Disneyland tomorrow - quick help?

[mackmama]

DC is 4yo. We will be driving from San Diego to Disneyland tomorrow. We will stay about 4 hours. DC really really wants to see favorite characters from TV shows like Diego/Dora, 7D's, Disney movies, etc. Is there a certain place where we'd go to meet these characters, maybe take a pic with them? I'm not sure DC really cares very much about rides, but we'll do a couple. Any particular rides or areas where you'd suggest we go since we won't have that much time? What time should we try to get there - is it important to be there when it first opens in terms of lines etc? I'd appreciate any tips. I have only been to DL once when I was in high school. Thanks!

[PZMommy]

We are also going to Disneyland tomorrow!

Diego and Dora are not Disney. The rest of the characters are in various places throughout the park. The Pixar movie characters are at California Adventure.

I would get there as close to opening as possible, as the lines are less in the morning. I'm not sure how much you will be able to do in 4 hours though. My boys love the Buzz Astro Blaster ride. It is their favorite.

[geochick]

There's an app that tracks the characters. You're only staying for 4 hours?! Can't you stay longer? There are so many fun little rides that are perfect for 4 year olds! Dumbo, It's a Small World, ...

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/my-disney-experience/mobile-apps/
(https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/my-disney-experience/mobile-apps/)

Be there at rope drop (like IN the park at opening buzzer). It's amazing what you can do in the first few hours before the rest of So. Cal wakes up!

http://gocalifornia.about.com/od/cadisneyland/a/disneyland-rides-for-kids.htm

[PZMommy]

There's an app that tracks the characters. You're only staying for 4 hours?! Can't you stay longer? There are so many fun little rides that are perfect for 4 year olds! Dumbo, It's a Small World, ...

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/my-disney-experience/mobile-apps/

The Dumbo ride wait is usually about an hour long though, so you will waste a large portion of your time in lines.

To be honest, unless you have free passes, I'm not sure I would spend all that money on tickets to only stay for 4 hours. With the crowds you won't get much done.

[sariana]

It's been a while since we were there, but the last time we went, the daily schedule had SOME info about character meetings. Not the map, but the printed sheet of paper (usually colored paper) with all the show times and parade times. Keep in mind, though, that some characters appear only in California Adventure, and some only in Disneyland. (Some will be at both.)

If you get there before opening, you MIGHT get to see a character or two out on the central plaza between the two parks. We caught Donald Duck once that way.

I think the only way to see Mickey Mouse is to wait in the long (LONG) line at his house in ToonTown. Same with Minnie Mouse. She has her own separate house.

I would expect very large crowds tomorrow. A few school districts are back in session this week, but most are not. And August is a huge month for European tourists (though they seem to prefer the national parks).

[SnuggleBuggles]

It's super important to get there by 9:30-10. And be open to staying longer than 4 hours, as we all said before. Start in the back of the park.

[lmr1101]

When we've gone the last few years they open main street before rope drop - there are usually some characters right there waiting to great people before the rest of the park opens. We always try to get there about an hour before rope drop to hang out in main street area before racing to the rides.
Otherwise if you just want to see the characters and don't have to personally hug each one plan to be there during the parade. You can see them all that way without running all over the park.

[twowhat?]

Can you just do a character meal instead? Making that drive from San Diego and paying that much for tickets just to go for 4 hours is going to be pretty disappointing.

But, you could book a character meal at someplace like Goofy's Kitchen (easy to meet lots of characters and get lots of pictures and feel less rushed), and do a little browsing in Downtown Disney? That would be much more do-able for 4 hours.

Do you already have tickets?

If you already have tickets I would plan to start driving (accounting for traffic) so that you can be there at least 15 minutes before rope drop. Be prepared to battle crowds and spend time waiting in lines. Hopefully your DC is a good car rider - my kids have been cranky after being in the car for 2 hours for that drive, especially if there's a bunch of stop and go traffic.

eta: if Dumbo is important, we've been there on crowded days and headed to dumbo first right at rope drop and get about a 20 minute wait time. So maybe hit that one first? I do agree that lines at the front of the park fill up fast, so it may be worth heading to Toon Town first, which is sort of a ghost town at the beginning of the day, but I don't know if Mickey and Minnie are available first thing in the morning.

