You can do everything in 2 days, but you won't have much time to 'watch the world go by, chill out, or revisit your favourite rides! We've been 3 times, and stayed for 5 nights (6 days) last time we went - still didn't want to come home!
It's a good idea to loosely plan your visit before you arrive - check out ride details on the webiste and decide on any you absolutely HAVE to do, or really aren't bothered about.
Pick up a park map when you arrive (City Hall have them) and take a couple of minutes to get your bearings - that big pink castle is extremely useful as a land-mark - if you aren't sure where you are, head for it and you'll soon find yourself back on familiar ground!
The most popular rides have 'fast-pass' - you put your park ticket in a machine and it gives you a timed ticket for the ride - return at your allotted time and you'll only have to queue for a few minutes. If you want to ride Peter Pan (and I would recommend it - it's magical!), head there first and get your fast-passes - it's incredibly popular and the queue is usually well over an hour - fast-pass tickets are often all allocated by about 11am!
Our favourite rides are Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and Phantom Manor in Disneyland, and the Studio Tram Tours in Disney Stuidos (if you have small children that jump easily, and decide to take them on the Studio Tram Tours, sit them between you so they are not on the outside of the trams - they will get wet, and maybe a little worried by the flames (I'm saying no more - it would spoil your trip!). The Stunt Show in the Studios is good too - good excuse for a sit down!
Food-wise, you can spend whatever you choose to spend! There are LOADS of places to get food and drink (and loads of drinking fountains too - for water, take a small bottle each and refill them as necessary at the fountains for free!). Many of the food outlets are 'fast food' style, but it's not overly expensive, and you are on holiday! If you want to splash out a bit, book a meal with the characters - the kids will love having Mickey and his friends actually come to their table! (so will you - admit it!!).
If you are staying in a Disney hotel, you can swipe a credit card at your hotel reception and get a 'payment card' for the park - any pruchases can then be made with the card and charged back to the card you have swiped at the hotel - so you only pay one lot of charges for overseas use!! Saves you having to carry loads of cash (take a bit into the park anyway - the small kiosks don't take payment cards) and/or your plastic into the park (hotels without room safes usually have safety deposit boxes are reception).
Above all - forget you are an adult and have a GREAT time - that really IS a 6 foot mouse, and you really are face-to-face with a dragon (under the castle - shhhh - you'll wake it up!!!). It genuinely is a magical place - attention to detail is superb, paths are clean (even the horses wear 'nappies' - you'll see!), staff are helpful (although you sometimes have to find a second one to get an English-speaker - they all speak French plus at least one other language, but that is sometimes German or Italian!).
Can't you tell we LOVE Disneyland in our house - we call it 'The Happy Place'.
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