The Disney World Fan’s Guide to Disneyland

If you are a lover of Walt Disney World Resort and are making your first trip to Disneyland Resort, you’ll want to know what to expect. The good news is that all that planning and stressing that you might have to do before a Disney World vacation is not quite as necessary for Disneyland. We hear from many Disney World fans that Disneyland feels a lot more manageable than a trip to Disney World, and a lot of it comes down to size and the types of visitors who frequent Disneyland. Yes, some planning and research is definitely smart and recommended, and that’s why we are here going over this together. But in general, Disneyland is a simpler place, especially if you are already a pretty savvy Disney Parks fan. We bring you the Disney World fan’s guide to Disneyland ... hop along! (And if you're looking for the Disneyland fan's guide to Disney World, we've also got you covered.)

The Disney World Fan’s Guide to Disneyland

Disneyland is the original Disney theme park and the only completed Disney park that Walt Disney ever got to set foot in. It's a happy place filled with nostalgia. but it also celebrates new Disney stories and keeps the park fresh with unexpected surprises. Expect additional entertainment and surprises in 2025 for Disneyland's 70th anniversary celebration. Hop over to our post on what's coming to Disneyland to see the future attractions arriving in upcoming years.

A lamp remains lit for Walt in the window of his apartment above the fire station in Town Square, and we gaze up at it every time we visit. Disneyland is the place that was transformed from orange groves into what is lovingly called “The Happiest Place on Earth.” There’s something special about Disneyland being Walt’s park. Some of the attractions and lands were created by Walt Disney himself, and there is something heartwarming about that.

Planning for Disneyland

First of all, Disneyland is more low-key and sometimes a little less crowded than Disney World. Many visitors to Disneyland are locals. They know if they miss a ride or character or dining experience on one visit, they’ll catch it next time. No big deal. That usually leaves space for the first-time visitors and vacationers to get those dining reservations, character dining experiences and other in-demand opportunities. (With the reservations system still in place, even locals are planning their visits out in advance so you'll definitely want to book 60 to 180 days out for now.)

On the other hand, that high percentage of frequent visitors can be frustrating to newcomers because locals will happily sit on a curb or bench for hours before a parade, leaving vacationers who do not want to lose valuable vacation time waiting for shows scrambling to find a viewing spot closer to parade time. But don’t worry, we frogs are here to let you in on our Disneyland secrets so you can be in-the-know, too, and get the most from your visit.

Be sure to hop over to find out the best time to visit Disneyland to learn more about crowds (and how to avoid them) and cool Disneyland special events, festivals and holidays that may bring super fun seasonal foods, entertainment and ride overlays to the parks during your visit. Another useful planning tool is to follow our tips to maximize your time at Disneyland.

You'll also want to plan for weather at Disneyland. Disneyland has a drier climate than Disney World. Summers in Southern California are dry and warm, the hotter months being July through October. It rarely rains during those months. May and June are cloudy and have earned the nicknames "May Gray" and "June Gloom." (We Frogs enjoy the break from the sun in "gloomy" days before the summer heat and sun kick in.)

For most of the winter and spring months, you can expect most daytime temperatures to reach the 60s and 70s with just occasional hot days. November through April can bring rain, but you can expect more sunshine days than rainy days. No matter when you visit, bring a sweatshirt because warm days can quickly cool off quite a bit once the sun sets. Remember those hats, sunglasses and sunscreen because Disneyland has many more outside and uncovered ride queues and even rides than Disney World.

Buying Tickets for Disneyland

You'll want to follow some tips for saving money at Disneyland, especially when it comes to buying tickets. Disneyland 1-Day tickets have variable prices based on expected crowd levels. There are usually no discounts or deals for 1-Day tickets, so your best way to save money is to purchase discounted multi-day tickets. (Your favorite frog friends have hopped into selling discount Disneyland Resort tickets to save you a little extra green!) Look for great deals for visits in summer months and for occasional Adults at Child Prices tickets that run from time to time.

Most Disneyland multi-day tickets are a set price no matter when you visit. And the more days you park hop, the cheaper per day it is. Disneyland tickets are in the app. You are welcome to use a MagicBand+ at Disneyland, but you can also just use the ticket in your app.

Yes, you still need a park reservation for all ticket types at Disneyland. And park hopping is still at 11 a.m. or after.

You can purchase a ticket in advance that is loaded with Lightning Lane Multi Pass (formerly Genie+), or upgrade through the Disneyland app after you have entered the park for the day. You can find out more below under Understanding Lightning Lanes. (They work differently than at Disney World.)