[SnuggleBuggles]

If $ is no object, maybe you can call today to see if you can organize a VIP tour and guide?

[Tenasparkl]

Like the others said, get there as early as you can. With limited time you don't want to waste too long waiting in lines. The line for Peter Pan is crazy long lately, so skip that unless you really want to ride it.

You can meet some of the avengers (Captain America and Thor) in Tomorrowland after 10AM. Tinkerbell and another fairy or two are in Pixie Hollow. You can meet 3 princesses at the Fantasy Faire. In Toontown you can see Mickey and Minnie at their houses. Goofy and Pluto are usually walking around. Sometimes Daisy is too. We often see other characters walking around. We've seen Peter Pan and Captain Hook near the Dumbo ride, Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter near Pixie Hollow, and sometimes Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Pluto etc. are right at the beginning of main street. Aladdin and Jasmine are in Adventureland, but I've never timed it right to see them. Sometimes Tiana is out near the Haunted Mansion, but I haven't seen her in a while.

Some of the Disney Jr. characters (Jake, Doc McStuffins) are out at California Adventure, but I think that's too much for your short visit. Have fun!

[jbbhb]

If you are open to doing California adventure instead of Disneyland I think your DC will see a lot of more characters of interest there. My boys are 3 & 5 and choose CA almost every time we go (we are pass holders so usually once a week). You can see the Disney Jr show which is pretty cute, plus see characters in the Hollywood area, bugs land, and car land. I think you will get a lot more done in California adventure in four hours. You could probably do all the rides in bugs land in less than an hour at rope drop, hit cars land to see Lightning McQueen and mater, then go do monsters inc and Hollywood area, see the Disney jr show and be done. Hope you have fun!

[PZMommy]

If you are open to doing California adventure instead of Disneyland I think your DC will see a lot of more characters of interest there. My boys are 3 & 5 and choose CA almost every time we go (we are pass holders so usually once a week). You can see the Disney Jr show which is pretty cute, plus see characters in the Hollywood area, bugs land, and car land. I think you will get a lot more done in California adventure in four hours. You could probably do all the rides in bugs land in less than an hour at rope drop, hit cars land to see Lightning McQueen and mater, then go do monsters inc and Hollywood area, see the Disney jr show and be done. Hope you have fun!

This is a really good suggestion! My boys like all the characters at CA much better, but like the rides at DL better, my parents haven't gone to DL in 25 years, so we are doing DL tomorrow. We usually do a park hopper and hit both parks in a day, but have a feeling we will be moving at a slower pace tomorrow.

[MMMommy]

Like PPs have mentioned, being there right at opening is your best bet. You can get the most done in the first two hours of opening. 10am/11am and after, it gets very crowded with long lines. If you are not there right at opening and arrive late morning or lunchtime, you will not be able to ride many rides at all in a four hour time span. Those first two hours make a huge difference in the number of rides you can ride.

[AnnieW625]

If you can afford to go for four hours and live within a two hour radius of DL I highly suggest getting passes instead. Even when we had passes we went for at least 6 hrs. a visit and went about once a month (the only time we didn't stay that long was on Mothers Day and it was a zoo so we left after 3 hours). I don't trip plan at all so a 4 hr. time plan wouldn't work for me at all because I would be a basket case figuring out what I could see in that time frame.

We would alternate parks so we would spend the bulk of the day at one park and then pick two or three must rides at the other park. When the kids were really little we would walk over to CA after DL so DH could ride CA Screaming and I would walk around with the girls in the stroller while he rode it.

[bisous]

If you can afford to go for four hours and live within a two hour radius of DL I highly suggest getting passes instead. Even when we had passes we went for at least 6 hrs. a visit and went about once a month (the only time we didn't stay that long was on Mothers Day and it was a zoo so we left after 3 hours). I don't trip plan at all so a 4 hr. time plan wouldn't work for me at all because I would be a basket case figuring out what I could see in that time frame.

