Photos you need to take in Disneyland

Hey all! I'm back with some more info on Disneyland, and today I'm covering good spots to get your photo taken in the park. We will cover some of the biggest ones as well as some lesser known areas.

1- the classic, in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle
The only problem is, it can be hard to get this photo depending on the time of day. There's always a lot of people crowded around here trying to get this opportunity. For a fresh take, try taking the photo closer to the bridge and from a lower angle, or even go back into the garden where the Walt and Mickey statue is- it will be less crowded here and you may even get more of the castle in your shot!

2-On Main ST, USA
Try getting this photo at either the busiest or least busy time of day! Other people won't ruin the shot, it will just show how this truly is the happiest place on earth. Get yourself in the middle of main st to pose.

3- The fire hall on Main ST
When you first enter the park and go through the tunnel, you will be at the tail end of main st in a plaza. On the west side you will see the fire hall- the location of Walt's private apartment! He used to turn the light on in the top window so that workers of the park would know when he was visiting.  This is an excellent opportunity to take a photo- since Walt's passing, they always leave he light on in his apartment- symbolizing that he is with the park in spirit.

4- the flowers at the entrance to Disneyland
This is another classic- here you will see the flowers have been grown into a design, which is usually the shape of Mickey's head! Its a great photo opportunity, but I recommend doing this later in the day so you aren't trying to wait in line or beat a crowd of people to the punch. This is actually also a great place to find a couple of characters to take photos with- Mostly Disney Princesses. This is the place I actually found Ariel and had one of the best interactions with her.

5- Finding Nemo lagoon
This lagoon is so pretty- and if you love Finding Nemo, you can get a shot of yourself with the seagulls from the movie. You will also have plenty of time to take this photo if you're waiting in line- this ride can have long wait times during the day!

6- Entrance to Tomorrowland
Here at the entrance to Tomorrowland, there is a rather large ride called the Astro Orbiter, which is complete with a sign for Tomorrowland!

7-The Sword in the Stone- in front of King Arthur's Carousel
A few times a day, there is an event involving the sword in the stone- otherwise, its a great place to take a photo, and try your hand at removing the sword! You can also get a shot of the carousel in the background.

This photo is a young me on my first visit to Disneyland- still one of my favorite photos from the trip!

8-At any of the Disneyland Railroad stations
You usually have to wait for the train anyway- so take some time to stop and pose in front of the station!

9- Toontown Entrance
Since the entrance to Toontown is under a tunnel, this is a great spot to get some photos taken . Above the tunnel there is a sign for Toontown as well as a population counter that's a little wacky!

10- Mickey and Minnie's homes
If you're having trouble getting a photo with Mickey or Minnie, go through the tour of their homes in Toontown and if you're lucky Mickey or Minnie will be waiting at the end to take a photo with you! The line can sometimes be long, which also leaves you plenty of chances to take photos inside their homes.

11- Around the gag shop
Toontown is full of silly photo opportunities, such as bending jail bars, weights stuck in the ground, and gas pumps that are actually fish tanks! Take a minute to wander around here and take a silly photo or two- it's never to busy to get a few in.

12- Eating a Dole Whip
a Dole Whip is without a doubt a quintessential element of any Disney trip. Dole Wips + Tiki Room= Happiest day ever! You can get a Dole Whip while waiting for the Tiki Room- this area is full of Tiki statues and will make for a great photo.

13- The Rivers of America in New Orleans Square
The front paths closest to Rivers of America usually aren't too crowded- and if you catch this right you can also get the Mark Twain Riverboat or the Pirate ship in the background!

14- The stairs in New Orleans Square
Tucked away in the shops of New Orleans Square, there is a set of stairs! You can't ascend them all the way, but you can get a nice photo here as well as a break from some of the crowds. The odd time you may also find Tiana here.

