First Time Disneyland Mistakes to Avoid
We’ve all been rookies experiencing something new at some point. Our first trip to Disneyland was a comedy of errors, as we thought we were pros based upon our many trips to Walt Disney World. We couldn’t have been more wrong. This post offers tips for avoiding common mistakes people make when planning a Disneyland vacation for the first time, and during their first visit. (Updated February 18, 2024.)
Our experience is a common refrain: Walt Disney World veterans head to Disneyland for the first time armed with a ton of erroneous assumptions, many of which are not true about the California parks. The good news, I guess, is that these ‘mistakes’ usually take the form of over-planning. Disneyland has that laid back Southern California vibe, and even though planning is definitely necessary and there are a ton of potential mistakes to be made, it’s easier.
With that said, one thing to keep in mind when planning your first visit to any Disney park is that no amount of planning can prepare you for the inevitable mistake. Even though Disneyland is more easy-going, that’s relative to its Florida counterparts. In the grand scheme of vacation destinations, Disneyland Resort is still a pretty complex place to visit, and you’re bound to screw up something. That’s not meant to scare you–but rather, give you solace and let you know that you’re in good company…
This post takes a look at what we feel are the “top” mistakes first-timers make when planning a vacation to Disneyland. This is based upon a mix of our own blunders, reader blog post comments, social media feedback, and more. It’s hardly a scientific list, but hopefully it provides some good food for thought, nonetheless.
So what are the biggest mistakes first time Disneyland visitors make? The answers may SHOCK AND ASTOUND YOU. Well, probably not, but we have to trick you into reading this somehow… 😉
10. Being Under-Prepared
In the introduction, we covered how Disneyland was much more laid back than the Florida parks, and it’s not nearly as important to plan. That’s true, but that does not mean you should go in with no plans whatsoever. In fact, the longtime perception of Disneyland as the destination that requires no planning is probably overblown and a bit outdated.
While Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) made months ahead of time are not necessary and there’s not even a way to make ride reservations in advance, pre-planning can be worthwhile. Dining reservations have gotten more competitive at Disneyland Resort, so you’ll want to book those and other reservations ahead of time.
Same story with special event tickets, which can be really competitive (especially Oogie Boogie Bash, but to a lesser extent Disneyland After Dark). It’s also recommended that you book a hotel far ahead of your travel dates, as certain options can book up–especially during peak tourist times or when the Anaheim Convention Center has big events.
Upon arrival, having a rough plan of attack for each park (consult our 1-Day Disneyland and 1-Day DCA Itineraries for that) and an idea of which attractions to prioritize is also key. Just like Walt Disney World, wait times get long, and going in without good strategy is a recipe for disaster. If anything, crowds and wait times are actually worse at the California parks.
9. It Gets Cold in Southern California
California is known for its perfect weather, and there’s no shortage of songs about the fun you can have in the sun there. This overlooks one important thing: those Hollywood (Land) nights. It can get cold. Currently, nightly temperatures are in the low 50s and that coupled with a crisp breeze can make for jacket weather.
Obviously, California’s weather is better than in the vast majority of states, but a common first-timer mistake is assuming the weather is always perfect. Yeah, if you’re visiting during the summer, you can pretty much pack nothing aside from shorts and flip flops, but it’d be a mistake to assume it’ll be all sunshine all the time. Consult our Tips for Packing for Winter at Disney post if you’re taking a trip from around November until February.
8. Overlooking Lightning Lanes
This is bound to be a controversial one given that Genie+ replaced not just free FastPass, but also the superior MaxPass at Disneyland. We want to be very clear here: we are not endorsing Genie+ as for everyone, a good thing, better than FastPass/MaxPass, etc. Rather, we’re acknowledging the reality that what’s done is done, and your options in 2024 are either free standby or paid Lightning Lanes. There is no third choice that doesn’t involve time travel.
The real reason it’s listed here as a line item is because Walt Disney World fans who have used Genie+ in the Florida parks may have a certain perception of the paid FastPass service that isn’t very positive. However, that is in large part because the ride rosters at 3 of the 4 parks at Walt Disney World are fairly weak and arguably insufficient to support the paid Lightning Lane system. Accordingly, you might have been frustrated with how few Lightning Lanes you were able to book at Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, or EPCOT.