We would alternate parks so we would spend the bulk of the day at one park and then pick two or three must rides at the other park. When the kids were really little we would walk over to CA after DL so DH could ride CA Screaming and I would walk around with the girls in the stroller while he rode it.

I think this is a good suggestion. Passes are awesome. They're so much more expensive now then they were ten years ago when we started getting them! (They were $99 then--isn't that crazy?) But we loved the flexibility to ride our favorite ride 5 x and watch the ducks and then go home, lol. Still, even with those activities we'd often stay longer than 4 hours!

Good luck tomorrow! I hope you love it as much as we do! I think that if you do find yourself loving it, you can buy passes at the end of the day, applying the cost of your tickets to the cost of your passes, but check first to make sure!

[AnnieW625]

I think this is a good suggestion. Passes are awesome. They're so much more expensive now then they were ten years ago when we started getting them! (They were $99 then--isn't that crazy?) But we loved the flexibility to ride our favorite ride 5 x and watch the ducks and then go home, lol. Still, even with those activities we'd often stay longer than 4 hours!

Good luck tomorrow! I hope you love it as much as we do! I think that if you do find yourself loving it, you can buy passes at the end of the day, applying the cost of your tickets to the cost of your passes, but check first to make sure!

The first year we had passes in 2008-2009 the pass we had where would go on Sunday was $179 a person, but by the time we let them expire in 2012 it was up to $350 a person (and we would have had to buy 4 of them) and now our pass sadly no longer exists unless you have had it on auto pay since 2012 or 2013 iirc. We go once a year to each park when they offer the special SoCal resident offer (although we didn't go this year).

[mackmama]

If you are open to doing California adventure instead of Disneyland I think your DC will see a lot of more characters of interest there. My boys are 3 & 5 and choose CA almost every time we go (we are pass holders so usually once a week). You can see the Disney Jr show which is pretty cute, plus see characters in the Hollywood area, bugs land, and car land. I think you will get a lot more done in California adventure in four hours. You could probably do all the rides in bugs land in less than an hour at rope drop, hit cars land to see Lightning McQueen and mater, then go do monsters inc and Hollywood area, see the Disney jr show and be done. Hope you have fun!

We are just here for the week, so this sounds like the perfect plan. Thank you!

For PP, I have no idea what a character lunch is. I'm going to go google it since that sounds fun too for a different day maybe.

[Tondi G]

Here is the link for Goofy's Kitchen. It's a buffet with multiple characters. Super fun for kids who love the characters .... was a complete nightmare for our friends child who was petrified of the characters!

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/disneyland-hotel/goofys-kitchen/


We are just here for the week, so this sounds like the perfect plan. Thank you!

For PP, I have no idea what a character lunch is. I'm going to go google it since that sounds fun too for a different day maybe.

[mackmama]

So for those saying to get there by the time it opens... it opens at 8am. So you all are suggesting leaving San Diego at 6:30am? All things Disneyland are completely new to me, but this seems like madness. :)

[SnuggleBuggles]

Like I said, if you are in the park, not parking lot, by 9:30 you should have 1-1.5 hours of manageable crowds. Obviously the earlier you get there before 10:30-11, the better. I have never successfully arrived at rope drop and still got tons find before the lazy folk arrive. ;)

[mom2binsd]

Umm.. The drive from San Diego to Disney is minimum 1.5 hours.... If you don't encounter any delays at all... No slow down at the immigration checkpoint... Evan that early the 5 can be a bear....so I'd plan to leave at the latest by 6...

[Nemesia]

Umm.. The drive from San Diego to Disney is minimum 1.5 hours.... If you don't encounter any delays at all... No slow down at the immigration checkpoint... Evan that early the 5 can be a bear....so I'd plan to leave at the latest by 6...

