Disneyland Report: Rules End as California Fully Reopens!
After a year of restrictions, California has now fully reopened! Our first visit to Disneyland and DCA in 18 months was the day the state dropped all health safety restrictions, essentially ending its rules overnight. In this reopening report, we’ll share photos, crowd info, and commentary on our experience.
Despite it being our first visit to Disneyland in a year and a half, it’s our second visit to California in the last month. Back when California was still largely closed, we made some guesses about when things would reopen and booked accordingly, as the rates were ridiculously low. We ended up being “burned” by Disneyland’s policy (or rather, lack thereof) towards fully-vaccinated out of staters but it was a great trip nonetheless. We got to spend some time in Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and even Anaheim and did so before summer crowds hit.
I’ll be honest, even though I knew we’d be able to visit Disneyland this go-round, I wasn’t as excited for a few reasons. When our flight left Orlando, I was actually worried that we were making a mistake by visiting so soon–we have a certain sentimentality about Disneyland, maybe we should’ve waited until everything was normal? Perhaps late August or early September would’ve been more fun? Of many concerns, my main one was that the trip would be like stepping back in time by about a year where Disneyland and Walt Disney World were in the process of their respective reopenings. Fortunately, those fears faded literally upon touching down at John Wayne Airport…
As we exited the aircraft, Disneyland announced that the face mask rule would be ending for fully vaccinated guests, as would virtually all other health safety protocol. As we’ve said before, we are sympathetic to those who are not personally ready for this change, have a lower risk tolerance, or are parents of kids under age 12.
It has been a traumatic year, and a lot is changing quickly thanks to the highly efficacious vaccines. Many people are going to have a difficult time easing back into “normal” life. For some, it’s going to be a gradual process that requires adjustment, acclimation, and time. We can extend a little courtesy and compassion as everyone’s circumstances and comfort levels are different. We totally get that, and empathize with those whose circumstances differ from ours.
With that said, as two fully vaccinated adults without kids who are totally comfortable doing anything now and were looking at a weather forecast for Anaheim with daily highs above 95 degrees, Disneyland’s announcement came as a breath of fresh air. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting anything–but I’m very thankful that it happened. There were a few times we stopped short feeling like we made a mistake forgetting to put on our masks, but it was otherwise a great feeling not even taking masks to the parks.
In hindsight, I’m not sure how we handled masks in the peak of last summer’s heat and humidity in Florida–it was probably easier to look past because we were grateful to do anything fun after several depressing months stuck inside. The last year has definitely worn down my tolerance and patience for them, especially outdoors given what we now know about the nature of transmission.
The arrival process from Harbor Boulevard was another concern, especially after seeing photos on social media over the course of the last week. It looked like a colossal mess, and seemed likely to be worse for our visit as Disneyland increased its attendance limit.
And it was. Guests converged from the Harbor and Disney Way intersection, and it was a total free-for-all. Above is a video taken from what’s normally the bus loop, after we had already been in line for a good 30 minutes. I have never seen anything like this, and at this point, I feared it would be another hour before we entered the parks. It took 15 minutes from here. Security was as smooth as it has ever been at Disneyland, and that was literally the end of our problems.
Stepping into Disneyland truly was like stepping back in time. But not to July of last year at Magic Kingdom–to January of last year at Disneyland. It was remarkable that the gradual process that had been occurring over the last month-plus at Walt Disney World had been accomplished overnight in the California parks.
That must’ve been an absolutely herculean task, kudos to the Cast Members who undoubtedly pulled a grueling overnight shift to make that happen. It was arguably even better than when the parks magically transform overnight to Christmas. Definitely a sight for sore eyes.
Aside from some ground discoloration, I’ve yet to notice many vestiges of the past year. Not a single straggler sign, no ground markers, no plexiglass in queues or on ride vehicles–nothing. The only other thing is mask-wearing, and that’s at a level now among guests that basically feels like a normal winter day in Tokyo.
While it’s safe to assume that attendance increased dramatically overnight, so too did operational efficiency. Queues can now be indoors, guests are being seated in every row, and party mixing is occurring. The virtual queue for Indiana Jones Adventure is gone, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Web Slingers loses its boarding groups by this fall. Wait times have been pretty average for summer.
