A Better Trip with the Disneyland App

I’m sure there was a time in my Disneyland trip history where I would only pull out my phone to snap a few pictures then put it away and forget about it.

Ah, how far we’ve come.

When Disneyland first launched their parks app, it wasn’t too impressive. They might have had wait times, but honestly MouseWait was a better crowd sourced option. Disneyland recently completely overhauled their app, and now I can’t imagine going to a Disney park without it.

And while I don't advocate having your phone out at all times, using the app strategically can help give you a leg up on accomplishing all your Disneyland goals. 

I’ll be giving you the whole rundown from downloading and installing to utilizing all the different features so you’re having the best possible trip. Let’s get into it!

You can download the Disneyland Mobile app on both the Apple app store, and the Google Play store. And I’m happy to report it has thousands of nearly five-star reviews on both sites, meaning they didn’t skimp on Android, which can tend to happen.

Current tickets/ buy tickets

You know how I’m always harping on you to buy your ticket ahead of time? Good news! You can buy park tickets and annual passes right from the app. On our last trip, Stephen renewed his annual pass on the tram from the parking lot to the park. It was super easy and way faster and more convenient than waiting in the ticket line which is NO JOKE PEOPLE.

You can also add the tickets of everyone in your group and create a “party” in case you have a forgetful person who’s prone to losing things, or if you don’t want to dig around for everyone’s tickets every time you want a fastpass or switch parks.

When you’re added to a party, anyone who has the Disneyland app installed on their phone can see all the tickets in the party and any reservations made. Which is super helpful if you’ve been in charge of dealing with the tickets all day and want to pass off the responsibility to someone else.

To add other tickets, open the app and go to “My Tickets”.You’ll see your pass and everyone else in your party.

Maxpass

Are you sick of me talking about Maxpass. Y’all- seriously. For ten bucks extra you can elevate your entire trip. You don’t have to go tracking down fastpasses that typically run out fast (Radiator Springs Racer fastpass kiosks have lines no joke, skip that nonsense).

Plus with Maxpass you get photopass included, meaning you can have the professional photographers all around Disneyland take your picture and download them for free. You also get free downloads of all the ride pictures. Just do it.

I wrote an entire post all about using maxpass, I recommend giving it a read! 

Photopass

Speaking of photopass, you can access your photopass photos right from the app.

 

Reservations

You can check out all the restaurants menus in the park regardless of whether or not they take reservations but you can also book all your dining reservations right from the app. Which is so much easier than when you used to have to call.

Map with wait times

The paper Disneyland maps make great free souvineers and they’re super cute, but for quick access to check out what’s around you or where you want to go, there’s a map built right into the app.

Mobile Order

I tried out mobile order for the first time on my last trip and it’s a life-saver (post on that coming up soon). On a hot day that ice cream line can get intense and now you don’t have to wait. You can mobile order and have your food and drinks and treats ready for you from some of your favorite places in the parks.

Times Guide

When you enter the park, right next to the maps are another little pamphlet you’ve probably ignored (unless you go with Stephen who always gets one). The times guide!

Seems kinda boring but it legit gives you a rundown of allllll the different shows and character meet and greets in the entire park. We can’t survive a trip without one, and now you don’t have to remember to grab one. All of that day’s show times and character meet and greet times are in the app, ready for you.

Hours (calendar, with blockout dates)

Super handy to have at a glance. If you’re an annual passholder you can see any blockout dates, and if you’re there for a few days you can check open and close times. There’s nothing worse than getting to the park at 8am and realizing you could have slept in for another hour.

See? The app is so helpful. I’m sure Disneyland without the app can be done, because for a while it was the only choice. But if there’s a new tool to help make your trip more magical and less frustrating, you might as well give it a try. And once you’re in line for that ride you maxpassed, check out the Disneyland Play App, for fun games and trivia.

Best Ride Order of Toontown

Welcome to the next post in the series where I give you the rundown of a pretty perfect ride order of each Land. Check out parts one, two, three, and four for complete Land domination tips and tricks plus the reasoning behind every decision so you can make informed choices should anything happen.

And here we are! The last in the series tackling Disneyland proper: Toontown.

Oh, Toontown. You really are...something.

I’ll start off by being very honest, I don’t care much for Toontown. When Disney first introduced the concept of Galaxy’s Edge, I was hoping they’d raze Toontown to the ground and start anew, which, perhaps, is an unpopular opinion.

Alas, people lose their damn minds for Toontown. And I suppose this series wouldn’t be complete without a rundown of the washed out, useless stretch of land others so lovingly flock to.

I’ll stop being cynical now.

Like Critter Country, Toontown is a dead end, and it only has two rides. It does however host a bunch of other experiences, and the entire land is more interactive than any other at the resort. I’ll give you some sweet tips so you can enjoy and explore the land as a whole. Let’s get to it!

***PSA: This order works best if you’re at Toontown when it first opens.***

RIde Order

Toontown doesn’t operate like every other land in the park. It’s at the very northern tip of the park, just past Small World. It opens late, usually an hour or two after regular park open, so you can tackle another land first thing in the morning and still get to Toontown at its open. On the flip side, Toontown also closes early for fireworks, usually around 8:30 pm, since they launch the majority of the fireworks from there.

