Oogie Boogie Bash 2023: Ticket Prices, Event Dates, Villains Grove, Characters, and More!

3 minute read | contains affiliate links

In October 2022, we attended our very first Oogie Boogie Bash and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. We had a blast!

Recently, Disney released the dates and prices for 2023 and we’re so excited to go again! If you’re considering going this year, this guide is for you.

We’ll go over when Oogie Boogie Bash tickets go on sale, what they cost, which characters were out last year and which ones we’d like to see this year, and more. (Updated May 31st, 2023.)

Let’s get into it!

*Quick Note: If you’re looking to book a vacation to the Disneyland Resort (or Disney World, Disney Cruise, Universal and more) consider tapping/clicking the above image to visit our partners at Get Away Today. Going through them is the same as going directly through Disney only through them, you’ll receive personalized service by Disney experts and receive the absolute best price and any accompanying discounts. By going through Get Away Today, you’ll be getting the best price on your vacation and support our website at the same time.

What Is Oogie Boogie Bash?

Oogie Boogie Bash is an annual Halloween event that’s been held at Disney California Adventure (DCA) every year since 2019.

It’s a separate, hard-ticket event not included with regular admission. On Oogie Boogie days, DCA closes early to day guests.

Prior to Oogie Boogie, the annual Halloween event was Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and was held at Disneyland Park proper.

Like its predecessor, Oogie Boogie Bash features treat trails with Disney villains, rare character meet and greets, a parade, Villain’s Grove (more on that later) and more.

Oogie Boogie Bash Ticket Prices

As stated above, Oogie Boogie Bash is a hard ticket, after-hours event. Meaning, your regular one-day or multi-day pass won’t suffice.

After checking in, you’ll be given a wristband with that days specific color. You’ll be asked to produce this wristband periodically.

At 6pm when the park closes to day guests, cast members create borders to filter out non-Oogie Boogie guests. Simply show your wristband to pass through.

Oogie Boogie’s hours are 6pm and 11pm. However, party-goers are permitted entry into DCA beginning at 3:00pm on the day of the event.

If you’re already in the park by this time, simply stop by one of the check-in stations to receive your wristband and treat bag.

If you’re just arriving, you can enter through the main gate or through the private entrances for the Grand Californian or Paradise Pier Hotel Pixar Place Hotel guests.

Like years prior, the event doesn’t run every night and tends to have a gap of 1-3 days between each party. For example, we attended on October 18th and the next event didn’t occur until October 20th.

In 2022, prices ranged from $129 to $179 per person. In essence, the closer to Halloween you get, the higher the price (with a few exceptions).

In 2023, the lowest priced ticket is $134 and the highest is priced at $189 (though only for two of the twenty-five nights).

Below is a list of Oogie Boogie Bash nights and their corresponding prices for nights in September 2023:

• September 5, 2023 - $134

• September 7, 2023 - $144

• September 10, 2023 - $159

• September 12, 2023 - $134

• September 14, 2023 - $144

• September 17, 2023 - $159

• September 19, 2023 - $134

• September 21, 2023 - $144

• September 24, 2023 - $159

• September 26, 2023 - $144

• September 28, 2023 - $144

October 2023 dates and prices are:

• October 1, 2023 - $169

• October 3, 2023 - $159

• October 5, 2023 - $159

• October 8, 2023 - $169

• October 10, 2023 - $159

• October 12, 2023 - $159

• October 15, 2023 - $169

• October 17, 2023 - $159

• October 19, 2023 - $159

• October 22, 2023 - $169

• October 24, 2023 - $169

• October 26, 2023 - $169

• October 29th, 2023 - $189

• October 31, 2023 - $189

When Do Oogie Boogie Bash Tickets Go On Sale?

Disney has finally announced when Oogie Boogie Bash 2023 tickets will go on-sale. They are:

• June 27th, 2023: Pre-sale for Magic Key holders

• June 29th, 2023: On sale to the general public

There is no special pre-sale for D23 members this year, as there won’t be another convention until next year (and I’d imagine 2024 will have one).

The sales on each day will begin no earlier than 9am through the Disneyland website. You will NOT be able to purchase Oogie Boogie Bash tickets through the app.

Be sure you have an account set up and ready to go. In 2022, the event sold out in two days and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that 2023 will break that record.

You’ll likely be waiting in a virtual queue that could take hours to get through. Ensure your internet connection is spot on and DO NOT hit refresh or the back button while in the queue. If you do, you’ll lose your spot.

Event Attractions

Throughout the event, all attractions in Disney California Adventure are operational (unless they’re under refurbishment).

However, with the exception of the few rides with special Halloween overlays (Mission Breakout and Mater’s), the real fun is in the attractions only offered during the bash itself.

Our advice…don’t waste your time with rides. If you’re keen to, you can spend the first three hours of your permitted entry doing so.

You’re allowed entry at 3pm and the party itself doesn’t begin until 6pm. Spend those first few hours getting rides out of the way.

Once the party begins, though, it’s time to explore everything Oogie Boogie Bash has to offer. We’ll list a few of those below:

Villains Treat Trails

These are the highlight of the event. When you check in and receive your wristband, you’ll be given a trick or treat bag to use at these stations.

*Pro Tip: The bags they give you are small and fill QUICKLY. Bring your own larger bag for trick or treating. No one will judge you.

In these treat trails, cast members stationed throughout the queue pass out handfuls of candy and other treats. The best part of the treat trails? Each one features one of Disney’s most beloved villains.

These characters interact with guests and will pose for pictures, but they are not traditional meet and greets where you pose with them.

Treat trail queues get long so to avoid a lengthy wait, cast members keep the line moving by waiving you through and enticing you with candy.

While you can’t spend too much time with each villain, you're allowed to go through the queue as many times as you wish.

Here are the names of the treat trail villains and their locations in 2022:

• Ernesto de la Cruz (near the main entrance to Avengers Campus)

• Dr. Facilier (across from Corn Dog Castle)

• Mother Gothel (near Grizzly River Run)

• Mad Madam Mim (near Hyperion Theatre)

• Hagatha Harkness (in Avengers Campus)

• Cruella (across from the Monsters Inc. ride)

• Sid (in Pixar Pier)

• Maleficent (adjacent to the Soarin’ building)

• Oogie Boogie (in the Art of Animation building)

This was our favorite feature of the bash. Especially Ernesto de la Cruz. He was arguably the most popular character this year and his queue reflected that.

The singing and guitar playing is actually being performed by the actor himself. There’s no sound loop involved. It was an incredible performance.

Don’t let the queue discourage you, by the way. Ernesto, Oogie Boogie and Cruella had the longest queues but we never waited longer than fifteen minutes or so.

Each treat trail will have one or two candy stations prior to the character and another two to three after. This is done to keep the line flowing. Cast members will begin waiving you through if it gets too clustered.

Do keep in mind that there’s a chance the character won’t be there when you arrive. The actors take breaks from time to time. Especially Ernesto. We nearly missed him, but thankfully he came back out right as we neared the stage.

Lastly, these characters may or may not appear at future parties. Oogie Boogie is a given (it’s his event, after-all) and I would predict a return for Ernest de la Cruz given his massive popularity.

This is Sid’s second bash, so he’ll likely remain a regular in 2023 considering he’s Pixar’s original baddie. The remaining may be swapped out for different villains, though.

Special Character Meet n’ Greets

Also featured during Oogie Boogie Bash are special (traditional) character meet and greets, with a Photopass photographer present at most of them.

*PRO TIP: The cost of your Oogie Boogie Bash ticket includes all PhotoPass photos taken during the event. The scan code will be on your wristband.

The biggest draw of the bunch was Minnie, Daisy and Clarabelle dressed as the Sanderson Sisters (Hocus Pocus). They were stationed behind Hollywood Lounge near the Monsters Inc. attraction.

Their queue was an hour wait or more throughout the night and even closed a couple times. If they return next year and you really want a photo with them, we recommend heading to their queue first thing.

Another popular character meet and greet was Bruno, who made his Oogie Boogie Bash debut this year. He was located near the sawmill at Grizzly River Run.

Other characters spotted throughout the night included Ratatouille, The Incredibles, The Blue Fairy, Merlin, Smee, The Wicked Step Sisters and the “Kingdom Hearts” versions of Mickey, Goofy and Donald.

Again, these were standard meet and greets, NOT treat trails. So incidentally, these lines moved slower than the treat trails (and there’s no candy). Keep this in mind when prioritizing.

The Frightfully Fun Parade

This parade first made its debut during the party’s run at Disneyland Park proper and has since made its way to Oogie Boogie Bash.

It runs twice nightly during the event and is one of the shortest, most underwhelming Disney parades we’ve seen. It wasn’t bad, we just feel they’ve could’ve done more with it.

For viewing, you’ll have three options. The first and most obvious would be the traditional way; settle on a spot along the parade route and enjoy the show.

The other two options will set you back some extra coin, but may be worth it to you as you won’t have to camp out for a spot. They are:

1. Three course dinner at Wine Country Trattoria (comes with a Fastpass style return ticket to a viewing area in front of the Grizzly Peak Waterfall - standing room only).

2. Sonoma Terrace Dessert Party (comes with a table and seat along the parade route).

There are a few differences between the two (aside from price) you should be aware of before making a decision:

• Wine Country Trattoria Dinner: For this, you eat dinner prior to the parade and be given a Fastpass to return to the viewing area later. This is standing-room only. The price was $60 per person and includes your choice of starter, entree, a dessert and non-alcoholic drinks. While checking in, you must state that you want the three-course dinner for the parade.

• Sonoma Terrace Dessert Party: For the desert party, you’re assigned an actual table and chair to use during the parade. To top it off, you’re served an array of desserts just before and during the parade in an “all-you-can-eat” setting. The price for the dessert party is $89 per person.

Let’s face it, most people (including us) go with these options mostly for the guaranteed spot on the parade route. The food is almost always a distant second. So if you’re trying to decide, it really comes down to your priorities.

The dinner is the least expensive option and includes an actual meal with the price, but you’ll have to settle for a standing-room only viewing area to watch the parade from.

Alternatively, the dessert party includes a table and seat DURING the parade (which is the reason for the $30 difference), but includes just a variety of deserts. Not an actual meal.

So are you willing to pay more to have an actual place to sit? Or would you rather have the meal and pay less but have to stand/sit along the parade route?

We selected the three course dinner. The food was great (we’ve always enjoyed Wine Country Trattoria) and the view of the parade was great, but if we could do it over again, we would’ve gone with the dessert party. For the actual seat if nothing else.

No complaints about the viewing area, though. There was plenty of elbow room and no one was fighting for a spot (or trying to hijack one at the last minute).

Villains Grove

You’ve undoubtedly heard of Villains Grove. It’s arguably the most popular attraction at the party and because of that, it has consistently long queues throughout the evening.

The grove takes over the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and transforms it with special lighting, sound, smell and projection affects representing several Disney villains.

There are multiple scenes along the trail and Cast Members are stationed throughout to help guide you through (there’s a couple spots where the trail splits).

Some villains represented throughout the grove include; Scar (Lion King), The Queen of Hearts and Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland) and the Evil Queen (Snow White).

It’s something you truly have to experience to fully appreciate. We took many pictures/video and none of them does it justice.

As stated above, however, it has consistently long lines. We do have a few tips for you, though.

Many people will rush to Villains Grove first thing and for the first two or three hours, its queue often stretches beyond the private entrance to the Grand Californian.

Don’t do this. Wait until later in the night, perhaps within a half hour to an hour of park closing, and chances are good that you’ll arrive to a queue with a minimal-to-no wait.

Another strategy you could implement is arriving during the second showing of the parade. We arrived just before it started and only waited ten minutes or so.

When we exited the grove the parade was in full swing and the queue was non-existent. So we took the opportunity and jumped in for second go.

In short, there’s no reason to wait in a long queue for Villains Grove (though it is worth it, in my opinion). Just make sure you experience it.

Changes We Would Like To See

As awesome as Oogie Boogie Bash was, there were a few things we noticed or thought of that we wish Disney would’ve done differently. They are:

1. Longer event time: The hours for Oogie Boogie Bash are 6pm - 11pm. While five hours may seem like enough, trust me, it isn't . An extra hour would’ve made all the difference.

2. More rare villains: We really enjoyed the villains at the treat trails so of course, we’d love to see more. Villains such as the Old Hag, Thanos, Stinky Pete and Lotso come to mind.

3. A better parade: It’s time for an update. We loved certain elements of the current parade (like the Hitchhiking Ghosts float), but let’s mix it up a bit.

4. An Oogie Boogie exclusive dining experience: A three-course dinner at Carthay Circle hosted by the Evil Queen, a villains only character buffet, the possibilities are endless and it would undoubtedly be a nightly sell-out.

These are just a few of our ideas but honestly, the bash is a great time and even if they never change a single thing about it, you’re sure to have a great time.

Your Thoughts On Oogie Boogie Bash

Have you attended Oogie Boogie Bash before? If not, does it sound like something you and your family would enjoy? Let us know in the comments below! We love hearing from our readers.

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Visiting Disneyland In July: Weather, Crowd Levels, Ride Closures and More!

3 minute read | contains affiliate links

Disneyland, a beloved destination for families and Disney enthusiasts alike, offers an enchanting experience like no other.

In this post, we’ll focus on visiting Disneyland in July, a month filled with summer fun and excitement. Join us as we explore the best tips, tricks and must-see attractions to make your trip to Disneyland an unforgettable adventure.

Whether you’re planning a family vacation or simply craving some Disney magic, we’ve got you covered. Let’s dive in and discover the wonders that await you at Disneyland in July!

*Quick Note: If you’re looking to book a vacation to the Disneyland Resort (or Disney World, Disney Cruise, Universal and more) consider visiting our partners at Get Away Today. Going through them is the same as going directly through Disney only through them, you’ll receive personalized service by Disney experts and receive the absolute best price and any accompanying discounts. By going through Get Away Today, you’ll be getting the best price on your vacation and you’ll be supporting our website at the same time.

To see their amazing deals on your favorite destinations, click/tap here

Weather

No doubt about it, Southern California is warm all year long. It’s one of the aspects of the region that its citizens and visitors love so much. Every day is a beach day.

Some months, however, are warmer than others, and while you may think that July would be miserably hot, for the most part, that isn’t the case.

While July is definitely warmer than the prior six months of the year, the average high in Anaheim is 84 degrees. Most people would describe that temperature as pleasantly warm or comfortable as opposed to miserable.

Additionally, you still get those chilly, cool coastal mornings and evenings Orange County is known for. So a light jacket or hoodie is still a must-pack item for most.

Another benefit, weather wise, to visiting Disneyland in July is the lack of rainy days. July, on average, is the month with the fewest days of rainfall (a whooping 0.2 days, to be exact).

While rainy days typically mean lower crowds, they also mean potential attraction closures. Fan favorites such as Big Thunder, Incredicoaster and Radiator Springs Racers have been known to close if there’s enough rainfall.

Also, it isn’t exceptionally windy in July. In fact, it’s the second, least windiest month of the year (behind August). This means the chances of the firework show getting canceled are lower.

All told, going to Disneyland in July, weather wise, is a great month!

Crowd Levels

Traditionally, July has always been a busy month at the Disneyland Resort. However, ever since the advent of dynamic pricing for one-day tickets and especially in the post-covid era, that isn’t necessarily the case anymore.

It’ll definitely be busier than say February or March, but the current title of busiest time of year currently resides with the Halloween/Christmas season.

That said, July is still considered peak travel season for the parks, so you’ll need to prepare yourself for potentially heavy crowds, especially the week of the 4th of July holiday.

As a general rule, avoid going to the park on weekends. Stick with weekdays, rope drop everyday of your trip and purchase Genie Plus, if possible. If you want to maximize your park time, that’s how you do it.

Ticket Prices/Magic Key Availability

One-Day Ticket Prices

If you’re purchasing multi-day tickets, the price won’t fluctuate like one-day tickets do. However, Disney often raises its ticket prices in the months of February and/or June. So if you’re for sure going in July, the sooner you purchase your tickets, the better.

One-day ticket prices fluctuate on a dynamic tier based system (think purchasing a plane ticket) and depend on Disney’s forecasted demand for that particular day.

Current one-day ticket prices start at $104 (one-park) and top out at $179 (one-park). In July, you can forget spending anything less than $159 per ticket. Slightly more than half the month (16 days) is at that price and those are all middle-of-the-week dates.

All Saturdays are at the top end at $179 and all Sundays are in the middle at $169. Of course, these prices can always change. So again, get those tickets ASAP if you haven’t already.

At the time of this writing, park reservation availability for both one-day and multi-day tickets are wide open.

Magic Key Availability

If you’re a Magic Key holder (or planning to be one by July), you should check the “blocked-out” calendar for your particular key.

The only key with wide open availability (and the only one currently for sale) for the month of July is the Inspire Key. Believe Key holders are blocked out on July 4th and every Saturday, but have access otherwise.

If you’re an Enchant or Imagine Key holder, sorry to say, but you’re blocked out entirely for the month of July. Your only option would be to purchase tickets out-of-pocket.

As always, keep your ears open to any deals Disney may announce in the coming weeks. Like most corporations, Disney has been slowly preparing for the looming economic slow-down and may churn out good deals on tickets.

July Specific Entertainment

Disney doesn’t do a whole lot in July as it pertains to special entertainment. You’ll definitely see minor decorating around Main Street and possibly special outfits worn by Mickey and friends.

There will be a flag retreat ceremony in Town Square. Though these are done daily at Disneyland, this one will have a little something extra. If you want a good view for this, arrive EARLY.

Something Disney has done in the past is a concert at the Fantasyland Theatre featuring the 1st Marine Division Band. No word yet on if this will be happening this year or not.

Normally, Disney would do a little extra during the fireworks show on the 4th of July as well but interestingly, there are no firework shows scheduled for any day in July on the Disneyland website. We’ll update this as more information becomes available.

Attraction Closures & Refurbishments

Attraction closures are an unfortunate, but essential part of Disneyland’s operations. They’re done to implement new technology, install safety improvements, conduct regular maintenance and more.

I have an extensive post where every refurbishment between both parks is listed throughout the year. It also discusses upcoming projects and rumors. Be sure to check it out and save it to your phone as I’m constantly updating it.

These are the attraction refurbs in July for Disneyland Park:

• Adventureland Treehouse: Opening date TBD

• Alice in Wonderland: Closed July 5th - TBD

• Disneyland Monorail: Closed July 5th - TBD

• Dumbo the Flying Elephant: Closed July 3rd (single-day closure)

• French Market Restaurant: Permanently closed as of February 17th

• Fantasmic: On pause until at least Labor Day

• Mint Julep Bar: Closed February 17th - TBD

• Splash Mountain: Permanently closed as of May 31st

If you haven’t heard, Splash Mountain has closed and is being re-themed to, “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure”. However, it isn't set to open until late 2024. If you’re looking to cool down on a warm July day, your only option is Grizzly River Run across the esplanade in DCA.

The French Market Restaurant and Mint Julep Bar closed in order to be transformed into, “Tiana’s Place”, which is set to open in late 2023. If you want beignets or a Mint Julep, you can get them both at Royal Street Veranda. Beignets can also be purchased at Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney.

Fantasmic, Disneyland’s riverside nighttime spectacular is currently on hiatus due to fire damage to the Maleficent animatronic, “Murphy”. Severe damage was also done to the stage, preventing Disney from staging the show.

It was announced that teams are working on bringing nighttime entertainment to the park this summer, sparking rumors of a return of the Main Street Electrical or Paint the Night parades.

Attraction refurbs for Disney California Adventure in July include:

• Boudin Bread Cart: Closed July 1st (opens July 2nd)

• Pacific Wharf Distribution Co: Closed May 31st - TBD

• Soarin’ Around The World: Closed July 5th - July 14th

• Toy Story Midway Mania: Closed July 17th - TBD

In DCA, construction on the transformation of The Wharf into San Fransokio Square is still ongoing. You’ll still be able to access the area, but a completion date is currently unknown.

Aside from Soarin’ Around The World, there are no major attractions scheduled for refurbishment. Of course, that could always change, so be sure to read and save our refurbishment guide to stay updated.

Additional Tips

Below, I’ll give you a few additional tips to help make your trip to Disneyland in July go as smoothly as possible:

• Rope drop every day of your trip to maximize your park time.

• Purchase Genie Plus ahead of time. This saves both time and money and allows you to ride multiple rides with minimal wait times.

• Go during the week instead of the weekends.

• Keep an eye on Disney’s refurbishment calendar to stay up to date

• Download the Disneyland App to keep digital copies of your tickets.

• Take mid-day breaks back at your hotel. This is when the park is the most crowded and hot.

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Disneyland Dining Guide 2023: Mobile Order, Dining Reservations and More

5 minute read | contains affiliate links

Between Downtown Disney, Disney California Adventure and the classic namesake park, the Disneyland Resort offers a plethora of popular dining options.

Due to their popularity, Disney has implemented many methods in which to enjoy them, including; traditional reservations, mobile ordering and a mobile walk-up list.

If you don’t know what these are or how to navigate them, it could mean disappointment for you and your party if you’ve had your hearts set on a particular place.

In this guide, we’ll cover all the information you’ll need to hopefully avoid that disappointment and make you the ultimate Disney dining insider.

