First time @ any disney park - where to start?

[greysocks]

Hi -

I've never been to any disney park, even as a child. I'm planning a trip to Disneyland for one day (1 park) with my three kids aged 8-14. I have a hotel reserved. I have the actual tickets, but I have no idea where to even start with planning the day. Can someone help me figure out where to begin? I'm guessing there are sample itineraries somewhere, but I'm a bit overwhelmed....

 

[missmulan]

you'll want to get there early. there are lines to get your bags checked (security) and lines at the gates. good thing you have your tickets already! otherwise, waiting to purchase tickets can be another long wait.

look at park map and decide on the rides ahead of time. i've heard of many people sitting around the benches, inside the park, just deciding which ride to go on. this wastes a lot of time.

fast pass is a good way to make the most of your day.

 

[Stitch35]

What time of year are you going? Ride max has a one day trip plan. You can plug in the attractions that are important to you and it will tell you when to go to them and when to get fast passes. You definitely want to be there at rope drop (opening). With older kids you will probably be able to do open to close.

 

[jacs1234]

Are you just going to Disneyland or to California adventure as well?
You do really need to make a plan so that you get to do as much as possible. There is a thread here that tells you about fast passes and how to use them. It is a huge park with so much to do and can be quite overwhelming. Maybe with the o,de children, rides in fantasyland will be a low priority although a shame to miss. If I were you I'd enter Disneyland, walk down mainstreet and turn left into adventureland, then I'd grab fast passes for Indiana jones, go on the jungle cruise, then onto pirates and splash and then to big thunder mountain, I'd then head onto the Matterhorn, then to tomorrowland and grab a fast pass for space mountain or star tours, go on buzz light year then grab that ride at Indy.
Then I'd check out fantasyland and use the fast pass for space /star tours.

What nighttime show would be a priority for you, fantastic, fireworks or world of color?

A book that really helped us was the unofficial guide to Disneyland.

 

[A Small World]

Hi -

I've never been to any disney park, even as a child. I'm planning a trip to Disneyland for one day (1 park) with my three kids aged 8-14. I have a hotel reserved. I have the actual tickets, but I have no idea where to even start with planning the day. Can someone help me figure out where to begin? I'm guessing there are sample itineraries somewhere, but I'm a bit overwhelmed....

Is this for the night before your day in the park or night after or both? Which hotel is it?

If you only have one day you really need to be there as early as possible as the crowds build up through the day.

As already mentioned you need to have an idea first where you are heading so study those maps before hand. If you are arriving the day before what time will you be arriving? If you have time walk up to the village area for a look round (you dont need a ticket to do this) and familiarise yourself with the entrance area so you know where you are going.

You said you had the ticket for one park- have you decided which one?

 

[greysocks]

Thanks so all the offers of help!

We are going on a Sunday in August and we will be arriving at the hotel (Sheraton) late Sat night. We will also be staying Sunday night, but leaving Monday. The kids have no idea that we are going - they think it's just a trip to LA, so they won't even know about Disney until we wake them up Sunday morning and hand them their tickets. The surprise factor will be great - but that means that all the planning has to be done without them.

We are only doing Disneyland not California adventures because it seemed too hard to try to do both parks in one day for our first time.

I have no idea what night show(s) to see, or even if we want to see any other daytime shows. I think that we would want to see the water one since we can see fireworks elsewhere. The kids won't care too much about characters so we only need to worry about rides, shows, and eating.

I saw something about ridemax. Is it worth it for just one day? Also I saw that disney itself has some kind of mobile app too. Is that any good?

Jacs1234 - this plan seems great! Is this like a 6 hour plan or will this take us the entire day?

walk down mainstreet and turn left into adventureland, then I'd grab fast passes for Indiana jones, go on the jungle cruise, then onto pirates and splash and then to big thunder mountain, I'd then head onto the Matterhorn, then to tomorrowland and grab a fast pass for space mountain or star tours, go on buzz light year then grab that ride at Indy.
Then I'd check out fantasyland and use the fast pass for space /star tours.

 

[figment_jii]

I would start by looking at the rides and determine which ones you want to ride the most. That will really influence where to "start" and how to proceed. Disneyland is not that large, so you can afford to criss-cross the park without losing to much time (especially for rides near the entrance to each land).

1. Do you want to ride thrill rides (e.g., Indy Jones, Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Star Tours, Big Thunder)? If "yes", then these are probably the best to get fast passes for, if available and/or applicable. I would probably FP Indy and Space. Big Thunder doesn't always have their machines on, there iso FP for Matterhorn, and Star Tours isn't high on my list (so a personal preference).

2. Do you mind getting wet (e.g., Splash Mountain)? If "yes" then consider a FP for this. Just remember, you will get wet (maybe soaked), so you'll wet for a while afterwards. I might save this for the very end, except you'd be cold.

3. Do you want to ride the kids' rides (e.g., most of Fantasyland)? Again, these are better later in the day (except Peter Pan) when the little kids have gone home. You can often get in Snow White, Pinocchio, and Mr. Toad in, in less than 30 minutes at the end of the day. Peter Pan always seems busy.

4. Do you want to ride the "classics" (e.g., Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Small World)? Luckily, these can fit it in pretty well throughout the day.

Given you only have one day, I would opt for counter service meals.

