The Happiest Place on Earth isn’t so happy when you’ve been stuck in line for Space Mountain the past two-and-a-half hours on a sweltering Saturday in July, stress-eating a Mickey-shaped pretzel. Next time, avoid the theme park masses by analyzing line data.
The Los Angeles Times has put together a wildly comprehensive guide to choosing the best time to visit Disneyland and California Adventure based on average wait times for rides. Search for your favorite, can’t-miss rides, check the chart to see when the wait is the shortest, and strategize your trip your trip accordingly.
For instance, Splash Mountain has a peak wait time of 62 minutes at 3 p.m., so do something else around that time. Unsurprisingly, the wait time for this ride is the least miserable when the park opens to the general public at 8 a.m. The Los Angeles Times recommends arriving to the parks at least a half-hour before they open. Do this if you want to maximize that $174 (on peak dates) Park Hopper ticket.
Other takeaways from the Times analysis, which used data from touringplans.com:
Advertisement
Advertisement
- The best days to visit Disneyland and California Adventure are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
- September and January are the best months to go, as the average wait time per ride is under 15 minutes. Avoid holidays.
- If you’re willing to break up from your crew and ride solo, the single rider lines are a godsend and can shave off more than an hour of wait time in some cases. The rides that offer them are California Screamin’, Goofy’s Sky School. Grizzly River Run, Indiana Jones Adventure, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Radiator Springs Racers and Splash Mountain.
- If you really want to go on the new Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout! ride (which had a peak wait time of five hours when it first opened over Memorial Day weekend), head over there right at 8 a.m.—or else prepare yourself with a lot of Mickey-shaped snacks.
Don’t waste your time at Disneyland. Here’s how to avoid the lines. | Los Angeles Times
via Lifehacker
Go to Disneyland on a Wednesday Morning in September