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.

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.

Arrive at DCA at least 45 minutes before park opening...

Looking for traffic avoidance advice as you drive down the crowded Route 66? Well, pull up to the pump and fill up on some free touring info, certain to make your first (or next) visit to Cars Land at at Disney California Adventure a little less fraught.

Recently, we related our step-by-step plan for surviving the Early Entry hour at Cars Land. Since the publication of that piece, Disnelyand announced the expansion of Extra Magic Hours for resort hotel guests to 7 days per week at both parks, now through September 13, 2012. Our advice is to take full advantage of the early admission programs if you are eligible for them, but that’s out of reach for the bulk of visitors this summer.

As a result of this temporary adjustment to early entry operations, general admission visitors this summer will never be the first into Cars Land, no matter how early they line up. If you are one of the unwashed masses unable to enter the park early, you can still enjoy all the new Cars Land attractions; it just may take a little more effort. Follow this plan to a “Model T” and you are likely to find yourself cruising in the fast lane, while everyone else languishes in long lines.

...and wait in line for a Radiator Springs FASTPASS...

Selecting the right day to visit is crucial. Avoiding DCA on an Extra Magic Hour morning — when resort hotel guests are allowed in early – is currently impossible. However, on four days of the week, Annual Passholders are also allowed in early (now through mid-September). Therefore, your best day to visit DCA is Saturday, when the majority of Annual Passholders are barred from entering by blackout dates. The next best days are usually Tuesday and Thursday. Sunday is the busiest day for Passholder early entry.

• Arrive at the park’s front gates, ticket in hand, at least 30 to 45 minutes before the official opening time. Hotel guests and Annual Passholders who have registered for early entry will be allowed in ahead of you through designated turnstiles. Active hotel keycards or special wristbands are required, so don’t bother trying to sneak in.
• As soon as the general public is permitted through the turnstiles (usually at least 30 prior to the official opening time) proceed down Buena Vista Street to Carthay Circle. Look for signs designating the start of the Radiator Springs Racers FASTPASS queue.

...and wait...

• Have one noble, self-sacrificing member of your party take everyone’s admission tickets and hop into the line for Fastpass distribution, which will not begin moving until the official park opening time. The queue may stretch through Hollywood Land all the way to Tower of Terror; if you are standing past the Animation building, you are looking at about a 30 to 45 minute wait once the line begins moving.
• At park opening (8 a.m. every day this summer) a musical fanfare will announce the “rope drop,” and employees will carefully walk the crowd towards Cars Land. FASTPASS tickets will be distributed to those waiting in the queue, and will likely be gone for the day before 9:30 a.m. On busy days, unless you are already in line by opening time, it is possible you may not get a FASTPASS at all.
• The rest of your party (minus the FASTPASS retriever) should proceed through Cars Land to Luigi’s Flying Tires. The wait may already be quite long, thanks to early entry guests, but it won’t get much shorter all day. So if this ride (a slow-loading blend of bumper cars and air hockey) is high on your to-do list, do it now.

It's only 8:15 a.m. and FASTPASSes for the morning are running out quickly!

• Take a look at the single rider line for Radiator Springs Racers. If the wait is 30 minutes or less, and your party doesn’t mind being separated, take a trip through the singles queue. Otherwise, wait until your FASTPASS is active.
• Experience Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree next. If the wait is over 30 minutes, skip it and check back in the late afternoon, when the queue usually dwindles.
• If you’ve made good time to this point and want to take a breather, grab some breakfast at Flo’s V8 Cafe or Cozy Cone Motel, or pose for a photo with Lightning or Mater.
• Secure a World of Color FASTPASS if you want to see the first showing of the night.
• Enjoy the park’s other top attractions, which should be much less crowded than Cars Land. Also keep a close eye on your Radiator Springs Racers FASTPASS return window; this is the resort’s only attraction where the end time printed on your FASTPASS ticket is being enforced.
• Be sure to stop back in Cars Land in the evening to enjoy the sunset neon lighting ceremony and evening illumination on the rock work. A second ride on Radiator Springs Racers after dark is a very different experience; try the single rider line during a performance of World of Color.

Victory! Got in line at 7:40 a.m., got a Fastpass at 8:30 a.m., can use it at 12:40 p.m.

Cars Land Survival Guide: General Admission is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

7 a.m., seconds before rope from in Cars Land for Early Entry. (All photos by Seth Kubersky)

The new Cars Land attractions are barely three weeks old, but their popularity has already pushed the Disneyland Resort in general, and the Disney California Adventure park in particular, to record levels of attendance. The old conventional wisdom was that the sparsely-attended second gate didn’t require the same assiduous planning as its older sibling to enjoy in a single day. But at least until the Cars Land hoopla dies down — which we don’t expect to happen any time this summer — you’ll need an efficient itinerary to absorb all the relaunched park has to offer.

The 2013 edition of The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland will soon be winging its way to the presses, packed with our brand-new optimized touring plans for tackling Disney California Adventure’s latest additions. Unfortunately, it will arrive on store shelves too late to help those of you planning to visit within the next few months. Therefore, in honor of the recently-passed Independence Day holdiay, we wave the flag of freedom from frustration, and offer you this “survival guide” to liberating yourself from the long lines in Cars Land.

As always, our number one advice is “Arrive early, arrive early, arrive early!” For the foreseeable future, as far as Cars Land is concerned, you’ll want to add at least two more “arrive earlies” to that mantra. Much of your touring strategy depends on whether you are eligible for one of the park’s Early Entry programs.

Extra Magic Hour is the new name for Disneyland Resort’s bonus to guests staying at one of the three on-site hotels. Anyone with valid admission and an active room key from Disneyland Hotel, Paradise Pier, or the Grand Californian, is eligible to enter DCA one hour before the general public on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Purchasers of 3-day or longer tickets with Magic Morning are only eligible to enter Disneyland Park early, not DCA.

