The Perks of an Annual Pass

If you haven’t figured it out by now, we think Disneyland is glorious. When you’re in Disneyland you’re IN Disneyland. You can’t do anything else. You can’t be anywhere else. It’s magic. And we like to go as much as possible, so thank goodness for the all holy Annual Passport.

There are a few different levels of passes, which dictate the kind of perks you get. There’s Deluxe, Signature, and Signature Plus.

Deluxe has the most blackout days, a smaller discount, and it doesn’t include parking.

Signature and Signature Plus have closer perks. They both get the same discount on merch and food, and both include parking. However there are two weeks in December that are blocked for Signature passholders, and Signature Plus has Maxpass included.

If you’ve been on the fence about getting an AP (just do it), allow me to persuade you with some of my favorite perks of having an AP.

Access to the Parks, duh, (without the guilt).

Let’s be real, Disneyland can be expensive. Park tickets are pricey, and for that money, you want the most bang for your buck. Which probably includes killing yourself to stay from open to close, even if you’re in desperate need of a break.

Having an AP frees up that guilt space.

All three of us do the monthly plan, which costs less than a cell phone bill. And honestly it’s the best $60 I spend a month. We live about 7 hours away, but a tank of gas and a last minute hotel room is the only thing between us and a magical time.

We can go down, spend a day, hop in a for a few hours the next day and come back home. We can also take hefty breaks during the middle of the day, or head out early and not feel like we’re wasting our time or money.

And since we go down about once a month, we get some serious mileage out of our passes.

Discounts

I can’t imagine going to Disneyland without our AP discounts. You save 15% on food, and 20% on merch. And believe me, it adds up fast. And it’s not just in the parks. Most of Downtown Disney gives an AP discount.

On top of food and merch, there are special deals on hotel rooms, tours, even the spa at the Grand Californian gives an AP discount.

Parking

Parking at Disneyland for standard vehicles is $20 a day, RVs are more. We save at least (AT LEAST) $300 a year on parking with our AP. You guys it’s GOLD.

Special Events

There are actually lots of extra AP opportunities in the parks, from special meet and greets, to activity areas with free buttons and drinks. You also get email updates about new things coming to the parks, and new AP opportunities regularly.

So how do we make it worth it?

Like I mentioned before, the price tag is a lot less shocking if you do monthly installments. Plus, since we’re all equally devoted to the magic, it helps we’re all on board with monthly mini-trips with a few bigger trips thrown in sporadically. My recommendation? Ditch your current friends and get a group that’s as devoted as you are.

Fellow AP holders, did I miss any perks?

Secrets to Keeping Your Phone Charged at Disneyland

We all tend to be on our phones constantly in normal life, but compound that with 16 hour Disney days full of picture taking and MaxPass scanning and you're sure to kill your battery faster than ever. 

Tip 1 - Low Power Mode

Both iPhone and Android have an option to save power called "Low Power Mode" or "Battery Saver". Usually this option reduces animations, background mail fetching, display brightness and other barely noticeable adjustments. Of course, staying connected is still important, but as you walk in and out of cell coverage (especially in underground portions of rides) your battery drains quickly. And lets be honest, does anyone want to see you swiping through pointless emails while they are trying to enjoy Haunted Mansion?  In the park, I have noticed up to 8 hours more battery life just by enabling this option. 

Tip 2 - Bring A Battery Pack

Pump up your battery game. Phone cases like the iPhone Smart Battery Case can double your overall battery life, but if you're like me and can barely handle the thickness of any phone case, this option isn't the best. 

My solution is to bring a portable battery pack. Now I know some of you can effectively kill a fully charged battery by noon. Since I'm not one to endlessly scroll Facebook, listen to music, pay any heed to the news or watch cat videos while I'm at Disneyland, I don't have that problem. So my battery pack of choice doesn't need to be an all day pocket carry, because I'm only  maybe going to top off once a day.

My favorite battery pack is the Jackery Bolt 6000. The #1 killer feature about this battery pack is the cable is built-in, so I can carry this battery pack to Trader Sam's and get Kelsey, Kat and my phone back to about 90% in an hour or so with no additional messy cables. The battery can charge a normal size iPhone two times, or, for us, 3 iPhones to about 75%.

