I'm no expert but I've been to Disneyland a gazillion times and Disney World twice so I have picked up a few tips and tricks along the way! And seeing as this may be the year for traveling to Disneyland, with all of their great deals, I decided to share what I've learned to help those of you planning on hitting Disney this summer, have a fun, magical and less overwhelming vacation. Here's wishing your next trip to visit the big Mouse is not too hot, not too expensive, and not too crowded, but just right.
The best thing you can do when traveling to Disneyland or Disney World is to get prepared! I don't have kids but it takes a lot to plan for just the two of us so I can imagine how important it is to get in gear for families. This means:
1.Pack comfy shoes!!! I really can't say that enough. The husband and I actually tried to track our steps this time and found out that we walked approximately 7,500 steps in under 2 hours and we were at the park for 12! Thanks goodness I wore my most reliable walking shoes and not a new one that still needed breaking in.
2.Do your research. I get motion sickness on certain rides. Specifically, the ones that involve simulated movement so I always do a quick check on Disney's website and this time I borrowed The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland from the library which has a good section on each of the rides and how suitable it is for different age groups. I reread the guide after and felt that the ride descriptions were true to form.
3.Get snack packin'! Either get them in advance or head over to Target before you hit the park. Fill your bags up with bottled water (it's better if you can bring your own water filter and water bottle to save on waste and $), energy bars, fruits and anything else you might need to keep hydrated and fueled up. Otherwise, you and your hungry kids will go bonkers when you hit every snack stand in Disney tempting even the most healthiest fiends with things like Mickey Mouse cookies and cream ice cream sandwiches, churros, popcorn, turkey leg and corn dogs! While it's nice to have a treat, I'm sure you won't want to end up with a stomach ache from OD'ing on junks.
4.Wear layers and sunscreen. It's always freezing cold in the morning and then super hot in the afternoon when I go. So I've learned to wear a tank top or T-shirt and then bring a light jacket or sweater which I can tie around my waist or store in my backpack later. Speaking of which...
5.Bring a good backpack. I have an Eddie Bauer's kid's backpack that I got from Target like 3 years ago and I love it! It has two places for bottles and stores a lot of stuff but comes in a small package. It's great for holding your water, snacks, camera and extra clothes (you might need that if you go on the Grizzly River Run) without breaking your back.
6.Take a break from park restaurants. This time we ate at the Grand Californian hotel and were amazed! The quality of the food was really good-good enough so we said we'd even eat here if it wasn't at Disney and wondered why we never did it before. Plus the Storyteller's Cafe where we ate at, is great for kids since characters come around while you're eating to say hello! Even we had fun with them. And the best part? Though it was still about $9-17 for lunch it was still about the same price we paid at the park for dinner and SO much better!
7.Take a hotel break in the afternoon. I thought that this would be something everyone did. But it seemed like most families came in the afternoon and stayed throughout the day. The good thing about waking up early is that the park is less crowded. Then you can relax back at your hotel before you hit the parks up again, refreshed and ready to go!
8.Have fun without riding. Although I do try to ride as much as I can, as I said earlier, I do get sick on some rides. But I also hate missing out on anything. So I figured out a way around that. When there's a ride I want to see but not necessarily get on (like the Tower of Terror for example), I'll get in line with my husband all the way until the last minute and then let someone there know that I don't want to get on the ride. While I admit, I do feel like a wuss, it's worth it because I get to appreciate all of the Disney magic without the result of getting sick in the end.
9.Plan with room for flexibility. It's good to plan out which rides are everyone's priority. I usually bring a small notebook with a list of my top ten favorites. But I also think that the things we didn't plan for were probably the most magical parts of the trip. For example, the Indiana Jones ride got shut down mid-way and while we were a little bummed, we did get a "go to the ahead of the line" for any ride pass that more than made up for it. It's how we got to ride the Finding Nemo submarine ride which is notoriously slow with an hour or more wait, without any wait.
10.Enjoy it! Try to really enjoy being there and if that means you don't ride all of the rides you wanted to go on, so be it. I saw a lot of kids screaming and crying because Disney while magical, is exhausting and they were still out with us at midnight! I'd say it's much better to really enjoy it while you're there than to try to do everything.
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