MORE Disneyland Tips and Tricks ~

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.

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. 🙂

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.