When you think about Disney, what is the first thing that comes to mind? The rides? The food? The shows? Of course one of the best parts about Disneyland is the rides. But there is so much more to do at Disneyland other than that and they offer lots of fun activities, some you’ve probably heard of and some that maybe you haven’t.
These non-ride activities are fun things to incorporate into your Disney trip that will help break up waiting in long lines, give your feet a break, or get out of the heat! So let’s get into everything Disneyland has to offer besides rides!
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BOOK YOUR TRIP
Before we get into everything, you need to get your Disney trip booked. The best way to do this is to use my travel partnerΒ Get Away Today.Β You can book your trip online or you can call them at 855-GET-AWAY and a travel agent can help you book your trip. You can purchase just Disneyland tickets, just a hotel stay, or what I recommend is bundling your tickets and hotel stay together into one convenient package. I have used Get Away Today for all of my Disney trips for the last 11 years and I won’t book with anyone else, they are amazing!
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ENTERTAINMENT OPTIONS
CATCH THE PARADE
Disneyland typically has a parade on the entertainment which typically happens twice a day. The first showing will begin up by “it’s a small world” and ends down in Town Square at the end of Main Street. Then the second parade begins down in Town Square and makes its way up to where it ends at “it’s a small world.” The parades are a great entertainment option and the parade route is very long so you can usually find somewhere to watch without a problem.
Sometimes to get a good spot for the parade, you will need to stake out a spot for a bit especially if you want a front row seat or to sit while you watch. I like to grab a treat to enjoy while I wait for the show. The parades that they offer also varies by season, times like the Holidays or other special events will have their own parades, but they are every bit as magical as the normal parades! To catch the parade, you’ll need to be in Disneyland as California Adventure does not do parades (unless otherwise specified for a special event.) You will always want to check the daily entertainment calendar or check with a cast member to find out what time(s) the parade is happening that day.
ENJOY WORLD OF COLOR
One of the best nighttime experiences is World of Color at California Adventure. This show is amazing and an absolute must see. When it gets dark, the waters in front of Pixar Pier are brought to live in an amazing water show, complete with fountains, bright colors, projections, and fire! It seriously is one of my favorite things about staying late in the parks.
To see this show, you will want to join the virtual queue at noon to get a spot in the viewing area. If you aren’t able to get a spot on the virtual queue, you can always stand in the back in the general standby area, or you could book a dining package that gets you into the reserved viewing area, or if you would like a seated viewing experience, make a reservation for the World of Color dessert package and you can enjoy drinks and dessert with the show. There are one or two showings of World of Color each night depending on the day of the week and the time of year, so check the entertainment schedule during the day of your visit.
EXPERIENCE FANTASMIC!
**NOTE: This show is on pause and will return on May 24, 2024.
Fantasmic! is the best of all the shows put together. It takes place on the Rivers of America and it has floats with your favorite characters, fireworks, projections, and a water show. It really is one of a kind and easily my favorite show offered in the park. The viewing for this show is standby only, there is no virtual queue, but prior to the closure of this show you could do a dining package at Blue Bayou, River Belle Terrace, or Hungry Bear to get reserved seating on the ground for the show. Now be aware this show isn’t offered every night, so you do have to check the entertainment schedule to make sure when it is running, but if it’s going during your trip do not miss it!
STAY LATE FOR THE FIREWORKS
Disneyland takes fireworks to a whole new level by adding projections into the show as well that dance along the castle, the shops on Main Street, and on the facade of “it’s a small world.” Every night there will be projections, but on the weekends or nightly during the summer/holiday months there will also be fireworks. Always check the entertainment schedule to see if it’s fireworks or just projections happening that night. If you want a good spot, you may need to wait a bit, I love to watch in front of “it’s a small world” or on Main Street between Refreshment Corner and Plaza Point.