1. Beeline for Gadget’s Go Coaster, fastpass Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin on the way or maxpass in line.

Since Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin is at the opening of Toontown, it’s just as easy to grab a fastpass on your way to Gadget’s, which is at the very furthest edge of Toontown.

Depending on Gadget’s return time, explore. There’s lots to see!

2. Ride Roger, maxpass your next ride.

Duh, always maxpass your next ride. 

Annnnnd you did it! Whether or not you got to explore in between rides, there’s probably a lot more to see. One charming aspect to Toontown is the ability to tour the houses of the classic Disney characters.

Minnie and Mickey’s houses can stack up the wait since they’re a walkthrough and a character meet and greet. So if the wait is long, you can still explore the houses (recommended, they’re pretty cool), and then check the times guide to see when Mickey and Minnie appear for photo opportunities throughout the park (which is frequently).

Chip and Dale, Donald Duck, and Goofy also all have their own houses you can play in and explore, however they don’t offer character meet and greets.

Toontown is also super interactive. When exploring make sure to push every button, step on every bit of ground that looks different, and pull every lever. It’s a fun place to explore and create some magical moments without having to wait in lines.

If you’re in the mood for a sweet treat, Toontown is the only place in the entire Disneyland Resort that offers frozen yogurt, so be sure to check out Clarabelle’s.

Also! Right outside Toontown is the Fantasyland Theater. Make sure to catch a showing of Mickey and the Magical Map; we generally view on the tipsy side and I have to say I recommend a few drinks beforehand. The Fantasyland Theater also has some of our favorite snacks in the park (hellllllo bratwurst), so it’s definitely worth a visit.

Right next to the Fantasyland Theater you’ll find the Disneyland Railroad station, so duh now’s the time to hop on for a full circle tour.

And that’s it! We’ve covered the best ride orders for EVERY land in Disneyland. I’m so excited by this series, it’s been a really fun puzzle to piece together. I’ve got lots of ideas for more series but let me know if you’d want a guide series for California Adventure.

Happy riding!

Best Ride Order of Critter Country

Welcome back to the series where I give you the best (in my humble opinion) ride order of each land at the Disneyland Resort. In parts one, two, and three, we tackled the busiest lands with the most rides. In this post, I’m going to go a bit deeper into one of the smaller lands, the ever beloved Critter Country.

You know how in the last three posts I was like “hey every single person on the planet is going here in the morning”? Good news! Not one single person is going to Critter Country in the morning. No one is even going to Critter Country like an hour after park open. Sorry, Critter Country! I still love you.

And while we covered how you can incorporate Critter Country in the Adventureland post, we have some more tips to share. Because while the littlest land that dead-ends over the hill from the Haunted Mansion probably doesn’t need to be your first stop, it does tend to fill up mid-day and of course we can give you the rundown on what do and see (aka eat).

Ride Order

Critter Country is perfect to do after you’ve dominated one of the other lands (particularly Adventureland/Frontierland/New Orleans Square since they’re right next to each other) and you’re almost ready for lunch. Winnie the Pooh line should still be short, and fastpasses for Splash Mountain should still have a fairly quick return time.

Since most people come to Critter Country for Splash Mountain and it’s a dead end, the whole area dies down at night or when it’s cooler out. Once Galaxy’s Edge (Star Wars Land) opens, there will be a walkway that connects into Critter Country, so take advantage of the lack of people there for now.

1. Hop in line at Winnie the Pooh, maxpass Splash Mountain in line.

Never wait longer than five minutes for Winnie the Pooh. If the line is longer, come back at night when everyone is cleared out.

Poke around Pooh’s Corner and grab a treat, it’s law that you have to grab a treat after you ride Winnie the Pooh. I recommend the giant peppermint patty, the peanut butter sandwich, the rice krispy treat, and the oatmeal cookie.

Depending on how much time until your Splash Mountain fastpass return, go grab lunch at Hungry Bear, which is definitely a hidden gem restaurant in the parks. The fried chicken sandwich is incredible. They have onion rings (!!!!!) and funnel cake. FUNNEL CAKE! YOU GUYS. It looks like a subpar burger place in passing but it has some amazing views of the Rivers of America and the menu is so different from anywhere else in the park. Don’t sleep on Hungry Bear!

2. Ride Splash Mountain, maxpass another ride.

Always maxpass your next ride right when you scan in line, you know this by now. Quick ride tip: If you want to get wet, sit in the first few rows. If you want to avoid getting soaked, aim for rows four through six. You can always request preferred seating in Disneyland, they just might have you wait for the next log/ car/ doombuggy.

And that’s your ride order with a couple extra tips mixed in. But of course I have a couple more.

I’ve said above that Critter Country being a dead-end really dictates the crowd size, and you can totally use that to your advantage. We particularly love a Critter Country visit in the evening, when the rest of the park is bananas. It takes a trek to get there, but once you’re there, you can ride Winnie the Pooh in peace over and over and stretch out on a bench and not interact with another soul.

Another magical aspect of night time in Critter Country is getting a Fantasmic sneak peak. If you hang out on the walkway by the Hungry Bear bathrooms, you’ll get a good view of the Fantasmic actors loading and getting prepped to go on stage.

