We were just there last week and we took your advice and did not rope drop Rise and Radiator Springs. Instead we rope dropped Space Mountain and Pixar Pier. Thank you for the advice because we had such success with getting on so many big attraction rides during the golden hour and at a very minimal wait.
Pro Tip for best of both worlds (hot tub + fireworks): Stay at the Anaheim Majestic Garden Hotel on Ball Road, then position yourself in the hot tub just prior to the fireworks. You'll be treated to the best version of the show you'll ever see, and be closer to them than you would be in the park. Car alarms going off! Ash falling everywhere! Cats and dogs living together! Oh, the humanity! 😀
@@SoCalDisneyDadwould love to hear how your stay was there as I’m seeing very mixed reviews and have it booked for a trip for me/my mum/my uncle this November 😩
@@amberw5605 Here is the first time we stayed: Anaheim Majestic Garden Hotel Review & Room Tour | Disneyland Area ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-viHfzOwzKos.html Here is the second time: Anaheim Majestic's Enchanted Knight Jr Suite Room Tour + Hotel Review ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oxNfC6mrXKc.html
@@SoCalDisneyDad wow I did not actually expect to get a response, you are a gem, ty. Watching your videos has really helped me feel prepped for my fams first Disney trip in decades. Thank you and your family for all you do!
We like it. We just liked it better when the standby maxed out at around 20 minutes. Now, it’s unlikely to find it less than 30 unless it’s just after park opening.
I love the train ride. There’s just something about seeing the park from a different angle that is heart warming ❤ Another thing I don’t do at Disneyland is try to force a schedule. By doing that we always ruin the magic and end up frustrated. That’s not always easy if you don’t have a pass to go often but it can still be done. It’s really nice when you let go of expectations and allow the Disney days to happen organically.
Yes! I always say to have a plan, but don’t let it dictate your schedule to the point of stressing. It’s good to know what rides everyone prioritizes so that if you do nothing else, everyone got to ride the one ride they were most looking forward to. Then take it from there.
Thank you for advising not to get the commonplace eats like hot dogs and chicken tenders! I've watched some WDW vloggers who visit Disneyland and eat all those basic items because that's what they get at WDW. Disneyland/DCA has so many great and tasty food options! Why eat chicken tenders and fries while at either park? Those are food options for fussy children.
I can’t tell you the number of times people tell us Disney parks don’t have good food. And then we ask what they’re eating and they list a restaurant that just sells burgers or chicken tenders. 😂
I went the week before Splash Mountain closed, rope dropped and was on the ride in less than 10 minutes. That long only because of how long the walk was. Barely anyone there, I took several pictures, thought about when I first came there with my parents, and said good bye. Although the hype and energy looked huge closing night, I was happy not to have had to wait 3 hours for my last ride. In the span of 45 minutes, I rode Pirates twice and Haunted Mansion three times. My favorite rides of the park, and the first time ever I got the little red card to help them measure wait times, that was pretty cool.
The lead up to the last day of Splash wasn’t too bad. We rode it maybe 2 weeks prior and it was a walk on. The weather lately hasn’t been very “water ride” weather. But that last day, the line was like 3-4 hours long at one point. Getting a red card is always fun!
Again, another great video and informative. I like it when you include your wife and sons in your vlogs; it makes it so much family oriented when talking about Disneyland. We are heading there the last week in September and can’t wait to enjoy what you have described! BTW, because I like your videos with your family, how can I make a one time gift?
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoy them. If you’d like to provide a monetary gift, the button that says “Thanks” and has a heart with a “$” in it next to the Thumbs Up, Share, and Remix options on the RU-vid watch page allows you to leave something called a “Super Thanks”. This goes directly into our account.
I have to put my plug in for character breakfasts because I love them 😂 I do agree with pretty much all the other never’s, but we did Goofy’s kitchen last week for our trip and it was amazing. It’s true you can find characters for free, but the one on one time my kiddos got with their favorite characters and not having to rush was soooo nice. Plus the food wasn’t half bad! We look at the price tag more for the experience, plus we have to eat anyway might as well have fun while we’re at it 😂 also it looks like you were in DCA same time as us and we’re so bummed we didn’t see you! Our whole family loves watching your videos
AWESOME tips about Rise and not waiting if it breaks down 👌👌👌, this is our number one ride to do, so we’re gathering as many tips as poss. Thanks traver you’re awesome 🌈
I think I saw a hidden Mickey just as you were saying there were none, on the small world ride (around 16:30). Check out the giraffe head What do you think?