Tip 3 - California Adventure Chargers

Inside California Adventure and The Grand Californian are Fuel Rod purchase and exchange stations. A brand new Fuel Rod comes with a 5000 mAh battery and cables for your iPhone or Android. From these kiosks you can purchase a new kit or exchange one you already have for a freshly charged one. As long as you keep your cable with you, these have the added benefit of never needing to remember to charge it on your own, at the hotel, or at home. An additional benefit is these Fuel Rod kiosks exist outside the park, most commonly at airports. (Although at the airport, you may have to pay a couple dollars there for a freshly-charged one, whereas at California Adventure, the swap is free.)

Tip 4 - Charging Lockers

At both locker locations inside the park (but not the one outside the park) charging lockers are offered in addition to standard stuff storage lockers. The pricing is different and the storage space is smaller but serves a more specialized purpose. Cables are included inside for iPhone and Android but if you'd like to charge something else, be sure to bring a cable or wall adapter to plug inside. 

I think these are most useful in a pinch, but probably the least economical and practical, considering you have to get back to the locker within a specified amount of time or continue to get charged. 

Downtown Disney District Basics

You leave your hotel and make a bee-line for the Disneyland entrance gate, ride all the rides, stuff your face with corn dogs and churros, and drag yourself out at 1am covered in tasty goodness from Gibson Girl Ice Cream. Besides all the other tips and energy recharging tips you've picked up from this blog, Downtown Disney is a huge asset to your trip.

Casual Free Stroll

During my time as a college student, I didn't always have the money to buy an annual pass, but I still wanted to experience any Disney magic I could. An early morning Downtown stroll gets you some classic Disney music, excited families heading toward the entrance gates and the distant sounds of gunfire from the Jungle Cruise. Sometimes that's just enough to keep your spirit up until your wallet can squeeze out a park ticket. 

parking

Downtown Disney has its own parking lot (for now) that gives you free, validated parking if you make a purchase at a store, eat at a restaurant or watch a movie. This trick is especially useful if your trip to Southern California extends for more days than you have allotted for The Disneyland Resort, but need to pickup a gift or two at World of Disney. 

Downtown Anytime Break

As Kelsey mentioned in her post about unexpected snacks around the resort, restaurants are always a great place to take a load off for an hour or so and recharge, so definitely don't limit the usefulness of Downtown Disney to only lunchtime. In the morning the Jazz Kitchen Express has beignets and La Brea Bakery has breakfast egg sandwiches. Mid morning peach tree mojitos at Tortilla Joe's and late night cocktails at Uva Bar always provide the calming elixer of life. As for unique memorabilia that speaks to the somewhat sophisticated, be sure to visit WonderGround Art Gallery and the new Disney Dress shop for some creative, hard to find and unique merch. 

Nighttime Entertainment

Disneyland and California Adventure have their share of every-time entertainment, but after dinner when the families are venturing back to the park from their afternoon naptime, the parks can become intensely crowded. Well the Disney Parks planners have taken care of you, yet again. 

The Downtown Disney Stage (adjacent to Rainforest Cafe and the AMC Movie Theater) has nightly entertainment ranging from a live band playing 80s rock tunes, a DJ dance party or even a massive tuba band. As you walk closer to the Disneyland entrance you will find a couple of smaller and solo acts in front of WonderGround and Napoli.

The best part about these entertainers is they range from good to ridiculously comical. I'm sure there's some standard set by Disney because all of the solo musicians play to recorded backing tracks and have an understood cheese factor occasionally accentuated by a fog machine or impromptu audience participation! 

Some slightly off-topic tips

Even though Downtown Disney has two full blown Starbucks stores and each park has its own as well, take a chance on The Coffee Shop located next to Goofy's Kitchen at The Disneyland Hotel. Shorter lines and definetly less hustle and bustle. 

Also at the Disneyland Hotel is Tangaroa Terrace, a casual dining restaurant that has snacks, sweets and meals and is rarely busy enough to fill it's ample seating area. In the same style of eatery but located at The Grand Californian is White Water Snacks. I love the chicken nachos made with the classic spicy, canned, ballpark cheese sauce.

Even though you want to go hardcore from open to close, sometimes just the change of scenery is a good enough mental break

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. 

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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.