So we tend wait and watch them load in peace, then saunter around the bend at the beginning of Fantasmic and pop into the standby area across from Haunted Mansion. Most of Fantasmic requires fastpasses, but the fastpass viewing areas aren’t great, you have to get there early, and the system is utterly confusing. If you watch the loading and then drop into the standby area, they usually let you into the fancy all seated area typically reserved for the dining plan people, and there’s no wait time and no fuss. Highly recommended.

One more tip! When you’re walking away from Critter Country towards Haunted Mansion, there’s a fruit stand on the left. Just beyond the stand there are stairs. If you go up those stairs, it leads you to a hidden pathway free of people, with a great view of the Splash Mountain Drop. And it drops you right in front of Haunted Mansion without fighting through a crowd. Another one of my favorite spots in the whole resort.

And those are our favorite tips and ride order for Critter Country. Who knew such a little land could have so many hidden treasures. What’s your favorite thing to do in Critter Country?

Best Ride Order of Tomorrowland

Welcome back to round three in the series of complete Land success! 

It’s time for the e-ticket hub of Disneyland, Tomorrowland! Tomorrowland is always packed to the friggin brim, which can probably make it seem pretty scary from the outside looking in. Also it’s kind of scary on the inside, too.

The layout of Tomorrowland lends itself for an utter nightmare for people flow, it’s kind of long and skinny, with the middle usually taken up by strollers. It can also be painful because most people who aren’t going to Fantasyland, are making the mad dash for Tomorrowland. And unlike the other lands, where there’s ebb and flow to the day, Tomorrowland gets busy in the morning and stays busy right up until closing. Like Fantasyland, you might have to come back a couple times during the day. Am I pumping you full of excitement, yet? 

Good! Like everything else, there is a strategy and it can be dominated. Let me walk you through it.

Check out Part 1: Adventureland and Part 2: Fantasyland, and our guide to fastpass and maxpass.

***PSA: This schedule works best if you’re ready at the Tomorrowland entrance at rope drop (park open) with maxpass up and running on your phone.***

1. Make a bee-line for Astro Orbitors, maxpass Space Mountain.

Everyone heads to Space Mountain and Star Tours first so by now you should know I’m going to tell to do something different. Luckily Disneyland is aware of the madness of Tomorrowland and almost all of the rides have fastpass capabilities. Which means you should head for the rides that don’t have fastpasses first, AKA Astro Orbitors.

For the life of me I cannot figure out why Astro Orbitors has the line it does CONSTANTLY but let me tell you, this line don’t quit. It starts early and for some god foresaken reason it will persist until close. So go here first and maxpass Space Mountain while in line.

I recommend maxpassing Space first because fastpasses run out faster for that ride, and the return time will get way late into the night the longer you wait. If you maxpass first thing you have the chance for an earlier return time.

2. Check on Finding Nemo and ride if line is short.

This is the only other non-fast pass ride, and it fills up fast. If it’s full, not to worry, it clears out when the fireworks start so revisit around 9:30pm if you didn’t get on in the morning or you want to ride again.

3. Check on Autopia and ride if line is short.

I know there’s a bit of “checking” on rides, but Tomorrowland isn’t as predictable in the morning as Adventureland because it tends to be on the busier side. Autopia can be fastpassed, but if the line is short, go ahead and ride. If it’s longer, wait on grabbing a fastpass for this ride until after you’ve grabbed one for Star Tours. They tend to run out later in the day than Space and Star Tours, so it’s better to grab those first.

4. Ride Astro Blasters, check to see if you can fastpass Star Tours

It should still be a short line for Astro Blasters so hop on in. If it’s longer than ten minutes, there are lots of fastpasses throughout the day and it should be easy to grab one. And even though you haven't been on Space Mountain, yet, you might be able to fastpass again so make sure to check in on that, and if you can, snag one up.

5. If Space is ready to ride, jump in line and fastpass Star Tours if unable earlier.

After Space, you’ll probably be hungry, and your Star Tours fastpass might not be ready yet. Now’s a good time to grab breakfast at the Galactic Grill (only one of like four places in Disneyland that has breakfast, and you don’t need reservations!), check out the Star Wars Launch Pad (previously Innoventions), and catch a seat at the Path of the Jedi show (previously Captian EO). Also now’s a great time to shop, and that Tomorrowland shop is a good one. Kat and I generally spend too much money there.

6. Star tours

Your fastpass might not be ready until later, but if it’s ready go ride!

You did it! Time to celebrate by grabbing another fastpass while you’re in line. And also maybe a churro.

As you can see, things fill up wonky, and some of the above ride order might not work out.

It’s helpful to know that you *cannot fastpass* Astro Orbitors and Nemo Submarines. *Everything else in Tomorrowland is fastpassable.* Also keep in mind that Space Mountain and Star Tours run out of fastpasses early, so if the park is filling up, you should fastpass Space and Star Tours first, then Astro Blasters and Autopia.

