Unadvertised things to do at Disneyland?

[BobearQSI]

My family of 4 is going to Disneyland for 5 days in the end of August. However, there will be one day in the middle of the trip that it will be just me and the two kids (DS 6 and DD 4), because 5 straight days is a bit too much for my SO I decided it would be fun to use this day as a "Disneyland Exploration" day. We'll do some rides, but the focus of the day will be on all the non-ride and non-show things that Disneyland has to offer, and just spend time exploring, visit Tom Sawyer Island, etc. For example, we have The Little Man of Disneyland book, and the kids have no idea the house actually exists in the park. I'm going to make sure they 'accidentally' stumble upon it So I've been searching and putting together a list of all the unadvertised things to do that a 6 and 4 year old would like.

But I want to know what I'm missing! Here is my list to share with anyone who has the same questions, but I want to reach out to all of you and find out what else there is. I'm looking for anything that is not advertised on the official disneyland.com website. I've already gone through the whole website and have made a list for those things we want to do. This is just non-disneyland.com-advertised things to do. So please, add anything you think a 6 and 4 year old would like - or anything at all - I'd rather know of something and decide we don't want to do it than not know and miss something. We've been a few times before, and know the park layout pretty well.

• Attend rope drop ceremony
• Musical chairs with Alice
• See the minitures in the popcorn carts
• Get a special button
• Get a map of the Jungle Cruise when exiting
• Get Mickey Ears at start of the day, and/or Mickey Balloons at the end of the day
• Hunt for Yeti Footprints around the Matterhorn
• Hidden Mickey Hunt
• Main Street Windows
• Little Man of Disneyland/find home by Indiana Jones
• Touch Snow White apple
• Snow White wishing well
• Hunt for real cats
• Find Tomorrowland Dinosaur eggs
• Stories from the Hearth at Grand Californian - do they do this anymore?
• Dentist Office alley on main street
• Traffic signal in cars land - every thrid blink is slower
• Attend sunset lighting of Cars Land

Of course, I'll try to look everything up shortly before our trip and verify it's still there/happening. Thanks!

 

[Susie63]

Animation Academy. Our families favorite.
Ride with the engineer on the monorail....and in the last car on the monorail.
Ride all of the Main street vehicles. Walt Disney drove the fire truck around the park.
Flag ceremony.

 

[tkradtke]

My daughter and I had a day like that last year!

Here are some things we did...
Collected pressed pennies (we had our money presorted in M&M minis tubes)
Sought out the four fortune telling machines in Disneyland... Esmerelda and Shrunken Ned were fun, Aladdin's lamp was a little disappointing since we didn't get a paper fortune like the other two, didn't end up looking for the pirate one
We played with the Dancing Woody puppet game in Frontierland
It's advertised, but we took the time to have a silhouette done
Pin traded
Finally sat down and watched Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
A friend suggested doing a photo scavenger hunt (a quick google search brings up lots of options)
We took the time to hunt down some of the iconic Disneyland treats that day, like having a mint julep and Mickey Beignets

I'll have to look through my photos to see what else we did. It was a really fun day to do some of the things we miss when we're just going from ride to ride!

 

[agamble]

We took the time to hunt down some of the iconic Disneyland treats that day, like having a mint julep and Mickey Beignets

For OP, if you're willing to let your kids eat a bit unhealthy that day, I read of someone last year who only ate snack foods for the whole day with her daughter. IE. Churros or beignets for breakfast, Mickey Pretzels for lunch, ice cream for dinner. It's a silly idea that your kids may find fun. It would also be easy to try a lot of different snacks if you shared them. Like buy one pretzel for the three of you and a churro and each have some. Then you have room to share a Dole Whip later.

 

[pennym]

I'm not sure if the lovely Pixie Hollow show still happens at night, but that was a lovely thing to stumble on.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

At California Adventure, when you leave the Animation Station you can go through the store called "Off the Page." If you look at the ceiling you'll see that some of the characters literally "escaped off their pages." My daughter, Kelly, and I spent about 20 minutes one day looking for those pesky characters throughout the shop. Here's a pic showing what I'm talking about.

 

[chickapin parterre]

you mentioned touching the apple...what about the curtains parting....anyhow, there are many I spy opportunities when entering Indy jones....of course you have to walk to see them....and avoid getting run over by folks who run to stand in line to look at disney history.

I spy the oldest living plant at Disneyland
I spy the gulf of Mexico
I spy the musical water fountain

 

[azdisneylover]

How about taking pictures of all the little popcorn cart characters, make a pressed penny from every "land", share a Mickey's Kitchen Sink while watching the 5 and Dime perform on Buena Vista St, make a wish in the wishing well, go to Toons Town when it opens and take pictures with all the characters, say "YES" when the kids ask for something instead of saying "NO". Get the kids their own disposable camera to take pictures, then they can make their own scrapbook when you are back home. Sounds like you are going to have a wonderful time! If you need a place to relax and catch a bite to eat, I suggest Whitewater Snacks in the Grand Californian. We love sitting on the patio (right out the door behind the cashier). I like to peek through the slats into DCA and watch the hustle and bustle while relaxing with a yogurt parfait. My son, loves "snacking" on a burger and fries or the indi pizza with a salad!

 

[figment_jii]

Get a map of the Jungle Cruise when exiting

You might want to ask about this one every day you ride Jungle Cruise. They've been out of the maps the last several times I've been to DL, so this might be one of those "hit-or-miss" type things.