What to Check Before Booking Your Disneyland Trip

There’s probably a bunch of prep you’ll do before you book your Disneyland trip. Are there cool seasonal events going on? What’s the hotel situation like? Blockout dates?

All of the above are good things to take into account for sure, but there are a few more sneaky things you might take for granted and might get in the way of a good time (although like...you can always drown your sorrows in churros or some good old fashioned Disneyland retail therapy).

Luckily, all of these pesky things that could interfere with your picture perfect Disneyland trip are super easy to check in advance. So let’s dive in.

Attraction Closures

When you first go through the security checkpoints in the park, you’ll see a sign listing all the attraction closures for the day. Which can be a total bummer if some of the things listed on the sign are what you come to the park for.

All the attractions at the parks cycle through maintenance closures at some point while some attractions will close for holiday overlays (Small World Holiday, Haunted Mansion Holiday), and then close again to reset.

You can always check any closures on the calendar section of the Disneyland website pretty far in advance, along with a ton of other awesome park info for the specific days of your trip.  This site also has a great easy guide to check up on closures as well.

Park Operating Hours

This is something I’ve definitely taken for granted in the past.

If you’re used to an 8am-12am park day, it can come as a shock to learn you get a shorter day, but the park hours change throughout the year. So while a 8am-12am day is standard in the summer, you could be looking at a 10am-8pm park day during an off-time of the year, which drastically cuts down on park time.

Checking the Disneyland calendar is definitely something to add to your pre-booking checklist to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck, and there aren’t any super-non-magical surprises. (Keep in mind the park times are subject to change.)

Are the reservations you want available?

If you have a tried and true tradition like dinner at the Blue Bayou, or garlic fries at Cafe Orleans, it’s worth it to call in and make your reservations as soon as you possibly can. You can book reservations up to 60 days in advance.

Since it’s so easy, I recommend first checking the reservations section of the Disneyland Website to check availability and book your reservation. However, if the website doesn’t list any available reservations for your trip, try calling Disney Dining (714)781-3463 to speak to a human. They’re usually pretty helpful and might be able to find something the website can’t.

And, if all else fails, you can always try going to your desired restaurant at the very beginning of the day and getting on a standby list in case of cancellations.

Disneyland Resort Entertainment 101

From the moment you enter Disneyland, there's entertainment around every corner. Even after visiting the parks dozens of times, I always start by picking up a time guide at the turnstile. This guide lists most of the live entertainment throughout the park and each printed guide usually covers 3-7 days. The schedules for some shows change day-to-day and others are totally consistent, so that guide is key to getting around on time. 

I tend to break up Disneyland entertainment into a few categories: Seasonal, Casual, Ambience, Characters and Shows.

Seasonal Entertainment

Seasonal Entertainment encompasses, of course, Christmas and Halloween fireworks and parades, but Disneyland also takes advantage of other times of year like summer, holidays like Veterans Day and movie blockbusters as an opportunity for a new pre-parade, fireworks show, street party, or musical tribute. 

Casual Entertainment

You may very well pass by some Casual Entertainment without even realizing it was a scheduled event. The best example is the Dapper Dans - a barbershop quartet in snazzy striped suits with matching hats that sing up and down Main Street, as well as occasionally riding the Horse Drawn Carriage or Firetruck. Just like the Dans, the Disneyland Band, Army Men and Pearly Band tend to march around and can be unpredictable in their start and end location. 

Ambience Entertainment

Throughout the lands of both parks, Ambience Entertainment happens all around you, adding to the Disney Magic. Custodians that paint character's faces on the sidewalk with brooms and water, Citizens of Buena Vista and their pets will carry on with you in-character, and The Laughing Stock (in front of the Golden Horseshoe) all can be found through the time guide, but don't worry too much about scheduling your time around them - part of the fun is that they seem to appear out of nowhere.

Disney Characters

Disney Characters have their own section in the time guide although the times listed are vague at best. Most characters are available for photos and autographs for about 30-45 minutes and then take a break for about 10-20. If you're looking for a specific character, Cast Members can point you to the area that character hangs out (Peter Pan, for example, is usually found around the Mad Tea Party teacups in Fantasyland) but sometimes, it's just a waiting game. 

Be sure to always keep your eyes open for unscheduled character appearances - you never know who might show up.

