On Friday April 30^th 2021, Disneyland reopened after 13 months of being closed. During those 413 days Disneyland vacations and traditions were cancelled. Some of us found ways to bring the magic into our homes by recreating everything from rides to DIY-ing our favorite snacks in our homes. I can tell you that none of it cut it close to the intensely magical moment of walking through those gates again. I don’t know if absence made my heart grow fonder, but everything was just so vivid! I saw everything with greater appreciation. Somewhere between, “is that new??”, “I love this!!” and  “I didn’t remember that!!”. We met the day with the kind of pure joy only a day at Disneyland could bring. The magic is back, the magic was here waiting for us all along. It was just what we needed after a year long stress and anxiety. A year of what felt like endless groundhog days filled with zoom classes and disinfecting groceries. If you are thinking about returning to the magic, I’ve put together a handy list of things to consider when planning your visit.

Hey look at us!! L.A. Mama with Ken Potrock, President of the Disneyland Resort

Ticketing

You must have a valid ticket AND a reservation to visit. I suggest looking at the availability calendar and choosing your day first, to see what tier ticket you will need for that day. Tickets are sold in tiers that vary in price depending on what day you go and if you would like to park hop, or not. Go into the ticketing system and purchase that tier ticket. Finally go into the reservation system to make your reservation for that day.

Parking

The Mickey and Friends parking lot is open. However, the trams are not. The tram way is now used as a walkway to and from the lot. Be prepared for the additional walk. There are strollers and wheelchairs available at ground level if you need them. Alternately, there are many hotels on Harbor Blvd that offer daily parking rates with a shorter walk than M&F lot. However, it is subject to availability as space is limited.

Fast Passes

At this time, there are no Fast Passes available. Due to limited park capacity, there was absolutely no need for a Fast Pass! Everything was a 30 min wait or less on opening day! The only exception to this is Rise of the Resisitance in Galaxy’s Edge. For this ride, you must join a boarding group at 7 am (before your arrival). You must have a valid park ticket and reservation linked to your Disneyland app to join the boarding group. It’s an intense 2 minutes but very much worth it for this ride! If you don’t make it on to the 7 am boarding group, you have another chance at 12 noon to try again. I use my friend Brooke McDonald’s strategy. She explains it perfectly and it’s proven to be successful for me not just in Disneyland but Disney World too! Ill link it here.

Mobile Ordering Food

Dining and snacking locations in the park are reduced at this time. There are a few carts where you can still walk up to and purchase snacks like popcorn, but most locations are now all mobile order. You simply use your Disneyland app to search the location you’d like to purchase from then order and pay right on your phone. You choose your preferred pick up time when ordering, you will get a notification when your pick up window arrives and you then select “prepare my food” when you have arrived. When your food is ready you may enter the location to pick up your order. This prevents too many people entering at once and streamlines food preparation. However it does make it difficult to get an immediate pick up window especially during lunch times. I suggest you order your food in advance. When you arrive, think about when you’d like to have lunch and where and order it for a future time. You will be glad you did!

Other Tips…

• Make sure your Disneyland App is updated and your tickets are connected.
• Bring a refillable water bottle! Since food is all mobile order and there are fewer carts to buy at immediately you might have a hard time finding water immediately and dehydration can ruin your day quickly! Hot days are ahead! There are no drinking fountains but water bottle filling stations still open and don’t forget that you can pick up FREE cups of ice water at all dining locations.
• There is no drinking or casual snacking while you walk anymore. Be mindful and kindly pull over to sip your water.
• Switch rider passes are still available.
• Masks must be worn at all times. You can only take them off while you are seated and actively eating. There are lots of tables that are nicely spread out to take breaks. Order yourself a snack and plan out breaks both from the heat and from your mask. Plus do you really need an excuse for a Mickey Beignet!?
• Bring extra battery packs! You’ll be using your phone A LOT. Even if you don’t take as many photos and video as me, you’ll be using it to check wait times, order food and make or change reservations. A park fuel rod is a great back up because you can trade for a new battery pack throughout the parks but on this day, all the machines were sold out! Search Fuel Rod in your Disneyland app to find your nearest kiosk.

Check out my Disneyland highlight stories on Instagram for all the fun we had opening day! If you have any questions or concerns about planning your return trip Disneyland, drop them below, I’d be happy to help you plan your trip back to the magic!