I've never waited longer than 30 minutes and I'm a late start girl, still haven't had a trip where I didn't hit all my desired rides. That's why I watch these strategy videos, they really help!
My never do list is pretty simple: 1. Never go to Star Wars land because it's not Disney at all. It has nothing to do with Walt's vision, and is really offensive instead. Should have built a Star Wars park, like Legoland, instead of deatroying parts of the original park. 2. Never buy park hopper. DCA is lame, especially if you have a kid who is shorter than 44". It's not a very fun park, ridewise, since many of them are cheaply done and boring (i.e Monsters Inc, Ariel, Toy Story Mania). That's about it, other than the obvious stuff (getting mad, swearing, etc.). The first lesson I had to learn was to not have expectations--rides break constantly and lines will be long. You gotta know that going in and be okay with it or you will slowly grow frustrated and angry as the day goes on.
Great tips and ones I mostly use as well. We have never done a character meal (even though my relatives swear by them), but my daughter has lots of pictures with characters (and some signatures in her autograph book) from both Disney and Universal parks without going to a character meal. The character meals are so expensive (especially for the food you get) and take a good chunk of time. I don’t enjoy huge crowds and staying late at the parks, so we don’t stay for projection and/or fireworks shows. We would rather leave (preferably right before dinner time) after a fun filled day-especially if planning to go back the next morning. We sleep better if we are not exhausted and get the much needed rest for feet as well. The only exception was the evening “Magic Happens” parade, which was great and not late at night (and as long as you avoided Main Street-was not that crowded). We usually do try to conquer rides land by land though. However, we split the park in half over 2 days and use Genie + to do so. On our last trip we started out in Galaxy’s Edge (we didn’t rope drop Rise, but went to Smugglers Run first and then did Rise after when the stand by wait dropped to 25 minutes), we then went to New Orleans Square, Frontierland, and Adventureland. The next day we did everything we wanted to in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. All with less than 30 minute waits for every ride and without paying for the premium lighting lanes that are not included with Genie +. The only exception was we did get over to Mickey and Minnie’s RR ride the first day when the wait dropped to a 20 minute standby, but otherwise stayed out of that half of the park that day. When we went to DCA, we rope dropped Guardians of the Galaxy and then went to Radiator Springs Racers when stand by was a 25 minute standby. We then rode Mater’s and went back to Avengers campus to finish the remaining rides, eat lunch, and then continue around the rest of the park land by land (again using Genie + whenever we could) and all waits were less than 25 minutes. We avoid zig zagging whenever possible, which avoids frustration for all (my daughter does not enjoy more walking than necessary). Whatever works for each family is great, but we find this is what works for us. Kudos for those that love zig zagging, character meals, late night time entertainment, and all the other “never again” tips though.
Had the trio of taco's, would choose a hotdog or chicken tenders ANY day over those taco's... They weren't bad or anything, I just really didn't like 'm. I would sooner go for a breadbowl with cheesesoup or a Monte Cristo sandwich... Or even a ronto wrap.
Thank you for these videos! You’ve been so helpful I’m taking my kids next week. It’s our first time! So I’ve been watching some of your videos to have some prep lol
Seriously!!! I lost my cool on that ride and my kids thought it was the funniest thing in the whole world lol I wasn’t expecting it to be so wild I held the throw up bag the entire time lol
Like u I don’t wait for the fireworks instead I find a spot near the Zocalo Ranch right behind Mirabel’s meet and Greet and u get a good viewing of the fireworks with not many guests in the way. And u can see them clearly right towards the direction of Big Thunder Mountain
Great tips. Very helpful info as usual. Definitely interested in the best value meals like the taco dish that are unique to Disneyland. Also, more options for Rise of the Resistance. There is going to be a lot of pressure to get on that ride if we are visiting and can't get back to the park for years if we miss out. Also, would definitely want to get into the Cantina too. Never been to either.
