Enjoying Disneyland with Small Children

Tell someone that you're taking a five, three and one year old to Disneyland (DL) and you're liable to get one of three responses: a polite, "wow, you're brave!" which usually means, "wow, you're crazy and don't mind while I edge away slowly as to not catch whatever psycho pathogens you must have."  Response number two kind of similar, in a "good for you, Moneybags, but I'm waiting for it to be more worthwhile for my family."  Response number three is what prompted this post:  "How do you make a trip like that work?"


I am becoming de facto expert on surviving enjoying a DL trip with small children.  Here's a list of the trips we've taken to Disney to give my words come street cred.

October 2009 - one 1 year old
June 2010 - one 20 month old (3 months pregnant)
March 2012 - one 3 1/2 year old, one 1 year old (4 months pregnant)
November 2013 - one 5 year old, one almost 3 year old, one 1 year old (decidedly NOT pregnant.)
Next trip planned for August of 2015.
Now, I'm going to be honest here.  Of those trips, the best ones were the 2009 and 2013 trips for child compliance and enjoyment.

Here comes more than you ever wanted to know about planning a trip to DL.  Be sure to read all the way to the bottom for my number one piece of advice for having a great trip with little ones!

SHOW ME THE $$$

The first thing people ask about when considering a DL vacation is the cost.  It is expensive, but our family has figured out pretty much the cheapest way to do it.  The worst part are the darn park and plane tickets.  Gah, it makes me shudder every time I think about it.  Darn you, Disney for making your parks so appealing and fun.  There used to be ways to buy "black market" tickets, but now that the tickets are connected to your photograph that option is gone.  One year we all got a free park ticket during Disney's Give A Day Get A Day volunteer promotion, but that's never come up again.  The only viable option we've come across is to make sure we buy tickets before the (usual) price increases in May.  When increases are announced there's usually 72 hours to buy at the old price.  I'll outline more ways we save money (hotel and food) below.  The other option we've employed is timing our trip right before a kid's third birthday so we don't have to pay for a park ticket.  We always bought park hoppers because our kids like to bounce back and forth between the parks.

 

HOTEL

We don’t stay at Disney hotels because they’re too expensive and unless you stay at the Grand Californian, you still have to walk to the parks.  Because we always go with extended family members we stay in the Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites, getting a suite (C2 Parlor Suite, to be exact) to split the cost between two families.  It is the least expensive “walking distance” hotel in that regard.   It isn’t anywhere close to a ritzy hotel, but since we pretty much only sleep there, it works for us.  A “walking distance” hotel can really mean a large range in advertising.  The Desert Inn and Suites is literally right across from the park entrance.  The farthest we have walked is up to the Howard Johnson hotel and I won’t stay there again because it was too long of a walk after a grueling day in the park.  So if you look at a map drawn to scale, look at the distance of the Howard Johnson from the park entrance and then you can compare that to the distance of other hotels.  I strongly recommend staying in a hotel that is closer than that one when you have little ones.

 

FOOD

We get groceries delivered to the hotel from Vons; things like bottled water, juice, milk, bananas, cheese sticks, yogurt, bread and diapers.  You can take a soft-side cooler into the park (no glass), even though it officially says no outside food.  My kids are picky eaters so I would essentially pack a lunch for them and bring it into the park.  Also, IHOP (also across the street from the park entrance) has a "kids eat free with a paying adult" deal after 4pm daily.  We try to only eat out once a day, and some days we only grab a snack item in the park.  Before I leave home I pack a gallon-sized plastic bag for each day with snacks like granola bars, dried fruit, crackers and candy.  In the morning I would toss a new bag into the bottom of my stroller, knowing I had enough food for the day.

 

STROLLERS

I think that any kid under age eight should have a stroller.  Last time we went my brother had a pedometer and we walked at least six miles a day.  That’s a lot for little kids.  I bring my strollers (a double and a single joggers) because I don’t want to hassle with rentals plus in the evenings at least one would be asleep so it was nice to be able to go back to the hotel without waking them.  There is a literal sea of strollers parked outside the rides.  I bring something to easily ID my stroller, such as a pink scarf tied around the handle, or a pirate flag.  No one has ever messed with my stroller, though I never leave anything like a camera or purse in it unattended.  I also had a spare change of clothes for each child crammed into a plastic bag in the basket that stayed there until a kid needed it.  And we did need it a few days.