Ride order

1. Astro Orbitors, fastpass Space Mountain

2. Nemo Submarines

3. Autopia

4. Astro Blasters, check to see if you can fastpass Star Tours, yet.

5. Space Mountain, if you were unable before, fastpass Star Tours now.

6. Star Tours, fastpass your next ride!

Fastpass order if park is madness

1. Space Mountain

2. Star Tours

3. Autopia

4. Astro Blasters

Have fun! Is there a different order that you and your pack do things? Let us know! 

Best Ride Order of Adventureland

Welcome to our new blog series, The Order of Things! In which we give you the breakdown of a pretty perfect schedule based on land (aka how we do it).

I’m pretty sure everyone has a routine once they’ve been to Disneyland a few times. We tend to generally start day one with Adventureland into New Orleans Square and Frontierland. On day two we’ll start with Fantasyland, and if we have a day three we’ll generally start of with either Carsland or what is now Pixar Pier.

But no matter what land we start off with, we always have a solid game plan that’s pretty much ingrained in our souls by this point. This is mainly because we’ve been doing this for a while and we know where the crowds tend to go and how to work around them so we’re getting on rides without rushing or waiting in long lines. And we want to share that goodness with you.

There may seem like there’s a lot of explanation for each portion of the schedule, but if you understand the way the lines tend to work throughout the day, you can make more informed decisions and mold the schedule to fit your needs better.

We’re going to be starting off with how to work your way through the left side of the park, Adventureland, Frontierland, and New Orleans Square. It might sound like a lot but they all bump into one another, and if you’re going to take on one, you might as well take on them all. Let’s get into it! 

***PSA: This schedule works best if you’re ready at the Adventureland entrance at rope drop (park open) and if you have maxpass ready on your phone.***


 

Get in line at Pirates, maxpass Indiana Jones while in line.

Indy line gets ridiculous fast, and everyone waiting by Adventureland in the morning is generally waiting to sprint to the Indy line. Use that time to get in line at Pirates before it fills up and reserve your fastpass for Indy on your way to your boat.

Pirates tends to get busier earlier these days, which is why I recommend jumping into that line first thing. We have a rule to never wait more than ten minutes for Pirates simply because you don’t have to! Pirates line is generally walk-on in the morning, stupid long in the afternoon, and clears up again generally after the second showing of Fantasmic. So if you see the line spilling outside the actual queue and wrapping onto the walkway that connects to Tarzan Treehouse, come back later, the line WILL get shorter I promise.

Once you’re off pirates, jump in line at Haunted Mansion.

Mansion line should still be short. If you have any doubts you can reverse the order and hop on to Mansion before Pirates. Whatever line you get in first, just make sure to still make that Indy maxpass reservation. You should also keep in mind that Mansion acts a lot like Pirates. Empty in the morning, insane late morning through the evening, and clears up after Fanstasmic. Unlike Pirates, Mansion has Fastpasses, and they generally have a lot unless it’s around the Holidays. It’s totally possible to walk on early or late, but if you’re itching for a Mansion ride mid-afternoon grab a fastpass.

Off Mansion, Indy should be ready (if not, check out Tarzan’s Treehouse), jump in Indy line, maxpass Big Thunder while in line.

I’m always hesitant to wait in the regular standby line for Big Thunder because it’s a deceiving line. It’s almost always longer than the stated wait time, and you can’t see the line from anywhere to actually gauge whether the stated time is correct or not. I basically have trust issues with that line, which is why I always fastpass/maxpass. And a lot of the times, there are so many fastpasses you can grab a fastpass reservation that’s five minutes from when you make it.

Off Indy, onto Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise can be an enigma of a line. We can’t seem to ever predict it. We ride mostly early in the morning because it tends to be walk on, and at night because it’s a fun night ride. Jungle Cruise line starts on the ground level, and when it’s super busy wraps to an upstairs queue and back down again. You’re generally safe if the entire line is on the ground level, if it wraps upstairs we always pass.

Off Jungle Cruise, if Big Thunder isn’t ready yet, go to Tiki Room.

You’re right next to Tiki Room so you might as well. You can also browse the shops in between Adventureland and Frontierland.

Thunder and DONE. Good job!

You did it! By this time you’re probably hungry. Go find some tasty food, you earned it! If you happen to have a protein bar on hand and want to tackle Critter Country as well, go ahead an grab a maxpass for Splash and hop in line for Winnie the Pooh. On the flip side, you can now go ride the canoes, the Mark Twain, the Columbia (if it's out), or hop on over to Pirate's Lair at Tom Sawyer's Island. All of which tend to stay pretty chill throughout the day, which also means their good break time things to do. 

If you decide to hit up Critter Country, tackle the offerings of Frontierland or take off on a completely different route, now’s a good time to look at grabbing a maxpass for another e-ticket ride like Space Mountain, Guardians of the Galaxy, Incredicoaster or Radiator Springs Racers since those tend to run out earlier on.

Keep in mind, this order doesn’t always work out perfect. Lines can be wonky, it can be super packed, but generally this works like...95 percent of the time for us. Since maxpass allows you to reserve fastpasses immediately after you scan in to your previous reservation, I always recommend reserving your fastpass as soon as you can AKA in line right after you’ve scanned in.

