The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2025 (Unofficial Guides) - Softcover

Kubersky, Seth; Sehlinger, Bob; Testa, Len; Selga Jr., Guy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 162809155X ISBN 13: 9781628091557

Publisher: Unofficial Guides, 2024

Synopsis

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 2025 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 2025 book:

• Details on the new The Princess and the Frog ride, Tiana's Bayou Adventure, as well as the reimagined Adventureland Treehouse
• Important changes to Disneyland’s park ticketing and reservation systems
• Field-tested tips on when and how to use Disney’s Lightning Lane line-skipping services
• Updated in-park dining reviews featuring Tiana's Palace and San Fransokyo Square
• A look at the revitalized restaurants and retail at the rebuilt Downtown Disneyland
• Profiles and ratings for more than 30 Disneyland Resort and Anaheim hotels, including the new Pixar Place Hotel and DVC Villas at Disneyland Hotel
• In-depth guide to Universal Studios Hollywood, including the new Fast & Furious roller coaster and Halloween Horror Nights
• Previews of the Marvel multiverse attraction announced for Avengers Campus and the Disneyland Forward proposal to expand the resort

Make the right choices to give your family a vacation they’ll never forget. The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2025 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.

About this title

About the Author

Seth Kubersky has worked for more than 25 years as a theatrical artist, culture critic, and travel journalist. Seth is the co-author of The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando, The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland, and The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas, as well as a collaborator on The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. Seth is nationally recognized as an authority on theme parks and amusement attractions and contributes to Attractions Magazine and the Unofficial Universal Orlando Podcast. His arts-and-entertainment column, “Live Active Cultures,” appears in the Orlando Weekly, central Florida’s leading alternative newspaper.

A native of Livingston, New Jersey, Seth earned a B.A. in theater from The College of William and Mary in Virginia. He has produced and directed dozens of plays through his award-winning Empty Spaces Theatre Co. and at the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival. As a stage technician and entertainment supervisor at Universal Orlando from 1996 to 2000, he worked on the Ghostbusters Spooktacular and Terminator 2: 3-D attractions, Mardi Gras parades, and Halloween mazes. Seth lives in Orlando with his wife, Genevieve, and their cats Kipper, Pumpkin, and Sol.

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.

From the Back Cover

What’s NEW in The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2025

• Details on the new The Princess and the Frog ride, Tiana's Bayou Adventure, as well as the reimagined Adventureland Treehouse
• Important changes to Disneyland’s park ticketing and reservation systems
• Field-tested tips on when and how to use Disney’s Lightning Lane line-skipping services
• Updated in-park dining reviews featuring Tiana's Palace and San Fransokyo Square
• A look at the revitalized restaurants and retail at the rebuilt Downtown Disneyland
• Profiles and ratings for more than 30 Disneyland Resort and Anaheim hotels, including the new Pixar Place Hotel and DVC Villas at Disneyland Hotel
• In-depth guide to Universal Studios Hollywood, including the new Fast & Furious roller coaster and Halloween Horror Nights
• Previews of the Marvel multiverse attraction announced for Avengers Campus and the Disneyland Forward proposal to expand the resort

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Disney 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.

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 or participating in parades. Some appear only once or twice a year, usually in holiday parades.

Up-close character meet and greets with autographs, parades, and similar experiences were temporarily suspended during the coronavirus pandemic in favor of socially distanced appearances, but guests can once again hug and high-five their Disney friends.

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, 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 Goofy and Chewbacca, 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.

There are two kinds of characters: those whose costume includes a face-covering headpiece (animal characters plus some human characters such as Captain Hook), and face characters, or actors who resemble the cartoon characters to such an extent that no mask or headpiece is necessary. Face characters include Mary Poppins, Ariel, Jasmine, Aladdin, Cinderella, Mulan, Tarzan, Moana, Belle, Snow White, and Prince Charming, to name a few.

Only the face characters are allowed to speak. Headpiece characters, called furs in Disney-speak, do not talk or make noises of any kind. Because the cast members could not possibly imitate the distinctive voice of the characters, the Disney folks have determined that it is more effective to keep them silent. Lack of speech notwithstanding, the headpiece characters are extremely warm and responsive, and they communicate very effectively with gestures. As with the characters’ size, children need to be forewarned that the characters do not talk. The only exceptions are the costumed stars of some newer shows and parades, who boast articulated facial features that blink and flap in sync with the soundtracks, and select Star Wars characters (like Darth Vader and Kylo Ren) who use prerecorded dialogue clips to converse with guests.

Parents need to understand that some of the character costumes are very cumbersome and that cast members often suffer from very poor visibility. You have to look closely, but the eyeholes are frequently in the mouth of the costume or even down on the neck. What this means in practical terms is that the characters are sort of clumsy and have a limited field of vision. Children who approach the character from the back or the side may not be noticed, even if the child is touching the character. It is perfectly possible in this situation for the character to accidentally step on the child or knock him or her down. The best way for a child to approach a character is from the front, and occasionally not even this works. For example, the various duck characters (Donald, Daisy, Uncle Scrooge, and so on) have to peer around their bills. If it appears that the character is ignoring your child, pick your child up and hold her in front of the character until the character responds.

It is OK to touch, pat, or hug the character if your child is so inclined. Understanding the unpredictability of children, the characters will keep their feet very still, particularly refraining from moving backward or to the side. Most of the characters will sign autographs (except for Star Wars characters) or pose for pictures. Once again, be sure to approach from the front so that the character will understand your intentions. If your child collects autographs, it is a good idea to carry a big, fat pen about the size of a Magic Marker. The costumes make it exceedingly difficult for the characters to wield a smaller pen, so the bigger the better.

Edition details

• Publisher: Unofficial Guides
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 162809155X
• ISBN 13: 9781628091557
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416