The best of Disneyland: 2021

One of my most often used search terms, specifically when researching a trip, is “best things to do in ________”. When Disneyland re-opened after COVID, I was thrilled to get to go again (a huge thank you to my Aunt Karen for bringing me along on the family vacation)!

When thinking about Disneyland, there are a LOT of good resources out there that can help you get really detailed with where to stay, what to eat, the order to do the rides in…and, if you’re my cousin James (check him out, @pluralofjame), can literally tell you Disney history, how the rides work, and what Disney has coming up. Whaaat?!

But me?  

I’m all about lists and I’m all about reflecting on my favorite parts of a trip. So that said, I’m going to break down for you my top 3: Rides, Eats, and Tips for Disneyland! Without further ado, let’s start with…

The Rides:

After our trip, we all picked our 5 favorite rides, and there were 3 in particular that were an easy rating of  +5, and were on everyone’s list. 
Side note:  My other cousin, Lexie, came up with this genius rating scale:  Everything is on a scale of -5 to +5, where 0 is neutral.  It works very conveniently, because sometimes things need negative stars, amirite?

They were: 

Space Mountain (Disneyland)
*Head here straight after opening!

Rise of the Resistance (Disneyland)
*You gotta be ready RIGHT at 7a.m. to try and get your boarding pass for this–even be ready a couple of minutes early! If you don’t get it at 7, you can try again at noon!

Incredicoaster (Disney California)
My cousin James (above) gets a lot of comments about looking like a grown-up Dash. Can you see the resemblance?!

Side story:
The first time I went on Incredicoaster (a couple of years ago), I thought it was fun, but not AMAZING. I was telling one of my friends about it, and she asked me what I thought of the Jack-Jack chase. I was completely confused and asked her what she was talking about….to which she replied, “You know….they’re chasing Jack-Jack through the ride?? There’s a GIANT Jack-Jack at the end?”…Nope, I had no recollection of this. I DID remember the scent of freshly baked cookies though.

It turns out that Incredicoaster DOES have a storyline throughout the ride! When I went back I paid much better attention to this and the ride became a 5!  

As a very important side note, you can also buy Jack-Jack Cookie Num-Nums near the ride–they are warm, gooey, and SO GOOD.  

Honorable Mentions (Rides):

Guardians of the Galaxy (my personal very favorite ride)

Also honorable mentions:
Cars (so fun and beautiful)
Soarin’ (Usually brings tears to my eyes, in a lovely kind of way)
Buzz Lightyear’s AstroBlasters

Now onto what is possibly my favorite category for ANY trip…

The food!
There are a few musts, in my opinion, when in Disneyland. This one is REALLY hard to narrow down to three…but I’m going to do it (of course with a few honorable mentions)!

Napa Rose
Yes, this is a fine dining experience. And it. is. Phenomenal. The food is unreal (I got filet both times I’ve been), the service is fantastic (shout out to Dondi, our gem of a waiter), and the drinks are *chefs kiss*. 
Hi Dondi!

Little Red Wagon Corndogs
This is a MUST for me. 


Pineapple Dole Whip…FLOAT.
I’m a Pineapple Dole Whip Float girl. You used to be able to ask for the cute little umbrellas in your drink, but it seems that’s gone away since COVID happened. Still delicious though–and especially refreshing on a hot day!


Honorable Mentions (Food): 

Honestly, possibly my true #1 food stop in Disneyland is at what we call “The Food Room” (aka the Veranda). I didn’t rank this in top three since it’s only available when you stay Club Level at the Grand Californian.  Included in a Club Level stay is a lounge room with buffets–breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert! The word “buffet” doesn’t even feel right for what this is–the food is absolutely phenomenal. If at all possible, I highly recommend staying here to enjoy this experience!

See that parfait? I don’t really even care for parfaits, and I couldn’t stop raving about how delicious that one was!

La Brea
Technically, this is in Downtown Disney, but um….WOW. I ordered the clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (which was, delightfully, Mickey shaped!), and it was absolutely fantastic. I will make a point of eating there on each trip.


Salt & Straw
Also in Downtown Disney–but you know I’m an ice cream girl! Salt & Straw has different flavors by season, which is so fun. We were in summer when I visited, so I got the Berry Slab Pie.
Oh. My. Gosh.  

Go. Order. Thank me later. 


Tips

1. Take an afternoon break! I took a break every day after lunch until dinnertime ish. This included swimming, reading, showering, and of course spending time in the Food Room! This seriously was key to my trip: I got to recharge my batteries, so when I was in Disneyland, my energy was high! Also, it was a great time to take this break as we avoided the afternoon crowds.


2. Bring two pairs of tennis shoes and lots of socks. I don’t know why, but it is a glorious feeling to put on fresh socks and shoes!
The fresh shoes and socks feel especially great after you get drenched by a geyser on Grand River Rapids…


3. When possible/it makes sense for you & your group, use the single rider line! At times we were even able to sit on the same ride vehicle!


Overall, whatever rides you go on, whatever food you eat, the magic of Disney will surround you!  Soak it in every moment.  

Drop your best Disneyland memories and/or tips in the comments–I’m already working on planning another Disney trip, and would love to hear your faves!

From Disneyland in the morning to Disney California Adventure at night!
PC: James Clark