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Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Anyone been to Disneyland?

42 replies

Jaffacake76 · 03/01/2023 22:52

Hi,

Hoping to visit family in USA this summer & spend 4-5 days at Disneyland especially Star Wars Land. We have boys 10/12.

Has anyone been? Is it worth it, especially July/Aug?

Thanks for any tips x

OP posts:
HappyTalkingTalkingHappyTalk · 03/01/2023 22:59

Disney World. Disneyland is in Paris.
July/August is very hot and humid, and very crowded!

I will leave the tips to others as it’s been a few years since I’ve been.
www.mousehacking.com/blog/disney-world-in-july

aureus3012 · 03/01/2023 23:02

Would agree with PP, it can be unbearably hot!

burnoutbabe · 03/01/2023 23:05

Could mean la? Which would also be hot in. August.

It's busy in summer but probably not too bad compared to Orlando, go in the week!

Probably need 3 days for the 2 parks, then explore other bits -universal studios and Warner brothers studio tour plus see the beach etc

KenAddams · 03/01/2023 23:06

It's very expensive now very crowded when we were there, there was a 7 hour wait for one ride alone it was not so hot but we were there in October

Frazzled2207 · 03/01/2023 23:08

Star Wars land?

RhubarbFairy · 03/01/2023 23:09

HappyTalkingTalkingHappyTalk · 03/01/2023 22:59

Disney World. Disneyland is in Paris.
July/August is very hot and humid, and very crowded!

I will leave the tips to others as it’s been a few years since I’ve been.
www.mousehacking.com/blog/disney-world-in-july

Disneyland is in California and is the original Disney Park.

@Jaffacake76 Are you going to California or Florida (DisneyWorld) as that will influence replies?

Lentil63 · 03/01/2023 23:09

My boys are grown now. We went several times. Amazing holidays which they loved and remember. Totally worth it.

Summer2424 · 03/01/2023 23:11

Hi @Jaffacake76 me, my sis and bro went to Disney World, USA when we were kids and till today we still talk about it, one of the best holidays ever!

chipsandpeas · 03/01/2023 23:13

ive been to disney in LA and Orlando in august and it was hot but manageable, all the shops have air con and there were plenty of water sprays about to cool down
if it is LA then imo 4/5 days is a bit overkill as there only is 2 parks which are a bit smaller than orlando (but bigger than Paris)

aureus3012 · 03/01/2023 23:14

I'd also consider going during Easter hols....the weather is better and sometimes you can strike it lucky with holidays being at different times to other parts of the UK and US.

ChocolateCroissantCafe · 03/01/2023 23:21

4 or 5 days could be useful if planning to visit the Star Wars rides. I think the queues can be quite long in Galaxy's Edge? So you'd want enough time to do those once or twice, and visit the rest of the parks. It depends how you holiday though, we could happily spend a few days there to revisit favourites or try again if a ride breaks down one day, see the parades and so on.

Original poster
Jaffacake76 · 03/01/2023 23:25

Hi,

Thanks for replies so far & its Disneyland California. My sons are huge Star Wars fans but this would be a complete surprise as the main reason for the trip is to see family in Lake Tahoe. It’ll have to be summer not Easter due to work commitments.

Thanks x

OP posts:
MontyK · 03/01/2023 23:29

We did Disney Florida a few years back. It's amazing but I think you need to throw money at it to get the best experience - you need to buy fast passes or whatever they have been rebranded as these days.

It'll be heaving, and baking hot. Trust me you don't want to stand in queues.

Minniemousenotmickey · 03/01/2023 23:35

I just wrote a long post and lost it. We’ve been several times in August and it was fine. I’ll respond again Timorese with more info. Fast passes were free when we last went unlike Paris - so get them early in the day before they run out. Some queues have fog machines which is nice. It was hot but far from unbearable. We stayed over the road and would go back for a snooze and or swim before returning for evenings activities. I’d go back tomorrow if I could.

StrawHatOnTheParcelShelf · 03/01/2023 23:39

HappyTalkingTalkingHappyTalk · 03/01/2023 22:59

Disney World. Disneyland is in Paris.
July/August is very hot and humid, and very crowded!

I will leave the tips to others as it’s been a few years since I’ve been.
www.mousehacking.com/blog/disney-world-in-july

WHAT???

Anyone whose general knowledge doesn't extend to the original Disneyland in Anaheim, CA should not be posting advice on the internet.

