photos by Seth Kubersky

As every experienced theme park commando knows, the Unofficial Guide’s number one tip for visiting Disneyland on a busy day (like during 2013′s spring break season) is “arrive early, arrive early, arrive early.” But the flip side is our paradoxical suggestion to stay late during extended operating hours, in order to take advantage of evening entertainment and shorter attraction lines.

Following both recommendations can result in spending a solid 16+ hours inside the park, if you enter at 8am and depart at midnight (a standard peak-season operating schedule). If that sounds more like a death march than a vacation to you, you’re not alone. That leads us to our most frequently overlooked essential epigram of touring intelligence: take a nap! A few minutes (or hours) of shut-eye in the middle of the afternoon will not only re-energize you for the evening, but also offer an escape from the worst wait times of the day. By the way, this advice is just as crucial for adults as it is for children. Even if you never take a nap at home, take the time for a lie-down any day you spend over 8 hours touring. Trust me, you’ll thank us!

Unlike the sprawling Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort is compact and easily accessible from numerous off-site hotels, making it easy for many guests to walk from the park gates to their rooms in less time than it take to retrieve a vehicle from the parking garage. If you are staying on property or within a short stroll of Disneyland, there’s absolutely no excuse not to take a mid-day rest in your room.

However, there are still plenty of visitors who can’t or won’t leave the Disneyland Resort and return again later that day. When you need to recharge, but don’t want to walk off property, where do you go? If you can’t retreat to your room, there are still some quiet corners amid the resort’s chaos where you can catnap. For starters, here are four of my favorite spots to sneak forty winks around the Disneyland Resort.

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln

In the now-extinct “Under New Management” edition of WDW’s Enchanted Tiki Room, Iago used to quip that he was going to “head over to the Hall of Presidents and take a nap.” In Anaheim, the show in the Main Street Opera House fills a similar role. Don’t get me wrong; the patriotic presentation is stirring, and the Abraham Lincoln animatronic stunning. But between the padded seats, dim lighting, and somber subdued tone, its all to easy to slide into the back row and slip into slumberland for twenty minutes. Just be prepared for the mid-show surround sound cannon fire to briefly rouse you.

Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular

Even better for napping than Old Abe’s theatre is Aladdin’s auditorium over in DCA’s Hollywood Land. You’ll have to do a little advance planning to pass out here, since there are only a handful of scheduled daily performance, as opposed to Lincoln’s back-to-back shows. But once inside, you’ll find equally accommodating furniture and — more importantly — a generous 45 minute running time. This show boasts the longest attraction length anywhere in the resort, making the back row of the Hyperion’s top balcony a top pick for serious zzzz’s.

Innoventions

Heading back across the Esplanade, you’ll find another fine hibernation spot in Tomorrowland — at least for the next couple weeks. The large rotating structure between Space Mountain and Autopia, which once housed the legendary nap-facilitators Carousel of Progress and America Sings, is now home to the underwhelming Innoventions exhibits, which have the charm of a neon-lit Best Buy blended with a tech trade show. The good news, for now, is that this is usually one of the least crowded spots in the resort, with many lightly-trafficked corners to crash in, especially on the outer ring of the first floor. You might even be tempted to stretch out in one of the model bedrooms inside the Dream House, though cast members discourage that. However, this venue’s placidity will be shattered on April 13th, when a Stark Industries Expo exhibit will open in conjunction with the big-screen release of Iron Man 3. As the first Disneyland experience associated with the mega-blockbuster Marvel Comics franchise, this interactive advertraction is certain to increase Innovention’s attendance numbers, likely spoiling this as a sleeping spot until it exits after September.

Grand Californian Lobby Fireplace

As nice as some in-park napping places are, it’s really best to escape the overstimulating environment, even if you don’t want to wander far. Many guests don’t realize that anyone can exit Disney California Adventure into the Grand Californian Hotel through the “exclusive” entrance near Grizzly Rver Run, regardless of whether they are renting a room there. Grab a comforting beverage from the Hearthstone Lounge, then pull up a comfy chair to the roaring fireplace in the majestic lobby. If you can keep your eyes open longer than 15 minutes in that situation, you’re a stronger man than I! When you awake, you can show your admission ticket to re-enter the park through the same side door, or perk up with a walk through Downtown Disney back to the front gate.

Those a are a few of my favorites; now I turn it over to you, our readers. Where do you sneak away to when you need to sack out at the Happiest Place on Earth? Please help out your fellow snoozers by suggesting your own siesta spots in the comments below!

