I freely admit I’m a child at heart. In my book, nothing can reawaken your inner child quite like the escapist innocence, magic, and sparkle of Disney. Recently while I was in LA, I reacquainted myself with the enchantment of Disneyland Resort. If you’re sizing up a Disney vacation, 2025 is a particularly auspicious time to do swing through the Mouse House, because Walt Disney’s pioneering magic kingdom in Anaheim will be celebrating its 70th Anniversary. A fitting tribute will debut on Main Street USA with the first ever Walt Disney Audio-Animatronics as part of a new stage show, “Walt Disney — A Magical Life.”  

It will give visitors a chance to imagine what it would be like to stop by Walt’s office, back in the day when he was dreaming big with his imagineers. Full details of the milestone celebrations are yet to be revealed, but you can expect nostalgic night time spectaculars, returning parades and reimagined entertainment. If you’re a history buff like me, a great way to immerse yourself in Disneyland’s heritage is to book a place on the Main Street Story Tour, with behind-the-scenes stories and a visit to Walt legendary apartment above the Disneyland Fire Station in Town Square. It’s one of the enticing extras you should add to your Disneyland experience. 

With up to 90,000 daily guests pouring into Disneyland Park and up to 50,000 entering Disney’s California Adventure Park, one of the biggest dilemmas is where do you start, after passing through the gates? Billowing queues soon form for every ride, so I would suggest you head straight to Toon Town and line up for a personal photo inside Mickey’s House with the mouse himself. Rinse and repeat, right next door with Minnie Mouse. Do this early – and you’ll only have to wait about five minutes to get snap-happy. Toon Town is also home to one of the latest crowd-pleasing attractions, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.  

Mike and Mickey. Photo / Mike Yardley 

Located in the El Capitoon Theater, this family-friendly experience transports you into the cartoon world. Board a train engineered by Goofy and embark on a wacky adventure with Mickey and friends. Photo opportunities abound with a host of cartoon and big-screen characters, all over the parks. Some characters will be foot-loose around the parks, or you can take your turn getting selfies with a cast of characters around Disneyland’s Town Square and Royal Hall, Buena Vista Street, Pixar Pier and Avengers Headquarters are the best meet-and-greet character haunts in California Adventure. 

What would I rate as the do-not-miss experiences and rides? Avengers Campus, a Marvel-themed land is the biggest recent addition at Disney California Adventure. Avengers Campus features WEB Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure, a truly stunning interactive attraction featuring Spider-Man. In Disneyland, check out the wondrously refreshed Adventureland Treehouse. This reimagining of Tarzan’s Treehouse takes inspiration from the past, paying tribute to the original treehouse that Walt Disney and his Imagineers built in 1962 for Swiss Family Robinson. Just opened, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is an instant hit.  

Some of the original rides, reaching back to 1955, are still truly enchanting, like the Disneyland Railroad, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, It’s a Small World, King Arthur Carousel, Mr Toad’s Wild Ride, Peter Pan’s Flight, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Mark Twain Riverboat and the iconic Mad Tea Party spinning teacups. The Matterhorn Bobcats, Haunted Mansion and Indiana Jones Adventure should also be on your check-list. Across at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, definitely take a ride in the Millennium Falcon and be left agog at Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, as if you’ve been thrust into a full-throttle battle scene against the First Order.  

Disneyland Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. Photo / Disney

Disney’s California Adventure is action-packed with big-screen movie hero and blockbuster cartoon attractions. One of my favourite rides is Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout. Join Rocket on a jaw-dropping thrill ride to rescue the Guardians of the Galaxy from the Collector’s fortress. But there’s a reason the queues are even more biblical in size for Radiator Springs Racers, as you zoom the undulating red-rock desert landscape of Cars Land. Start your engines! It’s a rollicking ride in overdrive – and my runaway favourite.  

Take advantage of Lightning Lane access. Save time and skip the standby line with Lightning Lane passes on the most in-demand attractions, with considerably shorter queuing time. The way it works is you book a time to ride, via the Disneyland app. The multi-pass is available for a host of rides in both parks, while you can buy a Lightning Lane Single Pass for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Radiator Springs Racer. 

Great eats? There’s only so many churros and Mickey Mouse waffles you can gorge on, right? Feast on New Orleans-inspired dishes at the recently opened Tiana’s Palace, inspired by Disney’s animated flick, “The Princess and the Frog.” It’s a newly reimagined quick-service restaurant. Try the 7 Greens Gumbo, a beef po’ sandwich and the gorgeous lemon-glazed beignets. For nostalgia buffs, head to the Golden Horseshow in Frontierland. Dating back to the park’s 1955 opening, Walt and Lillian Disney celebrated their 30th anniversary here.  You can still see Walt Disney's private box upstairs to the right of the stage. The interior of the saloon took its design cues from the 1953 Doris Day film Calamity Jane. The menu includes traditional American favourites like chicken tenders, funnel cakes, and ice-cream floats.  

Mickey waffles at Disneyland. Photo / Supplied

Another 1955 original is the Carnation Café, located on Main Street USA. Try the homemade meatloaf and Walt’s chili. I’m also a big fan of the Jolly Holiday Bakery Café, on Main Street. This Mary Poppins-themed restaurant offers deli and cafe-style food items like fresh pastries, sandwiches and sweets. Munch merrily on some Matterhorn Macarons. Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo is known for being one of the best Disneyland restaurants in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. This restaurant is themed to that of a “farm fresh” style restaurant but in a galaxy far, far away. The Chicken Yip-Tip is a popular choice and for vegetarians, the Felucian Kefta/Hummus Garden Spread is an option with more variety than a salad. 