We’ll also go over the varying dining options, such as quick service, table service and character dining. (Updated April 19th, 2023.)

Mobile Ordering

The first thing you’ll want to do is download the Disneyland app and create an account. At most mobile order locations, you’ll see signage at the entrance presenting a QR code to scan.

Scanning this code will just take you to a section of the Disneyland website and will eventually prompt you to download the app anyway.

Disneyland Wifi is notoriously slow, so it’s best to do this before arriving at the parks. Trust us, it’ll save you valuable time.

Mobile Order Locations

Mobile ordering is available at most counter-service locations and at a handful of snack carts as well. You will NOT be able to mobile order for any table-service location.

Below, we broke down each mobile order restaurant by name and where they’re located on property:

Disneyland Park

• Alien Pizza Planet

• Bengal BBQ

• Docking Bay 7 Food & Cargo

• Edelweiss Snacks

• French Market Restaurant

• Galactic Grill

• Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor

• The Golden Horseshoe

• Harbor Galley

• Hungry Bear Restaurant

• Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe

• Milk Stand

• Mint Julep Bar

• Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante

• Red Rose Taverne

• Refreshment Corner

• Ronto Roasters

• Royal Street Veranda

• Stage Door Cafe

• Tiki Juice Bar

• Troubadour Taverne

Disney California Adventure

• Award Weiners

• Bayside Brews

• Clarabelle’s Hand-Scooped Ice Cream

• Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill

• Corn Dog Castle

• Cozy Cone Motel

• Flo’s V8 Cafe

• Hollywood Lounge

• Lucky Fortune Cookery

• Pacific Wharf Cafe

• Pacific Wharf Distribution Co.

• Paradise Garden Grill

• Pym Tasting Lab

• Pym Tasting Kitchen

• Rita’s Baja Blenders

• Schmoozies!

• Smokejumper’s Grill

• Sonoma Terrace

• Studio Catering Co.

Disneyland Resort Hotels

• The Coffee House (Disneyland Hotel)

• GCH Craftsmans Grill (Disney’s Grand Californian)

• Tangaroa Terrace Tropical Bar & Grill (Disneyland Hotel)

As you can see, there’s a lot of locations accepting mobile orders. Restaurants in Downtown Disney currently don’t accept mobile orders through the Disneyland app.

Most, though, offer their own version of it (including Starbucks and Jamba). In front of those locations are signs with QR codes on them providing instructions on how to utilize their systems.

How To Use Disneyland Mobile Order

Using this feature to order your lunch or dinner is straight forward and easy. Below, we laid out step-by-step instructions, with screenshots, to describe the process.

Step One

The first thing you’re going to want to do is download the Disneyland app and create an account (if you haven’t done so already).

To begin an order, tap on the plus sign at the bottom center of your screen. On the menu that pops up, select, “Order Food”.

Step Two

On the next screen, you’ll be shown a list of open restaurants to order from and their next available pick-up window. If that time doesn’t work for you, select “More Times”.

On that screen, you’ll not only see additional pick-up times, but you can also see where that restaurant is on the digital park map and also browse its menu.

Step Three

As an example, we selected Bengal BBQ. It’s one of our favorites. As you can see in the image below, this is where you’ll make your selections.

With each item you’ll choose your desired quantity, select any additional add-ons, and even customize it to your liking. Then, you’ll add each item to your cart.

Step Four

Once you’re happy with your selections, tap, “View My Order”, then, “Review Order Summery”. Here, you’ll see your total and select your payment method.

Currently, you can pay for mobile orders with:

• Disney Gift Cards

• Disney Rewards Redemption Cards

• Credit or Debit Card (Including American Express and Discover)

• Apple Pay

If you’re a Magic Key holder or member of the Disney Vacation Club, your applicable discount will automatically be applied provided your pass and/or membership is linked to your account.

Step Five

After submitting your oder, you’ll be shown your selected arrival window. From here, you simply go about enjoying an attraction or shop until you’re summoned.

If you need to change your arrival time or even cancel your order outright, you can still do so without incurring any charges.

Step Six

When your arrival window comes, you’ll head over to your selected restaurant. Once there, pull up your order on the app and select, “I’m Here. Prepare My Order”.

At this point, your selected payment will be charged and you will no longer be able to make any changes to your order.

Step Seven

When your order is ready, you’ll receive a notification (be sure to turn those on) and will be given instructions as to which pick-up window to go to.

Then, simply show the Cast Member your order (or provide them with your name) and you’ll be off with your food. It’s that easy.

Mobile Walk-Up

If there’s a particular table-service restaurant you really want to dine at but don’t have a reservation (more on that later), you can try adding your name to the mobile walk-up list.

While reservations are highly recommended and mobile walk-up shouldn’t be depended on, it’s your final Hail Mary if tables are booked.

How Mobile Walk-Up Works

First, like making a mobile order, you’ll need the Disneyland app and an account. There’s no need to speak with a cast member, but you will need to be near the desired restaurant to use it.

To add your name to the mobile walk-up list:

• Tap the “+” symbol at the bottom center of the app.

• Tap, “Check Dining Availability”.

• Select your party size.

• In the calendar, select the current date then tap, “Now”.

• A list of restaurants will appear. If there’s no availability, it’ll say so.

• If there’s room and you’re not near the restaurant, it’ll ask you to move closer before continuing.

• Once you’re near the restaurant, you’ll add your name to the walk-up list.

• When your table is ready, you’ll receive a notification.

• Your entire party must be present when you arrive to the restaurant.

Mobile Walk-Up Locations

The following is a list of restaurants currently participating in mobile walk-up:

• Blue Bayou (Disneyland)

• Cafe Orleans (Disneyland)

• Carthay Circle - Alfresco Dining (DCA)

• GCH Craftsmans Bar (Grand Californian)

• Lamplight Lounge - Boardwalk Dining (DCA)

• Magic Key Terrace (DCA)

• Oga’s Cantina (Disneyland)

• River Belle Terrace (Disneyland)

• Storyteller’s Cafe (Grand California)

• Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar (Disneyland Hotel)

• Wine Country Trattoria (DCA)

Disneyland Dining Reservations

The Disneyland Resort has come a long way as it pertains to food. For the longest time, theme park staples like burgers and hot dogs ran supreme.

In recent years, though, Disney has been setting standards for theme park food at not only their table-service restaurants, but at quick-service spots as well.

Many of them have become so immensely popular that if you don’t have a reservation, your odds of scoring a table are slim (baring a lucky last-minute cancellation).

A few examples of those restaurants that you can have a difficult time scoring a table include Lamplight Lounge, Napa Rose and Carthay Circle.

If your must-do restaurant is one of those (or others), you’ll want to make a reservation by following the directions below.

How To Make A Dining Reservation

Disneyland Dining Reservations Phone Number

The phone number is 714-956-6425. A recording about vacation packages will come up. Press “4” when prompted and let them know you want to make a dining reservation.

Going this route is slow going. Depending on call volume (which is often high), it could take a significant amount of time to reach someone.

It may only be a few minutes, but those few minutes could mean the difference in whether or not you’re successful.

Mobile or Online Reservations

The best way, in our opinions, is to do it through the Disneyland app or Disneyland.com. If you ask us, the app is the simplest of the two.

To make a dining reservation through the app:

• Tap the “+” symbol and select, “Check Dining Availability”.

• Select your party size, date (reservations can be made 60-days in advance), and time preference.

• You’ll then see a list of available restaurants and meal times.

• If you don’t see the restaurant you want, that means it isn’t available. Keep checking daily as cancellations often happen.

• If you do see one you like, select your meal time and complete the reservation.

• You will be asked to provide a credit card guarantee to hold your table. You will NOT be charged unless you fail to cancel within 24 hours of your reservation (more on this below).

Locations Accepting Reservations

• Blue Bayou (Disneyland)

• Cafe Orleans (Disneyland)

• Carnation Cafe (Disneyland)

• Carthay Circle (DCA)

• Catal Restaurant (DTD)

• Disney Princess Breakfast Adventure (Grand Californian)

• GCH Craftsman Bar (Grand Californian)

• Goofy’s Kitchen (Disneyland Hotel)

• La Brea Bakery Cafe (DTD)

• Lamplight Lounge (DCA)

• Napa Rose (Grand Californian)

• Naples Ristorante (DTD)

• Oga’s Cantina (Disneyland)

• Plaza Inn (Disneyland)

• Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen (DTD)

• River Belle Terrace (Disneyland)

• Splitsville Luxury Lanes - Dining (DTD)

• Storyteller’s Cafe (Grand Californian)

• Tortilla Joe’s (DTD)

• Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar (Disneyland Hotel)

• Uva Bar & Cafe (DTD)

• Wine Country Trattoria (DCA)

What If You Can’t Get A Reservation

Reservations can be made up to 60-days in advance and most often, you’ll need to be on the ball right at that timeframe to have a chance. So be ready!

If you checked at exactly 60-days out and still couldn’t get a table, don’t give up. There’s a few things you can try:

• Check often, daily if you have to. Cancellations happen often as no one wants to get hit with the no-show fee. So keep checking. We couldn’t get a reservation for Lamplight Lounge but we kept checking and ended up scoring a table two days out. DON’T GIVE UP!

• Check the day before. If you weren’t able to get one but still have your heart set, check the app the day before your desired date. That’s when people will be cancelling reservations to avoid that no-show fee. Check in the evening or even early morning on the day-of.

• Try going through the Disneyland website instead of the app. There’s been a couple times where we couldn’t get a reservation for a restaurant through the app but when we checked on the website, there was an open spot.

• Take advantage of mobile walk-up. If the restaurant you couldn’t get also accepts the mobile walk-up list, try that! There’s no guarantees, though, so you should have a back-up in mind, just in case.

Cancelling Reservations

As stated above, when making a dining reservation, Disney requires a credit card guarantee to hold your table.

This was implemented in response to people hoarding reservations and never cancelling them, leaving people out in the cold and Disney with empty tables.

It’s important to note that when making the reservation, your credit card will NOT be charged unless you fail to cancel within 24 hours of your selected date.

No-Show Fee

If you no-show a reservation, your credit card will be charged $10 per person (the number of people in your party).

If you arrive on-time but your entire party isn’t present, that’s ok. As long as the person who made the reservation is present, you’re fine.

*TIp: They don’t check ID’s when checking in. So if the person who made the reservation is running late or can’t make it, just use that name when the cast member asks.

Another noteworthy piece of information is the 15-minute grace period offered by Disney. We’ve never tested this but if you’re running a bit late, you won’t be penalized before that grace period.

Avoiding The No-Show Fee

The best way to avoid the no-show fee is to show up to your reservation but hey, things happen. Kids don’t always cooperate, queue lines take longer than expected or you just simply forget.

Once you’re within that 24-hour period of your reservation, you cannot cancel. You can try calling and pleading your case, but there’s no guarantee.

So say you’ve forgotten about your reservation and it’s the day of. You can’t cancel, so what do you do? Our tip is to modify your reservation.

Modifying Your Reservation

Again, you cannot cancel a reservation once you’re within that 24-hour window. However, Disney does allow you to make modifications.

You can modify aspects such as party size, dining time and date. So if you find yourself in this predicament, simply change the date to one further out. Then you can cancel without penalty.

While we obviously don’t recommend you rely on this hack every time, it is something you can fall back on in order to avoid paying the no-show fee when all other options fail.

Disneyland Dining Categories

At Disneyland, there are three main categories restaurants fall under; quick-service, table-service and character dining.

Below, we’ll briefly discuss the difference between them and give you a few examples of restaurants in each category.

Table-Service

These restaurants are traditional sit-down eateries where you’ll be seated, order through a server and the food is delivered to your table.

These restaurants range from casual to fine dining. Some examples of these include:

• Casual Table Service: River Belle Terrace, Cafe Orleans, Lamplight Lounge and Wine Country Trattoria

• Fine Dining: Carthay Circle, Napa Rose and Club 33

Price-wise, the later will be at the top of the scale and the former, while not as pricy, will still come with a higher price tag than quick-service eateries.

Quick-Service

Quick-service restaurants make up the majority at the Disneyland Resort. Aside from price, the biggest difference from table-service is the lack of a server.

Whether you choose mobile-order or stand-by, you’ll collect your order at the window and take it to your table (if you can find one) yourself.

*Pro Tip: Have someone in your party search for a seat while you order/wait for your food. It’ll save you a lot of time and hassle.

A few examples of quick-service restaurants throughout the resort include; Red Rose Tavern, Cocina Cucamonga, Flo’s V8 Cafe, Hungry Bear and Bengal BBQ.

Prices are higher than what you’ll find at fast-food chains, but they’re a deal compared to table-service restaurants.

The portion sizes heavily depend on where you go but typically, we’d rate them medium to large at most spots. Saving money by splitting plates is possible at many locations.

For example, if you’re looking to split, we recommend avoiding Bengal BBQ. Each kabob has only three pieces of meat (sometimes four) on it.

At Alien Pizza Planet, however, you can get a slice of pizza that’s much bigger than a usual slice. So splitting that between two small kids is possible.

Character Dining

Character dining is arguably one of Disney’s greatest ideas. The concept is simple; You enjoy a delicious meal (usually a buffet) while some of Disney’s most beloved characters visit you at your table.

It’s an awesome experience for anyone - not just kids - who enjoy interacting with characters. You get more time with them and you’re not having to queue up in the sun.

At most locations, you’re typically guaranteed at least three character experiences during your meal. We usually manage to enjoy much more than that, though (except at Storyteller’s Cafe).

The following is a list of character dining locations:

• Plaza Inn: Located in Disneyland Park, character dining is currently only offered during breakfast. The characters you’ll typically see here are; Minnie Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Coco, Rafiki and Tiger. This one is our favorite.

• Goofy’s Kitchen: Located in the Disneyland Hotel, character dining is offered here for breakfast and dinner. Typical characters include; Goofy, Pluto, Chip n’ Dale and More!

• Storyteller’s Cafe: Located in the Grand Californian Hotel, character dining is offered during breakfast, brunch, and dinner. Typical characters include; Chip n’ Dale, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. This was our LEAST favorite of the four.

• Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures: Located inside the Napa Rose restaurant at the Grand Californian Hotel, this premium character dining option is only available for breakfast and on select days. Typical characters include; Snow White, Jasmine, Tiana and Cinderella.

Prices for the first three tend to vary between $35 - $60 per adult and $15 - $35 per child. Final price depends on time of year, meal type, etc.

Princess Breakfast Adventures is another story. This one comes with an eye-watering price tag of $125 per person. Notice the word person. That’s right, even children are at that price.

Our Thoughts…

It’s no secret, dining at the Disneyland Resort can be an expensive, and often times confusing, endeavor. It’s no longer as simple as showing up to any restaurant and ordering your food.

The advent of mobile ordering, while convenient in many ways, has made the process of dining at the park something you need to plan out.

By that, I don’t mean just making a list of where you want to eat. I mean choosing where, what, and at which time you want to eat.

During our recent visit, I attempted to mobile order a black caf cold brew at Docking Bay 7 in Galaxy’s Edge. The closest window I could choose was in 45-minutes.

I arrived at docking bay to see if I could just do stand-by but found the line was so huge it easily would’ve taken that long before I got it anyway.

On another morning, at around 9am (two hours before it opened), I mobile ordered my lunch from Cocina Cucamonga in DCA.

By the time I arrived to pick up my meal (which was fast, by the way), the stand-by line was already an easy 20-30 wait.

I got curious and checked the mobile-order pick up times at that moment and thay were already two hours out (around 1pm). It was insane.

So while mobile-ordering has improved the park experience in some aspects, it’s also ruined it even more so for those who don’t want to plan every aspect of their visit.

Unfortunately, this is the world we live in. Disney has gone all-in on digital payments and is showing absolutely no signs of turning back. All we can do is learn, adapt and excel.

Your Thoughts…

What are your thoughts on mobile ordering and having to make reservations so far out? Let us know in the comments below. We love hearing from readers!

Please support our website by sharing this article with your family and friends.

Thank you for reading.

2023 Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar + Future Projects and Rumors

3 minute read | contains affiliate links

*Note: You’ve accidentally landed on the 2023 refurb calendar, click/tap here to see the updated, 2024 calendar.

Between the Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks, the Disneyland Resort boasts more than 90 rides and attractions.

Some of these have opened as recently as 2023 while some have been operating since the park first opened in 1955.

Due to the age of some of the attractions, they need to close from time to time for a variety of reasons. These can include:

• Safety upgrades

• Technology & effects improvements

• Re-themes

• Changes to the overall appearance

• and more

While these ride closures are a necessity for park operations, there’s nothing more frustrating than arriving at the park and finding your favorite attraction closed.

To help with this, Disney releases the dates for planned ride closures on a calendar that you can view 45-days in advance. This way, you can plan your trip accordingly.

Since it can be time consuming to keep track of it all, we put this post together to help you stay on top of ride closures, future projects and more.

This post will be updated constantly, throughout the year, as information is released by Disney. So keep coming back for updates!

Without further delay, let’s get into it. We’ll begin with a list of the current refurbishments, followed by details about upcoming projects.

*Pro Tip: Be sure to bookmark this post to your phone/computer. Disney constantly updates their refurbishment calendar and we work diligently to keep up. By bookmarking this post, you can remain as up to date as possible.

*Quick Note: If you’re looking to book a vacation to the Disneyland Resort (or Disney World, Disney Cruise, Universal and more) consider tapping/clicking the above image to visit our partners at Get Away Today. Going through them is the same as going directly through Disney only through them, you’ll receive personalized service by Disney experts and receive the absolute best price and any accompanying discounts. By going through Get Away Today, you’ll be getting the best price on your vacation and support our website at the same time.

To see their amazing deals on your favorite destinations, click/tap here (and tell them we said “hi”)

*ALSO…

Knowing which rides are closed is only one part of the equation when planning a trip to Disneyland. Below, we’ve listed a few more of our Disneyland related posts that we think you’d find useful:

“Oogie Boogie Bash 2023: Ticket Prices, Villains Groove, Characters, Our Experience and More”

“Disneyland Dining Guide: Mobile Order, Dining Reservations and More”

“Disneyland Rider Switch: How To Take Advantage Of This Little Known Perk”

“Genie+ At Disneyland: How It Works, What It Cost and More!”

Disneyland Resort Refurbishment Calendar

Disneyland Park

• Adventureland Treehouse: Opened November 10th

• Alice in Wonderland: June 5th - June 15th

• Alice in Wonderland: July 5th - July 20th

• Astro Orbitor: November 27th - TBD

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: April 3rd - April 13th

• Blue Bayou Restaurant: January 7th, 2024 - January 19th, 2024

• CenTOONial Park: September 11th - October 29th

• Disneyland Monorail: March 20th - March 23rd

• Donald’s Boat: Re-opening March 19th

• Disneyland Monorail: July 5th - August 31st

• Dumbo the Flying Elephant: July 3rd (single day closure)

• French Market Restaurant: Permenantly closed February 17th (reopening as ‘Tiana’s Palace’ on September 7th)

• Fantasmic: Paused through Spring 2024

• Gadget Coaster: Re-opening March 19th

• Goofy’s How-to-Play Yard: October 23rd - November 9th

• Goofy’s Playhouse: Re-opening March 19th

• Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln: January 9th - January 25th

• Haunted Mansion: August 14th - August 31st (for the ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ overlay installation)

• Haunted Mansion: January 21st, 2024 - TBD

• Indiana Jones Adventure: January 9th, 2023 - March 16th

• Indiana Jones Adventure: November 27th - November 30th

• it’s a small world: January 9th - January 19th

• it’s a small world: October 23rd - November 9th

• Matterhorn Mountain: April 18th - June 2nd

• Mark Twain Riverboat: March 6th - March 9th

• Mark Twain Riverboat: September 17th - February 2nd, 2024

• Mickey’s House: Re-opening March 19th

• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway: Opening January 27th

• Minnie’s House: Re-opening March 19th

• Mint Julep Bar: February 17th - September 6th

• Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride: June 5th - June 15th

• Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride: July 24th - August 10th

• Peter Pan’s Flight: June 5th - June 29th

• Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer’s Island: September 6th & September 7th

• Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin: Re-opening March 19th

• Splash Mountain: Permanently closed as of May 31st (will reopen as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in late 2024)

• Sailing Ship Columbia: September 11th - September 14th

• Space Mountain: September 18th - October 26th

• Tiana’s Palace: Grand opening on September 7th

• Wondrous Journeys: Permanently ending August 31st

By now, you’ve undoubtedly heard of the unfortunate fire that occurred during an April showing of Fantasmic involving the Maleficent (Murphy) animatronic.

If you’ve been under a rock and haven’t heard, i’m sorry to be the one to break it to you. The animatronic and lift system experienced significant damage.

Due to this, Disney announced a pause on all pyro effects in Disney parks worldwide. As far as the future of the show is concerned, all Disney would say is it’s, “on pause”, until at least May 14th.

For those wondering, the reason the troubled animatronic was given the name, “Murphy”, by cast members as a reference to the infamous theory, Murphy’s Law - anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

Murphy has an extensive history of breakdowns and malfunctions. It would often freeze during performances and sometimes, outright refuse to work in the first place.

As a precautionary measure to Murphy’s mood swings, Disney has a “B” show in place. It’s nowhere near as impressive, but it allows Disney to move forward with the show.

