I am not a Disney travel agent, nor a cast member, but I would say I am an experienced Disneyland vacationer. Growing up Disneyland was our family’s big vacations—we all loved it and it was always a fun and memorable vacation. I knew that when my kids were old enough, I too would take them to Disneyland and give them the memorable trips that I loved so much. During our tours in California we visited Disneyland many times and each of those times I learned something new. I have taken my kids at every early stage you can think of from newborn-6 years old and these are the tips I have learned and want to share to any family that is looking to vacation to Disneyland, AKA “the happiest place on Earth!”. 6 tips for your next Disneyland vacation!
Tip 1: Where To Stay
This is always one of the first things people ask me when we talk about planning a Disneyland trip. Our family has stayed at so many of the hotels along Harbor Blvd. We have stayed at the hotels right across the street to 1 mile away. I believe the sweet spot is around the .5-.75 mile away. In that region the hotels are typically lower in cost and the walks don’t feel as daunting after a long day at the park. The next thing you need to consider is how often you plan on staying at your hotel and how many times you plan on returning to your hotel during the park days. We are a park open to park close kind of family—we don’t leave the parks until we are done for the day so finding a hotel with a luxurious pool or hot tub is irrelevant to us because we get back to our rooms and crash. For our last 3-4 visits we started staying at the Anaheim Portofino Inn and Suites. We love it because you only have to cross two intersections, there is no parking fee, and the rooms are spacious. We have stayed in their two-queen room and their family suite room and we have truly enjoyed all of our stays. The two hiccups I would make known is the parking situation and no free breakfast. Parking can be frustrating because they don’t have a large parking lot, but if you have to park in the garage, they will give you a parking pass, you just need to tell them as you check in. Breakfast isn’t a deal breaker for us because we usually buy muffins or a quick breakfast item and take them to go in the mornings.
Tip 2: Download The Disney App
I know, I know, I know…another app. But truly, you will need it during your stay and it will make your visit so much easier. If you aren’t familiar with the layout of the parks then the map feature will be your best friend. Allow the app to know your location while you’re using it so that way you can see where you are and find the path you need to get where you’re going. When you are using the map feature you can go to the top and toggle it thru attractions, food, guest services, restrooms, and more! Another great thing about the app is being able to load your tickets on it so you never have to worry about losing your ticket during your visit. When you scan in and get those fun Disney character tickets, put them in a safe spot as free memorabilia. Lastly, the app will keep you updated on ride wait times/closures. You can quickly plan your next ride while you wait for your current ride by taking note of the lower wait times and checking those rides as soon as you get off your current ride. This will save you time and allow you to ride more rides throughout the day. Download the app, it’s worth it!
Tip 3: Rope Drop
Get to the park EARLY! You paid all that money to get in, so get to Disneyland early and be there for rope drop. You can enter the park 30 minutes early and they keep everyone barricaded right at the end of main street. At 8am (or whatever time the park is opening the day you go) there is a special welcome message that is magical and always makes me smile. To me, it’s worth it. Yes, there will be a lot of people and you may feel like a herd of cattle when the ropes officially drop, but it is the perfect way to start your day. You certainly don’t have to run off to a ride, you could find a bench to sit down on and just people watch for a little bit if you prefer. Not only do get to enjoy the magical message, but the morning hours will be your most productive hours in the park all day. Not everyone wants to be at the park right when it opens (I don’t understand it one bit!) but you can truly knock out a ton of rides with very little wait times if you are intentional with your choices. Visiting with littles—go get some of those Fantasyland rides done!
Tip 4: Plan Your Day
This is not where I give you a list of rides to follow. This is me advising you to be intentional with your day. Obviously it’s a vacation, and not everyone is there with the goals to ride every ride. However, I would be shocked to hear any visitor tell me they don’t have one thing on their Disneyland wish list for their visit. So, before you get into the park you need to think about what you want to do or see. Do you want to see a parade/show? Are there any seasonal foods/snacks you want to try? Do you have a list of must-do rides? If you have your mind set on riding certain rides then I would get to the park early and get them done so that way if they break down or the wait times are outrageous then you can still go home knowing you got your must haves done. If you want to watch a parade or show, set alarms about an hour before so you are reminded when it’s time to make your way to that area, believe me, you will lose track of time when you’re having so much fun!
