How To Do Disneyland In A Day

There is something magical about Disneyland that turns me back into a kid again. The night before the big day I start to get butterflies and when we are driving on the freeway I am nervously saying to my husband, “Do not miss the exit! Whatever you do please do not miss the exit!” When we enter the parking garage I’m hustling everyone saying, “You guys the tram is here, we need to make the tram!” I’m not really sure what my deal is, maybe it is the nostalgia that one feels when visiting and seeing a place again that as a kid brought such joy and happiness.

However, a Disneyland trip that is not planned carefully can backfire. You’ll find yourself amidst hundreds of screaming toddlers in toon-town or in 3-hour lines for Indiana Jones and the Nemo ride. When your headache begins you’ll be wondering what happened to your magical Disneyland vacation.

Recently, we had one day at Disneyland and I was determined to do it all in the most efficient and pleasant manner possible. It was an extremely crowded day, the kind that you can barely walk through Main Street, the lines were formed way beyond where the actual gates began, and yet we managed to get in all the major rides before lunch, not waiting in any line longer than 25 minutes.

You may be scoffing to yourself, or doubting me, but we did it. Many people think that in order to hit all the major rides, you need at least two days at Disneyland. Unless you have very small kids or you want to do California Adventure along with Disneyland you can do Disneyland in a day.

With these simple tips, you should have a successful and entertaining day trip to Disneyland. Remember they aren’t guarantees, but they’ve been successful for us.

Be There Right As It Opens

If Disneyland opens at 8 am, be in the parking garage by at the latest 7:30 am. Most people who go to Disneyland, have two-day park hoppers or longer stays, so most people take their time getting there in the morning. In fact, it is likely that those doing multiple days at Disney didn’t leave the park until late the previous night and chances are they won’t be up on time in the morning.

Plan on Staying Late

If you can, plan on shutting the park down. Many people start leave later in the evening and it makes sense that the park would have pretty good ride times between the hours of 10 p.m. and midnight. As an added plus, you’ll be there for the fireworks show.

Hit the Most Popular Rides Early

If you get there right on time, do not bother with fast passes for the first two hours. At the beginning of the day, most rides will only have a wait time of about 15 minutes or so. You won’t beat this even if you happen to have a fast pass. Suggestion: Run, or walk quickly to Space Mountain. Space Mountain usually has a notoriously long wait time, closely followed by the Indiana Jones ride.

Hit up either of these rides right away and you will be doing yourself a huge favor.  Then, just make your rounds hopping on any rides that you can that have short lines. Another ride with a notoriously long wait time is the Submarines that feature Nemo. Kids love this ride so if you have your heart set on going on this ride, try to do it early.

Early in the day is a great time to go on rides that do not offer fast passes. Some of these rides could include Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, The Teacups. Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise, or any other of your favorite rides.

Check the Disneyland app to see the wait time on most rides. We always like to check nearby rides, just in case there is something nearby that we can sneak on to.

Plan Your Day Around Fast Passes

Fast Passes at Disneyland can make or break your perfect Disneyland day.

Take advantage of fastpass on the most popular rides. You can get your fastpasses near the entrance of each ride. To use fastpass, find the kiosk, scan your ticket, pick the best time for you, get the receipt and they just come back during your scheduled time to enjoy the ride.

The down side to using fastpass is that you have to travel all the way to the ride to get the fastpass. The bonus is that you save a ton of time not waiting in the full line. Fastpasses are first come first served, so go to your top priority rides first.

If you’re not wanting to walk all around the park to collect your fastpasses you can look into MaxPass. This is a pay service from Disney that allows you to access fastpasses through the Disneyland app. This saves you the time of walking from ride to ride.

Sometimes it is hard because you get so caught up in making sure you make it on all your favorite rides when you know you have such a short visit and you want to cram it all in, that you forget to relax, enjoy and reminisce of old times. Make sure you laugh and enjoy the rides, watch the parades and enjoy the shows.

While you are waiting for your fast pass time, enjoy other nearby parts of Disneyland, stroll Main-Street, grab lunch, visit with the characters, go on other rides, and just play around.

Buy Your Tickets Ahead of Time

If you have your tickets already in hand that is one less line you’ll have to stand in once you arrive. Even if you order online and have to pick up at will call, that will still equate to a line and lost time.

You can do this in a number of different ways, for example, a lot of local hotels have discount tickets available. You can always pre-purchase directly from Disneyland online or over the phone. If you’re having the tickets sent to you make sure you have enough time to get them in the mail. There are tons of online deal places, so feel free to do a search to find cheap tickets.

If you have the Disneyland app you can purchase tickets directly through it and skip the pesky lines as well. Just have the app ready and scan your electronic ticket at the gate.

Stay at the Disneyland Hotel

I’m not endorsing the Disneyland hotel, I have never had the opportunity to stay there myself, but there are perks to staying there.

If you’re at the hotel you won’t have to deal with parking and there is a tram directly from the hotel to the park. So this could save you anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour depending on the day, plus the parking fee is waived.

Disneyland Rides with Fastpass

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters
• Fantasmic!
• Haunted Mansion
• Haunted Mansion Holiday
• It’s a Small World
• Indiana Jones Adventure
• Matterhorn Bobsleds
• Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
• Space Mountain
• Splash Mountain
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue

Get the Disneyland App

They’re constantly making updates and improvements to the Disneyland app which now does some really helpful things. First off, as we’ve mentioned you can run your entire Fastpass empire with your mobile phone. The app offers a lot of other cool functionality that will save you time as well. It’s free and super helpful.

Here are a few of the things that the app can do:

• Check ride wait times from anywhere in the park
• Make dining reservations at popular park restaurants
• Order food from popular spots ahead of time, imagine not waiting in a 15 min line for your lunch.
• Track down your favorite characters without searching aimlessly through the park.
• Plus, you’ll always have a Disneyland map with you at all times.

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