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The RideMax

Book of Tips for Disneyland Your guide to more magic

and less wait at Disneyland

and Disney California Adventure

by Mark Winters

Creator of RideMax for Disneyland

Planning Software Last revised August 5, 2016

WELCOME! Thanks for coming! ……………………….……….. 04

The RideMax philosophy………………………….. 05

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Seasons of the year to avoid…………………….. 07

Best seasons of the year……………….…………. 07

Best days of the week to visit each park…….. 09

Your daily rhythm (Arrive early!)...……………. 11

FastPass Tips and Tricks………………….………. 18

DISNEYLAND PARK: THE RIDEMAX WAY

Your arrival strategy…….………..………………… 24

DISNEYLAND ATTRACTION TIPS

it’s a small world…………………………………….. 28

Pirates of the Caribbean…………………..………. 29

Matterhorn Bobsleds……………………………….. 31

Splash Mountain……………………………………... 33

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters……..……….…….. 35

Indiana Jones Adventure……….………….……… 36

Peter Pan’s Flight……………………………………. 39

DISNEYLAND SHOWS AND PARADE TIPS

Fantasmic!…………………….…….………….……… 40

Disneyland Parade…………………………………... 44

Fireworks........................................................... 47

DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE PARK (DCA),

RIDEMAX STYLE DCA, the makeover…………………………………. 50

DCA arrival tips ……….……………………………. 52

DCA ATTRACTION TIPS

Radiator Springs Racers……….…………………. 54

Toy Story Midway Mania……………………….…. 59

Grizzly River Run……………………………………. 61

California Screamin’…..……………………………. 62

DCA SHOW AND PARADE TIPS

World of Color…………………………………..……. 65

Frozen – Live at the Hyperion……………….……. 71

DCA Parade…………….………………………………. 74

CONCLUSION

Now it’s time to say goodbye…………………… 76

CONTENTS

The RideMax Guide to Disneyland Copyright © 2015-2016 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

A publication of RideMax LLC Reproduction in whole or in part, in any media, is strictly prohibited.

433 Empress Lane, Chuluota, FL 32766 RideMax LLC and the author are in no way affiliated with Disneyland or the Walt Disney Corporation.

DEDICATION

For Nolan, whose curiosity and sense of fun still inspire me. I miss you, friend. For my wife, Liesle, who early in our marriage pulled me into her family’s love of Disneyland. We haven’t left since.

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WELCOME!

Thanks for Coming!

Planning a vacation at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure (which I’ll often refer to as “DCA,” for short) can be a daunting task, especially if you’re unfamiliar with some of the “tips and tricks” that can spell the difference between a great vacation and one spent needlessly standing in long lines. My approach to this book is to give you the same advice I’d give to a friend if we were visiting Disneyland together. For example, how can you spend less time in line at the Matterhorn Bobsleds? At Pirates of the Caribbean where the line splits in two, is the left or the right side faster than the other? What days of the week should I avoid visiting DCA if my goal is to avoid the crowds at the Radiator Springs Racers ride? This book answers these very specific questions, and many others. I won’t cover every single attraction or show here, but will focus on those where I think a few tips could give you an edge when it comes to saving time in line. My hope is that less time in line will translate to more magic and less wait for you. The parks are waiting, so let’s get started!

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WELCOME!

The RideMax Philosophy

“More magic. Less wait.”

These four words summarize the RideMax philosophy. It’s not that spending less time in line is the end-all answer to having a great time at Disneyland; it’s not. But at the same time, it’s hard to experience the magic of the park if you’re stuck in one long line after another.

But, you may ask, doesn’t it ruin the fun of Disneyland if I have to plan in advance? Why not just be spontaneous and have fun?

I’d argue that “spontaneously” standing in one really long line after another is not fun. So if just a little bit of planning can help avoid this, why not do it? Remember, you’re spending a lot of money to visit Disneyland. A little forethought can go a long way in helping you get the most from your investment.

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KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

06

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

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Seasons of the Year to Avoid

There are certain seasons of the year when the crowds at Disneyland can be overwhelming. And although strategically planning your day can help you dodge these crowds to some extent, if you have a choice, you might consider avoiding these dates:

The days from Christmas Day until just after New Year’s Day. These are absolutely the most crowded days of the entire year.

Thanksgiving week.

Spring break, especially the two weeks around Easter.

Fall break, especially UEA (Utah Education Association) weekend. Crowds can fluctuate from year to year depending on school schedules, but some weekends in October can see very heavy crowds.

Friday evenings. Locals holding annual passes often flock to Disneyland after work on Friday, leading to very large crowds.

President’s Day Weekend.

Best Seasons of the Year

Times of the year when you should find much lower crowds include:

Right after Labor Day in early September. Kids have just returned to school, and few are taking vacation.

January and early February, as long as you avoid Disneyland marathon weekend, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and President’s Day Week.

Early May, after spring break and before school is out.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

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Fantasyland crowds the day after Thanksgiving. The clock tower indicates it’s not quite noon, so the crowds haven’t even peaked for the day at this point. Anyone up for an hour-plus wait for a two-minute ride on Peter Pan?

