A Day At Disneyland

[captain_slinky]

I love being The Disneyland Expert that everybody comes to for help :) I have been asked for a list of "Must Do/See" things for a single day visit to Disneyland, which is the exact type of challenge I LURVE!!!

For the purpose of this exercise, we're assuming that the day of our visit will be Tuesday, June 11th (tomorrow as I am writing this).

First of all, it must be noted that on the 11th there is a special Annual Pass Holder preview presentation of the new show "Mickey And The Magical Lamp" in Fantasyland that would be worth getting an annual pass for :) HOWEVER, let's assume that you're going on a standard, $92 one-day, single-park ticket for Disneyland.

The park will be open from 8am till midnight, and Main Street stays open till 1am for all your last-minute shopping needs so don't waste time buying any souvenirs unless you see an item you REALLY want and the line is REALLY short.

The only ride closed for refurbishment at this time is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Frontierland.

During the day, take it easy and don't stress; be all loosey-goosey like Gary Busey. Don't make a schedule and instead just have a checklist of "goals". We'll start our goals list with MUST RIDE RIDES. In order of their locations around the park going counter-clockwise in a kind of S-formation for flow:

TOMORROWLAND
• Astro Orbiter (The Spinning Space-Ship Thingee, great views of the park and ever so retro)
• Star Tours (at least once, twice if you have time so you can try and get a different ride)
• Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (competitive fun, and you can email yourself a free souvenir picture of yourself at the end for posting to social media)
• Captain EO Tribute (I can never get enough of this - "Hee-HEEEEEE!", "WOOO!" and "SH'MON!" as much as you can!)

FANTASYLAND
• Mad Tea Party Tea Cups (fun to try and make everybody puke)
• Storybook Land Canals (I love miniatures and this was one of Walt's favorites)
• Peter Pan's Flight (Most impressive dark ride I've ever ridden)
• Small World (you can't go to Disneyland without riding Small World!)

FRONTIERLAND
• The Mark Twain Riverboat (If you need a break and just want a leisurely ride on the river along with a little bit of Animatronics, this is a must. My favorite spot is right in the front on the second-floor deck)

ADVENTURELAND
• The Jungle Cruise (ride twice, laugh at all the jokes regardless of how lame they are - Jungle Cruise Skippers are powered by laughter, the more you love it the better they get)
• Indiana Jones & The Temple Of The Forbidden Eye (The only ride I've ever been on where the cue line area is almost as awesome as the ride itself)

NEW ORLEANS SQUARE
• Pirates Of The Caribbean (save this one till dark - your eyes will adjust better and you'll be able to see stuff much clearer)
• Haunted Mansion (Again, try to wait till night so your eyes are adjusted before you go in, and be sure to ask if you can go check out the Secret Pet Cemetary on the other side of the Mansion).

CRITTER COUNTRY
• The Davy Crocket Explorer Canoes (kind of like The Jungle Cruise, only with *cool kids* running it instead of the class clowns)
• The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh (Makes me all warm and fuzzy)
• Splash Mountain (the only "Thrill Ride" I really go for, I love it on a hot day and it's great to see all the original "America Sings" animatronic critters repurposed for this Song Of The South themed ride)

TOON TOWN
• Roger Rabbit CarTOON Spin (Even the cue line is fun!)
• Mickey's House (Go through his house, in to the back yard and in to his barn to meet Mickey Mouse himself one-on-one - BEST PHOTO OP IN THE PARK!)

MAIN STREET USA
• Great Moments With Mister Lincoln (another great "I need a rest" attraction, and once the Robot Uprising happens you can tell your new Robo-Overlords that you paid homage to the original Robo-Lincoln, the robot who started it all)
• The Disneyland Railroad (do the Full Circle Tour at least once, then use the train A LOT through the day to avoid walking whenever possible)

FOOD
• In Adventureland, I don't care how long the line is, get yourself a DOLE WHIP FLOAT. Even if you don't like pineapple, get one and eat it! You buy it then you go see the Enchanted Tiki Room show while you eat it.
• Anywhere in the park, get a Churro. Disneyland Churros are *magic*.
• For breakfast, I suggest the Carnation Cafe so you can meet Oscar, the longest tenured Disneyland Resort cast member. He joined the company Dec. 29, 1956, and has been a Disneyland mainstay for 54 years – and at Carnation Café since 1967! He's just the nicest old man you'd ever want to meet :)
  
• For lunch, get you some Corn Dog from The Little Red Wagon on Main Street near the hub. They tried to change the recipe once and they had RIOTS!
• For dinner, I suggest either New Orlean's Square (Gumbo bread bowl) or The Hungry Bear Cafe (Fried Green Tomato Sandwich with sweet tater fries).

