One Day at DL in June 2016

[gemduncan]

I am taking my daughter (age 7) to visit my brother the 2nd week of June. He lives 20 minutes from DL. We plan to go there for 1 day. Any tips and tricks? Anything that I have to do 30 days in advance (e.g. FastPass). We plan to stay with my brother, so we do not need a hotel. We will probably go to DL on Tuesday, June 14th. Yes, I know it is Summer Vacation for schools and will be crowded but how crowded will it really be?!

 

[ADLFAN]

DL is still operating on the original Fastpass system, so no need to reserve anything like that ahead of time.

I also wouldn't worry about reserving any dining, since you probably won't want to take time out of your only Disney day to eat at a table service place. The exception may be the Minnie and Friends character breakfast at the Plaza! If you think your daughter would enjoy meeting some characters, this may be a good way to knock out two birds with one stone and skip the lines for meet and greets later.

I like to try to have our dinner restaurant choices in mind ahead of time, and pick up a simple lunch on the go. It might work nicely to pack a lunch or bring some snacks to supplement a hot dog for your short one day adventure.

If your daughter is daring enough for the 'big rides', make sure to use Fastpasses rather than wait in line for any ride that offers them.

If your brother has visited DLR often, get him to come with and be your touring guide! It's super helpful to have someone who knows the lay of the land to schedule your day. If he won't go for that, download the Disneyland app and familiarize yourself with the layout, the locations for must do attractions, the restaurant menus, and typical wait times. One thing you'll probably notice is that the mornings are 'golden', and if you get there early, the first hour has the lowest wait times of the whole day. My favorite rides to knock out in the morning are on the back side of the park, Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Carribean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Jungle Cruise, and the Haunted Mansion have super short standby lines first thing, as it takes a bit for most people to get back there.

If your daughter is a Star Wars fan, check out the Jedi Training Academy where she can battle villains. It's fun to catch a show even if she doesn't participate, too!

I'd suggest buying the one day Photopass so you can get some adorable professional pictures of the two of you. They have some fun frames set up for the 60th Anniversary that turn out very cute.

Are you planning to do just DL, or do you think you'd upgrade to Park Hopper tickets? If she's a Cars fan, the recreated Radiator Springs is a very fun environment to explore, and DCA has some good rides for the afternoon when everything in DL starts to get backed up and busy. The Bugs land area is also fun to explore and has a few rides for younger kids that always have reasonable 15 minute-ish wait times.

Have fun planning!

P.S. Ear hats are mandatory! (At least to me!)

 

[gemduncan]

Thank you SO much!! My brother has never been to DL so he is joining us. He is excited to go on the bigger rides. Personally, I do not like the big scary rides.

We are planning to only go to the one park. Not sure if we will do a lunch or dinner there. She has already seen all the Disney characters on our cruise last month. Do you recommend lunch or dinner? We will probably eat breakfast at my brother's place.

Good to know about fastpasses!

DL is still operating on the original Fastpass system, so no need to reserve anything like that ahead of time.



If your brother has visited DLR often, get him to come with and be your touring guide! It's super helpful to have someone who knows the lay of the land to schedule your day. If he won't go for that, download the Disneyland app and familiarize yourself with the layout, the locations for must do attractions, the restaurant menus, and typical wait times. One thing you'll probably notice is that the mornings are 'golden', and if you get there early, the first hour has the lowest wait times of the whole day. My favorite rides to knock out in the morning are on the back side of the park, Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Carribean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Jungle Cruise, and the Haunted Mansion have super short standby lines first thing, as it takes a bit for most people to get back there.

If your daughter is a Star Wars fan, check out the Jedi Training Academy where she can battle villains. It's fun to catch a show even if she doesn't participate, too!

 

[gemduncan]

Thank you SO much!! My brother has never been to DL so he is joining us. He is excited to go on the bigger rides. Personally, I do not like the big scary rides.

We are planning to only go to the one park. Not sure if we will do a lunch or dinner there. She has already seen all the Disney characters on our cruise last month. Do you recommend lunch or dinner? We will probably eat breakfast at my brother's place.

Good to know about fastpasses!

Forgot to add - we are not Star Wars fans.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Since you'll only have one day, maybe you would like to try one of the PTN packages? That way you'll have one meal in the park and get parade viewing spots, too. Also, you can watch YouTube videos of rides with your daughter. That way you can both get a feel for which rides are musts, which ones are likes, and which ones can be skipped. Knowing that ahead of time will help your planning go more smoothly.

 

[gemduncan]

Since you'll only have one day, maybe you would like to try one of the PTN packages? That way you'll have one meal in the park and get parade viewing spots, too. Also, you can watch YouTube videos of rides with your daughter. That way you can both get a feel for which rides are musts, which ones are likes, and which ones can be skipped. Knowing that ahead of time will help your planning go more smoothly.

Oh! Good idea about YouTube!

 

[JaneFan619]

If you decide that Peter Pan is a 'must ride', I'd recommend you go first thing in the morning if you are able. The ride is very popular and doesn't offer fastpasses.

 

[gottalovepluto]

It will be crowded. Don't discount that.

Your date is a good choice! I know you said "probably this day" so if you end up considering a different day:

FYI you are currently avoiding grad nites (day's high school seniors flood the parks bringing "Crowded" to "Crazy") so if you end up wanting to change from the 14th check this list first.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland/Events/grad-nights.html