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

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Best Days of the Week to Visit Each Park

Along with choosing the season of the year, choosing which park to visit on a given day of the week – Disneyland or Disney California Adventure – can also impact how much you wait in line.

Disney hosts an early admission program for both parks. At the Disneyland park, this is known as “Magic Morning,” and it allows guests staying at the Disney-owned hotels, as well as park-hopper “bonus” ticketholders, to enter one hour before the normal opening time on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Disney California Adventure (DCA) allows guests staying at Disney’s hotels to enter one hour early on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, and this program is referred to as “Extra Magic Hour.” (I’ll be referring to both of these programs as “early admission” through the remainder of the book.) I need to stress that park-hopper bonus ticketholders do not get early admission access to DCA. Only guests staying at Disney-owned hotels do.

As I’ll explain in the next section, arriving in time to be among the first to enter the park is important if you wish to visit certain high-demand attractions. The problem is that on the days of the week listed above, the park hosting early admission will begin the day with crowds already present. As such, unless you have early admission privileges yourself, I strongly recommend avoiding the park hosting early admission on that day of the week.

To avoid crowds at opening time, visit Disneyland on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Sunday.

Visit DCA on Tuesday, Thursday,

or Saturday.

It’s possible to visit Radiator Springs Racers with few crowds in front of you, but to pull it off you need to visit DCA on a Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday. The exception is if you are staying at a Disney-owned hotel and have early admission access the other days of the week. Oh, and you need to arrive early too!

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KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Your Daily Rhythm

In my opinion, an ideal day at Disneyland has a certain “rhythm” to it.

I strongly encourage you to consider adopting this rhythm, as it allows you to make the most of your time in the parks, while at the same time giving you some important “down time” so that you’re not completely exhausted by the end of your trip. (And this is doubly important if you’re traveling with young children!)

This rhythm involves:

Arriving at the park early, well before opening time

Eating breakfast before entering the park

Taking an early lunch

Enjoying an afternoon break back at the hotel

Returning to the park for the evening entertainment

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A good daily rhythm can help you enjoy the beautiful evenings at Disneyland without the tired kids.

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KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Your Daily Rhythm: Arrive Early!

It’s hard to overstate how important arriving early is to beating the crowds at Disneyland. And by “early,” I mean arriving at the parking structure one hour before the park opens for the day.

There are two main reasons for the “arrive early” mantra. First, there are some attractions where the only time of the day you’ll find a short line is right after the park opens (one great example is Peter Pan in Fantasyland).

The second, perhaps less obvious reason to arrive early is that it allows you to take better advantage of Disney’s FastPass system. I’ll discuss more details about FastPass later, but for now, just know that when the park first opens, the FastPass “return time” (the time at which you can use the FastPass) is just 40 minutes away for the vast majority of attractions. And (this is key) it is also the time at which you can obtain your next FastPass. Contrast this with later in the day, where it could be two hours before you are allowed to obtain your next FastPass, and worse, some attractions will be “sold out” of FastPass for the rest of the day, forcing you to wait in a long line if you wish to ride at all.

So, do what you have to and drag yourself out of bed so that you arrive on time! You’ll be glad you did!

Plan to arrive at the Disneyland parking structure one hour before the park opens for the day.

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The only time of day you can visit some attractions without a wait is right after park opening, as in this scene from a Friday morning in May.

Seconds after this picture was taken, crowds filled the view as they made their way into Fantasyland.

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KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Your Daily Rhythm: Eat Breakfast Before Entering the Park

Because the early morning hours in the park are so precious in terms of minimizing your wait time, why not grab a bite to eat before you enter the park, so that you don’t waste this valuable early morning time standing in line for food? Even a quick muffin and a glass of milk at the hotel, or a snack while standing in line waiting for the park to open, can go a long way toward keeping you out of those lines for breakfast!

The line that begins on the right isn’t for Pirates of the Caribbean, it’s the line for breakfast at the River Belle Terrace, shortly after opening on a busy holiday weekend. Eat something before coming to the park and avoid this mess!

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KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Your Daily Rhythm: Early Lunch, Afternoon Break

If you follow my advice and arrive early to get a jump on the crowds, you’ll probably be ready for lunch earlier than normal as well. In fact, on busier days when the park opens early at 8:00am, if you’re like me, you’ll be hungry well before noon.

Because the lines for lunch can get really long the closer you get to noon, I recommend taking an early lunch. On days when the park opens at 8:00am, an 11:30am lunchtime would be just about right. So if you’re using RideMax to plan your day, just insert a “break” at your favorite Disneyland restaurant for 11:30am, and you should be set.

If you use RideMax to plan your day, you may find that it leaves you with a large block of “free time” during the afternoon hours. This is because this is the time of day when the park is most crowded.

