Hiya, pals! Okay, I’m here with all of my tips and tricks for navigating Disneyland. I took a week to process through all of the things I wanted to share. It’s a mixture of things you should be aware of before you go and also things that will make your trip easier with kiddos. Hopefully these things will help to make your trip to the happiest place on Earth just a little more magical!
These tips and tricks are a combo of my tried and true methods mixed with things we just experienced on our trip.
1. Limited capacity doesn’t feel like a “ghost town”:
Limited capacity is great for safety measures, but to be honest when were there it felt like a normal busy day at Disneyland. Not a packed day, but still busy. However, since we hadn’t been in a year for some reason it wasn’t as discouraging.
2. Lines are long but (most) move quickly:
Like I mentioned, all line queues are moved outside and markers are placed on the ground to keep 6 ft apart while you wait. As you can imagine this spacing makes the lines look INSANE. We went on a Wednesday and the longest we waited was 40 min for Space Mountain. Every other ride was between 20-30 min which really isn’t too bad! The thing that does make some rides take longer is that way they are spacing out and distancing people on the actual ride. When you can only get on party on a ride that normally seats 15 people or have to keep three rows open between rides, it naturally extends the time you wait. I think our experience was a pretty good one and I know this will change as capacity is increased and the safety measure relax. In line we sang songs, danced, played I-Spy and other fun little games, and toward the end of the day after he had missed his nap and passed his bedtime, we handed the 2 year old the phone to distract him.
3. Masks are required for 2 years and above:
For now, you must have your mask on at all times unless you are sitting in a designated area. This includes being on rides. This also means no bribing your kids with snacks while waiting in line and no strolling down Main Street munching on a churro. The designated areas got a little busy, mostly close to “meal times” close to restaurant areas. Teddy is 2 and wore his mask 85% of the time that was required. That’s just an honest guess based on the fact that he’d be in the stroller or walking ahead of us and a very kind cast member would very politely remind us to put it on for him. We all used a mask lanyard so that not masks got lost or thrown on the dirty ground and it made it so east to whip them on and off, highly recommend these ones from Ryan and Rose!
4. You need to Download the Disneyland app:
If you’re looking to get on certain rides or mobile order food (more on this next) you need the Disneyland app. You will need the app to get into the virtual queue to get onto Rise of the Resistance, the new Avengers area at DCA, and sometimes Indiana Jones. It’s also handy if you want to use the Photopass, currently cast members will not take photos with your device so if you’re looking for a shot of your whole group you’ll need to do the Photopass or find a kind stranger that will hopefully get you in focus.
5. Mobile Order Your Food Early:
You’ll want to take a look at the available restaurants and menus before your trip. Not all restaurants are open right now, and the ones that are may not be serving the whole menu. Plus some places are only mobile order, meaning you cannot wait in line and order at the window. Time slots start to fill up quickly around the typical meals times at some places so order first thing in the morning for lunch and dinner.
6. Line’s are outside, prepare for the heat!:
This is obviously only applicable in warm months, but thats about 3/4 of the year in Southern California. For some reason Disneyland always feels about 10 degrees hotter that it says on the weather app. Wear layers that you can take off when it warms up and put on when it cools off at night (and it does). Hats and sunscreen will be your best friend. We also have a battery operated fan we brought. Here’s why this is really important right now, I’d say 90% of the line queues are outside. Even rides that normally has an indoor line, everything is moved outside for social distancing and safety precautions.
7. There’s a process to get into the gates:
We were lucky enough to snag parking at a Good Neighbor hotel across the street because I had heard that Disney property parking (only Mickey & Friends/ Pixar Pals in open which is the same entrance) was hit or miss. You really can’t predict how it will go because it’s based on the amount of people showing up at one time. I’ve heard of people waiting hours to get a spot. However, I’ve also heard that they are working out the kinks (as they always do). We arrived to the pre-entrance line a little before 8 and it seemed super long. However, once it started to move we got through temp screenings and security in about 10 minutes. The gates were already open so we walked right in at around 8:40. Nothing was open but we were allowed to meander the park.
8. There is only one location for lockers:
In the esplanade to the left of the entrance gates of Disneyland is that only place to find lockers right now. They are technically outside of the parks so you can use them for your day at Disneyland or Disney California Adventure. I’ve heard that they do fill up quickly since normally there are three locker locations in total. So if you want one, grab it first thing.
9. Chat with your kids about the changes:
This was huge for us! We let our kids know all of the things that were going to be different on our trip. It was also important to us to stay positive so we made sure to put a positive spin on everything and focus on what we still could do. We talked about it a lot actually. Then we prioritized with them! This is always a great Disney tip, but especially right now. Make sure you know ahead of time which rides and experiences are most important to you or your kiddos so you don’t miss out on something that is a “must do” for you.
10. Enjoy the magic:
It is different that it used to be, but it won’t be like forever. Getting to take a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth right now is like being a part of history! Surprisingly my kids didn’t complain once about anything being different than they were used to. Despite the changes and the safety measures, we left with our cup overflowing with Disney magic!
If you’re looking for some tips on what to pack for a day at the parks, check out this blog post all about my must haves!
