Hellobee

I have been a huge Disney fan for as long as I can remember.  I have fond memories of going with my mom on Columbus Day and taking family trips in the summer.  I live about an hour away from Disneyland and have been going regularly since I was in college.  Even before Mr. Train and I had kids, we took ourselves to Disneyland and had a great time.  I would often think about how great it would be share some of the joy of Disneyland with my kids.  We started taking our kids when they were 2 months old and we have been going ever since.  They absolutely love it and I have enjoyed watching how our trips change as the kids get older. We have gone from hanging out in Fantasyland to riding Space Mountain (I seemed to have raised some little adrenaline junkies).  I wanted to share with you some of the things I consider before planning a trip to Disneyland with our kids.

My sister and I showing off our Mickey ears and having a great time at Disneyland.

If you have the whole year to choose from, it’s easy to pick some times when Disneyland won’t be that crowded.  Unfortunately summer vacations are sometimes the only options.  Disneyland is busiest during July and August.  Attendance dramatically decreases in September and October, then stays reasonable until Spring break when it starts creeping back up again.  There are some weekends and weeks during the fall and spring time that can be very busy — all the three day weekends and holiday breaks like thanksgiving or Christmas.   We tend to go all year round, but we just know that we won’t get to as many attractions during the summer.  If I had a choice, I would always pick mid week.  Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the lower attendance days.

We love going in October. The crowds are low and the Halloween decorations are fun.

B U Y I N G  T I C K E T S

There are two complete amusements parks in the Disneyland resort: Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure.  Because of this, there are several ticketing options for the two parks. There are single park tickets, which means you will either spend your whole day at Disneyland or California Adventure.  There are also park hopper passes which allows you to go back and forth between each park. How long you will be there probably will probably help determine which ticket would be best. If you have only one day I would just pick one park to visit.  There is so much to do in both parks it can definitely keep you busy all day. If you have multiple days to spend, you could break you days into each park or hop from park to park.  The part I like best about being able to go from park to park in one day is that California Adventure tends to be a little less crowded than Disneyland.  We usually start out in Disneyland and do a bunch of the rides there and then head over to California Adventure for a less crowded evening.

Disneyland is so expensive that often turns people away from planning a vacation there. It is now $92 for an adult 1 day 1 park ticket; $137 if you want a park hopper. Children under 3 are free.  The good news is there are ways to discount your tickets.  I would first suggest looking at the Disneyland ticketing page to see if there are any deals that would fit your family. One day is $137 but 5 days is $300.  So the more days you go, the less each day will cost you.  Other dealers also sell tickets that may be worth checking into.  Costco sells park hopper passes during the fall and spring.  Military (if that applies to your family) have some of the best deals.  Some companies buy bulk tickets and sell them to their employees for discounted prices.  The Disneyland resort and hotels also have family packages along with their rooms which might be a good deal for your family.  My biggest suggestion is to sit down and do the math.  Find out what tickets or packages would work best for your family.  Compare all the different prices and figure out how your family can go for the least amount of money.

The boys were so excited the first time they had tickets. Mr. Train and I cried a little at the cost.

H O T E L S

Disneyland Resort Hotels:  There are three hotels that are considered part of the Disneyland Resort: the Disneyland Hotel, The California Grand and The Paradise Pier Hotel.  The Disneyland Hotel and the California Grand are right next to the parks.  The Paradise Pier Hotel is not as close to the parks as the first two, but it offers many of the same services.  You can get things like early admittance to the parks or have purchases taken straight to your room.  Plus they have top notch pools and spas at each of the hotels.  The down side of these hotels is that they are pricey.  We stayed at the California Grand for my mom’s 50^th birthday as a big surprise for her, but that is one of the few times I have stayed at any of these hotels.  The rooms are nice and the service is great, plus you can get vacation packages that include tickets to the parks.  Again it would be one of those things that I would sit down and really figure out the numbers before deciding if it was the best deal.