To leave yourself – and especially your children – refreshed and ready for the evening entertainment, I recommend taking a nice long break back at the hotel during the busy afternoon hours, especially if you’re doing a multi-day visit. You won’t get a whole lot done during this time anyway, so why push yourself to the point of exhaustion just for another visit to the Tiki Room?

Sometimes less really is more!

Eating lunch early will help you avoid the long lines for food.

Taking a break at the hotel in the afternoon will leave you rested and ready for the evening entertainment.

Your Daily Rhythm: Evening Entertainment

On days when Disneyland is busy, the parks will normally host several evening shows, which makes it worth returning to the park in the evening.

Nighttime shows include Fantasmic!, the Disneyland Fireworks, and the World of Color show, which plays at DCA. The new Cars Land area also comes alive with neon lights at night, making this a “don’t miss” activity!

Note that although you can often find shorter lines for some attractions in the evening, the morning hours are still better overall for visiting the rides. The line for Radiator Springs Racers, for example, can still be very long right up until closing time.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

The streets of the new Cars Land come alive with neon lights at night!

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The World of Color show at DCA is an impressive sight – one that makes it worthwhile to return to the park in the evening!

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KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

FastPass Tips and Tricks – The Basics

Before getting into some of the FastPass “tricks,” let me first explain the basics. Disney’s FastPass system is an advance reservation system, free to all guests, which allows you to reserve a one-hour time slot when you can ride an attraction with minimal waiting. You go to the attraction you wish to visit later, insert your park ticket into one of the nearby FastPass machines, and then receive a FastPass ticket with a one-hour window printed on it, which indicates the time for which the FastPass ticket is valid.

As you can imagine, there are some restrictions on how often you can obtain a FastPass. Once you’ve obtained one FastPass, you can’t get another one until either the “ride window” for the first FastPass has arrived, or until two hours have elapsed, whichever comes first. As I mentioned earlier, first thing in the morning, the FastPass “return windows” for most attractions are just 40 minutes away, so this is the earliest time at which you can both use your first FastPass and obtain your next one.

An important point is that you don’t have to actually use the first FastPass before obtaining the second one. You just have to wait until the appropriate amount of time has elapsed, as described above.

A FastPass machine. Put your park ticket in the top slot, receive your FastPass below.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

FastPass Tips and Tricks – The Basics (continued)

To get the most from the FastPass system, I recommend arriving early, getting your first FastPass soon after entering the park, and keeping your eye on the clock so that you know exactly when you can get your next one.

Note that FastPasses for some attractions can “sell out” early in the day, so if you arrive by mid-afternoon, you may find that you’re unable to obtain FastPasses for some popular rides. Those in high demand include especially Radiator Springs Racers in DCA, along with Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, and Splash Mountain in Disneyland. So if you want to visit any of these with FastPass, it’s best to arrive early, especially if you’re visiting on a day when the park is busy.

FastPass tickets are tied to your park admission ticket, so you’ll need to have your entire group’s tickets with you if you’re obtaining FastPasses for your group. Also note that the system keeps track of whether an admission ticket has been used at the park entrance turnstiles, so everyone in your group will need to have entered the park before their tickets can be used to obtain FastPasses. (I mention this so that you don’t try to send one member of your group over to the park in the morning from the hotel trying to get FastPasses for everyone. This won’t work.)

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To get the most from the FastPass system, plan to arrive early, get your first FastPass soon after arriving, and get subsequent FastPasses as soon as Disney’s system allows.

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KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

FastPass Tips and Tricks – The Tricks

One major FastPass “trick” to be aware of is that there are several attractions for which you are allowed to hold FastPasses even if you recently obtained another one elsewhere. These attractions include:

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters Fantasmic! Character Close-up at Disney Animation (meet Anna & Elsa) World of Color

Even though Disney doesn’t widely publish this fact, it’s a great tip to know, since it allows you to get more FastPasses than you otherwise might think possible.

Due to this loophole, you could enter Disneyland and potentially get three FastPasses right away – one for Buzz Lightyear, one for Fantasmic!, and yet a third one for any other FastPass attraction in the park – Space Mountain, for example. You can obtain these in any order, without waiting the normal two hours (or until the ride window for the previous FastPass has arrived) before getting the next one in the sequence.

A FastPass ticket to Disneyland’s Fantasmic! show. You can get this FastPass even if you just obtained another one elsewhere.

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KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

FastPass Tips and Tricks – The Tricks (continued)

It’s important to know that the FastPass systems for the two parks – Disneyland and DCA – are mostly “disconnected” from one another. This allows you to get a FastPass for Disneyland even if you just obtained another one at DCA, and vice-versa.

I say the systems are “mostly” disconnected from each other, because as long as you’ve had your admission ticket scanned at the front gate of at least one of the parks, you can obtain FastPasses with that ticket at both parks. This means that once everyone in your group has entered one park, you can send a “runner” over to the other park and obtain FastPasses for your entire group if you wish. Just make sure the “runner” takes the entire group’s admission tickets along when hopping over to the other park.

You can get FastPasses for both parks, as long as your group’s admission tickets have been scanned at the front turnstiles for at least one park.

