Disneyland
OK so I was never a Disneyland fanatic (yes those do exist) I went when I was younger and yes I liked it but I do not think I saw the true magic in it until I brought my own kids there and I was just swept away by all the magic that is Disneyland. I LOVED IT. Last year was our first year going with Yasi only being 2 months old, the twins were 3, and Zoey was 6. It was SO MUCH FUN that we decided to go again this year. I am from the east coast where our three school breaks were just winter spring and summer break, but here in the PNW we also have a mid-winter break! Which I now take full advantage of because my thought process is not everyone in the United States is gonna have a mid-winter break so Disneyland won’t be as crazy as it would be during those other break times and my thought process is correct! Whenever we go yeah it is busy because hello it is Disneyland but compared to how crazy it could be during those other breaks I do not think it is that bad. Ok so there is so much that I want to talk about for this trip so excuse my rambling early on but I hope this helps another mama out who is thinking about booking a Disney trip because I think it is so worth it at even a young age!!! (DOWNLOAD THE APP it is like the very first thing you should do! It tells you all the wait times for rides, order food, and where characters are!)
Pre-Trip !
Ok some things to give reference to first! We bring Q’s mom with us!!!! Someone told me before we even went last year bring another adult with you because Zo was at the age and size that she can go on rides and me and Q enjoy roller coasters. So it allows us to go do stuff with her and Q’s mom will stay with the littles and do stuff with them when we are on the rides. She lives in Pittsburgh so we literally just time it that our flights are around the same time, and she has come with us last year and this year. IT HELPS! If you have someone that can come with you I encourage you to do it. Also the length we stay this time was 4 days with a 2-day Park Hopper pass. We have previously stayed 5 days with a 3-day Park Hopper pass.
Clothes
I did a lot of Pinterest Disneyland reading beforehand! I love seeing about hidden things or cool places to eat/drink. Also just tips and advice for kids and traveling! Things I did before the trip were Disney themed clothes shop!!!!!!! Anyone reason to shop I am all for it but if its for Disneyland I am even more for it. Obviously this is not something you have to do but it is something I really like to do, and it is just fun. Sure I may get one shirt while I am there but if you’re waiting to buy Disney themed stuff until you get there you will be broke before you even step on to a ride. So some favorites to get stuff are Zara, h&m, Uniqlo, and Target. This was my favorite sweatshirt I got from Zara that was Jasmine and I was so happy with it I got a size large for an oversized fit. Another sweatshirt I wore from Uniqlo that I wore and loved again think I got a size large. For the twins I got these jackets and they were great because it was a little chilly some days and good on the plane because they were lightweight and such a great price, I got 2 different Minnie Mouse shirts for them as well. I got these princess shirts for them from my favorite, Target. For Zoey (my pickier child when it comes to clothes, not even picky she is just older so she knows what she likes and dislikes) I got her this Lilo&Stitch shirt, and this Mickey Mouse one! Again a lot Yasi’s stuff was from either Target or Zara but the Zara stuff I got on clearance so it isn’t available anymore. (I know some people are like who cares clothes but as a lover of clothes I will always share my finds Disney or not).
Food
So the previous year our friends were at Disneyland and she is also a mom of 3 kids she was smart and had SNACKS! Of course my kids were happy to rob her of her snacks to this year I packed snacks. What I did was buy snack packs goldfish (they were Mickey Mouse themed), trail mix packs (Target brand and Valentine’s theme), Chewy bars, and popcorn. I was literally able to fit like 6 packs of goldfish 10 chewy bars and the trail mix packs in ONE gallon ziplock! And then I just stuck it in my backpack for the plane and it stayed in my backpack the whole trip. My reasoning behind this is kids get hungry Disneyland is busy!! You are walking around all day that sometimes in a line they can have a quick snack, or if we are getting them lunch sometimes the lines could be long so there is a quick solution. This is a little bit of a money saver because you can’t really find those types of snacks at Disney and if you do they will cost you an arm and a leg.
Activities
I know it is Disneyland who needs activities?!?!?! But remember those long waits for food or just lines in general children need to be entertained and this honestly saves the endless questions where is my food? I am bored (ok a statement not a question), can I have another snack?, can I buy this?, can we go to this place? Whelp we were eating at Pizza Planet which was busy but not like crazy busy. Q was sitting with all the kids and me and his mom went to go get the food. The girls were already starting to pick at each other and that is when I pulled out THESE they were so in love with them because there was so much they could do with them and they could play together or individually, even in the hotel room they were making stuff with them. For the plane ride I got these activity books for the twins and I got this book for Zoey which is so much fun because when waiting in line even without the book we were coming up with our own ideas to ask each other.
Packing
For this trip we were able to bring ONLY 2 suitcases! One had me and Q’s stuff and the other one had all the kids stuff. The girls each carry a backpack (the twins just happen to have these Disney princess ones they use for school anyways) and then I carry a backpack for my stuff, some kids stuff like snacks, and Yasi’s stuff (pretty much my diaper bag when traveling). So inside of each backpack I try to keep it minimal so I don’t hear complaints of how heavy a bag is and then I have to carry it!! Each twin has a change of clothes, yes they are four but you never know when they could have an accident or when one time Charleigh threw-up out of nowhere all over her clothes (again I was smart and packed an extra set of clothes then too). Everyone has a kindle, each an activity book ( I previously talked about right up above), small stuffed animal, one snack, headphones (with a cord), and the twins each had a blanket.