Hotels Within Walking Distance:  There is a stretch of hotels along Harbor Blvd which are essentially across the street from Disneyland.  These are much less to stay at than the Disneyland resort hotels, but are higher priced than their non Anaheim counterparts because of their location.  The great benefit to these is that they are within walking distance of the parks. This is good for returning mid afternoon for naps or breaks from the parks.  There is one that came highly recommended to me but we have yet to stay there –the Howard Johnson Hotel is supposed to be great for kids and it has a small water park.

Hotels with Free Shuttles:  If none of the of those hotels seem like a good fit, there are tons of hotels in the Anaheim area that offer free shuttles to the park.   Disneyland is very close to the convention center which is also surrounded by hotels, so there are a ton to choose from.  We have stayed at the Sheraton which we really liked.  We even could see the fireworks from our hotel room.

Hotels can be tricky but Disneyland is a great way to tire the kids out.

P A C K I N G

My biggest tip is to overpack.  Everything at Disneyland is overpriced.  If you think you might need it, bring it. I bring at least one, if not two changes of clothes for each child.  It seems like if there is going to be a diaper fail, it happens at Disneyland.  I think it falls under the category of Murphy’s Law.  I also bring a shirt for myself, especially when I was nursing or bottle feeding.  If I think we might be there at night, I pack a bag with sweaters and pajamas.  I just leave it in a locker outside of the park so I don’t have to carry it around all day. I always have sunscreen, hats, and extra diapers, extra pacifiers (when the kids were using them), and extra shoes.  Mr. Train jokes and tell him I have a never ending backpack like Mary Poppins because every time we need something, I just pull it out of the back pack.

I bring all my own snacks and water bottles.  I tend to pack up way too many snacks for the day, but then I always have something to keep the grouchies away while we are waiting in a line.  We have done bag lunches as well or purchased our lunch there.  Disneyland doesn’t allow ice chests and coolers, but insulated bags are allowed and you can bring your own food in.  They have some rules like no glass and no alcohol but that’s not really a problem for us.  The snacks I tend to pack are individually bagged or wrapped so I can give one to each kid when we are on the go.  If we are in line or if they are in the stroller they can each have their own snacks.  I love the applesauce squeeze packs and so do the kids.  The only problem is they devour them in 10 seconds.

Plan ahead for Disney attire if it’s something you would want to do. Disney clothes in Disneyland are ridiculously expensive. I have found that I can find good deals on licensed character clothes  at places like Target, Kohl’s or the Disney store. During their twice yearly sale, I got t-shirts for the boys for $5 a piece.   I have also made our own Disney clothes.  For my twins’ 3rd birthday, I made everyone a Mickey tie dye shirt.

Homemade Mickey tie dye shirts

I know a lot of moms are not big fans of the character clothing.  For those of you that aren’t, you can always make an outfit inspired by a character.  I put an Ariel outfit together for Lilly from Target.  I got a green pair of pants and a purple top then made a red flower for her hair.  I like to think of it as a more practical approach to princess attire.

Lilly showing off her Practical Ariel outfit

If your kid is of stroller age, you can bring your own or rent while you are there.  We typically bring our own because we have four kids still in strollers.  My oldest can make it for a long time but if we are going to go the whole day, he naps in the stroller.  If you have a common stroller it might help to have some defining “thing” on your stroller.  I have seen people with little name plaques or just a bright colored zip tie.  It makes it easy to know which stroller is yours when parked in the giant circles of strollers that fill up around Disneyland.  We didn’t have this problem with our giant triple stroller but now that we have Graco sit and stands, they are pretty common and hard to find in a big group.

I bring a backpack instead of traditional diaper bags. It makes it easier to carry around throughout the day.  It also makes it easier to take in lines or crowded spaces because it’s not hanging off my shoulder.

Baby carriers are helpful too.  If you are a baby wearer, make sure you bring the one that is most comfortable for you.  It can be a long day.  Also be aware that on some rides baby has to be sitting forward and out of the carriers.

Once everything is planned out it’s time to get to California and enjoy your trip.  Next time I will write up some tips for surviving a Day at Disneyland with infants and toddlers.