Disneyland Survival Tips:

1. Plan Ahead With Genie Pass

2. Arrive Early and Stay Late.

3. Stay Near The Park.

4. Use Lightning Lanes.

5. Buy a Lightning Lane for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in the Disneyland app.

6. If you don’t buy a Lightning Lane for Rise of the Resistance, arrive as early as possible (the park opens at 7 am and the ride opens at 8 am) to beat the crowd into line.

7. Use Single Rider Lines.

8. Eat Early or Late.

9. Make Mobile Food Orders or Advance Dining Reservations.

10. Bring a Backpack That Can Fit at Your Feet on Rides.

11. Minimize Walking.

12. Be Able To Entertain Yourself and Your Group.

The average Disneyland guest walks more than five miles per day.

This is why, in my opinion, Genie+ is well worth the extra cost. I’d have even paid more for it! 

Genie+ saved me hours of standing in line all three of my days in Disneyland, and I love getting unlimited photos from the rides and professional photographers.

But even if you don’t get Genie+, the complimentary Genie service in the Disneyland app can help you plan your day and cut down on wait times.

The a la carte Lightning Lanes are straightforward. You buy the next available Lightning Lane time starting a 7 am, or when you arrive at the park, then you show up for your scheduled time.

The regular Lighting Lanes included with Genie+ require more planning and strategy. So here are the best tips to maximize your Lightning Lanes and minimize your wait times:

You can only reserve Lightning Lanes on the day of starting at 7 am. So, unlike the FastPass system, you can’t choose any Lightning Lanes in advance. But you can still plan ahead of time. Use the free Genie service to gauge expected wait times so that you don’t schedule a Lightning Lane for a time when there will already be a short wait time.

You can only Lightning Lane a ride once per day. So if you get to a ride and it has a low wait time, and you know you’ll want to ride it twice, stand in line when it’s a short wait and save your Lightning Lane for later in the day.

As long as you haven’t redeemed your Lightning Lane by scanning it at the ride entrance, you can cancel it at any time for any reason. So if you get to a ride and it has a short wait time, you can cancel and save your Lightning Lane for that ride for later in the day.

You can only make one Lightning Lane selection at a time for the next available time slot. So to get as many Lightning Lane reservations as possible in a day, reserve your next Lightning Lane as soon as you scan into your current Lightning Lane.

If you have a Lightning Lane with an arrival window of more than two hours from when you selected it, you can make another Lightning Lane reservation. So if the next available Lightning Lane for a popular ride like Space Mountain is three hours away, you’ll be able to Lightning Lane other rides while you wait for your Space Mountain time.

Disneyland Survival Tips:

1. Plan Ahead With Genie Pass

2. Arrive Early and Stay Late.

3. Stay Near The Park.

4. Use Lightning Lanes.

5. Buy a Lightning Lane for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in the Disneyland app.

6. If you don’t buy a Lightning Lane for Rise of the Resistance, arrive as early as possible (the park opens at 7 am and the ride opens at 8 am) to beat the crowd into line.

7. Use Single Rider Lines.

8. Eat Early or Late.

9. Make Mobile Food Orders or Advance Dining Reservations.

10. Bring a Backpack That Can Fit at Your Feet on Rides.

11. Minimize Walking.

12. Be Able To Entertain Yourself and Your Group.