Due to popular request, I’ve got one more Disneyland post for you. Hopefully, it will give you a few more pointers for your vacation there 🙂 So, my family just got back from a week long vacation to Disneyland on Saturday. Did you know I was gone??? I tried to make it not too obvious and keep the blog updated daily…I just had to ignore lots of emails. Sorry!
Recently, Julie and Angie shared their Tips and Tricks to a Disneyland Vacation and I shared with you how I was preparing to Avoid the Gimmies While Vacationing. Now that I’m back, I’ve got a few more thoughts…here we go!
Schedule Your Vacation During The SLOW Season (if you can)
I realize that sometimes you just HAVE to do your vacations in the Spring and Summer, but if you can, schedule Disneyland in the winter. I really, really, really wish we would have! The first time we went in the winter months and it was perfect! A little rainy, but so worth having less people, less heat, and less waiting in line. I think we hit Disneyland during Spring Break, it was kinda crazy. If that’s your thing, by all means, go for it. Apparently, LOTS of people don’t mind it at all. But, I felt that we got the most for our money when we went in the off-season. Trying to navigate a stroller through those crowds, keeping kids in line for what seems like FOREVER in the blazing heat…ugh. Overall, it was still a fun vacation and I’m sure the kids will have great memories, but next time I’ll schedule in the winter time. I’ve heard that right after Thanksgiving is one of the best times to go.
Look at that grumpy baby…he didn’t like having to stay behind on the adult rides. He was all over Pirates of the Caribbean!
Hit The Kid Rides Late At Night (if you’re there during the busy season)
Adult rides (40″ or taller) are usually always busy…day and night. We found it worked best for us to show up at the park around 3:00, when lots of parents were feeling worn out and starting the leave. Not only were the crowds starting to clear, but we had more energy to stay all the way until closing. After 9:00 pm, we would make our way to the little kid rides, and we could usually hop right on with no wait. Granted, your kid’s sleep schedules might get whacked, but at least you get your fix of “It’s a Small World.” You can pay for it when you get home…like I am. During the day, I highly recommend taking advantage of the Fast Pass system, explained in the Disneyland Tips post.
Eat Outside Of The Park
The only thing Disneyland doesn’t rip you off on is tampons. I was actually really surprised they were only a quarter each. In an effort to save money, we decided it might be cheaper just to eat at the Burger place in the park…just a walk-up to the window type place, as opposed to a sit-down restaurant. Anyway, okay…almost $70 bones to feed my family. We tried a few other places in the park, but didn’t really fall in love with anything. SO…we turned to IHOP. When you leave Disneyland, right across the street is an IHOP. After 4:00, you get a free meal for kids with every paying adult. So, that helped, a lot. And, their menu is pretty huge. Nothing is amazingly spectacular to eat, but it works. We usually ate lunch in the park and did IHOP for dinner so we could get the free meals. Also, there is a place called Haus of Pizza (pronounced “House”) that delivers and the pizza was actually pretty good. For $25 bucks you could get a huge pizza, 2 containers of spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and 2 big things of pop. We did that for a couple nights. Just ask for extra plates and forks!
The biggest meal splurge that we made was on the Character Dining at Ariel’s Grotto. The food is just so-so, but it’s really the best place to let your little girls meet all of the princesses. They each come to your table and let you take a picture with them. My girls were in heaven, well…Isabelle was kinda nervous. 🙂
Bring Your Own Ponchos
Whether you expect it to rain or not, you can save money by bringing your own ponchos. Even if it doesn’t rain, you may want to use them when you ride the rapid river (can’t remember what it’s called) ride in California Adventure. When it was hot, we totally wanted to get soaked…but, when we rode it later in the day, we pulled out our ponchos. You can find them in little packages by the emergency supplies in Sporting Goods stores or online.
If You Have A Baby, Bring A Stroller AND A Baby Carrier
I didn’t even think to bring both. We had our stroller, but you can’t take the strollers in line with you, so you might want a carrier. One of my readers highly recommends the Sleepy Wrap…
Fanny Packs
In my previous post, I talked about how I bought all the kids a fanny pack. Well, I didn’t even think to bring one for myself. I know what you’re thinking…nerd-a-saurous. But, first of all…you will be surrounded by a plethora of fellow nerds, you’ll totally blend in. Second of all, I know of one that will still help you maintain your cool status, The Fuel Belt. I love this one for running. It small and flat, but can still hold your phone and money…exactly what you need at Disneyland. You don’t want either of those things falling out of your pockets…and who wants to lug around a purse??
Have a Cell Phone for Every Adult
Yes. And, make sure to bring your charger with you! There are several times where it was easier to separate. But, good luck finding each other again without cell phones. I suppose walkie-talkies would work too.
Don’t Forget Hats and Sunscreen!
It got up to 90 degrees while we were there. I saw two people passed out because of it. Oh, there are certain restaurants there that will give you free ice water, if you ask. We got some at the one right around the corner from Soarin’ Over California…sorry, I can’t remember what it’s called. But, you can also bring some bottles of water into the park. If you buy bottled water there, I think it was 3 bucks for a small bottle. Sad to say, it got so hot that my kids didn’t even want to be at Disneyland…they begged to go swim in the hotel pool! I’m soooo glad our hotel had a pool or I would have had lots of grouchy kiddos. They had a blast and the pools were usually pretty empty.
If You Have More Than 3 Little Kids, Consider Bringing Help
I am sooooo thankful that my little sister came with us! She was so helpful with the kids and it was great to have an extra hand, not to mention an extra set of eyes to keep track of the kids.
