The reopening of Disneyland has been a downright emotional experience for so many of us Disneyland faithfuls. But there are some people that worry that the return of out-of-state guests, increasing capacity limits, and the new Avengers Campus will prevent us from enjoying our time there.
On my last visit over the busy May Memorial Day weekend of this year, my family of four was able to experience 18 rides in just one day across both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure – and we weren’t really even trying!
*Note this list does not include Avengers Campus since I went before the new land was open.
Here’s what we did, in order, followed by some tips:
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Haunted Mansion
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Alice in Wonderland
- it’s a Small World
- Big Thunder Mountain
- Indiana Jones (virtual queue)
- Rise of the Resistance (boarding pass only)
LUNCH BREAK – Don’t forget to eat and hydrate!
9. Star Tours 
10. Roger Rabbit
11. Mad Tea Party
12. Mr. Toad
AFTERNOON BREAK/DINNER – Here’s how you know we weren’t trying, we spent 2 hours eating.
13. Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree
14. Toy Story Midway Mania
15. Emotional Whirlwind
16. Jumpin’ Jellyfish
17. The Little Mermaid
18. Soarin’
Maximize Your Disneyland Visit!
Now that you’ve seen what we were able to ride, here are some tips to know so you can do it (or more) as well. These tips will have you working the system like a pro.
Go Early!
This may be the single most important tip to follow. If you want any chance of getting on Space Mountain or Pirates and Haunted with less than a 20-minute wait, getting to the park no later than one hour before the published opening time (preferably 90 mins, actually) is imperative. Why? Because as crowds gather outside the parks, they will try to prevent overcrowding by letting people through security and to the gates earlier than the published opening time. For example, when we were there the parks were supposed to open at 9 AM. We got to the parks at 7:30 AM and as the crowds outside grew, Disneyland allowed people through security early and into the Esplanade. We were in Disneyland-proper walking onto Pirates by 8:20 AM! We had an extra 40 minutes of ride time before the parks were even supposed to be open.
Park Elsewhere
The Disneyland parking lot is a bit of a mess right now. They don’t open early enough and the lines are long just to get in. Research nearby hotel parking lots that may offer day-parking for Disneyland guests (The Anaheim Hotel offers a special MiceChat rate if you can get there before their lot fills up, and you can park at the nearby GardenWalk mall as well), or even consider booking a hotel room nearby so you can walk to the park in the morning. It’ll save you a lot of hassle and give you the ability to control what time you get to the parks better.
Start Strong (Morning)
If you get there early, start with the most popular rides in the park. For DCA, that means Radiator Springs, Soarin, (or the new Avengers Campus. Find out how to score a WEB SLINGERS boarding pass HERE!). At Disneyland, it’s Space Mountain, The Matterhorn, Pirates, or the revamped Haunted Mansion or Snow White. (Indiana Jones usually has a virtual queue when the parks are crowded, so make sure you join it early in the day.) You’ll have to choose what the most important rides are to you. Once you do that, you can tackle all the secondary rides after the park’s published opening time when it’s busier. Since park-hopping starts at 1 PM, you can have lunch at that time and take a break to avoid the renewed crowds, or just head back to your hotel for a couple of hours.
End Strong (Evening)
Since you can get in line for any ride literally up to one minute before the park closes, I recommend making any of the most popular rides I mentioned above your last ride of the night. For example, we’ve gotten in line for Radiator Springs Racers five minutes before the park closed and waited just 25 minutes to get on. That’s a piece of cake compared to daytime wait times that can climb up to two or more hours! Remember that as long as you get in line for a ride even one minute before they close, you won’t be turned away.
What Will Happen After June 15th?
While it’s too soon to know for sure how many extra guests Disneyland will let in, or what additional rides may be opened to meet the demand, the tips above should still serve you well. Keep in mind that Disney has already made extra park reservations available for dates in the second half of June and beyond – we’ve seen them become available and then get snapped up. But, Disney will also be able to increase ride capacity (currently capped at 50%) after the 15th of June. So it’s quite possible you might not notice the increase in guests right away.
This time last year we didn’t know when we’d be able to go back to Disneyland at all, so we were grateful to even return to this magical place Walt created. So whether you get on 4 rides or 18, the thing to remember is to never take any of it for granted. Enjoy the magic!
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Let’s Hear From You
Although things are set to change again starting June 15, there’s still a bit of time where crowds are limited and we believe the ramp up to more guests will be gradual. Do you have any tips you’ve learned since the parks reopened on April 30th? I’d love to hear your responses in the comments below.
