10. Park Strategy, Part 3 - Both Parks in a Day!

I'm only going to be there for a day, but I want to do the best of both parks - Help!!

Okay don't worry I'll help you out here. Doing both parks in only one day is tough and exhausting, but I've been there too! I've definitely got some suggestions to make the most of your very short time, and hopefully you won't have to sacrifice too much magic!


Overall time-saving tips:

• Check the park hours! Get there as soon as the parks open! Park hours can be found here. Try to have an idea of how long it will take you to get to the parks in the morning and your mode of transportation (driving/parking, walking, bus, etc.) and then give yourself extra time just in case. I personally try to be there about 15-20 minutes before the parks open, to allow for security, and getting through the park gates. Being there for the rope drop is fun and it ensures you are squeezing every minute out of your day! 
• Do your shopping before or after your day at the parks. If your travel plans leave you with a free evening or a morning and you need to kill time, use that to go to Downtown Disney and get your park merch! The World of Disney store in Downtown Disney has almost all the stuff you'll find in the parks, in one convenient place. They even have a ton of candy. Do this and you won't have to worry about spending time to poke around and purchase things while you're in the parks. 
• If shopping the day before or after your Park day isn't doable, I would recommend doing all your shopping at the end of the day. The shops stay open an hour after the rest of the park closes! Hit up the Emporium in Disneyland for the biggest selection on the park.
• Take advantage of the FastPass system! A couple posts back I detailed the FastPass system. Make sure you use it! If you use Disneyland's app you can even see what times are being distributed on the current FastPasses. 

Speaking of the Disneyland App...

I want to take a moment to talk about the Disneyland app and how much I love it. This may sound dramatic but it has transformed the way that I do Disneyland. It saves me SO MUCH TIME and walking and I could not be grateful enough! Let me break it down feature by feature.

So many wait times!!

• It checks wait times for you. You just pull up the Disneyland map (which is the first screen that opens) and locate the ride you might want to ride next, and boom it shows the wait time. Which is nice to know in advance before you make your trek across the park just to find out that Star Tours is a 90-minute wait! 

• It tells you what the return time is for the FastPasses currently being distributed! Fantastic! It will also let you know if there are no more FastPasses for the day.
• It gives you all the ride information you might need. I'm talking hours, ride type, height restrictions, and potential closures (such as Fantasyland rides closing for fireworks performances).
• It tells you where you can meet characters. At the top there's a little side-scroll menu, where you can select "characters" (among other categories). Each category looks similar, bringing up an area of interest on the map that you can click on for details. 
• It shows you where restaurants are, their price point, and their menu. This comes in handy for me all the time, when my buddies and I all want a particular type of food but we're not sure where to find it. 

• It keeps all your park goodies in one place. By that I mean, that if you have dining reservations, park tickets, or PhotoPass pictures, they're all on the app. Just sign in with your Disney account and you're ready to go! If you have an annual pass, that links to the app as well and you can view your blackout days and discounts!
• Side note: Although you can use the app to scan your annual pass/park ticket to enter the park, you will still need a physical pass to get FastPasses and your Passholder discounts! 
• Speaking of PhotoPass photos... Those with an annual pass (or those who purchase the day pass to download the PhotoPass pictures) will be able to view all their pictures on the app. You can also download them directly to your phone. Some take a few hours to show up, while some pictures will show up minutes after they're taken. It's pretty awesome.
• Entertainment schedules are also available on the app (of course) so you never have to miss an awesome show again! 

As you can see, I have a giant crush on the Disneyland app. You can download it for free on iOS and Android! Once you've done so, and you've checked the park hours for the day you're going, I have some other time-saving tips when it comes to park hopping.

• This might sound a little odd, but... park hop as little as possible. A park hopper ticket is definitely valuable so you can ride all your favorite rides in both parks in a single day, but honestly, going back and forth between the parks takes a LOT of time. What I've taken to doing is splitting my day just about in half. That way you're not spending as much time getting out of one park and into another.
• Keep each of the parks' closing times in mind. Typically California Adventure will close before Disneyland. When this happens, I'll usually start my day there so that once I'm done I can stay in Disneyland for the rest of the day/night. 
• There are instances where Disneyland might close before DCA so make sure to always check for special events! For example, in September and October during Halloween Time, there are a couple nights a week where Disneyland closes early for Mickey's Halloween Party. After the early closing, only those with tickets to the special event will be allowed in the park! On a day like that, I'd start at Disneyland and make the switch to DCA after the early closing.

On this post I detailed the best things to do in Disneyland, and in this one I discussed California adventure. Combine those with my time-saving tips and you should have a fine time with a single day at the Disneyland Resort! 

If you have any time-saving tips that I forgot, let me know in the comments!