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KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

FastPass Tips and Tricks – FastPass Priorities

It’s important to know that FastPasses for some attractions can “sell out” more quickly than they do for other attractions. As a result, you’ll want to obtain the more popular FastPasses early in the day.

At Disneyland, the FastPass priorities are in the order shown here:

Space Mountain Fantasmic! Indiana Jones Adventure Splash Mountain (during warm weather) Star Tours

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Buzz Lightyear Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin Autopia

At DCA, FastPass priorities are:

Radiator Springs Racers (these can sell out very early!) World of Color Soarin’ Over California Grizzly River Run (during warm weather)

Tower of Terror California Screamin’ Goofy’s Sky School

A display near the FastPass machines shows the one-hour window during which you can use your FastPass tickets if you get them now.


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Your Arrival Strategy

I’ve already mentioned how important it is to arrive early at the park, as this gives you a nice jump on the crowds, as well as maximum access to FastPass.

If you’re driving to Disneyland, you should know that the parking structure generally opens one hour before the scheduled park opening time, and this is also the time I recommend arriving on the non-early-admission days of the week -- Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

If you think one hour early is too early, remember, you’ll likely have to wait in a line of cars just to get into the parking structure, and from there you’ll need to walk from your car to the tram, ride the tram to the drop-off location just outside the park, and finally, you’ll need to pass through a bag-check security point before you can finally make your way to the park gates. This can easily eat up a half-hour or so, placing you at the front turnstiles 30 minutes before opening time, which should work nicely on most days of the year.

Should you arrive slightly later than this, you may consider dropping off your entire group at the drop-off point located just outside the park, at approximately 1569 South Harbor Boulevard. The group can wait at the front gates and save a place in line for the driver, while he or she parks the car.

Consider dropping off your group just outside the park on Harbor Boulevard, while the driver parks the car.

Your Arrival Strategy (continued)

So, what if you simply can’t avoid visiting the park on an early admission day, but you don’t have access to early admission yourself?

In these cases, I suggest lining up behind the turnstile just next to the Magic Morning entrance.

On most early admission days (again, this is called “Magic Morning” at Disneyland), just a few minutes before the park opens to regular guests, a Disneyland Cast Member will switch over the “Magic Morning” sign above the entrance to allow all guests to enter through that turnstile instead.

As soon as the switch is made, you should hop over to the front of this newly-formed line.

You can see what this will look like on the following page.

A Cast Member will normally switch over the Magic Morning gate to a “regular” gate just before opening time. Here he is beginning the move.

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The change to a regular entry gate is complete. Feel free to move over to this line when you see this!


Your Arrival Strategy (continued)

One key to making this tip work in your favor is to scoot over to the newly-designated entry gate as soon as you see the word “Entrance” appear above it.

You can bet that other guests will quickly notice the change, so the sooner you move, the closer you’ll be to the front of this newly-formed line.

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RIDEMAX TIPS FOR DISNEYLAND

In this section of the book I want share with you some of my very favorite little tricks for saving time in line on several of Disneyland’s attractions.

While there is no substitute for arriving early at the park and making good use of FastPass (see the preceding pages), the tips on the following pages can also help you save time in line, and in some cases, allow you to have more fun too.

Let’s get started!

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it’s a small world

To save time in line on it’s a small world, if you get to a point in the queue where the line separates in two, stay to the right.

Staying to the right will lead you to the boarding area in back, near the attraction building itself. The line leading to the front side can be interrupted by wheelchair guests boarding the attraction, causing longer waits.

Don’t follow this family! Stay to the right-hand side where the line splits in two and save time in line on “it’s a small world.”



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Pirates of the Caribbean

There are two tricks to reducing your wait for Pirates of the Caribbean.

The first is to wait and visit the ride in the evening. By around 7:00pm, it’s very common to find that the line has died down substantially. The ride has such a huge hourly capacity that those who wait until evening are often rewarded with a short wait. (This is also the reason many RideMax plans have Pirates scheduled for the evening hours.)

The second tip is to stay to the right if you get to a point where the line splits in two. Although not visible from the front of the queue, the left-side line often snakes around to the side of the ride building, causing a much longer wait for those unlucky enough to choose this option.

These poor folks chose the left line instead of the right one, resulting a long detour around the side of the Pirates ride building.

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Often, the line for Pirates will separate into left and right sides near the attraction entrance, as shown here. Remember, don’t follow these folks. Stay to the right when the line separates.


Matterhorn Bobsleds

Since the Matterhorn doesn’t offer FastPass, it has traditionally been very hard to ride this with minimal waiting if you don’t visit it first thing in the morning.

One relatively new way to beat the crowds here is to use the Single Rider line. This option is available to guests who are willing to be separated from the rest of their group and ride in separate bobsleds, and can result in little or no waiting.

Look for the single rider entrance in front of the small building covering the boarding area, as shown on the following page.

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Use the Single Rider line to beat the crowds at the Matterhorn Bobsleds.