For great character dining, Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel is a huge hit. Guests will see Goofy in his chef outfit along with a variety of other characters that may include Pluto, Baloo from The Jungle Book, Aladdin and Jasmine, Alice from Alice in Wonderland, Chip or Dale, and Pinocchio. How could you say no to a peanut butter and jelly pizza? Meanwhile, the signature restaurant at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa is Napa Rose. Acclaimed for its impeccable service, award-winning wine list and elevated “wine country cuisine”, the Black Angus filet mignon and the sauteed diver scallops are exquisitely executed dishes (Napa Rose also hosts daily Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures). 

Goofy's Kitchen. Photo / Disney

Throughout the day and after dark, there’s a host of parades and the famous fireworks extravaganzas to take in, too. If it sounds exhausting, yes Disneyland Resort can zap your energy. My biggest advice? Don’t try packing everything into one day. Your race against the clock is a recipe for stress. Buy a multi-day pass, whether it be two or three days, so you can strike out in the parks at a more leisurely, relaxed pace. I was struck by how many young families I saw in the late afternoon and early evening, in meltdown mode. So many children looked frenzied and fatigued, as the post-sugar hit tantrums hit fever pitch and panicked parents tried to pack more and more experiences into the fading light of day. That’s not a holiday and it’s certainly not fun. Yes, extending your stay is going to cost more, but it will be worth every cent! 

Stay on-site. It will eliminate the stress entailed getting to and from the park. Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa is the most luxurious of the hotel offerings, beautifully designed with nods to the early 20th Century Arts & Crafts movement and the woodsy lodge finery of Yosemite National Park in the soaring lobby and atrium. But it’s also a superb place for extra-pampering. Plunge into a world of aquatic thrills in the Mariposa, Fountain, and Redwood outdoor-themed pools! An enormous waterslide extends from a redwood tree trunk. If you're up for a different kind of exercise, why not join the Get Up & Go Power Walk through Disney California Adventure Park?  

The atrium of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel. Photo / Disney

It's not just a walk; it's a magical morning adventure before the park opens its gates. For the ultimate in personal pampering, the Tenaya Stone Spa is the answer. In addition to the headline Napa Rose restaurant, GCH Craftsman Bar is one of the best-hidden gems at Disneyland. The menu features fresh, California-inspired fare ranging from avocado toast to salmon salad to flatbread. The restaurant prices are reasonable for how good the food is, and this is a super relaxing spot for a bite. There’s a vast range of accommodation options to please all tastes, but the greatest amenity of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel is undoubtedly its proximity to Disneyland and direct entrance into Grizzly Peak at Disney California Adventure.  

This entrance makes it the closest hotel to any Disney theme park in the United States. It’s also an incredibly short walk to Disneyland Park (either through Disney California Adventure or Downtown Disney). This is a huge benefit, especially when coupled with your early entry perks. Guests who are checked in and staying at one of the Disneyland Resort hotels can take advantage of 30-minute early entry to a designated theme park every day of their hotel stay. Get a jump start on the crowds and head straight to Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land! 

Radiator Springs Racers. Photo / Disney 

Try not to lose your cellphone. Of all the places in the world to misplace your phone, Disneyland wouldn’t spring to mind as the ideal locale. However, my misadventure opened my eyes to the herculean lost and found operation that happily hums behind the scenes at Disneyland Resort. Disney employs a vast cast of lost and found workers, who trawl the parks retrieving thousands of left behind items and set about reuniting them with their owners. In my case, after a moment’s inattention, my cellphone was duly picked up, dispatching to the sorting office and returned to me several hours later, after I filed a lost item form. Fun fact: of the tens of thousands of items that are handled by the lost and found department each year, that includes over 40,000 hats, 20,000 pairs of sunglasses and 8000 cellphones. The repatriation rate is remarkably high. And apparently the Matterhorn Bobsleds ride is notorious for parting people from their cellphones!  

Finally, if you want to accentuate your Disneyland Resort experience, dodge the peak seasons. Mercifully for Kiwis planning a post-Christmas holiday in Anaheim, January, February and March are the quietest months for park visitors. In contrast, July and August is jam-packed. Mid-September to mid-November is also a quieter period, although the Halloween season spikes visitation. And try and book your visit for weekdays (particularly Tuesdays and Wednesdays) which are considerably less-trafficked than the weekends. disneyland.disney.go.com/ 

I flew from Auckland to Los Angeles with Delta Air Lines. As the airport’s number one global carrier, Delta Air Lines offers nearly 160 peak-day departures out of LAX to nearly 60 domestic and international locations. For extra-comfort, take the step up to Delta Premium Select. With more room to stretch out and premium amenities designed with your wellbeing in mind, including exclusively designed menus, touchdown in LA from the overnight flight feeling refreshed and relaxed. And when flying in Premium Select, you’ll also enjoy accelerated check-in, security and baggage service, plus priority boarding. For best flights, fares and seats to suit, head to delta.com 

Mike Yardley is our resident traveller on Jack Tame Saturday Mornings.