 

WAITING

There is a lot of waiting at DL, so bring LOTS of snacks.  A spill-proof container of bubbles is also a big hit when waiting.  Handheld video games work well if you set up the usage parameters before hand.  Blankets even in warm weather provide comfort and encourage stroller napping.  The best way to avoid waiting is to go during the slow season.  See that picture below?  When you go during the slow time of year sometimes you don't even have to get off the ride to go again.  Personally, I will not go to DL during a busy period because paying so much money to stand in lines just doesn't do it for me.  We visit DL during the week for this reason as well, since a nice weekend any time of the year will bring in crowds of locals.

 

RIDES

We watch YouTube videos of the rides before leaving to get the kids used to what would happen.  On the one ride I didn’t (Radiator Springs Racers), Josh freaked out and refused to get on it for the rest of the trip.  Granted this might just be an Autism thing, but even my other boy really loved watching the videos and it took some of the uncertainty out of what was going on.  Also, measure each child before leaving (with shoes on) to know how tall they are for the rides and prep them accordingly if little sister can’t go on all the rides that brother can.  The cast members are real sticklers for the height requirement and I saw lots of kids throwing fits because they weren’t tall enough to ride.  Also, be sure you know how the Fast Pass system works.  If you don’t know what that is, look it up.  Fast Passes are a great way to get in more rides and even if your kids are too little, you can use their passes yourself.  Also familiarize yourself with the baby-swap options on rides.

 

BREAKS

If you value your sanity, take breaks!  Whether you go back to the hotel room to swim or find a quiet corner of the park to just sit and play for a while, this made a big difference in keeping everyone happy.  Even for kids without sensory issues, a day in DL can be overwhelming.  Other options are sitting down to save a good spot for parade viewing, or watching a show like Aladdin over in DCA.

 

TOYS/SOUVENIERS

Things cost almost double in the parks of what you can get elsewhere.  If your daughter likes to dress up like a princess bring a dress from home, or buy one at Walmart before going.  Same thing with stocking up on Disney t-shirts or sweatshirts before leaving.  One of the toys Josh found that he really wanted was an Angry Birds Star Wars toy.  I found I could get it for $15 cheaper on Amazon, so I told him that we’d have it delivered to our house when we got home.  I got Ben a Buzz Lightyear hoodie from Amazon and he got lots of “hi Buzz!” compliments from the cast members and he was thrilled.  I paid less than half of what they were charging in the parks.  In the evening there are light-up and glowing toys everywhere.  I got a 12 pack of glow sticks for $1 before we left and busted out a few for the boys each evening.  It kept the “I want that!” whining at bay.  Another little girl option (how I hope to be able to do this someday) is bringing some hair glitter because there will be lots of little girls walking around who just came out of getting a "makeover" at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  They wear their hair up in a bun with a little tiara and lots of glitter.  Of course it's an expensive treat, so if that's something your daughter would like you can buy a very similar tiara in any DL shop, fix up your daughter's hair, shimmy on some hair glitter and your daughter will look like all the other little princesses for a fraction of the price.

Whew, congrats on making it through all that!  Now, for that promised NUMBER ONE PIECE OF ADVICE...
Have backup and go with family!  We have never visited without at least two other family members.  Grandparents are an awesome resource for this.  Divide and conqueror works for a reason.  The absolute best way to go is with grandparents and extended family who have kids in the same age range.  It was amazing how many tantrums were adverted, or bravery found because cousins wanted to be together.  One group could take the littles while others rode with the big kids.  One auntie (me!) would go on the silly coasters over and over again with a herd of little nieces and nephews while the other adults sat down and ate ice cream with the babies.  A trip like that makes for the best memories.

 

So is Disney expensive?  You bet, but that is precisely the reason why I want to go as often as I can save up the money when my kids are little.  At this age things are MAGICAL.  The characters are real.  The rides really take you inside the movies.  Everything is so stinking exciting to little kids!  I know the day will come when my boys will be too old and too cool to enjoy DL.  So why on Earth will I spend two years worth of savings on boys who are only going to roll their eyes and grudgingly go on It's A Small World with their mama?  When we get to that age our DL trips will probably become much less frequent; instead we'll visit places like Six Flags or Knott's Berry or Universal Studios that have more appeal for the teen/tween boy set.

 

For now though, I'm going to save up my pennies so I can savor the squeals of delight when Ben finally sees Buzz Lightyear.  I'm going to treasure the maniacal laughter of Josh spinning the teacups.  I'm going to smile fondly when I hear the boys talking almost daily about what they liked at Disneyland and their requests to go back.  Good job, Mr. Disney.  You got us hook, line and sinker.

My very first trip to DL in 1995, and our latest trip in 2013.  My kind brother pointed out that I still have skinny chicken arms.