My experience playing Pokemon GO at Disneyland Park + Helpful Tips

“Pokemon GO” is a “free-to-play augmented reality” game that allows users to catch Pokemon in real-life places – like Disneyland.

Within the game, essentially, the more you explore your physical surroundings, the higher your chances of encountering Pokemon are. In addition, there are special locations called “PokeStops” where users can collect Poke Balls and other useful items. Once you’ve caught enough Pokemon, you can join a team and battle with other players at Gyms, which are also based on real-life locations – and there are PokeStops and gyms inside the parks!

I recently went to Disneyland Park for the sole purpose of testing out Pokemon GO’s gameplay. Here is my experience playing Pokemon GO broken down by land. (In no way is this a comprehensive guide to all the PokeStops/Pokemon encounters but an overview of some you may encounter based on my experience.)

Main Street U.S.A.

PokeStops: Main Street Station/Disneyland R.R., Main Street Cinema, Disneyland Penny Arcade, and Partners Statue

Pokemon Encounters: Paras

Gyms: Sleeping Beauty Castle

Adventureland

PokeStops: Adventureland Entrance, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye

*Note: There were more PokeStops in Jungle Cruise, but I decided against playing the game while riding attractions.

Pokemon Encounters: Venonat and Psyduck

New Orleans Square

PokeStops: Pirates of the Caribeean, Old Frogbait, Club 33, and The Columbia

Pokemon Encounters: Rattata, Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Spearow

Gyms: Haunted Mansion

Critter Country

PokeStops: Splash Mountain, Br’er Statue, Hungry Bear Restaurant, and Winnie the Pooh’s Waterfall

Pokemon Encounters: Ekans

Frontierland

PokeStops: Rancho del Zocalo Fountain, Big Thunder Dinosaur Fossil, The Golden Horseshoe, and the Petrified Tree

Pokemon Encounters: Rattata and Pidgey

Fantasyland

PokeStops: Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and Fantasyland Theater

Pokemon Encounters: Rattata

Mickey’s Toontown

PokeStops: Toon Park and Toowntown Fountain

Pokemon Encounters: Ekans and Growlithe

Tomorrowland

PokeStops: Nemo & Friends, Jedi Training Academy, Disneyland Monorail Tomorrowland Station, Starcade, Space Mountain, and Astro Arbitor

Pokemon Encounters: None, as my battery/service was failing me.

A note on safety and courtesy to other guests

Don’t Pokemon GO and walk! The phone’s vibration feature when finding Pokemon helped me stay aware of my surroundings and made it so I didn’t have to look at my phone the entire time. Before exploring each land, you can check the PokeStops prior to walking around. This way, you can keep a mental note of the locations you want to stop by instead of walking around and searching on your phone simultaneously. Remember to stay clear of walkways and step to the side while catching Pokemon. Lastly, please don’t disrupt other guests’ experiences on attractions by playing Pokemon GO, even if there’s a Ghastly in the Haunted Mansion.

Additional tips and observations

• Hit every PokeStop. There’s over 30 at Disneyland!

• Don’t fret if you keep catching the same, common Pokemon. You can use those to evolve your Pokemon in the long run.

• Bring a portable charger! Even a full charge might not be enough as the game takes up a lot of battery life.

• Don’t let the game take away from the Disney experience. As much fun as it to play the game, don’t let it consume your entire trip, especially if you don’t get to go to Disneyland that often.

• Meet new friends who share the same interests! There were a few people I encountered in line who were also playing. It was fun talking to them about their experiences with the game.

Overall, I had a lot of fun playing Pokemon GO at Disneyland. It takes scavenger hunts at Disneyland to another level. Now, which one of you is going to gain control of Sleeping Beauty Castle?

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