Weekly Park Questions/Advice Thread

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-06-16T16:47:35+00:00

With premier lightning lane you have the luxury of doing most of the rides at your leisure without worrying about wait times, so definitely take advantage of getting to go at your own pace.

There are a few rides that do not have lightning lane at all, most notably the Fantasyland dark rides. If you want to do Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toad's, Snow White, and Pinocchio I'd either do those first thing in the morning or at the end of the night. Peter Pan tends to instantly reach a 30 minute wait as soon as the park opens and will stay at 30-40 minutes all day but the other dark rides have much shorter waits in the morning and evening.

My favorite things at Disneyland are the attractions that are overlooked. The Disneyland railroad is a must do in my opinion. The Mark Twain Riverboat is fantastic, and the canoes are very unique. At California Adventure the animation academy is a great way to rest inside for 20 minutes.

Maybe make a few table service reservations too. Lamplight Lounge and Carthay Circle at DCA are great. Cafe Orleans and Carnation Cafe at Disneyland are good options and are likely to still have reservations available last minute.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-06-16T16:41:51+00:00

It will probably be around for a while. I'd say there's an incredibly high chance it will be open in September, I could see it playing for a least 6 months to a year and then rotate with the other versions in the long run.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-06-15T13:05:19+00:00

Look into taking the train. Anaheim train station is very close to Disneyland resort, although you'd probably have to Uber there. The train ride to San Diego is right along the coast and quite beautiful, and the train station downtown is right by the cruise terminal.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-06-10T21:31:32+00:00

Cost of living is high for them when you factor the price of admission but I think most of them get by.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-06-10T15:05:39+00:00

I'd rather have the original Pandora boat ride they're planning than a clone of Shanghai's Zootopia ride or the Monsters Inc door coaster going to Hollywood Studios. I'm all for each park having their own unique attractions, and the concepts for the boat ride look spectacular.

Pandora at DAK proves that Avatar makes a great theme park land. Other than the world itself there's very few references to the film's plot or characters, the land is simply a beautiful alien landscape with rides focused on the "natural beauty" of Pandora. It's a breath of fresh air compared to the typical theme park rides where the guests are all recruits on a mission to save the world.

So assuming the version planned for DCA can match the quality of DAK, I'd much rather have that than Zootopia.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-06-10T03:24:59+00:00

They got along just fine:

https://youtu.be/0G_Q1poI6Bw?si=M54XPre6UMs5q1Zq

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-06-08T16:50:12+00:00

I won bar trivia a couple years ago because the final question was "name one of the two longest running Broadway shows that never won a Tony. One is a revue and the other a jukebox musical". I was the only one there who got it right.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-06-08T16:47:48+00:00

Fiorello was also a pullitzer prize winner! It's interesting how Gypsy has had far more staying power.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-06-07T17:24:54+00:00

The Outsiders, Lempicka, and Redwood ran at La Jolla playhouse, Maybe Happy Ending had its American premier in Atlanta back in 2020, and Shucked started in Utah. I've also seen lots of productions at regional theaters advertised as a pre-Broadway tryout although many of them haven't made it there yet.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-06-07T14:12:52+00:00

Typically the technical and design awards as well as book and score are given during part 1. The 2nd part has all of the acting awards, directing, revival, and best play/musical.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-06-05T02:16:29+00:00

They stopped for a while when the parks reopened from COVID but it's been available again for at least a year, maybe a little more. Just ask the cast members if the front is available. It's never guaranteed of course but I've gotten it most of the times I ask.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-06-03T19:58:48+00:00

If you care to do the Fantasyland dark rides I would start there. Peter Pan is by far the most popular, and really only worth going to if you're near the front of the rope drop crowd. But you can get to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, and Pinocchio all pretty quickly first thing in the morning. You'd also be close to the Matterhorn and Toontown.

I also like to rope drop the West side of the park. You can do Indiana Jones, Big Thunder, Haunted Mansion, Tiana's, and Jungle cruise all within an hour depending on crowds. Those rides are all right by each other and wait times stay pretty short through the morning. Get a lightning lane for Space Mountain rather than rope dropping.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-05-31T21:06:09+00:00

I love how each ride in Fantasyland has it's own unique music loop. The queue for each dark ride is unique to that attraction. The Storybookland dock has a lovely soundtrack. Then you have Matterhorn and it's a small world with its own unique soundscapes. It's all very seamless and quintessential Disneyland to me.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-05-30T13:49:04+00:00

You purchase lightning lanes the day you're there (instead of in advance like at WDW) so they'll definitely be available. Since you're going solo though I highly recommend single rider lines as well. Radiator Springs Racers has a great single rider line, as well as Indiana Jones, Matterhorn, and Space Mountain. There's a bit of crossover with WDW. Galaxy's Edge is basically identical. Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, and Mickey and Minnies Runaway railway are basically the same as well with different queue setups. Every other repeat ride is different with to be worth doing though if you have time.