Shows

Shows are the most scheduled entertainment and require the most pre-planning.

Some shows are nearly always easy to get in to and are worth the short wait. Mickey and the Magical Map just requires showing up about 30 minutes early to ensure you get a seat. Some shows have smaller seating areas, so you need to keep an eye out for a quickly growing line, like Disney Jr in DCA and Fantasy Faire at the Royal Theatre. Frozen - Live at the Hyperion, however, isn't worth the wait, there are tons of stairs to climb, and because of the lack of enthusiasm for the show, they're limiting the number of shows per day, so every show is packed. If you feel the burning desire to see Frozen, make sure you get in line about an hour before showtime.

The most popular shows like Fantasmic! and World of Color require a FastPass to determine your entry location and standing area. If you're planning on catching one of these shows (especially if you'd prefer the first show of the night) be sure to get those FastPasses within the first couple hours of your day. 

The Fireworks are the ultimate cap to a Disneyland Vacation. Even though the show may change from summer to winter and from year to year, they all are the best fireworks you will ever see. Everyone wants to watch the fireworks from Main Street, so space starts filling up hours ahead of showtime. Disneyland recommends Small World and the Rivers of America as alternate viewing locations, but in reality, you can enjoy the fireworks from almost everywhere in the park (and even the esplanade between parks) and most locations - besides Main Street - have a more manageable crowd. 

7 Free Souvenirs from Disneyland

That’s right, people: actual honest-to-goodness free souvenirs in Disneyland, of all places. No, we haven't had too many Lost Safaris at Trader Sam’s - this is legit.

Buttons

We’re assuming you’ve heard of Birthday Buttons, readily available from City Hall in Town Square, and other locations around the resort. Not only are these cheap-as-free, but there are a variety of other buttons as well (Just Married, First Visit, I’m Celebrating...) usually all you have to do is ask, and Disney will have a button for you!

 

Drawing at Animation Academy

If you’re searching for a place to take a break in DCA, check out the Animation Academy. You get a fun Disney character drawing lesson, and also get to keep your drawing. This is a unique souvenir that you won’t find anywhere else, and always changes - you’ll draw a new character pretty much every time you go.
 

Jungle Cruise Map

We’ve done a whole post on things you should ask for in Disneyland, some of which we’ve actually asked for ourselves, including this one. To get this souvenir, you’ve got to ask one of the Cast Members as you off-board your Jungle Cruise boat for a map.

Sometimes they’re out, sometimes the Cast Member doesn’t know what you’re talking about, and sometimes you luck out and get a Jungle Cruise map! Yes, it’s just a map printed on an 8.5x11 piece of paper, but it’s a great souvenir to take home with you.

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters Photo

Most ride photos you have to pay for (or take a quick phone photo on the way out), but Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters offers the option of emailing yourself your photo. It’s super convenient, though the lines can get pretty long (and the computers take forever to type in an email), and, oh yeah, it’s free.

FastPass Reminder

Since the print-outs you receive when you get a FastPass aren't actually collected by Cast Members upon entering the ride anymore, you can now keep them as mementos. It's great to trip down memory lane when you happen upon an old FastPass in your wallet.

 

Survey Sticker

If you’re fortunate enough to be randomly selected by Cast Members at the park entrances to complete a survey, you’re in luck - you might just get a free Mickey sticker. Sure, it’s just a sticker, but hey, it’s the little things that count.

The Buena Vista Bugle

The newspaper of Disney California Adventure, offered on Buena Vista street (sometimes at the Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Cafe, but always at the Chamber of Commerce) is free and often goes unnoticed. It’s a something fun to read through and take home with you, filled with Disney news-of-the-moment.

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We’ve mentioned other free things to ask for in Disneyland, though some of them are possibly just rumors (I can’t say I’ve ever seen anyone actually receive a Death Certificate). Have you found any other free souvenirs from the parks?

 

The Dos and Don'ts of Choosing a Hotel for Disneyland

Surrounding Disneyland, hotels range from the seedy no-name, to the ritzy Grand Californian and everything in between. Choosing a hotel for your trip can seem daunting but there are many factors to consider such as distance to the entrance, overall cost including parking and hotel amenities. 

1. Resort or Not

Unlike the other US Disney Resort, Disneyland in California has limited on-property resort hotels. For me, this makes the choice easier. 