However, Disneyland does not have that problem. The ride density is far higher and, consequently, there’s a ton more Lightning Lane capacity and inventory. It also helps that the two parks are directly across from one another, making it easy to strategically Park Hop and get more mileage out of Lightning Lanes. Basically, it’s like Genie+ at Magic Kingdom on steroids.
For longer trips, Genie+ might be cost-prohibitive (or even unnecessary), but if you only have a couple of days in Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, give some serious thought to buying the paid FastPass service. Even on a longer trip, you can get Genie+ for a day or two and try to run the table with it, then go slow on your remaining days at Disneyland. Our updated Guide to Genie+ and Lightning Lanes at Disneyland covers all the pros and cons of this new system.
7. Visiting on Busy Days
Thanks, Captain Obvious. Yes, I am pointing out the very conventional wisdom that slow days are better than busy ones, and shorter lines are better than longer ones. Truly profound stuff. There are a ton of added wrinkles to this at Disneyland, to the point that things are quite different at Disneyland. Almost all of this is dictated by the local park-going populace: Magic Key blockouts, Southern California ticket deals, and dynamic pricing for tickets.
Before even booking your trip, you should consult our Disneyland Crowd Calendars to determine the best and worst times to visit. Depending upon the day of the week or time of the year, Disneyland can be lightly or heavily crowded. That makes a big difference in your experience. (For example, you might expect May 23, 2024 to be slow. After all, it won’t be bad at Walt Disney World, and it’s before Memorial Day weekend and Fantasmic returns to Disneyland. However, it’s a little over a week before the SoCal ticket deal ends, and locals will be scrambling to use those tickets before they expire!)
There’s also a misconception that holidays are not busy, because everyone is at home with their families. Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and the Super Bowl (not technically a holiday, but celebrated as such in many households) are all busy, despite urban legends to the contrary. Some holidays are slightly less busy than others, but all holidays are busier than the norm. All.
6. A Diet of Burgers and Pizza
Theme park food has a reputation for leaving something to be desired. Like sporting events and other entertainment venues, parks often try to appeal to the lowest common denominator, realizing they have a captive audience that will simply have to eat during their visit.
While there are a lot of restaurants at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure that fit within this stereotype–we’re looking at you, Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port and Galactic Grill!–there are also a ton of options that are far more ambitious, and offer some exceptional cuisine. Basically, the “safe” restaurants are the worst ones.
Counter service burgers are almost universally bad, as is heat-lamp pizza. The only truly good comfort foods are Plaza Inn fried chicken (it’s a spiritual experience) and the (life-changing) corn dogs in both parks. Check out our list of the 24 Best Restaurants at Disneyland Resort for dining spots and dishes to try…and to avoid.
5. Sleeping In
The first 2 hours Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are open are going to be the most productive hours of your day. Rope dropping the parks is an absolute must, and doing Early Entry (if eligible) is even better. It’s a great way to knock out Fantasyland, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Avengers Campus, Cars Land, etc. before the crowds get bad.
This is also something that frequent Walt Disney World visitors underestimate, as the Florida parks get fairly busy at or shortly after rope drop. This once again comes down to the local dynamic. Californians doing day trips to Disneyland typically are late arrivers due to traffic and so forth, so the morning starts much slower. (The extent to which this is true depends upon whether or not it’s California’s tourist season; if you’re visiting during spring break or summer vacation, don’t expect this to be as pronounced as during September or February.)
Getting up at the crack of dawn and being to Disneyland or DCA early doesn’t fit with the notion of relaxing and unwinding on vacation, but the reality is that you’d be better off showing up for the first 2 hours and last 2 hours and skipping the ~8 hours in between than you be doing only those middle-of-the-day hours.
If relaxation on your vacation is important, take a break in the middle of the day to go back to your hotel and nap or enjoy the pool. You really benefit greatly from being in the parks right at rope drop, though. Likewise, crowds are lightest again at the end of the night (and the atmosphere then is unbeatable).
4. Buying the Wrong Tickets
Disneyland tickets are highly customizable, which is both a good and bad thing. On the downside, if you haven’t done your research and are prone to being upsold on things, you might end up purchasing more than you need. On the upside, if you have done your research, you can pay for only the options that you really need, passing on extras you likely won’t use.
For example, going from park to park takes (literally) less than 5 minutes, so the Park Hopper option can be very valuable, especially on the (regular) nights when DCA closes earlier or opens later. Conversely, you might be able to get away with no Park Hopper if you have small kids. We cover the possibilities, pros and cons of each, and offer some recommendations in our Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets post.
