I know I said I would do a three part post to our Disneyland trip but I decided to combine the food and tips and tricks into one post. This might be a little long but will be full of really helpful and useful information. Everyday of the trip Zack and I would get to the park within the first hour of it opening. If you want to be crazy you line up an hour before the park opens, go through bag check and then wait at the gates for them to scan your ticket. Security has brought it up a notch and they take your picture with your ticket now so you have to get there early your first day so you aren't held back trying to get your pictures taken for all of your party. What is really fun is they usually choose a family to "open the park" every day. This family does the count down from 10 to 1 then yells "Let the magic begin". As soon as they say that the rest of the park is open and everybody gets to go line up inside the roped off section at the end of main street. Its really fun and if you have bright smiling kids and you look happy they usually choose you.
We got chosen our third day there and we loved it! They gave us Minnie Mouse Christmas ears to wear and the men got reindeer Christmas ears. It was so cute.
This was the day we opened the park. Its a really great opportunity because nobody else is in the park so you can take a picture with the mickey mouse that is made out of flowers and nobody will be in it. After that we went and got Zack a 1st visit button. At the town hall on main street they have buttons for all occasions, anniversary, just married, 1st visit, birthday, etc. The birthday ones are especially fun because they write your name on the button and then everyone will wish you happy birthday through out the day. My sisters and I did that and it always made people happy. Also the anniversary buttons are great because they will give you special treatment sometimes, like getting your own boat on Pirates of the Caribbean or Its a Small World, and sometimes they will put you at the front of the line if its a slow day. So if you are going for a special trip make sure and grab a button, everyone will love it. Plus other members of your party can get a "I'm Celebrating" button so everyone feels included.
Don't be afraid to go in the rain. On Thursday when we were there the crowds were so small that we rode 20 rides in one day. My family rode 25 rides but Zack and I didn't hang out with them all day so we only got 20 rides in. That is a lot. We rode Radiator Springs Racers two times that day and it was great. So make sure you go to the park even if its rainy because the lines are so short and you can practically walk onto any ride you want to. The longest we waited that day was 20 minutes at Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land. Cars Land has a lot of cool stuff. Mater's Junk Yard Jamboree is one of my favorite rides at Disneyland now, its so fun. You can get some great buttons at Flo's Cafe, Sarges store, Mater's Junk Yard Jamboree ride, and Red the fire truck. You have to answer some questions about the movie Cars but they give you the button after you answer the questions. That is a great collection to have.
Also in Cars Land around 5:30 they light up the street which is so cute and fun, at Christmas time it was decorated with trees and garlands and Flos cafe looks so awesome at night so make sure you stop by Cars Land in the evening time at least once during your trip.
Speaking of lighting, they have Christmas trees up in both DCA and Disneyland so make sure and take a cute picture by at least one of the trees. Above is the tree that is in DCA. Below is the tree in Disneyland. We took a picture in front of it sometime but I don't know where it is.
Both are beautiful and look great at night. Another fun tip is that there are some fortune tellers in Disneyland that will tell your fortune for a quarter. There is Fortune Red, Esmeralda, and The shrunken head (I think his name is ted or ned but I'm not sure). Here is my fortune I got from Fortune Red who is located just across the walkway from Cafe Orleans:
Pretty classy. It really makes a great souvenir. Speaking of Cafe Orleans lets talk about food!
I love the food at Disneyland. It is so delicious. We ate at Cafe Orleans one day and it was so delicious. I ordered the Salmon Sandwich:
Can you say yum! It was so delicious. It had salmon, bacon and came with sweet potato fries. Best lunch ever. Zack got the Monte Cristo Sandwich, equally as yummy:
Its a sandwich inside a scone, he really liked it. Cafe Orleans is a little pricey so save it for a date night with just you and your sweetheart if you don't think the kids will enjoy such a fancy place. We tried a new place this trip the Stage Door Cafe which is right next to the Golden Horseshoe. It was really good and they had chicken tenders there. It was only $10.00 a plate so this is a good stop for the entire family. We really like the Mexican restaurant outside of the Indiana Jones ride. Its pretty good, I forgot the name of it, but you can look it up when you get to Disneyland. I really enjoy eating there. We also ate at Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney has a lot of really good places to eat at and Rainforest is one of my fave. I ordered the fajitas and they were delicious.
Another fun thing is that Disneyland has all sorts of shows, concerts, etc for you to enjoy. This worked out well as we rode most of the rides we wanted to on Thursday and Friday and then Monday and Tuesday we could check out the concerts. My husband really liked the Mad T. Party in DCA, which is a concert with Alice and the Mad Hatter. There was a Beatles tribute band that played on Monday night and they were so good. Zack and I could have listened to them all night, it was at the Tomorrowland Terrace in Disneyland.
Make sure and get an itinerary from the front gate when you first get to the park. It has a list of all the fun concerts that will be playing that day and shows you can go see. I highly recommend seeing Aladdin at the Hyperion theater in DCA. It is a fun musical and only about 30 minutes long. Its a nice cool break from walking around all day.
Well those are all my tips and tricks, maybe one day I will write more. Anyway, hope everyone had a great thanksgiving.
XO
Caitlin