I hope this was insightful! It’s never going to be perfect, but knowing how we generally do things and understanding the nature of how the lines work throughout the day hopefully arms you with enough insight to make informed decisions and crush your Disney goals.

Keep an eye out for the next post in this series where I’ll be tackling Fantasyland! And let us know if you have a different game plan. I love hearing everyone’s different Disney ways and traditions.

Ride Order

Pirates (maxpass Indy)

Mansion (Tarzan's Treehouse after if there's still time until Indy, or ride Pirates again)

Indy (Maxpass Thunder)

Jungle Cruise (Tiki Room after if there's still time)

Big Thunder (Maxpass Splash or other e ticket ride)

Winnie the Pooh (or Canoes, or both).

Eat food and drink lots of water. 

P.S. If you have only one day, we have a post for that, too! Check it out!

Enjoy Some Live Music at Disneyland

Planning out your trip to Disneyland involves all the craziness of hotel reservations, prioritizing rides and restaurants and the all important break time. Sometimes a break involves leaving the park and heading for a refreshing beverage outlet, but for me, I'll take live music and a shade tree any day. 

There's tons more music and entertainment to be had at the resort, but here's just a few that are always welcome to take a listen. 

The Disneyland Band

This group of amazing musicians perform Disney movie favorites, unique favorites like the finale to Fantasmic! and the theme of the 50th Anniversary daily at the flagpole and in front of the castle. This marching band is a group of talent that goes far beyond any football field group of brass. They have incredible showmanship, brilliant sparkling instruments, are perfectly insync like all Disney performers and never miss a note or a beat. 

Due to their prime performance locations, its a hard act to miss, but sometimes if you plan your day just right, you'll never get a glance of them. So be sure to at least take a strolling look and listen. 

Pearly Band

Dressed in candy colored suits covered in stitched pearly white buttons, the Pearly Band is a unique sight. Usually a group of 7 or so, they roam a tight loop around Fantasyland and are occasionally accompanied by Bert and Mary Poppins in front of the castle. 

Royal Street Bachelors

Easiest to find next to the Mint Julep Bar bathrooms, onboard the Mark Twain or anywhere slightly secluded in New Orleans Square. The music and emotion these bachelors evoke truly sets the mood and completely overwhelms the senses to set you not in a theme park, but in the actual New Orleans. 

Dapper Dans

They wear strips, they're comical and bubbly, and sometimes they play bells! Always around main street, The Dapper Dans are a barbershop quartet that have become so popular in their style and persona, there is now a Dapper Day which happens annually. In addition to their humorous way of performing music, they're also willing participants in the wishing those young and old happy birthday for all of Main Street to hear. 

Best Disneyland Merch Outside of Disneyland

By now, y'all know we like to dabble in the world of Disneyland merch.

And Disneyland has some seriously good shopping, but if you can't make it to the park, or you're looking to expand your collection, grab something unique, or just support smaller creators, I have a list of favorite things, and things I'm lusting after. 

1. Foolish Mortal Supply

I love every single thing this couple designs. I own almost everything they put out. In fact I have both a sweatshirt, and a t shirt of the Grim Grinning Ghost Tours design. I'm wearing the sweatshirt as I type. And not only are the designs incredible, and people will comment constantly when you're in the parks, but they're SUPER comfy and soft, and their sizing is pretty much perfect. 

2. EarsRPoppin

Not gonna lie, the name isn't necessarily my thing, but their ears are adorable. If you've been coveting the rose gold ears, but haven't been able to get your hands on them, I love these as another, more unique option. You definitely won't be seeing many of the black with rose gold bow style around the park. Plus, they're super well made. I ordered a pair for me and for Kat, both were identical, and they were park caliber quality. Highly recommend. 

3. Pinup Couture

Their line of Mary Blair dresses and skirts are seriously calling to me.

4. Marlee Mae Everyday

Once again, I have a love for things you can find in the park with a twist. Spirit Jerseys are pretty popular in the parks right now, I have my fair share, but this isn't a color combo you can find for sale in Disneyland. Plus they'd go 👌 with those ears ammiright. 

5. 999 Spyglass

Why doesn't Disneyland sell anything with just the castle? There's always a castle and words and I never want words. Thanks to this Etsy seller, you can get a simple dad hat in a color of your choice with a plain ole adorable castle.  

Behind the California of California Adventure

Disneyland opened originally in 1955 to a staggering crowd of arounf 50,000 guests. Years later after much success and growth, executives decided the Disneyland Resort needed to expand. In 1995, the idea of a Disney park devoted to the themes surrounding California was proposed. In 2001 Disney's California Adventure opened to little more than a fizzle. In 2007 a major overhaul was announced and by 2012, Disney California Adventure, as we know it today, was complete.

Enough with the history, let me share with you my favorite parts of this expansive park.

Most of DCA was designed after specific, yet sometimes vague, parts of California. San Francisco is one of those special areas. If you try to ignore the hot dog carts and Little Mermaid signage, you'll see the Painted Ladies and Palace of Fine Arts. The attention to detail and architectural accuracy is incredible, yet it is done in such a way that if you didn’t know it was San Francisco landmark, you would pass right by. 

