Hellobee

A while ago I wrote a post about our tips and tricks to make a smooth and successful visit to Disneyland. It was a glorious, wonderful trip and we were really really stoked for the next trip. We booked a trip for November, right before Thanksgiving, making it doubly special in that we would be there to see the Christmas decorations! Unfortunately, I’m pregnant and that led me to an extreme amount of laziness leading up to our trip. Since our last trip went off without a hitch, I greatly underestimated just how much prep was necessary for an easy, stress-free vacation.

Mistake #1: Going too cheap on the hotel

My husband opted to help me with the planning of our trip this time around and when he realized that a hotel slightly further away would save us about $180 dollars over the course of our trip, we booked the hotel requiring a 20-minute shuttle to Disney. This was a bad call in a couple ways. Our hotel told us the wrong time for shuttle service 2 out of the 3 days that we were there. This left us driving ourselves one day (avoid, avoid!! Quick drive, forever long parking process) and cooling our heels for an extra 20 minutes the next day. The other rough part is that we opted not to go back to the hotel for naps because taking a shuttle back and forth would have taken an extra 40-60 minutes out of our Disney day! This left us with a very tired boy one day and very tired parents the other two days, as we let the grandparents take him the other two days for naps at their closer hotels.

Mistake #2: Not making an itinerary

Our last trip I had every land pretty well mapped out, times it should take in each space, when we would get fast passes, etc. This time I avoided doing it and was dreading bossing so many people around. Instead of staying in each land and moving in a way that made sense, we spent way too much time traveling back and forth between Disneyland and California Adventureland. We wasted time and a lot of energy by moving all over the place in no particular order.

Mistake #3: Too many people

I love big family gatherings and they are a blast! However, two sets of grandparents with one set of parents and a singular grandchild made it a bit chaotic and just messy. I am a planner, meaning that while I’m sure this trip was wonderful for everyone, I was exhausted because I felt as though I was falling short on planning a great vacation for so many people. Know your limits!

Mistake #4: Not researching meals

We have been to Disneyland enough that we don’t make a lot of regrettable food decisions. One thing that we used to not participate in a whole lot were the character meals. However, last time we went we did Goofy’s Kitchen and Eli loved it so very very much! So much so that we did it again and wanted to pick up the tab to thank everyone for coming with us. I did not take into account the uptick in pricing during the holidays and I was shocked at the price. While we would have bought it no matter the price, it’s always awkward to have a surprised look at a bill that’s $50-$60 more than expected.

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It was a fun, exhausting trip that I wish I would have spent more time planning. In reality, my son thought that Disneyland was the greatest place on earth won’t stop watching videos from the trip to constantly relive the experience. Mistakes aside, nothing compares to a family trip, especially with Mickey Mouse.

Did you make any mistakes you’d avoid next time on your Disney trip?