SHOWS, PARADES, ETC
• For the fireworks, if you can't get some of the reserved seating (sometimes if you just ask nice they'll let you in and it never hurts to ask), muscle your way in to the hub right behind the "Partners" statue. This frame the fireworks and the castle *perfectly*, and lets you feel like Walt himself is pointing out the fireworks to you :)
• If you can afford it, get the Reserved Seating for Fantasmic! Delicious snacks and th best view in the whole park! If you don't get in there, then the bridge over the Pirates Of The Caribbean entrance is also a really good spot, as well as anyplace right along the banks of The Rivers Of America
• The Soundsational Parade is wonderful, and you'll have several (3 I think?) opportunities to see it through the day. Don't *plan it*, but if you hear it coming you should take the time to watch :)
• Starting at 7pm in Tomorrowland, there will be an excellent Elvis Tribute Band that really is worth seeing because IT'S HAUNTED BY THE GHOST OF ELVIS. I kid you not. I've seen him *twice*, talked to him *once*, you'll know him when you see him, lurking around the outer edges of the crowd.

That's all the stuff *I* could accomplish in one day at Disneyland, but our family is always first in the park, last out of the park. For a novice, though? Hmmmmmm... Crowd Forecast is at a 6 (out of 10)...

Okay, official checklist of must-do items:

• Disneyland Railroad Grand Circle Tour
• Pirates Of The Caribbean
• Haunted Mansion
• Star Tours
• Splash Mountain
• Davy Crocket Wilderness Explorer Canoe
• Parade
• Small World
• Fantasmic!
• Peter Pan's Flight
• Tiki Room with Dole Whip Float
• Mickey's House in Toon Town
• Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
• Mad Hatter Tea Party

That's the *musts*. But if you can do a Pierce Family Full Day Of Must-Do's, you'll win ALL THE THINGS!!!

OOH! Almost forgot! Start your day at City Hall on Main Street! Trade some cash for Disney Dollars (funner AND an excellent keepsake), and also tell them that it's your Birthday! They'll give you a special Birthday Button, as well as buttons for everybody in your group that say "I'm Celebrating!". These buttons let the ride operators and other cast members know it's your birthday and you'll get special treatment! Really, it's awesome! We had the entire cabin full of Star Tours guests singing Happy Birthday to Molly :)

Comments

[musical-junkie.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Good tip on Pirates and Haunted Mansion. Haunted Mansion is at the top of my must list.

That sounds like a crazy busy day, and I know my parents want to go to California Adventures (I'm hoping I can change their minds. Seriously, it's my birthday, and I want to spend the day in DISNEYLAND), but I'm hoping to get as much done from the list as I can.

I'm printing this out and bringing it along with me.

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Oh good!

Now California Adventure, THAT'S a whole different kettle of fish! For *you*, I'd suggest hanging around Buena Vista Street at leat long enough to meet all the characters (Officer Blue and Messenger Molly are just the sweetest) and to see the very "Newsies"-esque Trolley Car Show. Cars Land will still have crazy-long lines and wait times for stuff, and going to see Alladin at the Hyperion Theater is a very nice event :) Toy Story Midway Mania is a waste of time (imho) unless you *really* like playing Wii games with a bunch of strangers. The giant ferris wheel is kind of awesome for the view, and really ANY of the live shows/parades are excellent over there. It took a long time and a heck of a lot of remodeling, but DCA is now a fine accompaniment for Disneyland for when you have a 3-day pass (or more) :)

[musical-junkie.livejournal.com]

We apparently got the "hop"/"jump"/whatever tickets so that we can go back and forth between the parks. I'm not prioritizing DCA, but we'll probably end up over there at some point.

It's funny, I actually live a few blocks away from the actual Buena Vista Street where the ABC Studios/Disney Animation is.

Thanks again for all of this! I really appreciate it. I trust your judgement when it comes to Disneyland.

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Dang STRAIGHT you'll trust my judgement! I'm a PRO :P

It's a "Park Hopper", and it's kind of awesomer on weekends than on week days, because it's a great way to dodge crowds and take in "The Mad T Party" which is like the awesomest retro-90's themed Alice In Wonderland 80's cover band EVER. But it's Tuesday, so you won't have that over there. Make them stick in Disneyland!

[musical-junkie.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping I can keep them trapped there. Thanks for the app recommendations, as well. I'll definitely download them. Especially ones with the menus. My mom is really excited, because Disney parks et al are always SUPER GREAT with gluten free stuff. (The caps make it sound sarcastic, but I'm not. They really are amazing at being careful about food allergies, which is great.)

Honestly, though, as long as we get to the Haunted Mansion, I'll be a happy girl. And we'll probably see one of the shows/parades that my mom's cousin worked on.

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

OOH OOH! There's a book in the Kindle Store all about eating gluten-free at Disneyland!

Our next (potential) trip to Disneyland isn't till the end of January at the earliest Take pics please and share??? I live vicariously through on-line video and pictures!

[musical-junkie.livejournal.com]

I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and write up a full report when I get back. (My parents are big on taking pictures, so I'll have tons.)

I'll have to tell my mom about that book. She'll get a kick out of it.