SEE A SHOW AT THE ROYAL THEATRE
As you are walking toward Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, instead of going straight to the castle, take a left right before you get to the bridge and that will lead you into the Fantasy Faire AREA. This is a quiet little area that houses the Royal Theatre. This is an outdoor theater that is covered by a large tent and has two shows that they perform, currently it is Beauty and the Beast or Tangled. The showtime will determine which story is being told and there are a few different performances everyday. I have seen Tangled several times and it is so cute and funny. This area isn’t super huge so the seating is limited, but if you have young kids make sure you get there a little early and you can sit on the floor close to the stage so they can see better. Also if you stay after the show, the characters will usually come out for meet and greets afterwards.
WATCH A PERFORMANCE AT THE HYPERION THEATER
So the Hyperion Theater is located in Hollywood Land at the end of the street after you pass the Animation Academy and right before you get to Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout. Over the years, the Hyperion has done performances of Aladdin, Frozen, and Rogers the Musical. Every performance I’ve seen here has been very well done, but it’s important to note that they aren’t always offering shows here. But when there is a show running this is a great non-ride option to enjoy, plus it gives you AC and a nice break for your feet!
STOP BY THE ENCHANTED TIKI ROOM
This is a classic Disneyland staple. This fun area has a short show with birds that sing, tiki gods, and more and is a great addition to any Disney day. It’s super nice to grab a nice, refreshing dole whip and head into the Tiki Room to cool off and relax while watching the birds sing. The whole vibe of the Tiki Room inside and out is just awesome with the tropical hideaway feel, and typically there is not a line to get in so you shouldn’t have any issue getting in for whatever show you want. You can check showtimes in the Disneyland app.
CHECK OUT GREAT MOMENTS WITH MR LINCOLN
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln is a great way to get out of the heat and escape the crowds for a bit. When you go inside, there are lots of displays to look at about Lincoln as well as a diorama of the earliest version of Disneyland, and they will sometimes have a special display as well, like recently they had a Haunted Mansion display that was really fun. There is also the option to go see the show which runs pretty frequently, you may have to wait a few minutes but there’s plenty of seating in the gallery area to rest your feet while you wait. As the name implies, the show is an oratory experience delivered by an audio animatronic of the 16th president.
ENJOY MICKEY’S PHILHARMAGIC
If you have ever been to Walt Disney World, you should already be familiar with Mickey’s PhilharMagic. It used to be that this was the only place you could see this production, but the show has made it’s way to the Disneyland Resort! You can find this in Hollywood Land in California Adventure. This show follows Donald Duck through an amazing, 12 minute 3D experience that includes all of your favorite songs, characters, special effects, and more! This show runs regularly so you shouldn’t have to wait to long to see this and is a great option especially if you have young kids.
SEE A SHOW AT THE FANTASYLAND THEATRE
There have been several shows at the Fantasyland Theatre over the years including Mickey and the Magical Map as well as Tale of the Lion King which just recently ended its stint here. Like the Hyperion Theater, there are not always shows going on here, but check during your visit to see if there are any shows happening and check them out of there is! You can find this spot on the left hand side of the walkway right before you enter into Toontown, just across from “it’s a small world.”
AVENGER’S CAMPUS SHOWS
One thing that Avenger’s Campus does really well is entertainment. There are so many different shows that happen throughout this new addition to California Adventure including The Amazing Spider-Man, Avenger’s Assemble, Dr. Strange: Mysteries of the Mystic Arts, Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Dance Off, and Warriors of Wakanda: The Disciplines of the Dora Milaje. These shows all happen multiple times a day so check the app for showtimes and keep in mind, most of them are only a few minutes long so they don’t take up too much time out of your day.
DO THE DISNEY JUNIOR DANCE PARTY
If you are doing Disney with kids, you will want to go to the Disney Junior Dance Party in California Adventure. This show features several characters from popular Disney Junior shows with fun songs, bubbles, and dancing. This is an awesome option for little kids to get out their wiggles and have some fun while having a break from standing in lines. There are several shows daily so check the Disneyland app for that days showtimes.