Where in the SD area are you staying? We drove from Encinitas to Disneyland on a Wednesday morning back in May. Our goal was to leave by 5:30, but we left a little after 6am. We made it to Disneyland with minimal traffic. I think we arrived around 7:30 and then got something to eat in Downtown Disney. The day we were there the park didn't open until 9am. I think their summer hours are different...?

Enjoy your day!

[Nemesia]

Also this parking info from pinay (from this BB thread:http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?486685-Driving-from-Encinitas-to-Anaheim-for-1-day-at-Disneyland-CRAZY&highlight=disneyland+diego+encinitas )
was spot-on:

If you are coming from San Diego and you want to get to the Mickey and Friends parking lot, you will need to do a lot of surface street driving. That parking structure on busy days is usually only open to people coming from the north.

So what you have to do is get off on Harbor Blvd., not Disney Way. Turn right on Harbor, then left on Ball Rd. DO NOT turn left on Disneyland Drive even though it tells you to. You will get redirected by the Anaheim police department past DLH and all the way over to the Toy Story lots eventually, negating everything you've done so far and chewing up a lot of time. You have to turn right on Disneyland Drive, then make a U-turn at your earliest opportunity. You will pass the offramp for the I-5 North on the right. Once you make the U-turn, and head south on Disneyland Drive, you will be able to access the flyover bridge to the left that the southbound I-5 traffic gets to use and you will make your way to the Mickey and Friends parking structure. If you miss the flyover bridge, do not continue south on Disneyland Drive as you will get caught up in that Anaheim PD redirection. Just circle back at Ball Rd. and try again.

[AnnieW625]

So for those saying to get there by the time it opens... it opens at 8am. So you all are suggesting leaving San Diego at 6:30am? All things Disneyland are completely new to me, but this seems like madness. :)
um yes because it is summer and I would actually try and leave closer to 6 esp. if you are closer to downtown. There will be some normal commute traffic, but there are carpool lanes all of the way from SD to Anaheim, but there might still be some slow downs and it could take up to 2 hours to get there.

I would just park at the Toy Story Lot as it is right at the Harbor/Katella intersection. They have a shuttle bus that drops you off at the main entrance on Harbor Blvd. I wouldn't get off at Hatbor Blvd. as you actually have to backtrack south a bit and get to the main entrance. You can get off at Disney Way too and I might suggest that if you are in the carpool lane, which I recommend esp. going through Santa Ana (because of traffic) it is an easy left off of the freeway. Note that if you use the carpool lane you cannot get out of the carpool lane for about 10 miles (from about Irvine through Santa Ana until you hit Disney Way, but IMHO it is worth it, esp. going thru downtown Santa Ana). The parking garage shouldn't be much of an issue if you get there right at 8 am, but again I wouldn't really bother with all of the city street driving to get there. If you do get off at Disney Way an easy way to get to the parking lot is to turn left off of Disney Way at Anaheim Blvd. (first left off the freeway) and then make a right on Katella and continue to the parking lot at Katella and Harbor. If you aren't in the carpool lane and the freeway is backed up (it usually isn't after downtown Santa Ana) you can get off at State College Blvd./Chapman Ave. exit., and at the first intersection turn left onto Chapman Avenue and continue on Chapman Avenue until Harbor Blvd., and then turn right on Harbor Blvd. and go north and then the parking lot is on your right.

[jbbhb]

So how was it? :)

[mackmama]

We didn't go. My back problem flared up, so we are pushing it back a couple of days to hopefully calm down a bit. DH is pushing hard for Disneyland instead of CA Adventures. Not sure what to do since DC really cares mostly about seeing characters.

[mom2binsd]

Can you plan for longer on the next trip. Does your dh understand what the differences are between the two placed and why CA makes more sense??? Sorry about your back!

[PZMommy]

We went yesterday. We were there right at 8, and we were able to ride most rides that were on our must ride list by noon without much of a wait. While walking around we did see Goofy and Minnie Mouse, but both had waits of over 30 minutes, so we didn't bother, as my kids didn't care. Tigger and Winnie were nearly a 45 minute wait, so we skipped them too, even though we love Winnie!! If your DS only wants to see characters, DL probably is not a good choice and CA would be a better option. Keep in mind if you go on a weekend, it will be even more crowded. I would try to stick to a midweek day. We've always had really good luck on Wednesdays crowd wise.