Where Do You Nap at the Disneyland Resort? is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

All photos by Seth Kubersky

Right now at Walt Disney World, the 20th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is in full swing, attracting tourists from far and wide to admire the park’s painstakingly pruned foliage. But while this Orlando attraction may get the lion’s share of agricultural attention, Disney’s left coast parks don’t need a special occasion to shine in the shrubbery department.

With the spring season officially started (as of the vernal equinox on March 20), it’s appropriate for us to take a moment to stop smell the roses… along with the irises, violets, sunflowers, and other assorted horticultural spectacles seeded around the Disneyland Resort. For today’s photo gallery, I’ve selected a variety of snaps that I took last month during an Anaheim research expedition, highlighting the vibrant colors and rich textures you can currently find in flowerbeds around the Happiest Place on Earth.

While visiting Disneyland this Easter season, we know it’s tempting to sprint past the crowds on your way to your next E-Ticket adventure. But after you’ve conquered a Mountain or two, try slowing down and paying attending to the natural wonders that Disney’s genius gardeners have crammed into the parks’ nooks and corners. If this gallery whets your appetite, you may want to take the new Cultivating the Magic guided tour of the resort’s gardens next time you visit Disneyland. You’ll be glad you did…just beware of the bees!

Photo Gallery: Disneyland Resort In Spring Bloom is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Unless you visit the Disneyland Resort with toddlers in tow, the Disney Junior — Live On Stage! show in Disney California Adventure’s Hollywood Land probably isn’t one of your top in-park destinations. But if you have pint-sized patrons of the popular Disney Junior series in your household, you know that the network’s cartoon characters are like rock stars to the pre-school set.

After many weeks of refurbishment, DCA’s Disney Junior show reopened on Friday, March 22, with the same refreshed production that previously premiered at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios park. This latest version retains the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse framing segments and Jake and the Neverland Pirates vignette, while replacing the Handy Mandy and Little Einsteins sequences with new scenes inspired by Sophia the First and Doc McStuffins. As before, the show uses a mix of live actors and rod puppets manipulated from beneath the stage.

Squarely aimed at the smallest guests, the Disney Junior show largely disregards Walt’s dictum that Disneyland attractions should appeal to the entire family, but it does have positive aspects. It takes place in an indoor, air-conditioned venue where kids can move around without being forced to sit still in a seat, and the show’s simple object lessons about friendship and kindness are well taken. Plus, a few of benches in the parent seating area at the rear of the theatre are near accessible electrical outlets, making this a fine place to recharge your cellphone while taking a rest.

One final word of warning: with this update, we expect a temporary surge in interest for this already popular show. On busy days you’ll want to get in line at least 15 or more minutes before showtime to secure a spot. If the waiting crowd fills the outdoor queue area, ask a cast member if you’ll make it into the next performance.

DCA’s Disney Junior Show Reopens with New Characters is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

All photos by Seth Kubersky

Recently, I wrote about five of my favorite ways to begin my day at Disneyland Park. Until this past summer, Disneyland’s original park was most visitors’ first destination, with its little brother Disney California Adventure an afterthought on many itineraries.

Now, how the tables have turned: since last June’s grand re-opening of DCA, headlined by Cars Land and the Radiator Springs Racers E-Ticket, the former also-ran is often drawing as many (or even more) “first click” entries as its older sibling. That means more and more visitors are starting their Disney day on Buena Vista Street instead of Main Street, U.S.A.

As a result, we advise you arrive at DCA’s front gate at least 45 minutes before the official opening time; guests are typically allowed into the entry plaza at least 30 minutes early, and Disneyland’s current ID-checking procedures can make for slow lines at the turnstiles. Most importantly, don’t visit DCA on an Extra Magic Hour morning (currently Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday) unless you are staying in a Disney resort hotel and can take advantage of the early entry.

Once you are inside the park and awaiting rope drop, what to do? Here are my top five tips for making mornings at DCA more memorable:

Do The RSR Fastpass Conga

Upon entering the park, the vast majority of DCA visitors make a beeline to one of two holding pens: the mob gathered in front of Carthay Circle, awaiting permission to speed-walk toward Cars Land; or the queue stretching towards Hollywood Land. That line leads to a Radiator Springs FASTPASS, the hottest ticket in Anaheim today.

