The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (14 page)

Plaza

Once past the ticket booths, you
enter a vast open space between
Disneyland Park
and
Disney California Adventure Park
.  The plaza is tiled with hexagonal bricks purchased by
Disneyland
donors; the bricks bear the donors’ names, dedications, and messages.  There are no stores, restaurants, or vendors in this plaza, just a lot of open space.  Along the edges there are large planters broad enough to serve as benches if you and your little ones to sit upon should you need to wait here for an extended period of time.  There are also benches near the ticket booths.

Th
is largely empty space is designed as a place where it’s easy for Guests to spot friends and family and gather before entering the parks.  At the center of the plaza, flush with the pavement, is a big “rose compass” with four
Mickey
silhouettes in its center.  You can’t miss it, so it makes a great meeting spot for families and friends (“I’ll see you at 8 am the
Mickey
compass!”)

On the edges of the plaza, to the left
(west) of the
Disneyland Park
entrance turnstiles and to the left (east) of the
Disney California Adventure Park
turnstiles, are Rest Rooms and Lockers.  If you have sweatshirts, books, bags, or other paraphernalia that you realize you won’t need in the park, why not rent a locker and stow them now?  Prices range from about $7 to $15 depending on the locker size.  You’ll receive a printed ticket with the locker location and secret access password on it–
don’t lose it
!  You’ll need the password to reopen your locker.  For the one-time fee you can open and close your locker repeatedly to store or remove items until the parks close for the night.

If you want to picnic outside the park, there
’s a small
Picnic Area
secluded behind spiral hedges (shades of
Alice in Wonderland
) to the extreme left (west) of the
Disneyland Park
entrance.

If you need a stroller, the
Stroller Rental
station is to the right (east) of the
Disneyland Park
turnstiles.  As of this writing, stroller rentals are $15 for the day (or $25 for two strollers).  Wheelchair rentals are $12 (plus a $20 refundable deposit) and Electric Convenience Vehicle (EVC) rentals are $50 (plus a $20 refundable deposit).  Until winter 2010, strollers, wheelchairs, and ECVs were rented
within
the park; the new
Stroller Rental
location outside the park might be rather confusing, at first, for returning Guests.  (
Note bene
:  Many Guests are ill or disabled and
truly
require the use of wheelchairs or ECVs.  Please don’t rent one merely to use the attractions’ disabled entrances.  In the wake of “disabled tour” scams, in autumn 2013
Disneyland
began cracking down on people abusing disabled entrances.)

If you have a pet w
ith you, the
Disneyland Kennel Club
is located to the right (east) of the
Disneyland Park
entrance, near the
Stroller Rental
station.  The kennel is recessed, but you can’t miss it; the sign reads
Disneyland Kennel Club
in elegant gold letters.  Kennel Cast Members will lodge your pet (just about any type of pet, unless it’s poisonous) until park closing.  The fee as of this writing is $20 per pet per day, and you must provide proof of vaccinations (rabies, distemper and hepatitis for dogs; rabies, panleulaopenia, rhinotracheitus and calcivirus for cats).  The
Kennel Club
will
not
board your pet overnight, and you must provide your pet’s food and accoutrements.  When the kennel originally opened in the late 1950’s, it was called
Ken-L Land Pet Motel
and sponsored by Ken-L Ration.  (Even though it was called a “pet motel”, there was no overnight boarding even then.)

Once
your ticket or pass is in hand, and your pet and belongings are secure, there’s nothing left to do but head to the park entrance turnstiles!

The
Disneyland
entrance turnstiles are to the north.  The
DCA
entrance turnstiles are to the south.  If you queue before the parks open, expect long lines.  Cast Members usually begin admitting Guests about half an hour before the official park opening time.  For example, if
Disneyland
and
DCA
are scheduled to open at 8 am, Guests might be admitted at 7:30 am.  You can’t see shows or ride attractions until 8 am, and you will be corralled on
Main Street
in
Disneyland
or
Buena Vista Street
in
DCA
, but at least you’re already in the parks!

Use that extra half hour wisely.  Buy your coffee or cocoa (beating the long lines that will soon form).  Consult your park maps and fine-tune itineraries with friends and family.  Browse the nearly empty shops.  And, if you know where you’re headed once the park opens and the rope drops, head to the rope and be one of the first in line to go to the land or attraction of your choice! 
Did You Know?
  For years, many Guests chose one of the giant letters in the “CALIFORNIA” sign in front of the
DCA
turnstiles as a meeting place.  It was a practical and fun way to make sure your party gathered at the right spot, and posing in front of the huuuuuge letters made for a great photo op.  In early 2011 the giant letters were removed as construction began in earnest on the new
DCA
turnstiles.  The new
DCA
entrance, unveiled on July 15, 2011, resembles Los Angeles’ famous (and long-gone)
Pan Pacific Auditorium
.  It’s a gorgeous façade, and quite in tune with the architecture
Walt
saw when he arrived in
Hollywood
in 1923.  Rumor had it that the giant “CALIFORNIA” letters would be placed individually throughout
DCA Park
after its refurbishment was complete as a tribute to
DCA
’s early history.  A
Sacramento Bee
article of May 2012 reported that instead,
Disney
donated the eleven-foot tall letters to
Cal Expo
, a 350-acre event site in Sacramento, and home of the
California State Fair
.

