Our first trip to Disneyland was perfection! We went for 5 full days… and I could have stayed for 5 more. I can just see some of your shocked faces as you’re reading these words. I realize this is an unusual attitude to have after a trip to Disneyland with 3 boys under the age of 6. I have a friend who went last year and really didn’t have a good time – I think this can be a common experience. I thought it might be useful to share some of our takeaways in the hopes that it would make your visit equally amazing. Here are my top 10 tips for a great trip to the parks.
1. Limit yourself to just a few sources of information when researching and planning your trip
There is SO MUCH INFORMATION out there on Disneyland. Blogs, websites, Instagram accounts, on and on and on. It’s good to pick one or two sources of information and just stick with that. Otherwise, it can get both overwhelming and repetitive.
I like these great sources:
Ears to the Kingdom the ConciEARS podcast. We created this podcast purely to offer our clients some additional educational content. We share our best tips and tricks for navigating Disney travel.
Ropedrop & Parkhop podcast. These ladies are super fun and a wealth of information on Disneyland. My kids even love listening to their episodes each week – it got them very excited for our upcoming trip.
The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland book and accompanying Touring Plans website – this book and website are robust, and really dive deep into the nitty-gritty details of Disneyland. I particularly like the part where the advise you to physically train for your trip by taking long walks with your family – ha ha! But if you want to really get into the weeds, this book is great. And having access to their Touring Plan tool on the website is helpful if you want to plan your days in the park in more detail.
Or better yet, hire a Travel Planner to do all the work for you! As an Executive Travel Planner with ConciEARS, a travel agency specializing in Disney vacations, I’d be happy to help you plan your vacation. With ConciEARS, I have years of travel and planning experience, and my services are FREE to you! I can book your hotel, park tickets, dining, special experiences, and provide you with tailored advice for your trip. Contact me to begin planning your Disney vacation.
And finally, the Disneyland Website and Mobile App are obviously very important resources for your trip!
2. Don’t be afraid to skip Disneyland this year
This trip is going to cost you big bucks, no matter how you slice it. You may be chomping at the bit to take this vacation, but make sure it’s the most optimal time for your family to go. There are important things to consider here: age of your kids, height of your kids, time of year you can take the trip. Your vacation is going to be so much better if your kids are old enough and tall enough to enjoy the attractions they want to ride. Also, if you can go during a time of year when the parks are less busy, your trip will be better.
If your family is really itching for some Disney, maybe consider a trip to Aulani or a Disney Cruise instead. Then tackle the parks when everyone is big enough to enjoy the experience.
3. If your kids are still napping, plan a longer vacation
When we were planning our trip people told us that we should return to the hotel each afternoon for rest, naps, and pool time. I thought they were crazy! But this was absolutely right.
Even for older kids, who no longer nap, a break from the park action in the busy afternoons is really nice. Disneyland is an incredibly overwhelming place for kids. If this sounds right for your family (and you can swing it financially) try to go for more days, and just plan on being in the parks in the mornings and evenings. 3-4 days for your vacation will allow you to have this balance (we actually like 3.5 park days). 2-2.5 days is all you need if you think you can power through the entire day.
This is of course an option too:
4. Stay onsite at a Disneyland Resort Hotel so you can stay in the magic
Staying at a Disneyland Resort hotel keeps the magic going long after you leave the parks! With Disney-themed rooms, fantastic pools, and easy access to the parks and Downtown Disney, your hotel becomes part of the adventure. Being close makes it easy to take a midday swim or rest before heading back for more fun - a huge perk for families!
Plus, each registered guest receives one complimentary Lightning Lane entry to an eligible attraction during their stay.
5. Create a morning strategy for first day in the park
I often help my clients by designing a “first morning” strategy for day-one of their visit. Disneyland parks can feel a bit overwhelming for a first-time visitor - or even a seasoned guest! It’s always a good idea to have a plan for attacking the day.
I recommend identifying the most important attractions and experiences for your family. Maybe 1-2 things per person. This can be a great place to start with your planning. Our family loves Big Thunder Mountain and we always want to ride the Millenium Falcon more than once - so that’s where we start our day!