However, with the additional damage done to the platform, Disney hasn’t been able to stage the show at all. Unfortunately, due to this, the pause has now been extended to at least Labor Day.

Disney has stated that, “Teams are actively exploring alternate entertainment offerings for guests this summer”. What could those be? The Main Street Electrical Parade would be a no-brainer.

• Update: Disney has recently announced that Fantasmic is now being pushed to Spring 2024. Read my article about it for more information.

Disney California Adventure

• Beast’s Library: Permanently closed December 10th

• Boudin Bread Cart: May 31st - July 1st

• Fairfax Market: January 22nd - February 10th

• Grizzly River Run: January 9th - March 16th

• Grizzly River Run: January 8th, 2024 - TBD

• Golden Zephyr: August 28th - September 28th

• Incredicoaster: November 27th - December 1st

• Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind: January 30th - February 9th

• Mickey’s PhilharMagic: January 24th - February 3rd

• Midway Mercantile: July 26th - August 18th

• Paradise Garden Grill: August 24th - August 26th

• Pacific Wharf Distribution Co: May 31st - July 23rd

• Redwood Creek Challenge: July 31st - August 14th

• Redwood Creek Challenge: November 1st - November 9th

• Radiator Springs Racers: August 18th - August 26th

• Rogers: The Musical (Hyperion Theatre): Ending August 31st

• Soarin’ Around The World: July 5th - July 14th

• Sorcerer’s Workshop: August 28th - September 6th

• Silly Symphony Swings: February 27th - May 18th

• The Little Mermaid - Ariel’s Undersea Adventure: June 5th - June 7th

• Toy Story Midway Mania: July 17th - August 17th

• WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure: January 9th - January 12th

WEB Slingers was added and then quickly removed from the refurbishment schedule. This will likely be rescheduled for different dates.

No way to know for sure why it was removed, but it could have something to do with Radiator Springs Racers being added.

Even during slow times (Jan/Feb are traditionally slow months) Disney can’t afford to have too many E-ticket attractions down (that’s assuming you count WEB Slingers as an E-ticket).

There’s been zero indication of Frozen (or any other theme) returning to the Hyperion Theatre. It’s been closed since the 2020 park closures.

Once it does return, it’ll likely be a different theme given its proximity to Avenger’s Campus. Personally, i’m holding out hope for an Avengers broadway show.

• (Psst - that’s exactly what happened, by the way)

Downtown Disney

• AMC Theatres: Permanently closed as of June 17th, 2018

• Catal: Permanently closed as of April 10th, 2023

• ESPN Zone: Permanently closed as of June 2nd, 2018

• La Brea Bakery: Permanently closed as of January 9th, 2023

• Sprinkles Cupcakes: Permanently closed as of April 20th, 2023

• UVA Bar & Restaurant: Permanently closed as of April 10th, 2023

Future Projects

Refurbishments aren’t the only aspect of a trip to Disneyland you’ll need to consider. You should also know about future projects.

The Disneyland Resort has many projects in the pipeline. Some are close to fruition while others have yet to break ground.

Below, we’re going to discuss a handful of them.

Disneyland Park

‘Tiana’s Palace’ Restaurant Coming To New Orleans Square

Slowly but surely, Princess Tiana (from the animated film Princess and the Frog) is taking over News Orleans Square.

In 2022, Disney opened a new shop, Eudora’s Chic Boutique, which sells merchandise heavily inspired by Tiana.

In 2024, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, will take Splash Mountains’ place. This year, though, Tiana will finally get her own restaurant.

French Market Restaurant (and subsequently, Mint Julep Bar) will make way for, Tiana’s Palace, later this year.

Disney animators actually took inspiration from French Market when designing Tiana’s Palace for the movie, making this a homecoming of sorts.

Disney says the menu will expand on the restaurant’s current one, offering “current favorites, seasonal flavors and, of course, new New Orleans classics”.

While French Market itself will be no more, Mint Julep Bar will reopen with their infamous mint juleps and Mickey beignets in late 2023.

Construction began with French Market’s closing on February 17th and is expected to be finished in late 2023. Stay tuned.

July Update: Based on recent photos i’ve seen of the exterior, Tiana’s Palace is looking great and coming along nicely. Still looking like a late 2023 opening.

August Update: As announced by Disney on August 18th, Tiana’s Palace will makes its grand debut on September 7th.

The Adventureland Treehouse

Earlier this year, we finally received news on what the former Tarzan’s Treehouse would become. It’s going back to its Swiss Family Robinson roots.

Recently, the Disneyland website announced an opening date of February 11th, 2023. However, that has since been removed.

If you look at the refurbishment calendar as far out as you can go, it’s still not showing an opening date. As always, we’ll keep you updated.

April Update: The scrim has come down to expose the upper portion of the treehouse and thus far it’s looking fantastic. The bottom half is still covered up. Based on current rumors, the treehouse is on track to open some time in June.

July Update: There’s scrim and scaffolding all over the treehouse…still. Most of the rooms and elements at the top of the tree appear to be finished or nearly finished, but crews are still working around the base of the tree. While not confirmed as it’s still covered in a tarp, but the water wheel appears to have been installed. Still no update (or even a guess) as to when it’ll reopen.

November Update: Disney has announced that the long awaited reopening of the Adventureland Treehouse will be on November 10th.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (Splash Mountain Replacement)

Announced all the way back in 2020, the beloved classic attraction, Splash Mountain, will close and make way for, ‘Tiana’s Bayou Adventure’.

The Disney World version of Splash will close on January 23rd but thus far, no closing date for the Disneyland version has been announced.

This is likely due to the current closures of many other attractions. Disney is likely waiting for ToonTown to be complete and reopened.

ToonTown is reopening on March 8th, 2023. So if I were to wager a guess, i’d say don’t expect Splash to go down until AT LEAST March 9th.

April Update: The folks at Disney have recently (finally) announced Splash’s closing date. May 30th will be its final day of operation.

July Update: Construction is off to a fast start at the mountain formally known as Splash. The stump at the top of the mountain has already been dismantled and there’s scaffolding everywhere. I’m hearing rumors that we should be seeing the water tower installed in the coming months.

ToonTown Reimagining

A newly re-imagined ToonTown will be making its long-awaited debut on March 8th, 2023. It’s been closed since March of 2022.

*NOTE: It was announced on February 11th that ToonTown will now open on March 19th. This is due to construction delays resulting from the winter storms.

The park will re-open with fresh paint, new interactive features and tons of new green space. I almost forgot, it’s also getting a new attraction!

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway was a hit at Disney World, so Disney decided to bring a version of it to the west coast.

Runaway Railway opened prior to the rest of ToonTown on January 27th.

March Update: Disney is again utilizing virtual queues in place of a traditional stand-by line. The only other option is to purchase a premium Lighting Lane. Be sure to read our posts on both below so you’re prepared!

READ: “The Ultimate Guide To Virtual Queues At Disneyland”

READ: “Genie Plus Now Live At Disneyland: How It Works, Cost and More!”

April Update: Well that sure was quick. ‘Runaway Railway’ is no longer utilizing virtual queue. Your two options are either traditional stand-by or purchasing a premium lighting lane.

July Update: While ToonTown’s in full swing, there have been persistent issues with the faux grass and the newly installed interactive elements (think fake tree roots children can climb on). Many of these have already been uninstalled, painted, and installed again several times. The faux grass was closed off for a period so crews could work on it. Recently, the pool around Donald’s Boat was walled off for unknown reasons. If you’re going soon, prepare for the possibility of certain areas of the land being closed off.

The Avatar Experience

I debated with myself over whether or not to include the speculation over Bob Iger’s recent announcement of an Avatar project coming to the resort as there isn’t much known about it, but I’ll give it a go.

For starters, Iger referred to it as, “a version of Avatar” and called it an “experience” rather than an attraction or land. These are important distinctions as Iger is known to be precise with his words.

A day later, however, a D23 blog post was quoted as saying the upcoming project will be, “as amazing”, as Animal Kingdom’s Pandora - The World of Avatar. That’s interesting, to say the least.

With Avatar and its sequel, Way of Water, commanding two of the top three slots of highest grossing films of all time, Disney is firmly in the Avatar business and undoubtedly wants to inject as much of the franchise as they can into the parks. Where, in Disneyland, is the question.

Provided Disney gets their way with their plans for the DisneylandForward project, I can see the Disneyland half of the available space being utilized for a west coast version of Pandora. This would make the most sense since that space is a blank canvas and would provide the imagineers with the most flexibility.

I can also see the Grizzly Peak area of DCA receiving a Pandora overlay if push came to shove. It’s a heavily forested area with a couple attractions that could be converted to an Avatar theme with a little creativity.

These options, though, wouldn’t be indicative of Iger’s statement about it being an experience. An experience would indicate something like a walk-through exhibit, a virtual reality attraction, or perhaps an Avatar themed restaurant/bar? Who knows.

Whatever this “experience” is going to look like, it’ll undoubtedly go through multiple revisions before its final form is revealed. For what it’s worth, given how profitable the Avatar franchise has been, I doubt this project will be anything short of spectacular.

I believe Iger’s statement of it being an experience was just him being cautious with his words. Under promising and over delivering is better than the alternative. I’m calling it now - this Avatar “experience” will be the main event announcement at D23 2024 and will blow away all expectations.

Disney California Adventure

Avengers Campus Expansion

At the 2022 D23 fan expo, then Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced an Avengers themed attraction will be coming to Avengers Campus in the future.

How far into the future, exactly? We don’t know. All we know is the story will be centered around the Avengers battling a different version of Marvel’s big baddie, Thanos.

Lots of people, myself included, are holding out hope for an Avengers version of EPCOT’s Cosmic Rewind coaster.

How likely is it given the limited availability of space? There’s a great video by Offhand Disney breaking down whether it could fit or not. Give it a watch.

April Update: There hasn’t been much of anything said about this e-ticket since last year’s D23 event, but there has been some movement regarding the Avengers HQ building.

Soon, construction walls will surround the building as Disney prepares to install a gift shop inside.

The gift shop was planned from the start, as it was intended to be where guests would exit after riding the Avengers e-ticket, but was temporarily scrapped.

While this may not be the news we’ve been waiting for, this is at least the first step towards it.

July Update: Still no movement on just about anything having to do with this expansion. Months ago, a gift shop was announced for the interior of the Avengers building but to date, there hasn’t been much of any news about it. To be fair, they very well could be close to completion on the gift shop itself and we wouldn’t know it due to there being no visibility from the outside.

August Update: While an exact date hasn’t been revealed, Disney did announce that the “long awaited” (can you sense the sarcasm?) new Marvel-themed gift shop called, “Avengers Vault”, will open in mid-September.

San Fransokyo Square

One of the only legit surprises coming out of the D23 2022 parks panel, the wharf area of DCA is getting re-themed to San Fransokyo from the animated film, Big Hero 6.

Like with most of last year’s announcements, no real details were given other than the area receiving a Baymax meet and greet.

Based on the concept art, most of the current eateries will remain, with Godiva being the likely casualty (to make way for the meet and greet).

It seems that most of the change will be mostly cosmetic, with the biggest addition being the arches from the Golden Gate Bridge.

Work has yet to begin on this and there’s no word on when it will start, let alone when it’ll be finished.

January Update: On January 12th, work had official begun on this project with the lagoon around Pacific Wharf getting drained. Currently, the land and its restaurants are still open but that could soon change. While details still haven’t been publicly made, Dave, from the YouTube channel, Fresh Baked, has revealed some information he’s received from a source within Disney. They are:

• Changes will be minimal and mostly cosmetic (with the exception of the Baymax meet and greet and the bridge makeover.

• The Baymax meet and greet will be to the left of Cocina Cucamonga, right where the beer cart currently is.

• A “beer only” window will be added to Cocina Cucamonga.

• The Pacific Wharf Cafe will be renamed, ‘Lucky Cat Cafe’ (from the movie) and given an updated menu

• Rita’s Baja Blenders will remain, but will be renamed, ‘Turbine Blenders’.

• Both Ghirardelli’s, Lucky Fortune Cookery, Cocina Cucamonga and Boudin Bakery will remain as is with only soft changes to their exteriors.

• Japanese lettering will be added to the exterior of most buildings throughout the land.

• An outdoor gift shop will be added adjacent to the Baymax meet and greet.

• Signage adjacent to the bridge stating, “Port of San Fransokyo”, will be added.

• And of course, converting the bridge to a Japanese version of the Golden Gate Bridge.

July Update: Disney has been unveiling varying new elements to San Fransokyo piece by piece and it’s all looking great! However, they’ve recently announced that the new(ish) land will be fully completed and open on August 31st!

Resort Hotels & Downtown Disney

Pixar Place Hotel

Another exciting addition coming to the Disneyland Resort is the remodel and re-theme of Paradise Pier Hotel Pixar Place Hotel.

Along with a new name and fresh paint, the pool area will receive a Finding Nemo theme and a new flagship restaurant from local favorite, Great Maple, will be added.

Changes are ongoing and the hotel will remain operational during the transformation. Slight room discounts are currently available as a result.

No word has been given as to when the project will be completed. Based on the current progress, we’re thinking late 2023/early 2024.

July Update: Progress is slow going, but the new paint job is nearly finished (and looking great, by the way), most of the newly refurbished lobby has reopened, and the Finding Nemo Splash Pad is near completion. No word on the new restaurants or when it’ll fully open, but i’m still holding to my previous prediction of late 2023/early 2024.

Disneyland Hotel DVC Tower

Construction is nearing completion on the new Disney Vacation Club (DVC) tower at the Disneyland Hotel.

Based on progress, it’ll likely be finished sometime in the middle of the year, if not before then. Like with most of these, though, no official word has been given.

March Update: Disney recently announced that the Villas at Disneyland Hotel will open to guests on September 28th, 2023.

The new tower will feature 344 themed rooms, including duo studios, deluxe studios, one- & two-bedroom suites and grand villas. Each will be themed after some of Disney’s most classical animated features like “Fantasia”, “The Jungle Book”, “Sleeping Beauty” and more.

If you’re interested in making a reservation, here are some dates to be aware of:

• March 15: Disney Vacation Club Members can begin making reservations by calling member services at (800) 800-9800

• March 16: Disneyland Magic Key Holders can begin making reservations by calling (714) 956-6425

• March 17: All guests can begin making reservations through the Disneyland website or by calling (714) 956-6425

New Downtown Disney Restaurants

This is for the foodies out there. There’s a slew of new eateries coming to the property (and a couple of refreshed ones).

We’ve already covered Great Maple coming to the Pixar Place Hotel, but Downtown Disney is also getting some new additions.

First off, some existing restaurants are getting a refresh. Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen is getting a modern color scheme, refreshed menu and a new name; Jazz Kitchen Coastal Grill & Patio.

Additionally, the spaces currently occupied by Catal and Uva Bar are going to be converted to an upscale Mexican restaurant called, “Paseo and Centrico”.

Two more highly anticipated restaurants will be making their debuts in the future. Din Tai Fung will likely be built in the space where AMC previously occupied.

A local favorite, Ponto’s, will be taking over the space formally occupied by La Brea Bakery. On January 10th, La Brea Bakery closed for good.

In the interim, Earl of Sandwich will move into the space beginning in February. This is only temporary until their permanent location is built.

April Update: Work is seemingly close to completion on the exterior at the newly minted Jazz Kitchen Coastal Kitchen & Patio. The interior work is still ongoing.

Uva Bar has closed to make way for its conversion to, “Paseo and Centrico”. If you’re visiting soon you’ll need to navigate the construction walls in the center of the walkway.

“Clyde’s Hot Chicken”, recently announced their newest location will be at Downtown Disney in the space formally occupied by “Sprinkles”.

August Update: Construction is moving nicely at the west end of Downtown Disney. Now that they’re finally vertical, the buildings, while still shells, are starting to take shape. Judging by the shape of one particular building, I can confirm that it’ll definitely be the location of the highly anticipated Din Tai Fung restaurant. Construction of the area is expected to be completed in late 2024. Likely before Thanksgiving.

Our Thoughts On Refurbishments

In short, they’re a necessary evil. We’re sure that Disney would love to keep every attraction running all year long but for the most part, that just isn’t feasible.

It’s unfortunate that some people who don’t often visit the parks face the disappointment of their favorite ride being closed when they do go.

That’s why Disney (and bloggers such as myself) create posts and/or a calendar to inform people of expected ride closures prior to their trip.

Of course, closures can happen at any time despite what the calendar says. So even while you’re there, it’s best to keep an eye on this post.

You can view the refurbishment calendar up to 45-days in advance. So check that against your vacation dates as soon as that window opens.

If an attraction is closed during your dates and it’s a deal breaker, see about changing your dates. If you can't, at least you’ll get the disappointment out of the way.

Your Thoughts…

What’re your thoughts on refurbishments? Have you ever showed up to the park only to find your favorite attraction closed?

Tell us about it in the comments below! We love hearing from our readers.

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News From The Disneyland Resort (Jan): Park Hopping, Magic Key Sales and More!

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On January 10th, 2023, Disney released a whole slew of news and updates pertaining to perks for Disneyland Resort guests during the 100th anniversary celebration.

These changes and updates directly affect the park guest experience so if you’re planning to visit this year, you’ll want to keep reading.

Park Hopping Time Changed To 11am

Since bringing park hopping back (and due to the imposed reservation system), Disney has made it to where if you wanted to park hop, you couldn’t do so until after 1pm.

That’s a stark contrast the before times when you could park hop on a whim, all day long. No time constraints to worry about.

It was initially done to help slow the spread of covid when the parks reopened but now, I believe it was kept due to loathed reservation requirement.

While you still won’t be able to do it whenever you want, the requirement of what time you can begin was lowered by two hours to 11am.

While we would all love to return to no restrictions this is, at minimum, progress towards that goal. There’s still hope that a day will come when we won’t have to make reservations.

This new policy goes into effect on February 4th, 2023 so until then, you’ll need to adhere to current time restriction of 1pm.

Complimentary PhotoPass Attraction Photos

Also beginning February 4th, 2023, as part of the Disney100 celebration, guests with a valid park ticket will receive complimentary PhotoPass attraction photos via the Disneyland app.

If you’re unaware of what PhotoPass is, it’s a semi-free service consisting of Disney photographers taking your family photos at key spots throughout the property.

Attraction photos are also a feature of this service. I say “semi-free” because while getting your photo taken costs you nothing, you will need to pay to receive the photos.

*Check out our post about PhotoPass to get more details

Currently, the following attractions throughout both parks offer on-ride photos:

• Space Mountain

• Splash Mountain

• Incredicoaster

• Radiator Springs Racers

• Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT!

Note that complimentary photos will be on-ride photos only. Photos taken of you by Disney photographers will still need to be purchased if you want them.

More Opportunities To Purchase A Magic Key

Magic Keys (Disney’s new-ish annual pass program) haven’t been regularly sold in quite a while. This is Disney’s attempt to slow the crowds and raise demand at the same time.

Back in November 2022, sales of magic keys resumed, but it only for about two days before Disney pulled the plug again.

One of the announcements this morning was that there would be more opportunities for non-key holders to purchase one as they become available.

This will likely occur near the end of each fiscal quarter so Disney receives a financial bump that they can report to investors during their earnings call.

This is great news for anyone who’s been wanting to purchase a key. Just be sure to keep your ears peeled for when it happens because it likely won’t last long.

More Days At The Lowest Price

Ticket pricing at Disneyland now works on a tier system. On days that they’re expecting high demand, they’ll charge more. On lower demand days, the cost will be lower.

Currently, the lowest price on a low demand day for a single-day, one-park ticket is $104 per adult. Under former CEO Bob Chapek, there were fewer and fewer of these.

This year, however, two months worth of these “$104 ticket” days will be added to the calendar.

Keep in mind that this only applies to single-day, single-park tickets. Multi-day tickets remain the same price as they do not change based on demand.

Our Thoughts On These Announcements…

There’s really nothing to complain about here. These are great things for park guests. Disney rarely hands out freebies like this so take it while they’re offering it.

We believe this is all from the mind of returning CEO Bob Igar. He knows he has to show good will to Disney fans after Chapek nearly destroyed everything Igar built up.

The park hopper time restriction moving to 11am is the best news. This signals the possibility of Disney moving toward a day where reservations will no longer be required.

That, in of itself, would be great. Personally, I liked the reservation system when it first implemented because it actually controlled crowds and made the park experience better.

Now, there’s no attendance restrictions on Disney, so they can let it hit capacity if they wanted to. So essentially, the reservation system is nothing more than a roadblock.

There will likely be more announcements in the coming weeks. Disney is going all out for the company’s 100th anniversary celebration. So I would definitely expect to hear more.

Your Thoughts…

What are your thoughts on this morning’s announcements? Which one stands out to you the most? Are you excited about the extra two hours of park hopping?

Let us know in the comments below! We love hearing from our readers.

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Magic Band Plus Coming To Disneyland October 26th, 2022

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On October 26th, 2022, the Disneyland Resort will be debuting a service long enjoyed by Walt Disney World park-goers; Magic Bands. Specifically, Magic Band Plus.

These watch-like bands are intended to make your visit to Disneyland easier by removing the need to use your phone seemingly at every turn during your park visit.

In this post, we’re going to discuss topics such as; the purpose of Magic Bands, how to use them, our thoughts on them and more.

Let’s get into it!

