As promised, I am back with more Disneyland talk this week! I posted a fun little video montage of our Disneyland trip on my Youtube channel this week so be sure to go check that out as well!
This was our first time going to Disneyland as parents so I want to share with you what we found to work out the best for us and our vacation!
Tip 1: Pack snacks! Disneyland Park lets you bring in outside food and drinks so take advantage of that! I purchased a lot of snacks for Millie before our trip and loaded up the diaper bag with some of her favorites the night before we went to Disneyland. It was perfect for when she was getting a little antsy or hungry but we were waiting for the rest of our group to ride a ride and whatnot! So pack snacks for your kids and yourself. I also suggest packing some drinks. Before we went I thought there would be a refillable mug that we could purchase at the parks but to our surprise their isn’t one so pack some drinks as well!
Tip 2: Get Disney MaxPass! The MaxPass totally saved us. MaxPass is an add on for each ticket but I think it is so worth the extra cost. MaxPass allows you to get FastPasses on your phone without having to go to each attraction to get a paper FastPass. So when you are standing in line, you can get on your app and get your FastPasses! This helped us literally hop from one ride to the next all day long and we skipped all the lines because of our FastPasses. The app allows you to get so many in a certain amount of time so after you get your FastPass it will tell you when you can get your next so be sure to set a timer on your phone so you can take full advantage of your MaxPass. Another thing we really liked about MaxPass is that is gives you the photo pass as well. So if any cast members take a picture for you, you automatically get them downloaded into your Disneyland app. This also includes the fun pictures they take of you on the rides!
Tip 3: Get to the park about 30 minutes before it is supposed to open so you can get into the park before rope drop! This is especially crucial if you want to ride the new Star Wars Rise of the Resistance ride in Disneyland Park. They use a virtual que for this ride. You need to be physically in the park, tickets scanned and all before rope drop so when the clock turns 9:00 or whatever time the park opens that day you can be on your Disneyland app to sign up for a boarding group. These groups book out FAST. Like within minutes so it’s super important you are there and waiting for rope drop so you can have the best chance of getting a boarding group. We found that walking into Downtown Disney 30 minutes before the park opened gave us plenty of time to get into the actual park. The lines looked super long for entry into the park but it went by so fast!
Tip 4: Utilize your Disneyland app and mobile order your food! This is the best way to get food around Disneyland. I don’t know why people wait in the long lines just to get food! We would order our food on our phone and the next minute it said it was ready so we walked up to the mobile food order line which was always EMPTY and showed them our phone and got our food. It’s super nice to use while you are walking between rides and you know what you want to order. Saves so much time and is extremely convenient!
Tip 5: Before you go on your trip make a list of your must see/do attractions and what food you want to ensure you do not miss! This will help you plan out your FastPasses and take advantage of the mobile food ordering.
Tip 6: If you are traveling with littles make sure you take advantage of rider swap! This means an adult can sit out with your kids while the other adults in your party go on the ride, once they are done the adult who waited off and 2-3 others can go back on the ride and skip the entire line. Just talk to a cast member at the ride before your group gets in line so they know you are doing rider swap! Most of our group got to ride most of the rides twice which was awesome!
Tip 7: Pack a portable sound machine if you are traveling with littles who will need to take a nap during the day. We bought this one and it was perfect. When Millie was acting tired we reclined her stroller, attached the sound machine, covered her stroller with a blanket, and took a short walk while waiting for our group to ride a ride and she was out. The sound machine helped block out all the noise from around the park.
Tip 8: When you are waiting for your group to ride on rides let your little one out of his/her stroller to stretch their legs and get their wiggles out. We spent a lot of our time waiting just following Millie around the park. That was one of her favorite parts of the trip! She loved exploring all around the park.
Tip 9: Pack a second outfit for your kids to change them into at night. It got a little chilly when the sun went down and I am glad I had a warmer outfit packed for Millie. It is also nice to have a second outfit incase there’s any accidents!
Tip 10: Try to go on rides or see attractions you want your little one to participate in in the morning while they are the happiest. As the day goes on, they just get more tired and cooperate less and less! So make sure if there is something you do not want them to miss to get that done right after rope drop!
Those are my top tricks and tips! We loved our Disney vacation and I am so excited to go back! I hope these tips help you out when you go on your Disney vacation!
xoxo,
Kayla
