First time to Disneyland! What would you do first?!?

[mybestieismickey]

If it were me, and I wanted to have a true unique to Disneyland experience, I would definitely head to Disneyland first. Saunter up Main Street, checking out the windows as you go, not stopping, just enjoying the stroll. You definitely want to notice the differences, if only to get your bearing. Then I would do the castle walk through and maybe It's a Small World before lunch at the Plaza. After lunch I would head either to the Matterhorn or Adventureland to see about an Indy fast pass and hit Jungle Cruise, Pirates, and Haunted Mansion. Definitely use that afternoon (and the other afternoons) to do things that are maybe non-headliners or some of the shows.

 

[Chrisfilm]

Do you have small children or no?

If not, at that time of day I would get quickly over to Indy and grab fast passes. After that, head one or two directions, in my opinion:

1. Go back to Main Street and take your time enjoying the sites, sounds, and smells. Do a castle walkthrough, do the Fantasyland rides with the shorter lines. Wait for the afternoon crowd to start to dwindle.
2. Or head to Pirates and Haunted Mansion. In my experience neither line is unbearable no matter what time of day.

If you do have small children, don't worry about grabbing the fast pass and just go with my first suggestion.

And, yes, I would start with DL over DCA.

 

[Carstairs38]

I like this order!! If we are there at park opening next week, will there be a long line by the time we get to BTMRR?

By the time you get here, it's going to be based on how crowded the park is that day. Usually, you can be ahead of the crowd for those other rides, but sometimes you'll hit the crowd here. Other times, it will be a short line. There's really no way to predict.

BTW, you should be thinking about hitting Space Mountain and Star Tours for Fast Passes at a minimum after you do Big Thunder.

 

[czmom]

By the time you get here, it's going to be based on how crowded the park is that day. Usually, you can be ahead of the crowd for those other rides, but sometimes you'll hit the crowd here. Other times, it will be a short line. There's really no way to predict.

BTW, you should be thinking about hitting Space Mountain and Star Tours for Fast Passes at a minimum after you do Big Thunder.

Thank you! I appreciate your help. One hitch- we have Minnie and Friends at 10:00. Think we can hit those 6 rides from 8-10? It'll be on Sunday, which I hear is typically less crowded. Then we can grab a FP for Space or Star Tours right before our ADR.

 

[Indiana Scott]

Rather than make some kind of list or detailed plan to hit certain rides in some kind of predetermined order, I suggest just wondering around the park and taking it all in. It's mush less stressful and allows you to really take it all in without having to run by things to get to others. Your not new to Disney parks so take time to look at all the little details that differ from WDW.
JMHO

 

[DisneylandDancer]

Thank you! I appreciate your help. One hitch- we have Minnie and Friends at 10:00. Think we can hit those 6 rides from 8-10? It'll be on Sunday, which I hear is typically less crowded. Then we can grab a FP for Space or Star Tours right before our ADR.

It is very possible. My family and I have done that much on Sunday mornings. Most people head straight to Fantasyland, even more so now because of PP, so the other parts of the park are very empty. I have stood been in Frontierland and looked out to New Orleans square to see a grand total of about 3 or 4 people walking around.

 

[Xenorye]

Do yourself a favor and grab a churro too.

To elaborate, I've heard that Disney World churros are made in a central location and taken out to the carts, and they're not great. At Disneyland, they're made right there at the cart, and are wonderful.

 

[SeattleSuz]

I personally think that Pirates would be one of the first things that I did, since it's such a fast moving queue and the ride is different from WDW, grab a FP for Indy, maybe another one for Splash, hit up HM, and then do IASW, cuz IMO it is 10 Xs better than WDW!!
Did I see that you said you have a ressie for Blue Bayou? That is such an excellent choice! We eat there every time we go to DLR, we love the ambiance of that place, so neat!

 

[WDWFANCBIIIME]

Thank you again everyone for all of the feedback!

We are planning on heading right to Disneyland after checking into the Hotel - Maybe grabbing lunch at French Market or Bangle BBQ both sound good I guess whatever one we decide on (Also drinks and lunch at Trader Sam's seems like a possibility too as we are a group of all adults! I am super excited to see the one in California as I've spent quite a few nights at the one in Florida)? I am thinking Fast Pass for Indy, Pirates and Haunted Mansion then single rider on the Matterhorn

On a side note - I am so excited to be able to walk in to the park from our hotel! I still cannot comprehend how close everything is coming from Disney World...