Disneyland

I've been to Disneyland hundreds of times over the last two decades and have been writing the Funland theme park blog for about four years now. As a result, people are always asking me how to do everything at Disneyland in a single day. The short answer is you probably can't. It can be a struggle for even hard-core fans with military assault-like strategies. The longer answer is there's lots of ways to maximize your time in the park and get on the most rides possible. PHOTOS: How to do Disneyland in a day So in honor of Disneyland's 24-hour Leap Day celebration , here are my seven tips for tackling Disneyland in a day: Tip 1: If you're trying to get the most out of your day at Disneyland , I always recommend arriving just before the park opens in the morning, staying until the park closes at night and taking a long break in the heat of the afternoon at your hotel pool or cocktail bar. It may sound like a long day, but you'll get more done in the first two hours and the last two hours of your day than if you spent 15 hours straight at the park.

Re "Give TV subscribers more choices," Column, May 7 For satellite and cable TV viewers, I would propose something like the Disneyland ticket book the park had until the early 1980s. In this case, customers would buy their service and get to choose a designated number of programs to watch; everyone would get a few vouchers equivalent to Disneyland's old "E" ticket, which allowed access to the newest and most popular attractions. That and some competition between the cable companies would be welcomed.

Workers at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park took photos of visitors entering the parks Tuesday as part of a new effort to crack down on abuse of multi-day tickets. The process of photographing guests--including children--delayed visitors getting into the park by about 45 minutes, according to park-goers. "They delayed literally thousands of people in line to do this process," said Bob Shoberg, a San Jose resident who visited Disneyland with his wife, daughters, in-laws and grandchildren.

After a three-week closure to complete safety work, the popular Space Mountain attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim is expected to reopen this weekend. Disneyland voluntarily closed the 36-year-old ride April 13 after state regulators, investigating the injury of a contract worker, found violations related to safety procedures and equipment for maintenance staff. Disney officials said Friday that they could not give an exact date for the reopening of the ride but hope to have it operating this weekend.

The days when parents could drop kids off at Disneyland for the day, leaving it up to Mickey and Goofy to watch over the youngsters, are over. Walt Disney Co. has unveiled a new admission policy requiring that children entering any of its U.S.-based theme parks be accompanied by a visitor at least 14 years old. In years past, parents living near theme parks would often use them as day-care facilities during summer vacation and spring break....

The new Star Tours attraction that will soon debut at Disneyland adds several layers of 3-D realism to the 1980s-era simulator ride, making the experience less like watching a movie and more like being in the middle of the action. I took a few preview rides Friday at Disneyland on the updated attraction, which offers 54 possible storylines, and I found myself wanting to jump back in line after each galactic journey. Photos : Concept art of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue at Disneyland and Disney'sHollywood Studios Dubbed Star Tours: The Adventures Continue , the " Star Wars " -inspired ride officially debuts June 3 at Disneyland in California and opened Friday at Disney'sHollywood Studios in Florida.

Disneyland had to close its gates for several hours during its 24-hour Leap Day celebration when after-work crowds overwhelmed the Anaheim theme park. Traffic on the Santa Ana Freeway was backed up for four miles Wednesday night as the main Disneyland parking structure swelled to near-capacity and frustrated visitors sat in gridlock on streets leading to the park. The 24-hour Leap Day event, which ran from 6 a.m. Wednesday until 6 a.m. Thursday, saw more than 3,000 Disney fans lining up 10 hours before the gates opened in hopes of getting free commemorative Mickey Mouse ears.

The princess predicament is a problem as old as Disneyland. Moms want a picture of their little girls with a Disney princess while Dads and their bored boys squirm at the very notion of waiting 45 minutes for a photo op. Disneyland seems to have found a happy medium with the new Fantasy Faire , ushering the ladies through a conga line of princess meet-and-greets while the guys pass the time with a slapstick comedy designed to entertain the...

Breaking a wicked stepmother's curse, Disneyland's fairytale princesses will be whisked away from their crowded one-room temporary home in 2013 and magically transported to a spacious new storybook village more befitting of their royal lineage. Blame Rapunzel for the extreme home makeover after Disney's newest princess moved into her own brand-new Fantasyland home in 2010 and immediately drew hour-plus lines to her "Tangled" meet-and-greet location. In a fit of jealous rage, Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty demanded an upgrade from their windowless, doorless and roofless slapdash digs in an old converted theater.

