17hr Disneyland Day

How did we survive a 17hr Disney day? I'll tell ya, we drank a lot of coffee!

Alright, let me jump right into it. We flew with a group of our friends from Houston, TX to LAX. Our flight landed around 10p.m. and we finally got checked in our hotel, and ready for bed by 12:30a.m. I am a drill sergeant when it comes to Disney, and made sure everyone had their alarm set for them to be up and ready to start walking by 7:15a.m.

Disneyland Park Hours

8:00a.m. - midnight

Park Hopper available after 1:00p.m.

Disneyland California Adventure Park Hours

8:00a.m. - 10:00p.m.

Downtown Disney District Hours

8:00a.m. - 1:00a.m.

What I LOVE about Disneyland and being able to walk to the parks. You don't have to wait on a bus, ferry, monorail, etc. The park opens at 8:00a.m. so we started walking at 7:15a.m. to arrive at the gate by 7:30a.m.

Another great assentive of Disneyland is, when walking from a hotel you typically enter in through Downtown Disney. This gives you two opportunities to stop and grab coffee before you enter the parks. There are two Starbucks locations in Downtown Disney. If you do plan to get coffee before you enter the park, I would suggest walking at 6:30a.m.

Now, you don't have to get to the gate by 7:30a.m. if you are visiting multiple days in the parks. In our case, we had two family members join us, who live in California, and they could only spend one day with us.... so of course.. we were going to make the most of it.

As soon as the gates opened, we rushed to rope drop The Rise of the Resistance. This was fun and easy. Even with the large crowds of people, the attraction was a walk on. And yeah... I say "large crowds" because it was insanely busy. We visited in December. I get that it's Christmas time, but wow!!! For California, I was shocked. Somehow we still managed to ride every attraction we desired to ride in Disneyland before we park hopped at 1:00p.m. I have a separate blog on just Disneyland. <-- Check it out for the attractions I love and our hotel link.

After 1:00p.m. We park hopped over to Disneyland's California Adventure. <-- I also have a blog on just this park as well. Another great reason to love Disneyland is, you just walk on over to the next park. Yes, it is just that easy. We rode plenty of rides and enjoyed our time in California Adventure. Because park hopping is so easy, we eventually hopped back to Disneyland to watch the Christmas Parade, while a few others stood in line for Web Slingers. I wasn't interested in standing for over an hour for that ride, which I heard, ended up being a let down. Maybe not for kids... but I am glad I ventured back to Disneyland. Some of us spent the afternoon in Disneyland shopping, getting more coffee, and enjoying the atmosphere on Main Street USA.

The hotel is walking distance, so we did decide to go back, change into warmer clothes, charge our phones, and freshen up before returning to Disneyland. I believe we went back to the hotel around 7p.m. and then made our way back at 8:30p.m.

Riding attractions you love at night is honestly so much more fun and exciting! We did get DOLE Whip and enjoyed it, while we waited in front of the castle to watch the fireworks. After that, we rode space mountain and I remember looking at my phone noticing it was almost midnight. I just loved it!

7:00a.m. - midnight is a little intense and I do not suggest it with little kids. But, we had a blast as adults! If you want to make the most of one day and experience both parks, it is doable.. exhausting..but doable! We made so many memories with our friends that I will never forget! I love Walt Disney World and Disneyland. They both have their different details and attractions that makes you fall in love with both.

The next day. It was hard to wake up! Rob and I were up early so we headed to Disneyland's California Adventure and enjoyed a slow morning. We ordered coffee and rode Monsters Inc, while we waited on our Texas friends to show up. This time, we started our day in Disneyland's California Adventure and then we could park hop after 1:00p.m. to Disneyland. This was our Texas friends last day, and my parents, sisters, and niece were joining us later in Disneyland that evening.

We had four full days in Disneyland and it was plenty. After going non stop the first day, we took our time enjoying the next three days in the parks. I also loved seeing my niece experience Disney for the first time. It was the sweetest memories. She also looked so grown up being there. Her favorite rides are the Tea Cups and Big Thunder Mountain. We rode those attractions quite a bit with her.

Disneyland will always have a special place in my heart since it is the very first park I have ever visited and honestly making the memories in Disneyland with my niece was also a major highlight.

Thank you, for reading! Let me know your thoughts and comments!

-Georganna