Disneyland for the First Time

You are going to have so much fun!!! If you are a coffee drinker, there is a coffee shop on the right hand of Main Street, on a corner. If you save your receipt you can get free "refills" all day! I think its the only free thing in DL! You don't need to save your cup and the coffee is GREAT. You will know the shop by the checker table they have set up in the middle of the store. The cookies there are pretty darn good too. Have a great time!!
Jenny

If you want to ride alot of rides get there as soon as it opens...take advantage of there fast track (i think thats what its called) get all of those before lunch. And if you are not interested in the parades or night shows that is the best time to ride rides...use the train if a parade is blocking where you want to go...have fun :)

Hi Sarah,

Well, I'm excited for you too! and rightfully so! It truly is a wonderful, magical place!!

I just moved 10 wks. or so from CA. In fact, 7 min. from Disneyland. We had Disney Passes the last 2 1/2 yrs. we were there. Totally worth it.

So, I could pretty much say I know Disneyland like the back of my hand! I would love to help you in any way I can. I know the deals and the hot spots there.

Please e-mail direct and we will talk. There is just too much to have to write and I will be here forever! Plus I can be pretty detailed if you need me to.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Disneyland Lover,
A.

You are in for the time of your life! There's nothing like the first time. First, buy a "Mickey shirt" before you go. You can find them at many stores and they are so much cheaper than at the park. You'll want one and getting one ahead of time saves money. You'll still want "park" souvenirs because it's so much fun to shop.
Get there when the park opens, hit one or two of the major rides quickly. We always head to "Space Mountain","Thunder Moutain", etc. They are popular and lines grow quickly. They have "fast passes" that you can use throughout the day (limited) and it cuts down wait time. I'd go online and read. Lots of information available.
Stay more than one day since it's your first time. You'll wan to "do it all".
Go early, have fun, and then quit at lunchtime. Leave the park to eat, the food is expensive and just so-so. Go back to your hotel and rest for a couple of hours and then return to close the park down. During the last hour of it's operation we always run like crazy and do our favorite rides again. Usually there's no wait. We even rode Thunder Mountain 4 times in a row without waiting.
See Fantasmic! It's an awesome show.
I could go on for pages and pages because it truly is a magical place. The customer service in unbeleivable! In fact we've been thinking about going for a trip within the next few weeks.
Have fun!

Depending on the number of days you will be there is also going to depend on how you takle what you want to do. We have been several times but the first time we went we missed alot. The 2nd time we maped out day to day what we were going to do each specific day. you can get the map on line or call & the will send it to you. We tried to map out each land (ex: Tommorrowland, Adventureland, etc) as to what we really wanted to do or see. We had 4 days there the 2nd trip and was able to do it all w/ an 8yr & 2yr old plus my mother in law. We got there when it opened but sometimes its better to go a little late due to the lines to get in that way you don't have to wait you can just go straight in. Also : try to hit the big rides (Nemo, spaace mtn, etc right when you get there. We went to nemo on a week day and still waited 45 min to ride. Mon - thurs plan on wait times of about 20 min to ride a ride, weekends are crazy you can be in lines for an hour or more. so try to plan around that too. also during the day try to eat before lunch (10ish) rides rides during lunch, then eat later luch (3ish) that kind of helped too. But no matter what it is going to be crowded. We thought that when we went (during school & in the middle of the week) it wouldn't be crowded but we were wrong. no matter what time you go there will be a lot of people. But the weekends are the worse. I'm not trying to scare you - just prepare you. But no matter what YOU WILL HAVE A GREAT TIME!!! We sure did. My kids already want to go back again and we just went in Sept. if you have any more ?'s you can contact me direct. Hope this helps. Have fun. Oh before I forget, not sure if you want to see the characters for autographs or not but the best time is first thiing when you get there - after you go through the samll tunnel to the main street they are usually there or during the day in Mickeyes tune town. Or you pay to breakfast w/ the characters. They come to your table. Have fun!!

My hubby and I just got back from doing the same. We try to go annually kidless too. Like the others have said, research online before you go. Know which attractions you really can't miss. I would suggest doing each "land" completely before moving on. This saves the feet. Once you have experienced all the lands, go back and repeat. If you use the fast passes, while you are waiting for your time to return, visit a neighbor land so you don't have to walk too far. You will want to see Fantasmic! It is great. You will notice that people camp out around the Rivers of America for several hours before it starts. Keep riding. Go and ask those in the seated areas if there is space for the 2 of you. Or better yet, if there is a second showing, see the fireworks first and then head over for Fantasmic! Do see the fireworks too. I love this fireworks show. Ask a castmember where they suggest viewing from. People camp out for the best viewing spots for this one too. If your feet are tired, consider camping out yourself.

California Adventure is fun too, but we can do it all in less than one day. There are parts that are currently going through a make-over, but it doesn't stop the fun. If you're a HSM fan as I am, watch the HSM3 parade. The Aladdin show is fabulous! The Animation area is great too.

In both parks, look at everything before you decided to skip it. We have had great times in lesser attended attractions. We were glad to not have missed them.

Window shop all the stores first. Maybe use a note pad to write down what you found in what area. Wait until the last day to make your purchases. You don't want to have to carry them around.

There is also a Disney warehouse about 4 miles or so due North of the parks. If you go to ams-liquidation.com, you can get direcions to the Fullerton store. They have previous/old park merchandise and discounted prices. Last time they also had discounted park tickets. We always go there too and usually buy the kids souvenirs there. We can usually get shirts for all 4 kids for under $50.

I can go on and on. I really love Disneyland! I have been too many times to count. We love to take the kids, but we really love to go alone. We spend 4 days in both parks without being bored.

Have fun! I wish I was going again.

OH Girl!!! You are going to have so much fun!!! I lived less than 2 miles from Disney for most of my life so I have been a million times...but not lately...I just say have fun and do what you want to do! I hope you are going more than one day, for your first time you may need it to see it all! Oh, I know the fast pass is the way to go...if they still have those...but you will probably get better tips from others that have gone recently...Congrats and have fun!!!