So this was my first time using packing cubes and that was I believe why we were able to bring only 2 suitcases. I used them for each of the kids Zoey and Yasi had green, the twins were able to have all their stuff in one pink one. These were the packing cubes I bought there are definitely tons of different kinds on Amazon so type in packing cubes and see what you get!
Hotel/Travel
BRING A STROLLER that is probably my number one thing to say to anyone that has kids!!!! Your 5 or 6 year will still get tired from walking around for hours, it is just a natural thing to walk around for hours and have your legs hurt! Best suggestion if you don’t have a stroller laying around would be first borrow one from a friend, second you can rent them either from Disneyland or there are companies that you can get them from, or third buy a cheap $20 umbrella stroller from Target or Walmart. YOU WILL THANK ME! For us I still have a stroller obviously for Yasi but I bought this attachment for my Uppababy stroller that both the twins could stand on!!! It really helped us get through the airport quick and helped with those little legs in Disneyland. It was also super easy to put on there and it is super easy to put up and down when need be.
Plane
I fly Delta!!! And I swear by it could be pricey for some people but my sanity is worth the price, they have tv with endless movies, shows, and even games for kids. And EACH CHILD HAS THEIR OWN! So there is no fighting. This is why I pack the headphones with the cord so they can use them for the TVs. I only buy 5 seats and Yasi sits with me and he is strapped into me in the carrier I always use and rave about. (If this was a longer flight like to the east coast then yes I would buy the sixth seat to take up the whole row. Did I bring a carseat or booster seats for this flight? No. Have I for longer flights? Yes. One reason I have four fucking kids I am not and my husband is not lugging around four seats, that is just insanity. I KNOW HOW IMPORTANT CARSEAT SAFETY IS SO NO NEED FOR A LECTURE. Let’s say we travel to the east coast Yasi has a carseat that I do bring and the girls all have booster seats in both Maryland and Pittsburgh they can use so that is why it is not that big of a worry. I will explain a little later why we don’t need them for Disneyland.
Bus
Ta-Da already to my reason why! So for one-hundred dollars ($50 for me $50 for Q, kids are free!) we pay for a round trip coach bus that picks us up from LAX and takes us right to our hotel! And then when it is time to leave the bus picks us up right from the hotel and straight to our Delta terminal. The bus comes every hour, and that is mainly why we don’t do a carseat. If we were lets say renting a car then we would of course bring carseats, and our first trip when he was a tiny baby we did bring a carseat. But that leads into the next topic hotel!
Hotel
So yes there is probably a lot of cheaper options and just a whole bunch of what ifs. BUT I am paying for convenience! Disneyland Hotel connects right to Downtown Disney which leads you right to Disneyland and California Adventures. Lets say I pick a non-Disney hotel then I also have to worry about renting a car and then worry about parking or distance to walking to the entrance. Being close allows us the option to go back to the hotel quick if we need to: hungry, tired, or sick. I also pick a room has 2 Queen beds and a day bed that has Club Level Service so what this means is you stay in a building called Adventure Tower and on their 11th floor there is a suite you have access to that has unlimited snacks and drinks all day, serves breakfast a hot food sort of appetizer hour and then a dessert hour. The dessert hour on the weekends co-insides with the fireworks that go on at Disneyland. The whole view of the suite is of Downtown Disney, some of Disneyland, and California Adventures. Another great part they have juice boxes which you can take with you and bring for the kids into the park!! Could you do this trip a lot cheaper then we did, YES! Again this is just another thing that works for me and us as a family.
View of Downtown Disneyland and the view from Club Level Suite
Disneyland and California Adventure
Food
Our first night we get there we do not actually go to the park because most times it is so busy at the hotel we can’t actually check in until 3pm, but Disney Hotel will happily store your luggage and we just head to Downtown Disney walk around and get something to eat. Our first year I paid for a character meal but did not know you could and should book them in advance. I thought you just booked them when you arrived since you already paid for it, but nope! So this time around I made reservations and booked us a dinner at Goofy’s Kitchen which is on the Disney Hotel property. That way we got our Disney fix and experience but got to relax and simply just do a very quick walk to dinner. The morning of us leaving we also did a Goofy’s Kitchen breakfast. The previous year we did Storytellers Cafe which had a really good breakfast! Both places have good food (good not great) they are both buffet style and definitely more about the “experience” then the food, the kids will definitely like the food though just not highly favored by us adults.
They did have another good feature on the app which is some places inside the park you can order your lunch while sitting at the table and then it will tell you when it is ready and you can go right to the counter! For dinner again unless you have made reservations well in advance you are looking for an hour or more wait. The good thing is a lot of places in Downtown Disney have the restaurant and then they have their express restaurant, so you might not get the service and sit down meal but most of them do have the exact same food you are just taking it to-go. They also this year added food trucks! At night when we would go back to the park we tried this Dumpling food truck and it was SO GOOD! We ate there both nights.