*Quick Note - If you’ve been thinking about a trip to Disneyland for you and your family, consider going through our partners at Get Away Today. They’ve been in the Disney vacation business for years and offer great deals on vacation packages, nearby hotels and park tickets.

They’re an authorized Disney ticket seller and going through them wouldn’t cost you anything more than booking through Disney (or anyone else) directly. In fact, with all their local connections and deals, you’ll likely SAVE a considerable amount.

So head over to Get Away Today and receive a free, instant quote and compare it to what you’re already going to spend. You’ll be supporting a great company and us while getting a great deal at the same time!

What Are Magic Bands For?

Magic Bands were originally launched at Walt Disney World in 2013 and now, nine years later, Disneyland park-goers will have to chance to purchase and use them at their home park.

Magic Bands+, the most recent version, is what now serves Walt Disney World and is what we’ll be getting as well (we’ll cover the differences below).

Essentially, Magic Bands are wearables and are reminiscent of a watch. They’re adjustable, water-proof, and contain a small radio frequency (RF) chip inside of them.

This chip, when aligned with your Disney account, will contain nearly every aspect of your vacation, right there on your wrist. Some examples of they’re use include:

• Stores your park ticket or Magic Key to make entry faster

• Stores your Genie Plus and Lightening Lane selections

• Stores your credit/debit card to make purchases faster and easier

• Can be used as your hotel room key

• Stores Disney PhotoPass photos

• Play virtual games at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

• And more

Now that Magic Band+ is live, we know that these bands light up during certain parades and shows, respond to such shows through haptic vibrations and even have gesture recognition.

Using them is simple. At the entrances to the gate and Lightening Lanes, simply hold your band up to the Mickey Mouse shaped scanner. If it lights up green, you’re good to go.

Magic Band vs. Magic Band+

Though nearly the exact same in appearence and how you wear them, Magic Band Plus does have a few key differences from its predecessor.

Let’s begin with the similarities. They both:

• Are waterproof

• Unlock hotel room door

• Have tap to pay for purchases

• Link theme park ticket/Magic Key, Lightening Lane selections and PhotoPass photos

The biggest distinctions between the two are that Magic Bands+ have interactive elements built into the device and also, they come with a built-in, rechargeable battery.

Aside from those two things, they both look identical and (nearly) have all the same features.

Where You Can Purchase Magic Bands

At their initial launch, Magic Bands were free to those staying on Walt Disney World property and who booked their vacation through Disney.

You would receive a basic, fairly plain Magic Band with the option to purchase bands with better designs or limited editions. Those not staying on property paid, no matter what.

As of a few years ago, though, Disney did away with the freebies. Now, no matter where you’re staying or who you booked through, Magic Bands now have a cost attached to them.

You can purchase your Magic Band through ShopDisney or at one of the theme parks at Disneyland and Disney World. You could also check sites like Amazon, Ebay and others for second hand bands.

There are dozens of band designs to choose from with many different characters represented from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars.

The average price seems to be set at around $45 per band. However, we did find some for as low as $19.99 and some as high as $75.

Our Thoughts On Magic Bands

Honestly, the jury is still out as it pertains to how we feel about it. We get how these can be useful on the east coast, but we have to question their desirebility here.

The difference between Disneyland and Disney World is night and day. The World sees mostly out of state/international guests while Disneyland is largely a local’s park.

While you can use these bands at Disneyland for everything you can use them for at Disney World, we can’t help but wonder whether or not locals will take to them and if they’ll just over-complicate an arguably already complicated park experience.

Additionally, for the longest time, Disney seemed hell bent on getting all of us to use the Disneyland app for everything under the sun. Now, they’re trying to steer us away from it. Why, you ask?

It’s simple, really. These bands were designed for one thing and one thing only, to make it easier for us to part with our money. That’s it. Every other feature is a diversion from that fact.

That $100 jersey is easier to buy when you just tap your band and go. Holding and swiping your credit/debit card, at minimum, makes you cognizant of what you’re doing. By eliminating this step, you don’t think too much about it.

Or at least, that’s what Disney hopes will happen. Admittedly, they’re probably correct in that prognosis. They poses nine years of data from its run at Disney World to base their decisions on.

That said, we’ll give it a fair shake. It seems as though we’ll be able to use them during our upcoming visit. So we’ll more than likely pick up a band and take it for a test-run.

Once we’ve done that, we’ll be able to give a more experienced opinion on it. Until then, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Your Thoughts…

Are you an east coaster with experience using Magic Bands? How do/did you like them? If you’re Disneylander, what’re your thoughts on them? Let us know in the comments below. We love hearing from our readers!

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Pixar Place Hotel Coming To The Disneyland Resort

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In early 2022, Disney fans were treated with exciting news that Disney would be giving the Paradise Pier Hotel a Pixar-themed makeover.

Despite details not being released at the time, it was great to hear that this was happening. This was something Disney fans hoped for back in 2018 when Paradise Pier was changed to Pixar Pier.

Fast forward a few months to D23 Expo and we now have more details regarding this transformation (though we still don’t have a completion date).

In this post, we’ll cover topics such as; changes/additions coming to the hotel, how this effects you if you’ve made a reservation for Paradise Pier Hotel and more.

Let’s get into it!

*Quick Note - If you’ve been thinking about a trip to Disneyland for you and your family, consider going through our partners at Get Away Today. They’ve been in the Disney vacation business for years and offer great deals on vacation packages, nearby hotels and park tickets.

They’re an authorized Disney ticket seller and going through them wouldn’t cost you anything more than booking through Disney (or anyone else) directly. In fact, with all their local connections and deals, you’ll likely SAVE a considerable amount.

So head over to Get Away Today and receive a free, instant quote and compare it to what you’re already going to spend. You’ll be supporting a great company and us while getting a great deal at the same time!

Pixar Place Hotel

At the 2022 D23 Expo, chairman Josh D’Amaro announced the hotel’s new name; Pixar Place Hotel and described it as a place where guests could immerse themselves into the world of Pixar.

New interpretations of fan-favorite Pixar characters in art form will appear throughout the property, including those from Cars, Monsters Inc, Soul, The Incredibles, Inside Out and more!

Of course, Luxo the lamp will also be featured prominently as shown in the concept art below.

So far, there hasn’t been any details or concept art related to the look of the hotel rooms, but we’re willing to bet there will be subtle touches of the Pixar Pals throughout the room.

New Additions

With the announcement of the new name, we were also given details on a couple new additions coming to the property.

For starters, the hotel’s pool will be reimagined into Finding Nemo’s Splash Pad. It’ll heavily feature characters from both Finding Nemo and its sequel, Finding Dory.

Also announced would be the addition of Southern California favorite, Great Maple, and their new, flagship restaurant coming to the hotel.

Great Maple tailors its menu to elevated comfort foods, all made from scratch, using high quality seasonal ingredients in a stylish and comfortable setting.

This is a fantastic addition to the property as the prior food offerings at Paradise Pier Hotel were always, shall we say, abysmal. As foodies, we’re incredibly exited about this.

Expected Completion Date

In short, we don’t have one just yet. Not even an estimate. One thing we can say for sure is that work has commenced on the property.

References and signage of the property’s former name have been removed from the side of the building itself, though the entrance sign remains (for now).

We were able to confirm with Disney that the hotel WILL NOT close for the transformation. The hotel will remain operational.

So if you’ve already booked here prior to the announcement, don’t fret, your reservation is still good. Do note, though, that construction will likely affect your stay in some capacity.

Our Thoughts On Pixar Place Hotel

We see this as a great addition to the resort. The Paradise Pier Hotel was always seen as subpar by most, despite the hefty nightly rate to stay there.

It stood out (not in a good way) even more so when the reimagining of Paradise Pier into Pixar was completed in 2018.

*Tip: If you haven’t booked a room yet, we would advise you to consider another hotel as the ongoing changes will likely mean reduced amenities. While Disney has lowered the nightly rate to counteract this, their asking price is still high considering all the hotels surrounding the property that offer far more.

That said, if you have your heart set on this property, wait until they’ve finished the transformation.

Pixar is known for their quality and standards. They’ve made several thought-provoking, tear-inducing, high quality movies enjoyed by the young and mature alike.

By all accounts, Disney seems to be striving to keep those theatrical standards cohesive with the overall look and vibe of this new(ish) hotel.

The skepticism is there, though. As we’ve recently seen with other projects that practically scream, “we did this as cheaply as possible”, one can’t help but be fearful of a similar outcome here.

We’re holding out hope that Disney will do right by this once in a lifetime company, though. Pixar deserves it, the characters deserve it and us fans deserve it.

Your Thoughts…

What’re your thoughts about the Pixar Place Hotel? Do you think it’ll be done right or do you think Disney will take the road with the least amount of resistant possible? Let us know in the comments below. We love hearing from our readers!

Please support our website by sharing it with your family and friends.

Thank you for reading.

Disneyland PhotoPass: What Is It And Why You Should Use It

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At the Disneyland Resort, an astronomical amount of photographs are taken each day. After all, for a lot of people, a trip to a Disney park is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. So of course you’d want to capture as many memories as you can.

There’s a problem to this, though. Unless you’re alright with trusting your expensive cell phone or camera with a complete stranger, there’s usually one person left out of the family pictures. It isn’t until you get home that you realize you’re not in a single photo.

Thankfully, Disney figured out a way around this by introducing the PhotoPass service in the early 2000’s. This (kinda) free service solves the problem by placing Disney photographers at key locations around the parks and take your family photos for you.

In this guide, we’re going to cover all the details of both PhotoPass and PhotoPass+, what they cost, how to use them, and much more. Let’s get into it!

*Quick Note: If you’re looking to book the perfect hotel for your trip to Disneyland, looking to save on Disneyland tickets, or book a full-blown vacation package, look no further than our friends at Get Away Today. We’ve partnered up with them for one simple reason; they’re the BEST Disney vacation planners out there! To view the various vacation packages offered through Get Away Today, go here.

What Is Disney PhotoPass and How Do You Use It?

Simply put, PhotoPass is a free(ish) service provided by Disney in which photographers placed at key locations throughout the parks take your family photos for you.

To make the process more streamlined and convenient, it’s best to download the Disneyland app before your visit. This is the fastest and easiest way to receive, view, and download your photos.

Inside the app:

• Tap the + symbol at the bottom of the screen

• Tap, “Link PhotoPass Photos”

• Slide over to and tap, “Show PhotoPass Code”

• You’ll then see a QR code on your screen.

This is the code Disney photographers will scan with their device when they take your photos. This ensures the right person receives the right pictures.

*PRO TIP: Take a screenshot of this QR code and save it as the wallpaper to your phone. This way you won’t have to pull up the app every time you get a picture taken. This saves you precious battery life and time.

It’s a straightforward process, really. Locate a Disney Photographer (don’t worry, they stand out), ask him/her to take your photo, they’ll take 4-5 photos in various poses, then they’ll scan your code and off you go.

*Note, getting pictures taken by PhotoPass Photographers is 100% free

If you haven’t downloaded the app or simply don’t want to, you can ask the photographer for a physical card with a code on it (we’ll cover this in more detail further into the post).

Disney states that you should allow up to 24 hours for your photos to appear in the app. That said, in our experience, it has never taken more than an hour or so to show up.

Disney PhotoPass+ Cost & What’s Included

While getting your picture taken is the free part of the service, if you actually want to download or print them, you will need to pay. That’s where PhotoPass+ comes in.

Purchasing PhotoPass+ gives you all the photos taken of you by Disney Photographers, select attraction photos, and character dining photos.

The following are the costs associated with PhotoPass+:

• PhotoPass One Photo: $14.99

• PhotoPass One Day without Genie+: $19.99

• PhotoPass One Day with Genie+: $20.00

• PhotoPass One Week: $78.00

• Expiration Extension: $15.00

As you can see, unless there’s only one photo that you really like, it makes sense to just spend the extra $5 bucks for the one day package instead of spending nearly $15 for just one photo.

Also, if you’ll be going to the parks for four days, it makes even more sense to purchase the one week-package. If you’re going for five or more, then it’s a no brainer.

Our favorite deal, though, is the Genie+ option. If you don’t know what Genie+ is, you should check out our article about it, because it’s a major time saver at the parks.

Essentially, it’s the successor of Disney’s hugely popular FastPass service that allows you to save your place in line at select attractions so you don’t have to wait as long.

Currently, Genie+ costs $20 per person/per day and included with that price are all of your PhotoPass photos for each day you have it. So if you’re already considering one of the PhotoPass packages, you may as well get Genie+ with it to get the most value.

Magic Shots

Another reason to use PhotoPass are Magic Shots. These fun, magical additions make your photos stand out with an assortment of characters and other elements added into the photo.

You usually don’t need to ask as the photographer will typically include at least one into your set but if you want to be sure, it doesn’t hurt to mention it.

Some examples include the addition of “The Child” (aka, Baby Yoda) in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Tinkerbell in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle.

PhotoPass Locations

PhotoPass photographers can be found throughout the parks at key locations. These include some of the most iconic backdrops in the park as well as character meet and greets.

Typically, you can expect to find photographers at the following locations (though they aren’t limited to these):

Disneyland Park

• Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Locations: Millennium Falcon, The Garrison, and “The Child” magic shot near the entrance.

• Floral Mickey at the park entrance

• Sleeping Beauty Castle (there are numerous photographers here throughout the day)

• Walt & Mickey Partners Statue

• Various Character Meet n’ Greet

• Tomorrowland Locations: Bob Fett Throne photo opp, Mandalorian photo opp, and Star Wars Launch Bay

• Mickey Pumpkin and Christmas Tree during holiday events

Disney California Adventure

• Walt and Mickey Storyteller’s Statue

• Throughout Buena Vista Street

• Pixar Pier Bridge

• Grizzly Peak Waterfall

• Avengers Campus Entrance

• Throughout Cars Land

• Various Character Meet n’ Greets

You’ll also receive on-ride photos from select attractions throughout both parks. These include:

• Space Mountain

• Splash Mountain

• Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission BREAKOUT!

• Incredicoaster

• Radiator Springs Racers

PhotoPass Without The Disneyland App

For those of you who either don’t posses a smart phone or you just don’t want to bother with the Disneyland app, there is another option. Just be warned, though, that it is neither convenient or time efficient.

As mentioned near the beginning of this post, if you don’t have/want the app, simply ask the PhotoPass photographer for a card with a QR code on it. You can use this card as many times as you like throughout your trip.

If you forget it in your hotel room, simply ask a photographer for another one. Do keep in mind that if you loose your card, there is no way to recover the photos.

At the end of your trip (or whenever you’re ready) simply take your card(s) to the PhotoPass Concierge located on the left side of the Disneyland Park entrance gate.

PhotoPass Expiration Dates

One important aspect to remember is that these photos do not last forever. Whether you decide to purchase them or not, your photos will expire (be deleted) 45-days after the date they were taken.

If you need more time to decide if you want to purchase them all and you’re near the expiration date, you can pay $19.95 for a 15-day extension.

‘Capture Your Moment’ Option

Love using PhotoPass but feel 4-5 photos just isn’t enough? You can book a personalized 20-minute photo session with a Disney photographer.

During those 20-minutes, your photographer will take as many photos of you and your group (up to 8 people total) as possible and in as many poses as you’d like.

Another benefit of this is you’ll be able to take your photos in at least two locations. The only location that is confirmed to be unavailable is Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

There are a few things about this service you should know first. They are:

• The cost to book this service is $99 per group.

• This price DOES NOT include your photos. Just the time with the photographer.

• Your group can include up to 8 people.

• Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is not available as a location choice.

• Arrive 15-minutes prior to your scheduled time at ‘Mad Hatter’ on Main Street.

• If 20-minutes isn’t enough, you can book two back-to-back sessions for a total of 40-minutes.

• ‘Capture Your Moment’ is only offered at Disneyland Park. It is NOT available at Disney California Adventure as of this writing.

• A valid park ticket and park reservation is required.

• Wedding attire or gowns are not allowed.

• If you must cancel, do so within 24-hours. Otherwise, you’ll be charged for the full session.

• If you’re late, you may not be accommodated. If you are, your session time will likely be reduced.

Since your photos are not included in the price of a session, you’ll have three options to obtain your photos. They are:

1. Purchase each photo individually. With each photo costing around $15 bucks, this would likely be your most expensive option.

2. Purchase Genie+ for the day of your session. Purchasing Genie+ gives you quicker access to select attractions and also includes PhotoPass photos for that day.

3. Purchase a PhotoPass package. As mentioned above, you can purchase a one-day or one-week package.

Is It Worth It?

Some may balk at the price, especially considering it doesn’t include your photos. However, this used to be a common practice in the photography industry.

Many photographers charged you an up front fee (for their time, location, sitting fee, etc) and from there, you’d purchase your photos a la carte or in a separate package.

While most photographers today have adopted the all-in-one package approach, it isn’t exactly unheard of for some to still practice this.

Speaking as a photographer, I can confidently say that $99 for your own photographer at a hugely popular place like Disneyland isn’t that bad of a deal. Especially considering the following example:

• $99 for the personal session + $19.99 for the PhotoPass One-Day package = $118.99 (without tax)

Rounded up, that’s $120 for your own photographer and ALL of the photos they take in digital format. If you hired me for a photo session at Disneyland and wanted all the photos included, trust me, it would be A LOT more than $120 bucks. So this is actually a great deal, in my opinion.

For more information or to book a session, visit Disneyland’s official website.

Our Thoughts On PhotoPass

As you can clearly see in the photos throughout this post, we’re big fans of this service and we utilize it just about every time we go. Even if we just take a handful of photos.

As the photographer between us, I’m usually behind the camera and unless it’s a selfie, I show up in very few vacation photos. So being able to take advantage of a service like this is priceless to me.

It makes even more sense if you’re a holder of the Inspire or Believe Magic Keys because as of now, PhotoPass photos are included in the price of those passes.

As far as whether or not you should get it, well, that’s entirely how you perceive the value of it. If you’re not into taking pictures, then this clearly isn’t for you. If you or someone in your group are rarely in the family pictures, then it’s a no-brainer.

If you’re planning on purchasing Genie+ then it makes it even more of a value because they’re included in that cost. You’ll have it anyway so you may as well take advantage of it.

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Early Entry (Formally Magic Mornings) Returns For Disneyland Resort Hotel Guests

If you’ve been a longtime park-goer at the Disneyland Resort, you’ll no doubt remember that little perk select guests used to receive called, “Magic Mornings” or “Extra Magic Hour”.

This perk allowed certain guests to access either Disneyland or Disney California Adventure (whichever had it that day) an hour prior to the official park opening. Not all attractions were available, but a lot were.

Generally, guests who possessed a three-day or longer ticket would receive this benefit. It was immensely popular but for obvious reasons, it didn’t return after the parks re-opened from the covid closure.

That’s all about to change, though. Beginning August 8th, 2022, this benefit, under a new, somewhat bland name, is returning. Aside from the name change, there is a key difference you should be aware of.

*Here’s a few more of our Disneyland articles we think you’d find useful (these links open a new window so you can finish this one first):

“Disneyland Dining Guide: Mobile Order, Walk-Up, and Reservations”

“Disneyland Rider Switch: How To Take Advantage Of This Little Known Perk”

“Genie Plus Now Live at Disneyland: How It Works, Cost, and More!”

“Disneyland Resort 2022 Attraction Refurbishment Calendar (Updated - July)”

Who Is Early Entry For?

As stated above, the Disneyland Resort is bringing early entry back, but with one caveat; it’s now exclusively for guests of Disneyland Resort hotels.

That’s right, unless you’re staying at one of Disneyland’s three on-site hotels, you cannot take advantage of early entry. If you don’t know which hotels I’m referring to, they are:

• The Grand Californian Hotel

• The Disneyland Hotel

• Paradise Pier Hotel (soon to be Pixar themed)

The other change to this perk you should know about is it now grants you an extra 30-minutes of extra park time instead of one hour. Why? We don’t know for sure, but it’s probably staffing related.

What’s Included In Early Entry?

Another aspect of this you should know about is not all attractions are going to be available during these extra 30-minutes. The following is a list of what you can expect to be operational on a typical day:

Disneyland Park Attractions

• Alice in Wonderland

• Astro Orbitor

• Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

• Disneyland Monorail

• Dumbo the Flying Elephant

• King Arthur Carousel

• Mad Tea Party

• Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride

• Peter Pan’s Flight

• Pinnochio’s Daring Journey

• Snow White’s Enchanted Wish

• Space Mountain

• Star Tours - The Adventures Continue

Disneyland Park Dining and Shopping

• Fantasyland Fruit Cart

• Galactic Grill

• Guide II

• Esplanade Stroller Shop

• The Mad Hatter in Fantasyland

• Market House

• Plaza Inn

Disney California Adventure Attractions

• Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission BREAKOUT!

• Incredicoaster

• The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure

• Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree

• Monster’s Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue

• Soarin’ Around The World

• WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure

Disney California Adventure Dining and Shopping

• Cappuccino Cart

• The Collector’s Warehouse

• Corn Dog Castle

• Esplanade Stroller Shop

• Fiddler, Fifer, and Practical Cafe

• Fillmore’s Taste-In

• Seaside Souvenirs

• Oswald’s

• WEB Supplies

As you can see, as far as Disneyland Park attractions are concerned, you only have access to Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. With Space Mountain being the sole E-ticket attraction available.