Speaking of the San Francisco Bay Area, Pacific Pier is styled to look like Monterey Bay while including truly San Francisco favorites. I’ve been told Boudin in California Adventure is the only place in Southern California to actually get real sourdough bread. Maybe that’s partly because Boudin and American sourdough bread originated in San Francisco in 1849. 

Paradise Pier with its midway games and iconic rollercoaster pay homage to victorian boardwalks along the California coast, but mostly to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and the Santa Monica Pier. If you look beyond Jumpin’ Jellyfish, there’s even a small stretch of beach. 

Carthay Circle Theatre is a very similar replica to the real life theatre in of the same name in Hollywood, built here because of the importance to Disney as the premiere location of Snow White in 1937 and installation of Fantasound for Fantasia’s release in 1940. This building elegantly contains a downstairs lounge and fancy upstairs dining room. The detail inside and out are a feat to behold down to the smallest details of light fixtures and drink selections. As you ascend the staircase, there are photographs of Walt with stars like Shirley Temple and the accompaniment of a piano player. 

The Wine Country, originally sponsored by Robert Mondavi, with real to life vineyards and a wine tasting bar in honor of Napa, California. 

The Grand Californian Hotel is a masterpiece unto itself, “inspired by the famed Arts and Crafts movement in California.”  

As California Adventure evolves and Disney tries to make it equally profitable and desirable as Disneyland, it is slowly losing its feel of California. In 2018, Pixar Pier is becoming the new overlay for Paradise Pier and almost nothing Hollywood-y is left in the backlot.

4 Ways to Supercharge Your Disneyland Morning

Your best trip to Disneyland is all about strategy, and one of the most important parts of your park strategy is how you manage your mornings – the first few hours in the parks can determine how the rest of your day goes. Besides the usual ways to effectively plan your day, here are our surefire tips to supercharge your mornings in Disneyland:

GET THERE SUPER EARLY

You probably think you’ll have enough time to leave your hotel, park, and get to Disneyland by the time ropes drop, but take it from us: you probably won’t. We always budget a decent amount of time for the morning trip to the park but somehow frequently find ourselves walking down Main Street 10-20 minutes after the park has officially opened.

Add at least half an hour to whatever time you think you’re going to need to get ready. There are usually unexpected lines at the parking lot, trams that take way too long to arrive, weird situations with security, or you'll happen to choose the one entrance line with fifteen people getting their photos taken for their new tickets – don’t let these situations slow you down! You want to be at the parks for as much of the morning as you possibly can.

MOBILE ORDER AT STARBUCKS

If you’re one of the bajillions of people in the world that start your day with some caffeine, you’re going to want to stop at Starbucks before you get on your first ride or two. Unfortunately, because bajillions of people in the of the world start their day with caffeine, the lines at the Starbucks in Disneyland get LONG. Don’t let a long coffee line totally disrupt your morning and throw off your whole day.

We now order our coffees through mobile ordering on the Starbucks app once we’ve boarded the parking lot tram at the Mickey and Friends parking lot. You bypass the lines, and usually the drinks are ready just about when you get there. Be sure you order from the correct Starbucks though – the one by the Disneyland Hotel will set you back (you’ll have to backtrack through nearly all of Downtown Disney to get there).

MAXPASS/FASTPASS THE BEST WAY

It’s pretty common knowledge that everyone heads to Space Mountain and Indiana Jones first thing upon entering Disneyland. Unless you’re only there for these rides, don’t bother trying to get on them first, since the line will be just as long as it is the rest of the day (unless you’re the very first person there, which would be a shock).

Also don’t waste your time trying to get a Fastpass first thing, since usually when that happens you end up with a Fastpass entry time of only about 20-40 minutes later, which means you have to wait around instead of using your time for other rides. It’s much more useful to spend your morning on rides with shorter lines (due to the smaller crowds) that don't have Fastpasses, since you can nearly always get a Fastpass for the others with Maxpass.

We find that the best rides to start with are either Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain, or Alice in Wonderland – if you start with Alice, you can usually walk on to every ride in Fantasyland (aside from Peter Pan, which is just as busy first thing in the morning as it is the rest of the day) before the parks start to get crowded.

WAIT ON BREAKFAST

Eat a snack on the way to the park, and then don’t worry about breakfast until you’ve gotten some rides in – the mornings are the best time to get on rides, and spending your prime ride time on a sit-down meal is a waste of the morning.

We don’t usually eat breakfast until at least 10:30, sometimes closer to 11. This is great because almost no one else eats breakfast at that time, and we’ve usually done a large amount of attraction riding by then. We are sure to eat something before we start our morning though – usually a snack at Starbucks – because nothing spoils your Disney day like morning hanger.

Disneyland is all about pushing yourself in the morning so that you feel super accomplished by noon, and can allow yourself to relax the rest of the day. If you do all you can to supercharge your mornings, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have a better experience with the rest of your day.

Best Parts of Being an Adult in Disneyland

I hear it all the time, you probably do, too. “Las Vegas is like Disneyland for adults,” or “Napa is Disneyland for adults.”

Stop. Stop it. Disneyland is Disneyland for adults. Let Vegas be Vegas and Napa be Napa and that other place be that other place. They’re great on their own. Let me tell you why being an adult in Disneyland is actually the best.

