Disney

[Tweety1]

So jump between 2 and 3 days is noticeable 3/4 days nothing in it. So do you think we will get around in 2 days (1park per day) factoring in SW land. Don’t want to rush but if it still comfortably doable then we can do something else with the money. Otherwise I would go with the 4 day 1 Park per day option.
WWYD? (I just read cornishfrog recommendation to night on queen Mary which would be novel but we wouldn’t do if I buy 4 day tickets)
TIA

[Disney_time]

I don't know the answer, so I am jumping on the thread with interest. We first went in 1999 with kids. As far as I remember there was only a magic kingdom and we had 5 day tickets which we bought at a desk in our hotel, which was walkable, but cant remember name, nothing fancy. The next time we went 2011, we only had MNSSHP tickets. Hoping to spend 4 or 5 days here in early Sept, just before labor day, so would also like to know what tickets to buy and where and when.

[Bad Pink Tink]

Honestly yes, 2 days and you can have an amazing time in Disneyland. You just need to plan and research.

For the first few years, I did 1 day visits with my friends. Now that I'm solo, I have done 2 and 3 days and this year I'm going to do 4 days.

There are some things which will help maximise your 2 days

1. Do open to close. Disneyland is a locals park. Discounting the new Star Wars ride which is opening in a few weeks, the first few hours in the park are the sweet spot of low crowds, low wait times. Crowds usually start to build by lunch time
2. Have a data package on your phone and buy Maxpass. This is a digital on your phone paid for version of Fastpass. You can also use the free Fastpass kiosks if you don't have a data plan on your phone.
3. If you do have a data package on your phone, add a payment card to your Disney account and use mobile ordering for quick service. I used this for the first time in June 2019, and it was such a time saver to order as I was walking to the restaurant and then by pass the queues and go straight to food pick up
4. If you plan on doing a table service restaurant, book in advance. Reservations open at 60 days in advance
5. Decide if you want to see the night time show in each park. If you do want to see the night time shows, either book a dining package or get Fastpasses.
6. If you are not going to a night time show, make sure to plan which land you are in when shows are on and go on rides. During the shows is another sweet spot for low wait times
7. Stay in the park after the Fireworks. The park clears out and ride wait times are low
8. Only buy merchandise at the end of the day , or if you know you wont be returning to that particular land. The shops on Main Street stay open 1 hour after park closing.

[Bad Pink Tink]

This is one of my June 2019 days in Disneyland, jus to give you an example of what you can achieve in 1 day.

Notes
I am solo
No Maxpass, I use the free Fastpass kiosks
The park opened at 8am and closed at midnight. I was at the entrance turnstile at 7.am and there was about 5 people in front of me, in my queue. They opened the gates at 7.45am and allowed us into Main Street and the Hub. There was a rope barrier at The Castle drawbridge. At 8am they dropped the rope and allowed us into Fantasyland.

Peter Pan
Toads Wild Ride
Checked Alice but it was closed
Dumbo
Snow White
Alice still closed
Got Fastpass from free kiosk for Indiana Jones
Pirates of The Caribbean
Haunted Mansion
Used Indiana Jones Fastpass
Pin trading with CM's in Frontierland
Got Fastpass from free kiosk for Big Thunder Mountain
Mark Twain River Boat
Pirates of The Caribbean
Checked out the Pirates shop
Used Big Thunder Mountain Fastpass
Time Check 11am
Tiki Room Show
Shopping on Main Street - Jolly Holiday to Fire Station side
Checked out The Main Street Cinema
Shopping on Main Street - Cinema to Plaza Restaurant side
Lunch reservation at 1.30pm in Carnation Cafe
Main Street Transportation Bus down to The Castle
Sleeping Beauty Castle Walk Through
Pin Trading in Royal Reception Shop in Fantasyland
Into Star Wars Galaxys Edge using Fantasyland entrance
Cantina reservation for 3pm
Shopping in Black Spire Market Place
Millennium Falcon ride x 3 times single rider - all engineer position
Food at Docking Bay
Back into Fantasyland
Casey Junior Train
Alice still closed
Into Tomorrowland
Got Fastpass at free kiosk for Buzz Lightyear
Star Tours standby walk on
Buzz lightyear Standby
Used Fastpass for Buzz Lightyear
Autopia
Full circuit of the park on the train
Shopping in Star Traders
Back onto Main Street
ART bus at 11.00pm