3. Over-Planning
Over-planning and under-planning on the same list? Tricky. There are two aspects to this one. First, you don’t need to devote nearly as much time to planning a Disneyland trip as you would a WDW one. As a general rule, spend no more than half as much time planning. (Realistically, even less than that is probably fine.)
Beyond that, there’s the issue with over-planning in general. Planning everything down to the minute or even hour leaves no room for spontaneity, and Disneyland is all about the spontaneous experiences. Characters appear out of nowhere, there’s atmospheric entertainment you never knew about, and a wealth of “little things” you’ll want to stop to experience. These spontaneous little moments can be the highlight of a Disneyland vacation, and planning everything down to the smallest detail might “force” you to skip these things when you see them.
The final problem with such a detailed itinerary is that it sets unrealistic expectations. If you plan a trip checklist style with 15 things that you “must accomplish” in a given day, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. The practical realities of navigating crowds, weather, longer-than-expected lines, attraction downtime, or other unplanned variables mean you might not be able to get everything done.
It’s better to go into a Disneyland trip with a rough plan of attack with plenty of downtime–and be prepared to bail on even what you do have on your schedule. Sometimes we have the most fun when we toss aside our plans!
2. Driving
If you’re a veteran of the Florida parks, you probably have a strong opinion in the never-ending ‘Disney transportation vs. rental car’ debate. There’s a decent chance you rent a car, given how spread out everything is and how slow transportation times can be.
For most visitors to Disneyland, a car is not only unnecessary, but counter-productive. Most of the best hotel options are directly across the street from the parks, which are literally <100 yards from one another. Driving to the parks will take significantly longer than walking to them. Significant is not an understatement; due to the parking configuration, it can take 30+ minutes to drive, park, go through security, and take the tram to the parks, whereas it’s a 10-15 minute walk from many hotels.
Likewise, you might consider booking a hotel that’s a bit of a commute to the parks. Coastal communities like Newport Beach and Laguna Beach are lovely and don’t seem too far on paper. Trust us as people who make that commute to the park: it can be miserable. Southern California traffic is a soul-crushing beast, and that coupled with having to park, going through security, etc., is one way to start your day on the wrong foot.
Additionally, you’ll be paying for parking. Often, this is the case both at your hotel (even the Disney-owned ones) and at the parks. For all of these reasons, we typically recommend those visiting Disneyland plus other parts of California rent a car after finishing the Disneyland leg of their trip. (See our Disneyland Transportation Tips for more info.)
Instead, take an Uber/Lyft from the airport to your hotel, and get around via foot. I’d actually take this tip a bit further–not only should you not be renting a car at Disneyland, but you shouldn’t be in a vehicle (aside from Autopia) during your visit to Disneyland. If you are, you’re doing something wrong. There are so many great hotel options–at all price points–within walking distance of the parks that, unless you have a very specific reason, it’s a mistake to book one that isn’t walkable.
Disneyland Resort is so compact that relying on a car (or even a bus!) really doesn’t make sense. Just plan accordingly: book a hotel within walking distance, fly into SNA, and skip the rental car until the non-Disneyland portion of your trip (you will absolutely want your own car for #1 on this list). If you’re going elsewhere, book a one-way rental from Anaheim to the airport, starting the day you leave Disneyland.
1. ONLY Doing Disneyland
I’ll be perfectly honest with you, this is one of those “do as we say, not as we do” scenarios. During our first visit to Disneyland, we also were in Huntington Beach for a wedding (the real purpose of the trip), but during our next few visits, we did not venture beyond Disneyland Resort once. Granted, we made separate trips to Northern California to see San Francisco and Yosemite National Park, but we didn’t spend any time in Los Angeles. It took us several trips back to finally get to Los Angeles and Burbank and start learning the error of our ways.
Finally, we moved to California and invested considerable time into exploring the state. We made a concerted effort to see and do as much as possible while living here, and the recurring thought we have is, “why didn’t we do this all sooner?!” California would be one of the greatest countries in the world (were it one), and is easily the best state in the US. When we go back as tourists now, our time is split roughly 50/50 between Disneyland and the rest of Southern California.
California has so much to see and do, amazing food, and natural diversity. Go two hours (or less) from Disneyland and you have beaches, mountains, and deserts. Californians boast about being able to surf and ski in the same day, but it’s absolutely true. (See our list of the Worst & Best Beaches Close to Disneyland.)
