Visiting Disneyland in 2021

Visiting Disneyland In 2021!

We are a Disney family through and through. If you know us, it is no surprise I took the plunge to get us tickets to Disneyland when they went on sale. And yes, I waited 12 hours to get tickets! I am definitely not a Disneyland expert, especially in post-pandemic times, but I wanted to share the few things that I learned and a couple things I would have done differently.

Pixar Pier at Disney’s California Adventure

To Get There Early Or Not?

I did a lot of mental gymnastics with the decision to get to the parks early or not. I did as much research as I possibly could in terms of arrival time. But, I ultimately decided NOT to get there at before 8am. The sanity of our family being in good spirits for the full 12 hours of the day was my priority, and I knew that sleeping in as much as we could took precedent. Parking was a breeze, and I was very surprised on how smooth it was to go through security. We were in DCA and in line for the first ride at 8:50am.

Incredicoaster at Disney’s California Adventure

Parking At Disneyland

Another debacle I went back and forth with was where to park. I originally planned to park outside of the park either at a hotel or the Garden Walk and walk over. At the time, the Mickey & Friends Parking Structure was only going to open 30 minutes prior to the park opening and that was just not enough time for me! But, as time was getting closer to our visit, I had heard through the grapevine that the security line on Harbor was significantly longer than at Mickey & Friends. So what was a girl to do?! Well, this girl chose to park at Mickey & Friends and it was pretty seamless – 10/10 recommend 🙂

Save Radiator Springs For The End!

Okay for the most part, we had a really great day, but riding Radiator Springs at the very beginning of the day was the biggest mistake I could have made. I think everyone at the park had the same idea as I did…which meant the line was 250 minutes long! I honestly was shocked but I was equally worried that the line would be even longer as the day went on, so we stuck it out. It actually worked out okay because B got to ride a couple of rides while I waited in the long line. But, in hindsight, I wish we would have started at the back of the park and worked our way forward. The wait for Radiator Springs the rest of the day was only 60 minutes long…woops! Well, you live and learn!

Bring A Blanket…To Sit On!

We visited Disneyland 2 days before the mask mandate was over and the capacity limits were lifted, so this may have changed, but there was not a lot of places to sit. I knew this going in to the park, so I brought a blanket for us to sit on anywhere we could find shade. Moving forward, I think I will always do this because it really ended up being helpful!

Pym’s Tasting Kitchen in Avenger’s Campus at DCA

Places To Take a Break From The Heat!

If you have been to DCA in the summer, then you know it can get really HOT, especially around Pixar Pier. Here are a couple of places to go to beat the heat!

* Take a ride on the The Grizzly River Run. This ride is the perfect amount of refreshing without feeling like you are uncomfortably wet. I will even be so bold as to say that I got LESS wet on this ride than on Splash Mountain! Also, the line for the ride is almost completely shaded. Talk about a win!
* Go under the sea in The Little Mermaid. Again, another line that is almost entirely shaded, and that AC can’t be beat!
* Stop for a cold treat treat at the Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats. You can do a mobile order for this so it is ready just when you need it. Grab a shady spot near the Incredicoaster with your soft serve and enjoy!
* Take a cat nap near Goofy’s Sky School. Okay maybe don’t actually nap, but I bet you could fall asleep under the shady treats and cool breeze off the pond 😉

Grizzly River Run & Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats in DCA

Assembling In Avenger’s Campus

Unfortunately, we did not get a boarding pass to ride WEB Slingers at 7am but we did get one at 12pm! While I feel so fortunate we were able to get into Avenger’s Campus, our boarding pass did not allow us access to get inside the campus until around 6pm. We missed all of the shows inside of the campus because they typically end around 4pm. We were in the campus for the last Dr. Strange show but the line was so long so we didn’t get to see any of it.
Some positives:
*We DID get to ride WEB Slingers, which was 100% worth it! I don’t really love interactive rides like that but the technology was so phenomenal that I had no choice but to love it!
*On a personal note, I got to take B on Guardians of the Galaxy for the first time, which was just so much fun to do!
*I did score us a mobile order at Pym’s Testing Kitchen and Pym’s Tasting Lab. Both were SO good!
*No shows for us, but still plenty of super hero interactions!
*For our next visit I will definitely make it a priority to get into Avenger’s Campus early so we can experience all of the shows!

Have you been able to visit Avenger’s Campus? If so, what was your favorite part that you experienced? Tell me in the comments!