Disneyland Do’s and Don’ts: What’s YOUR Disneyland Advice?
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I grew up as a Disneyland girl. My dad was — and still is — a kid when it came to Mickey, Donald, and roller coasters. His excitement about a day at “the Happiest Place on Earth” was contagious. And we were raring to go whenever he said so. We lived about an hour’s drive away and made a trip every year. This was back in the days of E-tickets, so that tells you how old I am. There were no such things as Speed Passes or early entrance times.
Although Disneyland was a regular experience of my childhood, my children have never been. Yes, it’s true. For awhile the excuse was that they were too young, then we lived too far away, then we were in debt. Well, the excuse-making is over. Our kids are aged 12, 9, 7, 5, 3, and 1. We live an hour away. And the debt is gone.
It’s time.
But, before we go, I thought I would put out a call for help. The last time Fish and I went to Disneyland was 1996. We were newlyweds – no children. We have no clue how to do Disneyland. That’s where YOU come in! I know a lot of you have great wisdom as to best tackle such a monumental event. And the rest of you are clueless along with me.
So, this week is the FishMama Two Day Disney Extravaganza:
Tomorrow I’ll have Mr Linky up for you to share your Disney posts (Disneyland, Disneyworld, EuroDisney, Disney HongKong, DisneyTokyo). I think it would be so fun to tour the parks with you!
Today tell me your Do’s and Don’ts about Disneyland. What would you do? What would you avoid?
southren ca residents usually are offered discounts (zip codes 90000-93599). CA residents get discounts for season passes. Costco, Von’s or Ralph’s store may also offer lower-priced passes (3 days for less than $99). Not sure when you get to use those 3 days but you need at least one day at Disney and one for CA Adventure, and one for the best of the 2 parks day. One day tix are cheaper on-line thru disney.
Read the “Unofficial Guide to” books, they give good tips (borrow from the library). Bring your double stroller (your 5 year might even want to sit in it) and your single one too! If you are going as a couple, split up – one goes and grabs the fast passes, the other gets in line with the kids.
My fav things to do are the parades and shows and Disney unique rides….b/c after all, a rollercoaster is a rollercoaster.
Take camera with lots of extra memory cards and batteries. You will no doubt take lots of photos. Sun screen and waterbottles are key! As are packed snacks (you have a baby so stuffed your bag with snacks for all). Sometimes, candy can make the wait more bearable for the kids. Outside purchased autograph books – I’ve even taken colored paper, folded in half and stapled for autograph books – little kids really don’t care! Or make it a build up to the trip make a scrapbook craft event prior to going.
So much more….haha….I’ve been to HK Disney over 20 time with my kids, Japan Disney (3 days) and Disneyland. Funny enough, we are waiting to go to Disney World! But that might be this year.
Thanks for reminding me to buy another camera battery! It died on our weekend vacation and I was stuck. Also, great tip on the books from the library! TY
Jessica, just go to allears.net or mousesavers.com – both of those sites have saved us thousands of dollars. Literally.
Get park hopper tickets – they’re a bit more, but that way, you can walk between the two parks. We just did D’Land this September for the 1st time (I’ve been to WDW over 10 times now…), and it was definitely fun, but we were once again glad we got park hopper. You might want to look into SoCal resident tickets – it seems much more cost effective to me for someone in your situation than just buying a regular ticket. You pay a bit more up front, but if you and FishPapa decide to head out again at some point this year with the kids, it’s very cost effective.
Mom’s Panel is also super helpful, and just make sure you take snacks and water – it helps save a few bucks because the food can add up when you have as many kiddos as you do (but seriously, they’ll be able to split meals….portions are HUGE!).
Just returned from three days at DisneyLand and had a fantastic time!
…And this from a Florida native who thought there was no way DisneyLAND could top DisneyWORLD.
I stand corrected in many aspects… but think each park has its benefits.
Can’t wait to link up and share my observations tomorrow. 🙂
Get ready for fun, FishFamily!!!!
Hi, If you go to Toni’s blog at http://www.TheHappyHousewife.com/category/disney, she did a 30 day series on Disney. They take their seven children every year and the tips were great. We are going this year and she had things for ages, food ideas, times that are best, everything you could think of. Hope this helps.
