Disney World “Pro” vs. 1st time DLand

A couple of tips:

1. Disneyland works differently from Disney World for Lightning Lane Multipass if you plan on buying it - you can buy it with your tickets (I recommend doing this) but it works like Genie+ did at WDW. You book your first ride day of, and it happens once you scan into the park instead of at 7am. This makes it interesting because Lightning Lane availability seems to stick around for most of the day for all but a few rides. You can't select your ride time like at Disney World, so you need to see when the return time is when you book it. Because of this, if you rope drop you often don't need to book your first Lightning Lane until a little later in the morning when the wait times get longer.

2. One strategy for Lightning Lanes is fishing for a Multiple Experience Pass (MEP). If a ride goes down and you can book a Lightning Lane for it with a time close to the present time, book it and you'll likely get a Multiple Experience Pass that can be used on different rides and then can immediately book another ride. The MEP doesn't count against your 1-ride per Lightning Lane too. I have been able to get multiple MEPs throughout the day this way.

3. The Fantasyland rides in DIsneyland don't have Lightning Lane, the ride queues are so old they can't support a 2nd lane for Lightning Lane. If you decide to rope drop Disneyland, I like to rope drop Fantasyland and ride as many of the rides w/o Lightning Lane first. Some of the other popular rope drop rides are copies of rides available in WDW (Rise of the Resistance, MMRR) so if you don't want to ride those, Fantasyland makes sense. Peter Pan is where you want to go first, then Alice in Wonderland, then Mr Toad's Wild Ride, then Snow White, then Pinocchio and then if you want to ride the Storybook Land Canal boats and Casey Junior train.

4. Quick Service food at Disneyland imho is much better than Disney World, there are some good table service restaurants - but I often find myself eating QS instead and DVC members get a discount on quick service at Disneyland too.

Even though the parks are very close to each other, we prefer to not park-hop. It feels more enjoyable to enjoy each one at a time. There are more attractions in each park- especially DL - then at WDW.

We like to rope drop, try to get our first LL for mid-morning, and take a break at the pool mid-afternoon. The resorts are so close, its really easy to do that. Also, the DVC lounge in DL / Tomorrowland is very nice and comfortable. It also has outside seating which is fun.

LL is much better at DL vs. WDW. Definitely get it for a better day.

DCA Is a great park. Radiator Spring Racers - do it in the morning and if you don't have little kids - single rider line. You can breeze through. My son and I did it practically walk-on when the line was 75 minutes. There's a relaxing area near the DVC place, across from San Fransokyo where you can walk up and get drinks and sit in squishy chairs/couches and watch the people...Grizzly River Rapids is so much better then Kali. Try do get a LL for it in the afternoon and right before a hotel break so you can change if you get wet. If you're staying at Grand Cal, its right there.

We love the more laid-back feel of DL vs. WDW.

Thanks for your post. We have our first Disneyland and AULANI trip coming up in June from Maryland.

Ryan,

You are SO helpful! Thank you for answering these questions so thoroughly. Do you know if we can tag your answers -- so in the future we can go back and reference them?

Aulani is awesome, we are doing our second visit in September. My advice: 1. Buy the refillable soda and popcorn buckets that are good for your entire stay and for future stays. 2. Request a room with a view of the Halawai lawn so you can see the very good but very expensive lua for free. 3. Nearby costco is fantatic for buying groceries. 4. Best value dining on property is ulu cafe (same location to get popcorn refills) the pizza can feed 2+.

We did this last summer. My best advice would be to take some time just to wander round. You’ll feel lost constantly so just happening across things was something we really enjoyed doing ☺️

We’re so excited we’re DVC members since 2022 and doing Aulani was completely out of the picture until then! We will report back

That’s what I’ve heard 😂 it’s like you’re at home but someone rearranged the furniture!!

Yes! Perfectly said ☺️

We always park hop at Disneyland. It is so easy to get back and forth to utilize Lightning Lane and dining reservations most effectively. Especially, if you only have a couple of days at parks. If you do this, just plan your time well. Like Ryan said, Disneyland has great quick serve! Some sit down recommendations are Cafe Orleans in Disneyland Resort (Monte Cristo is great), Centrico in Downtown Disney is legit (Mexican), and GCH Craftsman Bar (VGC outside pool area sit down with great food anytime of day). Also, GCH Craftman is VGC quick serve, which I would argue as possibly the best quick serve there is!

In Oahu, we use SpeediShuttle service to get from the airport to Aulani. The resort, as well as the Ko Olina area, has a lot to offer as far as food and exploring. We start the vacation with relaxing resorts days to take advantage of the resort, beach and amenities. There is so much to do! The Hawaiian vibe is blissful! Then, we rent a car the last several days to explore the island and to get back to the airport. I would recommend going to Dole Plantation. Also, definitely go to the North Shore to see the famous Banzai Pipeline surfing and stop at the Shrimp Trucks for lunch. Giovanni’s hot and spicy, No Refunds, as they call it, is my go to! This is all making me want to book Aulani now! Mahalo for the inspiration!