I’ll bring up the cantina in my next video. I went there earlier this week. For Rise you really only have a few options. Rope drop it (not advisable because it wastes the Golden Hour from 8-9), ride it between 9-10 AM (recommended), buy individual lightning lanes (also recommended, because if it breaks down, you get a multi experience pass to come back later), or you standby it sometime throughout the day and potentially wait an hour and a half or more.
We did storytellers because we only had one day in Disneyland (and only got to meet a few characters). I do recommend it for that reason my girls were over joyed to have the characters come to them. We ended up going to going to DCA and met all the characters so that was great !!!
One thing I love but can’t really do anymore is the Matterhorn. It’s just hell on my 53 year old back👎🤓👎. I have heard the right side is smoother than the left but I’ve never tested out that theory😁
Where do you leave your stroller while on the train? Going in October and soo happy to watch all your videos! Making playlists to rewatch prior to going lol
We went to Disneyland last week, 6/9/2023 we spent 16 hours there from rope drop to close non stop. I would say hardest rides to get on were Matterhorn bobsled and space mountain over a hour wait
Space Mountain is my usual recommendation for rope drop. You can usually ride it within 10 minutes if it’s the first ride you go to. They also have single rider. So does Matterhorn for that matter. Once my youngest son is 7 years old it will probably be the only way we ride Matterhorn.
About the land by land. I do it to some extent. For example if I did Space Mountain first which is what I normally do then I head over to either Matterhorn or Indiana Jones
When folks talk about going land by land, they mean if they start at Space Mountain, they don’t move on until they do Astro Orbiter, Buzz, Star Tours, Autopia, and Nemo. Then they can move on to Matterhorn.
It’s not a complaint, it’s a preference. And it doesn’t get above 35 until after 9:30 AM. And right now it’s only 45 minutes. I prefer to only ride rides below that amount. Because every ride is below that at some point. And if you plan properly you won’t ever have to wait longer than 35 minutes.
Some young kids might not like it being dark, but we’ve been taking our kids on the ride since they were babies. There is no height requirement for it.
I get moving to a shorter wait and then coming back to the one that had a long wait… But also wouldn’t walking to the shorter wait eat up some of that time if you would have stayed at the longer wait? I haven’t been to Disneyland yet, so maybe the distance between the attractions isn’t too bad. We go to Cedar Point a lot and it seems like a lot of distance between coasters (luckily we always do the Fast Lane though - life saver!).
Disneyland isn’t too bad to walk around. Haven’t been to Cedar Point in ages to compare, but Disneyland is smaller than it’s Florida counterparts if you’ve ever been there.
That’s a good assumption to have. When it ends up being less you’ll be pleasantly surprised, but you won’t ever be disappointed. I’ve had it go either way, but more often than not it’s fairly accurate. At WDW, the wait times are almost always blown way out of proportion to where they are usually about half of whatever the posted time is. But even knowing that, I still don’t ever expect that. And oftentimes I avoid lines because of scary wait times. That’s part strategy on Disney’s end, as well as part Public Relations to keep guests happy. But that doesn’t happen at Disneyland all that often.
The esquite corn hot dog is actually pretty decent (and I don’t like most of their hot dogs, I’ve tried several). The specialty hot dogs aren’t bad options simply because they ARE things you can’t necessarily get anywhere else. Like I can’t think of a single place that sells Mac and Cheese hot dogs.
My kids LOVE Radiator Springs Racers, but are too young (3 & 6) to do single rider alone so we end up rope dropping or forking out the cash for lightning lane (if not both). We often do the character breakfast so the kids can meet characters without standing in lines. I agree the food isn't great and it's super expensive, but when you think of it as food plus the cost of a lightning lane to meet characters then it's not so bad. Last time we did Minnie's breakfast we got to meet Minnie, Pooh, Tigger, Chip, Dale, Daisy, Pluto and Perla plus eat in about an hour. In my head that's worth the time saving alone from needing to wait to meet Pooh & Tigger. Plus I felt like they got more time with each character than when we stood in line to meet Pooh, Tigger & Eeyore.