SPECIAL EXPERIENCES
Disneyland has three great special experience options that you can reserve and do during your trip. Having a special experience reserved is a nice break from waiting in lines and adds more fun activities to your visit that I think are a great idea to add if you’re celebrating a birthday or special milestone. These reservations can be made up to 60 days in advance on the Disneyland app or website. Here are the three experiences you can do at Disneyland:
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
This experience is for kids ages 3-12 and there are options for boys and girls. You can book a simple makeover with a shirt and sash with hair and makeup up to a glamorous full on makeover with a gown, accessories, photopass photos, and more, as well as a knight makeover option. There are several packages to choose from at various price points and this is a really fun experience for kids. It takes anywhere from 30-60 minutes depending on which package you do, but I would definitely recommend doing this with your kids.
Build a lightsaber at Savi’s Workshop
If you love Star Wars, this is the experience for you. You get to pick out all of the aspects of your lightsaber, from the design of the hilt to the color of your saber. This is a highly popular option so you definitely want to reserve this in advance. This is a very immersive and cool experience that takes about 45-60 minutes but it comes at a high price point of over $200.
Make your own droid at the Droid Depot
This is another, more affordable special experience option for the Star Wars lovers. You can create your own droid for $100 and about a 20 minute experience. These droids actually work and you can drive them around and they interact, and reservations are a lot easier to get for this experience then they are for Savi’s Workshop.
MORE NON-RIDE ACTIVITES
EXPLORE THE DISNEY GALLERY
While you’re by Great Moments with Mr Lincoln, head next door to the Disney Gallery to check out some amazing artworks and collectibles that you can purchase. You can also see an animator in action at times working on sketches.
REDWOOD CREEK CHALLENGE TRAIL
The Redwood Creek Challenge Trail is a great activity if you have kids that have some energy they need to burn. This spot has things they can climb, slides, zip lines, and more and can be found right across from Grizzly River Run in California Adventure. Some of the activities do have height requirements, but there’s still something for kids of all ages to do. Plus this is a great place for them to escape lines and just run round and enjoy themselves for a little bit, plus it’s generally speaking much quieter than other areas in the park so it’s also a nice break for the adults to get away from the crowds and relax for a bit.
SLEEPING BEAUTY CASTLE WALKTHROUGH
I think this is one of the best hidden gems in the parks. Many people don’t know about it, but you can actually go inside Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. If you go to the backside of the castle, over by the Enchanted Chamber and across from Bibbibi Bobbidi Bouqitue you will find the entrance to the walkthrough. This experience is a walkthrough of the story of Sleeping Beauty with storybook pages to read and beautiful windows throughout the experience that illustrates the story. This is a walk through experience that has stairs that you have to climb so that’s something to consider if you have someone who cannot climb stairs, but they do have an accessible room that you can see the same experience without having to navigate stairs. You can find the room right before you exit the castle across the drawbridge to go to Main Street on the left hand side.
GET A CARICATURE DONE
Caricatures are my favorite souvenir to get at Disney. My family has a tradition of getting one every trip and it’s fun to look back and see the different styles and how things have changed in your family over the years. To get a caricature done, there is a stand by the World of Disney store where they can do them and it will usually take about a half hour to get your drawing done, maybe longer if you have more people in your photo, or you can head over to the exit of Pirates of the Caribbean and they have a caricature stand there as well. The ones in New Orleans Square are painted and are really hard to get on the list, I have tried several trips in a row and was always told they were full. To get one here, the artists said that you need to get there right when the park opens to get on the artist’s lists for the day and they’ll take a photo and then you return later to pick it up, they are not doing the drawings as you sit there at the moment. Or you can try to catch them around the time they change shifts, we had luck getting ours done by arriving around 2 pm and the artists weren’t full yet. It’s fun because you can have just a portrait done of you or you can have them draw you as characters as well.