Tip 5: Genie+
What was previously the FastPass system, is now Genie+. Many visitors choose not to do it because they either don’t want to spend the extra money or they just don’t understand it. Depending on the day you go Genie+ is about $30 for the day/ticket. It’s no secret the parks have gotten incredibly busy and overcrowded. On the busier days or during the busy season I would highly suggest adding Genie+ to your day because you will be able to ride more rides and maybe not lose your patience waiting in lines all day. The Genie+ requires you to be more intentional than if you are just visiting the park with a regular ticket. Genie+ is a reservation system so as soon as you scan in your ticket for the day you can start reserving time slots for rides. For example, I scan in and check my itinerary on the app and see all the rides each with their own time slot. Buzz Lighyear ride may have an hour window starting in 10 minutes, but Indiana Jones is already showing time slots for 12:30-1:30pm. This is because more people are making reservations for Indiana Jones than they are for the other rides. I suggest snagging those if you are wanting to ride those rides. At some point, all reservations will be taken and it will no longer be available for Genie+, so snag them while you can! You cannot make another reservation until you use your preexisting one or 2hours after you make your current reservation. So back to my example…if I reserved the 12:30-1:30pm Indiana Jones reservation and I got to the park right at 8am, I would have to wait until 10am before I could book another reservation (I also would recommend setting an alarm for 10am so you don’t forget). Genie+ will also include all of your park photos which is also why I suggesting investing in it. Being able to get your fun castle pictures, ride photos, and character visits takes the stress out of choosing who has to sit out of the photo or finding a stranger around to help you. Just find a cast member with a camera and they will walk you through the whole thing. One big con to Genie+ is that it doesn’t include all the rides, which is wildly frustrating. Some of the very popular rides have a lightning lane, but you have to pay for it and they can be anywhere from $10-$30 for one ride, one time, per ticket. Huge flaw and very distasteful in my opinion, but it’s an easy way for Disney to make a little extra money—just don’t let it ruin your day when you realize you have to pay for the Star Wars Rise of the Resistance ride after you spend the $30 on Genie+.
Tip 6: Visiting With Kids
I have been to Disneyland with a newborn (not my favorite—but still memories were made), I have gone with extended family, and I have gone solo with my boys. All trips end with my kids snoring in the stroller, my feet aching, and my head full of Disney moments. As a mom, these are the tips I give to other moms.
- Bring your stroller (avoid wagons because some cast members won’t let them in) and use it! We broke a basket on one of my strollers because of the amount of stuff we crammed into it, but that stroller saved my back from carrying endless snacks and
Park open to park close always results in sleepy kids waters all day. Disneyland allows you to bring in outside food and drinks (minus alcohol) so load up on snacks, freeze water bottles so you have cold water throughout the day, and don’t be afraid to bring extra shoes/clothes for your kids. Stroller parking is everywhere and cast members will help you park it (they will move it if it’s in the wrong place so don’t freak out if you can’t find it). I also loved adding battery operated fairy lights to my stroller so I could easily find it at night. Add a few glow sticks/glowing necklace to your kids to keep track of them as well—plus they will love it.
- Know where the bathrooms are and use them! Obviously kids are not the best at listening to their bodies (or at least mine aren’t). But they truly will struggle with it when they are surrounded by so many new things. Get in the habit of using the bathroom after a few rides. You don’t want to be in the middle of a line and hear the dreaded “I need to go potty” after you’ve been waiting for 20+ minutes. For the potty-training parents—in both Disneyland and California Adventures there is a mother’s room that has low to the ground toilets for your kiddo to use. These rooms are also where you can go to nurse, change diapers, or stock up on diapers, wipes, cream, sunscreen, etc (not free, but available).
- Remember your kids are still kids. They are going to get overstimulated,
tired, hungry, and hot/cold. It is a truly magical place to be, but your kid(s) will not be perfectly happy all day. Stop for snack breaks, sit on a bench, visit the Enchanted Tiki Room, and allow them to have a reset. I’ve definitely gotten frustrated with my kids, so I’m preaching to myself as well! It’s easy as a parent to want our children to be grateful and act accordingly because we have spent so much money and we’ve organized such a magical trip, but we need to remember that it’s a lot for them too. - Lastly, bring support! You parents, siblings, friends, aunts, whoever–having extra hands will always help make the day go smoother!
My kids know the layout of Disneyland–they could probably draw you a map if you asked for one. My kids also know the rides and can talk you through the major points of most of them. But they also love sitting down with me, looking at photos from our past trips, and sharing memories we made on each of them. Disneyland is expensive, you’ll want a vacation after your vacation, but it’s worth it. It’s magic. I loved going as a kid, I loved going as a teen/adult, but I truly love going as a mom. The tips I have talked through have all been a learning process for me, but each one has helped improve each Disney trip after.
If you’re thinking about going, buy the tickets, eat a churro, and enjoy the fireworks!
