10 Tips for Disneyland with Little Kids
My family and I drove from Denver to Disneyland a few weeks ago and I didn't go on social media for over a week. Let me tell you, it was the most refreshing thing. I didn't post Instagram stories of my kids seeing Mickey for the first time and I didn't post about the Christmas night parade. We didn't post Nate's expression on the Peter Pan ride and I didn't post when Reid, my 2-year-old, peed out at the Disney Junior Dance Party and had to wear jammies the rest of the day.
I was present.
I was beyond present. We didn't care about all the photos and all the documentation because we wanted to memorize their smiles and experience Disney to the fullest without my phone in my face.
So, my first snippet of advice: be present. Which actually worked well for us, too, because we never lost Wesley (my speedy, energetic 4-year-old) since my eyes were always on him, haha :)
Our kids are almost 4.5, 2.5, and 11 months old....all boys...and we DROVE from Denver to Disneyland. If you're needing driving ideas or advice, I have one recommendation. We went to the Dollar Store a few days before and got a handful of fun, new toys. I made little bags for each of them with new sunglasses, slinkies, little dinosaurs, and a few other things. We also packed a TON of snacks and even lunch so that we could drive straight through until someone had to go potty or we needed to fill up gas. Between games, movies, new toys, music, and naps, our 19 -hour drive there and back wasn't that bad.
Sidenote: Reid my 2.5 year old was potty trained before we left but we put him back in a pull-up for our trip to make it easier for everyone. We didn't want to put that pressure on him in the car or out at the park. He did surprising well!
Here are my top 10 snippets of advice for going to Disneyland with little kids!
- Stay on the property - I know it's more expensive to stay at the Disneyland hotels but it was so helpful. Traveling with 3 kids is a lot and I just got stressed out thinking about loading and unloading 3 kids into carseats, parking, and trying not to forget something if we stayed 10 minutes away. It just makes things so much easier with kids if you have the option to stay on the property. Plus, we ran into Donald Duck once in our hotel, they had a pool and waterslide, and a cute movie room. It's the little things that help make the trip easier and more enjoyable.
- Have zero expectations for naps or a schedule - I always have my kids on a schedule. When we're home, my boys know when nap time is and they know what to expect during the day. It was really hard for me to release control and not care about naps or when they usually eat or whatever. I went into our Disney week knowing everything was going to be crazy and they'll fall asleep when they fall asleep and they'll act out and be kids at times. Our kids ended up taking naps at random hours and we never went back to the hotel to nap!
- Get a park hopper and go for 3 days - This was perfect for us. If you're making the drive all the way to Disney or flying and spending all this time and money to get there, you might as well go all out and do it right. Going for 3 days was our sweet spot. We were able to do everything we wanted with no stress to cram it all in one or two days. Kids can be tired or fussy or worn out or in a "mood" and there was always tomorrow. You won't feel like your trip was ruined if you can relax and take your time. And going longer like 5 days would have been too much for us. One Disney day, one California Adventure day, and then the 3rd day was a mix of anything we missed or wanted to do again :)
- Get the MaxPass and Disneyland App - This was so helpful for fast passes and photos! It's $15 per day per ticket, but was so worth it for us. For example, you can make a MaxPass selection for Splash Mountain at Disneyland, ride it and then get off, and then make a MaxPass selection for the Cars Ride in California Adventure. Also, if you ever stand in line for character photos, don't worry about busting your phone out! The photographer will hand you a photo card that you can scan with your phone to load every photo into the App right then and there so you can view all of them whenever! Now that I'm back, I can still view all our photos from the App.
- Snacks - We loaded up on snacks to save some money BUT Disneyland does it right with food options for kids. By the third day, I was out of most of our snacks and we stopped by a little food area by Space Mountain to get something and they had a kids snack bag with apples, carrots, milk, goldfish and a yogurt for $8. While pricey, it was perfect for the boys!
- Have a good stroller and baby carrier - If you're lugging 3 kids under 4 around Disneyland for 3 days, you NEED a good stroller and baby carrier so they can all nap at different points if needed. This is our stroller which all our kids napped in and this is our baby carrier, although I wish I bought this one!
- Do the Parade at 6pm the first night - This was a HUGE highlight for the boys. So magical! We got seats (cement benches by the Matterhorn) at 4:45 and laid blankets in front of us so random people wouldn't sit there. We got food, busted out our phones so the kids could relax and watch a show on PBS (get the PBS app if you don't have it), and waited for the big parade! Doing that the first night was so special and it was also nice to make that a priority so the next couple of nights we could do whatever we wanted, or even the Parade again!
- Take advantage of the Extra Magic Hour - If your kids are early risers like mine, and you're staying on the property, you can go an hour early to either Disneyland or California Adventure. Each day switches off, so make sure to check which park opens early for you during each day of your stay.
- Make Reservations with Character Dining - When you book a stay at Disney, you can add on things like the MaxPass or Character Dining. Honestly, it's all worth it. When your kid finally sees Mickey Mouse at Disneyland but the line to see him is going to be more than an hour, that's not fun. No one likes lines and your day can be wasted away "finding all the characters." We signed up for dinner at Goofy's Kitchen on our last night and it was SO much fun. The boys met Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip and Dale. Photos with all of them, talking with all of them, and they sang and danced. It was a huge highlight of the trip and the boys couldn't stop talking about how they met all the characters and felt so special that they had dinner with them!
- Buy these: These helped us SO MUCH to keep track of Nate's toys and all of our water bottles. I have a really nice, big Lily Jade diaper bag that can fit all of our waters, but it was nice to be able to hang them from the stroller so the boys could drink them any time. It was also good for the boys to pick a color and hold on to it at different times through out the trip to stay close.
My only other tips would be to drink tons of caffeine, buy yourself a drink in California Adventure if needed, have no expectations, and just have fun! I almost wrote my cell phone number on my kids' arms with a sharpie and bought matching bright shirts so no one would get lost (and to avoid putting leashes on them), but it wasn't as bad as I thought....and again....I have little boys who like to RUN, play hide-and-go-seek, and explore. :) We made it!