046 How to Beat the Crowds at Disneyland

If you are heading to Disneyland, you know that there will be crowds., but you don’t have to let that slow you down! Lisa shares her family’s tips, ideas, and practical information you can use to make your next trip to Disneyland and California Adventure the best yet. Lisa shares how (and why) you should be at the opening rope drop, suggestions on how to plan your day, where to stay, what to do when the crowds are high in the afternoon, and much more.

Listen in and get excited for your next visit to Disneyland.

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“Getting to Disneyland at least 45 minutes before it opens will set you up for a great day in the park. You will beat the crowds, get onto Main Street before the park opens, and enjoy the park while the lowest number of people are there. It’s worth getting up early, I promise!”

— Lisa Andrews

Here are my top tips for beating the crowds at Disneyland. Listen in to the podcast to get details on each item.

Arrive at the security gate at least 45 minutes (an hour is best) before the park opens.
Get into the park and line up at the rope at the end of Main Street in Disneyland or in California Adventure line up at the rope by Cathay Circle or my Ariels’s Underwater Adventure. You will be let into the park 20 -30 minutes before it opens. If you are at the rope, you will be one of the first in the park.
Get the MaxPass. This can be purchased through the app after you have scanned your ticket at the entrance. Currently, the price is $15 per ticket per day. This allows you to book fast passes through the app. You maximize your rides this way. Bonus: all photos taken in the park are added to your app as a perk of the MaxPass. Update: The price as of December 2023 is now $25 per day for the MaxPass. We still think it’s worth it. It doesn’t include the Star Wars Rise of the Resistance or the Spiderman WebSlingers Rides. You need to pay an additional fee to get in the LIghtening Lane for those rides.
Get Fastpasses. If you don’t want to add the MAxPass, you can still get Fastpasses to the most popular rides. Go to the kiosks near each ride, scan your park ticket, and get a printed Fastpass that tells you the time to return to the ride. Get in the Fastpass line and skip the long standby line at your assigned time.
Make a plan ahead of time. At least know where you want to head first so you don’t waste time once you get in the park deciding where to go.
Do rides in clusters. Ride the attraction in one area before heading off to a new area so you don’t spend a lot of time walking back and forth across the park to get to rides.
Use the Disneyland app to check wait times. Before walking to a ride and discovering that the wait is 90 minutes, check in on the app to see wait times. Plan around the shortest wait times.
Do rides during the parades. So many people line the streets for parades which means that they won’t be in line for rides.
Make a restaurant reservation to eat during peak time in the park. Late afternoon is the busiest time in the park so why not sit, relax and enjoy a nice meal. It’s a great way to rejuvenate and you won’t be missing anything but long lines and crowds.
Book a hotel close the the parks. Our favorite is the Grand Californian but it’s usually extremely expensive so we opts to stay right across the street at the Fairfield or Marriott. You can take a quick 10 minute walk to go and rest at your hotel for an hour or two while crowds are at their peak. If you got there at rope drop, you will have already done some much. After a little rest, you’ll be ready yo hit the park again while other people will (hopefully) be tiring out and leaving.
Consider magic mornings - if you don’t have a magic morning, go to the other park at the opening time. You get a Magic Morning entrance 30 minutes to one hour before the general public if you are staying on-site at a Disneyland hotel and have a 3+ day pass. The Magic Morning hour alternates between Disneyland and California Adventure, so check the schedule to see which day is the Magic Morning at which park. If you have a Magic Morning, use it! If not, head to the other park early that morning.
Stay late. The crowds will eventually die down. We’ve found that the last hour of the day is a great time to go on all of the Fantasyland rides. Peter Pan will still have a wait but we can usually walk right on to all of the other Fantasyland rides at that time.
Use the single rider and rider swap options. These are both great ways to skip some of the lines.
Check a calendar that predicts the crowd levels for each day in the parks. If you are flexible on your dates, choose a day that has lower predicted attendance. Here’s a great calendar to check predict crowds at the Disneyland Resort Parks and Universal Hollywood.

What did I miss? Do you have other strategies you use to avoid the crowd at Disneyland? Leave a comment and let me know! I’m always ready to learn more!

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