DCA, in my opinion, has the better offering with three E-tickets (four if you count Soarin’). However, they’re much more spread out in DCA so you would only be able to ride one, MAYBE two during that 30-minute window.

As usual, all of these are subject to change. Throughout the year, park officials add select attractions to the park refurbishment calendar. It would be a good idea to check it against the dates you’ll be going.

Important Information

• The requirements to take advantage of this perk are; You must be a registered guest of one of the three Disneyland Resort Hotels, have a valid theme park ticket, and have a valid reservation for the park/day you wish to enter.

• You may enter the park 30-minutes prior to the official park opening time.

• While you will be able to make Genie Plus selections, you will not be able to redeem any until the official park opening time. Lightening Lane premiums will also NOT be available during this time.

• Early Entry is NOT available to the general public.

• Both Disneyland Park and DCA offer this perk DAILY and you can use it everyday of your trip as long as you remain a Disneyland Resort hotel guest.

• Members of your group who are NOT on the hotel registration will NOT be able to join you during Early Entry.

• Main Street U.S.A, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland are the only lands at Disneyland accessible during Early Entry. DCA has more E-ticket attractions on the list but they’re much more spread out.

• Guests of the Paradise Pier hotel can utilize either the main entrance to DCA or the private one across from the hotel.

• Guests of the Grand Californian can utilize the main entrance to DCA or the private one inside the hotel.

Please support our website by sharing this article with your family and friends.

Thanks for reading!

Disneyland Offering Limited Time Summer Ticket For California Residents

It isn’t often that Disneyland offers value deals to park-goers. Demand is so high for their parks that, simply put, they don’t have to offer deals. So when one comes along, it’s best to jump on it while you can.

The Disneyland Resort is currently offering a great deal on 3-day park hoppers or 1-park-per-day tickets. For a limited-time, California residents can save as much as $86 per ticket!

What Do They Cost and What’s The Catch?

The money you’ll save with these tickets add up to significant savings. Especially if you’re traveling with a large group. However, there are a few things about these tickets you’ll need to know before buying them.

• They are for California residents ONLY.

• If you’re out-of-state and wish to take advantage of this deal, a California resident will need to purchase ALL of the tickets for your group and they’ll need to be present on the first day with their California ID.

• Both adult and child prices are the same.

• There are Monday - Thursday tickets and Monday - Sunday tickets. The biggest savings come with the Monday - Thursday option.

• These tickets can be single park per-day or park hoppers.

• Genie+ can be added

• The ticket is ONLY valid between June 13th, 2022 and September 15th, 2022.

• You do not need to visit on three consecutive days.

• You WILL need to use all three days by September 15th, 2022 (It’s essentially use them or lose them).

As far as cost is concerned, we’ll use two ticket options as examples in this post. To see the full list of ticket options and their cost/savings, visit our partners and official Disney ticket vendor, “Get Away Today”.

• Through Get Away Today, a 3-day 1-park-per-day (Mon - Thur) ticket without Genie+ is $330 $234 per ticket! That’s a savings of $96 off the usual adult price and only $78 per day!

• Also through Get Away Today, a 3-day park hopper (Mon - Thur) ticket without Genie+ is $390 $291 per ticket! That’s a huge savings of $99 off the usual adult price and only $97 per day for both parks!

As you can see, these savings are huge and even though the child prices are the same, consider that you’re still saving $76 and $79 off the usual child price for the above examples. Still massive savings!

To add Genie+, Disney’s paid service that enables guests to save time by holding their place in line at select attractions, it’s $57 per ticket. That comes out to $19 per day ($1 off the usual per day price). Not a huge discount but at Disney, every little bit counts.

*Side Note: If you do add Genie+ to your tickets, all of your PhotoPass photos from Disney Photographers are included in that as well. This adds up to great additional savings as the usual cost for one day’s worth of PhotoPass photos is $39 (or $69 for a week).

Summer Offerings At Disneyland

There’s a lot going on throughout the summer season at the Disneyland Resort. Which makes this offer that much more enticing as it gives you a lot of bang for your buck.

A few examples of the current offerings at the Disneyland Resort include:

• Main Street Electrical Parade (ending September 1st, 2022)

• Disneyland Forever Fireworks (ending September 1st, 2022)

• The return of Fantasmic at Disneyland Park

• The return of World of Color at Disney California Adventure

• Tale of the Lion King stage show in Fantasyland

• New characters at Avengers Campus!

• New characters at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge!

• And so much more!

Why Use Get Away Today?

There are many travel agencies and Disney ticket vendors we considered partnering up with but we ultimately decided on Get away Today.

They’ve been in business since 1990 and have helped over six million people book vacations to Disneyland and beyond. Booking through them is the same as if you booked through Disney, though with a few differences…

• They have a flexible cancellation/change policy

• 365-day refundable Disneyland tickets (currently the ONLY ticket vendor offering refundable tickets)

• They’re experts in Disney travel (Parks, Cruises, Resorts, etc)

• They offer a flexible layaway plan (even for just tickets)

• For every vacation booked they donate a portion to local charities

• Best price guarantee on tickets

• Amazing customer service

• And best of all, you receive discounts by booking through them via our link using our discount code, “INKED10”

By going through Get Away Today, you get all the above PLUS you help support this website. By using our affiliate link, we receive a small commission from Get Away Today and it doesn’t cost you anything extra.

To purchase your California resident summer tickets or to book a vacation package with Get Away Today, go here or call them at 1-855-GET-AWAY (If you call, do us a favor and tell them Inked with Wanderlust sent you).

Should You Take Advantage Of This Offer?

In short…absolutely! As stated at the beginning of this article, Disney doesn’t run deals like this very often. So deeply discounted tickets are hard to come by. As long as you’re a California resident and the last day of your vacation will be on or before September 15th, these tickets are a no-brainer.

Please support our website by sharing this article with your family and friends

Disneyland Resort 2022 Attraction Refurbishment Calendar

*NOTE: This post is for the refurbishments from 2022. To see the current refurbishments for 2024, click or tap here.

Every year, Disney schedules certain attractions to go down for a variety of reasons. These reasons usually include regular maintenance, a reimagining, safety improvements, and more.

Going to Disneyland and finding out your favorite attraction is closed is a horrible feeling. This is why Disney releases this calendar. This way, you can schedule your trip around those closures.

Keep in mind, though, that these dates are not set in stone. They can be changed, delayed, or extended at any time and for any reason. So keep this in mind when you’re deciding on a date.

Additionally, closures can happen suddenly (known as, unscheduled downtime). Unless something major occurred, these unexpected closures typically only last a few hours or less.

Below is the current refurbishment schedule for both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure. We’ll also cover shows and upcoming projects.

*Side Note…

Knowing the refurbishment schedule is only one part of planning a trip to Disneyland. Below are links to more of our guides we think you’ll find useful:

“Disneyland Dining Guide: Mobile Order, Walk-Up, and Reservations”

“11 Common Mistakes People Make at Disneyland and How to Avoid Them”

“6 Reasons Why You Need The Disneyland App”

“Genie Plus at Disneyland: How it Works, What it Costs, and More!”

“Disneyland Rider Switch: How To Take Advantage Of This Little Known Perk”

Tapping or clicking those links will open up a new window. This way, you can open them now, finish this article, and come back to them. With that out of the way, let’s get to it.

Disneyland Resort Refurbishment Calendar

Disneyland Park

• Adventureland Treehouse: Opening 2023

• Donald’s Boat: Opening March 8th, 2023

• Gadget’s Coaster: Opening March 8th, 2023

• Goofy’s Playhouse: Opening March 8th, 2023

• Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln: Closed January 9th - unknown

• Indiana Jones Adventure: Closed January 9th, 2023 - unknown

• “it’s a small world”: Closed January 9th, 2023 - January 19th, 2023

• Mickey’s House: Opening March 8th, 2023

• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway: Opening January 27th, 2023

• Minnie’s House: Opening March 8th, 2023

• Roger Rabit’s Car Toon Spin: Opening March 8th, 2023

• Sailing Ship Columbia - Closed October 24th - October 27th

Disney California Adventure

• Frozen: Live at the Hyperion - Closed. Unknown return date

• Grizzly River Run: Closed January 9th, 2023 - unknown

• Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! - Closed November 1st - November 18th

• Radiator Springs Racers: Closed January 17th, 2023 - unknown

• Redwood Creek Challenge Trail - Closed November 1st - November 10th

As you can see, there are quite a few unknowns on these lists. Most of them having to do with staffing issues, budget constraints, etc. Others have either a specific return date or just a general timeframe. A specific date precludes the attraction is going down for regular maintenance or “plussing”.

A general timeframe is usually indicative of extensive reworks to the attraction and Disney not being able to put pen to paper on a return date due to the work involved.

Lets take a look at a few of those.

Matterhorn Bobsleds

On July 18th, Disney (seemingly out of left field) announced that the beloved, chiropractor favorite Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction would close for an indefinite amount of time. At the time of this writing, no reason has been given as to why.

As always, we will continue to update you as more information gets released.

Update (August): While there still hasn’t been anything official released by Disney, word on Main Street is this closure is due to the never-ending battle of keeping Matterhorn Bobsleds in working order. It’s an old attraction (opened in 1959) and has “severe” infrastructure issues. So this refurbishment is intended to address that.

Update (September): According to the Disneyland website, Matterhorn Bobsleds will re-open on October 14th, 2022. No news on what exactly was worked on, but there is tons of scaffolding around the waterfall sections of the mountain. Also, we have received word that while some parts of the track was worked on, it was not a track replacement as originally predicted.

Update (October): We just got back from our recent visit and rode the Matterhorn to see if there were any significant changes. Aside from a higher quality projection screen during the lift hill, there were none. Also, the ride was as rough as it has ever been. So no improvement there.

Frozen: Live at the Hyperion

This one is in limbo at the moment. It was originally shut down due to the covid-related issues. As a result, the entire cast was let go and haven’t been brought back.

Since then, DCA’s newest land, Avenger’s Campus, has opened. Since the theatre that houses the show is adjacent to the new land, it puts it in an awkward position.

Sure, Hollywoodland is also adjacent to it, so it still makes some sense. Though rumors indicate potential future plans for Hollywoodland to be folded into Avenger’s Campus.

If you’ve seen the Hawkeye series on Disney+, you’ll remember the Avengers Broadway play scene. If folding Hollywoodland into Avenger’s Campus is indeed the plan, bringing that show in (or something similar) would be the perfect fit.

Update (October): I asked a cast member about the future of this building and while they couldn’t get into any major details with me, they did all but confirm that Disney has no plans to bring back the Frozen stage show. As to what they do have in mind, though, is still up in the air.

Pirates of the Caribbean

This one is the biggest mystery at the moment, so all we can do is speculate. Disney closed POTC in mid-march and all they would say is it’s closed, “indefinitely”.

With the ongoing legal issues and domestic violence claims still looming over POTC actor, Johnny Depp, the big rumor is Disney may be taking this time to remove all references to the actor.

Another reason for the closure that i’ve heard is the trees inside the queue area have become dangerously diseased and need to be taken down.

Update (July): POTC re-opened on July 1st, 2022 and as expected, the trees in the outside queue area were indeed removed. However, Disney planted younger trees in their place and updated other aspects of the queue as well. Furthermore, the expected removal of Jack Sparrow did NOT happen. He is still heavily featured in the attraction.

Indiana Jones Adventure

A late addition to the refurbishment calendar is Indiana Jones Adventure. Despite being one of the most popular attractions in the park since its opening in 1995, it’s been seriously neglected for years.

Many of the attraction’s effects and animatronics no longer work, putting a serious damper on the rider experience. During our ONE ride through, we noticed:

• The snake no longer moves (it used to strike at the ride vehicle as it passed by)

• The projection scene where rats drop into your ride vehicle doesn’t work. Now you just go through a non-sensical dark tunnel.

• Mara no longer shots a laser at the ride vehicle as it crossed the bridge (this hasn’t worked, consistently, in many years).

• The boulder no longer moves. At the end, a giant boulder would move towards your ride vehicle from above, indicating you’ll be crushed. Now, they just use flashing lights to indicate movement.

• The ride is way jerkier and rougher than it used to be.

So when we heard the ride was going down for refurbishment, we were cautiously optimistic that these issues would be addressed. Though as it turns out, that refurbishment is for only two days.

What’s going to happen in two days? Not a whole lot, unfortunately. The projection could possibly get fixed in that timeframe, but I can’t see much more than that getting done.

It’s understandable to a degree. The Christmas season at Disneyland is their busiest of the year, so having a major attraction down during that timeframe would mean extra long lines at the other attractions.

Still, the current state of Indy is, bluntly put, embarrassing and we likely won’t see any action being taken on it until ToonToon and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is complete. So we’re probably looking at late 2024, at the earliest.

Here’s hoping that Indy will soon get the refurbishment is so badly needs and deserves.

Upcoming Projects

In addition to maintenance reasons, some attractions are down or will go down due to what Disney calls, “reimagining” or “plussing”.

These could include a single attraction or even an entire land. Below, we’ll discuss a few of the confirmed ones.

Pacific Wharf Re-theme To San Fransokyo (From ‘Big Hero 6’)

A legit surprise manifested itself from D23 Expo in the form of one of the last original “lands” from the 2001 opening of California Adventure, Pacific Wharf, being transformed into, “San Fransokyo”, from the animated movie, Big Hero 6.

Chairperson of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, Josh D’Amaro, stated they were still in the very early stages of this, but did confirm that the land would feature new restaurants, shops and a Baymax meet and greet.

Don’t hold out hope for a Big Hero 6 attraction in this space because simply put, there’s no room (unless Disney has some hidden magic up their sleeves).

Tarzan’s Treehouse

Tarzan’s Treehouse has been closed since September 2021 with no reason given. Disney recently announced, though, that it will be given a re-theme.

No official information as to what the new theme will be has been given, but there are a couple theories. The most obvious being an Encanto theme. The movie’s song, ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’, is a mega hit and the movie itself has been well received.

Disney is undoubtedly dying to get more Encanto into the park and with a little bit of creativity (and cash), this could be the way they do it.

Update (July): While we still haven’t received word on the re-theme and will likely have to wait until the parks panel at D23 in September, Disney has made some progress. The second tree that connected to the main tree via a bridge has been completely removed. This was likely done to free up walking space as this area of the park is notorious for bottlenecks.

Update (September): Shockingly, there was no mention of the treehouse during the D23 Parks Panel. We’ll continue to keep our ears open for any new information in the future.

Update (October): The newest rumor of the treehouse’s new theme is S.E.A (Society of Explorers and Adventurers). S.E.A was initially created at Tokyo DisneySea in 2001, where its headquarters is still located, and has since branched out throughout several Disney parks in different forms. On top of that, it’s rumored to be getting its own series on Disney+ in the near future.

Honestly, as much as we were hoping for an Encanto theme, this makes way more sense, thematically, and on top of that, it’s an ORIGINAL idea and NOT another IP insert. Which is something us park fans have been clamoring for more of. Due to the themes being similar, there will no doubt be references to Tarzan and Swiss Family Robinson scattered throughout. As always, only time will tell. Hopefully Disney will make an announcement regarding the treehouse soon.

Avengers Campus Expansion

On September 9th, 2022, during the Lengends Ceremony at D23 Expo, Disney CEO Bob Chapek hit the stage and announced the long rumored mutliverse expansion for Avengers Campus.

Specific details weren't given, but Chapek did say that more details would be announced at a future date.

This is almost certainly going to be the Quinjet e-ticket attraction that was originally supposed to open with the new land. The currently empty Avengers building is expected to house the queue.

The only details confirmed during D23 were that this new attraction would, “bring guests into battle alongside their favorite super heroes”, in an, “epic family adventure”.

Another confirmed detail for the attraction is, “King Thanos”, a new villain specifically created for the new ride, will be who guests and the super heroes will be battling in an alternate universe where Thanos won.

New Character Meet & Greets

A couple new meet and greets have been announced for each park at the Disneyland Resort. First, you’ll be able to meet Mandaolorian and Grogu at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge starting in mid-November.

Also announced is a Incredible Hulk meet and greet for Avengers Campus. He will be dressed in his Quantum Suit. Hulk arrives in mid-September and runs for a limited time.

Toontown Reimagining + “Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway”

A couple years ago, Disney announced that the Walt Disney World ride, “Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway”, is coming to Disneyland in Toontown.

Construction was already underway when Disney (seemingly) suddenly decided a new ride wasn’t enough. So they announced that as of March 9th, Toontown, in its entirety, would close for an extensive makeover.

There hasn’t been anything official from Disney about it, but word is they’ll be removing this attraction in order to add a new pathway that will connect Toontown with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. I predict more information will be released at D23.

Update (Sept): At D23 Expo, Disney revealed a few more details about the upcoming reimagining of Toon Town. For starters, Gadget’s Go Coaster will be renamed, “Chip n’ Dale’s Gadget Coaster”. Other details included new grassy areas, the return of Donald’s Boat, an new interactive play yard with a Goofy theme and more! Toon Town is still on track to reopen in spring, 2023.

Update (Oct): It was recently announced that Disney will open Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway on January 27th, 2023, to kick off the celebration for the Walt Disney Company’s 100th anniversary. However, the rest of ToonTown will remain closed until spring 2023.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Announced all the way back in 2020, Disney announced that the classic attraction, Splash Mountain, would be reimagined with a Princess and the Frog theme. Since then, there hasn’t been much movement. No work was done during the park closure and nothing noticeable was done during the ride’s downtime earlier this year.

There also hasn’t been any further statements from Disney about it. Rumor has it that this is potentially due to the penny-pinching tendencies of Disney’s newest CEO, Bob Chapek. We’ve heard that if this actually happens, Disneyland will get it first and that it could happen in late 2022 or early 2023.

Update (July): In a recent, exciting update, Disney finally released some new information. First, not only is this re-theme still a “go”, but they’ve revealed its new name. That’s right. Splash Mountain will no longer be called, ‘Splash Mountain’. It’ll be re-named, “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure”. Additionally, Disney stated that we can expect this to be completed by late 2024.

Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG

Update (September): Disney revealed a scale model of what Tiana’s Bayou Adventure’s exterior will look like. The model shows the iconic tree at the top of Splash Mountain and the briar patch surrounding the drop completely removed. Still no update as to when it’ll close to begin construction but rumors indicate January 2023 being the end of Splash Mountain as we know it.

Parades and Live Entertainment

The Magic Happens Parade, which was new and already critically adored just prior to the closure, still hasn’t been given a return date. Summer 2022 is a possibility but again, nothing official.

Main Street Electrical Parade, Disney’s go-to for sinking park attendance, ended its current run on September 1st, 2022. As did the Disneyland Forever fireworks show.

Fantasmic!, the beloved waterfront spectacular, returned just in time for the summer crowds in late May and will continue to run until Disney needs to take it down for refurbishment.

*Note - New and returning shows were recently announced at the D23 Expo. See below for additional info!

Update (Sept): It was announced at D23 Expo that the critically acclaimed Magic Happens Parade will return to Disneyland Park in spring, 2023.

Update (Sept): Also announced at D23 Expo, a new firework & projection show called, “Wondrous Journeys”, will debut at Disneyland Park in 2023. This nighttime spectacular will celebrate 100 years of the Walt Disney Company and features characters from all 60 animated films.

Update (Sept): A new version of DCA’s hit nighttime water show, World of Color, will debut in 2023. This version will celebrate a century of storytelling by the Walt Disney Company. A new original song, “Start a Wave”, will be featured on the show.

Our Thoughts About Refurbishments

Refurbishments are an unfortunate, but necessary aspect of Disneyland’s operations. We’re sure they would love to keep everything running non-stop, but it isn’t feasible.

In order to keep the attractions safe and appealing, Disney must close them from time to time. They don’t want to disappoint guests if they can help it, which is why they release this information.

We’re all for refurbishments as they usually result in the attraction becoming even better. Whether that’s new additions, smoother tracks, better ride vehicles, upgraded technology, etc.

That being said, there’s a lot more on these lists than there would normally be. The closure of Toontown, staffing issues, and covid-era closings make up the majority.

Our advice is to do your best to schedule your vacation around the closure if your favorite attraction is on this list. But do keep in mind that Disney is notorious for changing their minds.

They try not to, but they’re known for extending downtime, delaying it, or adding new attractions to the list with as little as a few days notice.

It’s fairly rare, as they’re pretty good at keeping to the schedule, but just know that this is a possibility. Even if you can’t avoid a ride closure, there’s plenty of other amazing attractions to enjoy.

Your Thoughts…

What are your thoughts on attraction refurbishments? Tell us about it in the comment section below. We love hearing from our readers!

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6 Ways To Fully Enjoy Disneyland Without Buying Genie Plus

In late 2021, Disney announced their newest line-skipping service, Disney Genie+. Since its debut, it has been praised by some, but loathed by most.

Genie plus costs park-goers an extra $20 per person, per day ($15 at Disney World), on top of what they’ve already paid for their ticket. That can be preventable for some.

You may be thinking your park experience will be diminished if you don’t purchase it. While it certainly does provide you with advantages, it’s absolutely possible to have a great time without it.

Our favorite Disney-centric YouTube channel, Fresh Baked Disney, recently did a video about this (you can view that below), but we’ve decided to put our own version together as well.

