I am not a Disneyland fanatic. I don’t own a headband with Minnie Mouse ears and I would not wear one even if you give it to me for free. I like some of Disney movies and indifferent to other. I do not start hyperventilating when a new Disney flick is being released. Sometimes we see it a year after it is released and sometimes – never (sorry, “Incredibles” sequels and “Star Wars” prequels). So this review is from an average parent, adequately and realistically assessing the merits and pitfalls of visiting a Disney theme park. My goal is to give you best Disneyland tips and hacks to keep your sanity.
My first acquaintance with Disney took place when I was about 11 years old when Russian television purchased broadcast rights to two Disney series: “Chip’n Dale Rescue Rangers” and “Duck Tails”. They were broadcast every Saturday at 4 pm and it was a time when all family gathered together to watch them – good old family fun times… Simpler times, I would say, as there was no Disney merchandise overcrowding stores in Russia and no pressure to take kids to a Disney resort on vacation.
I visited a Disney theme park for the first time only when I was an adult, attending a conference organized in Disney World, Florida. That experience was very memorable and that’s why I always felt I had to take my kids to a Disney park – such a unique experience should be a part of their childhood, or so I thought.
Unfortunately, things have changed drastically in 16 years since my visit to Disney World. Our recent visit to Disneyland is a testament to that. A part of me still wants to believe that things are different in Disney World – it is a different resort, after all, in a different state, almost in another world… But reason tells me that, most likely, the whole Disney franchise deteriorated in service and experience over the years… Here is what you need to know before you go:
CROWDS
Before: I visited Disney World in winter, in the off season, during 2 work days. There were no lines to enter the parks. The longest lines for rides and experiences were 20 minutes long and that seemed outrageous. I skipped those attractions. There were no sizable crowds in the parks, you could leisurely stroll and enjoy yourself.
Now: We recently visited Disneyland resort in winter, in the off season, during a work week. The crowds to enter the parks were enormous. The wait times for the rides were 20 minutes minimum. The best rides, such as Radiator Springs Races, almost always have 120 minutes wait time. The Magic Morning offer is a hoax: the line to enter Disneyland on the Magic Morning at 8 am was twice as long as the line to enter on a regular morning at 9 am.
FASTPASSES
Before: worked as a charm
Now: For popular rides, only work if you get them in the morning. To get a Fastpass after lunch for the most popular rides you have to queue in line to get the pass, which defies its purpose of saving you time away from lines. You can get a Fastpass through a Disneyland mobile app and avoid the lines but to get that privilege you have to purchase MaxPass for an additional 30 USD per ticket per day which is outrageous. If Fastpass is inherently a free service why getting it on the app (as most things are done nowadays in a civilized world) costs additional money? It is a rip off.
SERVICE
Before: Every interaction with a Disney World employee always ended with them wishing me (and all other visitors): “Have a Magical Day!” They all went out of their way to make your experience special and unforgettable. Here is an example. A friend of mine asked me to bring Tobasco sauce from the U.S. Since I was stuck at the Disney resort without a car and ability to go to a grocery store I hoped that may be a gift store at my Disney hotel would sell it. I asked an employee at the store and she told me that they did not sell it but she promised try to figure something out. When I came back the next day I was presented with a bottle of Tobasco in a Disney gift bag, complements of the resort. It turned out the employee went to the grocery store after her shift and bought the sauce for me. I was amazed and it did make my day truly magical.
Now: No one says “Have a Magical Day” at Disneyland nowadays. I can’t say the employees are rude but they definitely look stressed out and on the edge. And they definitely will not go out of their way to help you out. Once I asked an employee who was passing by to direct me to the Fastpass booths I was looking for. The employee just vaguely waved his hand in the direction where I should be going, which did not help me a bit. In the end it turned out the booths were about 20 yards from where I was standing and the employee was walking in that direction anyway but he did not bother to escort me there.
CHARACTERS
Before: I have to be honest: after many happy childhood days spent with Chip and Dale I really wanted to meet them “in person” even though I was not a child anymore. My encounter with them at Disney World did not disappoint. When I saw them walking towards me in their iconic clothes (Hawaiian shirt for Chip and Indiana Jones attire for Dale) my heart skipped a beat. They were both great, 100% “in character”: they fought a little bit about who would hug me first, Dale was silly and got a slap from Chip. They were authentic and lovable.