6. Make Dining Reservations
Having dinner reservations (and even lunch reservations in some cases) can be a great strategy at Disneyland. Wait times for restaurants will reach an hour or more and sometimes even so long that they’ll just turn you away. If you want to eat at a restaurant that takes reservations, it’s a good idea to make them. This is true for lunch and dinner. There are plenty of other options at non-reservation (quick service) restaurants and you can fill-in with those – plus many have mobile ordering. We make dinner reservations for most nights and eat lunch on the go with mobile order from Quick Service spots.
Reservations can be made 60 days out on the Disneyland App. We like to do 11:30 for lunch and 5:30 for dinner, just to avoid the crowds. Plus, you’ll be waking up so early, you’ll be hungry earlier than usual.
60 days out is also when you can book dining packages for special events and magical extras like Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!
7. Bring your breakfast in your suitcase!
Pack an already baked frozen zucchini or banana bread, blueberries, bananas, dry cereal, and granola bars in a grocery cooler bag in one of your suitcases. Also throw in a small cutting board, knife (check this bag!), zip locs, and these disposable bento boxes. Each day we got our kids dressed, threw them in the stroller, plopped their breakfast on their laps, and off we went! They ate as we rolled through security and into the parks. As our kids have gotten older, a little baggie of breakfast cereal is just the thing to keep them busy as we wait at rope drop. It was so nice to avoid stopping somewhere (and wait in another line) for some sub-par breakfast. It was also nice to avoid wasting any of that Magic Morning time at a restaurant. I just threw the containers away and started with fresh ones each day. If your hotel has a continental breakfast, still bring the containers and just use their food for your on-the-go breakfast.
Read my post on Dining in Disneyland for some other great tips about the food we loved, making reservations, and snacks!
8. Spring for Lightning Lanes
Ok… here comes the lingo:
Lightning Lane Multi Pass (formerly Genie+) starts at $34 per person, per day, with prices varying by date—but it’s one of my favorite ways to fit more fun into your park day! Using the Disneyland App, you can book return times for select attractions and use a shorter line. It also includes unlimited downloads of your Disney PhotoPass photos from that day, including attraction shots. You definitely want a copy of everyone’s faces on Guardians of the Galaxy!
One person can link everyone’s tickets and manage the group’s Lightning Lane bookings from one device. You can make your first selection as soon as you enter the park, then book your next attraction after scanning into your current selection or two hours after booking it - whichever comes first. That means you can sometimes have more than one reservation lined up! The app will tell you when you’re eligible to book again.
Each booking gives you a return window - plan to arrive during that time. Pro tip: book your next ride as soon as you scan into the Lightning Lane! You can use Multi Pass once per eligible attraction, per day.
Lightning Lane Single Pass is purchased separately for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Radiator Springs Racers, which aren’t included in Multi Pass. Prices vary by attraction and date, and you can purchase these after entering the park - even without Multi Pass. Traveling with a little one who can’t ride? Ask a Cast Member about Rider Switch (see below) before your group enters the queue.
9. Don’t be afraid to bring the baby – she’ll give you access to Rider Switch!
We brought our 8-month-old with us on our first visit and he was a dream (especially compared to the potty-trained-regressing 2-year-old…). He spent the entire time in the Ergo 360, sleeping or facing out, he loved the It’s a Small World ride, and he scored his big brothers access to the Rider Switch feature.
I like to think of Rider Switch as the Disneyland version of taking turns, but in this case it’s mom and dad who do the sharing. I would stay with the baby while my husband and older son did a ride, then we would switch, husband would stay with the baby and it would be my turn for the ride. But the older boy got to ride with me again, completely skipping all lines!
Rider Switch is such a great thing that Disneyland does for families with small kids. It also gave us grown-ups a chance to ride the big scary rides, each parent taking a turn with the kids.
10. Don’t forget to pack…
…Biggest stroller you own (but less than 31″ wide and 52″ long, and no wagons), plus a unique ribbon tied to it for easy locating
…Retractable Permanent Markers
…Dum-dum lollipops
…Fanny Pack or Cross-body bag instead of a back pack
…Portable Cell Phone Charger
…Heads Up Kids! and Disney Play App for your phone
…Wet wipes, wet wipes, wet wipes
…Tons of zip loc bags
For more ideas and the reason for some of these odd things check out my What to Pack post