Be sure to show them some love by watching the above video and subscribing to their channel. David and his team are huge Disney fans and are constantly putting out great content.

Let’s get into it!

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1) Rope Drop

Any Disney fan worth their salt will tell you that rope drop is a must. Especially if you’re short on time. It’s the number one way to knock out a lot of rides in a short amount of time.

Essentially, if you’re not here for rope drop, you’ll already be playing catch up by the time you arrive. Whether you’re buying Genie+ or not.

Typically, Disney opens the gates 30-minutes prior to the official park opening time. So if the park opens at 8am, the gates open at or around 7:30am.

Despite the gates opening, the furtherest you’ll get to go is the hub (the area around the Castle). You’ll see literal ropes blocking access to each land.

At 8am (the presumed opening time), Cast Members will take the ropes down and you’ll then be free to go about your day. Where you begin brings us to number two on the list…

2) Start at Tomorrowland

Much like David, we also recommend beginning your day at Tomorrowland. It has the most rides in one land that are included in Genie Plus. Those rides are:

• Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

• Autopia

• Star Tours: The Adventures Continue

• Space Mountain (This attraction has consistently long lines throughout the day)

If you line up at the rope for Tomorrowland, you’ll easily be able to knock out every Genie Plus attraction within 90-minutes or so. Space Mountain is practically a walk-on during this time.

There’s simply no need for Genie Plus during the first hour or so of rope drop. Most attractions will have a stand-by of 15-minutes or less while some will be a walk-on.

Since Tomorrowland has the most Genie Plus attractions, it makes the most sense to start there. When you’re done, you can start utilizing another advantage…

3) Single Rider Queues

You may not be aware of this, but there are a few attractions in Disneyland that cater to single riders. This is done in an effort to fill ride vehicles as much as possible.

The Disneyland Park attractions that currently offer this are:

• Matterhorn Mountain Bobsleds

• Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run

• Splash Mountain (currently under refurbishment)

• Indiana Jones Adventure (currently paused)

The attractions that offer single rider at California Adventure are:

• Goofy’s Sky School

• Grizzly River Run

• Incredicoaster

• Radiator Springs Racers (a big saver considering this is a Lightning Lane premium attraction)

• WEB Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure (New)

Keep in mind that with single rider, you probably will not ride in the same vehicle with your party. Hence the name. You also don’t get to pick your seat. You go where they need you to go.

If you’re ok with not experiencing the attraction with your party, it can be a huge time saver for all of you. This method doesn’t work well with families with small children, though.

4) Save Non-Genie+ Rides for The Afternoon

There’s a reason why not all attractions are available on Genie+; it’s either their lines don’t get very long or they tend to move quickly.

The two most notable names not included are Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise. Also, Fantasyland dark rides are not included as well.

Based on research, the busiest time of day for Lightning Lane attractions is the afternoon. That’s when most people utilize the service because typically, that’s the busiest time of day.

So if your goal is to not purchase Genie+, a smart tactic for you would be to ride the non-Genie+ attractions in the middle of the day.

5) Look For Stand-By Opportunities in the App

The Disneyland app is a great resource for all park goes. One of the main features of the app is being able to see the wait times at each attraction.

Let’s say you want to ride Matterhorn and the app says the stand-by is 80-minutes. Most people, when they see that, are not going to want to wait in that queue. That’s the advantage!

The reason why that’s an advantage is because the app doesn’t update in real time. So a ton of people check the app, see an 80-minute wait, and head elsewhere. Meanwhile, that line continues to diminish.

So by the time you arrive, that 80-minute wait could have actually turned into a more manageable 45-minute wait. It’s not guaranteed, but if that attraction is important to you, it’s worth a shot.

6) Save Rise of the Resistance For Later

In case you haven’t heard, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, has become the undisputed top attraction at Disneyland Park. The consistent 2-3 hour stand-by queue confirms that.

In short, there’s no real way to “beat” Rise. Your only two options are to wait in the stand-by or purchase a Lightning Lane premium.

You could get here super early for rope drop and head straight for Rise. Our good friends did this and managed to get on fairly quickly each day. However, you’ll be in a massive crowd of others doing the same thing.

Your other option is to save it for after 7pm. By this point, all or most of the Lightning Lane passes would have been used, making the stand-by move a bit quicker.

Just keep in mind that the queue for Rise typically closes 2-3 hours prior to park closing time. This is due to technical glitches that often occur on this attraction causing them to have to reset it regularly.

Another thing you could do is skip it all together. Especially if nobody in your group is a Star Wars fan. With that, your options for Rise are:

• Try your luck at rope drop

• Put it off until after 7pm (but not after 8pm due to it closing early)

• Skip it all together

• Bite the bullet and purchase the Lightning Lane premium

Conclusion

Bottom line, you don’t absolutely need to purchase Genie plus in order to enjoy your vacation at Disneyland. It certainly makes things easier, but it isn’t do or die.

What are your thoughts? Have you used Genie plus? Do you love it or hate it? Do you plan to use the tactics described in this article so you don’t have to purchase it? Let us know in the comments below!

We hope you've found this article helpful in planning your Disneyland vacation. If so, please support our site by sharing it with your friends and family on Facebook or Pinterest. You can further show support by staying on and reading one or more of the related articles above.

Thanks for reading and safe travels!

Disneyland Magic Key: 7 Things You Need To Know Before Buying

Since the writing of this article, Disney has revamped the Magic Key program with new benefits, higher prices and more. Check out our article below for all the new information.

“New Magic Keys: Increased Price, New Benefits, Name Change, and More”

For years, Disneyland’s most die-hard fans proudly wore their status as an Annual Pass (AP) holder like a badge of honor. Depending on which tier they were in, their pass gave them near unlimited access to the parks for a full year.

In March 2020, right as Covid began to spread rapidly throughout the United States, Disney announced the closure of both domestic parks for an initial period of two weeks.

That two weeks would eventually turn into the longest closure in company history; a whopping 13 months. Before re-opening, Disney would drop a bombshell on their fans by announcing the cancellation of the AP program as of January, 2021.

To some, this was an unexpected surprise. Many others (like us) saw this coming. Disney was having a rough time convincing the California Governor to allow them to re-open Disneyland (Disney World, by this point, had been open for months).

This was seemingly done as a way to control the huge influx of crowds that would undoubtedly turn up on opening day and beyond. Disney would offer former AP holders food and merchandise discounts courtesy of the, “Legacy”, program.

This program would serve merely as a placeholder until a more permanent solution could be offered. That permanent solution wouldn’t take long to come as a new AP called, “Magic Key”, was announced.

Magic Keys are virtually the same thing as their predecessor. There’s multiple tiers and depending on which one your purchase you’ll be offered access to the parks, a variety of discounts, free parking, etc.

If you’re already a key holder, this article isn’t for you (feel free to keep reading, though). However, if you’re thinking of getting one and have never held an AP before, read on and discover the seven things about the Magic Key program you need to know before buying.

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1) Reservations Are Still Required

One Park Visit

One of the ways Disney is controlling crowds is by making reservations a requirement before entering the parks. This rule doesn’t just apply to vacationers, though. It also applies to Keyholders.

While this isn’t confirmed by Disney, there’s been multiple reports of two separate blocks of reservations. One for day guests and another for Keyholders. This helps level the playing field a bit.

Essentially, if one or both parks are out of available reservations for the day you want to go, you won’t be going. No matter which tier key you hold. For some, this is a deal breaker. So it’s good to know before buying.

Park Hopping

Park hopping is possible with your Magic Key without an additional cost. You can do this by making a park hopper reservation for the day you want to go and you’re set.

Something to note - you will NOT use up two of your allotments (more of those later) to make this type of reservation. You will only use one. Simply begin the day at the first park and hop over to the other after 1:00pm.

There is one major perk to know about, though. Let’s say you’ve made a park hopping reservation and you choose Disneyland as the starting park. If you arrive after 1:00pm, you do not need to start there. You can head straight for DCA!

Regular park ticket holders don’t have that luxury. They must begin their day at their selected park before hopping over. So if you’ve arrived a bit late and want to go to the second park - go for it!

2) You Cannot Buy A Magic Key At The Ticket Booths

We’re both convinced that the days of showing up to the park and buying a ticket at one of the booths are numbered. We firmly believe that all ticket sales will eventually be done digitally.

At this time (and probably for good) you can only purchase a Magic Key on the website or through the Disneyland app. If you want to upgrade your park ticket to a Magic Key, this, too, must be done digitally.

The rules for upgrading depends on which type of ticket you hold:

• If you have a single day ticket, you have until midnight on the day you visited to upgrade.

• If you have a multi-day ticket, you have until midnight on the final day (so if you have a three-day ticket, you have until midnight on the third day).

You can do this by opening the app, going to the, “Tickets and Passes”, section, and following the steps. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to link your tickets to your account before trying this.

3) You Get Discounts

With your Magic Key, you get a certain amount of discounts and freebies, depending on the type of key you purchased. Some of these include free & discounted parking, dining, merchandise, and more!

Below, we’ll list each Magic Key pass and their accompanying discounts:

Imagine Magic Key (Available only to Southern California residents) - $399

• 10% off select dining & merchandise

• No parking included

• 2 reservation holds at a time

Enchant Magic Key - $649

• 10% off select dining & merchandise

• No parking included

• 4 reservation holds at a time

Believe Magic Key - $949

• 10% off select dining & merchandise

• 50% standard theme park parking

• 6 reservation holds at a time

Dream Magic Key - $1399

• 20% off select merchandise

• 15% off select dining

• Free standard theme park parking

• 6 reservation holds at a time

*Note: As of November 2021, both the “Dream” and “Believe” Keys are sold out and no longer available for purchase (for now).

Below is a graphic of the four Magic Key tiers and what their discounts are, if it helps more.

As you can see, Disney has definitely pulled back on the discounts. The prior AP program had different percentages for each tier. Now, the only way to get anything higher than 10% is by springing for the most expensive option.

Nearly every shop and restaurant in Disneyland Park, California Adventure, and Disney Hotels offer keyholders these discounts. You can find the complete list here.

Downtown Disney

Unlike the parks, not every location in Downtown Disney offers a discount to Keyholders. The following is a list of every DTD restaurant and shop offering a Magic Key discount:

Restaurants

• Ballast Point Brewing Co - 10% (excludes alcohol)

• Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes - 10%

• Blue Ribbon Corn Dogs - 10%

• California Churros - 10%

• Catal Restaurant - 10% (excludes alcohol)

• Earl of Sandwich - 10%

• Jamba - 10%

• Kayla’s Cake - 10%

• La Brea Bakery & Express - 10%

• Naples Ristorante e Bar - 10%

• Napolini Pizzeria - 10%

• Splitsville Luxury Lanes - 10%

• Tortilla Joe’s - 10% (excludes alcohol)

• Uva Bar & Cafe - 10% (excludes alcohol)

• Wetzel’s Pretzels - 10%

Shops

• California Sole - 10%

• Curl Surf - 10% (certain exceptions may apply)

• Disney Home - 10% - 20%

• Disney’s Pin Traders - 10% - 20%

• Marceline’s Confectionery - 10% - 20%

• Sugarboo & Co - 10%

• Sunglass Icon - 10%

• Disney Dress Shop - 10% - 20%

• The Lego Store - 10%

• WonderGround Gallery - 10% - 20%

• World of Disney - 10% - 20%

4) You’re Limited On Reservations & Have Blackout Dates

Blockout Dates

As you’ve probably noticed in the graphic above, just because you’re technically buying an annual pass, it doesn’t mean you’ll be able to go whenever you want. You’ll have to deal with limitations.

The only way to ensure you won’t have blockout dates is to spring for the $1399.00, “Dream Key”. This pass has none. Including major holidays. However, you’ll still need a reservation, and you are limited on those.

Below are links to calendars listing blockout dates for each pass for your reference:

• Imagine Key Blockout Calendar

• Enchant Key Blockout Calendar

• Believe Key Blockout Calendar

You’ll notice that all three keys above have major holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving blocked. The lower two have most of summer plus a variety of weekends blocked as well.

Reservation Limits

Each key holder is limited on how many reservations they can make at a time. It goes off a rolling 90-day window and basically, once you’ve reached your limit, you won’t be able to make another one.

The top two passes, “Believe” & “Dream”, each allow you to make six reservations in a 90-day window. “Enchant” gives you four and “Imagine” (SoCal only) gives you two.

Once you’ve hit your limit, you won’t be able to make any additional reservations until you’ve used or canceled one. This was done to - you guessed it - manage attendance.

Reservation Cancellations

It isn’t something to be overly concerned about, but it’s worth mentioning. Magic Key holders who no-show on a reservation three times in a 90-day period will be suspended from making any reservations for a 30-day period.

You must cancel by midnight the day before for it to not count against you. Something to note - if you do get suspended, any pre-booked reservations you have will not be canceled.

5) You Get Additional Benefits

Aside from getting access to the parks throughout the year and discounts on some of the finest restaurants on property, there are a few other perks you’ll enjoy being a Keyholder:

• MK Terrace: A Keyholder-only lounge in California Adventure where appetizers, small plates, and adult beverages are sold.

• First Access: There are countless new things being introduced at the resort throughout the year. As a Keyholder, you’ll be given first crack at them.

• MK Merchandise: You’ll be able to show off your Magic Key pride by purchasing and sporting MK clothing, collectibles, and more!

• MK Holder Month: A special month celebrating Magic Keyholders.

• MK PhotoPass Opportunities: You’ll get special photo spots and other opportunities throughout the year.

• Much, much more!

We haven’t had the opportunity to experience the lounge (as we’re not yet keyholders), but we’ve heard some good things about the food and drinks. Check out this great review from, “Disney Tourist Blog”.

6) Monthly Payments Are Still Offered (For California residents only)

To the delight of former AP Holders - and the chagrin of practically everyone else - the monthly payment option is once again available for the Magic Key program. There’s a catch, though.

If you don’t live in the state of California with a zip code between 90000 - 96199, you are not eligible for monthly payments. For those of you who do, this is how it works:

California Residents

Let’s say you want to purchase the, “Enchant Magic Key”…

• The total purchase price is $649 per pass

• You’ll pay $179 as a down payment at time of purchase

• You’ll then pay $40 per month for 12 months

After you’ve made your down payment and completed your purchase, simply link your new Magic Key to your account and start searching for open reservations.

Non-California Residents

This is a great, affordable way to be a Keyholder as you can pay over time with no finance charges. For those of you who live outside the state but still want to make payments, you can:

• Open a credit card with a 0% APR intro rate with cash back. You’ll make payments without incurring interest (provided you pay it off before the special rate ends) and will get a discount with the cash back offer. Or….

• Pay for the passes out of your savings (if you can afford it) and make payments back to yourself to your savings account. Or….

• Figure out what the monthly payment on your MK of choice would be (also consider the down payment) and start putting that amount away for the next year. Then make your purchase in full.

*We’re not financial advisors. These are just a few suggestions from what others have said they’ve done.

7) Disney’s Genie+ Add On

The original AP program wasn’t the only covid related casualty this year. Time saving services FastPass (free option) and MaxPass (the paid, app-based version) were both done away with as well (we saw this coming, too).

However, it didn’t take long before Disney announced a replacement, and that replacement is Genie+ and, “Lightning Lane”, which will debut sometime in the fall (no specific date has been announced).

We’ll cover all the finer details of this new service in a separate article. Right now, just know that much like MaxPass was an optional add on for AP’s, this service will likely be as well.

One fact that has been confirmed is that all photos taken from PhotoPass Photographers will be included in Genie+ (much like it was with MaxPass). So while photos may not be included in Magic Keys natively, they can be with this potential add on.

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Genie Plus Now Live at Disneyland: How It Works, Cost and More!

3 minute read | contains affiliate links

On August 18th, 2021, Disney announced, “Disney Genie”, a new service and digital planner that was touted as a tool park guests could utilize to help get the most out of their trip to Disneyland and Disney World.

This announcement came on the heels of their previous one about the retirement of two popular services; FastPass and MaxPass. Disney Genie will be their official successor.

There are three tiers to this service, each with their own features and benefits - along with costs. All of this, and more, will be covered extensively in this article. While this service will be offered on both coasts, this guide will focus on how it will affect Disneyland, specifically.

While this new service has been live at Disney World for some weeks now, we have received confirmation that Genie will be in service at Disneyland beginning December 8th, 2021. In this article, we’ll delve into all the facts you’ll need to know.

The Three Tiers

As mentioned above, this new service is going to have three tiers to it with each having its own features and price. They are:

• Disney Genie - This is the free, in-app planning tool that will be featured heavily in the Disneyland app.

• Disney Genie+ - If you’ve used MaxPass before, this will sound familiar to you. This paid add-on gets you front-of-the-line access to many attractions at the Disneyland Resort.

• Lightning Lane - This will be the replacement for the physical FastPass queues. Lightning Lane is an additional option that enables you to pay, A la carte, for access to select, premium attractions not included in Genie+ (More of this later).

The list above is just a quick break down. Below, we’ll go over each in detail including individual price, inclusions, and more.

Disney Genie

Launching on December 8th, 2021, Disney Genie will be the free arm of this new service. With this planning tool, you’ll be able to utilize many helpful features, such as:

• Create an Itinerary: Customize your day-to-day itinerary tailored to and your families specific interests.

• View Wait Times: Currently, the Disneyland app does a great job showing the real-time wait times at the attractions. Genie will take it one step further by showing you the best times to ride a particular attraction.

• Personalization: Give Genie your three wishes and he’ll suggest attractions, experiences, dining, and more!

• Improved Dining Reservations: You can already do this in the app, but Genie will bring along a brand new, improved interface for reservations, check-in, and stand-by dining queues.

• Receive Tips: Let’s say you just got off Pirates and you’re not sure what to do next. Go to the tip board to find Genie’s top recommendations!

• Virtual Assistant: If any questions come up, utilize the virtual assistant tool to get your answers.

We have yet to see Genie’s effectiveness and accuracy but if these features work as intended, we can see this service being a huge asset to park guests. Especially ones who’ve either never been or haven’t in a while. Plus, it’s free. You can’t beat that.

Disney Genie +

To us Disneyland fans, Genie + is nothing new. It’s essentially a clone of the prior digital service, “MaxPass”. Many - including us - were huge fans of that service, so Genie + will undoubtedly be welcomed by most. With this paid add-on, you’ll get:

• PhotoPass Photos: Get all the photos you can get taken by Disney Photographers because they’ll be included in the price (For Disneyland guests only. Guests of Disney World do not receive this perk, unfortunately).

• Skip the Line: Using your smartphone, you can select one attraction at a time to skip the line. Once you’ve checked into said attraction, you are then able to select another, and so on. There is NO limit to how many attractions you can do this for, per day.

This upgrade will cost park guests:

• $20 per person, per day (ages 3 and up).

• For a family of four coming for three park days, this will mean $240 total. This is in ADDITION to your park tickets.

That’s what the cost of MaxPass was prior to the shutdown, so most Disney fans are already accustomed to that price-point. Disney World fans, though, are not used to paying for their “FastPass” system. They’ll pay $15 per ticket/per day (for now).

Attractions Included with Disney +

Disneyland Park

• Autopia

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

• Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

• Haunted Mansion

• Indiana Jones Adventure

• “it’s a small world”

• Matterhorn Bobsleds

• Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run

• Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin

• Space Mountain

• Splash Mountain

• Star Tours - The Adventure Continues

Disney California Adventure

• Goofy’s Sky School

• Grizzly River Run

• Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT!

• Incredicoaster

• Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!

• WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure

• Soarin’ Around the World

• Toy Story Midway Mania

You will be able to purchase Genie +, in advance, when you purchase your park tickets or you can purchase them day of.

• If you purchase Disney + while buying your tickets, you’ll be charged for each day. So for a 3-day park ticket, it’ll be $60, per ticket.

• If you would rather purchase Genie + for just one or two days, you can do so by purchasing the day of your visit.

What Does Genie + Do?

Genie +, much like its predecessors MaxPass and FastPass, holds your place in line (virtually) while you go off and enjoy other attractions or dine.

While you’re not limited in how many reservations you can make throughout the day, you are limited in how many you can make at a time - which is one.

• Let’s say you want to ride Haunted Mansion first thing: You’ll open the app and search for available return times.

• You’ll be presented with one-hour return windows. Make your selection.

• From this point, you won’t be able to make another reservation until one of three things happens -

  • 1) You scan in at the attraction during your arrival window

  • 2) Two hours pass. So if you made your reservation at 8:02am, you can make another one (without using your existing one) at 10:02am.

  • 3) You cancel your existing reservation or the ride goes down.

If you select a return window of 9:05am - 10:05am, you MUST arrive at the attraction within that window. While it is possible the Cast Members will accommodate late arrivals, it isn’t guaranteed.

Lightning Lane Premiums

Up until now, everything has sounded like it’s just going to be another iteration of MaxPass and to a certain extent, it is. However, unlike before, not all attractions are going to be available to Genie +.

A few premium attractions are going to be A la carte. In other words, you’ll only have two options for these rides - either wait in the stand-by or pay a premium to skip the line.

At launch, prices to utilize Lighting Lane will range from $7 - $20 and will depend on ride, demand, time of year, etc. Some other things to know are:

• You will only be able to purchase a maximum of two per day.

• Prices will be per person/per ride.

• Prices will fluctuate based on demand.