DO THE BAKERY TOUR
One of the things California Adventure is most famous for is their sourdough, and you can actually take a tour of an on property bakery where you can see the process of how they make their delicious sourdough that they serve in California Adventure. This tour is really short and you can stay as long as you like, but when you enter into the tour you will usually be given a sample of the sourdough to enjoy while you walk around. You can find this in the SanFransokyo area of the park.
MEET CHARACTERS
Everybody knows that you can meet all of your favorite characters all over Disneyland, but not everyone knows where to find them. The best spots to find characters are in Fantasyland as they roam around that area a lot as well as the Royal Hall in the Fantasy Faire area. Also check out Toontown, Town Square on Main Street, up in Galaxy’s Edge, outside Pooh Corner in Critter Country, and New Orleans Square for even more characters. You can also find characters out and about on Pixar Pier sometimes, in Avengers Campus, on Buena Vista Street, as well as Anna and Elsa’s Royal Welcome in California Adventure.
VISIT THE HOUSES IN TOONTOWN
Toontown has so many different things to do, and one of my favorites is to visit the different houses in Toontown. You can visit Mickey and Minnie’s Houses as well as Donald’s Boat and Goofy’s House. It’s fun to see how each house is different and unique to that character, and when you visit Mickey and Minnie’s you can choose to wait in line to meet them as well.
PLAY IN TOONTOWN
While your in Toontown, if you’re visiting with kids, make sure you take advantage of all the fun and interactive play areas so they can get their wiggles out. They can explore Goofy’s How-to-Play Yard that has slides and a sound garden as well as some fun surprises inside, Donald’s Duck Pond has fun balancing and rocking toys as well as some fun splash pad like elements. Also check out CenTOONial Park where the Mickey and Minnie fountain that kids can play in the water tables and then head to the dreaming tree where the kids can explore and play on the roots of the tree.
SET SAIL ON THE RIVERS OF AMERICA
The Rivers of America have two different boats that you can ride around the area, the Mark Twain River Boat and the Sailing Ship Columbia. This ride around the Rivers of America takes about 10ish minutes and is a great way to break up the day, get away from the crowds, or just give yourself a change of pace from waiting in lines. You will want to head over by Thunder Mountain to board these boats.
TAKE A BREAK AT THE GOLDEN HORESEHOE
While the Golden Horseshoe has changed over the years and no longer does actual shows or performances, you can still head in there and enjoy the live piano music that is played throughout the day. They also offer food here so take some time to enjoy a bite to eat while enjoying the live piano performance.
STOP BY THE MAIN STREET CINEMA
Right along Main Street USA, you’ll find the Main Street Cinema. Inside you’ll find several screens that play some of the oldest animated cartoons that Walt did. It’s fun to see these little bits of history playing on the silver screen, and gives you a nice break for a few minutes.
BROWSE THE SHOPS
There are so many different shops throughout Disneyland that offer a wide variety of products and browsing the shops is a great way to fill in gaps in your day as you pass by them heading to an attraction or as you walk down Main Street at the end of the day. While most of the shopping is along Main Street in Disneyland or Buena Vista Street in California Adventure, you can find shops scattered throughout each land throughout both parks as well as in Downtown Disney.
EXPLORE TOM SAWYER’S ISLAND
Something that a lot of people don’t take the time to do is to take a raft across the Rivers of America to go and explore Tom Sawyer’s Island. If you’re wanting to escape the crowds, this is a great way to do it because there aren’t usually a lot of people over here in this little section of the park. You board a raft along the Rivers of America over by the Haunted Mansion and then once you’re on the island, you can climb around the fort, explore caverns and search for treasure. This is a really great option for kids as it gives them space to explore and roam freely.
DO DAVY CROCKETT’S EXPLORER CANOES
Over in Critter Country, tucked away along the Rivers of America is the spot where you will board the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes. While I’ve never done this personally, it’s definitely a unique experience to add to your trip. You will get into a canoe with a guide who will instruct you on how to paddle in sync which is quite humorous to watch from the pathways along the river, and also a very funny experience for those on the canoes from what I’ve seen!