While the line may look daunting, it will move swiftly once the opening hour arrives, thanks to the cast members who assist at the dispensing machines; on a recent visit, I began waiting at the Disney Junior theater and retrieved my Fastpasses less than 15 minutes after rope drop.

In any event, the RSR FASTPASS line will certainly move more quickly that the standby line at the ride itself, which regularly posts a 45 minute wait within moments of opening. Exacerbating the wait is the fact that this high-tech attraction frequently begins cycling guests a few (or many) minutes after the rest of the park, due to pre-opening testing.

The bottom line is that if you have any interest in riding Racers (and if you are in the park, of good health, and above 40″, you should), your best best is to hand all of your party’s admission passes to one sacrificial member and plant that person in the RSR FASTPASS line as soon as possible. Just make sure all the passes have been validated at one of the parks’ front gates first; you can’t use your family’s tickets to secure FASTPASSes while they snooze at the hotel.

Mortgage Your House for a Latte

In my previous installment, I took some pokes at Starbucks for taking over the classic Market House on Main Street, ending a tradition of free coffee refills. But I can’t deny that, refills or no, the Starbucks-serving Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe has been a huge hit on DCA’s Buena Vista Street. And if the free java in your hotel is as awful as it was in the last motel I stayed in, you may be in desperate need of an eye-opener before beginning your day’s adventures.

If that’s the case, you’ll want to be one of the first through the doors in the morning, since the combination of a substantial snack and sandwich menu with Starbucks’ complex caffeinated concoctions causes the line here to move slower than Siberian molasses.

As an alternative, try stopping by Downtown Disney’s La Brea Bakery immediately outside the Esplanade before going through the bag check. Though not as publicized as the outlet inside the park, the Express counter here serves Starbucks-branded beans as well.

Soak Up The Atmosphere on Buena Vista Street

The Imagineers did an amazing job reimagining the flat, tacky Sunshine Plaza as the richly detailed Buena Vista Street, which emotionally and architecturally evokes Los Angeles’s Art Deco era much as Main Street, U.S.A., does for late-19th century middle America. Before rushing off to Pixar’s marvel of mountain-making, make sure to take a look at signage and shop windows surrounding you, filled with Disney in-jokes and vintage memorabilia.

Better yet, strike up a conversation with one of the colorful characters who roam the street each day. Sure, you’ll find the usual chipmunks, dogs, and mice (in natty zoot suits and other period duds) out doing early-morning photo duty. But you should also seek out the Citizens of Buena Vista Street, who are always willing to share advice (sage or otherwise) with visitors. You may run into the local cop, a bike messenger, or a socialite with a playful puppy. Whomever you meet, try to chat for a few moments, and you’ll discover that (much like the Citizens of Hollywood in Orlando’s Disney’s Hollywood Studios) these improvisation actors are much more than walking photo ops.

Read the Morning Paper

All frequent theme park visitors are conditioned to pick up the park map and show times guide as the enter the turnstiles. But at DCA there’s a less familiar free publication that you should also pick up. In baskets positioned around Buena Vista Street, you’ll find complimentary copies of Buena Vista Bugle, a 4-page faux newspaper that is updated every few months.

The idea hearkens back to the early days of Disneyland, when Imagineering legend Marty Sklar was hired by Walt to write a promotional newspaper sold in the park. Today, that newspaper’s descendant is distributed gratis to DCA visitors. Inside, you’ll find puff pieces extolling attractions and seasonal offerings around the park, all amusingly ghostwritten by eccentric imaginary journalists.

Amid the unsubtle advertising, the Bugle contains solid info, especially on finding character encounters around the park, and does it in a more entertaining way than the antiseptic Times Guide. Be sure to pick up a copy on your way in for reference during your visit, and another non-rumpled copy for a souvenir on your way out.

Go Anywhere Except Cars Land

If you follow our recommended Touring Plans for DCA, you’ll head directly to Luigi’s Flying Tires after securing your Radiator Springs Racers FASTPASS. If you are intent on experiencing this unique attraction, that’s certainly the best advice, since this visually attractive but short and slow-loading ride can quickly develop a lengthy queue second only to that of Radiator Springs Racers.

Due to its “cycle loading” nature, you can wait twenty minutes or more for Luigi’s with only a few loads of guests ahead of you, burning valuable early morning touring time. So, unless you are among the first through the FASTPASS distribution and enter Luigi’s queue within fifteen minutes of opening, you may want to consider spending the remainder of your first hour in a more efficient manner.

