I
have a blogging friend that is planning a surprise trip for her kiddos to
Disneyland. I promised her I would write down a few of my FAVORITE tips. Well,
a few tips ended up being a novel. Hehe.
So I thought I would share them on my blog just in case any
of you are on your way to the
“Happiest place on the earth.”
My family LOVES Disneyland . . . I think it’s borderline
addiction :)
We
used to make it an annual trip, but as the kids got older, it became more
expensive so we don't go as often as we would like to. SNIFF!!!
We’ve been there enough times that I think it’s safe to
say we’re Masters at it . . . or at least, that’s how we’d refer to ourselves :)
Here are just a few tips we believe make the experience
all that more wonderful!!!
STROLLER: For sure bring a
stroller for the youngest ones in the group. I would suggest getting something like this kind of stroller
because, with a NORMAL umbrella stroller, your poor back is shot by the end of
the day and this one is GREAT for taller people and it also has a sun visor,
cup holder and a basket underneath.
It’s a MUST!
BUY SNACKS:
It’s pretty easy to spend all your loot on food and drinks in the park. You can save a bunch of money if you go
to a grocery store before entering the park. We always grab things like fruit
snacks, granola bars, WATER, fruit drinks, travel-sized cheese and crackers,
etc. If you do this, you’ll find
you only have to eat 3 times a day and only buy the REALLY fun treats that are
worth spending the extra cash :) Then you can save your money for REALLY good meals.
And MAYBE even a character meal.
FAST PASSES & STROLLER PASSES:
Well worth the time to get them!!! And with the fast passes sometimes if the Disney worker are REALLY nice they will still let you use them even if your time has passed.
CHARACTER MEAL:
If you choose to go to one, I would suggest going to Minnie’s Breakfast. We
have been to several character meals, but I think this is the BEST for many
reasons.
First: it’s inside the park! Which makes it SUPER
magical to be the first in the park when no one else is around. PLUS, on the
VERY far left side of the main gates, you would have a PRIVATE entrance so you
don’t have to fight the crowds.
The others meals you can pick from are pretty far away at the Disneyland
hotel.
Second: If you do breakfast, it’s around $15 dollars
cheaper. Plus if you go around 10:00 or 11:00 you could count it as breakfast
and lunch and save some bucks!
Third: You get to see the classic characters like
Donald, Minnie, Mickey, Pooh etc..
Fourth: the food is AWESOME! I had a custom made omelet,
YUM!!
I’ve also heard Ariel’s grotto is awesome to meet the
princesses, but the food is kind of gross?!
HOTEL:
The hotels inside the park are hundreds more per night. So that’s why we seem
to always end up at the Fairfield Marriott across the street. It has a mini
fridge, so we just have breakfast in the room. Fruit, yogurt, and cereal. It
makes it easier to get ready in the morning and off to the park.
EARLY ENTRANCE:
for the main attraction like Fantasyland, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain etc.,
go to the park early and go straight to those and then fill the rest of your
day with the slower rides. My
favorite thing to do is get to the park as early as you can and go straight to Frontier
Land because it’s usually really slow during general admittance :)
Also Toon Town opens at 10:00 and it gets CRAZY, so I
would go there around 9:45 and wait for the gates to open. Then you can get it
DONE before it gets out of control!
CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE:
I would
also pick a morning to go into California Adventure early.
Especially with the
NEW Cars Land open.
The Aladdin show is REALLY cool. I like to go after
being in the sun all day. It’s nice to sit awhile and feel some AC. Try and get
on the main floor upper seating. WAY better view!
You HAVE to see Crush! SUPER cute! That is located on Hollywood Blvd.
THE WORLD OF
COLOR:
is an AWESOME show if you’re front and center, but NOT worth it if
you’re far away or behind people, ESPECIALLY for kids. You also have to wait an
hour before the show starts. Ugh!
THE PARADE:
I think the BEST place to watch the parade is right in front of the train
station on main street. If you get there early enough you might even snag a
bench! YAY!!
FOOD:
Our favorite spots to eat is at the Cantina in Frontier Land. The TACO salad is
HUGE and really yummy! The meals are big enough you can share and save
money. Brett and I share a meal,
but every couple is different when it comes to that.
We also REALLY like the Pier in California Adventure.
They have the BEST bread bowl soups and salads! My favorite is the oriental
salad. They also offer a kids meal, which is called the “SUPER PACK” that has
HEATHLY stuff in it for the kids.
Another YUMMY place to eat is the restaurant by the Pooh
Ride. I think it’s called grizzly something or hungry bear??? Anyway, they have really FUN burgers
and sandwiches. They are different than the norm. A bit gourmet if you ask me.
YUM!
Another great place to eat is the French Quarters. They
have a few different shops. I would look around there and see what floats your
boat. Yummy Healthy food!
If the kids want Pizza, the BEST place to go for that
is by Space Mountain. They have HUGE pies for a decent price.
We budgeted $300 for the week for food for our family.
That included a every meal, character meal, snacks and a VERY pricey meal at
the Blue Bayou for the adults!
It was sooo expensive but the fish was to DIE
for!
If you don’t want to eat in the park, Down Town Disney
has a few places like the Rain Forest Café and some pizza places. But they do
close early so be sure you find out the times.
WHEN TO GO?:
We have pretty much been there every month of the year
except for mid-summer. (I don't even want to attempt that). Our favorite times to go are right after
Thanksgiving and before Christmas (VERY MAGICAL), and also in the month of
October. They do some really FUN Halloween stuff! Also, early September
is fun if you are at all interested in taking time out to go swimming.
January-March is super slow and not very many people are in the park
during those months.
Unfortunately, if they have any repairs to do to rides is scheduled
during these months, so it’s a hit and miss situation. They also don’t have as many parades,
and NO firework showL
Well there you go...hope this helps!
~Heidi
