We are planning a trip to Disneyland, and I don't even know where to begin. I haven't been to Disneyland for probably 7 years, and my last experience left me with a bad taste in my mouth. We went the day after Thanksgiving and it was INSANE. So many people, way too crowded, and I think we rode 2 rides. Very depressing for the amount I paid to get in there. Needless to say, I have no real desire to go back... except for the fact that it is my kids' dream to visit the Disney characters. (Belle & Lightning McQueen especially.)So if any of you out there are Disneyland go-ers, I'd really like your help! Do you have any tips/pointers for me? What has worked for you if you've taken little kids?
Tyler is laughing at me that I'm even putting this on my blog (he's from So Cal and thinks he knows anything Disney...and he just might!), but I don't think he has gone to Disneyland as a PARENT with 3 little kids before!
Thank you!
14 comments:
Go BEFORE school gets out (before the end of may) and try ridemaxx.com because it plans the rides for you based on historical wait times. I've heard it's awesome! Also, try to find tickets on craigslist. I'm jealous!!
If you need help, let me know. We've been many times (twice so far this year since Feb.) and can tell you almost anything you need to know. We love Disneyland! Hope you guys have fun! When are you going?
Can we go with you?!
We splurged and did a couple of character meals so the kids had more time with the characters. (And then they were satisfied to just wave at the characters in the park since we had already eaten with them.)
The parent swap saved us but I don't know if you'll need that very much unless Whitney wants to go on the bigger rides.
You could check mousesavers.com or http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=1cccdd572d8b71aecba9106d5c14364a&f=26
A college friend's wife put together this blog of her trip a few months ago- maybe it will help:
http://100percenttravel.blogspot.com/
Sorry this was so long...I LOVE Disneyland and being a parent at Disneyland has been so...magical?
Count me as jealous, too. I had so much fun going with the boys (sans Marc) and we went with a friend who was a pro so I didn't pay much attention to those things, but then again it was October and the lines weren't long at all, in fact it wasn't busy at all either. Tip from Cheri is probably the best one I've ever heard. HAVE SO MUCH FUN! Going with your kids will make it magical no matter what.
My friend Tanya gets a season pass every year-she's your girl. Comment on her blog: www.jorgensonclan.blogspot.com.
Fastpass, fastpass, fastpass. Almost all the major rides have the fastpass feature, which is this: you run around to each ride (have Tyler do this first thing in the morning), insert your disneyland tickets into a kiosk, and they print out fastpass tickets, which tell you which hr to come back (1:30-2:30 or whatever). When you come back at that specified time, you don't wait in the regular line, you go in a special fastpass lane which is never ever more than 5 minutes. This saved us loads of time. Also, if you get a "magic morning" ticket, get there before Disneyland opens and RUN to the Nemo submarine ride, that line is always the longest. Also, the Bug's Life area in California Adventure is great for the little ones. There are a bunch of little kid rides close together and they can get in a lot of riding in a short amount of time. If you do end up waiting in line for any ride while your spouse is waiting with the kids, when you get off (or when you get one) tell them your spouse is waiting and they'll get you a switch rider pass, which will also enable you to skip to the front. Not as good as the fastpass, but still.
Are you going before June? OR after September? I think Sept. and Oct are the best times to go AND mid-week is also less crowded! My only other advice is to get an autograph book (if possible, beforehand) with a slot for a picture and have the disney characters sign. You can then put the picture of your kiddies with the disney people next to their autograph. Very cute and fun. My girls still treasure ours! You will have fun - it can happen. I promise. We had fun with 4! I was amazed at how many rides we could take the boys on at 1 year old. HUGS!
If you are able to do the magic morning breakfast, many of the characters are there while you eat, and you get in before the park opens. Then you don't have to wait in ridiculous lines just so the kids can see Buzz lightyear and snow white. Speaking of Snow White, that is a freaking scary ride for little ones! No happy little dwarfs and maniacally singing princesses... Just scary snarling trees and wicked witches.
The fast pass system will let you get tickets once per hour, and some of the bigger rides "sell out" on fast pass by afternoon with call back times in the evening(Splash mountain, Indiana Jones, Space Mountain). And some of the rides don't have fast pass (check your map). Finding Nemo is a hellacious line, so head there as soon as the park opens. Even better, if you are doing the Magic Morning breakfast, you are right next to the ride while you eat.
The park will let you bring snacks (but no meals) into the park. We would take the time during snack time to just chill on the train (which you can get on every 5 minutes or so), or on Tom Sawyer's island, just to give the kids a break without having to leave the park.
And most of all... Take naps! If your hotel is close, it's so worth it to just have some quiet time.
1. Eat at Goofy's kitchen (very fun!!! and worth the price)
2. Just do the rides your kids like then you will miss most of the lines anyway.
3. We gave the girls a notebook and let them draw pictures or write down the things that they saw and wanted to buy, then on the last day we let them pick their two favorite things. They had so much fun and it kept us from having to say no ten thousand times.
4. If its busy just make yourself have fun anyway...We went on two record breaking days but we had a blast--playing in the big Tarzan tree house and the play places in ToonTown and we went to this Crush show in California Adventure. There is lots more to Disneyland than just rides...thankfully!
5. I think the best thing is how sweet and exciting Disneyland is for kids. My girls were so happy and loved it so much. Sometimes they would be so excited, it almost made me cry...enjoy watching your kids enjoy. I am very very jealous.
One more thing...when we got there when it opened we (of course) went straight to Nemo, thinking we could beat the crowds. You can't - there are lots of people with early entrance passes and they will have the same idea. The wait was 75 minutes. We talked to an employee who told us to come back at 2:00. We did and the wait was only 30 minutes. And that was BY FAR the longest we waited for anything all day.
WOW!! Thank you everyone for all of your help! I posted this needing some pointers on how to survive Disneyland. But instead, I got an attitude adjustment and now I'm ready to enjoy Disneyland. I'm definitely much more excited to go after hearing about all of your experiences. I feel like we CAN do this!
Thank you again for your help!!
How exciting! We haven't taken our boys yet so I don't have any tips -- but I remember going a few times as a kid with my family. It was so fun--it's a magical amusement park. When are you going? Jenny
skip so cal & come to disneyworld in florida!
I also googled "Disney world tips" and got some good insight sites. You can probably do the same for Disney Land. But seriously... come to Florida!
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