You can do whatever you want

You don’t have to wait in line to meet the characters if you don’t want to. You don’t have to wait in that horrendously long line if you don’t want you. You don’t have to worry about stroller parking, or finding a place for picky eaters.

There’s definitely magic to bringing kids to Disneyland and seeing things unfold from their perspective, but most people don’t realize the magic is adaptable and different for everyone, not just kids.

One of the best parts about Disney is once you’re in, you’re in. You can ride, go to shows, browse the shops. You can do whatever you want.
 

You can drink

I know we talk about this a lot, but if you’re a drinker, you can definitely imbibe at the Disneyland resort guilt free. In Disneyland park specifically, you can only drink at Club 33, which is pretty tough to get into, but there are tons of options in California Adventure and Downtown Disney.

We forever recommend Trader Sam’s at the Disneyland Hotel (tiki tiki tiki tiki rum or a lost safari are our favorites), Carthay Circle (pear martini, pimm’s punch, and the classic gin and tonic are must tries), Hearthstone in the Grand Californian for their Cove Bar drinks (which is going away), and Tortilla Joes (peach tree mojito for life).

You can go on all the rides

Fun fact, Disneyland offers a ride switch perk for parents with young kids for more high thrill rides. Ask the cast member working the front of your desired ride’s queue for a parent rider switch pass. Your party will be split up, one group will ride while the second watches the kid. Once the first group returns, they hand off the pass, and the second party gets to hop in the fast pass queue.

It’s a great perk, and definitely something to keep in mind. But if you’re going with a group of full grown adults, y’all can genuinely ride whatever you want without worrying or organizing.

Which leads me to my next point.
 

You can split up

Kat, Stephen, and I are huge proponents of splitting up. This falls under the “you can do whatever you want” category. We believe you’re on vacation in Disneyland and you shouldn’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Which is a huge perk of going to Disneyland as an adult.

We’ll frequently split up if someone wants to ride a ride others don’t, see a show others don’t, eat somewhere other people don’t want to eat- the list goes on. We all fully support each person getting the most out of their trip, so if you want a churro and everyone else wants popcorn? Go grab that churro. Your group wants to watch World of Color but you’d rather not? Go ride Ariel 5 times, why not?

One time, Kat and Stephen wanted to watch some night time show and I wasn’t super into it, so I bounced and hopped on single rider for Matterhorn. They sat me in the front, and I was wearing a white tank top, not suspecting anything. And then I totally got soaked and walked around Disneyland by myself with a completely see-through shirt. I thought it was hilarious.

You can get there as early as you want and stay until close

If you want to get there at rope drop and stay until midnight you do your thing. Especially if your group has agreed on the aforementioned Split Up rule, some of your party can go back to the hotel and nap or pool lounge, and you can ride and snack to your heart’s content.

Best Breakfasts You Won’t Need a Reservation For

Happy New Year! 2017 had its fair share of challenges, but it was also the year we launched our blog, and we couldn't be happier. And what's the best way to bring in the new year? With breakfast of course.

There’s a lot of information thrown around about dining in Disneyland, and most of it revolves around restaurants you’re going to need a reservation for. And sure, making reservations for dinner or even lunch doesn’t seem like much of a surprise, but what do you do when you find yourself in Disneyland at 9am, starving, realizing that Plaza Inn and Carnation Cafe aren’t places you can just mosey into for a mickey waffle or two?

Don’t worry, we got you.

Fortunately, there are plenty of breakfast options that don’t involve weeks of planning ahead.

Rancho del Zocalo

EDIT: as of spring 2018, rancho del zocalo no longer serves breakfast in Disneyland. Check out the red rose taverne in Fantasyland instead!

Located between the Princess Fantasy Faire and the Shooting Gallery in Frontierland, Rancho del Zocalo recently started serving breakfast, and it’s great.

Your standard Disneyland breakfast is available (hello waffles, pancakes, sausage and bacon), and also Mexican-inspired breakfast, including breakfast burritos, chilaquiles, and fajitas.

The Traditional breakfast line goes much slower than Mexican-inspired - in fact, there’s usually hardly any line for my fajita platter breakfast at all. Though there are several checkout stands, there’s usually only one person checking people out, so the lines can get long (or just slow), but there’s plenty of seating and sometimes you can even get a spot right next to Big Thunder Railroad and watch the trains go by.

Jolly Holiday

At the entrance to Adventureland, the Jolly Holiday Bakery and Cafe offers breakfast treats and sandwiches. The lines can move slowly, but the seating outside is ample and provides a great view of the crowds going by.

Mint Julep Bar

Listen, sometimes you just want some kind of delicious pastry shaped like Mickey Mouse's head, and you want to eat it in a super picturesque area while people-watching in the Happiest Place on Earth, is that so much to ask? Located in the garden patio area of the French Market Restaurant in New Orleans Square, the Mint Julep Bar sells Mickey Beignets, usually with seasonal flavor varieties, and they are DELICIOUS. 

Flo’s V8 Cafe

In Cars Land, Flo’s is pretty famous for having great food, and breakfast is no exception. The line moves quickly and the service is efficient - plus the food offerings are on-point.

