Disneyland with kids
I love taking my kids to new places and watching them experience the world with fresh eyes.
I never went to Disneyland as a kid so it wasn’t really on my radar! My husband’s family loves Disney and we actually went with cousins and his brothers before we had kids. That’s when I understood the allure. Everything was really nice, and it ran like a well oiled machine. Then when we had kids I really understood the magic.
Our first trip to a Disney Park was to Hong Kong Disney. It was a blast. The size of the park was really manageable for our younger kids (at the time they were 1, 3, and 5.) It also allowed us to visit a casino project I worked on fresh out of college that was a ferry ride away in Macau. Since we looped it onto a visit with family in Thailand we had even more fun with Grandpa and our kid’s cousins!
Fast forward to this year. Everything I heard about Disney from our friends seemed like it would take military precision to pull off and it seemed not only overwhelming but a far cry from what we experienced in Hong Kong. Love seeing my kids have fun, but I also know our limits and Orlando was really beyond them. Then I was chatting with a mom at soccer practice and she mentioned their amazing trip to Disneyland in Anaheim. I followed up with her and she sent me all the details. No special travel agent required.
We just got back and here are a few tips if you are a novice like me:
Stay in the Park: It’s worth it. The hotels open into the parks or “Downtown Disney” which is just a retail row connecting the hotels and parks. Our crew was toast at the end of the day and walking any further to another hotel or waiting for a tram would have broken my soul. I think if you have older kids it may not be as crucial but for mine or anyone younger it feels essential.
Club Level: Ordering room service for one breakfast for my family of 5 was $200 before tax and tip. If you keep that in mind, your extra room charge for staying on the Club level won’t seem like a sucker punch since it gives access to a continental breakfast, heavy snacks, and a evening wine and cheese service; you can definitely get your money’s worth.
Groceries: You can actually bring your own food and drinks into the park. We made a small InstaCart order that we scheduled to deliver to our hotel lobby upon arrival. We grabbed a bunch of waters, breakfast options, quick packable snacks and some wine for the end of the day. Kids are always hungry and while there is certainly a ton of food for purchase, having a few snacks on board cuts wait times and expenses. Especially if you don’t do the Club Level, this will save you a fortune.
Genie Plus: In the afternoons the parks get busy and wait times for popular rides can be in excess of an hour. With Genie Plus you can schedule Lightening Lanes to jump the lines! There is some strategy involved but its nothing you can’t figure out. If you stop by the hotel concierge planner, they can give you a quick run down on the app!
Weather: In April the weather was a little chilly! When we looked at the weather we didn’t take into account that the temps were without the blazing Texas sun and we ended up wearing our “in case of emergency” sweatshirts every single day. For the boys, I did a lot of baby wipe clean ups at night to keep the sweatshirts looking fresh because I absolutely couldn’t stomach the idea of buying new $80 Disney gear. So do better than me and be more prepared. Another option would have been a Target delivery using Shipt, but we made due!
Low Battery Mode: Just go ahead and put your phone into low battery mode, especially if you are the designated App user, your battery will die quickly. Packing a backup battery isn’t a bad idea either.
Stroller: My youngest is 5 and we don’t actually own a stroller anymore but we rented a double for the trip. There’s a ton of walking and at some point there was at least one little person on board. We also loaded it down with waters, snacks, extra clothes etc. The company we rented from will deliver it/pick it up from your hotel so it was really seemless. It was extra seamless for me because my BIL actually coordinated this part of the trip. Yay for family!