Hotel guests may enter through the main gate or the private entrance in the Grand Californian. An old “trick” that allowed non-hotel guests to enter early if they had a same-day receipt from a hotel shop or restaurant is no longer valid. Note that on the other four days of the week, hotel guests may enter the park 30 minutes early through the Grand Californian entrance, but are only permitted to retrieve World of Color FASTPASS tickets; Cars Land rides will remain off-limits until the official opening time.

For this summer, Disneyland is running a separate early entry program exclusively for Annual Passholders, who can register to attend DCA and Disneyland on one morning each between now and mid-September. The program is held on the opposite days of Extra Magic Hour, meaning that DCA is available on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings. Passholders must register online in advance, and will have to show their passes to receive wristbands before entering the park.

If you are able to participate in either early entry option, we highly recommend you do so, since it is easily the least crowded way to experience the park. Here is our early entry touring strategy:

• Arrive at the park entrance, ticket in hand, at least 90 minutes before the official opening time. For this summer, that means 6:30 a.m. Allow for extra time if you need to purchase admission, or receive a wristband for Annual Passholder early entry.
• Guests may be allowed into the park 30 minutes or more before the early entry period begins. Proceed to Carthay Circle at the end of Buena Vista Street, where you will be held until 7 a.m. If you are early and sleepy, you can grab a Starbucks eye-opener from Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe.
• Once permitted to progress forward, move straight to Cars Land, walking with the restraining rope to the end of Route 66. The majority of the crowd will head directly to Radiator Springs Racers. However, that ride frequently opens a few miniutes (or more) late due to morning safety testing. Instead, get in line for Luigi’s Flying Tires (inside the Casa del Tires shop facade, with the tire tower out front). If you are among the first in the queue, you should be on and off the ride in about 10 minutes.
• After riding Luigi’s, look at the posted wait time for the single rider line at Radiator Springs Racers. If the wait is 30 minutes or less, the time is before 7:15 a.m., and your group doesn’t mind being separated, get in the singles queue. Otherwise, skip to the next step.
• Ride Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree. Your wait time should be under 20 minutes.
• If the time is 7:30 a.m. or earlier, consider grabbing some breakfast from the Cozy Cone Motel (beware the overcooked scrambled eggs) or Flo’s V8 Cafe.
• Send a member of your party with all of the group’s admission passes to get in line for Radiator Springs FASTPASS tickets no later than 7:45 a.m. The distribution location is outside Cars Land near the entrance to It’s Tough to be a Bug! Make sure you get in the FASTPASS line with other early entry participants several minutes before the official park opening, at which time the queue will be merged with the general public.
• FASTPASS distribution begins at official park opening time. If you’ve followed these steps, you should get your passes within 20 minutes of opening, with a return time around mid-morning. Pay close attention to your return window; Radiator Springs Racers is the first attraction at the resort to enforce the printed one-hour time frame, though exceptions are made if the ride breaks down.
• At this point you’ve experienced the slowest-loading rides and secured a coveted FASTPASS to the park’s top attraction. Grab some food if you need to, pick up a FASTPASS to World of Color if you want to see the first performance, and start touring the park. If you’re not following one of our time-tested touring plans, at least prioritize Toy Story Midway Mania, Soarin’ Over California, and Tower of Terror. You’ll find that Cars Land sucks up so much of the arriving crowd that lines at the other former top draws should be pleasantly short.

This is what your wait will look like if you are among the first people in line for Luigi's.

Can’t take advantage of early entry? Check back later for part 2 of this series, featuring our survival advice for general admission.

Cars Land Survival Guide: Early Entry is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Welcome once again to our mostly-weekly wrap-up of what’s been happening at Disney’s Anaheim resort. Deepest apologies to anyone left bereft by the absence of this column, but the Touring Plans team was obviously occupied by a teensy-tiny little Grand Reopening that you may have heard about. Fret not: we’re back to bring you the news of everything that’s happened in the week since Cars Land and Buena Vista Street were unveiled to public.

Crowd Calendar

The new attractions at Disney California Adventure have rewritten attendance rules at the resort, and redefined what “busy” means.

Quietest Day: Thanks to Annual Pass blackouts, Saturday 6/23 was only a 3.8 at Disneyland and 5.4 at Disney California Adventure.

Busiest Day: Tuesday 6/19 was unofficially reported by Al Lutz as the highest-attended day in the history of Disneyland Resort, until the record was broken again on Wednesday with a 4.4 in Disneyland and 9.9 at DCA.

Special Events

• Disneyland hosted the final Grad Nites of 2012 on Friday And Saturday. After over 50 years at Disneyland park, the event will move to DCA only next year.
• The new Disney/Pixar film BRAVE debuted on June 22, along with new associated merchandise in stores throughout the resort.
• Several merchandise events were announced for July at the resort, including a book signing with Disney Legend Dave Smith on July 14.

Openings, Closings, and Refurbishment

• All attractions in both parks are now open, including the new offerings in Cars Land and Buena Vista Street. No refurbishments are currently scheduled.
• The Carnation Plaza Gardens at Disneyland is being transformed in princess meet & greet. When the project is complete in 2013, the princesses current home in the former Videopolis theater will become an entertainment venue again.
• Glow with the Show mouse ear hats debuted at DCA, allowing guests to become part of the show at World of Color and Mad T Party.
• New Early Entry policies allowing select guests into both parks an hour before official opening time were implemented starting June 18.
• Compass Books in Downtown Disney is slowly being turned into an Earl of Sandwich, though so far no significant construction has yet been done on the interior.

All photos copyright Disney.

Last Week at Disneyland Resort (6/17/2012 – 6/23/2012) is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.