Thank you all for all of your questions this last week! I’ve answered almost all of them, but anything received after noon yesterday I will answer next week. You can read them here. Each week I will continue to answer them and add them to the top. That way it will be easy to see if there have been any new questions answered.
This week I am breaking down Fantasyland for you, ride by ride. It is also available to print at the bottom of the post.
Fantasyland
Good time to go: First thing in the morning or right after parades. Closes early for fireworks but opens up after they are done if the park is open late.
Peter Pan’s Flight – Great ride, long wait with a slow line, do first thing in the morning.
Casey Jr. Circus Train – Great ride, only 1 train so the wait can be long, do first thing in the morning too.
Dumbo the Flying Elephant – Fun for all ages, fast line.
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride – Fun but some younger kids can get freaked out. Would recommend for kids 5 and older. Line wait is average.
Snow White’s Scary Adventures – Usually no line FOR A REASON! We made the mistake of taking our first son on his first trip as the first ride – Ruined his whole day. Older kids no problem, younger kids use caution!
King Arthur Carrousel– Fast line, hardly any wait and the kids love it!
Mad Tea Party – Fast line, hardly any wait since a lot of adults don’t like the spinning. Its especially magical at night with the lanterns!
Storybook Land Canal Boats– Little girls will especially love this little boat ride full of intricate miniature houses and castles. Line is pretty slow going. After the parade ends is the perfect time to go since the line is closed down during parades!
Pinocchio’s Daring Journey – Along the same line as Snow White. Pretty terrifying for children under the age of 5. Usually very little to no line.
“It’s a small world” – Fast line, younger kids love it – Dads usually don’t 🙂 It’s a great ride since you sit for a while and can rest. The ride itself is 15 minutes long in cool air conditioning. Look for the Disney characters throughout the different parts of the ride. It is especially amazing at Christmas time!
Alice in Wonderland – Fun and not too scary for smaller kids, line moves average.
Matterhorn Bobsleds – Classic ride but very jerky. People with back problems should use caution. Kids must be 35″ and kids under age 7 years must be accompanied by a person age 14 years or older. There is a monster that can scare kids about half way through the line. The line usually moves pretty fast.
Sleeping Beauty Castle Walk through – This was closed for a while but Lori just confirmed that it is now back open. You can walk through the castle and its a fun and kind of hidden attraction. To find the entrance you walk through the castle into Fantasyland and turn left. It should be tucked into the corner of the castle. This does require you to climb stairs but I understand that they have a virtual tour for those that can not climb stairs.
Don’t forget to come back next week when we break down Tomorrowland ride by ride.
Download Fantasyland
You can see the rest of our Disneyland series here:
Frontierland & Critter Country – Ride by Ride!
Adventureland and New Orleans Square – Ride by Ride!
California Adventures and Cars Land
Disney lunch box jokes and 2 week countdown
If you are looking for a way to save some money on your next vacation be sure to check out Get Away Today for some HUGE savings!
nissa
Materhorn is now 43″ tall my daughter is too short still 🙁 they have new seats.
lttlskttl
You just saved the day!! Making a spontaneous trip in 2 days and you just saved me SOOO much time of researching for 3 year old and a 5 month old. Thank you so very much — and this website is adorable….a new fan!
kcrooked24
Did you happen to do a ride by ride for California Ad. ?
Emily
They’re re-vamping the matterhorn as we speak with new bobsleds to ride-wonder if it will be less jerky.
Grace
One thing I did with my friends this month is wait to do all the Fantasyland rides until 11PM. We were the ONLY people in line and we even rode Snow White twice–we just asked if we could go again and stayed in our seats. For some reason, that ride is extra scary at night–it might be because you are the only ones in there so there are no “warning screams.” Astroblasters is also great at 11. With no wait at all, my friend and I took one car each and used both guns on our cars! I know this probably isn’t plausible for those with young children, but if you have older children or none at all, I’d recommend doing these rides at night. It’s also the best time to get a picture in front of the castle. It’s beautifully lit and you won’t have people cluttering the foreground of the castle.
Liz
Thanks Lisa! It’s been a while since I’ve been to Disneyland, but I do have a couple of tips. Sleeping Beauty’s Castle is a great break in the middle of a hot summer afternoon. There are stairs, but it’s cool and dark inside, you can move at your own pace, and there’s almost never any line to speak of, so you just walk on in. And be sure to ride the Storybook Land Canal Boats twice if you can, once during the day, so you can get a really good look at all the miniatures, and once after dark, when they are all lit from inside. I always found it magical after dark. And if I remember correctly, it’s better to try and to get on the right hand side of the boats – you can most of it better from that side.
Diane
One thing we do before we go on Snow White is try and make a game with the kids. First one to see the witch. They are so busy trying to beat each other, the game takes away some of the scariness.
Sam
We are taking our 1 year old to the Callifornia Adventure Park on the 14th.. Any tips or suggestions?
Ami
When riding It’s a Small World always choose the line on the right. The left one loads all of the wheelchair riders and takes a LOT longer. We learned this the hard way in February.
Lisa
Great tip Ami! Thank you!
Sandra
Thanks for putting the “scariness” of the rides! Sometimes the lines seem so long Im just not sure if they are worth waiting for. having this as a guide is great!
Megan Johnson
This is awesome. I am going to Disneyland on the 24th for a half a day. I was wondering if you could go through the adult rides before then… or if I can come over and have you go through them with me, that would be great…
Lisa
Im going land by land. You are welcome to come pick my brain though 🙂