theme park food pricing.
(Note: If you have Matterhorn and Space Mountain as a high priority, we would suggest starting your morning in Tomorrowland, then proceeding clockwise to Adventureland.
Alternatively, you can stay longer at night past 9pm to do Space Mountain, and the Matterhorn could be done instead of Fantasyland rides.
Rushing to Rise of Resistance ASAP, even at rope drop, is hit or miss. Early maintenance could shut it down from the start, and you would miss short wait times at 2-3 popular rides you could have done instead)
STEP 4: ADAPT
Despite planning the “clockwise path,” by the time we got to the park, we became spontaneous after the first few rides because we checked wait times and ran a bit around the park to get to different rides in an efficient manner.
Keep an open mind about the order of rides you want to go on. You never know.
Some rides that were out of the way might suddenly only take 15 minutes vs 50 minutes, so it might be wiser to rush to those first.
Some rides also might suddenly break down, so you would need to come back to the ride despite your wait. For us, Rise of Resistance broke down while we were in it...so they scanned our ticket and told us we will be able to go to the lightning lane after it gets fixed. Don’t let this setback ruin your day!
I attached our itinerary for the day at the end of this blog.
STEP 5: HAVE FUN AND STAY HYDRATED
Remember to always enjoy the rides and stay hydrated by packing your own water!
Thank you for reading!
ITINERARY WAIT TIMES
See table here.
A screenshot below.