15- Club 33
Club 33 is more well known than it used to be. If you don't know what Club 33 is, its an exclusive restaurant inside Disneyland, where only members of Club 33 can eat. Members include mostly the wealthy or families that have had a membership for a long long time- the waiting list is quite long to get in the club and the club fees per year are quite hefty. Regardless, you can find the entrance to Club 33 hiding in plain sight next to the Blue Bayou Restaurant.

These are some of the best photo spots in Disneyland- be sure to look out for my guide for California Adventure as well as a future guide to finding Characters for photos.

Disneyland Diamond celebration and ride tips

If there's one thing to know, it's that any crowd forecasts or ride closure expectancy calendars will not necessarily be accurate for this year at the Disneyland Park.They planned refurbs to take place before the 60th celebration was underway to ensure that maximum rides could remain open for the remainder of the year. Therefore, you can safely go any time of year and assume that the rides will be open.

Of course, there are often ride closures during the day. What you have to remember is that these rides are on all day, almost every single day. There is bound to be some mechanical issues or a problem every now and then. What I recommend in this case is that if the line is short, stand in line for a little while. When we went to Disneyland in June 2 years ago, Splash Mountain's line was constantly a few hours long. Which makes sense because of the weather. However, one day, the line was unusually short. So, we overheard that the ride was closed down. I told my husband that we should wait in line as it probably would not be long, as I could hear that they were already doing testing within the ride. And to our surprise, within ten minutes the ride was functional and there were only about 20 people ahead of us in line!

And of course, I always recommend getting fast passes for the busiest rides of the day. Matterhorn doesn't have fast pass option, so I always recommend making a beeline for that ride first thing in the morning. Finding Nemo also doesn't have a fastpass, so I always make that my second ride of the day to ensure shortest lines for both.

If you're a big fan of Indiana Jones, I highly recommend getting a fast pass for this ride. It routinely has some of the longest wait times in all of Disneyland Park. Another good option is to try and get in line during a parade or other show when the lines are destined to be short. Of course, other big fast pass musts are Radiator Springs Racers, Space Mountain, and Tower of Terror. And during the hot months, add Splash Mountain and Grizzly River Run to that list.

In hot seasons, I recommend avoiding waiting in line too long in Jungle Cruise. It is an all outdoor queue, and can get extremely hot when packed full of people. Same goes for Toy Story's midway Mania. If you can, I would ride these in the early morning or evening when the heat is not as severe outside. In fact, riding jungle cruise during the fireworks can be an awesome experience!

If you're looking for a quick way to cool down, I can always suggest Pirates. It's refreshing and relaxing and even if the line is long it usually moves quite quickly. Same goes for the Haunted Mansions. These rides are designed to take a large amount of people better than any ride.

The best rule of thumb is that if there are some rides you absolutely want to do that day, then get up and get to the park as early as you possibly can.

During the 60th anniversary, it's going to be a little more tough to predict how busy it will be. But you can bet that any long weekend and the Christmas season will be busier than ever, so avoid these times at all costs. September is generally a low season month and it is another reason I chose to go at this time. I have only experienced Disney at high volume times so I will be interested to see the difference. If you are debating between Christmas and Summer, I vote summer. While it can be quite hot, the lines are significantly shorter than in the Christmas/New Year's window. Any time this year will be special because of the Diamond Celebration,

Planning a Disneyland trip: 2015 edition

Hello all! It's that time again where Disneyland has been on my mind. I'm not sure if i'm ever going to get enough of a fix that I wouldn't want to try and go at least once a year, but we will see what next year holds!

For now, we decided that this year we would make our way to Disneyland in September. I purposefully picked a time when I knew the decorations would already be up, as my husband hasn't been during any holiday season before, and I haven't seen it during Halloween time (my favorite season and holiday) While we now have to wait 6 months until the trip, it will be worth it!

