How to Enjoy a Trip to Disneyland
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can EditImagine getting Mickey Mouse's actual autograph; eating loads of ice-cream cones and sundaes; watching spectacular fireworks and having a blast on thrilling rides... this is Disneyland! Disneyland is pretty big, and every day, crowds and crowds of people spill into the theme park, awaiting to go on the land's best rides. If you're looking to enjoy a fun, memorable trip to Disneyland, read on!
Steps
- Plan ahead. Several days before you go to Disneyland, plan your trip. If you're only visiting Disneyland for one day, not much planning is needed. Disneyland is big, but in one day, most people can probably ride most of the park's rides and see many of the shows, so you don't need to spend more than two days there. Plan how you're going to get to the park, what time you should get back from the theme park, and pack the necessities you might need the night before. Check the Disneyland website for local times and holidays and see what times you leave and go. If you have younger children with you, pack lunches and water bottles. That is a thing you'll need to remember!
- Arrive at Disneyland. Before entering the actual theme park, you will pass a street full of hotels and places to eat before getting to the parking lot. The street has hotels and motels for visitors wanting to stay, and also places to grab breakfast like McDonald's and Mimi's Cafe. Eat breakfast before entering the park. Many eateries in Disneyland don't open until noon, so you'll have to ride the roller coasters with an empty, growling stomach. Or, if you don't have time to grab something to eat, bring some food from home if you have younger children with you.
- Buy the tickets. After parking, a tram will take you to the Downtown Disney area, and connected there is the Disneyland Park. Across from Disneyland is the California Adventure theme park, which is suggested for older children and adults, since most rides require a certain height there. You can buy a Park-Hopper Ticket and visit both theme parks any time you'd like in the same day. When buying your tickets, make sure you have the right amount of money and change. Check the Disneyland website for special holiday ticket deals and discounts.
- Go on the popular rides. ALWAYS remember to grab a couple of maps right before you hand your ticket to the staff member to punch in. If you forget to get one, ask a staff member to give you one. This will be very important for traveling around the park. Disneyland's most famous rides include: Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Nemo's Submarine Ride, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. All of these are located in different areas of the park and the lines are incredibly long and tiring. All these rides but Nemo's Submarine Ride have Fast Passes you can use. Try going on these popular rides first, because by noon, the lines will get very long and you probably won't want to wait 2 hours just get on Space Mountain. Make your way clockwise around the park. If you just randomly zigzag to the popular rides first, like from Matterhorn to Splash Mountain, you will waste time just walking there when you could be doing something else. Try going on these rides before noon, because after, the lines will be crowded.
- Find transportation. If you're not just the walking type or have younger children, there are many transportation rides you can use to get around the park faster. One of them includes the Disneyland Railroad. Check your map for railroad stations; there is a station in every section of Disneyland, which consists of Main street, Adventure land, Fantasy land, Tomorrow land, New Orleans, Critter's Country, Frontier Land, and Mickey's Toontown. The railroad takes guests around the park in a circle. If you go the Tomorrowland Railroad Station, it will take you through an indoor exhibit of dinosaurs and animals, which is a good idea for younger children.
- Get food. There are many places to eat and dine at Disneyland. For lunch, try checking the map for any eateries that interest you. Try to eat lunch before noon because after that, a frenzy of hungry people will invade any nearest eatery they can find. As for dinner, eat before six because dinner is also very crazy. If you're just hungry for a small snack, there are many food stands around the park with things like McDonalds French fries or cotton candy. Sometimes, you will be able to dine with the Disney characters themselves!
- Go shopping. You can never leave Disneyland without buying anything! You can mostly find the same items in every store, so if you miss something you liked in Adventureland, you can just buy it at Mainstreet instead. A good idea to is buy everything on your way out on Mainstreet because you do not want to carry your purchasing around the rides and such. Main street has a lot of huge, company stores with everything you can think from hats, clothing, jewelry, toys, pens, anything! Or, if you're looking for a specific-themed item (for example, if you wanted a Jack Skeleton hat, try going to the shops near the Haunted Mansion Ride in New Orleans for specially-themed items) try going to the shops near your themed-attraction. There are also shops for sundries such as camera batteries, sunscreen and medication around the park.