I know Toni is the Disney expert. I’m waiting for a quiet time to browse her collection. Wondering how much overlap there is between Dland and Dworld.
@Jessica Fisher, Disneyland is like the Magic Kingdom part of DW.
I live in OC and have been to Disneyland more times that I can count. If possible, avoid going Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. I know that is a lot of days but those are the busiest! The rides in Disney with the longest waits tend to always be Peter Pan, Dumbo and Nemo. So try to hit those first if you want to ride those. Take advantage of the baby “swap” where you get a pass and wait with the baby near the ride exit. Once your spouse comes off the ride, switch places with no waiting in line again! California Adventure is usually never very busy, so if Disneyland seems like a zoo, use your park hopper to walk on over to C.A. and enjoy that park. My favorite (for toddlers) is the Monester, Inc. ride – so cute! Have fun!
DO go in the off-season. We went in the beginning of January (to DisneyWorld), and it was perfect–no lines, we did whatever we wanted, saw tons of characters (there were lines for those, but they were short). Those Disney mom’s guide type of books tell you when the least busy weeks of the year are. And at least as of a few years ago you could pack your own food in, which saves tons of money. Pack your own lunch and buy an ice cream cone for dessert and you’re good to go. We stayed off-site at a place with a full kitchen (a timeshare).
Oh, and a few character meals are totally worth it.
Sounds like a guide book is going to be a good idea. TY
We took our two yearold in October to DW for Halloween. Hubby had a business trip in one of the hotels in Disney so part of the trip was paid fr other wise probably would have waited until our son was older.
Anyway we used the Mom’s panel on the DIsney website for a ton of questions from sould we bring our own stroller to where is the best place to eat with a two year old. allears.net was another great source of info.
I lovethe happiest place on earth and cannot wait to go back in 2 years!
I can tell you about Disney World… we checked out books from the library to plan our trip. Our favorites are the “Unofficial Guide to” books which will give great cheap tips. We stayed on the resort in a Ft. Wilderness cabin which gave us room and a kitchen so we could eat breakfast and lunch there. It also made it possible for us to enter the park early before the crowds came. We would get up early and come back home by 11:00 for lunch and naps. Then we would get up later in the day and return when the crowds had died down.
The 2nd time we went (with a young teen), they had late, late nights where you could get a wrist band to go in at 10:00 PM until 2:00 AM. Our young teen thought this was fabulous and it reduced the heat and the crowds. If you are just going for a day, try to limit the action… believe me, you will see a ton of screaming children whose parents are making them have “fun” because of the expense.
To avoid buying the expensive souvenirs, we went to WalMart and got a Disney hat which our son then used to get autographs of all the characters. He did have some spending money of his own to use and we let him make the decisions of where to spend that but we did not give him any more money. Setting spending limits is very important as you will be blown away by all the “stuff”. And that is what it is… stuff. When you get home, you will wonder why you ever bought any of it. Look on eBay for some of it if you have to have it later. As for snacks, I think you can pack some basics (in the diaper bag) to take in… or buy a water for everyone then refill it in the bathroom. If you are just going for the day, pack a picnic lunch for your car.
We just got back 2 days ago from 8 days at Disney World. Let me say, it should be called WALK Disney! We had 3 rides break down on us after waiting for 1 to 2 hours to ride them. We quickly tired of eating the same foods everyday (even at the resort). My kids did have a great time, but all in all they preferred hanging around the resort rather than the busy theme parks. This was a once in a lifetime experience that will not be repeated.
Have you tried the RideMax software? We did it on our last trip, printed out a few different scenarios for each day and always finished early with shorter waits! It even tells you when to get FastPasses. My kids (6, 4, 2) would do the Matterhorn and Gadget’s Go-coaster over and over or Soarin’ California for the older two, so it’s nice to know the best times of day to do them with the software!
I don’t have any posts to share- but try everything once, take turns with the “parent pass” while the other waits with the little ones and then plan to go back and let everyone do their favorites (a different day if possible)! And you may want to stick a sock in the heel of your 3 year old’s shoe if they are almost at that height level if they are more adventurous and can handle a little more excitement.