Disneyland Resort has fewer special parties and separately ticketed events than Walt Disney World Resort. Disneyland hosts a few Disneyland After Dark parties per year, and the themes can vary. The Disneyland Halloween Party is the Oogie Boogie Bash, which takes place at Disney California Adventure Park on select nights during Halloween Time. Disneyland does not have a Christmas party; however, holiday time at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure is already quite festive with parades and special fireworks. You'll find special foods, entertainment, decor and more every day. All the holiday entertainment is included in your park ticket.

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Hours and Entertainment

Part of your planning process is to get to know Disneyland's operating hours and entertainment. You'll want to identify your must-see shows and parades. Set an itinerary to incorporate your show schedule. Show and parade times can vary throughout the year. The Disneyland site offers an entertainment calendar. It provides a look at park hours and showtimes for about six weeks in advance. Be sure to hop back frequently because as holidays approach, Disneyland tends to add more special holiday entertainment (especially for the week of Christmas and New Year's Eve) as the events get closer. In general, Disney California Adventure Park closes little earlier than Disneyland Park. We love late nights at Disneyland because the crowds really drop off after the fireworks end.

During peak seasons the theme parks open at 8 a.m. (The turnstiles open about 30 to 45 minutes early.) Disneyland is open until midnight, whereas Disney California Adventure closes at 10 p.m. During less busy time such as early November or mid-January, the park hours may be more like 9 to 8 p.m. The daytime hours also vary due to special After Dark parties.

The top Disneyland Park nighttime shows include fireworks and Fantasmic! You'll find the beautiful World of Color show at Disney California Adventure Park. During busier times, you may find nightly fireworks and Fantasmic! shows. To save time, see the later parade or show when offered. It's always much less crowded. You might want to get a dining package to view Fantasmic! The show does not have seating like at Hollywood Studios.

At off-peak times, you might see Fantasmic! and Disneyland fireworks scheduled for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. During these less-busy times you might get treated to a projection show without the fireworks. At times, you'll want to budget an hour or two to get a good spot to watch these shows. The better the spot, the more time you have to spend waiting. We have a post on the best places to view Disneyland fireworks so you can find the best spot with the least amount of wait time.

The Fantasmic! show at Disneyland Park takes place at Rivers of America and does not have seating. How should you see it? There is standby viewing areas and dining packages (which offer the best views).

While at times either park (or both!) can host a parade, Disneyland is usually the main parade park with Magic Happens. Holiday Time brings a daily holiday parade to Disneyland Park. (No, you do not need a party ticket to see it, and there is no holiday party anyway at Disneyland. All the decor and entertainment is for all park guests.

Get to Know the Disneyland Parks

As you know, Walt Disney World Resort consists of four theme parks, two waters parks and numerous hotels and transportation options. Disney World sits on nearly 30,000 acres. Well, in comparison, Disneyland has two parks that are a quick hop, skip and jump across from one another, a neighboring Downtown Disney District and three Disneyland Resort hotels all within walking distance of each other. The Disneyland property sits on about 500 acres. The Disney World fan will find Disneyland very tiny in comparison to Disney World. But don't worry — Disneyland really offers a lot of experiences in that small space!

The Disneyland Resort is surrounded by city streets of Anaheim and has no place to expand horizontally, so that’s how it will stay. (There is some space on the property to expand the theme parks as part of a long-term expansion, known as DisneylandForward.) But Disneyland packs a lot of punch into that tiny space. There is so much to do! In addition to the on-site hotels, you have many hotels that are literally across and down the street within walking distance of the park entrances. If you need to run to the store or want to go to a non-Disney restaurant, there are a lot of choices just outside the park gates.

The two Disneyland Resort theme parks are Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. Disney California Adventure has rides and lands unique to that park, as well as a few rides you might recognize from various Disney World versions. Disney California Adventure is home to the following lands:

• Buena Vista Street
• Grizzly Peak
• Hollywood Land
• San Fransokyo Square
• Paradise Gardens Park
• Pixar Pier
• Cars Land
• Avengers Campus, a Super Hero–themed land with the new ride, WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure.

Highlights of this park include the popular Radiator Springs Racers and the festivals that occur several months a year. Thrill-seekers enjoy heart-pounding rides such as Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout!, the Incredicoaster and Grizzly River Run. Disney World fans will recognize Soarin’ (with a Disneyland ending and sometimes the return of Soarin' over California during Food and Wine Festival in the spring!). You fans will also recognize Toy Story Midway Mania! and The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.

The nighttime spectacular, World of Color, is a breathtaking show highlighting favorite Disney moments ... on a screen of mist, with vibrant water effects and music. Disney California Adventure is a foodie's park with many themed foods and good table-service restaurants.

Disneyland Park is most like Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.

