Since we have been going to Disneyland more often, and since we just got our first annual pass (yay!) I have been getting a lot of Disney related questions so I thought I would answer the most asked one here!
Trying to experience everything Disneyland has to offer with kids can be intimidating, so I put together our daily itinerary of what we do and in the order we do them to best optimize our time and hit everything that we want to! We follow this schedule every time we go and it makes the whole day more fun since we are prepared and go in with a plan.
I should also note that I refuse to wait in line for a ride for longer than 30 minutes, so depending on the crowds we might not do all of these rides. I always check the Disneyland app before we head over to our next ride to make sure the wait time is good before wasting our time walking all over the park!
Rope Drop: Part of making this itinerary successful is getting to the park early, at least an hour before they open! The main gates actually open about 30 minutes before the park opens, so if you’re in line an hour early you can be the first ones to walk in and go down main street. From there go down to the castle where the entrances to the different “lands” are blocked off. When the park officially opens, a voice comes on the loud speaker that welcomes you to Disneyland, and a cast member drops the rope and lets everyone in!
1.Go to Peter Pan: The ride for kids that gets the longest line is Peter Pan, so if you want to do that ride without waiting for an hour you have to do it first. Go straight there!
While waiting in line for Peter Pan, get on your Disneyland app and purchase the Max Pass. This allows you to book Fastpasses on the app and gives you access to photos taken by photographers throughout the park, and on the rides!
With your Max Pass purchased, book Fastpasses for Space Mountain right away (if you plan on going on that big kid ride!) If you don’t want to do Space Mountain, book one for Indiana Jones, Thunder Mountain, or Splash Mountain.
2. Do the rest of Fantasyland: Next we do Dumbo, Teacups, the Carousel and Casey Jr. Train. These are all located across from each other so you don’t have to move after parking your stroller in front of Peter Pan! You can also do most of these rides while babywearing, which is a huge plus for moms with tiny babies! Other rides in the area are Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, and Pinocchio. I feel like these are all a little scary for little kids so we don’t typically do them, but they’re worth a mention!
3. Small World/Toon Town: Next we head over to It’s a Small World and do that ride! Once it finishes, we are right next to Toon Town so we head over there. Toon Town opens an hour after the rest of the park opens, and if you wait at the gate you will usually be greeted by some characters! Mickey and Minnie will come and open Toon Town by walking with the kids through the little town, so if your kids love the characters this is a great way to see a few characters at once!
4. Tomorrowland: It should be time to use your first Fastpass, so head over and do Space Mountain! After Space, do Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters, and then Finding Nemo. Nemo is kind of claustrophobic so avoid this one if you’re really tall or don’t like being in dark, cramped spaces.
If you’re hungry, you can grab lunch at the Galaxy Grill or Alien Pizza Planet! Lot’s of kid friendly and affordable options and both are in Tomorrowland.
It’s time to book your next Fastpass! If it’s summer time, book Splash Mountain! If you go during the off season, book for Thunder Mountain.
5. New Orleans Square: Next head over to Pirates of the Caribbean! My kids sometimes scare during this ride, but as long as I talk them through it and remind them that it’s all pretend, they like it! Reagan even started singing “yo ho yo ho a pirate’s life for me” after the last time we rode it!
Next we go to the Haunted Mansion, this is another one that can scare little kids but my girls have always enjoyed it! After Haunted Mansion, we go to Winnie the Pooh, and then it’s usually time for your next Fastpass. Splash Mountain is right across from Winnie the Pooh so head there! Use your Fastpass, jump in the single rider line, or wait 5 minutes in the standby line during the colder months 🙂
If you’re hungry, you can eat at the Hungry Bear restaurant by Winnie the Pooh. The food is affordable and has lots of kid friendly options!
After Splash, head over to Frontierland to use your Fastpass for Big Thunder! If you don’t plan on going on this ride, get a Fastpass for Indiana Jones.
6. Adventureland: Next we go over to Adventureland! We climb Tarzan’s Treehouse, ride the Jungle Cruise, and do the Tiki Room. If you’re a Dole whip fan, use your Disneyland app to mobile order a dole whip and pick it up when you walk out of the Tiki Room. You won’t have to wait in line!
When it’s time to use your Fastpass, go on Indiana Jones! This is one of my favorite rides, but is definitely for adults and older kids who aren’t bothered by lots of bumpy motion.
Rides I don’t do:
Matterhorn. Yes it’s nostalgic and fun but you get off the ride with tons of bruises and unable to lift your shoulders. Not worth it!
Story Book Cruise: There’s always a long wait for this and the ride is really boring. This would be good if you are trying to take a toddler on a ride and nurse a baby at the same time!
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride: I’ve never been a fan of this ride! And I think it’s a little scary for younger kids.
Snow White: It’s called Snow White’s SCARY Adventure. No thanks!
Space Mountain: Everyone else I go with enjoys this ride, but it’s a rollercoaster in pitch black darkness and makes me super sick.
At this point we are usually done for the day! If we have more time, we will go do some of the Fantasyland rides again, or we will just walk down Main Street and take everything in!
This is definitely our “best case scenario” schedule, and I’ve learned from my Disneyland pro family that it’s the best way for us to get everything done! Let me know if you have any specific questions, and here is a detailed list of all the rides at Disneyland for reference!