• My family always stops to look at the light in the window in Walt Disney's Apartment (above the fire station).
• Watching the candy makers at the Candy Palace, Pooh's Corner, Marceline's, and Trolley Treats.
• If you opt to ride Indy Jones, decoding the messages in the queue can be fun. Sadly most of them get walked by pretty quickly given how FP is set-up, but you can always stop to look (or take a photo to decode later).
• Look at the mini-houses along the water by the Winnie the Pooh queue in Critter Country.

 

[tarheelalum]

Try the comedy show at the Golden Horseshoe as well as Great Moments with Lincoln. Both are pretty good. And I second the Animation Academy at DCA. I've been to Disneyland probably a few hundred times but had not gone to the Animation Academy. So the last time my wife and I were there we went by and it was incredible. I highly recommend it to anyone regardless of age.

 

[tkradtke]

We love the Animation Academy too.... my daughter and I went several times during our last trip. Another fun thing to tack onto that, is getting character autographs on your drawings. We went to the Pluto class and then went over to where he's usually located in DCA to get my daughter's drawing signed and a photo. Pluto made a big deal about the drawing, which my teen found fun, but I can imagine it being really delightful for a younger child.

 

[Angrose]

Pressed pennies for sure! You should be able to get a map from one of the shops. My son and I did this a few years ago, almost one whole day was just exploring and collecting pressed pennies. We filled a whole book and it's a great memory that the two of share.

See the Disneyland Band show in front of the castle. I think it's the 11am show when they have the characters join them for dancing and then they march down Main St. It's very cute. You may want to google it though to see what time it might be or ask a CM when you are there.

As mentioned, riding in the cockpit of the monorail is super fun. Get off at DTD station and walk over to the DLH (it's very close). Each tower has a different theme...go see the huge model of BTMRR in the Frontier tower and the old Autopia car by Goofy's Kitchen. While you are there, grab a Dole Whip at the Coffee House (open until 4pm), have lunch at Tangaroa Terrace or visit Trader Sam's. Kids are allowed in Trader Sam's until 8pm I believe. The grounds of the DLH are so tranquil and you may even spot some characters walking around!

You can also grab a Dole Whip and eat it while watching the show in the Tiki Room. Tip: there is a much shorter line inside the Tiki Room waiting area. This is great on a hot day!

DJ Dance and Drive show in Carsland. I know this is on the schedule, but the kids LOVE it!

Sounds like a fun day!!

 

[katejc]

We love animation academy too and always visit that more than once. Finding hidden Mickeys is still something we get a kick out of too. Lots of the apps have checklists and hints where to look.

 

[agamble]

Something it took us too many trips to try was Turtle Talk with Crush. That is a great show, even more fun if one of you gets spoken too.

 

[tanyaegangibson]

- Listen in on the "party line" on the phones at Market House.
- Take the "Bakery Tour" by Pacific Wharf Cafe (Boudin Bakery).
- Take tour of Carthay Circle Restaurant (10:30 a.m.--at least it was last year).
- Look for the Cheshire Cat in the mirror of the hat store by the teacups.
- Spend time looking at the windows in the Emporium, which each have scenes in them that change--with magical effects.
- Look for the real fruit/veggies grown on plants in Tomorrowland.

 

[MacMama0930]

I second the Golden Horseshoe comedy skits. They're really fun - and ordering the off the menu ice cream nachos while there

 

[BobearQSI]

Thank you everyone for the great tips! My list is much longer now, which is great.

The Indy stuff from a couple posters sounds great, unfortunately DD4 is far too short I'll have to keep the list for future trips.

I'm curious about the Animation Academy character drawings, however. It's definitely on my list of advertised attractions, but finding characters to sign the pictures sounds fun! I've heard there are long classes to learn character drawings, or something like that, which we probably won't do due to the kids' interests, but is there something in the main area to draw characters? Last time I went through it, the Ursula singing section was still there.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Make sure to get your free samples at Ghirardelli! (Free chocolate? Yes, please!)
Take photos of/with the DLR cats. There are usually 2 or 3 cats along the tram route. Francisco and Snickers can usually be found by GRR. There are cats around the DLH. There are cats by JC and IJA. So fun when we spot one unexpectedly. Watching the ducks can be a nice, entertaining break. Our little ones loved spotting all the edible plants and fruit trees in TL. They like learning the names of plants and spotting the fruit/veg., especially if it was something they knew from the supermarket.

 

[lalasmama]

Thank you everyone for the great tips! My list is much longer now, which is great.

The Indy stuff from a couple posters sounds great, unfortunately DD4 is far too short I'll have to keep the list for future trips.

I'm curious about the Animation Academy character drawings, however. It's definitely on my list of advertised attractions, but finding characters to sign the pictures sounds fun! I've heard there are long classes to learn character drawings, or something like that, which we probably won't do due to the kids' interests, but is there something in the main area to draw characters? Last time I went through it, the Ursula singing section was still there.

Ursula's grotto hasn't been open in a while; I think it closed when Anna and Elsa came to visit from Arendelle, as the exit area is where they are meeting.

Apart from the actual drawing class, there isn't anything (usually) in the main area to use to draw characters.

 

[tanyaegangibson]

I've heard there are long classes to learn character drawings, or something like that, which we probably won't do due to the kids' interests, but is there something in the main area to draw characters?

The classes are quite short --there is a new one every 1/2 hour, and they probably last about 15 minutes each. I think my son was four or five when he first started doing them, so I don't think your kids are necessarily too young, especially if you help the younger one.