- Be safe. Since the park is big, you can easily get very lost. The theme park is very safe however, the only thing you have to worry about is after the Fantastic Fireworks Show, everyone will be pushing and shoving to get out of the theme park to go home. This is a good time to get very lost, since you'll probably be squished against with other visitors and younger children can get separated, and in addition that it will be dark. If you have younger children, have them in strollers so it's harder to get separated that way, or have your family members hang onto each other's arms in a link so no one is separated as everyone is trying to exit the theme park. Or, another easier way is just to stick around longer after the Fantamasic Show and go on more rides then! See "Nightlife" for more info. Always keep an eye on your children. Don't go anywhere alone such as bathrooms or shops, and even the rides. It is easy to get lost from there, even if you're in a big party.
- Watch the Fantasmic! This show is the best part of the whole entire day! The hour-long show takes place at the Great Rivers of America in New Orleans Square, and is built so that you can sit anywhere, and still have a great view of the show. Usually, the show starts at 8:00 PM and ends at 9:00 PM. Most people grab seats last minute, but it's not suggested you do that. You'll have to climb over people and squeeze in tight spots if you do. Grab a seat before 7:30 PM because after, everyone will start to pile in and you'll be forced to stand. A good spot to see the show right across from the Pirates of Caribbean ride which is basically the center seating of the show where you can view full-on everything. If you have children in strollers, the strollers must go down by 8:00 PM so other guests can see the show also. Also, remember to bring picnic blankets, small pillows or quilts as it will get chilly at night and so you won't have to sit on the ground.
- Stay during the night. After the first showing Fantastic Fireworks Show, which ends at nine PM, most guest will be leaving. But, if you want to escape the huge crowd of people heading home, just stick around longer and have fun! Now, since at night, the lines to the popular rides will be shorter. So, if you missed any rides you liked, this is the chance to ride them, or to ride your favorite ones again! Remember now, by this time, most restaurants and cafes and several shops will be closed so eat and shop before nine PM. If you go Disneyland during the fall, winter or early spring, make sure to bring warm clothing as the weather will be cold and chilly. At this time, if you haven't shopped yet, just head out to Main street to one of the bigger, company stores as it will be open until the park's closing. Also, if you're tired of Disneyland, head to California Adventure for more fun if you have a Park-Hopper ticket as California Adventure theme park across Disneyland. Remember, there are also other places to shop, eat and entertainment such as Downtown Disney.
Tips
- A good, cheap place to eat for lunch is Red Rockett's Pizza Port which serves pizza, pasta and sodas in Tommorrowland.
- If you don't have time to grab dinner AND find a spot for the Fantasmic Fireworks Show, have one of your family members to save a good spot for the show, while one of you go buy dinner and then have a picnic while watching the show!
- Mickey's Toontown is a good place to take pictures with Mickey Mouse and his friends themselves!
- Remember to bring your camera.
- Bring lots and lots of water bottles and small snacks as the walking around the park will make you hungry and thirsty and save you money!
- If you have a Fast pass and you don't get to your ride at your desired time, you can still use the fast pass later that same day.
- Be careful when choosing what ride you want to use your Fast passes for. If you get a Fastpass for Space Mountain, you can't immediately get another Fast pass for another ride, for example, Splash Mountain, until the time is reached on your fast pass ticket.
- If you don't have little kids with you, pack light. The storage areas on some rides are to small for full size backpacks.
- Downtown Disney is an ideal place for some fun shopping, cafes and restaurants and entertainment with live music. Stop by here for dinner or after you visit Disneyland!
- Most of the rides at California Adventure close earlier in the day, sometimes as early as 7 or 8, so you'll want to go over earlier in the day to make sure you get to them all. If you want to go on more rides once the fireworks are over, the lines in Disneyland will be quite a bit shorter since most people will be leaving to put the kids to bed.
Warnings
- You may get lost, so keep an eye on each other.
- Never leave your belongings unattended.
- Bring your own strollers for small children.
- It will get very chilly in the early morning and in the evening; bring warm clothing!
- If you go in the summer, bring sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses!
- Your feet will hurt, so wear a good pair of comfortable shoes.
No comments:
Post a Comment