• You will not be able to purchase individual Lightning Lanes until you have entered the park.

The premium attractions that have been confirmed for Lightning Lane (and their typical prices) are:

• Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway ($15 - $20 per person)

• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance ($25 per person)

• Radiator Springs Racers ($10 - $15 per person)

So far, these are the only three. However, it’ll probably be safe to assume that most new attractions will be added to this list as well (lookin’ at you Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway).

*Side Note: Disney did, in fact, make runaway railway a premium lighting lane option at its opening on January 27th. There’s currently no traditional stand-by. You’re only two options are purchasing a Lighting Lane or by getting a boarding group through the virtual queue system.

Lightning Lane Purchases

As mentioned above, you are limited to just two Lightning Lane purchases per day. There are also some rules that pertain to when you can purchase them.

• ALL Park Guests - You can begin making Lightning Lane purchases when you are physically in the park. This is true for regular Genie + line reservations as well.

Additional Facts

• You will NOT have to buy Genie + in order to purchase Lightning Lane. Each tier compliments one another, but they’re each their own entity. You can use the free Genie service without ever buying anything. Likewise, you can purchase Lightning Lane premiums without buying Genie + (and vice versa).

• You will NOT be able to use Genie + or Lightning Lane Premiums during early morning entry or during special events. Regular stand-by will apply here. This includes early morning entry, Oogie Boogie Bash, Merriest Nites, and other events.

• You can still ride attractions without purchasing anything. We’ve already covered this but it bears repeating - you will NOT have to purchase anything other than a park ticket to ride any attractions.

Magic Key Add-On

There’s been no word from Disney as-of-yet about whether or not Magic Keyholders will have an add-on option for Genie + or receive any discounts on Lightning Lane premiums.

In the past, MaxPass was available to AP Holders as an add-on for an additional $119 or so per year/per pass. We can only assume Genie + will offer something similar.

We’ll keep our ears open for that news and will update this as soon as we know more.

*Note: As of August 2022, Magic Key holders now receive a discount of 20% off when purchasing Genie Plus.

What Do We Think About Disney Genie?

We usually keep our opinions to ourselves and stay mutual but we’ve been asked a few times so we’ve decided to add this in. We’re all for Genie +. The individual Lightning Lane premiums? Not so much.

We were big fans of MaxPass. We didn’t mind paying the upcharge because instead of having to go to each attraction to attain a return window, we were able to do it on our phones while line for another ride. It was a huge time saver.

While that aspect is still present with Genie +, we’re not-too-happy about the fact that we’ll have to pay even more for the more popular attractions.

We get it, Disney is a business and they have to make money. They also need to keep their stock holders happy and making more money is the best way to do that.

Despite that, we can’t help but feel like Disney is overdoing it with the premiums. If you’re a family of five, visiting in the summer, and want to ride Rise of the Resistance - you’ll be shelling out a cool $100 to ride…..once. Or wait in an hours long stand-by.

To some, it’s worth the money. To others, who are coming just for one day and had to save up for that one day, it could mean not being able to ride it at all.

Time will tell how receptive Disneyland fans will be to it. We’re sure it’ll be successful as Lightning Lane premiums have sold out multiple times for Rise at Disney World.

Unlike Disney World, though, Disneyland is largely made up of locals. Many being Magic Key holders. One could argue that they can come at anytime so why pay for the ride when you can just wait until the next visit.

One caveat to that is Magic Key holders don’t get to go whenever they want. They have to make park reservations as well. So depending on how difficult it is to get a reservation, they may be willing to shell out the money to guarantee a seat.

We’ll just have to wait and see how it goes.

Conclusion

What are your opinions on this new service being offered? Do you plan on using any of them? How do you feel about Disney wanting to charge on a per ride basis with Lightning Lane? Let us know in the comments below!

We hope this guide was helping in planning your Disneyland vacation. If so, please support us by sharing it with your family and friends on your favorite social media site. You can further show support by staying on and reading one or more of the related articles above.

Thanks for reading and safe travels!

11 Common Mistakes People Make At Disneyland and How To Avoid Them

Many people, especially those new to Disneyland, make a lot of mistakes both during the planning stage and while they’re there. It’s easy to do. There’s so many moving parts that it can be hard to keep up.

So based on our knowledge and first-hand experience, we decided to compile a list of eleven common mistakes people make when visiting the Disneyland Resort.

While this list focuses on Disneyland in California, everything on this list could apply to any of the other Disney Parks around the world. For each mistake, we will give our suggestions on how to avoid making them yourself.

Let’s get into it!

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1) Not Taking Breaks

As much as we love the parks, being there all day long just isn’t in us anymore. If you’re an open-to-closer, more power to you. For the rest of us, taking mid-day breaks is a must. This especially applies to those with little ones.

What We Suggest

Get there early (rope drop) and spend the morning hours knocking out as many attractions as you can. A Disneyland vacation is not a time for sleeping in. Take advantage of the majority who are and you’ll be rewarded with little to no wait times.

At mid-day - when the park is most crowded and warmest - go back to your hotel for a break. We typically go back for two to three hours. Then you can take a nap, eat lunch, relax in the pool, etc.

Once you’re feeling rested, head back to the park. By this point, the crowds will have subsided a bit, the sun starts working its way down and you’ll soon see the park’s lights in a dazzling display.

2) Not Planning Ahead

As we’ve covered in some of our other Disneyland articles, a Disney vacation - for better or worse - takes some planning. Between tickets, lodging, dining reservations, attractions you want to ride, etc, you NEED to plan.

What We Suggest

It’s simple, really. Plan, plan, and then plan some more. There are hundreds of great resources out there that can help you if you don’t know where to start (our site, for example). The YouTube channel, “Fresh Baked Disney”, has hundreds of excellent videos that are great resources.

Make sure you sit down with your family ahead of time and decide which restaurants and/or attractions you each must experience and go from there. Check which rides are down for refurbishment and which restaurants accept reservations.

One of your biggest considerations is where you’ll stay. There’s a myriad of options as it pertains to hotels near the park but you also have AirBNB and RV Parks to choose from. Research it ALL so you get the best deal.

3) Not Dining in the Parks

Listen, we get it. Disneyland restaurants are not cheap and it only gets worse if you have a family of four or five. One simple dinner has the potential of setting you back a good chunk of change. But hear us out…

What We Suggest

It’s your vacation! If you can, splurge a little. We’re not saying you have to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the parks but even if you decide on just one, it’ll be an incredible memory for your family.

Here’s a few of our favorites, where they’re located on property, and their price range indicated by the number of dollar signs (three being most expensive):

• Lamplight Lounge: California Adventure - ($$)

• Wine Country Trattoria: California Adventure ($$)

• Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen: Downtown Disney ($$)

• Bengal BBQ: Disneyland Park ($)

• Carnation Cafe: Disneyland Park ($)

• Blue Bayou: Disneyland Park ($$$)

• Cafe Orleans: Disneyland Park ($$)

Whether it’s a high dollar, full-service restaurant or one of the many great quick service eateries, try to fit at least one of them into your budget. After all, you can’t dine at these places anywhere else!

We typically bring breakfast and snack items to hold us over so we can splurge on dinner that night. Disney will allow you (to a certain extent) to bring food into the park. So don’t be shy about it.

4) Not Using the Disneyland App

When it comes to theme parks, Disney has always been at the forefront when it comes to implementing technology into the parks. If there’s a way to increase profit and improve guest experience, Disney is going to do it. Case in point; the Disneyland app.

What We Suggest

The app has steadily risen to become the number one most important planning tool for a Disneyland vacation. Not only can you utilize it in the planning stage, but there’s plenty of ways to utilize it during your trip as well.

In short, download the app and create an account, if you haven’t done so already. We wont go into great detail about the app here because we’ve already written a separate article about it, but we will do a quick break down.

Some of the features include:

• Book dining reservations

• Purchase & store park tickets & Magic Keys

• Utilize Disney Genie & Genie+ (Coming Fall 2021)

• Use as a hotel key (if staying on property)

• Mobile order dining at many quick service restaurants

• Book virtual queues

• Much, much more….

The app is simply too useful to not utilize. Sure, one could argue it takes away from the experience by causing you to look at your phone a lot. We get it, but in our opinion the benefits far outweigh the negatives.

5) Not Living in the Moment

Full disclosure, this is one instance where I need to heed my own advice. I am super guilty of this. Since I’m a Photographer and we’re running a travel related blog, I tend to get lost in always trying to photograph everything I see and not just enjoy the moment.

What We Suggest

My better half will often remind me that while I do need to gather content for the site, I also need to enjoy myself. Stopping to, “smell the roses”, is important to any vacation. Even a business one.

So put down the camera from time to time and take in the sights, sounds, and smells of the park. Sometimes, allowing a moment to exist only in your memory makes it that much more special.

6) Not Making Advanced Dining Reservations

We’ve already discussed dining inside the parks above, but there’s an important aspect of this you need to be aware of; making reservations for some of the more popular eateries as soon as possible - sixty days out is preferable.

What We Suggest

Dining reservations for most sit-down restaurants at the Disneyland Resort can be made up to 60-days in advance. By sit-down, we mean the pricier joints such as Lamplight Lounge, Napa Rose, and Blue Bayou.

If one or more of the above is a must on your vacation, depending on the time of year you’re visiting, we recommend making your reservations right at the sixty day mark, especially if you’re planning to visit in the summer or holiday seasons.

Here is a list of all restaurants at the Disneyland Resort that currently accept reservations (*Denotes restaurants that are particularly tough to get a last minute reservation):

Disneyland Park

• Blue Bayou*

• Cafe Orleans

• Carnation Cafe*

• Oga’s Cantina*

• Plaza Inn Character Dining*

• River Belle Terrace

California Adventure

• Carthay Circle Lounge

• Carthay Circle Restaurant*

• Lamplight Lounge*

• Magic Key Terrace

• Wine Country Trattoria

Grand Californian Hotel

• Princess Breakfast Adventures*

• GCH Craftsman

• Napa Rose*

• Storyteller’s Cafe

The Disneyland Hotel

• Goofy’s Kitchen

• Palm Breeze Bar

• Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar*

Pixar Place Hotel

• Great Maple Modern American Eatery

Downtown Disney

• Naples Ristorante

• Jazz Kitchen Coastal Grill & Patio

• Splitsville Luxury Lanes

• Tortilla Jo’s

• Uva Bar & Cafe

While it’s still entirely possible to get a table by walking up (my parents scored a table at Blue Bayou on a busy Saturday night just by asking nicely), we still recommend securing a reservation to ensure you get the restaurant, date and time you really want.

7) Not Staying Near the Park

There are dozens and dozens of options when it comes to accommodations around the park. Some people like to splurge and stay at one of the three on-property hotels. Others prefer to save some money by staying at what Disney refers to as a, “Good Neighbor”, hotel.

What We Suggest

If you’re looking for the ultimate Disney experience, go all out and book one of the Disney owned hotels on property. Those are:

• Grand Californian Hotel & Spa

• The Disneyland Hotel

• Paradise Pier Hotel

However, if you’re looking to save some cash and put it elsewhere in your budget, this is where you can save big while still staying close to the action.

Our recommendation is to stay at one of the Good Neighbor hotels on South Harbor blvd near the park. Rates fluctuate based on time of year but unless you’re going during the dead of summer, you can usually get a room for less than $200 per night.

A few of these that we have personally stayed at and can vouch for are:

• Clarion Hotel Anaheim Resort

• Four Points by Sheraton (formally Hotel Menage)

• Desert Palms Hotel & Suites

• Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel & Water Playground

• Motel 6 Maingate (off South Harbor, down Disney Way)

It may be tempting to book a cheaper hotel that’s further from the parks, but that choice comes with its own downsides. You’ll either be dealing with lengthy shuttle rides, paying for Uber rides, or driving yourself and paying $30 bucks to park.

8) Not Buying Souvenirs Ahead of Time

If there’s one company who has mastered the art of monetizing their IP, it’s Disney. We have seen them turn even the most basic idea into a highly sought after collectable that people literally throw money at (popcorn buckets, anyone?) However, it often comes at a steep price.

What We Suggest

If you know you’re going to be buying souvenirs, particularly if you have children tagging along, do yourself a favor and buy them ahead of time. You’ll not only save precious park time, but you’ll likely save money as well.

For instance, instead of buying Mickey Ears in the park, buy them from a designer/seller on sites like Etsy. Sure, Disney comes up with some adorable designs, but the ones you’ll find on Etsy are usually much more creative and unique.

9) Not Bringing Your Own Snacks & Drinks

We may be contradicting what we said in number three on this list but like we said, food at Disneyland is expensive. While we stick to what we said about dining in the parks, that doesn’t mean you can’t save a little money while you’re at it.

What We Suggest

We recommend bringing your own bagged snacks and drinks in the park with you. Reusable water bottles are great as you can fill it to your hearts content (even at quick service restaurants) and you’ll avoid paying $3-$4 bucks per bottle.

Also, salty snacks are a great way to help you stay hydrated on warm, summer days. Salt helps you retain water and it’s one of the ways we stay hydrated while hiking. It may make for some unflattering photos, but it’s better than the alternative.

10) Not Using PhotoPass Photographers

On a family vacation, there’s always that one person (typically Mom or Dad) that are always behind the camera. So much so, it can feel like you were never there after going through them. Thankfully, Disney has a solution; PhotoPass.

What We Suggest

We absolutely recommend utilizing PhotoPass Photographers as often as possible. They’re at most of the popular photo spots and will take around 5-6 photos of you and your group. Plus, they’ll add in fun surprises (as pictured above).

Unfortunately, Disney Photographers (or any Cast Members) are not allowed to use your phone or camera anymore. This is to help limit the spread of Covid-19. This could (and probably will) change in the future.

For now, you can purchase an individual photo for $14.99 or $19.99 for that entire days worth of photos. Obviously we recommend spending the extra $5 bucks and getting all of them. Soon, though, you’ll get all your PhotoPass photos included in the purchase of Genie+. Speaking of which…..

11) Not Buying Genie+

Genie+ is the successor of former time-saving services, FastPass and MaxPass. Disney did away with those two in favor of this one, though in many ways, Genie+ is a lot like MaxPass.

What We Suggest

We wrote a detailed guide explaining Genie+ and it’s three tiers (you can read that one here), so we’ll just do a quick rundown.

The three tiers of this new service are:

• Genie: A free planning tool park guests can utilize to plan their day-to-day activities. Not sure which attraction to ride? Want suggestions on where to eat? Just ask the Genie and he’ll point you in the right(ish) direction.

• Genie+: This paid option costs $30, minimum, per person/per day and allows users to bypass the stand-by queue at attractions such as Haunted Mansion, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and Space Mountain.

• Individual Lightning Lane: This option will allow guests to pay to completely skip the line on select premium attractions such as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Radiator Springs Racers, a la carte. This can cost anywhere between $7 and $30, depending on attraction and demand.

Conclusion

There you have it. Our list of the eleven most common mistakes people make when visiting Disneyland. Truth be told, there are SO many more mistakes our there. So much so that we could easily write another article or two about this subject (perhaps we will).

Tell us, what are some mistakes you have seen first timers or just people in general make at the parks. Is there something you’ve done that you’ve since learned not to do? Tell us about it in the comments below!

It is our hope that you’ve found this article helpful in planning your trip to Disneyland. If so, please support us by sharing it with your family and friends on your favorite social media site. You can further show support by staying on and reading one or more of the related articles above!

Thanks for reading and safe travels!

6 Reasons Why You Need The Disneyland App

Planning a trip to Disneyland has never been an easy task. How many days are we going? Which park are we going to visit on which day? Which restaurants are we going to try? Mistakes are bound to happen.

Unfortunately, with the popularity of the park ever increasing and the rise of smartphone technology offering unprecedented convenience, being prepared is more important now than ever. Enter, the official Disneyland app.

The app is free to download/use and is available on both IOS and Android platforms. If you don’t have one already, you will want to create an account so you can take advantage of everything the app has to offer.

During our most recent trip to the parks, we found ourselves using the app constantly and realized how imperative it is to not only the planning stage, but while you’re actually inside the parks as well. So we decided to put this little article together.

So follow along while we list the six reasons why the Disneyland app is essential to the success of your trip to the Disneyland Resort.

Let’s get to it!

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1) Mobile Dining Orders

Perhaps the biggest reason to use the app is having the ability to place your food orders at some of your favorite restaurants and pay for it ahead of time. No cash or standing in line required.

Just in the last couple years, the availability of mobile order has grown from just a few restaurants to nearly every quick service location in either park. It’s truly a tremendous time saver and super convenient.

Below is a list of each restaurant currently offering mobile order. Some (indicated by the *) are mobile order only.

Disneyland Park

• Alien Pizza Planet (Tomorrowland)

• Bengal BBQ (Adventureland)

• Docking Bay 7 (Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge)

• Edelweiss Snacks (Fantasyland)

• French Market Restaurant (New Orleans Square)

• Galactic Grill (Tomorrowland)

• Gibson Girl Ice Cream (Main Street U.S.A)

• The Golden Horseshoe (Frontierland)

• Harbour Gallery at Pelican Landing (Critter Country)

• Hungry Bear (Critter Country)

• Jolly Holiday Bakery (Main Street U.S.A)

• Milk Stand (Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge)

• Mint Julep Bar (New Orleans Square)

• Red Rose Tavern* (Fantasyland)

• Refreshment Corner (Main Street U.S.A)

• Ronto Roasters (Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge)

• Royal Street Veranda (New Orleans Square)

• Stage Door Cafe (Frontierland)

• Tiki Juice Bar (Adventureland)

• Troubadour Tavern (Fantasyland)

Disney California Adventure

• Award Weiners (Hollywood Land)

• Bayside Brews (Paradise Gardens)

• Clarabelle’s (Buena Vista Street)

• Cocina Cucamonga Grill (Pacific Wharf)

• Corn Dog Castle (Paradise Gardens)

• Cozy Cones* (Cars Land)

• Flo’s V8 Cafe (Cars Land)

• Hollywood Lounge (Hollywood Land)

• Lucky Fortune Cookery (Pacific Wharf)

• Pacific Wharf Cafe (Pacific Wharf)

• Pacific Wharf Distribution Co. (Pacific Wharf)

• Paradise Gardens Grill (Paradise Gardens)

• Pym Tasting Lab (Avenger’s Campus)

• Pym Test Kitchen (Avenger’s Campus)

• Rita’s Baja Blenders (Pacific Wharf)

• Schmoozies! (Hollywood Land)

• Smokejumpers Grill (Grizzly Peak)

• Sonoma Terrace (Pacific Wharf)

• Studio Catering Co. (Hollywood Land)

Disney Resort Hotels

• GCH Craftman’s Grill (Grand Californian)

• The Coffee House (Disneyland Hotel)

• Tangaroa Terrace Tropical Bar & Grill (Disneyland Hotel)

Downtown Disney

• Marceline’s Confectionery

As you can see, the list is long and they’re even starting to branch out to the hotels. It wouldn’t surprise me to see more eateries in Downtown Disney join this list in the future. As mentioned, some are even testing being mobile order only locations.

A couple of those we encountered were, “Red Rose Tavern” and “Cozy Cones”. They weren't accepting cash or cards at all. It was strictly mobile order. We can verify that both, “Bengal BBQ” and “Hungry Bear”, were accepting walk ups.

However, the lines at both were long. Mobile ordering was quick, easy, and definitely the way to go.

2) Buying & Scanning Tickets

The days of being able to walk up to the ticket booths in the esplanade are slowly, but surely, coming to an end. Mark my words. Not only is this due to the spread of Covid, but it will also save Disney a few bucks. So, yes, it’s going to happen.

Thankfully, the app makes it super easy to purchase single-day tickets, multi-day tickets, and their newest offering, Magic Key passes. In fact, the app or website are your only options to purchase Magic Keys at the moment.

Theme Park Tickets

To purchase tickets in the app:

1. Make sure you’ve created an account

2. Tap the + symbol at the bottom of the screen

3. Tap, “Buy Tickets and Passes”

4. Select, “Theme Park Tickets”

5. Select the number of days you’ll be in the parks

6. Select the quantity of tickets (adults, child, etc)

7. Select either “One Park Per Day” or “Park Hopper”

8. You’ll then be shown available reservations (Note: You will not be able to purchase tickets without available reservations)

9. You’ll then select which park you want to begin each day of your reservations

10. From here, select “Checkout” and fill in your payment info

Bob Chepek, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, has publicly stated that their park reservation policy will be in effect, “for the foreseeable future”. In our opinion, it’s here to stay. This applies to both day guests and Magic Key holders.

Magic Key Passes

To purchase a Magic Key pass (the replacement for the former Annual Pass program):

1. Follow steps 1 & 2 above

2. Select, “Magic Key Passes”

3. Select which pass you want (Note: If you are not a Southern California resident, you will NOT be able to purchase the “Imagine” Key Pass)

4. Select the number of passes and who to assign them to (Note: You will only be able to take advantage of the monthly payment option if you’re a State of California resident)

5. Enter your payment info and follow the steps to link your new Magic Key to your account

If you’re still deciding whether or not a Magic Key would be a good fit for you or your family, check out our article, “Magic Key: 7 Things You Need To Know Before Buying”.

Another benefit of tickets in the app is they’re stored in there for the duration of your visit. It totally eliminates what every park guest dreads; losing their tickets.