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Look for this “Single Rider” sign near the Matterhorn boarding area.


Splash Mountain

There are three ways to reduce your wait for Splash Mountain:

Ride early in the day, when the weather is still cool. (This picture was taken shortly after 8:30am on a June weekday.)

Use FastPass.

Use the Single Rider line.

Since the Single Rider line is probably the least understood of the three options, I’ll explain how to use it – it’s simple!

First, go to directly up to the Disney Cast Member staffing the entrance and ask for a “single rider pass.”

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Once you’ve obtained your single rider pass from the Cast Member at the building entrance, head toward the exit area at the back of the building, and proceed through the exit door shown here. A Disneyland employee in the ride unloading area will take your pass and direct you to the (very short) waiting area for single riders.

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Buzz Lightyear Astro-Blasters

This isn’t so much a time-saving tip, as it is a strategy one.

To make a higher score on Buzz Lightyear, be aware that triangle-shaped targets are worth the most points, followed by diamonds, squares, and finally circles. When the bright light outlining a target is lit up, that target is worth even more points.

For a really high score, hit the very small dark circle target located in the vertical groove that runs between Zurg’s breastplates.

Look closely at the picture on the left and you can see the dark spot between Zurg’s breastplates. Hit this target for 50,000 points!


Indana Jones Adventure

Besides using FastPass, there are two ways to reduce your wait at Indiana Jones Adventure. The first is to visit early in the day, before guests holding FastPasses return to visit. You don’t have to rush here first thing, thanks to the ride’s huge hourly capacity, but if you visit within the first hour or so the park is open, you should do well.

The second method to reduce your wait is to use the Single Rider line. I’ll describe this further on the next page.

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To use the Single Rider option for Indiana Jones Adventure, first ask the Disneyland Cast Member standing near this sign at the attraction entrance for a “Single Rider Pass.”

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Once you’ve obtained your Single Rider pass, simply take it through the ride’s exit and follow the directions given you by the Disneyland Cast Members. You’ll be on the ride with very little wait.

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Peter Pan’s Flight

Even though Peter Pan’s Flight is very old (it was running the day Disneyland originally opened in 1955), it still remains very popular today. In fact, due to its popularity and the fact that this attraction has a very limited hourly capacity, the line for this seemingly innocent little dark ride can grow very long within just a few seconds after Disneyland opens for the day.

For these reasons, my advice – if you must visit this ride at all – is to do it first thing in the morning after the park opens for the day, or to save it until just before the park closes, as your last ride of the day. (Lines just before closing can still be fairly long, but at least you won’t be wasting your precious early morning time trying to ride this.)

Just know that if you’re visiting first thing in the morning, you could be in for a bit of a footrace. So make your way here as quickly as you can (but safely!) just as soon as Disney allows guests into the park.

Note that if you’re visiting first thing in the morning, you’ll need to do this on a day when Disneyland isn’t hosting early admission, unless you have access to early admission yourself. That is, you’ll need to visit Peter Pan’s Flight first thing on a Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, or Friday.

Visit Peter Pan’s Flight right after the park opens for the day on a Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, or Friday.


DISNEYLAND SHOWS AND PARADE

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Fantasmic!

(NOTE: Fantasmic! has closed, at least temporarily, to accommodate construction of the new Star Wars area coming to Disneyland in the near future. As such, you can ignore this section, at least for now. I keep it here for future reference.)

Since late 2014, the best way to view Fantasmic! is with a FastPass. Just follow the signs to the FastPass machines, which are located on the trail behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad:

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Fantasmic! (cont.)

For the best view of the show, I recommend getting your FastPass as early in the day as possible. You don’t need to do it absolutely first thing in the morning, especially if you plan to visit something with a quickly-increasing wait time first, such as Peter Pan. The earlier you get the FastPass the better, however.

Note that FastPasses are color-coded: Yellow, Green, and Blue. These each correspond to a different viewing area, and this is also the order in which the FastPasses are dispensed, with Yellow tickets given out first, followed by Green, and then Blue.

My opinion is that the Yellow tickets offer the best view of the show, and these are also given out first in the day.

Yellow FastPasses offer the best view of Fantasmic!

Get your FastPass for Fantasmic! as early in the day as possible. Yellow FastPasses sell out early in the day and offer the best view of the show.

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Fantasmic! (cont.)

Note that the Fantasmic! FastPass machines are “disconnected” from the rest of the FastPass network, so you may hold this FastPass simultaneously with other FastPasses you need to get, including those shown on any RideMax plan.

If you don’t or can’t arrive early to get that FastPass ticket, don’t despair – there are a limited number of “standby” viewing locations available, which don’t require a FastPass ticket. If you go this route, you should find lower crowds in the standby area located directly in front of the Haunted Mansion entrance. I’ve seen this area to be much less crowded than the standby area located over closer to the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and large-boat loading dock area. Whether using FastPass or viewing from the standby area, I recommend arriving about 1 hour and fifteen minutes before showtime. I also recommend entering the show area from Frontierland, rather than coming in from Adventureland.