In addition to this site, we have non-Disney blog: TravelCaffeine with resources for on an eclectic mix of the places where we’ve lived or visited extensively. California is one such emphasis, as we’ve spent a ton of time exploring our home state. If you’re planning on heading to LA after Disneyland, be sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to Los Angeles. LA is one of the greatest cities in the world, but we’re particularly partial to Laguna Beach–see our Ultimate Guide to Laguna Beach, California for extensive advice. In addition to these planning resources, we also give away a free eBook, 101 Things to Do in Southern California over on TravelCaffeine, so be sure to download that totally free resource!
I think that about covers it for the “top” mistakes newbies make when visiting Disneyland for the first time. Now, there are no shortage of possible mistakes…this is really just the tip of the iceberg. So, if you don’t mind sharing some of the mistakes you or a “friend” have made when visiting Disneyland Resort, please share them in the comments. Remember, your learning experience could help someone else avoid running into the same problem. Feel free to change the names to protect the innocent.
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
Do you agree or disagree with our first-timer tips for Disneyland? Any other common mistakes or pitfalls you’d recommend avoiding? Any questions? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!
“Southern California traffic is a soul-crushing beast” So very true. it’s cliché, but it’s why Californians will tell you the time it takes to get somewhere, not the distance
My adult daughter and I visited in 2022 and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere so much. We are heading back the first week of December this year to take advantage of all the Xmas offerings and can’t wait to see all the Xmas overlays and entertainment. We are staying at the DL Villas for 9 nights. We have 7 days planned in the parks and the other two days are going to be lazy days off from the parks, one playing mini golf at a nearby course and the other checking out the antique shops near Disney. We have park hoppers and G+ and have rough plans worked out for each day but are more than happy to have these plans disrupted by spontaneous character meet and greets and street entertainment. I am so excited just thinking and writing about it. Can’t wait.
The big shock for me when I went to DL the first time was how condensed it was. With the smaller park footprint comes more congestion, and even on days where the crowds are light, there are significant bottlenecks. I will do almost anything to avoid going through Fantasyland or that sharp turn into Adventureland at peak hours. That, and the baby strollers! There aren’t more of them than there are at Disneyworld, but with the lack of space it’s still a shock to encounter them or have to navigate through them to get to an attraction entrance.
Granted, I do love the condensed layout now that I’m used to it but it’s a shock at first!
That’s a good point that isn’t on the list. People that have been t WDW are not prepared for how tight space is, or how teeny tiny the castle is
I rope dropped each day I was at Disneyland for race weekend because I wanted to see if I could get away with not buying Genie+. This was my first trip to DL since Genie+ was introduced, and I was very aware of differences. I got more done those first two hours every day than I did the rest of the time. Hit it hard, then pull back and relax as the crowds trickle in mid-to-late morning.
I’ve been to WDW over 30 times since 1971 when I was 3 years old. First trip to DLR this July, days following Independence Day. I’ve got 5 days, no hopper. I’ve heard G+, which I’ve avoided at WDW, is especially helpful at DCA. I’m looking at a beach day mid week (there for 6 nights at the new DVC tower at DL hotel). I’ll check out your link for the beach. Flying into LAX since it was direct from Toronto and taking the rail and ride share mix to save money. I’ve been devouring all your posts to get a sense of what you recommend so I want to say thank you for all the help. My biggest disappointment is HM is closed and I purposely picked July and not August because of the overlay.
I also am a big believer in rope dropping at DLR. I once managed to rope drop both parks on the same morning using early entry to DL and a late-ish opening time for DCA. But on my most recent trip in October, I found the major attractions I was trying to rope drop were all down at park opening and stayed down until the rope dropping window of advantage had all but closed. A cynic might say that was done to encourage purchase of Genie+ and ILLs; in fact, I may have said something to that effect in my follow-up complaint. To their credit, they reimbursed me for the cost of my family’s Genie+ add-ons for those days. So whether it was from operational ineptitude or for more cynical reasons, or just bad luck, I came away from that trip thinking that rope dropping may have become a less reliable strategy for beating the lines. Being in the parks before they get crowded, though, is still magical if you can keep from spending all of that time looking at your phone to rejigger your strategies.