The upside of Cars Land’s phenomenal popularity is that it draws most guests away from the park’s other headliners until hours after opening. Tower of Terror, California Screamin’, and Toy Story Midway Mania often have minimal waits in the morning while the herd heads down Route 66. If you can stand to skip Luigi’s (try back at the end of the day, when it and Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree are sometimes walk-ons), you’ll get a great return on your time investment at these other E-Tickets.

A final tip: remember that your Radiator Springs Racer FASTPASS is “disconnected” and won’t interfere with getting a FASTPASS for another attraction. You could snag a FASTPASS at Soarin’ Over California (if you don’t just use its Single Rider line) on your way to getting a viewing ticket for World of Color (also disconnected), or grab one for Tower of Terror before hopping across to Disneyland to pick up FASTPASSes there. Just be aware of the the ending time on your tickets; return windows are now being strictly enforced, though you may get 15 minutes of grace (i.e., arrive up to 15 minutes after your window has passed) if you ask nicely.

5 Ways to Start Your Day in Disney California Adventure is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Photos by Seth Kubersky

If Disneyland is the Happiest Place on Earth, and February 14 is the Most Romantic Day of the Year, then Anaheim must be the best place imaginable to spend Valentine’s Day with your sweetheart — right? Well, I’m about to find out, as my wife and I are spending Valentine’s week in Anaheim.

On the plus side, weekdays in mid-February (like the 14th) are on the moderate side of our Crowd Calendar; Valentine’s Day, itself, is expected to be a 6 out of 10 at the Disneyland Resort. And from February 11 through 17, as part of the Limited Time Magic marketing campaign, Disney is rolling out some additional meet & greet opportunities and menu offerings.

Unfortunately, thanks to seasonal refurbishments many of our favorite attractions to experience together — including it’s a small world, Mad Tea Party, Big Thunder Ranch, Muppet*Vision, and Fantasmic! — will be unavailable on Valentine’s Day. Even so, there are plenty of romantic spots remaining around the Resort.

Here are just a few of my favorite places is Disneyland Resort to take that someone special. Please add your own suggestions in the comments below, and have love-filled 14th wherever you are!

Carthay Circle

There’s no better way to impress a date than a blowout meal at a fine restaurant, and Disneyland Resort gives you several special venues to spend your cash. Napa Rose, Blue Bayou, and Steakhouse 55 are all fine choices for fine Disney dining, and are accordingly often booked solid weeks in advance of holidays. but my new favorite supper spot is Carthay Circle Restaurant.

For starters, the decor is divine (especially for fans of old Hollywood and vintage Disney) and matched by the menu. Second, menu item prices are slightly lower than at the Resort’s aforementioned other top-tier eateries, especially at lunch. Third, it seems easier to get a table at Carthay on short notice; I was able to snag a table for 2 less than 2 weeks out, and some lunch spots for the 14th may still be available.

Last but not least, ordering a two-course meal (entree and appetizer or dessert) entities diners to VIP World of Color FastPasses, allowing entry into the central viewing area unavailable to ordinary guests. If you want the best view for Valentine’s Night’s biggest spectacle, a meal at Carthay is bite-for-bite your best value.

Alfresco Lounge

If dining at Carthay Circle is too rich for your blood (or wallet) why not sit and sip in pseudo-Sonoma instead? The often-overlooked Alfresco Lounge at the Golden Valley Winery, located outoors on the second level of Wine Country Trattoria, looks out over the Blue Sky Cellar towards a postcard-perfect perspective on Cars Land.

Head upstairs a little before sunset, grab one of the comfy sofa seats, and order a glass (or flight) of California wines. Time it right, and you can can be sipping Chardonay just as the switch is flipped on Radiator Springs’ lovely neon lighting. Just one word of advice: don’t order the delectable Fritto Misto platter to nosh on unless you’re sure your date likes mussels and squid. Otherwise, you’re not getting a kiss no matter how nice the view is.

Grand Californian Fireplace

Ok, so what if even a couple cups of vino are out of your price range (not to mention a pair of park passes) but you still want to visit a romantic Disneyland venue? Park in the Downtown Disneyland lot (free for up to 3 hours) and walk into the Grand Californian hotel. Just inside the lobby you’ll find the coziest spot on property: a giant stone fireplace surrounded by rocking chairs.

Order a coffee or cocoa from the Heathstone Lounge around the corner, then pull a seat up to the fire. Temperatures on Valetine’s Day are expected to reach into the low 70s, but don’t let that stop you and your sweetie from cuddling by the flames. If you’re lucky, a limber-fingered pianist will be along to play romantic melodies. And if you the inside seating is too crowded with other couples, step outside and look for another fireplace near the backside of its bigger sibling.