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Disneyland Parades

The picture to the right is of a restroom door. It’s located across the street from the Matterhorn, just around the corner from the Alice in Wonderland ride.

Why do I show you this picture? It’s because out in front of the Kings and Queens Restrooms, near the edge of the street, is my favorite location for viewing the Disneyland parades, including the new Paint the Night parade.

You may need to arrive 40 minutes before the parade starts to secure a spot here, or even earlier on holidays, but this location offers several important advantages:

First, it’s not as popular as locations along Main Street, so there tends to be fewer crowds here. It’s also isolated from the rest of the parade route, so once the parade begins, you won’t have anyone trying to crowd in with you.

Second, guests are not allowed to sit on the opposite side of the street here, and this is a huge advantage. This means that as the parade characters pass by, they’ll be able to focus their attention on your side of the street.

Finally, the road really narrows in this location. This provides ample opportunities for some close-up encounters with the parade characters.

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Photo by Jerry Winters

My favorite parade spot: Sit on the brick pavers between the two trees, right on the border where the bricks meet the street, as highlighted here.

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Notice that all three princesses are waving in our direction, because nobody is watching the parade from across the street. A great advantage of this parade viewing location!


Disneyland Fireworks Show

Though the Disneyland fireworks show has changed names and details over the years, my preferred viewing spot for the fireworks remains unchanged.

For an excellent view of the fireworks, I recommend standing in the middle of Main Street, at the end of the shops closest to the castle, between Refreshment Corner and the Main Street Photo Supply Co.

I say stand in the middle of the street, but I really prefer the view from just slightly to the right of the center of the street, as you face the castle.

So, if you stand in the middle of the street between these two stores, face the castle, then take about two steps to the right, you should be in the sweet spot for a great view of the fireworks.

For a great view of Disneyland’s fireworks, stand in the middle of Main Street between Refreshment Corner and the Main Street Photo Supply Co., face the castle, and then move about two steps to your right.

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For a great view of the fireworks, stand in the location highlighted in yellow below.

DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE, RIDEMAX STYLE

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DCA, RIDEMAX STYLE

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DCA: The Makeover

With a major re-theming and the addition of Cars Land to Disney California Adventure (DCA) in 2012, DCA has become one of my favorite Disney theme parks. Before this change, much of DCA came across as a sort of cheap carnival-like place, but now I enjoy just wandering the park and taking in the ambiance, especially in the richly-themed area near the Carthay Circle Theater, and in the new Cars Land area itself. Cars Land is especially nice in the evening, when it’s aglow with all the neon lights.

My point is that if you used to brush off DCA as uninteresting, but haven’t been to DCA since 2012, I’d encourage you to give it a second look. You might find yourself as I have – pleasantly surprised with the new changes.

If you haven’t been to DCA since its 2012 makeover and the addition of Cars Land, I strongly encourage you to give it a second look.

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The newly themed “central hub” area in front of the Carthay Circle Restaurant brings a huge touch of class to DCA.

DCA, RIDEMAX STYLE

DCA Arrival Tips

All of the arrival tips listed earlier in this book for Disneyland also apply to DCA. Those tips are listed starting on page 24, so I won’t bother to repeat them here. Just because I’m not repeating them doesn’t mean they’re not important, though. You should pay careful attention to those tips, as well as the suggestions in the “Know Before You Go” section of the book, for advice on when to arrive, which day of the week to visit, etc.

The one additional tip to keep in mind for DCA is that once you’re through the turnstiles (assuming you’ve arrived before the park opens for the day), if your first attraction is Radiator Springs Racers, you’ll want to position yourself as close as possible to the rope holding guests back from Cars Land.

Follow the arrival tips for Disneyland listed earlier in the book if you’re visiting DCA.

In addition, if you’re visiting Radiator Springs Racers first, line up close to the rope holding guests back from Cars Land after you enter the park.

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DCA ATTRACTION TIPS

DCA ATTRACTION TIPS

Radiator Springs Racers

As the newest thrill ride at DCA, this one may be the trickiest to visit without a wait, and there are three basic approaches to minimizing the time you spend in line here: You can visit first thing in the morning with some strategic positioning (on a non-early-admission day), you can use FastPass, or you can use the Single Rider queue. I’ll explain each of these in detail in the next few pages.

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Riding Radiator Springs Racers without a wait generally involves one of three approaches: Ride first thing in the morning on a non-early-admission day, use FastPass, or use the Single Rider line.

DCA ATTRACTION TIPS

Radiator Springs Racers Strategy #1: Visit First Thing on a Non-Early-Admission Day

The first technique you should consider for visiting Radiator Springs Racers (RSR) with minimal wait is to visit first thing in the morning, on a non-early-admission day, that is, on a Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday. If you’re visiting on another day of the week but aren’t staying at a Disney-owned hotel (and thus won’t have access to early admission yourself), feel free to skip ahead to the next strategy, as this one simply won’t work on a day when Disney’s hotel guests are already in the park when the official opening time rolls around.