Now that I’ve been going to DLR on and off for more than 10 years (!), I’d add the following:
1.) Underestimating Counter Service food. While there are good WDW counter service spots, the general rule is that most of them serve stereotypical theme park food, and for the interesting or good food, people often gravitate (or feel they have to gravitate to) table service dining. DLR, however, has a robust lineup of counter service food and restaurants, and sometimes it feels easier to list where NOT to eat than where to eat. I also visit many non-Disney parks each year, and I find Disneyland’s counter service food to be better priced and higher quality than pretty much anywhere else right now.
2.) Not using mobile order-most counter service restaurants use mobile order, and while a standby line is still offered, there are often only a limited number of CMs available to take orders. You can save time by placing a mobile order and picking up your food while waiting a minimal amount of time. I would recommend playing with mobile order in the app a bit before you arrive, so you can see how the interface work, what food is offered (with pictures of the end product, which I find very helpful), etc. I do think it’s beneficial to have a rough idea of what might sound appealing before you’re in the park and hangry, at which point mobile order will not be much help to you, because the food return times tend to be at least 30 minutes out. So I’d be familiar with how to use mobile order, which restaurants have food that might appeal to you, and place your order in advance so that it’s ready when you’re going to want to eat.
3.) Rope dropping the wrong attractions: Radiator Springs Racers & Rise of the Resistance-
RSR-I don’t really have a good solution to this problem, but I tried to do this on my last trip, and it was a disaster. Because it’s an ILL attraction and by far the biggest draw at the park, everyone waiting for the park to open has the same idea, and so you only really have a shot at a short wait if you’re perfectly positioned for every step of the process. If the ride’s not ready at rope drop the problem is compounded.
ROTR-too prone to breakdowns, too far removed from the rest of the park, and an attraction that takes a lot of time even if you do everything right and walk on the ride at 8 AM or close to it. I’ve found that doing it later in the day tends to work much better than trying to rope drop it.
4.) Know how Genie+ works, and the difference between Lightning Lane (included with Genie+) and Individual Lightning Lane (a per-person upcharge, whether you’ve purchased Genie+ or not).
5.) Take advantage of the abundant characters around the park-unlike WDW, there are dozens of characters wandering around and interacting with park guests, to the point that at DLR the characters truly feel like an organic part of the park in the way they sometimes do not at WDW.
6.) Dressing appropriately-in addition to Tom’s point that California is not always perfect weather, it’s worth noting that there are many more queues and eating areas that are outside than in Florida. Usually this is not a problem, but if it is going to be (even if only for the area) especially hot, cold, or rainy (unlikely during the summer, huzzah!), it’s very important that you are dressed accordingly.
7.) Skipping an attraction because it’s “the same” as WDW-there are only a handful of attractions that are identical between DLR and WDW, typically those that prominently involve screens or are very, very new. Otherwise, there was generally an effort made to keep attractions that have the same name or ride system a different experience. Some you might find better at Disneyland, some you might find better at WDW. It’s interesting too because some attraction differences are quite stark, but some you might only catch or appreciate if you’ve been to WDW several times.
8.) Don’t be afraid to mix Disney and non-Disney things into the same vacation-one thing I have observed over the years as a Disney parks forum dweller is that for some WDW regulars, there are two types of vacations: Disney vacations and non-Disney vacations, and the two shall not ever intermix. This is counter-productive thinking when it comes to California, which offers something for everyone within a two hour drive. If you have ANY non-Disney interests, there’s an above average chance that you can find a really excellent example of wfhatever you’re interested in within two hours of Disneyland. It also adds variety if you come back to Disneyland for another trip-that way, even if the parks haven’t changed much, you will have enjoyed new things elsewhere. Disneyland is PART OF an excellent vacation, but not everyone is going to be satisfied by going to Disneyland alone for vacation and then leaving. This is not the fault of DLR or meant to denegrate it, or imply that it’s not a fabulous place to be in its own right, but simply a result of circumstances, as DLR is better geared for shorter, more focused trips vs. WDW’s many options making it a better option for longer trips. At WDW, the umbrella through which your vacation operates is WDW; At DLR, the umbrella through which your vacation operates is California. Just as a WDW vacation can be enhanced by getting out of the parks and doing other things on WDW property, so too is a DLR vacation enhanced by getting out of the parks and doing other things in California.
Nothing to add other than that I agree with all of these, and thanks for the thorough recommendations!
Great list. We are about to go on our 10th (11th?) trip to DL after being raised on WDW since the 80s.