OP - it will be expensive, crowded, hot - and your kids will love it anyway. But my boys were a bit younger than yours when we went and TBH weren't that fussed on the whole Disney (and other theme) stuff though, they just saw it as another ride park. So we could have gone anywhere really.

Minniemousenotmickey · 03/01/2023 23:41

The fast passes were obtained from machines although probably done on apps now and if you do it right you can get all the rides with the worst queues done easily. I’m jealous - you’ll have an amazing time. Top tip - in the morning when you enter, either don’t take a bag at all or just one person queue with a bag for security searches and the rest get in line and save their place for the turnstiles to open. Otherwise while you’re queuing for bag search the line for the actual parks is getting bigger.

JW13 · 03/01/2023 23:41

We went to Disneyland California last year in May/June (so can't comment on august weather) and it was brilliant. We did it as part of a wider California trip and spent 2 days (one per park) and 3 nights in Anaheim. Our DS was only 4 but he loved the Star Wars rides (he's v tall for his age and could go on almost everything).

We never queued for more than an hour - I imagine it would be busier in august, but I got a book which had strategies for getting on all the rides which was very helpful. You should aim to go mid-week and get in the parks very early. Probably go to the Star Wars rides first. You can also pay to queue jump individual rides including at least one of the Star Wars ones - I think it was about $20pp. We did that once to maximise our time in the park (queuing for a long time with a 4 year old is not great - but he queued for an hour for one of the Star Wars rides).

I can dig out the name of the book if you'd like it.

GU24Mum · 03/01/2023 23:45

We've got family just outside LA so have been a few times. The Californian schools start to go back from mid-August so late August is likely to be quieter than early August - and Tues/Weds also prob better than weekends. Have a great time!

SummerLightning · 03/01/2023 23:47

We went in August last year it was fine don't remember it being that hot but then we had been to Moab just previously where it was 40 degrees!
Get the fast passes or whatever they are called and use them, get there early to do the star wars ride you cant use the fast passes on (we were at the barrier when it opened!).
We did everything in 2 days it was manic but fine. I wouldnt have wanted more time! And I'd rather have been in lake Tahoe :-)

FastandLoose · 03/01/2023 23:47

We went in August. It was hot but bearable. I can’t see why you wouldn’t enjoy it. Definitely get fast passes (genie plus). It’s relatively cheap compared to the price of entry and worth skipping a few queues.
I’d say a day at both parks (Disneyland and Disney California adventure) is fine, but you could do another easily.

FastandLoose · 03/01/2023 23:48

my post should have said a day at each park would be fine…

Tumilnaughts · 03/01/2023 23:49

Depending on when you go it might be ok crowd wise as schools go back mid- august in California. I'm from around there and Disneyland was my local theme park growing up. I would say 5 days is definitely too many of just doing Disney as there's only the 2 parks and downtown Disney can be done in the evening. Aim for 3, 4 max if you want to take things slow and also use pools at hotels.
Last time I went was Christmas 2021 and did 2 days, one at each park. The Star Wars bit is really cool, your sons will love it!

DoneAdulting · 04/01/2023 00:08

So many out of date or wrong responses on here!

We've been a few times, California Adventure is my favourite Disney park. If you can, stay at the Grand Californian hotel. It has a private entrance to the park. You can also book a dawn power walk through the park before it opens which is fabulous.

There is no free fast pass anymore, but you can get Genie Plus on the app for a cost (varies depending on the day but it's about $20pp). It's good to skip queues but annoying that you have to book a time slot for one ride at a time.

3 day tickets with park hopper would be ideal.

I recommend the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland for the information on every ride and place to eat. There is a lot of good food in Disneyland!

User478 · 04/01/2023 00:18

California is doable in 2 days (you can do everything in 3) since you're there spend a day in universal studios too -we booked a coach there, not sure I'd do that again as it limited our time in the park, it was easy though.

We couldn't justify the extra £££ on Disney hotels so stayed at one of the hotels opposite, it was fine; we had breakfast in IHOP/Denny's/McDonald's each day which saved ££ too (and got an Uber to Walmart to pick up packed lunch things and oreos to bring home)

It is hot but they are set up for it, just keep refilling your water bottles (although we thought the water fountain water in Disney tasted revolting, much better to get iced water from any food service counter/use a Brita filter bottle!)

User478 · 04/01/2023 00:19

Oh and even though it is roasting during the day in the evenings it gets cold quickly, we ended up buying hoodies as we were freezing!