For this technique to work, you’ll need to arrive at the parking lot at least one hour before the park opens, or arrive at the front turnstiles at least 40 minutes before opening time.

Disney will typically allow guests through the ticket turnstiles about 30 minutes before opening time, at which point guests will be held behind a rope which blocks access to the attraction areas of the park. Wait as close to the front of the rope as possible, then walk quickly to the attraction entrance once you’re allowed to do so.

First Strategy for RSR: Visit first thing in the morning on a Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday. Arrive at the front gates at least 40 minutes before opening time.

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I can’t promise that if you arrive early and walk quickly that you’ll end up the very first in line, as I did here, but you shouldn’t find yourself too far back if you’ve done this successfully.

DCA ATTRACTION TIPS

Radiator Springs Racers Strategy #2: Use FastPass

The second option for visiting Radiator Springs Racers with minimal wait is to use FastPass. The only catch here is that FastPass for this attraction can "run out" VERY early in the day, so if you're arriving later in the day, this most likely won't be an option for you.

An example of a Radiator Springs Racers FastPass ticket is shown in the picture on the right. Even though this ticket was from a not-terribly-busy Thursday in late February, the return time on the ticket is already 4:25pm, and this ticket was obtained less than an hour after the park had opened in the morning.

In this example, it’s likely that all the FastPasses for the day would be gone within another hour or so after this ticket was obtained. So obtaining that FastPass ticket early is key.

A FastPass ticket for Radiator Springs Racers. If you plan to use FastPass for this attraction, make sure you get your FastPass ticket early in the day!

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DCA ATTRACTION TIPS

Radiator Springs Racers Strategy #3: Use the Single Rider Line

The third and final suggestion for visiting Radiator Springs Racers with minimal wait is to use the Single Rider line.

You can see the entrance for the Single Rider line in the picture on the right. It’s positioned just to the left of the main attraction entrance.

Using the Single Rider line means that your party will normally ride in separate cars from one another, but you may find yourself lucky enough to “race” against another member of your group, adding to the fun of this attraction.

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DCA ATTRACTION TIPS

Toy Story Midway Mania

Toy Story Midway Mania is a very popular attraction that doesn’t offer FastPass. Due to its limited hourly capacity, the best way to visit this without a substantial wait is to ride early in the morning. There isn’t quite the rush for this as there is for Radiator Springs Racers, but if you can visit this within the first twenty minutes or so that the park is open on a non-early-entry day, you’ll be doing yourself a favor.

Visit Toy Story Midway Mania early in the day to avoid a long wait.

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At least Disney is nice enough to provide shade umbrellas over the Toy Story Midway Mania queue. But you can avoid this line altogether by visiting the attraction earlier in the day.

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DCA ATTRACTION TIPS

Grizzly River Run

For those familiar with Grizzly River Run, you know that you can get absolutely soaked on this attraction. Because of this, lines for the ride will tend to be much lower in the early morning, the late evening, or anytime during very cool seasons of the year.

If you’re visiting during the summer or other busy season, another alternative to reduce your time in line is to (you guessed it) use the Single Rider line.

Look for the Single Rider entrance, pictured here, just to the right of the main attraction entrance. Just ask the Disney Cast Member staffing the entrance for a Single Rider Pass, and go from there.

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DCA ATTRACTION TIPS

California Screamin’

Another attraction with a separate Single Rider entrance is the California Screamin’ roller coaster ride. Look for the Single Rider sign posted along the side of the pier outside of the attraction.

California Screamin’, ready for launch!

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You may find this sign directing you to the Single Rider entrance on the main walkway in front of the attraction, but don’t always count on it. Just look for a gate recessed from the walkway marked “Exit,” head on in, and ask a Cast Member to direct you to the Single Rider line.

DCA SHOWS AND PARADE

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World of Color

World of Color is a dazzling water- and color-filled show, complete with lasers and projection effects, which I highly recommend. It takes place after dark on the waters of Paradise Pier, and Disney has set aside a special terraced viewing area reserved for guests wishing to view this show. All of these viewing areas are standing-only, with exceptions for guests in wheelchairs.

You may obtain a spot for viewing World of Color in one of two ways, either with a FastPass ticket, or by purchasing a special World of Color and dining combination package. I’ll mostly focus on the FastPass ticket option here, but if you’re interested in purchasing the dining package, a Google search for “World of Color dining package” should lead you to Disney’s website, where you can view the various options, including the current list of participating restaurants and pricing.

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World of Color – Using FastPass

There are two different color-coded FastPasses that are issued for World of Color: Yellow and Blue. Each corresponds to a different viewing area for the show. FastPass machines for World of Color are located in front of the Grizzly River Run attraction.

I prefer the Yellow FastPass area, because it gives you access to views of the show which are closer to the front and center (see the next page for more detail). Yellow FastPasses are given out beginning first thing in the morning until they run out, followed by the Blue FastPasses. If you wish to obtain a Yellow FastPass for the early show, on a normal summer day I recommend obtaining your FastPass before 11:00am. (You'd want to get them earlier than this during a busy season of the year, such as during the Christmas season, spring break, or 4th of July week.)