Ahhh!!!! My OCD Kicks in! It's not zo-CA-lo...wrong emphasis on the middle syllable. Emphasis should be on the first syllable (like the word 'emphasis' 😅) So, it's pronounced ZO-ca-lo.
Disneyland and Disney adventure parks all sucks. If you want to take a revenge from someone physically and financially then send them to Disneyland and Disney adventure park. These are definitely NOT the happiest place on earth. 1/5 rating. 😖
@@WWFsuperfan2000 That’s Red! From Pirates of the Caribbean. She does meet and greets just like Jack Sparrow. It’s always fun to interact with her. She does a great job.
I recommened having your kids dress up. It just puts some extra attention on them from the characters. My son was a pirate and Peter Pan ran up to him 😂
The Rise tip is helpful cuz I wouldve gone straight there for rope drop. Going to DL soon and the last time I went, Rise and the rest of Star Wars area hadn't opened so its really the main attractor of my trip lol! How about riding it at night?
@@ccccccchhhhhh808 Alternative times would be right before it closes (you could hop in line at 8:55 PM) and during parades. Basically whenever the most number of people will be lined up for parades or fireworks.
Our weather was crazy this summer. It did t start till like august 😂. I loooved It! I swore our summer was going to be brutal and long but we’re back to cool days ❤. Tip for people is weather apps are pretty accurate. We don’t have minute to minute changes like Florida 👍🏼
We love staying onsite. Arrive in the afternoon, hang out at the Grand California pool all evening. Get early entry the next day. It's amazing. And wonderful!! Try it, you'll like it.
I like to do that as well, as in time it out to see if the wait time is what it says. Sometimes it is longer, others it is the same, sometimes is shorter (usually the case with Space Mountain) Also, good advice on ride breakdowns. I was on Indiana Jones when it broke down and we had to wait 35 minutes until they got us out. Once it was an hour when Soarin broke down. Also, I have never done standby Radiator Springs Racers and never will do it
When I went to DCA for the first time, the cast members let us know that Radiator Springs Racers was gonna be down until early afternoon and it threw me off. One, because way more people went to the Pier than expected and two, the single rider line was over 30 minutes long later in the day!!
Interesting on Rise of the Resistance. When I went last year it was about 11 am almost noon and It broke down. I was on Splash Mountain at the time and then we ate lunch at the Plaza Inn. As soon as we finished our lunch we headed directly to Rise to see how long the line was and it was 45 minutes. It was exactly as it stated and didn’t break down. Got really lucky that time. Hopefully I can wait the same amount when I go in July
I'm hoping we get to go within the next year or so and all of your videos are so helpful! The only point I would not follow is staying at one of the Disney hotels only because our "kids" are now adult sized and researching hotels in the area we would need 2 rooms at places like Candy Cane inn, etc. I did the math and we can book through Costco for a club level room at the Disneyland hotel that has the pull out couch and 2 queens and it is almost the same price. Other than that I will keep watching your videos for more great tips and just subscribed! I have also watched your videos on the zoos in San Diego and they were super helpful too. Keep up the great content!
Not trying to troll but if I went by your 30 minute rule I’d miss every big ride 95% of the time I go. So many vlogs say go on the big rides in the morning or at night. 95% of the time I’m there even at 1130 I rarely see one less than 50. Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland Roger Rabbit see upwards of 60 during the day. I haven’t been on Roger Rabbit in years because for me it never gets below 50. From your perspective of going regularly this makes sense, but for a family trying to pack things in, waiting for times to drop to at least 30 is gonna cause some people to miss out.
Bit of an insider tip, but those wait times at 11:30 PM are flat out lies to get you to go home. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was posted at 50 minutes the last time I stayed late. It was more like 50 seconds. Literal walk on. No line at all. They do this so you are too afraid to get in line that late an night and will leave instead, so their cast members can get off work right at midnight instead of having to stick around for another 30 minutes. Not out of any consideration for the cast member, I'm sure. More that Disney doesn't want to pay them any extra. Peter Pan never goes above 45 minutes. Not even during Spring Break, but Peter Pan also never really drops below 25-30 either. That ride's a bit of an anomaly. Space Mountain takes 10 minutes to rope drop at 8 AM. Big Thunder is a 5-15 minute wait before 9 AM. I think the strategy is viable for visitors, not just locals. But if you're only visiting for a single day, then sure, you're best bet is to just buy Genie+ and forget standard wait times. You just really need a rope dropping game plan so you can knock out 3-4 of the e-ticket rides before 9 AM.