[Tweety1]

Originally Posted by Bad Pink Tink

This is one of my June 2019 days in Disneyland, jus to give you an example of what you can achieve in 1 day.

Notes
I am solo
No Maxpass, I use the free Fastpass kiosks
The park opened at 8am and closed at midnight. I was at the entrance turnstile at 7.am and there was about 5 people in front of me, in my queue. They opened the gates at 7.45am and allowed us into Main Street and the Hub. There was a rope barrier at The Castle drawbridge. At 8am they dropped the rope and allowed us into Fantasyland.

Peter Pan
Toads Wild Ride
Checked Alice but it was closed
Dumbo
Snow White
Alice still closed
Got Fastpass from free kiosk for Indiana Jones
Pirates of The Caribbean
Haunted Mansion
Used Indiana Jones Fastpass
Pin trading with CM's in Frontierland
Got Fastpass from free kiosk for Big Thunder Mountain
Mark Twain River Boat
Pirates of The Caribbean
Checked out the Pirates shop
Used Big Thunder Mountain Fastpass
Time Check 11am
Tiki Room Show
Shopping on Main Street - Jolly Holiday to Fire Station side
Checked out The Main Street Cinema
Shopping on Main Street - Cinema to Plaza Restaurant side
Lunch reservation at 1.30pm in Carnation Cafe
Main Street Transportation Bus down to The Castle
Sleeping Beauty Castle Walk Through
Pin Trading in Royal Reception Shop in Fantasyland
Into Star Wars Galaxys Edge using Fantasyland entrance
Cantina reservation for 3pm
Shopping in Black Spire Market Place
Millennium Falcon ride x 3 times single rider - all engineer position
Food at Docking Bay
Back into Fantasyland
Casey Junior Train
Alice still closed
Into Tomorrowland
Got Fastpass at free kiosk for Buzz Lightyear
Star Tours standby walk on
Buzz lightyear Standby
Used Fastpass for Buzz Lightyear
Autopia
Full circuit of the park on the train
Shopping in Star Traders
Back onto Main Street
ART bus at 11.00pm

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Sounds amazing
I’m just so undecided should we take the time to take in the sounds, smells and a slower pace and do 4 days or whether we should rush around do 2 days and go somewhere else but will that ruin the whole experience (likewise I don’t want to be done and thinking we need to move on). I think I try fit too many things in but I want to see everything and normally come back needing a holiday
Do they do shows every night (fireworks?). To add we love Disney DH not as much but it’s the queues he doesn’t like
The cantina how do you book this? Is this 60 days before?
Thanks for your help

[Bad Pink Tink]

Originally Posted by Tweety1

Sounds amazing
I’m just so undecided should we take the time to take in the sounds, smells and a slower pace and do 4 days or whether we should rush around do 2 days and go somewhere else but will that ruin the whole experience (likewise I don’t want to be done and thinking we need to move on). I think I try fit too many things in but I want to see everything and normally come back needing a holiday

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That sounds like me, lol. My park days are go go go, for the first few years I wasnt sure if I could make it every year and just wanted to do as much as I could. Now this year, Im going to do 4 days and take things a bit slower. Also for me, its about balancing my budget. In other years my budget would be 50% LA / Hollywood and 50% Disneyland. This year my budget is 25% LA / Hollywood and 75% Disneyland. I'm doing a lot less in LA / Hollywood so that I can have another day in Disney.