There are three Disneyland resort hotels, from most to least expensive: Disney's Grand Californian, The Disneyland Hotel and Disney's Paradise Pier. These hotels are fantastically close, are all 4 star quality and have a perk no other hotel can offer: merchandise purchased in the parks can get delivered directly to your hotel room!

On the other hand, splurging on an incredible Disneyland Resort Hotel isn't an every trip type of expense. Staying at the Super 8 down the street looks a-lot more glamorous when you realize there's tons of resort amenities you can take advantage of without booking a room. Character dining, hotel restaurants, bars, and lounge areas are available to everyone. 

2. Walk or Not

If the idea of parking once at the beginning of your trip and avoiding re-parking sounds good, a close hotel is for you. Staying at a cheaper and possibly nicer hotel is definitely possible if you're willing to drive 5-15 minutes. 

There are plenty of hotels within walking distance to the Disneyland Resort. These choices are mostly on the east side of the resort on Harbor Boulevard and adjoining streets. Hotels closer to the entrance have a lower value, usually require booking further in advance, with steeper parking fees.  Something else to keep in mind: hotels in the city of Anaheim carry a higher resort fee than those in the surrounding cities. 

3. Do Double Check Addresses

There are so many hotels, it's no surprise how many of the same brand or chain exist within just a couple blocks. You may easily mistake one Marriott you thought was across the street for one not remotely walkable. Also, the streets that surround the resort are very long roads, so you might find dozens of one brand hotel in a dozen different cities, but all on Harbor Boulevard.

4. Don't Sweat It

When visiting Disneyland, there will be so many other places to spend your money and time, save the hassle and expense and use a discount hotel website like Hotwire.com where you choose your general hotel location and star rating and buy what fits your budget. These websites always let you know if you'll be charged additionally for resort fees or parking, so you can budget accordingly. 

5. Do Take The Deal

With so many hotel choices, you may tend to over-research each property, sometimes missing your price window. If you see a good deal, take it. It may not last long. 

4 Secrets to Staying at the Park from Open to Close

If you want to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to that Disneyland ticket, you’re going to want to stay at the park for the entire operating day. Yes, that means arriving by around 8am and leaving at midnight, usually walking a good 10+ miles in the hot Anaheim sun, which makes for an extremely long day.

Luckily, we’ve got the secrets to keep you going all day and night!

1. CARBS AND SUGAR

Repeat after me: Carbs and Sugar. Carbs and Sugar. Carbs. And. Sugar.

You’re not in Disneyland to be on a diet. You’re in Disneyland to Eat All The Food, and to avoid that impending sugar crash by eating more sugar just in time! That means constant snacking all day long. Feeling a little sleepy? Time for a diet coke. Eyelids getting droopy? Grab a dole whip, stat. Mickey pretzels. Ice cream. Booze. Any and all carbs and sugar.

We try to avoid eating full meals (except for breakfast, which is really just carbs and sugar anyway) at Disneyland for this reason. The fewer full meals you have, the more room you have for snacking!

2. TAKE BREAKS

When you just can’t take it much longer and all carbs and sugar have failed you, it might be time to take a break. Luckily, Disneyland is full of places to kick back and relax. Take in one of the many shows (usually with air conditioning), go on a particularly long dark ride (Pirates of the Caribbean is the perfect length for a power nap) or just find a spot to settle in with a drink or a dole whip. 

3. BOOZE

Once you’ve ridden a good few rides in the morning, the crowds always get a bit too heavy to wait in line for most rides. So, you’ve got a good fast pass or two, and now what?

Now, my friends, is the time to get a drink.

Plop yourself down at one of the many great places to get a good drink in the resort, kick up your feet, and chill out for a while. You’ll thank yourself for the break, and the crowds will be a lot easier to deal with once you have a drink or two under your belt.

4. DON'T TRY TO DO IT ALL

If you try to do everything in one day, you’re going to burn out hard and fast. Ride all the rides you can in the morning, then relax for a while. Standing in the sun for two hours to go on Splash Mountain at 1pm isn’t going to do you any favors when battling Disney Fatigue.

Relax. Enjoy yourself. You’re in Disneyland! 

