Now, don’t get me wrong…I’m NO Disneyland professional! But, I have been several times and I have done QUITE a bit of research and feel that our last trip went pretty stinkin’ close to perfect! So…here’s my advice to you…
Before you go and while your there
*Talk it up!!! Get online and order the free “Vacation Planning” DVD. Let your kids watch it OVER and OVER again! It got Peyton SOOO excited!
*Make dining reservations AS SOON AS YOU CAN!
*Pre-order the Photo Pass It was well worth the $70 to get ALL the pics that the Disney photographers snapped of us all week long!
*Pre-order your park tickets through Costco or AAA, or some other special offer, you typically can get a free day or extras for booking through them!
*Watch ALL of your Disney movies…and rent the rest! we loved knowing the stories of everything we saw!
*Plan your days out. It’ll help you make sure to not miss anything that you really want to do. Just don’t be stressed out by your “schedule!” Be flexible! I’m a planner and I would be more stressed by NOT having a plan
*Disneyland is fun for all ages, toddlers to adults, I have heard several people say they wanted to wait until their kids were old enough to remember or tall enough for the rides, well I can tell you that from experience my little ones loved Disneyland at 3/4 JUST as much as the older kids did, there is something there for every age!
*Staying at the Disney resorts are GREAT! are they spendy? yes! but are they worth it? yes!!
*take a break mid day, especially if you have kids under 10 years old! that was when we would let the kids swim and relax and get out of the sun each day!
*my number 1 advice is DO NOT GO IN THE SUMMER, (or spring break) it is not worth spending that much money in our opinion to go to a place where you have to stand in the 95 degree heat for an hour to ride 1 ride, you literally will be disappointed, you didn’t get to do half of what Disneyland has to offer due to crowds and heat!
*pack lots of water and snacks, but eat meals at the parks too, part of the fun at Disneyland is splurging and trying fun different and new foods, they have some of the best food, and I really feel you are missing out if you choose to not eat some of it, however portions are big at a lot of places so you can share meals to cut costs!
*set an alarm and wake up early to take advantage of the early entry mornings, they are WORTH it!
*use the rider switch pass if you have a baby/toddler! it was awesome to have that!
*purchase some fun things in advance for the kids, like mickey water bottles, cups, clothing, etc.. its a lot more expensive down there in the parks!
*do a character meal, for our family we aren't breakfast people, we like light food or some of us don’t eat it at all, so spending $200 for a family of 6 for breakfast is a waste, instead we liked the dinner dining or late breakfast even (as an early lunch)
*don’t skip the shows or parades, they are great to get a good break in the day, and I've never seen one that wasn't great!
if you do pin trading pre-order the pins on ebay way cheaper and we talked with Disney workers and they all said they will not turn away any pins even if they aren't “real” and honestly I don’t know anyone who cares if they are real or not, its just fun to trade!
*go as many days as you can!!! we have always went 5 days and we still have never once been able to do everything we wanted on a trip!
*we have always taken our kids out of school for a week to go, and it has never once been a problem, school is still there when they get back, and chances are they didn’t miss anything that they cant make up while gone, and normally the teachers have been great and said don’t worry about anything enjoy your trip! for us it has always been worth it to not go at a peak time to experience more of Disneyland! they are only young once and these memories will last forever!
*use the fast passes!
*take your own stroller!
*buy a misting fan if you go in the heat, they are a life saver!
*let little ones get autographs and let them dress up at the character meals!
*document your memories as soon as you get home so you don’t forget
My Confessions:
*It really was as magical as I described! I’m not exaggerating!!! It’s THAT great!
*It’s HOT if you go in the summer or late spring time! we don’t like it at all, and will more than likely never go back unless its winter or early spring from now on
*It’s EASY to get wrapped up in hype and get “Mickey-crazy!” I may have considered purchasing WAY too many Mickey themed items! (but I didn’t) : )
*We rarely told the kids no! they got pretty much every little snack and goodie that they wanted. But, if you prepare yourself they aren't THAT expensive. I expected some things to be MUCH higher!
*I might have gotten chills NUMEROUS times every day…and may have teared up a time or two!
*We MIGHT already be talking about our next trip. We really want to go for Brody’s 5th Birthday in Nov 2015 : )
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