Disneyland's lands include:

• Main Street, U.S.A.
• Fantasyland
• Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
• Tomorrowland
• Frontierland
• New Orleans Square
• Adventureland
• Bayou Country (Reimagined land opening Nov. 15, 2024, with Tiana's Bayou Adventure.)
• Mickey's Toontown (Reopened after a refurbishment in 2023, with a new ride, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway!)

Disney World fans may notice that the Disneyland lands not found at Disney World include Bayou Country, New Orleans Square (home to yummy dining) and Mickey's Toontown. Disneyland's big shows are the Disneyland fireworks and Fantasmic! Plus, there are parades and smaller shows and musical acts throughout the park.

The Disney World Fan's Guide to Disneyland Rides

You’ll find a lot of rides similar to Magic Kingdom classic rides at Disneyland with subtle differences that you Disney World fans will enjoy picking up on. Even though Disneyland has a lot of the same rides as Magic Kingdom, you’ll want to check out the Disneyland versions too because, well, many are considered better. What? Why is that? This is definitely not a Disney World vs. Disneyland competition, but remember those locals who frequent Disneyland? They make it easier for Disneyland to shut down rides for major refurbishments because fewer guests are making that trip of a lifetime than at Disney World. So that means rides get updated and modernized more frequently at Disneyland.

For instance, “it’s a small world” has a fabulous, iconic façade and Disney characters planted amongst the singing dolls. Can you spot them all? It undergoes a holiday layover for Christmastime at Disneyland. Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion also gets an exciting “The Nightmare Before Christmas” layover from the start of Halloween Time through the holidays into early January each year. If you visit during those times, you will get the layover, but you will miss the classic version.

Also, there are practical reasons some of the rides are different at Disneyland. Disneyland’s  Pirates of the Caribbean is longer, has a few drops and a climb so that the boats can get under the Disneyland Railroad train tracks to the ride buildings outside the park area. There’s also a newer magical transformation scene in the Disneyland version. The Haunted Mansion’s stretching room actually stretches for a reason. It’s an elevator that takes riders down so they can walk under the railroad track to the boarding area. That's pretty cool, but the Disneyland Haunted Mansion ride is a bit shorter than the Magic Kingdom version (it kicks off with the long hallways and floating candelabra) . Don't worry. It's home to 999 happy haunts, but there's still room for 1,000. Any volunteers?

Some similar Magic Kingdom rides have different seating at Disneyland. Guests sit side by side in Disneyland’s Space Mountain, doubling each vehicle's capacity. The Disneyland Space Mountain has a musical soundtrack. That ride is also known for its frogtastic layovers, sometimes getting a Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain version (it's our favorite!) during the Season of the Force. On the other hand, guests will sit single file when riding Disneyland’s Tiana's Bayou Adventure (when it opens in 2024).

Despite Disneyland's smaller size, Disneyland Park has quite a few rides and attractions not found at Disney World you'll want to check out, including:

• The Matterhorn Bobsleds
• Alice in Wonderland
• Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
• Snow White’s Enchanted Wish (formerly Snow White's Scary Adventures)
• Pinocchio's Daring Journey
• Casey Jr. Circus Train
• Storybook Land Canal Boats
• Indiana Jones Adventure
• Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
• Adventureland Treehouse (recently refurbished with a new story)
• Sailing Ship Columbia (similar to the Liberty Square Riverboat)
• Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes
• Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough
• Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin
• Royal Theatre
• Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. The show will alternate with “Walt Disney – A Magical Life," which has a Walt Disney audio-animatronic, once the show finishes its initial run (opening in 2025).

Disney California Adventure also has a few rides and attractions that are not found at Disney World:

• World of Color
• Radiator Springs Racers
• Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters
• Mater's Junkyard Jamboree (similar to Alien Swirling Saucers)
• Incredicoaster
• Pixar Pal-A-Round
• Jessie's Critter Carousel
• Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind
• Goofy's Sky School
• Grizzly River Run (similar to Kali River Rapids)
• Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout! (formerly the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror)
• Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
• Silly Symphony Swings
• Jumpin' Jellyfish
• Golden Zephyr
• Avengers Campus
• WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure

Where to Stay at Disneyland

Staying at a Disneyland Resort Hotel

It is not as critical to stay at a Disneyland Resort hotel as it is to stay on property at Disney World (especially when it comes to acquiring Lightning Lane reservations as there are not perks for hotels guest for those). However, there are a few benefits of staying at a Disneyland resort hotel, such as convenience, a sprinkling of Disney magic, character dining choices and Early Entry for hotel guests to enter one theme park 30 minutes early. (The parks alternate hosting Early Entry at Disneyland.) There are special events and entertainment that all hotel guests can take part in.

