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?
I haven’t tried it yet, but my friend swears by the Ride Max software. She says she will never again do Disneyland without it.
Some of the best advice I can give about Disneyland is to go early and/or stay late! If you’re there right when the park opens, you have a much better chance of shorter wait times in Fantasyland. And things basically clear out after the nighttime parade and fireworks show. So if your little ones can handle it, get there when the park opens and/or stay until it closes!
Also, the baby care center is fantastic. It’s at the end of Main Street close to the Kodak photo center. They have kiddie sized toilets, really nice changing facilities, and will warm up your bottles/baby food etc for your little one.
If you don’t set up a “This is your budget” or “You get one souvenir” policy, be prepared to spend money. Ditto with food. The churros and jalepeno cheese filled pretzels are to die for…but too much snacking adds up fast.
Finally, use the fast passes and stroller switch system. Looks like some other people have already explained, and any Disney worker can explain it to you too, so I won’t. But use them! And remember they DON’T expire!
I don’t know if anyone has commented about this but it was a tip that I read about when I was planning a trip to Disney with my brood. The toilets are automatic flush toilets and the tip was to bring the small post-it notes to place over the sensor. Unfortunately, I didn’t not take heed to this tip and was stuck with my hand covering the sensor while my 3 yr. old tried to potty, 4 times that day. It was not fun!!
Anyways, I hope this helps!
I’m sure you were planning this already, but start your day off in Fantasyland. It’s always quieter in the morning before the massive crowds have arrived. You won’t have to wait as long to ride all the kiddie rides and there is nothing worse than waiting hours to ride Dumbo!!! Once you have done everything in Fantasyland, you can spend the rest of your day touring the remainder of the park. But it is so nice to know that you have completed Fantasyland first!!
I suggest buying a book or checking one out from the library. I think I used “The Unofficial Guide to Disney World With Kids.” It tells you where to eat, what time, where to sit for parades, cheap places to eat, what you can bring with you into the park, which rides are best for fast passes; what time of day is best to hit different rides, etc.
Think about renting strollers. They are much bigger than yours and easier to maneuver.
I made out a tentative ride schedule that followed the suggested times of day.
If you call the park the morning of your arrival you might be able to find out what time the park opens. Opening time can change daily.
http://www.allears.com is a helpful website.
Check around for low-cost Disney shirts and since your family is large you might want to wear brightly, similar colored shirts so you can spot each other quickly.
Good luck and God bless you for this undertaking 🙂
We had a great time with our kids. Having a budget for them to choose something to buy is great–to keep an eye out for something they really like, and get it at the end.
If you’re only an hour away, season passes might be fabulous–to avoid exhausting days, just go for a few hours early in the day, or late in the day. We did this at our local amusement park, and always had a relaxing day, knowing we’d be back again another day. And were able to avoid buying food, instead picnics.
If doing long days–do pack little food items and lots of water; even though the signs say no food, I consider it a health matter to be able to give my starving kids some dried fruit or trail mix in a long line.
And the “fast pass” system is really lovely. When we were in lines, my kids who normally fight, would do clapping games/songs…
California Adventure is fun too, with some water features (they get wet) in an agricultural theme. Not as much to see or do, but enjoyable, and the main stage theatre show there is always FANTASTIC. Worth a long wait to be sure to see it.
If you homeschool or have a flexible schedule, go when most families are not on vacation–the multitudes of strollers playing chicken down the walkways are a little scary. (Aggressive stroller drivers.)
Enjoy!
We loved our disneyland trip! One of my biggest tips is, and this is horrible, don’t worry about the money. I had a one year old and a six year old who loved ‘stuff’, and we just told him we would find something before we left. I usually stress about the $$ over having fun, but it really wasn’t that bad, and I enjoyed myself not constantly tallying up our spending.
Also, I spent 100$ at big lots the week before we flew on a stroller with a rideon/sit on back by fisher price. It’s big but sturdy, and it is such a nice option b/c one of the older ones WILL get tired. Also I have a diaper bag that clips around the bars of the stroller, by skiphop i think. It made me feel very secure knowing all my kids, food, and money was in a tiny area!!! We lost dad there, but oh well!!! Just kidding!
Thank you for this idea. I think I would have dismissed it as too bulky, but I’m seeing the wisdom of it.
I agree with going to the dollar store and getting Disney items ahead of time! And if I had a daughter I would make sure I had a princess dress and did her hair and make-up special before going to the park.
Disney is fun, but I never went as a child, so it wasn’t nostalgic for me.
One more thing–instead of pins or something else that costed money, I made autograph books, and then later on I added the picture of each character with my kid the on the facing page from each autograph. Almost free souvenir, and satisfied the “collecting” urge.