Magic Mornings & Fast Passes
some not-so-secret secrets to Disneyland and California Adventure to help you make the most out of your trip!
A lot of Disneyland newcomers may be unaware of some of the ways you can get around the park in a much easier and efficient way. And that's okay! I'm here to tell you just 2 of the most convenient and most common ways to make your day at Disney a lot more productive.
Magic Mornings
Magic Mornings are when guests are able to enter the park a full hour before it opens to the public. This is absolutely, undeniably, 100% worth it. However, you must buy a 3+ day pass, or a Southern California CityPASS in order to get access to Magic Mornings. If you get one of those tickets, you automatically are able to use it for one of your visiting days! You don't have to sign up for anything!
Magic Mornings are accessible on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Saturdays in Disneyland. Unfortunately, not all rides are available during Magic Mornings, (but pretty much all of the good rides are available). Here's a list of all of the rides you can ride for 1 hour before everyone else enters the park:
Fantasyland
Alice in Wonderland
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
King Arthur Carousel
Mad Tea Party
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Peter Pan's Flight**
Pinocchio's Daring Journey
Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Tomorrowland
Astro Orbiter
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters**
Disneyland Monorail
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
Hyperspace Mountain**
Star Tours**
** rides that have longer wait times during regular hours, therefore more worth it to ride during Magic Mornings
FastPasses
FastPasses help make your wait times a little more bearable, and go by a lot faster. You don't need to purchase anything specific for this - all you need is your park ticket! Nearby a lot of the bigger rides at Disneyland and California Adventure, there will be a line of machines, designed to be themed for your ride, marked "FastPass Distribution" with 2 slots on them, 1 for your park ticket, and 1 for your FastPass to be distributed. Insert your park ticket into the machine for a few seconds, and a ticket will come out. (Don't forget to grab your park ticket after as well!)
Here's an example of some of my FastPass tickets from last year!
Keep this ticket until you head back to your ride between the 2 times given, and scan it by the machines in the queue for the ride. Green means good to go, red means not so good (perhaps your time to come back has passed) and blue means not quite yet.
Some rides have their own designated FastPass lines, but others don't, so the Cast Member will point you toward the Exit line, and you can walk right through there to skip the line. The FastPass lines will have a sign like this above:
Here are all of the Disneyland attractions that accept FastPasses:
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad**
Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters
Fantasmic!
Haunted Mansion**
Indiana Jones Adventure**
"it's a small world"
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin
Space Mountain**
Splash Mountain**
Star Tours
Here are all of the California Adventure attractions that accept FastPasses:
Goofy's Sky School
Grizzly River Run**
Guardian's of the Galaxy**
Incredicoaster**
Radiator Springs Racers**
Soarin' Around the World**
Toy Story Midway Mania**
World of Color
** rides that normally have longer lines, therefore more worth it to get a FastPass for it
Now, because FastPasses aren't such a well kept Disney secret or hack, they do run out throughout the day, and even if you get one in the early afternoon, depending on how many FastPasses have been distributed so far, your time to come back may not be until the night. I always suggest to get a FastPass every time you enter the park at opening in the morning, and get as many as you can, as early as you can.
Don't pass up this way to get the most out of your day!