Disneyland has Baby Centers that you can go to when you need to feed your baby, change diapers, etc. They are great! Also, when you just need to take a break or you have a little one napping in your arms, I loved checking out some of the shows. The Aladdin show was awesome! The kids got a big kick out of the It’s Tough To Be A Bug show…I think that’s what it’s called.
Here we are…pooped…with two sleeping kids.
Southwest Visa Cards
One of the best things we have done is get Southwest Chase Visa Cards. We put everything on them and pay them off every month. Because of that, we earn several free flights every year. I don’t think we’ve paid for airfare in a long time, and we take plenty of trips! Granted, it helps that we have two…one under our personal account and another for Dan’s business account. But, depending on how much you spend, you could at least get a couple round-trip tickets a year with them. I’m guessing. Anyway, the whole family flew for free, saving us LOTS of money for this vacation.
Anyway, lots of fun and lots of work…but, lots of memories. Hope these tips help!
For the best prices on your Disneyland vacation, visit my favorite travel agency, Get Away Today!
For even more Disneyland tips and tricks, check out these posts: (and be sure to pin Disney Everything! for a continually updated list of Disney tips and tricks and ideas for family vacations.)
Guide to Disneyland and California Adventure
Our Favorite Disneyland Tips and Tricks
Our Disneyland Family Vacation
Avoiding the “Gimmies” While Vacationing at Disneyland
Thanks for the great tips, Mariel. I have also heard that you can bring coolers in the park? Is that true?
Mandy,
Apparently, the official rule is no outside food or drinks. There is an area right outside the entrance that supposedly has lockers (for a small to medium size cooler) and a place to sit and eat. But, if you bring snacks in a small, soft-sided cooler, they almost never say anything.
And, THAT’S the word on the street.
I live in LA and we have annual passes. Our favorite time to go is October. The weather is lovely and it isn’t very crowded at all. End of March on can get pretty crazy because of spring break and high school groups.
Most of the food is yuck in Disneyland. California adventure has better food (still nothing to get super excited about). The hotels and downtown Disney are better foodwise. I bring my own food and snacks in all the time. Just shove it in diaper bag and they never say anything. You can always say you have dietary restrictions. (which considering all the junk food there wouldn’t be a lie)
There are several iPhone apps like mousewait that post wait times so you can decide if you want to walk all the way to something or catch it another time. We go so often that there are certain rides we won’t wait over a set amount of time for.
If you go to World of color with little kids be sure to move to the front of a platform or they will not be able to see well and the meals or specials with priority seating for that show are worth it because many times even if you go to the fast pass for the show right away you might miss it or get the much later one.
Sounds soooo fun! Can I ask you which hotels you stayed at or recommend?
@Bethany – Thanks!! Great info 🙂
@Heidi – The first time, we stayed at the Desert Palms. It was pretty nice, had a hot breakfast that saved us money from having to buy breakfast. Last week, we stayed at Del Sol Inn. It was a little bit closer to Disneyland, cheaper, but not nearly as nice. However, both hotels were within walking distance. So, we didn’t need to rent a car. We just took the Disneyland Express shuttle from the airport to and from the hotel…then just walked to Disneyland.
I would probably prefer to stay at a nicer hotel than the Del Sol next time…like the Desert Palm that we stayed at previously. I think it would be worth a couple hundred bucks more. People love staying at the Disney hotels and I hear they have extra perks for staying there, but we haven’t decided to spend the extra for it, yet.
Thanks!!! I’m all about saving money where you can:)
Thanks for sharing your experience. We are on our way there in less than a month. Hopefully the crowds will have thinned out by then. We are also staying at the Del Sol Inn this time around. It was nice to hear your opinion on it. Did your kids get much use out of their fanny packs? I am still debating buying some for my kids.
Brooke,
The kids used their fanny packs pretty much every day until they ran out of money. The packs were really cheap, so overall I think it was a good buy…they can use them for other things as well.
I always book with getawaytoday. We love to stay at the Homewood Suites Hotel. It is about a mile away from Disneyland, but so worth it! They have a shuttle that is reasonable and fast! Plus it is right across from Target to get snacks and stuff to pack lunches. Homewood Suites offers a Great breakfast everyday,( we loved the belgian waffles) and then free dinner M-Thurs. The dinner was good too, nothing fancy but better than paying for crap at the park for 3x as much. We would just shuttle back and take a much needed hour break for dinner 🙂 Plus the rooms are nice and have kitchenettes too, so you can make and store your lunches to take into the park. I take a cooler bag with drinks and sandwiches and have no problems. This last time I was nursing my youngest and Loved the Baby Care Centers they have in each park. I could nurse in private and air condition 🙂 Love Disneyland! Can’t wait to go again!
We also like to go to the cheesecake factory, or PF Changs not too far away. Way better food for about the same price at the park.
Thanks for all your tips! Love this blog!
Thanks, Heather! That hotel sounds fantastic! I always hate being so far away from a grocery store, so it would be nice to be by Target. And, free dinner?? Hello. That would save a ton!
Thanks for commenting, I love it!
Great post! My family is a huge Disney World family. One thing we did last summer was put a peice of tape on the back of each small child’s shirt with the cell phone of their parent, just in case, heaven forbid, someone got lost.
http://www.familyeverafter.blogspot.com
Rach H ~ Thanks for the suggestion! Good idea! I even saw kids with their names/numbers written in magic marker in their arm 🙂