Disneyland
From LiMaWiki
So, a week after I get the Wiki started my family goes on vacation to Disneyland. Going through Sea-Tac was ok, the flight was fine, but LAX was a nightmare. We suggest planning your trip through the much closer (and smaller) John Wayne or Long Beach airports, if possible. We finally get to the hotel and everything is smooth sailing. 7 days in SoCal was wonderful. Anyhow, I found myself repeating some tips to people many times while down there. So, now that I am back, I'll put them on the web for all to see and learn from if you are going to Disneyland.
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[edit] Park Tickets
Your tickets for the park are going to be credit card sized with a bar code on them. There is an area on them for you to sign. Everyone in your party (with the exception of children under 3) will have one. There are two types, 3-9, and 10+. Unless you have special arrangements, it is likely that you will use the same ticket for each day you are at the park.
Disney has a very strict policy on the tickets. If you lose them, or they become damaged, you are likely to be denied entrance to the park. Again, they are very strict about this. I suggest keeping any receipts and paperwork regarding your trip in a safe place just in case. DO NOT LOSE YOUR TICKETS!
[edit] FastPass®
A Fastpass® basically is like making a reservation for an airline. Rather than waiting in the Standby line for the next available flight, you get a reservation for a certain time (4:00 to 5:00 for example) and can then get in the expedited line. A Fastpass doesn't guarantee that you will be first in line, but waiting 5-15 minutes rather than 30-90 is a huge leap forward.
You park tickets are used to obtain a Fastpass. So, they are doubly important. Again, DO NOT LOSE THEM!
There are a few restrictions though (aren't there always?) and you need to keep these in mind. First off, you can only Fastpass any ride once per 2 hours. So, if you just used it to Fastpass Grizzly River Run, you cannot use that park ticket to Fastpass another ride for approx two hours. Second, not all rides have Fastpass access.
In addition, you don't get the choose the times listed on your Fastpass ticket. There are a limited amount of "reservations" to be had, and the as they are taken, the time on the Fastpass ticket gets later and later in the day. Eventually, they WILL run out. So Fastpass early!
Here's the list for Disneyland and California Adventure:
[edit] Disneyland® Park
- Autopia, presented by Chevron
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
- Indiana Jones™ Adventure
- Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin
- Rockin' Space Mountain [1]
- Splash Mountain [2]
[edit] Disney's California Adventure® Park
- Rockin' California Screamin'
- Grizzly River Run
- Mulholland Madness, presented by Alamo
- Soarin' Over California [3]
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ [4]
On a side note, what is with all this "Presented by..." stuff? Since when does Disney need a sponsor?
Anyhow, here are our family tips. Try to plan ahead. Once you are in the park, head to a ride/event that doesn't require a Fastpass while one member of your party heads to a ride(s) that does. That person will take everyone's park tickets and secure a Fastpass early in the day for times later on. Also, just before you sit down for lunch or dinner, send someone out to Fastpass things. By the time you get finished with your meal and ride another ride, the two hours will be up and you can Fastpass something again.
The beauty of the Fastpass system is that the cast members do not pay attention to the second time on the card. It's not negligence on their part, it's just that they don't. We've gone many years and cast members continually tell us to ignore the second time. So long as you arrive after the initial "reservation" time (2:00pm to 3:00pm for instance, ignore the 3:00pm), you can get in the Fastpass line at the ride. This allows you to secure a Fastpass for the really popular rides that "sell out" fast, like Soarin' Over California, or Rockin' Space Mountain. Those two go really fast. I secured a Fastpass for Rockin' Space Mountain at 10:49am one day, and the time listed on the Fastpass was for 10:30 pm that night! So, get it done early.
Another part of that tip is to plan ahead for riders that may or may not want to go on a ride. If you are going to Fastpass the Tower of Terror and you know your son won't like the ride, don't Fastpass with all of your park tickets, only as many as you'll need. Instead, Fastpass something else. This tip can be very helpful when combined with a Switch Pass.
[edit] Switch Pass
A switch pass is very similar to a Fastpass in that you still are required to wait in the Fastpass line. However, it's given to people who are unable to go on the ride all at once. For example, if a young child can not go on the ride due to height restrictions, and both mother and father wish to go on the ride, they can go in "turn". Mother goes first and waits in the Standby line and when she's done the father can "skip" the standby line and get on the ride much faster. To get this pass, just ask at the attraction before you get in the line. Both riders and the person incapable of enjoying the ride must be present (to prevent fraud) to receive a switch pass.
Each Switch pass is good for the two people. For instance, in the above example, mom waits in the Standby line with the older child. Dad stays behind with the baby. When mom gets back, dad can go on the ride with the older son as well, but gets to use the faster line. Good deal, eh? Oh, it gets better. Even if the other person - one of the parents in the example for instance - doesn't want to go on the ride, get a switch pass anyway! The switch passes don't have a time or date on them, so you can use them anytime, any day. We saved up several switch passes for the Tower of Terror (which only my 9 year and I would go on) and used them on our last day.
Combined with a Fastpass, things are really smooth. Knowing you can get a switch pass and combining it with efficient Fastpass gathering can make for an easy time on the rides. For instance, there's six of us, one is a 3 year old and not big enough for the ride. Knowing that a switch pass rides 2, we only need to Fastpass using 3 park tickets. This frees up the other 3 park tickets to Fastpass another ride.
[edit] Handicap
If a member of your party is handicapped, you get special treatment. Many rides are not wheelchair accessible, so special accommodations are made. Disney doesn't want to split up your party, so they typically allow the entire party (up to 6-8 people depending on the attitude of the crew person) [5] to ride together with the handicapped person. We've taken our mother-in-law with us and she has a wheelchair. This method of getting on a ride is even faster than a fast pass and is available for nearly every ride. [6]
So, if you have a handicap person in your party, you really need to plan. Because the entire party can go with the handicap person, you really don't need to Fastpass the ride. You'll also not need to switch pass it either since everyone is going on. And really, any ride that a little child cannot go on is likely to be a bad idea for someone in a wheelchair as well.
Keep in mind that some rides are partially wheelchair accessible. Some note that you must be ambulatory, or that you must be able to transfer from wheelchair to ride manually. A small few, like It's A Small World are actually capable of you driving your chair right on the boat.
[edit] Notes
- ↑ One of my favorites, especially if you enjoy the Red Hot Chili Peppers! A fantastic improvement over the old version!
- ↑ Note that this ride is down until late April 07. Because the Railroad that circles the park goes through this ride, it is down as well.
- ↑ According to crew members a few years ago, this is the most popular ride in either park with more riders going on this ride than any other.
- ↑ This ride is one of my favorites. Imagine a psychotic, possessed elevator on crack. This ride is wild and dark, so your first ride on it should feel pretty scary!
- ↑ It's not an official policy yet, so it's not perfectly enforced to date. A crew person told me this year that they are going to be clamping down and enforcing a 6 rider limit soon, but for now they typically allow 8.
- ↑ Note that Disney is slowly converting many rides to be wheelchair accessible so that you have to wait in line just like everyone else.
