Cars Land Opens Today! Tips to Skip Disneyland Lines

Buckle up, and prepared to be WOWED.

Disney's California Adventure opens the long awaited Cars Land to the public today! We were there two weeks ago with the "coming soon" signs everywhere and wished we could see the $1.1 billion addition. With seven years in the making, it must be PACKED today with excited guests!

The closest we got to the 12-acre rendition of Radiator Springs was the sneak peek blueprints, photos, and video journal in the Blue Sky Cellar. We learned the Imagineering team road-tripped Route 66 so they could authentic Cars Land with the spirit of the road, people, and places. Their world-class designers, architects, engineers, artists make every detail of "Cars" come to life - even down to exactly replicating the mountain lines of Ornament Valley. Disney sure knows how to make dreams a reality.Check out their rad Cars Land site.

With that being said, I promised to share how we were able to go on EVERY big ride in both parks in one day (except Star Tours, cause it makes me queasy) - without waiting any longer than 20 minutes for any given ride. Shout out to our Pannell cousins who taught us the pro way to do the park. It's not about going at crazy warp speed all day - we still had time to chill and take in the wondrous details, like a Mary Poppins performance and baby ducks swimming in the ride water. The secret? It all boils down to FastPasses:

If you haven't been to a Disney park in more than a decade, I'll explain: When you get a FastPass, you "reserve" a time to come back to a ride. They set aside a FastPass lane, and you get to whiz past all the peeps in the long standby line. (We practically jumped onto Splash Mountain, bypassing the hundreds waiting for 70 minutes - oh yeah.) Disney provides FastPasses for big rides (as seen above), like Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror, Soaring Over California, and for BIG events like World of Color. They have strict FastPass rules, but when you know how to work the system, it's definitely more enjoyable a day when you forego never-ending lines.While these tips won't likely work for the next couple months cause the park will be SO populated for the Cars Land debut, they can always help.

Tips to Skip Disneyland lines - the "Leapfrog" Method:

1) Get to the Disneyland early in the morning - within the first 30 minutes of opening (usually 8am).

2) Go STRAIGHT to a pre-chosen ride and get a fast pass. (We started off with Indiana Jones, but whatever you want most, get that FastPass first.) While it's extremely tempting to meander, admire, take pictures - NOT YET! THIS IS CRUCIAL. Once you have your pass, you have an hour or two to come back and use it - giving you time for childlike wonder. We recommend doing Astro Blasters in Tomorrowland while you wait, as it's a fun way to start the day and generally has a super short morning line.

3) Your FastPass gives you a range of time to return (say 9:15 to 10:15am), and a time you can get another FastPass, which is the same time as the beginning of the return time (9:15am). Just before you get on the first ride, grab another set of FastPasses for another ride - giving you two at a time.

4) Go on the first ride you chose, feeling like a V.I.P. as you cut past the line. 

5) When you get off, enjoy your time on other rides when you wait for FastPass #2 to clock in, and make sure to grab another set of FastPasses before you get on it.

6) Continue "leapfrogging" FastPasses the rest of the day, and you're bound to get in more rides, less whines, and more happy.

Bonus: Remember to go to California Adventure when it opens (usually 10am) and pick up World of Color passes. Without a pass, you can't get a good spot, and believe me - you'll be glad you did. While you're there, pick up a FastPass. The FastPass systems are separate between Disneyland and California Adventure, and you can go back and forth to hit the best of both.

Enjoy! Let us know how your trip goes!

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