How to Skip Disneyland Lines

If you have ever been to a theme park, it is almost a certainty that you have been stuck in long and boring lines. You usually end up becoming hot, tired, and impatient, which can ruin the experience. In this article, I will share some tips on avoiding standing in long lines at Disneyland (and all other Disney parks).

• Use Fastpasses. Many rides allow visitors to get and use Fastpasses to skip the line at a later time. You can find out what rides have Fastpasses available by looking at the Disneyland guide (the free map the employees give you at the entrance). Then, you simply have to head over to that ride and find the Fastpass distribution area. This area should be full of machines. To receive a Fastpass, simply insert your Disneyland ticket into the machine and remove it. The Fastpass will be vended from a slit in the machine. Furthermore, the Fastpass will have two times listed on it; the only time that truly matters is the first one, which tells you when you can come back to the ride to use your Fastpass. (Seriously, the second time means nothing). Using the Fastpass is fairly self-explanatory; you simply have to join the Fastpass line and they will tell you what to do with your Fastpasses.
• Plan Fastpasses. You can not simply pick up as many Fastpasses at you want. After getting your first Faspass of the day, you can receive your next Fastpass when your first one is "cooked." This term is used to refer to the fact that the first listed time on a Fastpass has passed, allowing you to use the Fastpass at the ride. Furthermore, if your first Fastpass has a "cooking" time that is over two hours in the future from when you received the Fastpass, you can get your next Fastpass in two hours. Note that I am referring to "first" and "second" Fastpasses, but you can easily obtain over two Fastpasses in a day. Knowing this information, you should plan your schedule to maximize how many Fastpasses you can get in the day and minimize wait times. For instance, you may want to consider getting Fastpasses for a less popular ride (which will cook faster) and then Fastpasses for a more popular ride (which will cook slower) so that you can ride the less popular ride while waiting for your other Fastpass to cook. However, keep in mind that Fastpasses for very popular rides often run out, so be sure to pick them up relatively early in the morning! As a final note, you should try to do things that do not require waiting in lines while your Fastpasses are cooking. Ride some of the kids rides or have lunch, for instance.
• Show up very early or very late. Both of these times are significantly less busy than the middle of the day. Also, at the beginning of the day, you can get Fastpasses for very popular rides that cook within the hour! If you go to a popular ride five minutes or so before closing, it can often be a walk-on.
• Ride single-rider. Many people are reluctant to do this because they don't want to get separated from their families or friends. However, most socialization at Disneyland actually happens in the lines and when walking around. Often, family members don't even talk to each other that much on a ride. As such, it is often worth riding single-rider (see the guide to check availability). This can prevent many hours of waiting in lines.