I would also add Live Entertainment. DL does this so much better and WDW has not recovered since Covid. The organic characters and the live music almost everywhere is well worth stopping to enjoy. The fact that DCA still has it’s streetsmophere and DHS doesn’t is criminal. 🙁
On our 2022 trip we saw Mary Poppins and the Pearly Band playing while on the carousel! Pure Magic!!
Also agree on Mobile order and don’t skip just because you’ve done WDW Pirates 25 x before.
This is all great advice, especially the exhortation to not just see Disneyland on a trip to the area. On one trip our Midwestern family flew into Vegas for a few days, spent an awesome day/night in Death Valley, then drove down to SoCal for a beach day before two days at the parks and a flight home from SNA. More recently we flew in for a long weekend and drove out for day at Joshua Tree, two days at the parks, then a half day exploring OC beaches before another SNA flight home.
In regard to Park Hopper tickets, we’re somewhat frugal travelers and on both trips we decided the hefty upcharge for our family of 4 wasn’t at all worth it, as for only ~25% more than the price of a 1-day Park Hopper ticket (and FAR less than a 2-day Park Hopper ticket), we could spend one great day at Disneyland and the other at DCA while really immersing ourselves in those parks.
Flying into Vegas and doing what you did is one excellent option. Another is flying into SFO or another Bay Area airport and taking a scenic drive down Pacific Coast Highway–or inland to Yosemite, Sequoia, and coming back down through LA (also a great option if you want to do Universal or Magic Mountain, since both are fairly far north).
I booked my next visit before a RunDisney was announced. Now I’ll be there for a RunDisney weekend. I’m staying at GCH so I have early entry, I’m good with Genie+ and I have strategy. I feel like even if it’s busy I’ll be okay. Is that right?
“I’m staying at GCH so I have early entry…”
I assume this means you’re an early-riser and will be taking advantage of Early Entry and rope drop. If so, you’ll be absolutely fine. Those first couple hours are great pretty much no matter when you’ll be there.
Enjoy your visit!
The upside for non-runners at the RunDisney weekends is that even though there may be more people at the park at certain times, they’re not necessarily taking up the rides and restaurants all day. Races start at 5am and runners have to show up long before for check-in/security so basically anyone racing the next morning is heading to bed pretty early. Traditionally you’ll see the greatest influx midday/early afternoon where runners come in for medal photos in front of the castle and have their big meal of the day. Sunday morning is the last race and it’s the half-marathon so many runners will get to the parks later and then see how long in the day they can make it. It makes for a very festive atmosphere so hopefully it will be a plus to your trip.
Thank You, that helps a lot. Do most of the things in the article still apply as on today Dec 19, 2018?
We are WDW veterans and took our first family trip to Disneyland summer 2016. The paper FP system seemed very familiar from the WDW system of days ago, so no surprises there.
I second the suggestion of doing all the story rides and rides no longer offered at WDW, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (which I thought was a lot like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), and Snow White’s Scary Adventures. Make sure to ride some of the same ones offered at WDW as well, like Pirates of The Caribbean, Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster, Space Mountain (Star Wars Update), Autotopia, and It’s A Small World, just to name a few.
While these rides share similarities with their WDW counterparts, they each are a little different in their own way. For instance, in the queue for Pirates, you can see the ride pass by with it being exposed to the outside light and the Bayou portion of the ride is not offered at WDW either. The Blasters in Buzz’s ride are handheld which allows for individual aiming as opposed to being attached to the vehicle’s pointed direction. I loved the outdoor queue for Small World as well as all of the hidden Pixar characters incorporated in the ride. Hyper Space Mountain now has a Star Wars theme with a galactic battle soundtrack as you zoom through space.
If that is not enough, I also want to mention the Monorail. The monorail stops inside the Park and requires a valid park ticket to ride. That being said, it’s not your WDW monorail ride just for transportation. Much like the EPCOT Monorail line in WDW that travels around Future World, this one skirts by Fantasyland and through part of Tomorrowland. It has many twists and turns while even crossing over its own track. Gone are the days of riding in the private ends of the WDW monorail, but to our surprise, our family was allowed to ride in the back of the Disneyland monorail. We all had a perfect view as the monorail took us through the sections of the park.
