Hellobee

I recently visited the park with a few other moms and we had an amazing time! Our kids are all about 2 years old so it was great that they all enjoyed the same things. I loved reading the blog posts other Hellobee mamas had to say about visiting this extremely popular attraction, especially during the holiday season. I asked some of my expert Disneyland friends their advice, and they actually recommended that CA Adventure can be better for toddlers. Here are some tips I picked up on our trip last week!

Parking

If you can make it happen, there’s a drop off location near the entrance. Taking an Uber can make things amazingly easier! Here’s an excerpt about it from the Disneyland site: “Guest Drop-Off and Pick-Up Only area on the west side of Harbor Boulevard, located south of Manchester Avenue and north of Disney Way.” One of my friends was dropped off by her husband and said it was super easy for her to come directly to the gates!

If you’re staying at the hotel or not planning to stay all day, you can actually park at Downtown Disney (2 hours free, $12 each half hour but maxes out at $36) and the entrances are much closer. You won’t even have to take the tram! One time, I thought I was super lucky because there was no parking attendant at Downtown Disney and parking was free that day. I heard that happens every once in awhile!

What kind of stroller is best?

I was going to borrow someone’s compact stroller because all I have is the BOB stroller, which is pretty massive. But lots of moms told me it was the “it” stroller of Disneyland! Why? Because it can hold a lot of things and if the kiddos are napping, the giant wheels can smooth over all the little bumps on the road. If you can hike it onto the tram (there’s a section where you won’t have to fold it up. Just follow the folks in wheelchairs) then you’ll actually enjoy having a bulkier/nicer stroller for the day!

For those who are potty trained…

I think it’s worth it to bring a bunch of plastic bags and the potette potty. It was super easy to pull it out and let Baby Pencil go potty versus looking for a bathroom with a huge line! Just make sure your plastic bags don’t have holes!

Naps

Oh, glory. Baby Pencil doesn’t nap well except under peer pressure at school or at random places. But he will nap when he’s very, very tired. I wasn’t sure if he was going to nap in the stroller, but he did! He was about 1-2 hours behind schedule but the park really wore him out. We loosened his buckles, gave him a blanket, draped a towel over the stroller and walked around for a bit. It gave us a pretty good work out but I was relieved he was able to get some rest so we could conquer the last half of the day!

This is what naps look like at Disney CA Adventure. Butts up in the air, peeking our heads in the stroller and yelling “close your eyes! Go to sleep!”

Food

Everyone has said this but I will say it again… bring food. I thought I outsmarted the park because I brought a ton of food. But guess what? I ate it all. Then, I bought churros 4 separate times. And you know what? It was worth it! A lot of people’s favorite foods at Disneyland are their famous churros, corn dogs, lobster nachos and Dole whip. All those things are super delicious and I think it’s OK to splurge on those treats since you can’t get them this yummy anywhere else!

Rides vs Shows

For toddlers, they truly seemed to enjoy the shows more than rides. Our 2-year-olds were getting so antsy on the ride lines but they would sit still and/or get up and dance for the shows! It’s also nice not to be pressured to ride every little thing but just enjoy the park in its entirety. A great show, parade and getting some pictures with a Disney character day is what I would call a successful day! If we got in a ride or two, it would be a plus.

Things to bring you may not remember: 

Extra clothes (layers), warm socks, hats or warm head gear, a blanket and/or towel, tons of kid snacks, bottled water, sunscreen, and an external phone charger.

Wear all the Disney stuff you have…

So that you won’t be tempted to buy more! Even I was tempted to buy some mouse ears but luckily I resisted. My girlfriends already had some ears and hair pins so it was really cute for pictures.

If your stroller goes missing…

Don’t worry. Chances are it’s just moved somewhere else because the workers moved it for you. I don’t think that strollers get stolen that easily at Disneyland (probably more often at Disney World), and I wouldn’t bring my nicest stroller. But your stroller might be moved to another area because of crowding or perhaps needing the space for something. So before you go screaming that you’ve been robbed, look around for a bit!

Watch out…

When there are warning signs that certain shows may be too scary. We accidentally took our kids to watch A Bug’s Life in 3D and they all screamed and cried in terror. Oops!

Do…

Stay for World of Color! You should grab a fast pass for it as soon as you enter. It will give you a time to be “seated” near the front. (You will have to stand when the show starts.) Just make sure you’re not in the wet section, but they will be yelling out warnings that you may get wet if you’re too close to the front. It was a beautiful show! My friend best described it as “the Las Vegas Bellagio water show on steroids.” Amazing stuff they do with water, lights and music! Just a warning, the show is about 25 minutes long so be ready to stand for awhile!

We plan to go to Disneyland next, so I’ll be writing another entry soon about that!