We HIGHLY recommend the brioche french toast and the tamale breakfast. We’ve been known to order sides of breakfast potatoes and bacon, plus the kids’ breakfasts are great if you just want a light snack.

Other Options 

If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of being stuck in a Land that has no great breakfast restaurant offerings (I'm looking at you, almost-all-of-DCA), there's always the Starbucks in each park, or the espresso kiosks that sometimes offer fancy doughnuts and other snacks. 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Disneyland MaxPass vs FastPass

Hello, friends!

If you've visited the parks or read any of our posts, you know how invaluable Fastpasses are. We're fans. Lucky for us, Disneyland has just rolled out a new Fastpass system in conjunction with their current system called Maxpass. And lucky for YOU we tried it out, and we're serving up a side by side comparison just for you. 

Fastpass

Fastpass is a system Disneyland has had in place since the late 90s. It’s a way for guests to skip the standby line on some of the more popular rides (often called the E Ticket rides, which calls back to the time when Disneyland had ticket books, and required tickets for each ride).

To get a Fastpass, go to any ride that has Fastpass machines, insert your park ticket into the machine, and a reminder will pop out giving you an hour time slot to return. Return during your allotted time, scan your park ticket at the Fastpass line, and skip the long standby. The machines used to give you the actual Fastpass to flash at the Fastpass line, but now everything is on the park ticket itself, so make sure to have that out before you get in line.

It’s worth noting that your return time can vary depending on how busy the park is and how popular that particular ride is. We’ve gotten return times on Fastpasses that were less than an hour, but we’ve also gotten them for a good five or six hours away. No matter when your return time is for your ride, you can always Fastpass again in a couple hours. Just be sure to check the bottom of your Fastpass reminder to see when you can grab another one.

The Fastpass system is awesome because it’s free, and you essentially get to “wait in line” by shopping, snacking, or riding other rides.

Maxpass

Maxpass is a system where you can get digital fastpasses through the Disneyland app on your phone.

I was really very prepared to be underwhelmed by Maxpass but I think I’m a convert, y’all. I was hesistant because Maxpass is $15 a day, or an additional $100 to add to an Annual Pass, but I’m all in.

What makes MaxPass so worth it is you can do everything with your phone from anywhere as long as you’ve scanned into one of the parks at any point that day. You don’t even have to still be in the parks, the app just needs to know you’ve been in the parks. So if you’re in Disneyland you can grab fastpasses in DCA, or if you’re boozing at Trader Sam’s in Downtown Disney, you can grab fastpasses for either park, or if you’re back at your hotel for a midday break.

To get started with Maxpass, download the Disneyland app on your phone and set up an account. Then you’ll need to determine who’s in your “maxpass party”- essentially who you’re in the park with. You’ll link everyone’s park ticket, including yours, to your maxpass party on the app. There’s a camera so you can scan the barcode of everyone’s ticket super easy. Each person costs $15. So if you’re doing it on your phone, everyone owes you a few churros.

Then, once everyone scans their tickets and enters the park, you’re ready to start grabbing fastpasses. It takes a few minutes to get set-up, but once you do, it’s magic.

To get Fastpasses through MaxPass, open the Disneyland app and tap the plus button at the bottom of the app. Then tap on “Get Fastpass”. Confirm everyone in your Fastpass party. Choose your park, and scroll through the list of available fastpasses. Tap on the time listed, not the actual ride picture. Then review and confirm the selection for your entire party. When you return to hop in line, you can either open the app, tap your avatar, then tap “My Tickets” and scan everyone’s ticket, or you can use your park ticket.

Where you would normally have to go to each ride to grab the fastpass, you can grab fastpasses for everyone no matter where you are. Which means if you’ve just hopped in fastpass line for Haunted Mansion, once your passes are scanned, you can grab another Fastpass while in line for anywhere in either park. WHICH IS SO COOL. It’s a game changer. It also means you don’t have to run to the physical locations of the most popular attractions at a certain time to grab a Fastpass, you can do it from the comfort of breakfast or the line for another attraction.

On top of that, MaxPass also gives you PhotoPass. Which means you can walk up to any Disneyland Photographer and have them snap a picture on their fancy camera for you. All of the photos you have taken from a cast member are then linked to your pass and will show up on your Disneyland app. You can then save and download professional Disneyland pictures. You can also go to the photo centers in each park and have your favorites printed.

The photo center in Disneyland is at the last shop along Main Street on the right if you’re walking toward the castle.

The photo center in DCA is at the beginning of Buena Vista Street (the Main Street you enter on) to the right. The door is in between the fruit stand and the lockers.

So which one do you get?

I’d say if you’re in the parks for just one day, go for the MaxPass. It’ll help you do more of what you want to do with less stress and less running around. Your feet will thank you, and you’ll get more out of your trip. Plus, you can take advantage of that PhotoPass.

If you’re in the parks for a few days, suss out the busiest day and get MaxPass for that one day. You can survive just fine with Fastpasses on the other days, especially if you have reservations or want to see shows. I’d just say to save your eticket rides for your MaxPass day.

I’ll definitely be upgrading my AP to include MaxPass.