As far as shows, just do them! They are fantastic! While we enjoyed World of Color, I especially enjoyed the Paint the Night Parade! I’m sorry to say the Paint the Night Parade is currently not available but will be returning sometime in 2018. On its return, the parade will be in DCA and debut a new Pixar themed float.
As first time Disneyland guests, these WDW veterans, felt very “at home” with all the Disney familiarities, but everything must be explored and experienced because some things may look the same, but the little differences from their WDW counterparts give them a whole new feel. You too may enjoy experiencing just how different they really are.
Great article! However, all the abbreviations such as DLR, DCA, DHS, and others made it difficult to fully understand. I’m well informed about all things Disney, but the acronyms are annoying. DLR=Disney Land Rome??? DCA=Disney Land Anaheim??? DHS=Disney Hot Springs?? DCA=Disney California ??? LOL!! GMAB!! BTW: I enjoyed the blog (IETB) except for the alphabet soup.
DLR = Disneyland Resort
DCA = Disney’s California Adventure
DHS = Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
These are all commonly used acronyms in the Disney sphere, it can totally be confusing at first to get used to so many. There is an article on Allears with common Disney abbreviations that might come in handy to get used to the different ones you may encounter: http://allears.net/tp/abrev.htm
Wonderful tips! On that note…do you have a survival guide for Sundays? I’ve got a business trip next week to Anaheim, and so fly in early and have all day Sunday to do Disneyland. I totally didn’t know about Sundays being a bad day, otherwise I would have flown in a day earlier. But no way to change that now. So any tips? I will be staying at a nearby hotel (near the convention center), so will walk/uber over. I will go way early to make it for rope drop. Right now my main focus is just on Disneyland, so haven’t yet bought a park hopper. I mostly want to experience the Christmas events and theming (as last year I was sent to WDW for work during Halloween.) I do know that Sunday is one of the Candlelight Processionals, but don’t fully understand how that will affect things. I also plan on making use of the Maxpass system, and the single rider lines.
You might be pleasantly surprised, typically those first two weeks of December are fairly quiet so while it may be busier it might not be BUSY. If it’s just you and you aren’t planning on getting a lot of photos you might be able to get by with just using the single rider option and your plan to be there at rope drop, I think you can make a last minute decision on the MaxPass so maybe hold off on that for now.
The biggest mistake we made when we only visited Disneyland every year or two was missing out on shows and parades because we focused on rides. We still love the rides, but the shows at Disneyland/Cal Adventure are so fun and such high quality (even though we aren’t really parade people in general). Once we got annual passes and didn’t feel like we had to do every ride every time we went, we started enjoying all of the non-ride things to do and see. If you are just doing one trip and want to do all the rides and have time for other entertainment, you really need three days (one California Adventure and two for Disneyland).
The second mistake we made was underestimating the food. We used to bring tons of snacks to save money and because we didn’t think the food would be all that good anyway (which was true until a few years ago). Now a big part of our park planning is anticipating the food and snacks we can get there!
And agree 100% about rope dropping. I almost feel like it’s not worth a trip if you don’t rope drop. Better to do that and enjoy downtime in the afternoon.
As an experienced WDW traveler, I didn’t grasp the importance of the paper tickets. I had them loaded on the app along with my MaxPass, thinking I was on top of things. Until there was a mix up (apparently they managed to double scan a ticket), & we lost almost an hour tracking down the paper copies which had been left in the hotel. Keep your tickets!
Disneyland is my home park, and it was decades before we started making visits to WDW. So from the “opposite” perspective, I would agree that the two biggest differences are:
1) In California, you can walk from Disneyland to DCA in 60 seconds, so a park-hopper is a MUST. By comparison, we never get park-hoppers at WDW as we feel it too much a waste of time to travel between parks that are “spread out”.
2) The pre-planning of meals and FP is much more extensive and necessary at WDW. You practically have to micro-manage your WDW trip, where as with DLR you can (almost) just “show up” at rope drop and plan your day as you go.
So much fun that they are so different from each other in so many different aspects. The International Parks have their own approach as well. To me, that’s a big part of what makes visiting all these parks so interesting and exciting!
As someone whose home park was WDW (lived in Tampa) and made my first trip to Disneyland about five years ago, I’d say parkhopper at DLR is definitely NOT a must. From your perspective it is because of the saved time. For our family with kids it was not necessary because we wanted to benefit from the fairly significant savings between regular tickets and parkhoppers (when adding them to six tickets). For a first-time family, there’s so much to see and do in each park that parkhopping is unnecessary. Then, you can use the extra money you saved for turkey legs and churros 😉 My point is that first-timers should weigh out the benefits before buying a parkhopper, it’s defintely not that cut-and-dry because the parks are so close.
