Planning your first trip to Disneyland? Here are 5 costly mistakes I made on my first visit and how you can avoid them.

A first trip to Disneyland is exciting, but it can also feel like a lot to figure out. Two parks, a packed schedule, rope drop strategies, park hopping rules, mobile ordering, ride closures…there’s a lot of room to mess up! And even with plenty of research before my visit, I still managed to make a handful of mistakes that cost me precious park time. But you don’t have to! Here are five things I got wrong, and what you can do to avoid the same mistakes on your first Disneyland trip.

Rope Dropping the Wrong Attraction

The first 60-90 minutes of the day at Disneyland are some of the most important if you’re hoping to ride the most popular attractions with little to no wait, and I was ready! We had arrived about half an hour before Disney California Adventure officially opened, lined up at one of the waiting areas inside, rushed to WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure when the rope dropped, and got on without a wait. It was exactly how you want your rope drop to go. However, I soon learned that I rope dropped the wrong attraction.

Photo by Regan Wong

Throughout the day, the wait time for WEB SLINGERS was much shorter than its Avengers counterpart, Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!, and Radiator Springs Racers. While we were still able to skip the line at these two attractions using Lightning Lanes, the wrong rope drop strategy still cost me a lot of park time.

If you’re headed to California Adventure right when it opens, rope drop Guardians of the Galaxy, Radiator Springs Racers, or Toy Story Midway Mania (WEB SLINGERS is also still a safe choice on a busy day!). At Disneyland, choose between Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, or Matterhorn Bobsleds. These attractions consistently have the longest wait times throughout the day.

Park Hopping Too Early

Disney World got rid of park hopping hours a few years ago, but the rule still stands at Disneyland. However, it’s easy to forget about this when you’re in the middle of your park day. At least, it was for me.

Photo by Ernie Carr

Currently, park hopping hours start at 11 AM (though, you should check the daily park hours calendar for the exact time on the day you visit). This means that you have to choose which park you plan to start your day at when you purchase your tickets, scan your ticket at that park, and wait until the clock strikes eleven to cross over to the second park. Park hopping too early can cost you precious park time, especially because the crowds are much lower and lines are shorter during the first few hours of the day.

Starting the Day at the Wrong Park

Speaking of park hopping, choosing to start your day at the wrong park is one of the easiest mistakes to make when it’s your first time at Disneyland. So, let’s set the record straight – do you start at Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure?

Photo by Danny Shuster

I chose to start at Disney California Adventure because I wanted to ride the more thrilling attractions before park crowds got too high and take advantage of the early morning rope drop time. This ended up being a great approach. However, Disneyland Park has a lot more ground to cover and attractions to ride, so it’s best to start here if you’re hoping to fit it all into one day. I ended up having to skip Galaxy’s Edge and Toontown because there just wasn’t enough time in the day after starting it at California Adventure.

Waiting Too Long to Eat

One of the greatest things about dining at Disneyland’s quick service restaurants and snack stands is that you can skip the long lines and Mobile Order your food. It’s something I love to do at Disney World, too! However, I ended up so focused on getting to the next ride that I completely failed to notice when hunger was creeping in until it was too late. And, when I finally did open the Disneyland App to mobile order, the next available return times were at least an hour away.

Photo by Danny Shuster

Luckily, this first-timer mistake is an easy fix. You can either filter the app to find a nearby restaurant with a mobile order window available sooner, or you can just get in line (what I ended up doing). 

Not Knowing When to Give Up and Move On When Rides Break Down

When you’re spending an entire day at Disneyland, it’s not uncommon to find that a few rides are down (or go down) for technical difficulties. This can be disappointing if you were hoping to ride something that ends up being down all day (for example, that was Soarin’ during my visit), but generally you can plan your day around these outages. However, it becomes easier to make a costly mistake when the ride goes down after you’ve already waited 30+ minutes in line. Do you stay, or do you go?

Photo by Ernie Carr

This happened to me while in line for Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters. I was so close to getting on the ride, that I chose to stay. However, this ended up costing me about 20 minutes of park time that could have been used more wisely. If you find yourself in this situation during your first Disneyland visit, pick an amount of time you’re willing to wait for that specific attraction and know when to give up and move on. If the attraction usually has a shorter wait time, it’s often best to step out of line when the ride goes down and come back later. Though, you might want to wait a little longer for the more popular attractions.