With Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary celebration, Disney+ is featuring some neat Disneyland related content. We relish the opportunity to take a virtual stroll down Main Street U.S.A. and we adore The Imagineering Story. But, beyond the entertainment, we think some Disney+ offerings can actually help you plan and enhance your Disneyland Resort visit. This post is taking a look at the ways Disney+ can actually help you plan a better Disneyland trip.
Disney+ is a streaming service offering movies, television shows and other types of videos to subscribers. This post is primarily aimed at Disney+ subscribers, but we also happily offer some suggestions for alternatives with each tip. And so, on with the show!
Explore Your Disneyland Limits with Disney+
Disney+ has just added a ton of POV (point of view) videos from Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. These are videos taken from a “guest’s eye view.” A good number of the POV videos are from E-ticket thrill rides. These videos allow you to see and hear these theme park experiences from home. We like that you can use these videos to help preview whether a particular attraction is right for you or a travel companion.
If you are planning a Disneyland trip and have children or adults who are unsure about a particular attraction or group of attractions, see if you can find a related attraction video on Disney+. In our article, Too Afraid to Ride: How to Handle Scary Disneyland Rides, we wrote about using “ride through” videos like these to assess whether a ride has an element that is a hard “no” for someone in your group. These videos can help you determine whether the attraction in question has imagery or sounds that are too frightening for a rider.
Options Elsewhere Online
If you do not have Disney+, you can also search for “Disneyland ride through videos” on a platform like YouTube. People sure love to post these. Sometimes the Disney Parks Blog also posts videos that show parts of rides.
Of course, a videos can only give you an idea of a ride’s motion or even how dark or loud it might actually be, but they are a great start. And, they can also serve another purpose for addressing fears, as we will cover in our next tip.
Ease Fears About Disneyland Attractions
If you have an adult or child who is on the edge of attempting an intimidating attraction, the POV videos provide an opportunity to make a first attempt at “riding” while in a safe space.
Say you have a child who has just met the 40” height requirement for Soarin’ Around the World at Disney California Adventure Park. Except, that child is uncertain about a “flying” attraction. You can find a comfortable spot at home and watch the Soarin’ POV video together while talking your child through the ride. You can explain what is happening and point out the great views. On this particular POV video, the pre-show is included, so you can even use that safety video to talk through the safety measures Disney has put in place and preview the ride mechanism (it is shown in the video).
Disney Parks POV videos currently on Disney+ include Pixar Pal-A-Round, Incredicoaster, Radiator Springs Racers as well as Soarin’ Around the World for Disney California Adventure Park. For Disneyland Park, the POV ride videos include Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones Adventure, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise.
Personally, I like to avoid watching ride videos before I have experienced an attraction for the first time. I like that first experience to be fresh and spoiler-free. However, I have shown these videos to a nervous child and seen them make a big difference in lowering anxiety and increasing confidence.
For more on height requirements and Disneyland Resort, see: Is My Child Tall Enough for Disneyland? On Height Requirements
Other Ride Videos Outside Disney+
Again, you should be able to find similar videos somewhere like YouTube. The production value will not be as high, and you will probably have some ambient guest noise, but they should do the trick. You may also be able to search for rides not currently shown on Disney+.
Absorb Some Disney Parks History with Disney+
Part of the fun of Disney for me is appreciating the creativity and ingenuity behind the theme parks. There are some great videos on Disney+ that have given me a deeper look at the history and art of Disneyland Resort. I like to watch them before a trip so I can look for special details while I am visiting Disneyland.
If you enjoy history or the “how it’s made” side of things, go to Disney+ for The Imagineering Story, Behind the Attraction or some of the archival footage featuring Walt Disney himself.
The later category includes The Pre-Report Opening from Disneyland. That means you can watch Walt Disney introduce the public to Disneyland in 1955 before any guests had a chance to see it!
The Imagineering Story is possibly my favorite offering currently on Disney+, and the first episode in particular really focuses on Disneyland. The Behind the Attraction series has shorter videos with a more irreverent tone. If you are visiting for the first time and want to avoid attraction spoilers, I would save Behind the Attraction for after your visit. Alternatively, just watch the episodes about food or other non-attraction topics. (Yes, some of the Behind the Attraction episodes are not about attractions.)
Some Print Alternatives
Our local library has the book version of The Imagineering Story available for check-out as well as the show’s soundtrack. If you do not have Disney+ (or even if you do), you may want to check your library for that book or other Disney history offerings.
If you prefer to purchase your books, here are a few links to some of our favorites. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. We receive a small commission from Amazon for referring you with the product links below, but the price you pay is the same.
- The Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland and The Imagineering Field Guide to Disney California Adventure Park: our hands-down favorite books for kids visiting Disneyland Resort (that I have also read cover-to-cover as an adult). We love these and revisit them often. Unfortunately, some of the information is out-of-date. There are no current editions, and you will probably need to buy them used. Still, we love these and actually pack them when we visit Disneyland.
- The Imagineering Story: The Official Biography of Walt Disney Imagineering: Beautiful and fascinating.