Much more noticeable was the sense of joy and happiness in the air. It truly was contagi–nope, not gonna use that word. It was infectio–let’s try once more.
Stepping onto Main Street and seeing people smiling and laughing was uplifting, causing you to mimic the observed behavior of others because you now felt that same happiness in your heart. The elation was euphoric.
These have been a couple of very busy days at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, but outside of the first-day woes with the line to get through security, we haven’t seen guest meltdowns or confrontations.
To the contrary, people are taking the high heat and crowds in stride, and the mood has been remarkably positive. It’s always different at Disneyland, but that’s been doubly so the last couple of days.
Thus far, we’ve had an absolutely fantastic time. It has been great seeing old friends, and hanging with our homies. Many of our favorite attractions are at Disneyland, and they’re looking absolutely fantastic.
We enjoyed both Avengers Campus and Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure far more than expected. The reimagined rides and enhancements are unequivocal improvements.
Of particular note is that the characters have been phenomenal. We’ve commented on how some of the distanced character encounters at Walt Disney World have been better than the normal ones. Disneyland has taken that to the next level, with many of the characters on ground level and actually interacting with guests.
Between that and the aforementioned guest happiness, the parks truly feel alive in a way that they haven’t in over a year–from Toontown to Avengers Campus.
With that said, I don’t want to make this sound like an advertorial for the Disneyland® Resort. We are having a great time as people who write a blog about theme park strategy, have visited Disneyland hundreds of times, and knew what to expect based upon extensive post-reopening experience in Florida.
Simply put, I would not recommend anyone make their first visit to Disneyland right now unless they already have a second trip planned or go in with clarity as to the compromises being made. There’s still simply too steep of a learning curve.
We know how to leverage the Mobile Order system to avoid its pitfalls, when to do what to avoid waiting in long lines, where to go outside the parks at Disneyland Resort to have better meals, how to score spots in both virtual queues in the same day, and so many other things that probably aren’t occurring to me right now because they’re second nature.
However, none of that’s intuitive to a first-timer or infrequent visitor. (Given that Disneyland is normally a much more laid back, “go with the flow” place than Walt Disney World, this is an especially big change.) Beyond that, there’s still a lot still missing. Several attractions are still not operating, restaurants remain closed, and there’s little in the way of entertainment (beyond the aforementioned characters) and no nighttime spectaculars. Those are big blows. However, things are quickly returning, so it might be much improved by July.
Ultimately, it’s great to be back to Disneyland, and I’m glad our first time returning is after things are mostly back to normal-ish. There’s still things missing, but those are compromises we can live with as frequent guests. Apologies for the short-yet-rambling post here that’s heavy on impressions and light on details. I woke up early (thanks jet lag!) and wanted to throw something together for those curious as to how it’s gone so far. All of the passing remarks will be fleshed out with full reviews and strategic posts once we get back to Florida.
Finally, we’ll be out in California all weekend, visiting Disneyland and Disney California Adventure for the next several days. If you see us in the parks, please feel free to say hello! We always enjoy meeting readers and chatting, even if my demeanor and scowl might suggest otherwise. (That’s just the way my face looks, and it’s harder to hide now that masks are gone!)
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you visited Disneyland or Disney California Adventure since the parks reopened? Have you been since California’s full reopening on June 15? Any thoughts on your experience, wait times, crowds, or anything else? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Hi Tom, have you heard anything about Halloween time at Disneyland this year? Any parties?
Thanks!
Spotted you today in Toontown heading onto Roger Rabbit – hope you’re both having a great time!
We’ve been at Disneyland for a couple of days this week (and I even got to meet Tom and Sarah!) As a family with young kids, we didn’t love that all the safety regulations were relaxed at the same time a day before our visit, when refunds would have been very difficult to get. So we’ve made some compromises on our visit with our kids – masks for all of us everywhere, no indoor rides, no rides with indoor queues, minimizing all time spent indoors, etc. (As always with these things, YMMV with what you feel comfortable with – this is what my family did.) it’s been fine and we’ve all had a really good time. We’ve been aiming to arrive 30 minutes after rope drop every day and we’ve breezed through security. Ride lines have been totally manageable.