Disneyland will celebrate Leap Day on Wednesday by offering late-night shows, music, food and character meet-and-greets while keeping the Anaheim theme park open for 24 hours straight. RELATED: 7 tips for tackling Disneyland in a day As part of the One More Disney Day marketing campaign, both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom in Florida will open at 6 a.m. local time on Wednesday and operate until 6 a.m. Thursday. Here are the highlights planned for Disneyland on Leap Day: > Free limited-edition mouse hats handed out to the first 2,000 visitors entering the park at 6 a.m. (Lineups begin at 10 p.m. Tuesday)

Disneyland's Space Mountain remains closed for safety repair work, two weeks after state regulators cited the park for hazards to workers who maintain and repair the attraction. Disney officials, who said they have no estimate on when the ride will reopen, closed Space Mountain and two other rides April 13, after receiving the state citations. The other rides, Soarin' Over California at Disney's California Adventure Park and the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland, have reopened. State safety inspectors scrutinized the rides after a maintenance worker was injured in November from a fall he suffered while cleaning the outside of the Space Mountain building.

A ride at Disneyland and another at Disney California Adventure Park remained closed Monday as park officials worked to fix safety violations cited by the state. Disney officials said they voluntarily closed Disneyland's Space Mountain and Soarin' Over California at Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim over the weekend while they review their safety procedures. Park officials said they have no estimate on when the rides will reopen. The state's Division of Occupational Safety and Health issued fines Friday of $234,850 for six violations related to the maintenance of fire extinguishers and safety barriers and anchors for exterior cleaners and other workers on Space Mountain.

Disneyland's popular Space Mountain roller coaster and another ride are temporarily closed after the company received citations from state regulators last week that prompted a review of its employee safety protocols, a spokeswoman said Sunday. After receiving the citations Friday, company officials shut down the Matterhorn Bobsleds ride, Space Mountain and Soarin' Over California on Saturday, said Suzi Brown, spokeswoman for Disneyland Resort. The Matterhorn reopened Sunday.

A 59-year-old man serving a federal prison sentence in Arizona for making bomb threats to Disneyland faces multiple counts of sexual assault involving two Orange County women he met through Pennysaver ads in the 1980s. James Michael Camp, 59, of Anaheim, was scheduled to be arraigned Friday on two felony counts of residential burglary, two counts of forcible rape, two counts of forcible oral copulation, one count of grand theft and one count of robbery with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a knife.

A disabled man who was stuck inside Disneyland's "It's a Small World" ride after it broke down - though the music played on - has sued the amusement park and been awarded $8,000, the man's attorney said Tuesday. Santa Monica-based attorney David Geffen said his paraplegic client, L.A. County resident Jose Martinez, 52, went to Disneyland with his wife for the first time since he was a child on Nov. 27, 2009. They were having a great time, Geffen said, but the "It's a Small World" ride "stopped working as he was just exiting the goodbye tunnel.

A disabled man who was stuck inside Disneyland's "It's A Small World" ride four years ago and later sued the amusement park has been awarded $8,000 in a court decision, the man's attorney said Tuesday. Santa Monica-based attorney David Geffen said his paraplegic client, 52-year-old L.A. County resident Jose Martinez, went to Disneyland with his wife for the first time since he was a child on Nov. 27, 2009. The pair were having a great time, Geffen said, but the "It's a Small World" ride "stopped working as he was just exiting the goodbye tunnel.

Like the clang of the trolley car bell, the smell of baking fudge and the turn-of-the-century architecture, the Dapper Dans barbershop quartet is part of the fabric of Disneyland's Main Street USA. As part of a yearlong Limited Time Magic marketing campaign, the turn of the century inspired Dapper Dans will be performing songs this week by boy bands from the 1990s to today at Disneyland and Florida's Magic Kingdom. Billing themselves as the "original boy band," the Dapper Dans will sing a medley of "Bye Bye Bye" by 'N Sync , " What Makes You Beautiful " by One Direction and " Rock Your Body " from Justin Timberlake's post-boy-band solo debut.

Between the brouhaha of the winter holidays and the end of the school year is that coveted halfway point known as spring break. To gear up for that last lap of the academic year, grab the kids and significant others and go recharge at some posh pools. Many Southern California hotels have cerulean gems that allow you to escape from it all without traveling too far or breaking the bank. Seeking pools outside Los Angeles? We have some destinations that may surprise you, but first, perch-worthy pools close to home.

The days when parents could drop kids off at Disneyland for the day, leaving it up to Mickey and Goofy to watch over the youngsters, are over. Walt Disney Co. has unveiled a new admission policy requiring that children entering any of its U.S.-based theme parks be accompanied by a visitor at least 14 years old. In years past, parents living near theme parks would often use them as day-care facilities during summer vacation and spring break....