Hopefully by the next time you're out here, I'll be working at one of the Disney/ABC networks (sort of my dream job at this point), and y'all can stop by LA. If I'm working on a show, I can take you around the set. (Someday...)

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Deal! You've got 7 months at least, so no hurry... and if you could arrange a meeting for me with Dan Schnieder, I'd appreciate it kthx :)

[aurora77]

Dude. I just realized that I'm totally due for a Disneyland trip this year. I've been TWICE. At 6, at 21, and now I'm 36, so it's been 15 years since I've been. It was 15 years between my first two trips, so I JUST CAN'T let it lapse any further. Somehow I NEED to make that trip before my next birthday.

If we arrive for park opening each morning and stay until 8-9 PM or so each night (conservative), how many days would it take for us to see and do pretty much everything in Disneyland except for the little kiddie stuff? And is California Adventure worth it, or should we plan to skip it? How long if we try to do both parks? Assume moderate crowd levels, or maybe early-mid December crowd levels if we try to go for the Christmas season.

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

I'll make a custom Disneyland Trip Plan post just for you, either today or tomorrow :)

Your diet, is it closest to Gluten Free, Low-Carb, Dairy-free or ? Would love to put in menu suggestions as well!

[aurora77]

Low in fiber. No grains (not just gluten-free), not even rice or corn. No starches, including potatoes. No processed sugars. Can't have most beans, and the ones I can have have to be pre-soaked properly. No soy except for soy lecithin. No lactose, but aged cheeses are fine. No gums, such as xanthan gum, guar gum, etc. No maltodextrin or other grain derivatives. No agave nectar, maple, molasses, or other sweeteners other than fruit juice, honey, or stevia. No sugar alcohols like erythritol, xylitol, sorbitol., etc. All meats are fine, but I avoid red meat as a general rule. Nuts and eggs are okay.

And that probably doesn't cover all of it. Almost any processed food or restaurant menu item has at least one problem item. :/

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

I'll have to check the official ingredients, but it sounds like The Bengal BBQ in Adventureland is gonna be your favorite spot!

[aurora77]

All commercial BBQ sauces I've found so far have sweeteners and thickeners from the "illegal" list. :( If they can show they only sweetened it with honey and didn't thicken it with any of the above items, it /might/ be okay.

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Most of the skewers at the Bengal BBQ are sauce-optional, so hooray! Of course there's always the Turkey Leg and the new Pork Shank, have to look in to those as well...

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Now by "Kiddie Stuff", we need to be kind of specific here becaue to me there ARE no "Kiddie Stuff" attractions at DIsneyland. Even the youngest-skewed ride in the park, The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh, is awesome for the technical lighting and effects that they put in to it and the nods to the original Country Bear Jamboree that used to be there... so I need an example of what you consider to be "Kiddie Stuff" before I move forward...

[aurora77]

Remember, my memory is sharper on DW than DL, so they may not have all of these: Dumbo, Aladdin's Carpets, the little racecars stuck on the track. The small, tame not-really-a-roller-coaster-but-looks-like-one ride whose name I can't remember. It's not that I couldn't enjoy them, but I probably wouldn't enjoy them very much and don't want to waste the time waiting in line. The vast majority of stuff is enjoyable for everyone, but some are very much meant for just the kids.

I liked the DW Winnie the Pooh ride and the DW version of Midway Mania. I HAVE to ride the carousel anywhere I find one. Country Bear Jamboree is a nice break. I wouldn't normally pick rides like the Astro Orbiter, except for the view. I'm not one to wait in long lines for character photo ops, but if an opportunity with a short wait pops up, then yeah, why not?

We love the dark rides and the visually impressive shows and the fun musical stuff and the parades and the little things, like the piano player who knows like EVERY SONG EVER and the hidden Mickeys and the fun little details all around the park that you might miss if you're not paying attention. I liked how just about every employee I spent any real time around was doing something to make the experience interesting and unique. They were either giving little bits of trivia or making jokes or something. One was carrying cleaning supplies and stopped in front of a waiting crowd. He did a quick bit of cleaning and then started using a long tool with a sponge at the tip to put water on the concrete. It was puzzling at first, but then a shape started to take form and we realized he was drawing Mickey! He marked out some dots in a pattern and handed the stick to a kid to get her to finish it for him. It was cute and vastly improved everyone's moods, since the bus was late and people were tired and ready to leave.

Bonus side story! I managed to get Russell on Space Mountain without letting on that it was a roller coaster. Not intentionally, mind you. I just assumed he knew. He didn't know to take his hat off before we were fired off into the darkness and lost it almost immediately. Whoops. He had no idea what to expect, but he really enjoyed it anyway. We had to get him a new hat afterward because it was too sunny for him to go without, but at least we had an excuse to get a Disney World hat. XD

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Okay, getting a good idea formed here... I remembered that Russel was a coaster-phobe like me, and most people consider anything that' NOT a thrill ride to be a "Kiddie Ride" :)

One "Behind The Ears" trip, coming up!

When would you be doing this, btw? Makes quite a difference...