Pinocchio’s Daring Journey

This may seem a strange pick for my final romantic place, but “dark rides” have been associated with romance since their amusement park ancestors were known as “tunnels of love.” Since Disneyland’s opening day, amorous adolescents have savored first kisses (or seventh, or seventieth) while whirling through black-lit plywood fantasy worlds.

The long-lost Adventure Thru Inner-Space Ominmover ride is well-remember by baby boomers as the most intimacy-friendly attraction Disneyland has ever seen, but modern rides like Star Tours or Indiana Jones Adventure are far too rough and/or exposed to become amorous on. What you want is an indoor ride with small, smoothly-moving semi-private vehicles. As Fantasyland’s least popular ride, Pinnoccio’s Daring Journey is the perfect choice; you’ll almost always get a car all yourselves with little or no waiting, and the ride is designed so that different vehicles barely glimpse each other once inside the show building.

A final word of warning: even if you aren’t in view of your fellow guests, there are hidden low-light cameras inside every ride that give attraction Cast Members a full view of your activities. So don’t get too carried away with the Valentine’s spirt until you’re back at the hotel, and keep your on-ride petting PG-rated. That’s the way Walt would have wanted it.

Four Romantic Spots at Disneyland Resort to Spend Valentines’s Day is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Image copyright Disney

In a surprise move, Disneyland Resort has quietly released details of a new limited-time perk for all Disneyland Annual Passholders. On Thursday nights in February 2013, Passholders can stay in Disney California Adventure for an extra 2 hours past the usual closing time. That’s 120 more minutes to enjoy the rides in Cars Land and elsewhere around Anaheim’s hottest attraction.

The program will only be offered on Thursdays, February 7, 14, 21, & 28. Passholders will be allowed to stay until 10pm on the 7th, 14th, and 28th, and until 11pm on the 21st.

In order to participate, you must arrive at DCA between noon and 90 minutes after the regular park closing time, in order to obtain a special wristband near the front turnstiles. A valid annual pass and photo ID are required; regular parking fees still apply.

Note that this temporary “stay late” program is in addition to the ongoing early entry perk, which allows annual Passholders into the parks an hour early on the weekends. That program runs through April 14, but is not available on February 3.

Extended February DCA Park Hours for Disneyland Annual Passholders is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Photo courtesy Yamaha

The beautiful Hyperion Theater in Disney California Adventure is normally home to the excellent Aladdin stage show, an enhanced version of which will bow on Broadway next year. But tonight (1/25/2013), for one night only, the theater will be taken over by a musical icon even more mesmerizingly mercurial and outrageously colorful than the Genie.

Elton John, a rock superstar since the 1970s, and the Oscar-winning songwriter behind The Lion King soundtrack, will perform a private concert tonight at the Disneyland Resort in conjunction with the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) trade convention currently occurring at the Anaheim convention center across the street. John is schedule play a 5-song set, accompanied by a 70-piece orchestra conducted by James Newton Howard. Other performers appearing include Amy Grant, Chaka Khan, Dave Grusin, Earth, Wind & Fire, David Foster, Dave Koz, LEOGUN, Landon Pigg, Lucy Schwartz, Michael McDonald, Sarah McLachlan, Sinbad and Toto.

Don't show up at DCA tonight with your annual pass and expect entry to see Sir Elton; all 2000 seats are reserved for VIPs and dealers of Yamaha instruments, whose 125th anniversary the all-star event is intended to celebrate. While the concert is scheduled to start at 8pm PST (with John starting around 10:25pm), the park will be open as normal until 10pm. The only disruption evident to guests should be the closure of the Aladdin show all day, and additional security around Hollywood Land in the evening. Traffic may also be impacted around the resort as an inevitable parade of limos departs after the show.

But even if you you can't watch it in person, you have a couple options for experiencing it “live.” A public web stream of the show will be available beginning at 8pm PST at http://eltonjohn125.usa.yamaha.com/. Also, owners of expensive Yamaha DisklavierTV computerized pianos can use the RemoteLive feature to have John “play” their keyboard via a live MIDI simulcast of Elton's keystrokes. If everything works right, the remote piano should synchronize perfectly with live broadcast of Elton and the orchestra in Anaheim.

Elton John Performs Private Concert Tonight at Disney California Adventure is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.