Disneyland Resort: My Trip Update for January 27th – 30th

[YodaRulz]

Hey everyone!

I was in LA for work the first week of February, so I flew in a few days early to do Disney for 2.5 days. I wanted to post my experience earlier, but it’s been a busy month. I was there Friday, Jan. 27th - Monday, Jan. 30th for the 100th celebration kicked off, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad opening, and Lunar New Year had just kicked off the week before.

A few things to note:

• I booked my trip as a vacation package at the Grand California that included my tickets, park hopper, and G+. I did early entry and used LL and $LL to make the most of my day.
• I did check-in via the Disneyland App the Monday before my trip so I could go straight to my room.
• I had a friend who lives in LA join me Friday & Sunday, but Saturday I did the parks solo.
• I was at Disneyland in August, so you will see some rides I didn't do and skipped since they were not priority for me this round
• Indiana Jones and Grizzly River Run were closed for refurb and Haunted Mansion still had the holiday overlay.
• I brought a water bottle in my backpack that I refilled as needed and some snacks so I wouldn’t have to stop every time I was hungry.
• For LL and $LL most of the times were available for return pretty fast (max 40min). The only time this wasn’t the case was Sunday evening.

I’ll post each day as a separate post below with a breakdown of the rides, time of day, and wait times. I tried to keep up with what I did as much as possible as I went so I could give you an idea/estimation of what you can accomplish in 2.5 days. I will say I was very fortunate and didn't see a lot of rides go down that interfered with what I had planned.

 

[YodaRulz]

Friday: January 27, 2023

• 11:45am - landed at John Wayne Airport (Santa Ana - SNA) from redeye east coast flight.
• 12:15pm - grabbed bags (priority on AA) and booked Uber Black.
  • Uber Black will pick you up at baggage and you do not have to walk to the ride share area.
  • It was definitely worth a little extra for me to do this.
  • Cost was $75 with a 3min wait and I got a black suburban.
  • Regular rideshare were ~15min wait and running $40-$50.
• 12:30pm - on my way to the hotel and received notification via the Disneyland App that my room was ready early (normal check in is 3pm).
• 1:00pm - dropped off at hotel just after 1pm and went straight to my room using the App as my door key.
• 2:00pm - met friend in lobby and we headed to Disneyland. There was no wait for security into Downtown Disney or the park.
• 2:20pm - 3:00pm - Finding Nemo 15min wait
• 3:00pm - 4:15pm did the following:
  • Haunted Mansion standby (10min wait)
  • Rise of the Resistance $LL was a walk on (standby 85min)
  • Millennium Falcon LL was a walk on (standby 45min)
• 4:15pm - Ate late lunch at Ronto Roasters (Ronto-less wrap and Tatooine Sunset)
• 4:45pm - 6:30pm did the following:
  • Thunder Railroad LL 5min wait (standby 55min)
  • Pirates of Caribbean 10min wait
  • Star Tours LL was a walk on (standby 45min)
  • Haunted Mansion LL was a walk on (standby 35min)
• Park Hopped
• 7:00pm - Incredicoaster LL was a walk on (standby 35min)
• 7:15pm - World of Color Dessert party
  • Headed to check-in line there were already 50+ in line, this was for both shows.
  • Just before 8pm someone came down the line to check us in and gave us a colored wrist band.
  • We asked for a high table on the right side and it was available – it was a center view which is great.
  • If you are the first show you stay and wait and they walk you over, if you are second show you can leave and come back at the time they give you.
  • We were seated and eating by 8:15pm, with show from 9-9:30pm.
  • Loved the hot chocolate and dessert plate!
• 9:45pm - Super tired after the show so I headed back to hotel for the night.

 

[YodaRulz]

Saturday: January 28, 2023

• 6:45am - In line at hotel security to Downtown Disney, there were about 40 people in front of me
• 7:15am - Through security and in line at Disneyland park, all lines were about 15-20 deep already
• 7:27am - waiting at early entry rope drop by Tomorrowland
• 7:35am - in line for Peter Pan with about 15-20 people in front of me
• 7:30am - 8:00am I did the following:
  • Peter Pan (5min wait)
  • Alice in Wonderland (walk on)
  • Mr. Toad’s (5min wait)
  • Snow White (walk on)
  • Pinocchio was down so I had to skip this ride.
• 7:55am - headed to rope drop Matterhorn
• 8:00am - 9:30am I did the following:
  • Matterhorn standby (walk on)
  • Thunder Railroad LL was a walk on (standby 30min)
  • Pirates standby (5min wait)
  • Haunted Mansion standby 13min wait (13min for HM = walk on)
• 9:30am - headed to GE and took a break and ate breakfast at Ronto Roasters
• 10:00am - 11:30am I did the following:
  • Rise of the Resistance $LL was walk on (standby 70min)
  • Runaway Railroad $LL was 35min wait (I didn’t try virtual queue, but if you got one the wait was averaging 90min when I asked)
• 11:30am - headed to get snack from Pooh’s Corner, Tigger Tail (got an extra for later) + Churro Toffee
• 12:00pm - 12:45pm I did the following:
  • Splash Mountain was a 5min standby (with cooler weather I guess no one wanted to get wet, but I knew I might not be back before it closes for good).
  • Haunted Mansion LL was a walk on (standby was 35min)
• Park Hopped
• 2:00pm - 3:00pm took a break and ate quesa birria tacos at Cocina Cucamonga
• 3:00pm - 4:00pm I did the following:
  • Soarin LL was a 10min wait (standby 45min)
  • Goofy Sky School LL was a 5min wait (standby 30min)
• Park Hopped
• 4:15pm - Space Mountain LL with 30min wait (standby 90min) it was coming off being temporarily closed
• 5:00pm - after SM I was worn out from traveling and all day at the park (didn’t take a mid-day break at the hotel like I normally would), so headed back to for the night

 

[YodaRulz]

Sunday: January 29, 2023 (busiest day!)