We usually park at the Mickey and Friends or Pixar Pals Garage. That location you can take a tram or walk to the park. The other option is the Toy Story Lot which has busses that drop you off at the park. Either one works.
No question is stupid. I’m happy to answer anything. Nope, single rider is just a free standby line, but they will separate your party. It’s a lot faster though than regular standby.
I feel like instead of “Never will I ever” you should have said something different like “mistakes I want to avoid in the future” or instead of… I will… in the future. I think it’s hilarious your are doing some of the things you said you will never do as you’re saying you’ll never do it. Lol😂
I know. 😂 Never is more superlative. Which leads to more clicks. But I wouldn’t call it click bait since I do (mostly) uphold my points. Unfortunately for me, I HAVE to do some of those things to be well rounded in my experiences for sharing first-hand info with you all. With regards to the wait time situation, if it had been posted at 45, I wouldn’t have gone. I can also gauge a line pretty well just by looking at it and it didn’t look 35. The big question with Indy is how many lightning laners come through the line. And the food one, I literally was only eating the corn dog because I need to wrap up some food locations I haven’t eaten at in awhile. The last one on my list now is Royal Street Veranda. 99% of the time I am not getting ordinary theme park food.
We were there yesterday and Toontown was pretty empty the whole first hour. Rode Mickey and Minnie’s with a 5 minute wait. I feel like even 2-3 months ago it was still pretty popular, but we are officially a year past Toontown’s full opening date (3/19/23). So everyone who makes yearly trips has likely been now, so the rush is dying off.
I wish they would add Radiator Springs Racers to Genie +! We NEVER wait in standby either for this ride, so we actually haven’t even been able to ride it our last two trips to Disney. 😞 Single rider doesn’t really let you enjoy the ride as a family - which is our whole reason for going to Disneyland! Love all your tips and tricks! I just wish they’d add more rides to Genie+ like Peter Pan and RSR. You are SPOT ON about Monsters Inc - the standby line is so slow. Excited to try the buddy pass trick on our next trip! 🤩
My son and I have fun with single rider on RSR because if we are lucky (which is most of the time) we will either be in the same car, or we will be in opposite cars on the race sequence. Single rider at Smuggler’s is also almost a guarantee to stay together if it’s just two people or groups divisible by two because the average party size is 4. So they’ll take two singles for the same group. The only single rider we usually do where the party is completely split is Matterhorn. There are other single rider rides, but we never seem to ride them.
"Speaking of catchy tunes..." 🤣 Thanks for this. I plan to go sometime within the next year for the first time, and it feels like remembering these will reduce a lot of stress. Especially the parts about the lines. EDIT: Okay, and now I have a new reason to get the MagicBand+
It’s easier to tell you what restaurants to avoid. Golden Horseshoe, Stage Door Cafe, Alien Pizza Planet, Refreshment Corner, Galactic Grill, and Little Red Wagon all serve mostly “comfort” foods for picky eaters. Outside of those restaurants, you really can’t go wrong anywhere else in the park. Bengal BBQ and Docking Bay 7 are some of my favorites in the park if you love meat. Red Rose Tavern and Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe are two other solid options. Once French Market reopens as Tiana’s Palace, that one has always been a top 5 of mine. Here’s a playlist for all of my food videos if you want a closer look. The Disneyland Food Guide gives you an overview of every location in the park: ru-vid.com/group/PL_0Qje8SjlSCQQ7JFkPqItRDjWyuIi7oe
The dragon caught fire due to malfunction two months ago and the most recent news from Disney is that it won’t open any earlier than September. But it wasn’t a firm reopening date.
As always a great video...I was thinking of getting the magic bands. I have seen all your videos and I'm still on the fence 🤔 gonna have to re watch your videos 😂😊❤
We love them. But we visit often enough to utilize them. We always got them at WDW too, but again, we’d usually go for 7-10 days. So we got our use out of them.