Good points.
I’ve always found myself wanting to bounce back and forth multiple times each day given ride wait times, show times, crowds, and whatever I might be in the mood to eat. So for me it’s always the park hopper. But I get your take.
What a great article, thank you! Our family is venturing to DLR for the first time in January, so I’ll be checking back for additional wisdom in the comments☺ï¸. I’m really looking forward to the trip, but am a little anxious I’m missing a piece of the “plan” (WDW mentality I guess!).
My mistakes as a frequent WDW traveler:
(1) Not going to DCA first thing in the morning. I’ve been to DLR on multiple CA vacations and I have yet to go on Radiator Springs Racers because the waits have been ridiculously long plus fastpasses run out fast. (2) Waiting last minute to get a spot to watch World of Color. All the good views are taken up fast. (3) Not doing the classic Fantasyland attractions (that do not exist in WDW) first thing when arriving at DL. My first trip, all those rides had long waits by late morning/early afternoon so I was unable to go on them. (4) Skipping Storybook Land Canals — on a recent a DLR trip, I went on this ride and I loved it because it was so tranquil and detailed. I skipped the ride in the past because it seemed like a minor ride for young girls. (5) Initially putting Matterhorn on a pedestal since its first Disney roller coaster and doesnt exist in WDW. I waited a long time to go on this ride and found the rollercoaster to be blah in comparison to other Disney rollercoasters plus I got achy afterwards.
Excellent points–I agree with every single one of these. With regard to Fantasyland attractions, even Peter Pan’s Flight (which exists at Walt Disney World) is dramatically different, so it’s worth doing, too!
Disneyland is not as laid back as it used to be. That said, you need plenty of planning if you want to see fireworks, parades, shows, and eat at certain table restaurants. Unlike WDW, eating is much easier and lighter on the pocketbook. It’s much easier to get table restaurant reservations, but you must reserve 2 months (Blue Bayou in particular) in advance unlike at WDW where 6 months is the rule. You need advance reservations for Fantasmic dinner packages.
It is certainly true that buying tickets is important, it’s not as important to get park hoppers since each park has so much to do unlike WDW where each park has so much less to do so you much park hop if your day end early at Animal Kingdom, DHS, and Epcot. DCA has plenty to do well into the evening although the park can close 1 to 2 hours early than Disneyland depending on the season.
The weather varies as much as 30 degrees difference between day time highs and evening lows (70s to 40s) in the fall to early spring. So how do you prepare? Lockers? Or I just lug it around with my jacket on my waist and extra thermal in my backpack. It’s a heavy burden. You’ll be overheated at noon and freezing cold at night. You can return to your room at the resort or local hotel and change. All around, few options really.
Blue Bayou and dining packages aside, booking so far in advance definitely is not necessary. A couple of weeks is usually plenty of time.
The only restaurant we book in advance is Napa Rose, and that’s primarily because it’s not the kind of place you do on a whim. Everywhere else, we do same-day and there’s almost always availability (save for Blue Bayou, and even then we’ve had luck getting in day-of). Of course, tourists who have a must-do restaurant should probably err on the side of caution and book farther in advance, as you point out.
The temperature fluctuations are the worst when it’s shorts weather during the day, but long pants weather at night. I can pack a down jacket in my backpack, but I’m not going to pack a change of pants, so my legs are just usually cold (or we go home when it starts to get cold, ha).
Being from Oregon it has always been Disneyland. Now We are o the east coast and we were planning a WDW trip next year BUT… now that our daughter has 3 small children it is easier for her to travel to California,, so back to DLR we go. EVERY time we went to DLR growing up and as an adult it was always about the rides. RIDES RIDES RIDES! It was crazy! 2 years ago we went and hardly did any of the “big” rides and I must say, it was the BEST time I have ever been!!
We just hung out and let the kids enjoy the park and atmosphere. It was a trip of SO many firsts because we weren’t focused on the rides. The shows, the street performers, the bubble blowing guns from Buzz Light year. The kids must have played for an hour chasing bubbles with OTHER kids. I think being 50 yrs old I can say the biggest mistake is not slowing down and enjoying the Disney atmosphere and the smaller aspects the park has to offer.