@Julie – RE: How to obtain 2 boarding passes in one day.
So this method does take some skill and some luck. First, to make this work, you of course need to have a parkhopper pass that will allow you access to both parks in one day.
Second, you have to be successful at the 7am boarding group drop for the park you’ve reserved that day. Your boarding group also needs to be relatively low. You can only have one Boarding Group at a time, so you have to be able to get on the ride before 12pm.
Third, you have to be successful for the boarding group of the ride in the other park at noon. And you also have to be a bit lucky that that boarding group is low enough that you will actually get called that day.
Good luck 🙂
We’ll be there in a few days. I loved reading this. I’m a bit worried about crowds, but that is a normal Disney summer thing, so hopefully it won’t be any worse than normal. Thank you!
Hi Tom! I was in DCA on the 16th and Disneyland on the 17th! We probably crossed paths! I agree with everything you mentioned in your post- while there were a few things that I wouldn’t want to be missing out on as a first time visitor, as a long-time Disneyland fan, it was just SUCH a great experience to be back in the parks, MASKLESS, with nothing but smooth sailing all day long! We were definitely fearful of long lines due to rides not being fully loaded, or having a hard time getting food, but we were stoked to find that rides were being fully loaded and we had no problem finding food when we wanted it. I already can’t wait to go back!!
You mentioned there are tricks to get into two queues in one day? I’d love to hear that please. Also, do you have suggestions where to eat outside or Disneyland? You mentioned tricks to mobile ordering as well. I’d welcome your suggestions please!
Loved reading this…thanks so much for sharing!
I don’t have time to respond to every comment right now (I think most of these will be answered in subsequent posts, anyway), but I do want to address the recommendation to not make a first visit to Disneyland right now as a few readers have expressed concern.
That’s only if you never plan on going back *or* aren’t comfortable with or away of the compromises right now.
If some random person asked me whether they should visit Disneyland for the first time right now, my one-line response would be no.
However, that’s not any of you reading a blog about Disney. You’re doing research, know what the experience entails (and doesn’t), and will presumably go in better prepared to work around the issues.
Hope that makes a little more sense! 🙂
We are doing our first trip to Disneyland in August and Tom has me a little concerned now with his comment about this is not being the time for your first trip there. I’m hoping that by August some of this will settle down a bit. With more restaurants opening and fireworks coming back and with a few months to get things straightened out I’m hoping that will lead to a bit more normal experience. We know it won’t be like a pre-Covid visit but we’re still looking forward to it and comparing a Disneyland trip to a Disney World trip where we usually go.
Thank you for this post. I am looking forward to your full report once you get back. We were supposed to have gone last summer for our first trip to California, and then our reservation was cancelled when the reopening was cancelled. We are going in July for our first time to Disneyland & are super excited. Your articles have been so helpful in our trip planning.
Tom, would you still recommend rope droping either of the parks? If so, how early would you start walking over from the Best Western right across the street? I had planned to head out right at 7 after we made the virtual boarding reservation but seeing the video of the line to get in makes me wonder.
It was great to run into you guys in the Grand Californian the other day after following your adventures the best few years, and in your defense, your demeanor seemed perfectly friendly with no scowl in sight! Have fun in Cali!
We were at Disneyland & California Adventure Park last week and really enjoyed our experience! We loved the lower capacity, short wait times for rides (even though FastPass would have even nice for the more popular rides), the spaced out rides/lines, and even the mobile ordering was nice! No waiting in lines to order your food. We also experienced no lines getting to the park from the parking garages, security, and the entrances. It was truly a great experience we had! I didn’t even mind the masks since I wear them at my job and it was a crisp 65 outside when we went. Our only complaint was not being able to experience Avengers land. We were only at the parks for one day and didn’t want to waste 3-4 hours in line to get into the area. I hope that has improved with the removing of COVID protocols.
I’m so glad you were able to have a similar great experience on your first day back! Thank you for always sharing your advice on the parks. If it wasn’t for your articles on Disneyland prior to our visit, we would have been more “confused” with how things were working. Enjoy the rest of your time at the parks!
For everyone asking what Tom’s recommendations for offsite dining are, the answer is obviously Captain Kidd’s, and Tom will corroborate this.