We surprised our almost 3 year old son with a trip to Disneyland yesterday. We have 3 day tickets and will be going back with family over 4th of July weekend. We had APs for the first time from June 2019 - March 2020. This was our first all day effort in at least a decade.
We were able to get boarding group 12 for ROTR from home, and put our son is his thickest shoes hoping maybe he would hit the 40" mark.
We parked in the Toy Story lot at 8:05 am with no traffic and no security line. Once we got through security we had to wait 30+ minutes for busses. They came very slowly. We were dropped off and in the park by 8:50am, and the rope had already been dropped. We scoped out the harbor security lines at drop-off time, and they were minimal. Our son is obsessed with Casey Jr, so we went straight there first and grabbed the first departure immediately after paperwork was done.
Here is a play by play:
Casey JR x2 (walk-on), posted 5
Alice (walk-on)
Teacups (walk on)
ROTR -- kid passed initial height inspection and was excited to run through the caves. Got booted before the preshow. Too short by a hair. Got set up for child swap (First time through to pre-show ~10 minutes)
ROTR - child swap/fast pass entrance no wait to pre show
Gadgets Coaster - walk-on
IASW - walk on
Carousel - posted 5 minutes, wait 5-10 minutes
Casey Jr - posted 5 minutes, wait <5 minutes
Lunch @ Docking bay 7 (11:40am) - mobile ordered at 9am as we entered the park. Plenty of seats available. Hit "I'm here after Casey Jr. Ready just as we got seated. No line to pick up.
Falcon - Posted 35 minutes. Total time 35 minutes from entering line to exiting ride
*Nap time in stroller - found a shady spot looking over the river next to Thunder mountain. Good breeze and very pleasant in the shade. Put bluethooth headphones on the kid to keep him calm.
BTMRR - Posted 15/acutal 5
BTMRR - Rider swap 5
Mobile order @ tiki juice for dole whip, and ask CM to move the time up for immediate pickup (no line)
Mobile order dinner @ Red Rose, Corndog and fries from Stage Door snack for 2:30pm after nap.
Watch Disneyland band and enjoy dole whip from shade at Jolly Roger
Pickup corn dog from Stage Door as soon as window opens, line from ready to pickup was >20 minutes. Avoid this place for now!
Mark Twain with Princess Tiana - walk on
POTC - Posted 20, actual 10
Haunted Mansion - Posted 15, actual 10 to stretching room
IASW - walk on
Dinner @ Red Rose. Available immediately after clicking ready. Tons of seats inside and out (~5:30pm)
Autopia x2 Posted 5, walk-on
DLRR from Tomorrowland station, Posted 30, walk on. Trains every 10 minutes Train was 80-90% full.
Gadget's coaster x3 (walk-on), posted 5
IASW - walk on
Falcon - posted 20, actual 20-25
Snow white @ 8:45pm. Posted 25, actual 25 (Stayed at 25 minutes all day).
Exit to giant line for Toy Story shuttles (advised wait was 35 minutes, but may have only been 20). We decided we wanted more steps, so we walked back to the lot.
Big takeaways from the day:
1. Avoid the Toy Story lot if arriving/departing during peak times
2. If you see a quick service location with no line, ask about placing a mobile order and moving up the window to immediate return
3. Park was crowded, but greatly prefer it to the before times when standby lines were huge. Even knowing how to game the max-pass system, many lines felt nearly as small as they did using fast-pass return before.
4. Bluetooth headphones for kid was great - he didn't want to go on the train because of thunder in the tunnel. Fixed easily by putting some music on the headphones.
We were able to get boarding group 12 for ROTR from home, and put our son is his thickest shoes hoping maybe he would hit the 40" mark.
We parked in the Toy Story lot at 8:05 am with no traffic and no security line. Once we got through security we had to wait 30+ minutes for busses. They came very slowly. We were dropped off and in the park by 8:50am, and the rope had already been dropped. We scoped out the harbor security lines at drop-off time, and they were minimal. Our son is obsessed with Casey Jr, so we went straight there first and grabbed the first departure immediately after paperwork was done.
Here is a play by play:
Casey JR x2 (walk-on), posted 5
Alice (walk-on)
Teacups (walk on)
ROTR -- kid passed initial height inspection and was excited to run through the caves. Got booted before the preshow. Too short by a hair. Got set up for child swap (First time through to pre-show ~10 minutes)
ROTR - child swap/fast pass entrance no wait to pre show
Gadgets Coaster - walk-on
IASW - walk on
Carousel - posted 5 minutes, wait 5-10 minutes
Casey Jr - posted 5 minutes, wait <5 minutes
Lunch @ Docking bay 7 (11:40am) - mobile ordered at 9am as we entered the park. Plenty of seats available. Hit "I'm here after Casey Jr. Ready just as we got seated. No line to pick up.
Falcon - Posted 35 minutes. Total time 35 minutes from entering line to exiting ride
*Nap time in stroller - found a shady spot looking over the river next to Thunder mountain. Good breeze and very pleasant in the shade. Put bluethooth headphones on the kid to keep him calm.
BTMRR - Posted 15/acutal 5
BTMRR - Rider swap 5
Mobile order @ tiki juice for dole whip, and ask CM to move the time up for immediate pickup (no line)
Mobile order dinner @ Red Rose, Corndog and fries from Stage Door snack for 2:30pm after nap.
Watch Disneyland band and enjoy dole whip from shade at Jolly Roger
Pickup corn dog from Stage Door as soon as window opens, line from ready to pickup was >20 minutes. Avoid this place for now!
Mark Twain with Princess Tiana - walk on
POTC - Posted 20, actual 10
Haunted Mansion - Posted 15, actual 10 to stretching room
IASW - walk on
Dinner @ Red Rose. Available immediately after clicking ready. Tons of seats inside and out (~5:30pm)
Autopia x2 Posted 5, walk-on
DLRR from Tomorrowland station, Posted 30, walk on. Trains every 10 minutes Train was 80-90% full.
Gadget's coaster x3 (walk-on), posted 5
IASW - walk on
Falcon - posted 20, actual 20-25
Snow white @ 8:45pm. Posted 25, actual 25 (Stayed at 25 minutes all day).
Exit to giant line for Toy Story shuttles (advised wait was 35 minutes, but may have only been 20). We decided we wanted more steps, so we walked back to the lot.
Big takeaways from the day:
1. Avoid the Toy Story lot if arriving/departing during peak times
2. If you see a quick service location with no line, ask about placing a mobile order and moving up the window to immediate return
3. Park was crowded, but greatly prefer it to the before times when standby lines were huge. Even knowing how to game the max-pass system, many lines felt nearly as small as they did using fast-pass return before.
4. Bluetooth headphones for kid was great - he didn't want to go on the train because of thunder in the tunnel. Fixed easily by putting some music on the headphones.
Last edited:
