Disney-Tips: How to Make Disneyland your Happiest Place on Earth, too…

We just returned from a family trip to Disneyland and had a BLAST!  Granted, the experience was about a thousand times more intense than I had remembered it as a kid or even young adult.  There’s a lot of pressure on us parents to “make the most of the experience”.  The idea of buying a ticket and then casually deciding what attractions to see is not only unrealistic, but destined to be stressful.  From the instant you walk into the Park, you are overwhelmed with a sensory overload.   Lights, music, giant contraptions, wonderful smells, and intriguing characters… where does one even start?!  As a Disneyland Rookie (with the family, that is…) we were lucky enough to plan our first trip with my sister-in-law, a 3-peat Disney pro, who was packed with great ideas to help make our trip a total success.  Here are some of the less-obvious things that we learned or did to help make our visit to D-Land a little easier:

1. Plan your Visit with Another Family – If you can think of another family that you’re close to with similarly-aged children, consider planning your Disneyland trip together.  Our kids loved the novelty of their out-of-state cousins – it was SO fun.  There is no doubt that the tiny playmates did a far better job than the adults could have done in keeping the complaining down and spirits up as the day grew long.  When my daughter was tentative about trying something new, her cousins got her pumped up for it.  When the kids wanted to yammer on and on about how cool Autotopia was, they could talk to each other.  (Instead of the adults!)  Also, since the height requirements vary from one ride to the next, having more than two adults to swap out turns with riders or to split the big-kids-from-little-kids is a definite perk.  

2. Reconsider How Much you Want to Spend on a Hotel – I must admit that I’m a just a bit conflicted on this issue after walking through the amazing foyer of the Grand Californian everyday for the past week, but here’s the deal: Disneyland costs a fortune.  Admission tickets for a family of 4, alone, will easily set you back $800+ for the week...  So consider where you want to spend your money and how much time you plan to spend in your hotel.  My sister-in-law tapped her Disneyland-frequenting network of friends to find us a great hotel at a rock-star price.  We stayed at the Annabella Hotel, which was right on Katella, and about a 10 minute walk from the parks.  Disneyland has the world’s biggest blocks and parking lots (IMHO), so do also note that a hotel that is “just across the street from the Park” = 10 minutes…)  The Annabella offers 14 different room configuration options, and features remodeled large granite baths, generous dressing/bar areas, and even a floor plan with 2 queen beds set in perpendicular alcoves of the room for less than $150/night.  (Imagine an “L-Shaped” living space, which allows the kids to sleep in a dark area while parents stay up past 8:30 in the same room with lights on…YES!)  The pool is pretty standard… no slides, fountains, lazy rivers, or islands, but we only used it once, to be perfectly honest.   No doubt that staying at a Disneyland Resort Hotel has its perks and some posh amenities, but the price difference is pretty substantial… A standard room at the Grand Californian starts at $500/night!  Ouch.  Does a wake-up call from Mickey really cost that much?!

3. Pack-in Drinks and Snacks – Thankfully, Disneyland isn’t stringent about restricting outside food and drinks.  They “officially” discourage it (so don’t blatantly bring coolers in) and they do check bags, but I was never challenged or even questioned about the hoards of snacks and drinks I was unapologetically schlepping in.  In the event that you are asked about your stash, you can quickly diffuse the situation by responding in one of 2 ways: “We have special dietary restrictions (aka: food allergies, etc…)” or “I plan to check this in a locker”.  Don’t feel the least bit nervous about bringing stuff in – EVERYBODY does it.  There is no shortage of junk food in D-Land, so consider packing individually packed bags of fruits, veggies, crackers, etc.  My husband also had the great idea of buying sport-drinks with electrolytes to keep us going during the day… it sure felt better than trying to refuel on Capri Suns.  Oh, and don’t forget to grab a stack of plastic baggies/Ziplocs/water bottles from home so you don’t have to add them to your vacation grocery list – you can find napkins and plastic silverware in the park.  After all, do you really want to buy a box of 150 sandwich bags for a week?!  Or better yet, feel like you have to pack what is left of them up and bring them home with the all the Disney swag?!   No thanks…

4. Bring Umbrella Strollers with Baskets – For starters, bring umbrella strollers  for your kids, even if they don’t use strollers anymore.  Strollers are free to check on the plane, make maneuvering through the crowds of people a million times less stressful, and help your kids save their energy for the long-days.  My super-determined-and-athletic 7 year old niece did great without a stroller this past week, but I’m pretty sure she would have gladly welcomed one if we had been able to grow another set of stroller-pushing arms.  Also consider the type of umbrella stroller to bring, if you have the option to choose or borrow…  We brought two umbrella strollers for our kids: a basketless one from Toys R Us, and a Maclaren Techno XT.  Since loaded-up umbrella strollers are notorious for tipping over the second your kid stands up, we quickly learned how important under-storage was.  Heavy items, such as drinks and sunblock, were relegated to the basket under the Maclaren with no tipping problems at all.  Lighter snacks were tossed into a roll-up, reusable shopping bag that hung off the back of the basketless stroller. 