TAKE A CLASS AT THE ANIMATION ACADEMY
I absolutely LOVE the Animation Academy! While you can explore the Animation Building itself, they have a portion set aside where you can take classes and learn to draw some of your favorite characters. Classes run every half hour so you may have to wait a little bit for classes to start, but once they let you in, you enter into the room above and there is an animator in there waiting for you. You get a giant piece of paper, a pencil, and a board to draw on. What happens is you listen to the animator talk about the character you are going to be drawing and the screen reflects what they are doing so you follow along with them and learn how to draw your favorite characters! There is a good variety of characters and they do have a schedule posted so you can see what is being drawn and decide which class you want to attend.
EXPLORE THE ANIMATION BUILDING
Another option is the visit the Animation Building , which is connected to the Animation Academy. Inside this air conditioned building you can meet Anna and Elsa, you can do Turtle Talk with Crush, or you can just sit and relax and watch the screens all along the walls at all the animation and film clips they have going.
CHECK OUT THE SORCERER’S WORKSHOP
After you visit the Animation Academy and Animation Building, be sure to check out the Sorcerer’s Workshop. It is located in the back of the Animation Academy, you’ll see a little ramp that runs down to a lower level and as soon as you walk down there, that’s where you’ll find the sorcerer’s workshop. This is a fun little interactive area for little kids where you can see animations come to life and see tricks that they use to bring motion to drawings. There’s even a chance for kids to draw their own animation strip and bring it to life.
RELAX ON THE RED CAR TROLLEY
Whenever you walk around California Adventure, you’ve probably seen the Red Car Trolley cruising down the streets. This is a fun way to get to get from place to place, but it’s important to know that it doesn’t run all over the entire park though. It only runs from the entrance of the park on Buena Vista Street and into Hollywood Land to the Hyperion Theater. It does not go into Avenger’s Campus, Grizzly Peak, Cars Land, Pixar Pier, or Paradise Gardens.
RIDE THE MAIN STREET VEHICLES
If you’re looking for a more relaxing way to get up and down Main Street, then consider riding one the Main Street Vehicles. They have tons of options like the horse-drawn street car, the jitney, the two story open air bus and the fire engines. You can board these vehicles at either end of Main Street and it’s a one way ride. But, they don’t run constantly. They usually only run in the morning and early afternoon and they will always be closed for parades and other events so just check the schedule and see if they are going at the time you are wanting to ride them.
DON’T MISS SHABOOM!
Every night at sunset, Cars Land comes to life! The song Sh-Boom comes on and little by little, the neon throughout the land starts to come on just like in the movie. You will want to check what time the sun is setting that day and be in the area a few minutes before hand, and the best spot to see this is near the traffic light. This really is a fun and immersive experience that you don’t want to miss!
CLIMB THE ADVENTURELAND TREEHOUSE
Formerly Tarzan’s Treehouse, the Adventureland Treehouse is a newly completed renovation that brings back the original Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse vibe to Adventureland. This is a fun interactive experience where you can explore the various rooms of the treehouse and get great views of the surrounding areas of the park. You can find it right between Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean.
TRY YOUR HAND AT SOME GAMES
Did you know Disneyland and California Adventure have games? If you walk past Midway Mania, you will find a number of Pixar themed carnival games along the pier that vary in difficulty so there is something for everyone. And you can win some super cute prizes too! You can also head to Frontierland and test your aim at the Frontierland Shooting Exposition. It’s a fun old western themed shooting game where you shoot at targets, which .you can find right after you enter into Frontierland before you get to Thunder Mountain. All of these games do cost additional money, so you have to purchase credits before you can play them.
So during your next Disney trip, remember you don’t have to spend your entire time waiting in line for rides! Take some time to experience all of the other magic the park has to offer! Meet your favorite characters, watch a performance, stay late for the nighttime entertainment, explore new areas, and try your hand at animation. I promise your trip will be even more magical when you try these things out!