I should emphasize that you don’t need to rush to the World of Color FastPass area first thing in the morning, as there are likely higher priority attractions you’ll want to visit first, while the lines are still relatively short. Heading over soon after the first hour or so the park is open should normally work just fine.

Use the Yellow FastPass viewing area for World of Color.

Yellow FastPasses are issued starting first thing in the morning, followed by Blue.

Get your yellow FastPasses by 11:00am, before they run out for the day.

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World of Color – Recommended Viewing Area

Although there are several good views of the show from within the terraced viewing area, my favorite spot is down on the wooden deck area, right next to the water. In my opinion, the view here is MUCH better than it is from the terraced cement area behind it. If you can work your way to a spot highlighted in yellow in the picture below, just behind the life preserver, this is ideal, as it provides a center-line view of the show:

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Often the spot right behind the life preserver, pointed to by the orange arrow in this picture, is reserved for dinner package guests. If you can’t get a spot directly behind that life preserver, the wooden deck area highlighted in green here also provides a great view of the show. Because the show is standing-only (no sitting), you’re also better off being right in front at the railing, even if you have to move over into this green area, than you are standing behind someone else at the life preserver. And if you can’t or don’t want to view the show from the wooden deck at all, you should try to secure a spot at one of the railings in the terraced area behind.

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World of Color – Getting Into Position

I should mention here that despite the great view of the show, the one drawback of standing on the deck is that you stand a good chance of getting wet. This is especially true if the wind is blowing toward you as you face the show. If this is a concern, you may want to buy a cheap poncho, just for some extra insurance against getting wet.

If you’ve succeeded in obtaining that Yellow FastPass ticket, you’ll be entering the show on the far right-hand side of the viewing area, just next to the Golden Zephyr ride entrance. My advice is to line up here about 20 minutes before the earliest time shown on your FastPass ticket, just to help give you a jump on the crowds as you enter.

Sometimes, finding your way to the wooden deck area can be a bit tricky. The thing you might not notice unless you’re careful, is that the show area splits in two right after your enter the viewing area, at the very rear of the viewing terrace. Look for this split right after you enter the show area, and stay to the right at the split, placing yourself on the wooden walkway. Follow this long walkway on the boardwalk as far as you can, until you reach as close to the center viewing area as possible (i.e., near the life preserver shown on the previous pages).

Make a hard right-hand turn immediately after you enter the World of Color show area near the Golden Zephyr. This will put you on the wooden deck, leading to a great view of the show.

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Notice the large light pole base at the left edge of this picture, as well as this metal railing that separates the wooden deck on the right from the rest of the viewing area. Stay to the right of the light pole as you enter the viewing area, and follow the wooden deck toward the center of the show.

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Frozen – Live at the Hyperion

The Frozen stage show is really well done, and one I highly recommend seeing. Note that the show recaps most of the movie itself, and runs a little over an hour long.


Frozen – Live at the Hyperion (cont.)

I recommend FastPass tickets for this show. These are distributed beginning right after the park opens, from ticket dispensers located near the theater. Get your tickets within three hours of park opening, and get tickets for either the Orchestra or Mezzanine levels, while avoiding the Balcony section. If the machines are dispensing Balcony tickets when you arrive, I recommend waiting until they “rollover” to the next show, and getting Orchestra tickets instead.

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Frozen – Live at the Hyperion (cont.)

You’ll enter the theater from stage left, so that side of the theater tends to fill up faster, as you can see in the pictures below. Because of this, I recommend walking over to the far side of the auditorium after you enter, as you’re more likely to find a better seat approaching it from the far side, rather than just following the crowd.

Because the audience enters the seating area from stage left, that side of the hall tends to fill faster.

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DCA Parade

I’ll wrap up with a brief comment on the DCA parade.

My feeling is that when DCA was originally planned and implemented in “Phase 1.0,” Disney did many things wrong. They’ve since fixed many of these problems with the 2012 update to the park.

One thing Disney did do well when the park was originally built was to install a very wide walkway which runs through the park. This walkway is ideally suited for parades.

Because the walkway works so well, I have to confess that I don’t really have a favorite spot for the DCA parade, as I do for Disneyland’s parade. Good views can be had along most of the parade route. I enjoy the view from somewhere close to the Bug’s Land entrance, but not so much that I strongly favor that location over other spots along the route. My advice is if you find a spot along the route with an unobstructed view, just grab it.

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CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

Now It’s Time to Say Goodbye…

I still remember the very first time I visited Disneyland as a teenager, and how amazing I thought the whole place was. “Magic” comes pretty close to describing my sense of wonder, as I experienced those pirates and ghosts for the very first time.

Now that I’ve visited Disneyland so many times that I’ve lost count, I still find it a remarkable place. That Walt Disney could create a place so magical some sixty years ago that it still holds a special place in the hearts of so many, including myself, is truly amazing.

Thank you, Walt.

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