Now: We met Chip and Dale twice in Disneyland. Once they were not wearing any clothes at all and once they had matching polka dot shirts. By no means they resembled my beloved cartoon characters. In fact, they did not have a character at all. They were just standing there, posing for pictures. My kids were not interested. Nor were my kids attracted by any other character, except… Darth Vader. My sons were willing to wait in line for 20 minutes to meet this guy and he was phenomenal! I think he has the hardest job of all. First of all, he has to talk smart and sound authentic, not just wiggle his butt and wave his hands. Second of all, he has to be powerful but not “pee in your pants” scary so that small children wouldn’t burst in tears. And he found that perfect balance. My 5 year old son was mesmerized. I was sold. We almost joined the Storm Troopers 😉
RIDES
Before: I don’t remember any problems with rides when I visited Disney World.
Now: Rides break down A LOT in Disneyland resort, especially the most popular ones, which is a bummer. We never had a chance to ride Pirates of the Caribbean because it broke down twice the same day and by the time we were leaving at 3.30 pm it still did not re-open. I did not monitor all the rides, but out of those that I did monitor, 10 broke down at one time or another during the three days we were there.
FOOD
Before: I remember buying sushi at a Japanese restaurant in Epcot thinking: “well, this is how much I usually pay for sushi, not bad”.
Now: Disneyland restaurants are outrageously overpriced these days and overbooked. You have to book some of them at least a month in advance.
IMPORTANT DISNEYLAND TIPS AND HACKS TO KEEP YOUR SANITY
Disneyland tip #1
Get a Disneyland app way in advance before your trip and start monitoring rides almost every day. There is a trend for each ride and you will be able to figure out which gets crowded and when.
Disneyland tip #2
Don’t come with an expectation that you will experience every single ride: you will be very stressed out and up for a lot of disappointment because mechanics, weather and crowds will work against you.
Disneyland tip #3
In my opinion, the 3 rides you must get on are: Star Trek, Radiator Springs Races and Soaring Above the World. These are unique experiences that you can’t find anywhere else outside a Disney park and they are truly thrilling.
Disneyland tip #4
The best time to get in is early mornings: you will need to queue to get in before opening but you will get more rides without crowds. We usually arrived at 8.20 am and by 12.00 pm my kids already begged to leave – that’s how bad it gets in the afternoon even though we were visiting in low season, during work week. We were only able to extend our time in the parks by having lunch there and watching some live performances till about 2.30 – 3 pm.
Disneyland tip #5
Monitor the weather. When wind picks up some rides may close because they are affected by it, like Golden Zephyr. Fireworks will not go off if it is windy either. Note that Disneyland gets hit by Santa Ana Winds, a yearly seasonal phenomena of strong winds occurring between the months of October and March.
Disneyland tip #6
Visit attractions that fewer people visit because they are not thrill rides, namely:
Pirate Lair on Tom Sawyer Island: great place for exploration of pirate caves, secret passages and looking for the pirates’ gold. Added bonus: you get there via a raft;
Mark Twain Riverboat: it is big, so no matter how many people are in line, you will all get in on the next ride. The views from the top floors of the boat are great, plus you get an interesting narration;
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln: this attraction is located on Main Street and it seems like very few people know about it. It was one of Walt Disney’s most beloved endeavors. In short, he managed to bring President Lincoln to life and make a history lesson quite appealing;
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: I am not sure why the lines for cartoons related attractions in Fantasyland are typically 30 minutes long while this ride in Critterland is usually not busy at all (5-10 minutes wait tops according to the Disney app but when we came, there was no line at all). When the ride is over you exit next to a candy store – I strongly recommend huge chocolate covered strawberries and caramel dipped apples. You can also witness how the yummy treats are made;
Disneyland Railroad: it is a train that goes around the park in a circle. In addition to seeing the park from all angles you will witness 2 special animatronic installations in a tunnel: Grand Canyon and Dinosaurs (we did not see the latter, unfortunately, since that part of the installation broke down and was not repaired in three days we were there (we took the ride several times, just to confirm);
Redwoods Creek Challenge Trail in California Great Adventure: it is a challenge course where kids can swing, slide, climb and generally have tons of fun;
If you live in San Francisco you have heard of Boudin Bakery which is famous for its sour dough bread. At Disney California Great Adventure you can tour the bakery, see how the bread is made and then taste some.