Regarding the shows, it's a balancing act. While the shows run, some the lines for some things are shorter. I love the fireworks, but it will eat into park/ride time. For Fantasmic! you have to decide how close to the front you want to be. If you're willing to have a partially blocked view, then you can wait to get your spot until closer to show time. If you want to be in the front, then you have to plan on being at your spot 2 or more hours before the show.

I haven't found the Disney Mobile Magic app that helpful, but I'm not a Verizon customer (it was originally designed exclusively for Verizon). I've used MouseWaits California and DL Waits. Neither were always accurate, nor did one seem consistent better than the other. I used them to give me a ball park figure of what was going on at various rides.

 

[Susie63]

For our first trip I bought the"Unofficial guide to Disneyland". This will give you a good idea of the types of rides,restaurants, etc.It is a good book for getting familiar with what is in Disneyland and where it is located.

 

[IBLarsen]

I agree on the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland. It was a huge help my first trip. I had no idea what rides there even were and what rides were fastpass.
This book will talk about each ride and show. It will also tell you which rides are Fastpass. This book has touring plans in the back, and there is a one day plan as well.

I would recommend seeing Fantasmic if you could. It's a classic!
You do have to stake out a spot fairly early, so take a blanket to put down and sit for a while. Others can go ride a few rides and join up with whomever is waiting for the spot.

You must get there at rope drop if you only have one day, and on a Sunday in August will likely be pretty busy.

After you make a list of the rides you want to do, figure out which is Fastpass and start with getting a fastpass then line up for a ride without FP. Move through until you can get another FP (which is 2 hours later or after the start time of your current fp, whichever is first). Please note you don't have to use the FP in the time frame stated, just anytime of the day AFTER the start time. So you can stockpile them for use later in the day when the crowds build.

 

[limace]

I would absolutely use ridemax in this situation!

 

[Susie63]

If money is not tight you may want to consider reservations for Fantasmic on sunday evening for the first show and then you could watch the fireworks from your seats.I believe it is $60 per person but you would have a great seat without taking up any of your touring time by holding a spot.

 

[ManusDei]

Thanks so all the offers of help!

We are going on a Sunday in August and we will be arriving at the hotel (Sheraton) late Sat night. We will also be staying Sunday night, but leaving Monday. The kids have no idea that we are going - they think it's just a trip to LA, so they won't even know about Disney until we wake them up Sunday morning and hand them their tickets. The surprise factor will be great - but that means that all the planning has to be done without them.

We are only doing Disneyland not California adventures because it seemed too hard to try to do both parks in one day for our first time.

I have no idea what night show(s) to see, or even if we want to see any other daytime shows. I think that we would want to see the water one since we can see fireworks elsewhere. The kids won't care too much about characters so we only need to worry about rides, shows, and eating.

I saw something about ridemax. Is it worth it for just one day? Also I saw that disney itself has some kind of mobile app too. Is that any good?

Jacs1234 - this plan seems great! Is this like a 6 hour plan or will this take us the entire day?

Just a note if you haven't found out already: World of Color, the water show, is only at Disney California Adventure, so since you're only doing Disneyland, you won't be able to see it.

There's also a difference between watching fireworks from anywhere in the park and watching them in front of the castle. They're centered around the castle and music is synced to them, as are some light projections on the castle. In other words, to enjoy the full fireworks experience, you should be standing somewhere on Main Street or near the statue in the center. That's of course, if you really care about the fireworks show; if you don't, then you could watch just the fireworks portion from your seat at Fantasmic while waiting for that show to start and you'll be able to see both just fine.

Be sure to check Disneyland's website for showtimes the day you go. I can't remember if fireworks or Fantasmic is first, but if I recall correctly it's fireworks, then about 10 min later the second (and last) showing of Fantasmic.

 

[starshine514]

I think you definitely need to decide what is important to you. Rides such as Indy and Space Mountain have lines that grow quickly and stay long throughout the day. Other rides, such as Jungle Cruise and Pirate don't usually (in my experience) get as crowded, so I wouldn't bother doing those first thing in the morning - an hour or two in and you should still be fine.

Personally, if I were you I would grab a FP to either Space or Indy (in my case Space - not the world's biggest Indy fan, but some are) - we'll assume Indy for you, and get in line for the Matterhorn first, then pick up a FP for Space, ride Star Tours, ride Pirates, ride HM, get a FP for Splash, ride BTMRR, ride Jungle Cruise, etc. Continue to pick up FPs as they are available throughout the day. After noon or so, it doesn't matter too much what you do, lines will be getting long and it may be a good time to ride some rides that often have short lines (Pinnochio, Snow White, usually IASW), go through the treehouse and to Tom Sawyer Island (can also use FPs during those times - be sure to grab more as you can). On Sundays, the crowd usually dies down quite a bit after the fireworks, so we've had great luck hitting Fantasyland after that (even if you decide not to view Fantasmic, be aware of its showtimes, the Adventureland/Frontierland side of the park is impossible to navigate through around its showtimes - especially right after it ends). We usually ride Buzz and BTMRR several times in a row just before closing. As long as you get in line before closing, you will be allowed to ride - keep that in mind if you want to ride Space, Peter Pan, Indy, or Matterhorn as your last ride of the day.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Only one day?!?!? That's too bad, definitely go with a park hopper *upgrade the tickets you have* your kids are older; here's how we did 1 day *mid July ~a Wed~ 2009

 

[Brumbie13]

I love reading all the different ideas and strategies about Disneyland. It's so cool that everything has their own "thing" when it comes to the parks.