Tips for doing Disneyland on limited time! {Travel Tuesday}

Have you ever had a chance to visit Disneyland, but not had your “ideal” amount of time to do it in? If so, I have some tips for visiting Disneyland on limited time! In my many years of Disneyland travel, it’s happened many times that I’ve been there for just one day or only part of day day! In fact, it just happened again last month. I had the pleasure of attending my first ever CHA show in Anaheim. And, I certainly can’t be right across the street from The Happiest Place on Earth without making a visit! So, even though we were on limited time, some of my lovely creative blogging friends and I spent one evening after the conference at Disneyland Resort!  One of the gals in our group had only been to Disneyland once as a child (at the ripe old age of 4) and a couple of the others hadn’t been in years! So, I was beyond thrilled to put on my imaginary cast member pin and play tour guide for the evening. Since Cars Land just opened over the summer, we HAD to start there! After a quick bite at the Cozy Cone, we did a little walking tour of Cars Land. There was some fun to be had in front of Flo’s! 🙂 Thanks to a Disney Photo Pass Photographer, we got one with the whole group! 🙂 L-R Katie from Sweet Rose Studio; Bev from Flamingo Toes; Viv from The V Spot; Angie from The Country Chic Cottage; Allison from All For The Boys; Me. Bottom – Carolina from Always Expect Moore

Fun! 🙂

We of course had to experience one of the Cars Land rides, so (due to wait times & fun factor), we did Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree! Always a good time!  After that, we had to hit up Soarin’ Over California (especially since so many of the girls were not from California). Then, we stopped for churros. Can you believe Angie didn’t know what a churro was?!? Must not be an east coast thing! Do they sell them at Disney World? I don’t know. But, we HAD to rectify the situation immediately. Churros for all! 😉 And, while Cars Land & California Adventure are super fun, there is just something extra magical about the original Happiest Place on Earth, so we headed across the walk to close down Disneyland! We had time to hit up a few favorites like Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, The Matterhorn, and Space Mountain! Don’t you love our Space Mountain pic? Hilarious!!! Our time was too short (and it was much too cold for Southern California ;)), but we had a blast! So, without any further ado, here are a few tips for enjoying Disneyland on limited time…

1. Have a plan. Let’s face it, it’s smart to have at least a rough plan when going to Disney any time. But, when you’re on limited time, it’s especially important. For our crafty girls night out experience, we had a plan in place. It centered around the closing times at both parks and the major park highlights we wanted to see at each park. As part of your planning, check out some of these Disneyland tips. Before you go, make a list of your absolute must-see/do attractions. If you’re not as familiar with the parks, make sure to grab a map!

2. Be flexible. Oxymoron, right? Have a plan…be flexible? Yes and yes! It IS important to have a plan in order to maximize the limited time you’re on. But, there needs to be room for flexibility in that plan. For us, “churros” weren’t part of “the plan”. But, it was SO fun to all get them together and have a friend experience her first one. Then, we went to the Matterhorn as one of the “must-do” rides. Right as we were next to get on the platform, the ride broke. 🙁 So, we rolled with it and found the next best thing–Space Mountain!  😉

3. Use FASTPASSES. If you’re in the park early enough, be sure to get some FASTPASSES for your favorite must-do rides! You can even add getting the fast passes to your plan!

4. Close down the park. Obviously, if you’re trying to make the most of limited time, plan to stay in the park until closing.  There’s something just part of the magical fun about strolling down Main Street USA late at night, tired from a fun day. Know too that as long as you’re in line for a ride before closing time, you WILL be able to ride (even if the ride occurs after closing)!

5. Check out this year’s Limited Time Magic! For all of 2013, Limited Time Magic will be surprising guests at both Disneyland and Disney World Resorts. New entertainment and imaginative events will only happen at certain times of the year—so be sure to take advantage of those opportunities while you’re there! Weekly announcements are made on www.disneyparksblog.com and www.limitedtimemagic.com

What are YOUR must-do Disneyland attractions?

Disclosure: I received complimentary admission to the parks, but was not asked to write this post. All opinions, experiences, and love of Disney are all my own! 😉