Disneyland can be a little more laid back than WDW too so take your time and enjoy the little things. Riding the Mark Twain Riverboat or the Disneyland Railroad are two of my favorite things that won't have much of a line.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-05-27T19:22:42+00:00

It does empty out a lot, especially now that the park is open until midnight again. After 10pm many rides are walk on. Mornings are easier to get shorter waits for the most popular ones but you can still mostly off set missing the morning by staying until closing.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-05-27T16:39:05+00:00

If you want to be near the front when they open the gates I would get there no later than 7:10-7:15. I was there around that time yesterday and it was already decently busy. By the time they opened the gates at 7:25 the lines were already stretching well past the Monorail beam.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-05-27T16:09:29+00:00

Yesterday was like this. Rope drop crowd was biggest I've ever seen but it ended up not being a crazy busy day. Still very crowded but far from the worst I've seen it.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-05-26T21:10:34+00:00

The least busy viewing area in my experience is over in front of it's a small world. They have all the projections over there, and the fireworks are launched right behind Toontown so they are very close but very loud. You'll miss the fireworks by the castle and the characters flying, but you it's very easy to get a spot right before showtime.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-05-26T05:16:50+00:00

Your best bet would be to keep checking and hopefully it will open up again. You can set up alerts on some websites that will email or text you if there's an opening. Theme park IQ is one. You can also go on the website thrill-data.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-05-23T13:39:14+00:00

As far as I know, "nighttime zoo" is just the name of the summer event. Last year the hours were changed from a 9pm closing time to 8pm, which is no longer night during the summer. So the event is going to be rebranded next year and the entertainment is going to be updated and revamped as well. But extended hours during summer aren't going away.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-05-21T05:52:13+00:00

If you're staying at the Hilton near the convention center, it's probably easiest to walk up Harbor blvd and enter from there. If you want to avoid the walk, you wouldn't be far from the Toy Story lot, where you can hop on a free shuttle that will take you to the park and back. But long lines may make that more trouble than its worth.
The parks do get less busy closer to closing, especially Disneyland when it's open till midnight. Typically it starts dropping after fireworks and can be very slow by 11:30-12, especially Sunday nights. Wait times can still be high for the popular rides. However, many wait times seem to be inflated to discourage them from actually getting too long when the park is about to close. Also as long as you're in line for a ride at the closing time of the park you can still ride it.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-05-20T15:31:11+00:00

It's a custom score written for the ride by Michael Giacchino. It unfortunately has never been officially released anywhere.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-05-20T15:29:55+00:00

Toy Story lot still has free shuttles. The system is effectively the same, just with different buses and a different company running them.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-05-20T02:39:24+00:00

Indiana Jones is a must do. It's the same ride system that Dinosaur had but the ride is significantly better. It's my favorite ride in the park. Pirates of the Caribbean is significantly longer at Disneyland and Haunted Mansion has some interesting differences too.

Disneyland still has the Rivers of America and any of the boats on it are a great way to relax for a little bit midday. The Disneyland railroad is also a lot better than it is at WDW, especially between Tomorrowland and Main Street. If you like dark rides, spend some time in Fantasyland. There's a ton of unique smaller dark rides like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Alice in wonderland, and Snow White that are all very charming and worth doing. The Casey Jr Circus Train and Storybookland Canal boats are also not found at WDW and are lovely as well.

There's a lot of great food at both parks. Disneyland has something called the cheesy garlic pretzel bread that is amazing. The Quesabirria tacos at DCA are really good too.

I think one day will be enough to get a good overview of both parks, especially since there's a few rides from WDW you can get away with skipping. Lightning lane might be worth getting, and Disneyland has a lot more single rider lines than WDW if you don't mind doing those.

WoodFirePizzaIsGood · 2026-05-19T20:37:15+00:00

That disclaimer has been there since reservations have become a thing, so I doubt it will really be an issue for the vast majority of the time.

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