Originally Posted by Tweety1

Do they do shows every night (fireworks?).

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It depends on the time of year. I go in June which is peak time, so the shows are on every night, weather permitting.
In the Main Park, the fireworks are at The Castle at 9pm and Fantasmic is on Rivers of America at 9.30pm and 10.30pm. But those are the summer times. You can check the times for your dates on the Disneyland website

In California Advntures Park, World of Color is at 10pm.

Fantasmic and World of Color are water fountain shows, with music, animations, live action and special effects.

Originally Posted by Tweety1

To add we love Disney DH not as much but it’s the queues he doesn’t like

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Maxpass and the Disneyland App will really help you. You can see wait times on the App and use that to decide what to do next. I rarely spend more than 40 minutes in a queue.

Originally Posted by Tweety1

The cantina how do you book this? Is this 60 days before?

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Yes you need to book this 60 days out. Its a standing only bar, with a few booths. There is a time limit of 45 minutes and a maximim of 2 drinks per person. They just have a couple of bar snacks.

[Buzz242]

On our first visit there we had a 4 day pass, we actually saw everything in both parks in 2 days as we were there from opening to park close but we then enjoyed the extra two days taking everything at a slower pace. On subsequent trips we've just had two day passes. A lot will depend on the crowd levels at the time of year that you're visiting. Id definitely recommend World of Colour, it's one of our favourite shows.

[Bad Pink Tink]

Originally Posted by Buzz242

A lot will depend on the crowd levels at the time of year that you're visiting

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This is actually something important to note. Disneyland is a locals park and has a higher percentage of AP holders than Walt Disney World.

Even though the end of June, July and most of August are peak times, the crowd levels are lower, as many of the AP holders are blocked out.

American holidays like Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas, Spring Break etc have the high crowds, as the AP holders are not blocked out.

Also another thing to watch out for is end of May and start to middle of June. Disneyland has GRAD NIGHTS during this time. These are exclusive party nights, in California Adventures for final year highschool students. The students get special discount tickets and California Adventures closes early to the general public.

[400ixl]

You can do all of the main rides and shows in 2 days. But it means two long days and you won't see everything.

If doing everything and at a relaxed pace is important you will need more than 2 days. If you want to do more on your holiday and do the key parts of the parks and see the atmosphere then you can do that in 2 days.

[Tweety1]

Originally Posted by Bad Pink Tink

That sounds like me, lol. My park days are go go go, for the first few years I wasnt sure if I could make it every year and just wanted to do as much as I could. Now this year, Im going to do 4 days and take things a bit slower. Also for me, its about balancing my budget. In other years my budget would be 50% LA / Hollywood and 50% Disneyland. This year my budget is 25% LA / Hollywood and 75% Disneyland. I'm doing a lot less in LA / Hollywood so that I can have another day in Disney.



It depends on the time of year. I go in June which is peak time, so the shows are on every night, weather permitting.
In the Main Park, the fireworks are at The Castle at 9pm and Fantasmic is on Rivers of America at 9.30pm and 10.30pm. But those are the summer times. You can check the times for your dates on the Disneyland website

In California Advntures Park, World of Color is at 10pm.

Fantasmic and World of Color are water fountain shows, with music, animations, live action and special effects.


Maxpass and the Disneyland App will really help you. You can see wait times on the App and use that to decide what to do next. I rarely spend more than 40 minutes in a queue.


Yes you need to book this 60 days out. Its a standing only bar, with a few booths. There is a time limit of 45 minutes and a maximim of 2 drinks per person. They just have a couple of bar snacks.

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We are going Aug(plus it’s SW convention) but it’s go then or not at all. If i had known I would planned accordingly but can’t change my internal flights! I’ve put a post up here awhile ago and the general consensus is Anaheim will be busy but on the days of the convention the ppl should be there - not in the parks(let’s hope it’s right).
Can you book Catina on website? Is it worth it?