If you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed that the hubby and I will be heading to Disneyland in a couple of weeks. We’re Annual Passholders, so we try to make it there every 3-4 months for a few days of magical fun.
I thought I’d share with you our top five picks for FastPasses between Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure. Whether you’re an avid Disney goer or planning your first Disney trip, FastPasses are the way to go if you want to maximize your time in the parks.
We opted to have MaxPass in addition to our FastPasses, because not only can you reserve your FastPasses on your mobile app, but you can get free downloads of all the photos you take on the rides and in the parks with PhotoPass Photographers! Don’t worry, if you’re not an Annual Passholder, you can still purchase this feature for the day(s) you’re in the parks.
1. Space Mountain
Park: Disneyland
Land: Tomorrowland
Why we chose it: Space Mountain is one of the few thrill rides found inside of Disneyland Park. It’s fast, fun, and different from other rollercoasters. Rather than being outside, you’re actually inside of a building and feel like you’re going through space! Cool, right? Well, check this out. As fun as it is to ride the “classic” ride, they also do overlays! At one point, Space Mountain turned into Hyperspace Mountain to match a Star Wars theme. Visual and auditory feedback made us feel we were in a Star Wars movie! Also, for Halloween time, the attraction becomes Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy where eerie ghosts chase you through the star fields. This is a highly popular attraction, so waits can be over an hour, which is why we like to snag FastPasses for it.
2. Splash Mountain
Park: Disneyland
Land: Critter Country
Why we chose it: Ever been to Southern California on a hot day? It doesn’t necessarily have to be summer. It could be October and still in the 90s! Well, this is one of the perfect rides to cool down on! It’s a longer ride too, so it’s kinda nice to get on it to rest your feet if you’ve been walking around for a while. If it’s a super hot day and everyone is thinking the same thing, lines for this attraction can be pretty long, and a good amount of the queue is outside in unshaded area. With a FastPass, you can skip the long line and typically get underneath some shade much sooner. Also, if you’re a thrill seeker like we are, the 49 foot drop should be right up your alley!
3. Guardians of the Galaxy
Park: Disney’s California Adventure
Land: Hollywood Land
Why we chose it: As we bid adieu to Tower of Terror, we welcomed Guardians of the Galaxy to Disney’s California Adventure. Of course, being a “new” attraction, tons of people want to try it out. Although this ride uses the same mechanics as Tower of Tower, it definitely seems to have more drops. Also, you may get different scenes every time you ride. We’ve been lucky on some occasions to only wait about 30 minutes without a FastPass, but that’s during the off season, like at the end of February when we celebrate our wedding anniversary. Typically, you can expect waits that are at least an hour for this thrill ride.
Sidenote: Don’t let our cute poses fool you. I’m typically screaming my head off like a little girl, grabbing for hubby’s hand. He’s usually just laughing at me screaming the whole time. BUT! I always make it a point to pose when we get to the very top and have our picture taken!
4. Radiator Springs Racers
Park: Disney’s California Adventure
Land: Cars Land
Why we chose it: WE REFUSE TO WAIT 110 MINUTES FOR THIS RIDE! Plain and simple. It’s a ride unlike any other and has some beautiful views, especially at the beginning. We try to be smart with our FastPass choices, because this ride runs out of FastPasses pretty quickly in comparison to other rides that offer it. Also, we typically like to ride it once during the day and once at night, because part of the ride is outdoors.
5. Toy Story Midway Mania
Park: Disney’s California Adventure
Land: Pixar Pier
Why we chose it: Even though we’re in our mid-to-late 20s, we’re just big kids at heart. After all, Walt Disney did say:
Toy Story Midway Mania is a fun, interactive ride filled with mini-games! We love this one, because the games are fun to play and we like to compete against each other. I always lose though. 😛 As fun as this attraction is, we just don’t have enough patience to stand in line for more than 50 minutes for it.
In general, we don’t enjoy wasting time in the parks by spending most of it in line. We’ve become pretty good at utilizing our FastPasses that we’re able to get on a few rides multiple times during the day. It’s great too, because we never feel like we’re rushing to get from one ride to the next. We implement our snack breaks and dining reservations strategically and never have to worry if we’re going to miss one of our FastPass time windows.
What about you guys? Do you make trips down to Disney? If so, what are your must have FastPasses in the parks? I’d love to hear them in the comments below!
For the past two to three months at work, it seems as though we’ve held a potluck every week. From a healthy Cinco de Mayo potluck we held on the 10th of May, to a 4th of July potluck held on the 5th of July, to a taste around the world potluck for a coworker’s birthday, we’ve enjoyed everything that everyone has brought. However, one dish stood out to me, which one of our aides made. She brought in this amazing fruit salsa and cinnamon sugar tortilla chips. I asked her for the recipe and she said it was super easy to make. She simply verbally listed all the fruits she used and I took it from there.