Since I have been booking these trips on my own, I have always booked through Disneyland's website. I find it the easiest to get the full trip booked through them and not have to worry that I might have missed something. Another added benefit to booking through Disneyland directly is that you only need to put down a deposit at the time of booking and then you are allowed to continue making payments up until 30 days before your travel date! You also receive a pin, lanyard, and luggage tag for each person in your party (last time we went, we got cars themed merch as Cars land had just opened.) as well as some coupons and discount cards, such as a discount card for the parks, voucher for one free 5x7 memory photo (which can be a ride photo if you wish!) and an ESPN Zone game card.

We thought about staying in one of the three Disney hotels again, but I decided if I could find a good hotel very close to Disney that we would save our money and stay elsewhere. I decided to stay at Best Western Park Plus Inn. It was well over 1,000 cheaper and with breakfast and free wifi, I couldn't pass up the deal. It is an extremely short walk to the park as it is THE hotel that is LITERALLY right across from the gates. The room doesn't matter to me so much, as I'm there for the time in the parks!

This time our trip is going to special, however, as we have family coming with us! I'm very excited to get the chance to share this special place with my husband's family. We booked our package, however, and an hour later his mother decided she wanted to join and share a room with us! That presented a little problem, as she couldn't book through Disney as she would then have to pay for a separate room! So, with a little sleuthing, I found out how you can add another member to your party, and this is how we did so. (My husband's sister and her partner will be booking their own room, so they will still be able to book their own package on the Disneyland website.)

First, have them book the same flight through the flight provider's website or a third party website if you prefer. Of course this step only applies if they are travelling from the same place or want to travel at the same time. Next, you can order Disneyland Express tickets online at graylineanaheim.com as they are the ones that provide the service to disney and good neighbor hotels! It is $48.00 for a round trip for one person, which is reasonable. Of course, you will only need this step if you weren't planning on renting a car.

And finally, up to that person's discretion, they can order Disneyland tickets online or purchase them from the hotel once they arrive. Most good neighbor hotels sell park tickets at their front desk. I only recommend ordering directly from DISNEYLAND'S website or from a good neighbor hotel in person. Never trust places like ebay or craigslist or someone on the street in Anaheim. You never know if those tickets will actually be valid or previously used.

Once their flight is confirmed, you can either contact Disney or the hotel itself to let them know that you're adding one person to your room. Some additional fees might apply, but I believe that will be up to the hotel to say. Our room already included enough sleeping space for up to 4 people, so it didn't need to be upgraded or changed.

This year is also going to be different because beginning in May is the 60th anniversary celebration of Disneyland Park! I was there for the 50th and I have to say it was very special. They had signage all over the parks saying '50' and I imagine it will be similar for the 60th. I don't recommend visiting before may, because currently the closed ride and experience list is quite long while they prepare for the 60th celebration. There will also be three new shows during this time.

Decor: The Carthay Circle Restaurant and Sleeping beauty castle will 'glisten and gleam' with it's own diamond medallion featuring the letter D." The entire resort will sparkle with Diamond celebration decor and banners in blue.

1. World of Color will re-open with a special new show for the Diamond Celebration. (I will probably cry, as world of color made me cry last time too) Called World Of Color- Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney.

2. In Disneyland park, there will be a new parade called "Paint the Night" A state of the art parade featuring over 1.5 million LED lights! The photos featured Tink, Sulley, and Mack from Cars.

3. At Disneyland park, there will also be a speical fireworks show for the occasion coined 'Disneyland Forever' (hello, Disneyland and fireworks go together, there is no way they would miss the chance to make a crazy cool fireworks show to celebrate!) It will feature pyrotechnics, projections, and 'other effects'. But they do say it will be using the largest projection mapping technology. The photo features concept art of projections on main street buildings, so I imagine the best place to view will be from somewhere on main st.!

The Disney Parks Blog also promises that there will plenty of specialty foods and merchandise during this celebration. I would say if you are debating when to take a trip to Disneyland, it should be between now and this time next year!