To save time at Disneyland, arrive early, often before the scheduled park opening. This strategy allows visitors to experience 3-5 attractions per hour in the initial hours, maximizing enjoyment before lines grow longer. Early arrival ensures a more relaxed afternoon, with options to explore, dine, or even return to the hotel.
(The Ultimate Guide to Disneyland)
How to Save Time at Disneyland (Explained)
Nothing says Disneyland vacation like waking up early (we’ve actually heard the *CRACK* of dawn during our Nerd family outings), bleary-eyed, exhausted and your round up yourself and the Nerdlings and head out into the pre-dawn darkness to stand in line at the entrance to a theme park.
Sounds great, right?
Well, it is!
This is the #1 tip for any Disney theme park outing if your goal is to enjoy the world-class rides and shows.
(The least crowded days at Disneyland)
These outings can be welcome respites from the craziness of a Disneyland vacation and be your ticket to sanity.
However, if strolling and chilling in a Disney park sounds like an unattainable pipe dream, then this post is for you.
You can save time at Disneyland and apply this “found time” in a variety of ways to enhance your visit.
In our Nerdy approach to Disneyland, there are two main reasons to arrive early:
- Experience more attractions
- Free up time to make your trip relaxing
Get there early
And we save time by arriving early. It’s truly not any more complicated than that.
TIP: Here are the best dropoffs at Disneyland
Depending on the season, we are generally at the turnstiles between 15 and 45 minutes prior to scheduled park opening.
And yes, we are including this time “investment” in our analysis of how we save time at Disneyland.
Every person has something they want out of a Disneyland vacation and it generally, though not always (see pretzel article link above – YUM!) involves a Disney attraction.
Our Nerd family finds that we typically experience 3-5 attractions per hour to kick off our Disney day and we can maintain this volume for the first +/- 3 hours of the day.
We’ve experienced as many as 13+ attractions in 2.5 hours on a Saturday at Disneyland. And we didn’t just keep walking through Tarzan’s Treehouse or ride Pooh’s Hunny Hunt over and over.
Our plan included a lot of the major fan-favorite attractions like Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and even long rides like Haunted Mansion.
Every time we completed an attraction, we saw the line had grown longer and we were glad we had already enjoyed it! By the time we were ready for lunch and as lines increased, we realized we still had the vast majority of our day left.
So now…decision time.
Okay, you did everything right. You stayed nearby. You set your alarm.
Basically, you made a plan and executed the plan – great job!
You’re having a great time with friends and family and decide to just keep going. We love it!
This is what a Disneyland vacation is all about. Grabbing food, finding a short line and experiencing all of your favorite attractions and some of them more than once.
Maybe it’s time to park hop? No matter which attractions you missed in the morning, you have a full day ahead of you to keep ridin’.
You can save time at Disneyland by arriving early in order to have an easy-going afternoon.
You did a great job and found a way to save time at Disneyland and now your options are endless. You could go back to the hotel for a nap or a swim. Perhaps you cruise down Main Street, U.S.A. exploring the shops.
If you are spending your chilled after at the park(s), be sure to grab a Fastpass here and there to work in low-wait attractions that will not disrupt your chill time.
You could also….
Meet up with your favorite character!
Or a sweet treat that’s as big as your face!
Make fun of people running themselves into the ground while you chill. Or just enjoy looking around and appreciating all the imagineering that went into creating Disneyland. No matter what you decide, you found a way to save time at Disneyland by being early.
Now it’s your time. Enjoy it!