When you arrive at the gate simply pull up the tickets on your phone. The Cast Member will scan them, take your picture, and hand you physical copies (Hang on to those in case your phone dies).

Each time you come back to the parks after that, the Cast Member will scan your phone and you’ll be on your way. It’s a fast, efficient, and contactless way to enter the parks.

3) Attraction Virtual Queues

*Editor’s Note: As of January 2022, Disneyland no longer utilizes the virtual queue system. Attractions that used to now fall under that purview now are part of Disney Genie+ premium selections and traditional stand-by. For detailed information on Disney Genie+, go here.

Currently, two of the Disneyland Resort’s newest attractions can only be experienced by using the app to secure a boarding group. You cannot just show up and get in line. This may change in the future but for now, this is how it is.

The two attractions with this special requirement are, “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance”*, in Disneyland Park and, “WEB Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure”, in California Adventure.

If you or anyone in your group had any desire to ride one or both of these rides, then you’re definitely going to need the app. However, even with the app, there’s still no guarantee you’ll receive a boarding group.

Due to this, we’re working on a detailed, no-holds-barred guide providing tips on how to secure a boarding group and what you can do to increase your chances. Keep an eye out for that one!

If you just want a quick rundown:

1. Be ready to go at either 7am or 12pm

2. Go to the “Virtual Queue” section of the app

3. Tap, “Join Virtual Queue”

4. Select the park (Disneyland for “Rise” or DCA for “WEB”)

5. If you see a blue tab that says, “Join Virtual Queue”, quickly tap it

6. Verify your party and make sure each person’s ticket is selected

7. You’ll then be taken to a page where you can view your boarding group number, estimated wait time, and your entry code.

*Note: As of November 2021, “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance”, no longer uses the virtual queue system.

4) Check Attraction Wait Times

This one will be short and sweet. Let’s say you just got off Space Mountain in Tomorrowland and you get the sudden urge to ride Splash Mountain all the way in Critter Country. So you hike it all the way over there all to discover a massive, 2-3 hour line has formed. Total bummer.

The app eliminates that disappointment by showcasing a section dedicated to providing real time wait times for each attraction in both parks. So all you’ll need to do is look for the attraction you want to experience and check before go.

In our experience, the wait times are mostly accurate. For example, the app stated a 30-minute wait for Haunted Mansion. It looked daunting and I didn’t believe it, so I timed it. By the time we reached the stretch room (which I consider the beginning), we waited 31-minutes. Close enough.

They’ve also been known to high-ball the wait times to avoid you being upset about having to wait longer. For example, we pulled up Radiator Springs Racers and it showed a 35-minute wait. We ended up waiting around 20-minutes.

5) PhotoPass

Until Disney Genie gets up and going (and probably even after it does) the app is where you’ll go to find all your photos taken by PhotoPass Photographers. If you’ve never used this service before, it’s pretty cool.

Using Disney Photographers is free (until it’s time to purchase your photos, that is). They take all the headache out of getting that perfect family vacation portrait in front of the castle, Mickey shaped pumpkin, etc. They’re scattered throughout both parks.

When you’re done taking your photos, you’ll pull up the barcode in the “photos” section and the Photographer will scan your photos into the app. They usually take around 1-2 hours to appear.

Photos used to be included in the purchase of a MaxPass but now that it’s discontinued, the current cost of PhotoPass is:

• $14.99 - Per photo

• $19.99 - That entire day’s worth

They’ll stay in the app for 45 days after you take them. So you’ll have plenty of time to purchase them.

*It’s recently been announced by Disney that when Genie+ goes live, PhotoPass photos will be included in the purchase price. This includes photos taken by Disney Photographers and Attraction photos.

6) Restaurant Reservations & Plans

Most restaurants at the Disneyland Resort are quick-service. Meaning you order your food, sit down, and eat. At table-service restaurants, it’s more traditional where you’re seated at a table and have a wait staff tending to you.

Some of these include Lamplight Lounge (pictured above), Napa Rose, Blue Bayou, and Wine Country Trattoria. These restaurants, and others, are very popular, so making an advance dining reservation is almost required most of the time.

In the app, you can make dining reservations 60 days in advance. Best part is, all of your reservations, boarding passes, etc, all appear in the, “My Plans”, tab of the app. You’ll be able to view and modify your plans and even receive reminders.

Conclusion

As you can see, the Disneyland app has become essential to both the planning process and the execution of the day-to-day aspect of your visit. We highly advise you to download it, create an account, and get familiar with the layout and its features.

We hope that you found this article useful in planning your vacation to the Disneyland Resort. If so, please share it with your friends and family on your favorite social media site. You can further show your support by staying on and reading one or more of the related articles above.

The Ultimate Guide To Virtual Queues at Disneyland

3 minute read | contains affiliate links

*As of January 2023, Disney is once again utilizing the virtual queue system for their newest attraction, ‘Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway’.

The images in this post are for Rise of the Resistance and WEB Slingers, both of which USED to utilize virtual queues. Now, it’s just Runaway Railway.

If you’re unsuccessful in obtaining a boarding group, your only other option is to purchase a premium Lighting Lane. There currently is no traditional stand-by queue.

You can read about how to use Disney Genie+ and purchasing premium Lighting Lanes by reading this post here.

When it came time to open the highly anticipated attractions, “Rise of the Resistence”, in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and, “WEB Slingers”, in Avenger’s Campus, Disney had something up their sleeves to help mitigate what would undoubtedly be an hours long wait; virtual queue.

The concept is simple. You secure yourself a spot in the virtual queue, you’re given a group number, and you go about your business enjoying the rest of the park while your spot in line is held.

When your group is called, you make your way to the attraction and enjoy! It offers guests little to no wait times (in a physical line), and helps ensure a great experience.

Overall, the premise is ideal. The execution, however, is anything but and despite what anyone may tell you, there is a science to getting it right. Since virtual queue is here to stay, it makes sense to learn everything you can about it.

During our most recent visit, we went for and received group numbers three days straight. Despite our success, it came at a price. The anxiety over the possibility of not getting in was horrible. That stress and anxiety inspired us to create this article.

We’re all about helping our readers. We want your vacation to be as smooth and stress free as it can get. In this article, we’re going to share with you the process of getting into the virtual queue, what you need to do to prepare, and some tips we picked up along the way.

Let’s get into it!

Things to Know About Virtual Queues

Your journey to secure a spot in the virtual queue begins and ends in the Disneyland app. If you haven’t already done so, download it, create an account, and link your tickets to your account (if you need help doing this, read our guide here).

Time is of the essence when trying to get in. Spots in the virtual queue (also referred to as “Boarding Groups”) are literally gone in seconds. You’ll need to have your finger on the pulse to pull this off.

Requirements

There are a few things you’ll need to make sure you have in order to take part in the virtual queue. They are:

• You’ll need the Disneyland app downloaded and have an account.

• A valid park ticket or Magic Key pass linked to your account (including ALL parties you’re with).

• A corresponding reservation for the park in which the attraction is located in.

Lottery Times

Whereas before when you had only ONE opportunity per day to win a boarding group (and you HAD to already be inside the park), Disney now gives Guests two opportunities! One in the morning and one in the afternoon:

• 7:00am PST: This will be your first opportunity of the day to snag a boarding group and best of all, you do not need to be in the park to take part. Just your ticket and reservation. We did it from our hotel two of the three days.

• 12:00pm PST: If you didn’t wake up in time for the morning lottery or didn’t win, this is it. Your final opportunity for a boarding group. The major difference here is you MUST be scanned into either park to take part*

*NOTE - At noon, if you want Rise, you’ll either need to be in Disneyland Park OR be in DCA WITH a park hopper ticket or Magic Key. If you do NOT have a park hopper, you’ll need to be in the corresponding park in which the attraction is located in.

Park Hopping

While there may be two opportunities per day, the caveat is guests may only enter one successful lottery per day. So if you were able to get a morning time boarding group, you CANNOT go for the same attraction again at noon.

Notice I said same. Let’s say you scored a boarding group in the morning for Rise and you have a park hopper. After you’ve used your boarding pass for Rise, you can go for the virtual queue for WEB Slingers over in DCA (and vice versa).

Joining the Virtual Queue

As stated above, there are two enrollment times throughout the day; 7:00am and 12:00pm. As of September 8th, 2021, Disney decided to help make the process a bit easier by allowing guests to confirm their party one hour prior to each enrollment time.

• Between 6:00am - 6:59am for morning

• Between 11:00am - 11:59am for afternoon

It may not seem like much, but those precious few seconds you’re saving could very well mean the difference between joining the virtual queue and missing out. Note - You do not have to do it exactly one hour before. You have within that one hour period to do it.

Pre-Enrollment

Here’s the process of joining a virtual queue before enrollment begins:

• Set an alarm for 10 minutes or sooner before.

• Ensure your cell phone signal is strong. Go outside if necessary (If you’re in the parks, make sure you’re NOT on Disneyland’s Wifi).

• Also be certain both your phone’s software and the app itself are both updated.

• Open the app and go to the “Virtual Queue” section.

• Tap, “Join Virtual Queue”.

• The app will automatically default for Rise of the Resistance. If you want WEB Slingers, just tap on the DCA tab next to it

• Now tap, “Confirm Your Party”, and make any necessary corrections.

• If this is for the morning period, you can do this from your hotel. If it’s for the afternoon, all parties will need to be scanned into the park the attraction you’re going for is in.

• Notice the new, “Refresh”, button at the bottom of the screen? Be ready….

At this stage, you have done all the pre-work. At this point, you’re sole focus should be on your phone. Don’t get distracted (unless it’s for something important, of course).

The Disneyland app runs on the world clock and thus, it’s what you’ll need to go off also. Most cell phones run on the world clock as well, but in case it’s off, here’s the one we used.

If you can, have someone else watch the world clock on their phone or computer while you keep the app open on yours. They or you will need to watch it by the second!

Enrollment Time!

Now, when the world clock reaches the five-second mark prior to start time (so for morning, 6:59:55am), here’s what you do:

• At the 5-second mark, start repeatedly hitting that refresh button.

• If nothing happens or that button isn’t there, pull down on the screen with your finger to refresh the screen manually.

• The millisecond you see the blue, “Join Virtual Queue”, button on your screen - TAP IT!

• Hopefully, you will now see your group number and estimated wait time. If not, refresh the screen again.

• There’s also the possibility you weren’t fast enough and didn’t get one, but let’s stay positive!

You can have multiple people trying this at once on different phones, but once one of you wins a boarding group, the rest will receive an error message.

If You Were Successful

Time to celebrate! You’ve managed to score a seat on one of the park’s most coveted attractions. Now that you have your boarding group, here’s a few things you need to know:

• Winning a boarding group doesn’t guarantee you access to either attraction. Both are subject to capacity. Essentially, the lower your group number, the better your chances.

• You may be assigned to a backup boarding group. If this happens, you’ll only be called to ride if all other boarding groups have gone through and there’s room for more.

• Depending on hours of operation, break-downs, and other issues, you may receive a push notification that your group will not be boarding. This is mostly for those who entered into the 2nd enrollment period and received a particularly high group number.

• If you use Disability Access Service (DAS) you STILL need to enter into the virtual queue. Once you arrive at the attraction, report to the Cast Member for further instruction.

• If you have a small child who cannot ride in your party, you can ask about a rider switch, but it isn’t guaranteed.

• Multiple boarding groups are called at a time, not one just one. Once you’re summoned, you’ll see something like, “Now boarding groups 20-40”.

• Once summoned, you have ONE hour from the time you were called to get to the attraction.

• Don’t take the estimated wait time as gospel. Our first day, we were given an estimated wait time of almost 3 hours for the first enrollment. The park opened at 8:00am that day so we figured we had plenty of time. NOPE! We were notified to head over by 9:30am. It can happen fast!

• We have heard of the “Please Arrive By” time varying. Most get one hour, but others have gotten different times. Look at it closely.

• Take screenshots of both your confirmation and each person’s boarding passes in case the app decides to act up (trust us, it happens often).

• Send those screenshots to each other in case one person’s phone dies. This way you have proof.

• If you weren’t successful at the first enrollment , you can try again at the second one.

What to Expect

Once you’re given notification that your group number is now boarding, make sure you get to the attraction before the deadline. I have heard of people arriving late and still being allowed on, but it’s best not to push your luck.

The first Cast Member will both verbally and visually verify that you indeed have a boarding pass and direct you to the right queue. Have your boarding passes ready to be scanned as the next set of Cast Members you come across will be scanning them.

At Rise of the Resistance, they didn’t scan our passes until we were close to the interior section of the queue. At WEB Slingers, they scanned it before we reached the queue proper.

Keep in mind that you’re still not guaranteed to ride. If you’re in line and the ride breaks down (Rise does this often) and won’t come back online, you’re not riding. If it comes back up later, they will likely honor your boarding pass. Just ask a CM.

Our Experiences

As mentioned in the beginning of this article, our most recent trip was our first time trying to navigate the virtual queue process and we were successful all three days.

Day One - Rise of the Resistance

We were going to be spending the day at Disneyland this day and I desperately wanted to experience Rise. I woke up an hour before enrollment began to make sure everything was good. At 7:00am, I quickly shot through the buttons and to my delight, won boarding passes.

We were assigned group 18 with an estimated wait time of 165 minutes. By the time we left Starbucks, we received notification that our group was boarding and were told to be there by 9:30am. Cool!

We arrived, scanned in, and practically walked onto the ride from there. The only wait was the outside queue before being scanned.

Day Two - WEB Slingers

This day, we were going for WEB Slingers at DCA. Again, I woke up early, did everything I did the day before, and got a boarding pass. Again, we were given a fairly high wait time but it went quick as we were summoned as we walked through the gates.

This time, our passes were scanned on arrival and we had to wait in the outside queue area. Neither of us timed it, but I’m fairly certain it was around 30-minutes or so. Not bad.

Day Three - Rise…again

We’ve just spent two exhausting days in the parks, open to close, and wanted to sleep in a bit. So no morning enrollment for me. We were going to skip it but decided to go for the noon enrollment because that ride is way too epic to miss.

We were in the seating area of Bengal BBQ waiting for our mobile order and wouldn’t you know it, my food was ready for pick-up right as noon approached. So with my phone in one hand and a tray of delicious meat sticks in the other, I went all in and got it!

Fast forward four hours and our boarding group was called right as my dining reservation time came. Total bummer! I didn’t want to pay the no-show fee, so off to DTD we went.

At dinner, I was given a tip that, while not guaranteed, I could screenshot my boarding passes and my dining reservation (to prove there was a conflict), show them, and they might let me on. Knowing we would be writing this article we figured worst case, it would be a good to know either way.

Well, we arrived back at Rise (well over an hour past our given deadline), explained the situation to the Cast Member and guess what? He sent us through! Super cool.

I won’t promise they’ll do the same for you but if something similar does happen, take your screenshots, ask the Cast Member nicely, and they may be able to make some magic happen for you as well.

Conclusion

There you have it! All the information and tips you’ll need to (hopefully) successfully win in the virtual queue lottery for Rise of the Resistance and WEB Slingers. Do you know of any tips or tricks we didn’t mention that you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments below!

We hope this article was helpful in planning your Disneyland vacation. If so, please support us by sharing it with your family and friends on your favorite social media site. You can further show support by staying on and reading one or more of the related articles above.

Thanks for reading and safe travels!

Disneyland Announces “Merriest Nites" Holiday Event Coming This November

Earlier today, Disney announced a brand new, separate ticket, limited-capacity event called, “Disney Merriest Nites”, debuting this November exclusively at Disneyland Park. This is great news as Disneyland fans have been clamoring for a Christmas Party for years!

The event will be celebrated on five select nights during the months of November and December and will consist of six themed parties throughout the individual “lands” in the park. The event starts at 8:00pm and ends at midnight, with early entry into Disneyland starting at 5:00pm.

This was just announced and not many details were released, so this article will contain everything that is known thus far; such as where the themed parties will be, cost, dates, and more. It will be updated on a continuous basis as more details are released. We’ve also contacted Disneyland Guests Services to confirm a few details.

Tickets for this event will go on sale at 9am on September 14th, 2021, via the Disneyland app and website.

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Themed Party Locations

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Main Street U.S.A

The first of the six parties you’ll come across takes place right on Main Street. Mickey Mouse will be your host along with Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and more! The characters will travel around in a coach decked out in holiday decor and will sing Christmas carols with event guests. How cool!

New Orleans Square

Not much detail has been given about this party but from what we’ve gathered, it will be hosted by Princess Tiana herself in a bayou-inspired holiday celebration.

It may be just speculation on our part, but with all the construction walls currently up in New Orleans Square, there’s been rumors of a Tiana’s Place eatery coming. This party would make for an excellent debut of a highly desired restaurant.

Frontierland

Miguel, from the Disney/Pixar film, “Coco”, will be on hand wishing attendees Feliz Navidad in Frontierland. According to the Disney Parks Blog, there will be music and dancing aplenty in this small section of the park.

We were at Disneyland recently and seen the beautiful meet and greet area set up for Miguel (pictured above). It was small, but impressive. We have a feeling the entire land will now be adorned in similar fashion.

Fantasyland, Adventureland, & Tomorrowland

Even less has been revealed about the final three parties, but they will take place in some of the park’s most popular lands and like the others, will have their own, dedicated host:

• Fantasyland: The host will be none other than the Snow Queen herself, “Elsa”, from the uber popular Disney animated film, “Frozen”. This will undoubtedly be the most in-demand and densely packed party. Fair warning.

• Adventureland: Lilo & Stitch will be the co-hosts in this laid back, tropical gathering. This is the smallest land of the six, so it’s interesting to see how they’ll pull this off.

• Tomorrowland: Last - but certainly not least - the host of this galactic-holiday celebration will be the toy, the myth, the legend himself; Buzz Lightyear.

It seems that the hosts and theme of the parties will be the biggest differences between them as all will come with themed photo opps, special character appearances, and exclusively themed food and beverage offerings.

More Experiences

The six parties above won’t be the only experiences you’ll get with your ticket. You’ll also get:

• Holiday Experiences: Watch the streets get lined with snow while taking part in a meet and greet with Santa himself.

• Early Admission: The event doesn’t begin until 8:00pm, but with your special event ticket, you’ll be granted early access to Disneyland starting at 5:00pm.

• Merry Entertainment: Witness a special performance of, “A Christmas Fantasy Parade”.

• Attractions After-Hours: Experience classic Disneyland attractions such as “it’s a small world” Holiday and “Haunted Mansion Holiday”, with shorter than usual wait times.

• Character Appearances: Rare and classic characters alike decked out in their holiday best will make appearances throughout the park.

• PhotoPass: All photos you get from Disney PhotoPass Photographers for the night will be included with your ticket. So wear your holiday best!

• And Much, Much More!

Dates & Price

Much like the Halloween parties held in Disneyland Park in the past and currently at Disney California Adventure, “Merriest Nites”, will require a separate ticket, have limited capacity, and will be held after-hours.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, these special event tickets will go on sale on September 14th at 9am, on Disneyland.com and the Disneyland app for the following dates:

• November 11th, 2021

• November 16th, 2021

• November 30th, 2021

• December 7th, 2021

• December 9th, 2021

The cost of a ticket to the first event (November 11th) will be $175, per person. The price for all subsequent dates will be $165, per person.

There will be no special price for children (with the exception of those under 3. Much like general admission, they’re free).

Magic Key Holders

While not officially announced by Disney, the expectation is that there will be NO discount offered to Keyholders for this event.

Reservations

Since only a certain number of tickets will be sold for this event per night, you will NOT need to make a reservation. Your ticket is your reservation (including your early admission perk).

However, if you’re a Magic Keyholder and you wish to enter the park earlier than 5:00pm, then you will need a reservation for that day.

Closures During the Event

While this event sounds like it’ll be packed to the gills with entertainment and attractions, there are a few closures worth mentioning.

During the event, the following areas won’t be accessible for the entirety of the night:

• Critter Country (Including Splash Mountain)

• Mickey’s ToonTown

• Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (Bummer. I’m sure every Star Wars fan would’ve loved to see a real-life Christmas special)

If you really had your heart set on spending time in one or more of these lands, our advice would be to get there right at the early admission time (5:00pm). That’ll give you three hours to enjoy them before the event begins.

Candlelight Processional

As of the time of this writing, there’s been no word from Disney about whether or not their annual Candlelight Processional will return to Disneyland. Also no word about DCA’s, “World of Color” show either.

As previously mentioned, we’ll keep this article updated as more information becomes available.

Expectations

Being that this event has been something Disneyland fans have been wanting for years, we can predict with near certainty that ALL dates will sell out fast. Probably on the first day. So if you want to attend this event, be ready to go right at 9:00am on September 14th. Make sure you have an account set-up.

So why are they only running it for five nights? We think they’re using the inaugural year as a test-run. Now that their annual Halloween Party has shifted over to DCA, it takes a bit of the burden off of Disneyland Park. If proven successful (let’s face it, it will be), we predict next year will hold far more dates.

Conclusion

Are you excited about this newest event coming to the resort? Do you plan on going? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

We hope this article was helpful in planning your trip to Disneyland. If so, please support us by sharing it with your friends and family on your favorite social media site. You can further show your support by staying on and reading one or more of the related articles above.

Thanks for reading and safe travels!