When you purchase food or snacks in Disneyland a coupon is printed at the bottom of your receipt. It is for 20% off your entire purchase at the Main Street Emporium, World of Disney, and Greetings from California shops. Those are the 3 largest shops in Disneyland- most merchandise is sold in at least one of the shops. The coupon is only good from 9 am to noon for about a week so my suggestion is to shop around and see what you may want to buy then purchase it all the last morning of the trip with your coupon. It saved me about $8.50 which was almost like getting one of my husband's Star Wars action figures free! : )
If you want to get a pineapple whip before going to the Tiki Room enter the Tiki Room waiting area and purchase the treat from that side. The line will probably be a lot shorter.
If you want to ride Toy Story Midway Mania go to California Adventure first thing in the morning and RUN around the pier towards California Screamin'. We happened to get there at the right time and thought we go around the other way past the Ferris wheel to beat the crowd but by the time we got to the ride the line had already formed on the other side and it was SUPER long. (Really fun ride, though!)
If you don't know about Fast Passes, learn about them on disney.com before you go.
The best time to ride Pirates is during the second showing of Fantasmic. Every single night (even Friday) there was no line at this time.
The new World of Color show is AMAZING!!! But not worth all of the grief to see it. You have to stand in a really really long line first thing in the morning to get a fast pass ticket. We walked by when the line was really short because there were only tickets to the 11:15 pm show available so we grabbed a couple. We had to meet to get in line at 10:15. It was miserable. We were packed in so tight with people eating stinky food and complaining. Forget that! We ditched the line and walked towards the current show thinking we would just walk really slowly past it a few times to watch. We were lucky enough to find a spot near the golden zephyr ride where we could see quite well. Sooo much better than standing in line for an hour. Two nights later I wanted to see it again. This time we went to the balcony behind the Silly Symphony Swings. It was pretty much empty up until the show started and a small crowd gathered. In both of these spots we couldn't really see the projections very well. But we could hear the music and see the water fountains and colors which is the best party anyway. I would totally recommend this method. I think this would work well for kids too. They might not do well standing in hours of lines just for a 20 minute show!
Check out the Animation Studio in CA Adventure (in the Hollywood section near the Off the Page store). There, you are given live drawing lessons from a Disney artist. We were taught how to draw Minnie Mouse. I can't, no really I can't, draw, but I could follow along and drew a beautiful picture! I saved it and it is going on the inspiration board in my craft room! So fun!
I learned from a friend after I get home that the triangle and diamond shapes are worth the most points in the Buzz Lightyear ride.
In CA adventure there is a place near the winery called the Blue Sky Cellar. Go there if you want to see what the Imagineers have planned for the park- including a new Cars land!
The only free food that I know of in the entire Disneyland resort is at Pacific Wharf in CA Adventures. You can take the bread factory and tortilla factory tours and get a free sample of each food. They are self-guided and very short. I do, however, think you should take the tour if you are going to take the food.
Captain EO is awesome.
The left side of the Matterhorn ride is faster and more fun than the right side.
A great fireworks viewing spot is between the Matterhorn and the Monorail track. No crowd will gather until the show begins. You can't see the fireworks shot off from the center of the park very well, but the main fireworks are clearly in view.
I HATED the glow fest! It is a new thing in CA Adventure at night. The lights, colors, and music were fun but the rest was not. They wheeled out two large carts every night that only served alcohol. There were also dancers up high in cages. It was just like a rave or clubbing or something. The Hollywood section of the park REEKED of alcohol. I do NOT go to Disneyland to smell beer and dance with drunk people. Ugh.
And on that note- have a fun Disney trip!
Come back tomorrow for a DIY Disney accessories!
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