The three Disneyland Resort hotels are:

• Pixar Place Hotel — This is the hotel with the lowest price tag. It's was refurbished from the former Paradise Pier Hotel to a new Pixar theme, and it has its own entrance in to Disney California Adventure.
• Disneyland Hotel — This original but newly refurbished hotel is right next to Downtown Disney and is a short walk to the monorail into Disneyland Park. We especially love the Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar on site, Monorail-themed water slides and character dining at Goofy’s Kitchen. This hotel has a new tower with DVC villas.
• Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa — Designed after Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel, this is the most expensive and nicest of the hotels. We enjoy chilling in the lobby, getting warm by the giant fireplace and dining at two character dining locations — one with Mickey at Storytellers Cafe and the Princess Breakfast Adventures at Napa Rose. This park has its own entrance into Disney California Adventure Park and the shortest walk to either park and the heart of Downtown Disney.

All parks are within walking distance of each other, the theme parks and Downtown Disney. You do not need to worry about park transportation here. The Monorail does run from Downtown Disney into Tomorrowland for guests with park tickets. But it has shorter hours and doesn't necessarily save any time compared to walking. It does give your flippers a rest.

Staying at an Off-Site Hotel

There are many reasons why you might want to stay off-site, and a lot have to do with budget. There are a number of hotels near Disneyland. Some are within walking distance of the parks and others have their own shuttles or are on the bus routes. Some make great choices for larger families.

Understanding Lightning Lanes

One of the big differences between Disneyland and Disney World is the way that Lighting Lane works. All Disneyland guests must enter a theme park each day before making any selections or purchases. If that makes you planners nervous, don’t worry about it. You should have plenty of options when you arrive, although the best selection is in the morning, especially at Disney California Adventure. We always recommend arriving early. Some more popular ride Lightning Lane windows disappear more quickly than others, but overall there are many choices throughout the day.

If you plan to park hop, start your day in Disney California Adventure before hopping to Disneyland. That will give you the biggest selection of Lightning Lane options since there are more rides on Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disneyland park. MagicBand+ now works for park entrance and to redeem Lightning Lanes at Disneyland!

Here are the differences between Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disneyland and Disney World:

• You can buy a ticket with Lightning Lane Multi Pass on it at Disneyland. If you don't, you have to have entered the park that day to add Lightning Lane Multi Pass to your ticket and make selections.
• You can only make Lightning Lane Single Pass selections after entering a theme park.
• No on-site hotel guest benefits are associated with Lightning Lanes.
• There is less pressure to make selections since the Lightning Lane selections do not fill up as quickly at Disneyland compared to Disney World.
• At Disneyland, Lightning Lane Multi Pass costs $30, but it comes with unlimited PhotoPass downloads. 
• All Lightning Lanes (both Multi Pass and Single Pass) are released on a first-available basis. You cannot select a time. They also do not run out as quickly as at Disney World.
• Most rides at Disneyland Resort do not have Lightning Lanes. Our Lightning Lane FAQ has the lists of included rides and those with only standby lines.

A Disney World Fan's Guide to Dining at Disneyland

Disneyland dining reservations usually open about 60 days in advance at 6 a.m. PT. More popular choices may be show dining packages and Blue Bayou, Carthay Circle or Lamplight Lounge. If you cannot get a reservation, try joining the Walk-Up List in the Disneyland app. You will need to be near the restaurant to join. Blue Bayou is located inside Pirates of the Caribbean, and you can watch the boats drift by in the perpetual evening romantic lighting. You can use the reservations system to make table-service reservations in the park, hotels or at some locations in Downtown Disney.

You can find character dining in Disneyland Hotel, two options in Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and one inside Disneyland Park. Hop over to our post on Disneyland character dining for all the details.

In terms of quick-service restaurants, you have a lot of choices, and many of them offer Mobile Ordering service. Here are some of our favorite Disneyland snacks and quick-service restaurants for your planning pleasure!

Meeting Characters at Disneyland

Meeting characters is a little different at Disneyland as well. Disneyland keeps things fresh with the characters. Some characters have general areas where you might expect to the meet them. Others are on the move. Rare characters pop into the parks from time to time. Some Fantasyland characters might even engage you in a game or have you join them on a walk! You can usually find the general locations and meeting times for regular characters via the Disneyland app, but that is slowly returning. Hop over to our posts on Meeting characters at Disneyland and meeting princesses for some hoppin' tips on how to find them! You will not find Lightning Lane reservations for character meet and greets at Disneyland.

Hopfully, this Disney World fan's guide to Disneyland has you excited for your trip to the West Coast! We know you are going to fall in love with this special park and appreciate the hidden gems and fun in store for you. What are you most looking forward to? Be sure to share with us in the comments below!

Related: Top Tips to Maximize Your Time at Disneyland

Related: The Disneyland Fan's Guide to Visiting Disney World

Keep hopping!