This is an entry for “attractions” in our Disneyland 101 Glossary: Disneyland Resort definitions in under 101 words, from Mouse Brief. Keep reading after the summary for answers to frequently asked questions about Disneyland Resort attractions.
At Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park, an attraction is a ride, show, interactive or walk-through entertainment offering for guests. Examples of interactive attractions are the Animation Academy or Donald’s Duck Pond. Walk-through offerings include Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough and The Bakery Tour. Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room and Mickey’s PhilharMagic are both examples of shows. There are numerous ride attractions in both parks from Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride to Radiator Springs Racers. Of course many attractions include elements of more than one of these categories. The Disneyland app and website have full lists of attractions.
Thanks for visiting. For information about how to save time in line waiting for attractions, check-out our Disneyland Lightning Lanes: How to Super-Charge Your Visit and Disneyland Virtual Queue Guide. For tips on what to do when you are in line, see our Make the Best of Your Time in Line at Disneyland and Have Fun.
Be sure to check-out the rest of our 101 Glossary, and for general Disneyland Resort trip planning advice, see our Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep. For now, please keep reading for more on attractions at Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park.
Attractions at Disneyland Resort, FAQs
Here are answers to frequently asked questions about attractions at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.
Why are they called attractions? Aren’t they just rides?
Many of the attractions at Disneyland Resort are rides, but there are also shows, walk-through experiences and interactive opportunities. Disney places all of these in one category they call “attractions.” Many of the attractions combine interactive, walk-through, show and ride components in one way or another. They are more than “just” rides.
In the same way that Disney is careful to call its parks “theme parks” rather than “amusement parks,” I suspect they also use the phrase “attractions” to separate their offerings from preconceived notions attached to carnival rides. For the most part, attractions at Disneyland Resort are richly-themed multi-sensory experiences.
How many attractions are at Disneyland Resort?
At the time of writing, the Disneyland app lists 55 attractions for Disneyland Park and 27 for Disney California Adventure Park. This does not include most entertainment and character greeting experiences. It also does not include shopping or dining. On the other hand, the Disneyland website lists 82 “things to do” at Disneyland Park and 65 at Disney California Adventure Park.
Why do we mention this? First, to remind you not to stress yourself about “doing it all,” because that is not going to happen. Instead, enjoy the ride(s). Second, you can see that the name “attraction” can be a bit fluid.
Fianlly, we want to illustrate that different experiences can be categorized in various ways across various platforms. When you are using the Disneyland app, be sure toggle through the tabs to explore different opportunities in the parks. For example, “Disney Princesses at Royal Hall” falls under the “Characters” tab in the app while “Fantasy Faire” and “Storytelling at Royal Theatre” falls under “Entertainment.” All of these offer opportunities for princess interaction in different ways. Just because something is not an “attraction” does not mean it is not worth your while.
How tall do I need to be to for Disneyland attractions?
Most Disneyland Resort attractions have no height restrictions, but some do have height minimums to ensure rider safety. You can find current numbers on the Disneyland Resort website here. Note that a few rides have two separate height requirements: one for riding solo and a lower one for riding with a taller companion.
You can also find height requirements and other restrictions for riders posted in the Disneyland app and in front of each attraction. For our best advice on how to approach height requirements at Disneyland, see Is My Child Tall Enough for Disneyland? On Height Requirements.
What if someone in my group cannot or will not ride an attraction?
If you have child who is not yet tall enough to ride a certain attraction, or you have another group member who cannot or will not ride, rider switch is for you. This service epitomizes what makes Disneyland such a family-friendly place to visit.
Here is how it works. With Rider Switch, you can wait with the non-rider while the rest of your group rides the attraction. I know, that’s probably what you were planning to do anyway, and you were just going to miss out on a ride you wanted to do. But here is what makes Disneyland such a nice place to visit with little ones: before your group gets in line for the chosen attraction, you tell a cast member at the entrance that you would like to do Rider Switch. The cast member will scan your ticket and give you a special pass for two people.
After the rest of your group gets done riding, you will use this Rider Switch pass. The pass will allow you and one other rider to enter the attraction through an accelerated queue. Only the first group has to wait in the standard line, and the second group basically skips the line. This allows you to reunite quickly and move on with your day. Plus, no one has to ride or wait alone. We also appreciate how this set-up also allows the non-rider to experience other attractions instead of waiting for an attraction they will not get to experience anyway. The Rider Switch pass is just linked to your ticket, so you can go meet a character or even ride another attraction in the meantime.
Confused? It is actually fairly simple once you start using the service, but it deceptively wordy to explain. We take some time clearing it all up in this post: Rider Switch Service, Disneyland 101 Glossary. Visit that post for steps, examples and FAQs.
What is with all of the different lines for just one attraction?
So, most attractions at Disneyland Resort have a standard standby queue. In other words, you board an attraction in the same order you entered the line.
But, many attractions also have what is called a “Lightning Lane.” These are accelerated queues with shorter wait times. In order to access a Lightning Lane, you will almost always need a paid Lightning Lane pass. (Occasionally, you might have another reason to enter a Lighting Lane. For example, if you were in the queue for an attraction that closed just as you were about to board, you might be given a pass to return at another time and skip the conventional line by entering the Lightning Lane… but those occurrences are not all that common) In any case, you need to scan some type of pass to enter a Lightning Lane, so only enter the queue if you have one of those.
The three paid Lightning Lane passes are Lightning Lane Single Pass, Lightning Lane Multi Pass, and Lightning Lane Premier Pass. You can read about each of those passes by clicking the link highlighting their names. In our opinion, the most cost-effective of these three is the Multi Pass, and we have a lot of advice about it. To explore that advice, start here: Big Guide to Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disneyland Resort.
Finally, select attractions have Single Rider Lines. You can enter here if you do not mind riding without your party. You will likely experience a shorter wait as cast members use you to fill single empty seats. Read about that here: Single Rider Line, Disneyland 101 Glossary.
And for our general advice on saving time in line, see Maximize Your Disneyland Experience: Beat the Lines & Save Time.
Thanks for reading this post on attractions at Disneyland Resort.
For more FAQs and Disney definitions in under 101 words, see our Disneyland 101 Glossary, and for a free and complete guide to planning your Disneyland trip, please visit Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep. Thanks again for reading.