Still got my coffee every morning! They have 2 Starbucks inside of Downtown one when you first enter and another one farther down. If you are getting there early enough head to the second one because everyone goes to the first one cause it is the first one they see. You can also still do a mobile order! Either way neither one did I ever have to wait long to get my coffee or even order it because they have so many people working there.
California Adventures definitely has the better food and more variety. We really like to eat at Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill we LOVED the Ensalada Frutas cups and the Cocina Bowls (me Q and his mom all got the bowls), the twins liked the rice bean and chicken bowls, and Zoey got tacos! So it has a little for everyone of my kids there and try their seasonal agua fresca!!! Disneyland has more of the hamburgers, pizza, and chicken nuggets.
The Parks
Get there early!!!! Last year we tried….. but I had just had a baby so I was tired and all of us just struggled to get up super early like we wanted. This year we were able to do it! And it worked out so great because seriously the first hour at the park was pretty empty (when I say empty I mean it is Disneyland it will always be busy but it’s like LESS busy then it possibly could be). So the weekend we went was my kids mid-winter break and that is Presidents Day weekend. The 2 days we were inside of Disneyland was that Monday actual Presidents Day so it was dead in the morning and then got pretty busy. That next day it was definitely way less people and you could see that just even looking at Downtown Disney from our hotel. I won’t go into detail by detail with rides but our favorites in Disneyland are Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Star Tours. This year we were able to bring the twins on Thunder Mountain and they LOVED it! Just me Q and Zo went on Star Tours it is a virtual ride but it is SO awesome. The whole ride shakes and moves, literally throwing you back and forth side to side. We went on it 3 different times and we got 3 different versions of the clip that they play, we also sat in the back row and thought that was the best way to experience it!!
So the way FastPass works is you scan your Disney Park pass at the ride of your choice. It then shoots out a ticket that tells you what time to come back, at the bottom of the that same ticket it tells you the time you can get your next FastPass. So sometimes me and Q would be in line for one ride and then either me or him go walk over to get FastPasses for a different ride. I wish I could explain it better but I hope that makes sense. It helps you get onto those rides that would normally be maybe a 70min wait if you just stood in the regular line. Fastpasses also aren’t connected between Disneyland and California Adventures so you could get one at one park and then get another one at the different park at the same time.
Last year at California Adventures the whole pier area was closed and that is because they were making way for it to be Pixar Pier! I loved it over there I am a big Toy Story and Incredibles fan so it was so worth it!!!!! Hands down my FAVORITE ride was the Incredicoaster only me and Q went on it. Zoey could’ve gone on it but it goes upside down so that freaked her out. It was such a great ride all the drops, twists, and turns so much fun. That whole area though turned CRAZY busy by the afternoon! Funnest part of the whole California Adventures was getting stuck on The Little Mermaid ride for 20 minutes with all four kids, I can still hear the music playing in my head. I had one character I wanted to see and that was Sully and I was so happy because we got to see him!!
Something really fun for the whole crew that we did last year and then I really wanted to go back this year for my dancing machine Yasi was Disney Junior Dance Party ! It is SO fun it literally is a dance party and you get to see characters like Vampirina, Mickey&Minnie, and Doc McStuffins. They have bubbles come out and leaves falling down, it is just super entertaining for younger kids. Zo was at the age where she was on borderline over it but not yet! My suggestion would also be to look up the times on the app and if the show is at 10:30am get there at 10 (or even a little before) because the line does fill up quick. Last year we were right up front this year we were a couple rows back both were good spots. I think farther back your kids like to be close to the stage to dance so you like sort of can’t keep track of them when they go up front. It is an inside area so could be a good activity if it is a rainy day!
Extras
There are extra things that I would consider doing if you have small people would be one Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique! It is quite an extra cost but it is also pretty priceless seeing the look on the twins faces getting their hair, nails, and make-up done. It was so much fun and so special they absolutely loved it. Last year we did it but this year we did not. They have different options too so you could do it but with lower a price level, like we let the twins get a shirt and tutu skirt but you could go full out and buy the princess dresses they have! Boys can do it too because you can dress up as a knight!
The VOID is something that is located in Downtown Disney! This was something just me, Zoey, and Q did one night. IT WAS A BLAST! It is a virtual reality experience it is Star Wars themed (I think there was a Ghostbusters one as well) you get to shoot Storm Troopers, you walk through a lava area flying on something and you smell the smoke and it starts to feel hot. It was just a really cool experience and worth it for adults and older kids!
THAT WAS A LOT! I know it is so much to read and take in but I really hope it is super helpful! If you have any questions or didn’t see something you wanted to know about please let me know and feel free to comment or email me! Disneyland really is just super magical and fun and I have become one of those Disney loving people!! So if you take away anything from this very long post here it is: Download the app, Take advantage of FastPass, and bring a stroller!!!!!
