Traffic

For those unfamiliar with Southern California…rush hour traffic is no joke! If you happen to be traveling to further destinations towards/from LA, try to avoid weekday rush hours: 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm. If you have to travel within those time frames, just account for 2 hours travel time.

Getting to Anaheim from the SNA airport

If you are uber/lyfting, there will be signs leading you to a designated area to call your car. Once you get to the waiting area, request your ride from there. It's very organized and straightforward!

Disneyland

Download The Disneyland App

This will be your go to app for your visit to the parks! It's needed to make reservations for restaurants, mobile order food, reserve your spots for shows, and checking updates for the day.

What tickets should I get?

If you can dedicate one day for each park, that would be the ideal Disney trip! One day in Disneyland and another in California Adventure. If you only have one day in Disney, you can get the Park Hopper pass to see both parks in one day.

Early Entry

If you are staying in one of the Disneyland resort hotels, you will be offered Early Entry with your ticket which will allow you to enter an hour earlier than the rest of guests, this will give you an opportunity to ride the rides that are already operating or taking photos with less crowds!

How do I make the most of my day?

“Rope Dropping” is when you get to the park before it's official opening time. Disney will allow guests into the park to wait along Main Street until you're allowed to disperse into the other lands. This is the perfect time to ride all the popular rides which get longer wait times later in the day. These mainly include Smugglers Run, Rise of the Resistance, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones and Thunder Mountain.

Food Options

Dining reservations are a great addition to you disney experience. Restaurants include the Blue Bayou, which is INSIDE the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride, This can be done through the Disneyland app and should be booked in advanced! Some dining reservations have dining packages which combines your meal with preferred seating/viewing areas for parades and shows.

Genie+

An additional add on to your ticket that will allow you to book certain times to ride the rides instead of waiting in Standby. This is beneficial if you have limited time in the parks and want to get all of the major rides out of the way. The good thing about this is that you can enjoy other parts of the parks or get in shorter ride lines while you wait for your return time! You can read more about it here.

Halloween Time

Disney will be in halloween mode during the wedding week! Characters will be in themed costumes, some parts of the park will be decked out in halloween decor and there might be some seasonal themed treats around the park as well.

Celebrity Spotting

Allison has seen a celebrity almost every visit! It's one of her favorite things to do when she has down time in the parks. She's been in close proximity to/passed by Gwen Stefani, Travis Barker, Maya Rudolph, Criss Angel, and Kobe Bryant (RIP) to name a few. All you need to do is look for cast members wearing red and blue plaid vests. If they're leading a group, there's usually a celebrity in tow or a really rich family lol.

Disneyland Favorites

California Adventure

Popular Rides To “Rope Drop”

WEB Slingers, Incredicoaster, Midway Mania, Radiator Spring Racers, and Guardians of The Galaxy

Oogie Boogie's Bash

On select nights, California Adventure hosts a special Halloween event (separate ticket). This is great for meeting rare characters, trick or treating, seeing exclusive shows, and walking through Villains Grove. You can come dressed in your halloween costume as well!

Animation Building

Don't skip out on this area! If you're looking to escape the heat, and sit for a bit, this is the place for you! You can participate in the Animation Academy where you'll learn how to draw popular Disney characters, Talk with Crush from Finding Nemo, or just sit and watch the many animated screens go by.

Alcohol

Unlike Disneyland, you can easily find alcoholic beverages around the park!

World Of Color

In order to watch this night time show, you must reserve your place by joining the virtual queue in the Disneyland App

California Adventure Favorites

Downtown Disney

If you don't plan to go into the parks there's plenty to do in Downtown Disney! Shop til you drop, eat to your hearts content, lounge in the Grand Californian Hotel lobby, or enjoy live performances that happen throughout the day.

Universal Studios Hollywood

This theme park is an hour drive/uber away to Universal City, if you want to make time to hop over there! Just be aware if you're visiting during the week there will be heavy rush hour traffic during commuting times in the morning and evening!

It's where TV and movies are actually made!

If you are in the park on a weekday and do the Tram Tour, you will most likely see some filming in production! The last time Allison went (years ago), they were filming “The Good Place” and our tram stopped to observe and had to be quiet because a scene was in progress.

Express Passes

Express Passes will be helpful if you want to bypass long wait times.

Knotts Berry Farm

Another theme park close to Disneyland just 15 minutes away

Other Southern California Places Worth Visiting for First Timers!

If you're extending your trip to spend more time exploring, make sure to visit the classic tourist spots:

• Santa Monica Pier
• Venice Beach
• Hollywood Walk Of Fame
• Grauman's Chinese Theater
• The many museums!
• The San Diego Zoo
• Legoland