California Screamin's Single Rider Shortcut

DCA's California Screamin' is one of the park's most efficient crowd-movers. With the ability to run five trains on the track at once, the massive coaster's wait times remain reasonable even on the busiest days. If you're touring the park solo, however (or don't mind temporarily splitting your group), the Single Rider Entry can cut your wait to just a few minutes!

The Single Rider Entrance is to the left of the Standby Line. A cast member will direct you through to this area, which is actually the ride's unloading side. A moment later, you'll be directed to the right, where you'll take an elevator up to the queue's over-the-tracks bridge.

Toy Story Midway Mania

The lively atmosphere of this loading station sets the mood for a terrific ride; Toy Story Midway Mania provides one of the most intensely entertaining sensory-overload experiences in all of Disneyland Resort.

It's also one of the trickiest rides to board without a hefty wait in line. Unlike its sister attraction in Florida, the DCA Toy Story ride has no Fastpass option. The good news: without Fastpass, the line moves fairly quickly, and an average afternoon wait hovers around the 45 minute mark.

The bad news: that  line remains consistent throughout most of the day. The only way to board quickly is to hurry over to Toy Story first thing in the morning (while everyone else is in Cars Land).

Or, there's Plan B...

Strange Things 7: Swiss Family Gummi Bears Edition

Welcome to another round of Strange Things; Disney tunes that are offbeat, obscure or performed in unexpected ways. All these tracks (except our video pick) are available on iTunes and Amazon MP3. Today we've got Lions in Norway, Kim Possible in Germany, Swiss Family Ostriches and rocking Gummi Bears. But first...Tikis!

TRACK: HAWAIIAN WAR CHANT
ALBUM: Hugo Winter - Tiki Room!

This is not the soundtrack to a certain famous Disney attraction. It does, however, contain a terrific, jazzy rendition of "Hawaiian War Chant," which is used in the Enchanted Tiki Room's finale. A bit of a stretch, but I love this album cover. Now I have a craving for pineapple...and Orange Crush...

Next, we have two very different takes on the Gummi Bears theme...

Waiting For Fantasmic (with Fish Heads & Crumbs)

Once it was Harper's Mill and now it's Lafitte's Tavern, but in both guises the rustic structure on Tom Sawyer Island has harbored Fantasmic's main stage.

It's hard to believe the gigantic Maleficent Dragon waits below, ready to rise up and set the Rivers of America afire...only to be fried by a dreaming mouse.  The thing I love most about the Disneyland version of Fantasmic is the way the show elements leap forth to take over the whole area -- and then when it's over and the lights go up, the old river has returned to normal in the blink of an eye.

It's a good thing the stage is so pleasant to look at, because a lot of die hard Fantasmic fans camp out for hours to secure a good spot for the show...and I believe that's a cue for Fish Heads & Crumbs...

Why You Need to Arrive at Cars Land Early

Some folks hate to get out of bed early on vacation, and when we advise them to get to the park gate by 6:30 A.M., they'll stare at us like we've lost our mouse-ear-wearing minds. As a public service, we present this photo comparison to show the difference between early arrival at the parks and late arrival -- and by "late," we mean 8:30 in the morning.

Above, you see a lovely, welcome sight; this is Radiator Springs Racers in the early morning -- about 7:15 a.m.. We've just taken two trips on the ride (the second go-round using the single rider line, which is a walk-on at this hour). Other early-birds are in the ride's sheltered queue area, which now holds about a thirty minute wait. Needless to say, this serene situation won't last.

The photos below (four shots clumsily stitched into a two-part panorama, but we think they get the point across), show the line for Radiator Springs Racers at 8:30 A.M. The now three-hour line snakes all the way through the ride's main queue and down Cross Street...

...toward the Pacific Wharf entry point and back again.

Fortunately for these late-arrivals who don't heed good travel advice, Radiator Springs Racers is the most entertaining ride to watch on Earth, and this extended stretch of queue provides a great view. Note that we're also enjoying the view, but we're sitting at Flo's having breakfast, because we arrived early and rode the Racers with minimal wait.

The moral? Have your clothes picked out, set the alarm, determine the earliest entry time your ticket/hotel package grants and get to the gate a half-hour earlier than that. Seriously, the object is to be one of the first few hundred people through the park turnstyle. Getting your family onto Radiator Springs Racers early and then relaxing together over breakfast at Flo's, with a whole day of fun ahead -- well, there's no better way to start a day at the resort.