Watch Disney shows. Some are spontaneously happen on the streets of the park and are quite short (10-15 minutes), others are staged at the Fantasyland Theater and those are longer (30-45 min)
Disneyland tip #7
Food: best lunch in Disneyland is turkey leg and corn on the cob, and in California Great Adventure – Boudin Bakery salad bread bowl. Both are relatively healthy, filling and reasonably priced. Bring your own water and snacks into the park – thank you, Disney, for allowing that. Otherwise a small bottle of water in the park costs $3.50. But if you forgot your snacks at home there are some great unique Disneyland snacks to try. Here is more detailed info on cheap eats at Disneyland.
n As for dinner, I strongly suggest eating outside of Disney franchise. There are tons of good options in Anaheim/Garden Grove since it is a resort area. We loved Buca di Beppo for classic Italian family size meals (note: they are always full so you either need to book a table in advance or order a takeout and eat in your hotel) and Joe’s Crab Shack for seafood.Disneyland tip #8: Explore beyond Disneyland
Three days is more than enough for 2 parks within Disneyland resort. If you want to have a longer vacation in SoCal, add Discovery Cube of Orange County to your itinerary, which is located about 4 miles away from Disneyland. It is a fantastic science museum with tons of interactive exhibits and my kids enjoyed it no less than Disney parks. Our favorite exhibits were: the Science of Hockey and Dinosaur Dig. In the former one you can try many things: being a goalkeeper, scoring a goal, skating, watching video about nutrition, being a sports commentator and create a soundtrack/commentary for a hockey match and much more.
In the latter one you are given a quest with a special wand and you have to search around the dig for the required fossils, bones, minerals, etc. Once you spot an item you point a wand to it and it records your find. There are multiple different quests available. The only bummer is that you work real hard to complete the quest but you don’t get a prize at the end. My kids were quite upset but I quickly resolved the situation by buying them a small bag of cookies from the museum store. If I knew about this situation in advance I would have brought a couple of cheap plastic dinosaurs with me as prizes or small fossils, mineral stones or shark teeth. It is not an easy quest, even for an adult, and kids definitely deserve a small reward here (which I think the museum should provide but, alas)
If you have a couple days extra you can also explore Los Angeles by metro (no rental car required).
Disneyland tip #9
If you are driving from Northern California you need to have a strategy of how to get to Anaheim while avoiding horrendous LA traffic jams. My advice is to drive to Anaheim on a weekend and get through LA after 7 pm. You can either leave your house later in the day or you can make a day out of it stopping at various attractions before LA. We like to leave in the morning and stop at Paso Robles for lunch and some wine tasting. Check my previous Southern CA family road trip itinerary for information about family friendly wineries and other activities in Paso Robles (see Day 1 and Day 6 for details). On approach to LA we made another stop at downtown Burbank for dinner. Highway 5 literally goes through the downtown here and all the good restaurants are just 2 blocks away from the exit. We chose Granville for its healthy farm to table Californian cuisine and were very happy with our choice. We “flew” through LA after dinner without any delays.
On the way back you need to depart Anaheim early in the morning to avoid traffic. If you are travelling on a weekday you should plan to leave at 6 am or earlier. Just get up and drive through LA as fast as you can and then stop for breakfast after Burbank. We quickly ate a yogurt each in the morning and left. We stopped for a picnic breakfast at Tule Elk State Natural Reserve. The Reserve is for a heard of native Californian Tule Elks whom you can observe from a viewing platform (if they are far off in the field you will need Good Binoculars ). It is a nice quiet area in the countryside and the animals are interesting to watch and learn about in you have nature lovers in your family. We loved the fact that there are a lot of picnic tables there that are covered and though it was raining a little when we visited we were completely dry. In summer these same roofs above the tables protect you from the scorching sun.
Disneyland tip #10
Where to stay: If you have not noticed already we love hotels in Hilton family for their amenities, reasonable prices and often – free breakfasts. We chose Hampton Inn in Garden Grove, CA from Hilton Family of hotels. Another great thing about this hotel is that it provides a shuttle to Disneyland, which is cheaper than parking at Disney parking lots and only takes 10 minutes door to door. And if you book in advance you will save up to 15%!
CONCLUSION
Disneyland has a slogan that it is the Happiest Place on Earth. I would disagree. May be it was Walt’s dream to design it as such but currently it is the most crowded and stressful place on Earth. It does not feel like vacation, but more like a military operation. And the saddest part – it promotes the worst qualities in people. When people are treated like a herd of animals they tend to behave like one. So watch out for parents using strollers as a weapon, seriously! I don’t want to end this road trip itinerary with “never go to Disneyland”. Ultimately, it is your decision. A part of me is content that we went but another part is sure that we will not be back any time soon. I will give Disney World, FL another chance in a couple of years and see if it is any different. I sincerely hope that someone in Disney’s corporate office will read this review and may be do something to change things for the better.
If you are a Disney fan try going to Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, CA, which will be a very pleasant experience.
If you are thinking about a trip to Disney World, FL instead of Disneyland, CA here are some great tips for a first time traveler.
Another great idea for a Disney themed vacation is a Disney cruise – check helpful tips for a Disney cruise HERE.
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MORE USEFUL DISNEYLAND TIPS AND HACKS – GREAT HELPFUL BOOKS YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT:
Most helpful books about Disneyland
