As many people know, we are a Disney loving family. Sean & I enjoy going to Disneyland. Now that we have kids, we love taking them with us!
Traveling with kids is a lot harder, but absolutely worth it! If it wasn't, we wouldn’t have taken the boys four times already 🙊.
There will never be a time where Disneyland is not crowded. But with these tips, I think you will get an idea of what to expect to ensure you get the most out of your time at the happiest place on earth! :)
Here are my Tips + Tricks for doing Disneyland with babies (or just in general)!
Download the Disneyland App: The Disneyland app is a great tool! Once you get your ticket, you can scan it into your app so all the tickets in your party are in one place. It shows you how long the wait times are for all of the rides in the park, allows you to make reservations for restaurants or activities directly from the app, shows you where to meet characters, showtimes, & you can mobile order food. It’s also the only way you can get a reservation for the new Star Wars ride. I always have my Disneyland app ready to go!
Single Rider/Rider Switch: Sean & I love rides & our kids are too young to go on any of the thrill rides. What we have to do is either get in the single rider line or ask the cast member for a rider switch pass. Single rider lines are great if you don’t care about sitting next to people in your group. When Sean & I are able to ride together, we tend to go in the single rider line for the rides that have long wait times (Cars, Space Mountain) because the wait times are (usually) way shorter if you don’t ride together. (Fastpasses for Cars at California Adventure always sell out & it’s notorious for having super long wait times. If you don’t want to do single rider & want to ride this one, grab a fast pass first thing!)
Shows/fireworks/parades: Sitting down for a show is a great way to beat the heat & rest your feet! (haha). Frozen at California Adventure is awesome & there are several at Disneyland that are great too. Also, the nighttime shows like Fantasmic! & World of Color are must sees. You can get a fastpass to reserve special seating for those shows! The fireworks at Disneyland are the best fireworks I’ve ever seen. Main Street gets packed during this time, so expect to get cozy with others around you. Although crowded, you should still be able to get a great view of the show! (If you want a view with no one directly in front of you, try to to get a spot right behind the ropes on Main Street! Cast members will make pathways, roped off, so people can still move around Main Street during the show.) For parades, we like to watch over in Fantasyland near the Matterhorn.
Mobile order: Ordering food is such a time saver + life saver when you’re hungry. No one wants to wait in line when you’re hangry! Within the Disneyland app, you are able to choose from the mobile order food selection & view their menu. You pay through the app & pick up your food at the designated “mobile order pick up” window at the place selected. Super easy! (I could write a full blog post just about the food at Disneyland…it’s so good! Maybe I will write one…😏)
Baby Care Center: In both Disneyland (on Main Street USA) & California Adventure (Pacific Wharf) there are baby care centers. They allow you to change your baby or feed them in a comfortable place, away from tons of people. There are several diaper changing areas & small toilets for those learning to potty train. There are also highchairs & an area to prepare bottles or food. Although every bathroom in the park has changing tables (& there are a lot of them!) it is really nice being able to use these centers throughout the day. You can even purchase diaper/wipes, food, or anything else you may have forgotten or need.
Maxpass: I highly recommend purchasing a Maxpass for each person in your group (if they love rides). The Maxpass allows you to get fastpasses directly from your phone, so you don’t have to worry about physically going to the kiosks around the park to get your fastpass. You can also have more than one fastpass at a time. With the purchase of a Maxpass, the photos that you can get taken around the park & on rides are free.
Meeting characters: What’s Disneyland without seeing your favorite characters?! Each land has a special set of characters specific to the area of the park you’re in. If you have the Disneyland app downloaded, you will be able to see when & where Disney characters will be in the park throughout the day. This is a great way to meet characters & not waste your day trying to locate them. We met up with Captain Hook outside of It’s a Small World & the boys loved him! Wyatt grabbed his shirt & didn't want to let go. They must have remembered that their baby shower was Peter Pan themed ;)
Bring your own food & water: Disneyland has amazing food but you might not want to spend $5 for a bottle of water or $4 for a bag of chips. You are allowed to bring food and drinks into the park. This is great for kids who need to snack during the day.
Tom Sawyer Island: This is a wonderful place to let your littles out of the stroller to run around & let off some energy! There are tons of little places to explore like caves, treehouses & bridges.
Buy souvenirs at the end of the day: If you’re anything like me, you always have to get souvenirs! Main Street USA stays open 1 hour after the park closes, so you can do your shopping on your way out of the park at the end of the night & you won’t have to worry about carrying your items around all day. That’s assuming you stay until the park closes!
Don’t forget your stroller & sunscreen!! If your kids are young enough for a stroller, I’d highly recommend bringing it. There are designated stroller parking areas all over the park where you can leave your stroller while you explore or go on rides. Plus, it will hold all of your stuff so you don’t have to!
Our boys have been on every single ride that they are allowed on. When they were 6 months old, none of the rides phased them. When they were 9 months old, Wyatt got a little uncomfortable on some of the darker, louder ones. At 10 & 14 months, they both enjoyed them all!
Rides the boys have been on (Disneyland):
Astro Orbitor
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
It’s a Small World
Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
Disneyland Railroad
Storybook Land Canal Boats
Alice in Wonderland
Mad Tea Party
Dumbo The Flying Elephant
King Arthur Carousel
Casey Jr. Circus Train
Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
Snow White’s Scary Adventure
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
Peter Pan’s Flight
Jungle Cruise
Pirates of the Caribbean
Haunted Mansion
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Mark Twain Riverboat
Do you & your family love Disneyland? What are your favorite rides?
xoxo