5. Catch Characters Early in the Morning – We had the unfortunate luck of visiting Disneyland just as a record-setting heat wave passed through Southern CA.  The day we arrived, it hit 113 degrees – and it was almost October.  Brutal.  As much as we complained about the heat, however, we had nothing on those poor souls in the giant character heads!   In fact, both California and Disneyland pulled their characters due to heat.  As the week cooled down, we saw more characters emerge, but they were typically out in the mornings.  Lines to meet characters can also be slow and long, so it’s a good idea to prioritize your characters and use your time wisely.  The line for Princess Fantasy Faire, for example, which offers a meet-and-greet with 3 princesses, is far more tolerable if you arrive 15 minutes before it opens at 10:30 am versus 3 in the afternoon.   Another option is to reserve a Character Breakfast, which will set you back $75-$100 for a family of four (depending on which one you choose), but guarantees at least half of dozen characters who visit tableside for autographs and photos.  Lastly, don’t forget to buy your autograph book at any gift shop and pack pens.  Apparently, the Fairy Godmother’s birds didn’t sew pen-carrying pockets into Cinderella’s dress.

5. Magic Morning – On the note of using your time wisely, consider purchasing a ticket package that offers a Magic Morning option.   Most multi-day Park Hopper tickets offer you one MM, which allows you admission into Disneyland an hour before the gates open to the public.  You’re far from alone in the park, but the lines do tend to be shorter, so hit the long-wait attractions if you can, before the gates open to the general public.

6. Fast Pass – When wait times get long, Disneyland will often offer Fast Pass on their most popular attractions.  FP basically allows you to “take a ticket” and return to ride the attraction at a specific time, with a limited wait.  Do note, however, that you will need to scan *every* ticket of your party that cares to ride.  Think of it as your deli-ticket for rides.  :)  FP is also an absolute-must if you want to catch the incredible World of Color show @ California – head over to the FP kiosk immediately after gates open to catch this show before it “sells” out.

7. Know How Tall Your Kids Are – Disneyland is very strict about their height requirements.  No amount of hair-teasing or tippy-toe action will fool the ride operators, so it is helpful to know in advance what rides your child can/cannot go on.  There is nothing worse than finding out that your child is too short for an attraction after you’ve pumped him up for.  You can pre-plan which rides your little one qualifies for by checking the list here. 

10. Identify the “Disney-Defining” Moment for your Kid(s) – We originally sought out for a causal, “Disney-Lite” experience.  Thanks to the excellent planning and help of my sister-in-law, we actually saw almost everything in a matter of a few days.  Most people, however, aren’t lucky enough to visit D-Land with their own personal park-Pro…  This is why it’s important to talk to your kids and find out what they consider the most important attraction.  My husband and I breathed a collective sigh of relief once our son had met Buzz Lightyear and daughter had hugged  Tinkerbell  - *THAT* was Disneyland for them.  Everything else was a bonus.

11. Consider Taking Afternoon Breaks – Looking back, we probably should have done this more.  A full day at Disneyland equals that to a serious athletic event.  The walking, stroller-pushing, and swag-schlepping in the extreme heat feels like distance training, weights, and hot yoga rolled into one.  If you want to arrive in the morning for the short lines, but stay fresh for the show and parade-packed evenings, consider taking a hotel or pool break during the day.  Of course, this depends on the ages of your kids and the location of your hotel, but having a little non-park time can be a great way to recharge and cool off.  It will also give you time to unload your swag and grab a burger that doesn’t cost $12.

12. Pack Stain Pre-Treater – Lastly, as I unpack and start the laundry, I wish somebody had suggested that I bring a stain-treating stick to Disneyland.  Considering that the kids spent the past week drinking juice boxes and eating  ice cream cones and everything that seemed to require ketchup-dipping action, their clothing is filthy.  Not only are they stained, they have been stained for a week and counting…  Save yourself the trouble on the back-end and consider packing a stain pre-treater.