[ckso]

Hope you feel better soon

Disneyland also came out with their official app that tells you wait times and where the characters are.

Personally at that age I would do CA especially if you don't have much time. They have a lot of the Disney junior characters if he likes those

Also agree the character meals are pretty awesome if that's what he wants. Would be good to go to the ones at the resorts so you don't have to pay admission, meet some of the characters (ie Mickey and friends) and then do Disneyland. That way you don't waste time waiting for a quick character meet. The character meals are so much more interactive and no waiting. They come to you


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[mackmama]

Neither of us understand the differences between CA and Disneyland. :) We are both Disney newbies. DH read the website though and said CA sounds like it's mostly for teens?

[ckso]

Neither of us understand the differences between CA and Disneyland. :) We are both Disney newbies. DH read the website though and said CA sounds like it's mostly for teens?

IMO, its opposite. CA more towards toddlers and DL more wide range. CA has the bugs land and Disney Jr which is really catered to the 5 and under range. It's also more laid back, less crowded and generally less overwhelming.

I have annual passes and started going when DDs were 2 and 4. We definitely did mostly CA. Now that DD1 is almost 7, we're doing more DL. But if your DC is more interested in Mickey and friends characters, then DL is the place to go. Toons town is pretty awesome


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[PZMommy]

FWIW my boys are almost 4 and just turned 6.

There are only a few rides we do at CA, but my boys like Carsland and seeing the Pixar characters. Most of the rides are too wild for my kids. We do the Monsters Ride, Toy Story Mania (which they like, but I don't), and the rides in Carsland. That is it. My boys don't like the Bugs Life area. They are too short for a bunch of other rides. We only need a few hours at California Adventure. If you just want to see characters, CA is the better park for that as they have a lot of the current characters from recent Pixar movies and the lines are shorter to meet them.

For rides, my kids much prefer Disneyland. There are a lot more rides there that they like. They don't really care about the characters, other than Winnie, so we don't need to mess with the lines for those. There are tons of rides that my boys can do there. If given the choice, my boys pick Disneyland every time.

If you want to meet characters, CA is the park to go. If you want rides, go to Disneyland.

[petesgirl]

Stupid question-- but is there separate admission for CA and DL or do DL admissions include CA?

[SnuggleBuggles]

Stupid question-- but is there separate admission for CA and DL or do DL admissions include CA?

Separate. But you can buy a park hopper if you want to go to both on the same day. If OP we're going for more than 4 hours (which she really should!!) that'd be a great option.

[petesgirl]

Separate. But you can buy a park hopper if you want to go to both on the same day. If OP we're going for more than 4 hours (which she really should!!) that'd be a great option.

Ok, thanks!

[Tenasparkl]

Disneyland also came out with their official app that tells you wait times and where the characters are.


I just got this app and it looks very helpful. It's free, so absolutely worth it to track characters, find bathrooms etc.

My kids are 3 & 6 prefer CA too. They love the Redwood Creek Trail area, the Toy Story ride, just about everything in Cars Land (including the food), the Disney Jr. Show, all of the Frozen characters and activities, Soarin' (just DD, 3 y.o. is too small), Jumpin' Jellyfish and the Golden Zephyr in the boardwalk area. Even the Little Mermaid ride is fun. We haven't seen the Pixar parade in a while, but I remember it being really cute. You can usually meet Mickey and Minnie in different costumes around the park too.

I just checked the app and today all of these characters are at CA: Buzz, Woody, Jessie, Donald Duck, Dug and Russell from Up (they don't do autographs), Pluto, Oswald, Olaf, Chip, Dale, Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, Sulley, Frozone, Mr. Incredible, Anna & Elsa, Doc McStuffins, Jake, Sofia the First, Flik, Lightning McQueen, Mater and Red.

[mackmama]

Thanks all- we went and had a great time!