The Rules of Disneyland

When you start going to Disneyland a lot (a lot) you tend to establish a set of rules, a mission statement, or pedagogy of sorts you abide by. I'm sure there's a lot of good ones. These, however, are the best ones. They were imparted upon us from our Disney mentors, and we're passing them along to you. You're welcome. 

 

1. Keep up or get left behind.

We're not turning back to make sure everyone's together. That's what cell phones are for. 

Jkjkjkjk (kind of). 

We're pretty lucky our pack is full of seasoned Disneyland veterans and know the lay of the land. The trick is to establish end points before you head anywhere so if someone gets lost in a sea of slow walkers we all know where we're going ahead of time. It keeps us from stopping dead in the middle of a crowd and gets us to where we need to go. Trust us on this one. 

2. Ride first apologize later.

Imagine this: you're separated from your crew. You're on your way to meet up with them. You pass by Pirates and there's NO LINE. So tempting. You regretfully move toward your meet up spot. STOP. Turn around. Get on that ride. Worried your crew will be mad? Who cares, you ride first apologize later. If you got a good group of people, they'll understand. They'll even support you. It's the way of Disneyland. 

3. There's no crying in Disneyland.

Unless they're tears of joy about that fresh churro in your hand, take your crying somewhere else. 

Five Quick Tips to Get Started in Disneyland

If you've never been to Disneyland, we got you. Here are five super quick tips to get your oriented if you have no idea what to expect. LETS DO THIS.

1. Buy tickets ahead of time.

Everyone tells you this I KNOW but seriously. If you’ve never been to Disneyland or it’s been a while, buy your tickets in advance. In the esplanade (the space between Disneyland and California Adventure), there are ticket booths where you buy tickets, and the main gates where you actually enter the park. If you buy your ticket ahead of time, you get to float on by the ticket booth right to the main gate. You can even buy your ticket on your phone while you’re on the tram from the parking lot and scan at the main gate. But if you buy at the ticket booth it can be more expensive and it’s a total waste of time.

2. Use the morning to your advantage.

Even though crowds can seem daunting first thing, if you pick a section of the park and stick to it, you can get through tons of rides when the park first opens. You can even blitz through Fantasyland if you skip Peter Pan (if you’re staying till close, just get in line right at closing time so it doesn’t eat up any of your day). We’ve gotten through the entirety of Adventureland and Frontierland in about an hour and a half first thing. Then you can chilly chill for the rest of the day, which leads me to my next point-

3.Use fast passes.

It’s first thing in the morning, you pick whichever land you want to dominate, you’re ready to go. Stop for a second. Remember to Fastpass. Fastpasses are an awesome and completely free way to skip the line for your favorite rides. Just scan your park ticket at a Fastpass kiosk, you’ll get a reminder that will give you an hour time-slot to return. Run off and ride, eat, and shop to your heart’s content, then return during your slot, scan your park ticket at the Fastpass line entrance and fly past that fat line. Not all rides have fast passes, but while you’re riding high on your land domination, stop and grab a Fastpass for later. Efficiency feels great.

4. Chill out in afternoon and rest up for the night.

Since you rode tons of rides in the morning, you’ll be a little more relaxed when the huge crowds start to pour in. Embrace the crowds, and use the middle of the day to see shows like the Tiki Room, Mickey and the Magical Map, maybe even the Soundsational Parade. Grab some drinks over at California Adventure or Trader Sam's, try out the Animation Academy, go shopping on Buena Vista. Keep Fastpassing, snack until you can't move. This is your time to take it slower than the morning to gear up for the night. Which is magical and you definitely want to stay around for.

5. Do later showings for smaller crowds.

 

Night at Disneyland is pure. Flipping. Magic. And you don’t want to miss it. The lights! The feel. It can’t be beat. It’s still pretty busy at night, especially if it’s a Friday and the locals are heading in, but there are some ways to still get the most out of your Disney day. In Disneyland there are a few nighttime shows like the fireworks, Fantasmic, and Paint the Night (which is returning soon thank god). Fun fact! Fantasmic and Paint the Night both have two shows a night. I highly recommend waiting around for the second showings. The crowds are much lighter, and you’ll get to spread out more. Then, once the shows are over, crowds are back to morning sizes and you can blitz through those remaining rides.

Have fun and let us know if you have any questions!