Main
Turnstiles

More about the turnstiles that lead Guests into the parks.

The
Disneyland Park
Main Entry Turnstiles
are located on the north side of the plaza.  You can’t miss them–throughout most of the day, they’re thronged with queues of generally happy, sometimes impatient Guests. Beyond the turnstiles is a brick-paved entrance area where an old-fashioned brass band—the world-famous
Disneyland Band
—welcomes early morning Guests in front of a perfectly manicured green hill above which perches the
Disneyland Railroad
’s
Main Street Station
.

The
Disney California Adventure Park
Main Entry Turnstiles
are directly opposite, on the south side of the plaza.  Huge letters that spelled out “CALIFORNIA” were arranged in front of the
DCA Park
entrance until its 2011 transformation into an homage to the famous
Pan Pacific Auditorium
.  Beyond the turnstiles is the 1920’s splendor and fun of
Buena Vista Street
.

Whichever park you’re visiting, p
ick a line, any line.  Some will move faster than others.  Fast-moving lines are usually staffed by particularly efficient Cast Members, and/or the Guests are not asking a lot of questions.  Slower queues often mean newer or slower-paced Cast Members, or Guests with lots of questions and issues.

As with the bag
/stroller check lines and ticket lines, try to be patient.  If you end up in a slow queue behind confused people who drop things and lose their ticket and ask lots of questions, bottlenecking the whole line, just take a deep breath and remember you’re on vacation.  If you’re that irritated, switch queues.

Which line do you choose?  Most turnstiles are open to all Guests, but if you’re a
Magic Morning
Guest, arriving for
Magic Hour
, or if you’re attending a
Character Dining
experience, look for
Magic Morning
or
Character Dining
signs over one or two of the turnstiles—usually these will be turnstiles at the extreme left of the turnstile row.

For their convenience, Guests in wheelchairs or ECVs usually enter the parks through the large central gates, bypassing the turnstiles (but you still have to present your tickets or passes to Cast Members for scanning).  Please consult Cast Members for details.

Once you near your turnstile, a Cast Member will ask to eyeball your tickets or passes, so have them ready.  This is a pre-check so that if someone has problematic tickets or passes, they can be weeded out and assisted right away,
before
they create a bottleneck at the gate, blocking Guests with valid tickets.

Once you reach the turnstile,
you’ll see a Cast Member scanning tickets.  Hold up your ticket or pass so they can scan it.  You’ll also see racks containing
Park Guides
and
Entertainment Times Guides
.  These slim booklets are free, and chock-full of helpful information like park maps.  Everyone in your party should grab one of each while their ticket or pass is being scanned.

If you
’re pushing a stroller, you should use the gate next to ticket taker. 
Only strollers and those pushing the strollers go through this little gate
; everyone else in your party needs to use the turnstile.

Should there be a problem with your ticket or pass, e.g., if it’s not scanning properly, keep cool. 
Guests sometimes have crazy meltdowns if they’ve reached the entrance, and suddenly they’re told that their ticket or pass isn’t scanning properly.

Remember,
Disneyland Resort
Cast Members have perhaps the best customer service training on the planet.  They’ll listen to you, and they’ll get to the bottom of the problem.  There’s no need to blow your top.  Calmly tell Cast Members when and where you purchased your tickets or passes, and answer their questions.  The Cast Member will diagnose, explain, and solve the problem, or immediately call a supervisor or manager if it’s beyond their ability.  You’ll be helped, and quickly.  To avoid blocking the people behind you, follow all Cast Member instructions re: stepping to one side.  The issue really, truly will be resolved, without any need for hysterics.

Ta-da
!

Now you
’re through the main turnstile and physically in
Disneyland
or
DCA
!  This is the time when, if they haven’t already, children (and even some adults) begin to skip and dance a little jig of joy, that moment when it
really
sinks in that they’re at the happiest place on earth.  Put your ticket or pass in a safe place, make sure all your friends and family are together, and open up those guide maps.  The real fun is about to begin! 
Did You Know?
  Guests of all three of the
Disneyland Resort Hotels
are allowed to enter
Disneyland Park
and
DCA Park
one hour early on selected days to ride selected attractions.  This perk is referred to as
Magic Morning
.  (Sometimes
Annual Passholders
are treated to special
Magic Mornings
.)  When you arrive at the parks prior to their opening, don’t stand in the
Magic Morning
entrance queues unless you are a Guest at a
Disneyland Resort
hotel.  In addition to a ticket or pass, Guests in the
Magic Morning
lines have to present their hotel room keycard to prove that they are indeed
Disneyland Resort
Hotel
Guests.  They are given a
Magic Morning
pass which must be presented at a checkpoint inside the parks so that they are allowed to travel deeper into the park, able to ride the attractions prior to other Guests.  Entering the parks at 7 am gives one a whole new perspective.  The streets are still wet from their power-washing, reflecting the early morning sun.  There seem to be more Cast Members than Guests.  Cast Members, some still yawning, give railings a final scrub, stairs a final sweeping, unlock doors, and smile and wave to Guests. 
Disneyland
and
DCA
are waking up–and you’re there to see it!