10 Ways To Avoid Long Lines at Disneyland Resort

Over the past 12 years we have visited Disneyland Resort approximately 35 times.  I know Crazy huh?  It just was such an easy place to take our kids when they were little we just kept going back.  So, needless to say we have our favorite tips that we have learned to make the most of our day and not spend it waiting in lines longer than necessary.
First take a peek at my tips for your first visit to the New CarsLand here.

1.   Make good use of your Extra Magic hours if you are staying at a Disneyland Resort Hotel.  This is extra hour in the Park will be the least busy time of the day and will let you walk on to many rides especially in the Fantasyland area where as the day unfolds always gets extremely busy.
2. Get your Fastpasses early.  No matter how long the Standby Line is the Fastpass Line rarely gets longer than 30 minutes.  So on those rides with an hour and half wait the Fastpass is the way to go.  However in order to get your Fastpass for this ride it is best to go early.  Some of the newest rides such as Radiator Springs in CarsLand can run out of Fastpasses in as little as two hours after the park opens.  So, do not put off getting your Fastpasses for those main attractions.  Also, make sure to abide by the time on your ticket once your Fastpass window has expired they will not let you use your ticket. 
3. Fastpass Tip: When you get a Fastpass you can not get another Fastpass for at least two hours or until  your Fastpass time has expired whichever comes first.  However there are two rides in the Disneyland Resort Area that are not connected to the Fastpass grid.  In Disneyland it is “Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin” and in Disney California Adventure it is “Grizzly River Run”.  If you get a Fastpass for either of these rides you can still go and grab another ticket without any problems.
4. When getting Fastpasses for your party not everyone has to wait in line with you to get them.  Only one person needs to wait with all of the tickets for your party.  However, everyone in your party wanting a Fastpass must be inside the park. 
5. Use the Rider Switch Pass:  If you are with a child that is not tall enough to ride the attraction you can receive a Rider Switch Pass by asking the Cast Member at the ride entrance for a Switch Pass.  They will ask to see the child who is not tall enough to ride, the person waiting in with the child and the person waiting in the line.  When the first rider comes off the ride the person who waited then takes the Rider Switch Pass back to the Fastpass entrance to go through the line.  They are also allowed to take one other person with them.  When our kids were little we took full advantage of this. 
6. Another great way to make your Fastpasses go further is to combine them with the Rider Switch Pass since only one Fastpass is needed for the first person that waits in line you can use the other persons ticket to get a Fastpass on a different ride. 
7. Single Rider Line: If everyone in your party is old enough and comfortable enough with riding the attraction by themselves you can all stand in the Single Rider Line.  This line is generally no longer than the Fastpass line and you don’t need a special ticket to use it. 
8. The lines for the rides are the shortest in the morning and in the late evenings.  As the day unfolds the park will get very busy from about 10:00am to early evening.  A great idea is to get their early at rope drop and stay until early afternoon then go back to your hotel, swim, nap, eat, and wait to come back until after dinner and stay late.  This is the best way to save your sanity on those really busy days. 
9. Another idea to do as the park gets busier through out the day is to chose attractions that can allow you to sit down while you wait.  Such as, The Enchanted Tiki Room, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Hanging out in Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer’s Island, Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, The Animation Academy, Disney Jr. Live on Stage, Muppet Vision 3D.  These are just a few of the rides that will have the shortest waits and allow for some sit down time as well.
10. A great time to get in line for a ride is when there is a major event happening in the park such as the Firework show or Fantasmic, or the Parade.  These times will always be a little bit lighter as they generally draw huge crowds.  Another thing to consider is going off season. Off season time is late August through September, after Thanksgiving through the fist 2 weeks of December, Mid January through mid March.  This will be when the park is less crowded and going midweek will also bring down the crowds.  Not to mention save you money.