• 6:30am - In line at hotel security to Downtown Disney, there were only about 10 people waiting
• 7:05am - Through security and in line at Disneyland park only 1 person in front of us
• 7:25am - waiting at early entry rope drop by Tomorrowland, very front against the rope
• 7:30am - 8:00am we did the following:
  • Peter Pan walk on – 3rd group in line!
  • Alice in Wonderland (walk on)
  • Mr. Toad’s (5min wait)
  • Snow White (walk on)
  • Pinocchio (walk on)
• 8:30am - 11:30am we did the following (weird order but with chance of rain we did the outside rides first):
  • Thunder Railroad LL walk on (standby 30min)
  • Matterhorn LL walk on (standby 25min)
  • Jungle Cruise 5min wait
  • Pirates 10min wait
  • Haunted Mansion standby 5min wait
• 11:30am - snacked on Mikey Pretzel
• 12:00pm - 1:00pm Oga’s Cantina Reservation
  • Checked in at 12pm
  • Always super busy but were able to stay until 1pm (about 45min)
  • We only ordered drinks since we had a 2pm lunch reservation
  • I had an Outer Rim (my fav) and a Fuzzy Tauntaun, and my friend had a Jet Juice and Dantooine Tonic
• 1:00pm - 2:00pm we did the following:
  • Rise of the Resistance $LL walk on (standby 65min)
  • Star Tours LL 5min wait (standby 40min)
  • Space Mountain LL 10min wait (standby 75min)
• 2:00pm - 3:00pm - ate lunch at Café Orleans (Monte Cristo for the win!)
• Park Hopped
• 3:00 - 5:00pm we did the following:
  • Soarin’ LL 5min wait (standby 45min)
  • Monster’s Inc. LL 5min wait (standby 30min)
  • Animation Studio 10min wait (we drew Sully!)
• 5:00pm - 7:00pm we did the following:
  • Radiator Springs $LL 15min wait (standby 75min)
  • Little Mermaid 5min wait
  • Toys Story LL – booked, but temporarily closed so got MEP
  • Webslingers used MEP with 10min wait (standby 60min) - last ride of the night
• Park Hopped
• 7:00pm - 9:00pm we did the following:
  • Relaxed, took pictures, and shopped
  • Got a churro
  • Got a good spot for fireworks
• 9:30pm - Fireworks
• 10:00pm - headed back to hotel for the night and to pack

 

[YodaRulz]

Monday, January 30th
Checked out at 10am to head to Glendale for work for the rest of the week. Here are some final thoughts:

Room

• I was in 4430 at the Grand California, it’s a wood view with balcony. I could see the monorail and in the distance to the left Soarin’ and parts of CA.
• It’s a little longer walk to this room and the best way to get there is the elevators by Napa Rose.
• I really like being away from the lobby and elevators as its quieter, so I don’t mind the walk.
• You can use the elevators in the main lobby area and walk down a long hallway, but sometimes you have to wait longer as more people use those elevators.

MagicBand+

• I have the Magicband+ so I can now use it at Disneyland and Disney World.
• I used it on this trip for my solo day and it worked great, but the other 2 days my friend didn’t have one and she didn’t know G+ so it was easier to use my phone for LL check-ins for both of us.
• I like the convenience, but it will make more sense if everyone has one (if not you are on your phone anyway).
• Once you can use it to open the room, use it for paying, etc. which Disneyland doesn’t have yet then it will definitely make more sense to have one. Having it for HH, fireworks, GE, and WoC are cool to see how it works/reacts.

Food

• World of Color Dessert Party - Loved the hot chocolate they had! We stuck with hot chocolate since it was a bit cool out that night. The amount of food on the plate was a lot and I couldn’t finish mine so got it to go and had it for a snack later. By getting their earlier we were not rushed and our server Dave was fantastic!
• Café Orleans - I had the Monte Cristo with pomme frites and a mint julep. Soooo good! My friend had the one that is all cheese, and the portions were huge, we didn’t finish every bite.
• Oga’s Cantina - not a big fan of the food their so we just got drinks this time. I love the Outer Rim (it’s my fav drink) and we actually got a table that was close to DJ Rex.

Experience

• Great experience again just like in August!
• I know some have had bad experiences, but for me everything was amazing.
• The food I had was excellent and the portions were back to what I am used to at Disney.
• The hotel and parks were clean, and everyone was so friendly.
• Cast members and all the characters were so interactive and outgoing.
• Hoping work stays on a 6-month cadence to have me traveling so I will be back again in August.

 

[evilmommie]

Really fun rundown of your trip. You can hear the joyfully tone in your voice and sounds like you had a great time. Yay!

 

[Blue32]

Love the detailed report!

BTMRR is really hitting a 30 min. standby wait just a half hour after regular park opening? I wonder if this is normal?