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By Becky Mahan, Editor
If you mistakenly believe that there’s nothing for adults to do at Disneyland (and its sister park, California Adventure) without kids, please read on. If you, like me, frequent Disneyland with your significant other like a pair of 5-year-olds every other week or so, also read on — and share your own tips in the comments!
Start at Disneyland and visit California Adventure in the afternoon
by: Hoang T – Courtesy: Trip.com
Get there early (like an hour before park opening, so you can park and get to the front gates ahead of the swarming crowds), and head to Disneyland first. The kids will be cheerful, awake, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (as will the parents.) By afternoon, when kids are tired, cranky, and ready for a nap, cross over to the considerably more adult-friendly California Adventure Park. Not only are there fewer kids and more adult rides, there’s also the awesome fact that…
…California Adventure has a liquor license
by: Becky Mahan – Courtesy: Trip.com
Which means you can make the happiest place on Earth EVEN happier, with an extra special something in your drink. Best place to go? The Cove Bar by the pier, which serves signature cocktails and appetizers like lobster nachos. Pro tip: swing for your own early happy hour (between 12-2pm) to avoid what can – and will – become a loooong wait.
Skip the fireworks (and parades)
by: Veronica – Courtesy: Trip.com
Fun fact: you can see the fireworks from quite a few places in the park(s), not just from the prime strip of Main Street. But my point here is: parents use these shows as a respite from the endless walking, particularly for their kids — who are, by this point in the day, undoubtedly exhausted. Translation: while they’re distracted, you’ll have full reign of the parks! I mean, they won’t be EMPTY during these shows, but you’ll likely find a sweet spot in wait times (as well as a reprieve from screaming toddlers.)
Avoid ToonTown like the plague
by: WriterGal39 flickr – Courtesy: Trip.com
There’s nothing wrong with a pair of adults riding the wacky Roger Rabbit adventure alongside giggling toddlers, but this part of Disneyland Park is THE KID ZONE. Unless you want to trip over ankle biters (or have your own smacked by stroller wheels), this ain’t the place to be.
Avoid weekends and spring/summer break
Kids will over-run the park any time of year, but spring break and summer are the most popular time for families (and school-aged kids) to visit. If you can, visit in the middle of the week and not around any major holiday.
Fastpass early, fastpass often
by: Becky Mahan – Courtesy: Trip.com
I recently visited Orlando’s Walt Disney World for the first time, where I was surprised to find that I had to reserve my fastpasses in advance. (What?!) Orlando-frequenters are probably laughing reading this, but we Disneyland vets are used to just showing up and grabbing fastpasses for whatever our hearts desire (and is available) throughout the day. In fact, you CAN’T book a fastpass in advance at Disneyland. On each fastpass (FP) you get, there will be a time bracket designating when you can return for the ride, and when you can get another one. My advice: get another FP as soon as you’re allowed. Also, you’re allowed to hold a FP at Disneyland Park and California Adventure at the same time (one at each), so I recommend grabbing one for Radiator Springs Racers (California Adventure) and Hyperspace Mountain (Disneyland) first thing in the morning. These are the two most popular rides, easily garnering wait times of 2+ hours….so if you’re smart about it, not only can you zip onto these rides with minimal wait, you can quite possibly sneak in a SECOND go-round in one day. Score.
Utilize the single-rider option
by: Castles, Capes & Clones flickr – Courtesy: Trip.com
If it’s just you and one or two other peeps, the single-rider option is well worth the saved time. You’ll each likely walk right onto the ride, with the satisfying feeling of marching past scores of families waiting in the mile-long standby line. The only downside is that not every ride offers a single-rider option; but the ones that do (ahem: Radiator Springs Racers, Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones, Matterhorn Bobsleds…) are major attractions.
Enjoy a romantic, classy date
by: daryl_mitchell flickr – Courtesy: Trip.com
Being a grown-up kid is great fun, but don’t forget to enjoy the best of both worlds. And what better way to do that than by sipping a martini in Old Hollywood? California Adventure’s Carthay Circle restaurant is on the second floor of the Carthay Circle Theater, a replica of the theater where Snow White premiered in 1937. Prices are on par with a 5-star restaurant AND a Disney theme park, but hey, you only live once amiright? Or, you can dine on fancy Italian food and wine on the cozy, fire-lamp-warmed patio of Wine Country Trattoria. Plus, both of these restaurants participate in the World of Color dining package option, where you can reserve a table, a 3-course meal, and a VIP spot to watch the fantastic water and light show.
Speaking of World of Color…see it
by: bdearth flickr – Courtesy: Trip.com
Get a fastpass early in the day to ensure you have a good viewing section (you can hold other fastpasses for rides throughout the day, even if you have this one.) Then get there as early as you’re allowed. World of Color is an excellent water and light show that tells a poignant story through Disney’s beloved stories, and on my short list of “must dos.”
Stay late at night
by: Express Monorail flickr – Courtesy: Trip.com
While it still surprises me, cranky old 80-year-old-in-a-27-year-old-body that I apparently am, to find parents toting tiny babies and very young toddlers around at midnight, the park crowd will nonetheless be mostly adults after dark. Visiting families tend to retire to their nearby hotels after the 9pm fireworks show, and lines will shorten – a bit. I consider the “magic hour” to be 11pm to midnight, when my beau and I usually race around and pack in all the big rides before closing. Fun fact: even if it’s 5 minutes before closing and a ride line is 45 minutes long, you can get in line. (They’ll just close the line behind you at park closing time.) Another fun fact: the park’s closing time is really only the signal to start making your way to the exit; the shops remain open for one hour after rides stop accepting people in line. So if you want to get that gorgeous nighttime photo of Sleeping Beauty Castle in all her purple and blue-lit glory, or walk around and enjoy an empty, magical park, do it around 30 minutes after closing time.
Hang out at Downtown Disney
by: Hoang T – Courtesy: Trip.com
Escape the crowds temporarily (or round off the night) at Downtown Disney, where there are plenty of food and drink options for adults, including sports bars, the iconic Rainforest Cafe, and plenty of shopping to do away from (most of) the kids.
Grab a ticket for the annual Food & Wine Festival
by: TESFox flickr – Courtesy: Trip.com
This has adults written all over it: with food and wine tastings, wine and beer-paired dinners, and celebrity chef-hosted events (among other events), this festival takes over California Adventure each year and is a special ticketed event. (This year’s festival is March 10th – April 16th.)
There are a ton of other general insider tips I could share about making the most of your Disneyland visit…but those are for another time. 
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 without kids, please read on. If you, like me, frequent Disneyland with your significant other like a pair… "Pin It")
Source: gogobot.com