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Want to have the most successful day at the Disneyland Resort? Follow these tips and tricks from a seasoned park-goer!

Ever visited the Disneyland Resort and just felt overwhelmed by all the aspects that go into making the most of your day: rides, food, shows, restroom breaks, constant walking, and more. Well, you've come to the right blog then! I've been visiting the Disneyland Resort for years now, and I've developed several tips and tricks for getting the most out of your day at the Disneyland Resort. In this post, I'll help guide you along all the helpful insights that can make sure you get the most out of your day at the Resort. I'll cover my top 10 tips and tricks, and am open to discussion on what other tips and tricks will help as well. With all that being said, let's jump right in!

1-Schedule you park reservations and/or tickets well in advance!

Ever since they reopened in April of 2021, the Disneyland Resort has utilized a park reservation system that allows guests to book their day(s) of visit well in advance. Doing this will guarantee your spot in the parks for the day. This is especially helpful when visiting during busier times of year (holiday weekends, spring break, summertime, thanksgiving, Christmas/new years to name a few). Waiting too long will cause you to possibly have to reserve the park you didn't want or miss out on the day entirely if they are sold out of spots. Doing this creates an early sense of relief that you have your day(s) reserved and now you can start planning around it. Pasted below is the link to the official Disneyland Resort website page that details everything about the Reservation System.

2-Get to the Resort as early as possible!

Out of all the tips and tricks that I have, this I believe is the most important one of all. Arriving to the park as early as possible will mean less people and shorter wait times for most major rides. You can easily go around and ride 3-4 major rides within the first hour the parks are open. To do this, try to arrive to official Disneyland parking at least an hour BEFORE the theme parks even open. They will let you into either theme park and wait at the designated roped off areas until they officially open. This process is referred to by Disney fans as "rope drop." While many people sleep in and arrive later on in the day, you can easily go about your morning riding several of your must-do rides with much lower wait times. Pasted below is a 23 minute video on how to get the most out of your morning.

3-Mobile Order your food through the Disneyland App!

This one is quite baffling to me. Many infrequent park-goers simply wait in long lines just to order their food. This can eat (no pun intended) into precious time at the theme parks you could be doing other, more fun activities. By simply having a Disney account and credit card linked on the Disneyland App, you can mobile order your food from many locations in both theme parks. Doing this allows you to pick a 30-minute return window to pick-up your prepared food, then immediately go find a seat and enjoy it. Not to mention, this function on the App is free! Anyone can use it!

4-Utilize Genie+ for shorter wait times!

This one may be a bit controversial, but I stand by my viewpoint. This paid skip-the-line service available only on the Disneyland App will save you a lot of time waiting in lines for some of the most popular rides. To use this service, add it to every ticket or magic key pass on the App once you've scanned in at either park, then it is yours to use for the entire day. The service will cost you $25-$30 per person per day, but the rewards well outdo the price. Being able to use it on up to 20 rides between both Disneyland and California Adventure means you have plenty of rides to use it on. Pasted below is a video that explains just about everything you need to know about this service.

5-Take advantage of Single Rider Lines at select rides!

There are select rides in both theme parks that offer what are called Single Rider lines. Anyone who enters these designated queue lines will fill in any empty seats on that specific ride. This can greatly reduce the wait time for the ride of choice with the only downside being that if you're in a group, you will be separated. Using these designated queue lines will usually greatly reduce the wait time of the designated ride. These are the rides in both parks that offer Single Rider lines:

Disneyland - Space Mountain, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run, Splash Mountain

Disney California Adventure - Grizzly River Run, Incredicoaster, Radiator Springs Racers, Webslingers: A Spider-Man Adventure

In my opinion, the top 3 best ones to use are Splash Mountain, Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run and Radiator Springs Racers.

6-Enjoy more relaxing experiences during the middle of the day!

The middle period of the day is typically the most busy time at the parks. Wait Times reach their peaks and the walkways are more crowded than earlier in the day. Use this middle period of the day to enjoy the more relaxing experiences at both parks. Doing this will help save on your feet as well as how quickly you tire out as the day goes on. These are some of my favorites:

Disneyland - Disneyland Railroad, Mark Twain Riverboat, Enchanted Tiki Room, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Pirates of the Caribbean

Disney California Adventure - Animation Academy, Turtle Talk with Crush, Redwood Creek Challenge Trail

7-If you're NOT going to watch any nighttime spectaculars, use that time to ride more rides!

As night falls at the theme parks, many of the guests descend upon Main Street, the Rivers of America and Paradise Lagoon to watch the nighttime spectaculars (Main Street = Fireworks, ROA = Fantasmic, PL = World of Color). If you have no interest in watching these shows, take advantage of that time to ride more rides. The wait times of many rides dip down before and during these nighttime spectaculars, allowing you to get shorter wait times for many rides. Be advised though, certain rides close down early to accommodate these nighttime spectaculars! Refer to the Disneyland App or ask a Cast Member for specific operating times.

8-DO NOT leave right after the nighttime spectaculars!

Unless you want to be stuck in an enormous sea of people all trying to exit the theme parks at once, stick around after the shows have concluded, whether or not you actually watched them. Quite a number of the visitors leave directly after the conclusion of these shows, leading to total gridlock at the park exit and parking transportation hubs. If you don't want to stay until park closing, ride at least 1 or 2 more rides before considering exiting the park for the day.

9-Use the late night hours at your leisure!

Aside from the first 2-3 hours that parks are open, the last 1-2 hours they are open are often the least busy as many guests have already left the parks for the day. Use this time at your leisure to do whatever it is you want to. Ride more rides, enjoy some food or shopping, take pictures around the parks, watch the 2nd showings of Fantasmic or World of Color, it is totally up to you.

10-Jump in line for a ride before closing time!

This tip is really only for those guests crazy enough to stay all the way until park closing time. Many guests don't realize that as long as you are in line for a ride before closing time, they will still let you wait in line and ride. Often during the last hour the parks are open, they inflate the posted stand-by wait times to encourage people to avoid certain, very popular attractions. Jumping in line just before closing allows you to not only ride one last ride, but also gives time for the park to empty out of people so that you can enjoy a very leisurely stroll to the park exit. The only possible downside to this tip is that if your selected attraction breaks down past closing time, they will immediately ask you to exit the line and leave the park so keep that in mind when picking your very last ride for the day.

There you have it, all my tips and tricks for getting the most out of your day(s) at the Disneyland Resort. With a bit of planning, knowledge and strategy, you can have a fantastic time at the Happiest Place on Earth!