Save time and money with in-depth reviews, ratings, and details from the trusted source for a successful Disneyland vacation.
How do some guests get on the big, new attraction in less than 20 minutes while others wait for longer than 2 hours—on the same day? Why do some guests pay full price for their visit when others can save hundreds of dollars? In a theme park, every minute and every dollar count. Your vacation is too important to be left to chance, so put the best-selling independent guide to Disneyland in your hands and take control of your trip.
The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2023 explains how Disneyland works and how to use that knowledge to stay ahead of the crowd. Authors Seth Kubersky, Bob Sehlinger, Len Testa, and Guy Selga Jr. know that you want your vacation to be anything but average, so they employ an expert team of researchers to find the secrets, the shortcuts, and the bargains that are sure to make your vacation exceptional! Find out what’s available in every category, ranked from best to worst, and get detailed plans to make the most of your time at Disneyland. Stay at a top-rated hotel, eat at the best restaurants, and experience all the most popular attractions.
Keep in the know on the latest updates and changes at Disneyland. Here’s what’s NEW in the 2023 book:
Make the right choices to give your family a vacation they’ll never forget. The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2023 is your key to planning a perfect stay. Whether you’re putting together your annual trip or preparing for your first visit, this book gives you the insider scoop on hotels, restaurants, attractions, and more.
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Seth Kubersky is nationally recognized as an authority on theme parks and amusement attractions. He has worked for more than 20 years as a theatrical artist, culture critic, and travel journalist. In addition to writing The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando and coauthoring The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland, Seth also contributes to the Unofficial Guides to Walt Disney World and Las Vegas. A resident of Orlando since 1996, Seth is a former employee of Universal Orlando’s entertainment department. Named Best Arts Writer in The Daily City’s 2013 readers’ poll, Seth covers arts and attractions for the Orlando Weekly newspaper, Attractions Magazine, AAA’s Via magazine, and other publications.
Bob Sehlinger, a Lowell Thomas Award–winning journalist, is best known as the creator and producer of The Unofficial Guides series.
A contributor to several top-selling guidebooks, Len Testa leads the team at Touring Plans, a research arm of The Unofficial Guides.
Guy Selga Jr. is a passionate Disney fan, a blogger, and a researcher at Touring Plans.
What’s NEW in The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2023
Part 3: Disneyland with Kids – Disney Characters
Meeting characters
For years the costumed, walking versions of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and others have been a colorful supporting cast at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Known unpretentiously as the Disney characters, these large and friendly figures help provide a link between Disney animated films and the Disney theme parks.
Audiences, it has been observed, cry during the sad parts of Disney animated films and cheer when the villain is vanquished. To the emotionally invested, the characters in these features are as real as next-door neighbors; never mind that they are simply cartoons. In recent years, the theme park personifications of Disney characters have likewise become real to us. For thousands of visitors, it is not just some person in a mouse costume they see—it is really Mickey. Similarly, running into Goofy or Snow White in Fantasyland is a memory to be treasured, an encounter with a real celebrity.
About 250 of the Disney animated-film characters have been brought to life in costume. Of these, a relatively small number (about 50) are greeters (the Disney term for characters who mix with the patrons). The remaining characters are relegated exclusively to performing in shows, usually in holiday parades or Disney anniversary celebrations.
Character encounters
Character watching has developed into a pastime. Where families were once content to stumble across a character occasionally, they now pursue them armed with autograph books and cameras. For those who pay attention, some characters are more frequently encountered than others. Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy, for example, are seemingly everywhere, while Thumper rarely appears. Other characters are seen regularly but limit themselves to a specific location. The fact that some characters are seldom seen has turned character watching into character collecting. Mickey Mouse may be the best known and most-loved character, but from a collector’s perspective, he is also the most common. To get an autograph from Mickey is no big deal, but Daisy Duck’s signature is a real coup. Commercially tapping into the character-collecting movement, Disney sells autograph books throughout the parks. One Unofficial Guide reader offers this suggestion regarding character autographs:
Young children learn very quickly! If they see another child get an autograph, then they will want an autograph book as well. I recommend buying an autograph book right away. My 4-year-old daughter saw a child get Goofy’s autograph, and right away she wanted to join the fun.
Preparing your children to meet the characters
Because most small children are not expecting Minnie Mouse to be the size of a forklift, it’s best to discuss the characters with your kids before you go. Almost all of the characters are quite large, and several, such as Br’er Bear, are huge! All of them can be extremely intimidating to a preschooler.
On first encounter, it is important not to thrust your child upon the character. Allow the little one to come to terms with this big thing from whatever distance the child feels safe. If two adults are present, one should stay close to the youngster while the other approaches the character and demonstrates that the character is safe and friendly. Some kids warm to the characters immediately, while some never do. Most take a little time and often require several different encounters.
Part 5: Disneyland Park
Star Tours—The Adventures Continue
Description and Comments
When Disney’s first modern flight simulator ride debuted in 1987, guests lined up for hours for their hyperspace voyage into a galaxy far, far away. But time and technology march on, and Star Tours received a top-to-bottom overhaul in 2011 with cutting-edge-digital 3D screens (the sharpest and clearest that we’ve ever seen) and in-cabin-Audio-Animatronic figures of C3P0, your golden droid pilot. During your inevitably turbulent travels, you’ll bump, twist, and dive into a who’s who of Star Wars icons, with heroes Master Yoda and Admiral “It’s A Trap!” Akbar on your side, and villains Darth Vader and Boba Fett on your back. Jedi junkies will want to know that the ride takes place between episodes III and IV, so you’ll be visiting planets from both the classic trilogy—such as icy Hoth and arid Tatooine—and the not-so-classic prequels, including Geonosis (home of the dreaded Death Star) and Naboo (home of the equally dreaded Jar Jar Binks).
The big twist is that the six possible cosmic destinations and five celebrity cameos are randomly combined into 54 different story variations, giving the attraction unprecedented re-ridability (though you may see all 11 potential ride elements in as few as three voyages). Fans of the former ride will be thrilled to find a wealth of references (along with hidden Disney characters and Star Wars inside jokes) inside the detailed queue, and those made uncomfortable by the old ride’s jerkiness will be surprised at how smooth and well-synchronized the reprogrammed experience now is.
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