Disneyland

[AdamsMum]

Going to visit ds in California, and we'll be visiting Disneyland. So how does Disneyland work? No magic bands? Do they have fast passes? Do you swipe you ticket media to enter a ride? I'm so used to WDW, DL will be a whole new experience. I'm not sure what to expect.

 

[Catvondita]

Someone will link you to a thread which has a lot of answers on this subject. Personally I love Disneyland and if you love Disney you will love it to. They def have a lot of rides that are better than WDW but one thing I will say is they lack a bit of the Disney Bubble that WDW has (we've passed by A denny's, traffic, a few homeless people on the block outside of Disneyland). A lot of the ride queues are mainly outdoors and its smaller which can make it feel more crowded but they have rides within short walking distances of each other unlike WDW. Also to park hop its like not even a 2 minute walk.

There are no magic bands but they do have fastpasses (like the old legacy fastpass system WDW used to have) so to get a fast pass you have to walk to the ride to get to the fast pass machine and put in your ticket and it will spit out a fast pass. If you are like me and hate the idea of having to walk all the way to the ride just to get a fast pass you can pay for Max Pass (haven't used it yet but going to try it for a day on my next trip). With this, once you get in to the park you can make a fast pass without having to go to the machine and I believe just show your phone when your fastpass is ready (someone correct me if i'm wrong) I think its $10 per person per day.

Disneyland is an amazing experience and though you are used to WDW go with an open mind. You may end up comparing and may end up missing some things at WDW but DL is truly the happiest place on earth and is a classic.

Enjoy!

 

[StageTek]

No Magic Bands. You will go to a FastPass station (which you will find near the entrance to the ride or attraction), insert your park ticket into the machine and get a paper fastpass with your time. When the time comes you hand the paper fastpass to the CM at the FastPass entrance.

 

[figment_jii]

You don't to swipe your ticket media to enter an attraction unless you're redeeming a Fastpass. If you are going to use FP (or MaxPass), then you'll need to scan your ticket at the FP entrance to the attraction and again at the merge point (just like WDW does for FP+).

 

[mom2rtk]

FP at Disneyland is very much just like legacy FP that WDW had before FP+. If you buy MaxPass it's pretty much just an electronic version of that same system.

No pre-booking so all FP inventory is fully available every single morning. Nothing is "sold out" ahead of time.

 

[Winnowill]

No Magic Bands. You will go to a FastPass station (which you will find near the entrance to the ride or attraction), insert your park ticket into the machine and get a paper fastpass with your time. When the time comes you hand the paper fastpass to the CM at the FastPass entrance.

This is no longer true. The piece of paper you get is no longer your FastPass - that is now contained on your ticket. The piece of paper is a reminder only. Assuming you do not spring for MaxPass.

 

[AdamsMum]

No Magic Bands. You will go to a FastPass station (which you will find near the entrance to the ride or attraction), insert your park ticket into the machine and get a paper fastpass with your time. When the time comes you hand the paper fastpass to the CM at the FastPass entrance.

Just like the old days.

 

[AdamsMum]

This is no longer true. The piece of paper you get is no longer your FastPass - that is now contained on your ticket. The piece of paper is a reminder only. Assuming you do not spring for MaxPass.

So you have to carry your e ticket around to verify the fast pass?

 

[AdamsMum]

Okay so I just went to the website and bought the tickets, but can't plan any dining or park hours more than 2 months out. Can this be true?

 

[smartlabelprint]

Okay so I just went to the website and bought the tickets, but can't plan any dining or park hours more than 2 months out. Can this be true?

Yes

 

[DizneyMommy]

Muuuuuch less planning involved. Much more of a spontaneous park as opposed to WDW’s frantic pre-planning that is required. have fun!!

 

[DizneyMommy]

So you have to carry your e ticket around to verify the fast pass?

You can either download the app, link your tickets and scan that, or pull out your paper ticket and have them scan that when you return to the ride. If you use your paper tickets but they are linked in your app, your FP’s show up immediately in the app, and it even reminds you when it’s your window!

To get a FP, you can either insert your paper ticket into a FP machine and it links your time to your ticket, or buy MaxPass (worth every penny for a one time visit) and you can choose one FP at a time on the app and not have to go walk to the machine.

 

[goooof1]

Okay so I just went to the website and bought the tickets, but can't plan any dining or park hours more than 2 months out. Can this be true?

TRUE and dining will likely not sell out after that until much closer to the dates. Of course, this is depending on crowds....wouldn't count on it the week during x-mas and new years !!! It can be fairly easy to get ADR a few days before your dining. The only high demand dining is for the packages that cover Fantasmic! and WOC.

 

[HydroGuy]

Okay so I just went to the website and bought the tickets, but can't plan any dining or park hours more than 2 months out. Can this be true?

Yes! Isn't it AWESOME??? You can RELAX with planning and then RELAX during your visit.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Read this thread for lots of helpful information: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets. Then come on back with any further questions. You're going to have a great trip seeing where the magic began!

 

[mom2rtk]

Okay so I just went to the website and bought the tickets, but can't plan any dining or park hours more than 2 months out. Can this be true?

You'll start feeling twitchy that you aren't spending more time reserving, planning and scheduling. It's normal. And you'll learn to embrace it and love it!