Early Mornings pay off
"Our strategy was to pick the rides like Indiana Jones, or the Matterhorn and do them early. One morning, we rode Indiana 3 times in a row without any lines. and then went on to Pirates and Haunted Mansion. Another day I did Matterhorn about 3 times in a row with no more than a 5 minute wait."
- Terry U
The most stressful place on earth
"I just came back from "the most stressful place on earth". since 1974, Ii have gone to Disneyland at least once, sometimes twice, a year. now that I have children, I wanted them to experience the magic just like I always had.
AAUUGGHH!
Our trip was the third time my 4 year old twins have gone. we always stay for a minimum of 3 days in the park, sometimes more. with small children you just have too. the first 2 trips we made there we stayed at the Disneyland hotel. it was so wonderful and convenient since the monorail would take us right into Disneyland and back to the hotel. it is more expensive than other hotels in the area, but is worth it when you have small children. unfortunately, when I tried to make reservations for this trip, all the rooms were booked. I should have taken this as a clue not to go. we stayed at another hotel in the area and went ahead. we went to the park 8/3, 8/4, and 8/5. BIG MISTAKE! the crowds were horrible, it was hot, and the guests were the most inconsiderate people I've ever been around in all the trips I've made there. I took a double stroller for my twins, but it broke. I had to rent out 2 strollers for each day we were there. as a single mom, I didn't have anyone to help push a stroller, so I pushed both. I always use caution when pushing a stroller, but in a place that is really meant to be for children and families, I had never been so disregarded as a human. we were stepped on, pushed out of the way (at one point, my daughter was walking and a female pushed her down. she never stopped to ask if she was okay-and there was no one else around so it was very obvious), and yelled at by other guests for being in their path (because the were the only one's at the park!) during the fireworks, adults decided to stand in front of a group of children (mine included) that were sitting on a bench. when some of the parents asked if they would sit down or move, they looked at us as if we were insane.
August Anguish
Never will I go there again in August! It is the absolutely worst time to go. in my opinion the best time to go is in September and February (before or after presidents day weekend). It is usually parents with small children at that time since the bigger kids are in school.
Thanks
The information you have on your page is great. it is very useful for travellers thinking about visiting the park. I'll be putting your page in my "favus" so I can use this information again. Thank you!" - Allison M
Spring break breaks
I've always loved going to Disneyland as a kid. My wife and I took our three children (7, 5, and 2) to Disneyland for the first time Spring break 2005. Opps, bad call on my part! What a ZOO! Hot, crowded, packed. After finally getting through the ticket gates/lines, the first ride we stood in line for was Mr. Toads Wild Ride. Man, I never recall that one being an E-ticket attraction before, but darn if the line wasn't an out of control serpent winding all around the place. The Peter Pan line was even worse. After waiting over an hour in Toad's line we were "about" to board. The ride broke down. We'd been in the park over two hours and not a single ride taken. It was only after 9pm that sanity and good memories prevailed. Stayed till midnight. Between 9pm to 12am the park was great! The rest of the day is best forgotten. - Mark Bancroft
Superbowl - Super Crowd
My family and I were planning a trip to go to Disneyland and wanted to find the least busy day of the year and go. After all my research I discovered that it was Superbowl Sunday. Wrong! We stayed at the Disneyland hotel and it was sold out. The park was not as busy as x-mas but the wait for several rides was well over a 1/2 hour. The walk-ways were very crowed and it was difficult to navigate with a stroller and our two other children (4 and 2). We did this trip in Feb 2005. We are currently planning our next Disneyland trip. We have three children 5, 3 and 1 3/4 years old and we are planning our trip for the second week of January 2006 (when Ca kids go back to school) and will be staying at the Disneyland hotel from Monday thru Friday. Is this a good time to go. Are the crowds small, short lines and as few people as possible. Hours of operation do not concern me, neither does missing some of the shows.- Salvador Severo