- Maps of the Disney Parks: This is a beautiful showpiece of a book, and if you have kids who love maps and planning routes and—well you know if you have a kid who would love this, we do not need to explain it to you— this is a fun book. You can pick-up some Disney parks history just be seeing their evolution in the maps.
- Poster Art of the Disney Parks: We also have and love this book. If you have artistic inclinations or appreciate them in others, these poster are a lot of fun. Again, you can see the history of the Disney parks in the visual progression of these posters.
- Walt Disney’s Little Man of Disneyland: This books has to do with the imaginary history of Disneyland. But as Disney parks are a place where imagination comes to life, we are including it here. This is a fun picture storybook aimed at children but beloved by adults as well. Read the book and then look for the Little Man of Disneyland’s home in the park when you visit.
Enter the Worlds of Disneyland Attractions with Disney+
While we think Disneyland Resort stands on its own for enjoyment and entertainment, understanding the references to movies and shows can really enhance the experience. We like to watch fictional Disney+ films related to Disneyland attractions. We pick movies that have their own attractions or even lands at Disneyland Resort and watch them before our visit for some fun trip preparation.
This is especially the case for the Cars films. We absolutely recommend watching the first film before visiting Disney California Adventure Park. Do this, and you will not just realize but feel how perfectly the Imagineers recreated Radiator Springs in Cars Land. Our theme park experiences have exponentially increased our appreciation for the films. MouseBrief even has a family movie night guide you can find here: Cars Movie Night: Activities, Discussion and a Disney Pixar Classic. We think an easy Cars movie night would be a great way to prepare for your trip (we think so because we have done it ourselves).
We also have lots of other Disney movie night options here: Disney Sunday Night Movies
In some cases a ride recreates the plot of a classic film, as in the attractions The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure or Pinocchio’s Daring Journey. Other attractions expand on the story, like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure or Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
On Star Wars and Disneyland
On that topic, the Star Wars franchise is another one we recommend exploring before your Disneyland trip. You can absolutely enjoy Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge without having ever experienced other Star Wars entertainment—the land is exquisite—but it sure is fun to catch some of the references. Piloting the Millennium Falcon has that much more impact if you have seen Han Solo and Rey do the same.
One neat thing about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is that it is very distinctly of the Star Wars universe, but it is also a planet created specifically for the Disney parks. You can read all about that here: Where Batuu in Disneyland Fits into the Star Wars Universe.
Check Your Local Library Before You Visit Disneyland
As we frequently share in our Disney Sunday Night Movies guides, we have been able to find almost any Disney film at our local library. If you do not have Disney+, we recommend checking your library for movies related to Disneyland attractions. This includes the Star Wars films (but probably not televisions shows) and animated Disney and Pixar classics. We have a bunch of Disney movie night guides, including these movies with their own Disneyland attractions:
- Cars Movie Night: Activities, Discussion and a Disney Pixar Classic
- Inside Out Disney Movie Night: Emotion Sharing Guide
- Monsters, Inc. Movie Night Discussion, Snack & Activity Guide
Relive Fond Memories
All of the above suggestions are ways we use Disney+ to prepare for our Disney parks visits, and we are happy to share them with you. You can check attractions for scary elements, preview intimidating rides in a familiar setting, learn about Disney history and enjoy entertainment connected to attractions. Since some new Disneyland 70th additions, we are even more confident in recommending Disney+ as a great way to prepare for a Disneyland visit. It is also a great way to enjoy that visit after it is over.
We write a lot about making the most of your Disneyland visit. (For example, see 5 Ways to Get the Best Value From Your Disneyland Resort Hotel) Another way we think you can maximize your trip is by effectively extending your Disneyland visit beyond your actual vacation time. We do this by enjoying media connected to Disneyland from home. We look at the photos from our visit, and we watch Disney+ offerings as a family.
You can relive your fond Disneyland memories by watching the movies and shows we have already recommended, and we have a few more ideas for you. In addition to those ride-through POV videos, there are also POV walk-throughs of several Disneyland lands including: Hollywood Land, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Avengers Campus, Cars Land, Mickey’s Toontown and Main Street U.S.A. These land videos are a chance to see the lands with you as the only guest and notice elements you may have missed in the crowds of the day. There are also videos of nighttime spectaculars.
For more Disney+ offerings related to Disneyland, you can currently visit the section of the app called “Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration.” We do not know how long this category will be active, but it has some fun suggestions for “Movies Inspired by Disneyland” as well as “Featured at Disneyland.” Suggestions include Saving Mr. Banks, Peter Pan, Finding Nemo and the Indiana Jones franchise.
Thank you for reading this guide to using Disney+ to enhance your Disneyland visit.
For our complete and free guide to planning a Disneyland Resort visit, head over to Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep. This will take you through the steps of choosing when to go, where to stay, what tickets to buy and how to make the most of your trip. And again, if you enjoy movies on or off Disney+, be sure to see our Disney Sunday Night Movies. Finally, please consider subscribing to our free newsletter below. Thanks again for reading!
