Taking my son and my sister with her son and husband and her father in law to Disneyland in June. I’ve been there plenty of times. We have a 3 day park hopper. My question is what are the “must sees and must do” of Disneyland? Want to make it memorable.

Go as early as you can, gather Fastpasses. Have fun.

They are $10 per person per day, but highly recommend the MaxPass if your budget allows. With it, you can sign up for Fastpasses using the app without having to physically be at the ride. This was a big time savings, and enabled us to take advantage of more Fastpass offerings.

The cone huts in DCA. My favorite snack! Just enjoying details of the parks- taking time to stop for shows and statues and other stuff. DCA is a really pretty park and worth going through at sunset especially.

I agree about maxpass. I’m not usually a fastpass person but max pass took away all of the things I didn’t like and made my days go a lot smoother.

If they want to see fireworks, don’t wait until the last day to see them. Try every day until you do see them. I have the worst luck, they get cancelled so often due to wind. Last time I took someone I let them set the schedule , and it didn’t occur to me to warn them that the fireworks aren’t a sure thing- we missed them entirely. (They’d been to Wdw which doesn’t have the same fire restrictions, so they though the fireworks were a sure thing).

thank you. Exactly the info I needed. My son has an issue with his legs that he can’t walk long distances or stand for long periods. This will definitely help!!!

the last trip, the fireworks were definitely the best of all!!! Didn’t realize that Disneyland closes early sometimes (October Halloween time). We made it just in time to go on 2 rides and that was it. What a huge let down, but the fireworks saved the trip.

We we are going to stay across the street at courtyard. There is a “water park” there. Wondering where the best place to see the fireworks. Is it still on the other side of the castle?

never been to California adventures. Looking forward to that.

money is no issue. Am wondering about any of the special things like being able to make reservations at the blue bayou and maybe a character breakfast??? The boys are 10&11.

We like California Adventure. My son is going soon. I heard the roller coaster is being redone right now, so it is offline.

The Toy Story ride--Midway Mania I think it's called--is super fun. It didn't used to take fast passes. If that is still the case, go early to that one. It is by the water/wharf area.

And Soarin' Around the World-- (replaced Soarin' Over California) sounds like it will be great.

Darn, the coaster is the best.

I like both Soaring and the Radiator Springs Racers, which has a dedicated Single Rider Line. If there just two people often you wind up racing against each other. It's worth not wasting a Fastpass on that one.

The cafe at the back of the Grand Californian (called Whitewater Snacks) is quite good, and it's worthwhile to walk through the lobby of that hotel if they aren't staying there.

In Disneyland if you first head to Pirates and Haunted in the am, they have shorter lines. However first get FPs for either Indy, StarTours or Space Mountain. They are often the first to go.

If money is not an issue, I highly recommend the Fantasmic dinner package at the Blue Bayou and the World of Color Dessert Party. My daughter and I were at DL this past holiday season and did both.At the Blue Bayou the dinner package is a prix fixe menu but it has a good selection. Then you are allowed to view the show in a reserved area that is right up against the railing to the water, centered to Tom Sawyer's Island. Everyone in the area must sit and when we finished our meal and paid our bill, they gave us cushions to sit on to watch the show. We showed up to the reserved area early enough that we were able to sit dead center and about 3 rows of people back from the railing. Besides having a great view of the show, the reserved area was not obnoxiously crowded. If the show is canceled due to weather conditions or something then you're out of luck at least for the show, but you still are getting your meal at the restaurant.

The World of Color Dessert Party is basically a reserved seated area where they serve you a plate of cheese, crackers, fruit and desserts with drinks before the World of Color show starts. I guess for me the main draw was being able to sit and watch the show unimpeded without having to jostle for position. The cheese and crackers with sparkling wine was nice (I didn't even touch the desserts, there was so much but they’ll box up anything you want for you to take with you). If you do the Dessert Party I recommend you line up to check in early. As in even before they set up the podium for check in. Just figure out where the check in starts (and there will be other people doing the same thing) and get in line. The reason being is that you get to select your seats when you check in – and the higher bar stool height seats at the outer ring of seating are the best and there are only a limited number of those.

The dates for reservations opens something like 60 or 90 days before - not sure - but they fill up really fast so you have to be quick to make your reservations. If you aren't able to get what you want initially, keep checking back to see if someone canceled and something opens up.

I’ve got a good check coming in this weekend...I will check into that. What website is it? ThAnks to everyone!!!

Last year, I took my son and boyfriend to New York for a family reunion. That’s the first time on this forum. I got so much helpful insight that it really did save our entire trip and maximized the quality of our memories and experience. My point being, all this advice does not fall to deaf ears.

Thanks again for spending the time to help. Do you think the character meal is worth the extra $35 each?

You can make your reservations online at Disney Dining https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/ or you can call them.For more information on the Fantasmic dining packages (there are other ones besides the one at the Blue Bayou – it’s just that the seating area for the Blue Bayou is the best located) and the Dessert Party

I recommend checking out Disboards (www.disboards.com) – it’s a forum dedicated to everything Disney. The information you get there can be quite exhaustive in detail, but I really think there’s no better place to find information if you’re planning a Disney trip.

The recommendation on the Max Pass is a good one too – we also did that on our last trip. Saved us from the usual running all over grabbing fast passes. As soon as we used one or the time window allowed, through the app we could grab new ones, even standing in line for another ride.

it depends on you and your companions. Characters are just not my thing, and I wouldn’t spend $5 but some people really enjoy it.

I used to like the Surf's Up one at PCH Grill. Avoid Storyteller's Cafe.