In part one of this blog series I discussed the things we brought and the ways we strategized our trip to make the flight as smooth as possible. I also discussed the things we bring to help with sleep so that we can all be rested during vacation. Today I will discuss Disneyland and the things we will do different the next time we travel. I hope you find this information useful and encouraging if you are debating a trip with your tiny humans! I highly recommend you take the plunge!

Disneyland

We were in California five days and we went to Disneyland twice. The rest of the days we were at the pool and outside. The boys love the water and they were obsessed with the pool at our hotel, so they were thrilled to do just that.

We took the boy to Disneyland on a Saturday and then on the last day there which was a Monday. On Saturday we took the boys to the pool in the morning and put them down to nap around 11:30 AM for two hours. Once they were awake, we fed them lunch and drove to Disneyland. Getting to the park took longer than we expected because of LA traffic and by the time we were inside the park it was about three.

We parked in the Toy Story parking at Disneyland and had to take a bus to the park. This was on accident and we should have gone to their main lot which is the Mickey and Friends parking lot. The Mickey and Friends lot is closer to the main area and you take a trolley inside the park. The bus drives on the main streets of LA which I did not feel comfortable with since the boys did not have car seats.

Folding the stroller when you get in the bus or on their trolley is a bit chaotic since there is a line of people behind you. It works best when you keep all your belongings on you and the stroller is essentially empty. Garrett would take both boys and sit while I folded the stroller and brought it in. Holding both boys is easier for Garrett and our stroller is very lightweight, so it worked well. We just brought a backpack to Disney with extra layers for the boys and ourselves because the temperature dropped at night. We also packed a lot of snacks, cereal, and rice milk for the boys to have for dinner.

Once we were in the park, we looked at the rides that we thought the boys would like most and at the wait times. We tried to avoid lines that had a wait of 30 minutes or more. For the very popular rides that have long wait times we either waited for a parade to happen or for the ride to be temporarily down. During the parades the wait times go down and that’s when we took advantage to do those rides. When the rides were temporarily unavailable, we would stay nearby and check in often and once they were running again, we would join the line which was way shorter.

Walking with the kids through the park was slow and a bit stressful. If you are going from one land to the next, I would highly recommend sitting them in the stroller. You can make your way through faster and you don’t feel like you can lose your child in the masses. In order to entice the boys to get in the stroller we bought them these Mickey lights that blew bubbles and looked awesome at night. Between the lights and the snacks, they were usually happy to sit.

If you are going to do several rides in one land (that’s typically easiest) then I would suggest parking your stroller in the designated stroller parking and just picking up the kids and holding them as you walk from ride to ride. It is much faster than moving your stroller each time you go to a ride. I will mention that you have to make sure you park the stroller in a designated stroller area. If you don’t the staff will move your stroller and it will be a pain to find it. There are thousands of strollers in the park and most of them are the same several brands.

I have been to Disney many times and Disneyland is considerably smaller than Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and I still underestimate the park every time. You spend a lot of time walking and waiting and before you know it you are out of time. It is good to read about the rides and select the top ones you want to go on. It is also good to plan which parades you want to watch and where you want to watch them. This allows you to get more accomplished and have a more relaxed experience.

The boys don’t like anything that’s scary, so we avoided any rides that were that way. We also avoided rides that we felt like they could do at a local fair. Toon Town is awesome for kids this age and we spent a good amount of time there the second day we went. In Toon Town you can meet Mickey and take pictures with him in his house. Any of the rides that had a height requirement were pretty much out and there were others that just didn’t seem age appropriate.

The boys top five attractions were Casey Jr. Circus Train, It’s a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mickey’s House, and Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin. We spent most of our time in Fantasy Land and Toon Town.

There is one ride that we went on that I would like to discuss for people who don’t like to be in confined areas. The Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage is a ride that I would not go on again. I get claustrophobic easily and so does Sawyer. Neither of us liked it and I heard many other people in the ride expressing the same feeling. Grayson and Garrett on the other hand were happy as can be so it just depends on your personality.

As far as food goes, the park has great options for people who have food allergies. They have ingredients listed on everything. The staff at the restaurants are super helpful and they have separate menus for people with allergies, but you need to request them. They also have many healthy snacks, like plain fruit, dry fruit, and juice. We had a very positive experience all around!

We left the park at 11:00 PM on Saturday and the boys fell asleep on the drive to the hotel. We transferred them and they continued sleeping. The boys were exhausted by 11:00 PM and they were asking to go home. We debated going the following day to Disney because it seemed better than doing it the same day we flew back home but we decided against it because we thought the boys needed the rest.

On Monday we got to Disney earlier and parked in their main parking lot which is much better. We tackled all the rides we had missed the first day and spent a good amount of time walking around Toon Town. We left the park at seven since we had to catch our flight later that night.

Overall Disney was a total success. The boys really enjoyed the rides and we just played and spoke to them while we stood in line. Again, we really just followed their lead; if they seemed tired or hungry we would just stop and do whatever they needed. We honestly felt like we wanted more time there and it was magical as always.

Next Time

There is not much that I would change about our trip but there are several things I would do differently the next time.

First, I would not take a red eye. You really can’t sleep on the flight and it is just harder on you and the kids when you are traveling during your nighttime sleep. I prefer for them to have a short nap on the plane and entertain them myself than to be sleep deprived.

Second, I would not recommend going to Disney on the same day you fly out. It was A LOT and we were all exhausted by the time we were in our beds sleeping which was 7 AM Alaska time the following day.

Third, if we NEED to leave later in the day and we don’t have a morning or noon flight we should either pay for an EXTRA LATE check-out or pay an extra night even if we won’t be spending the night in the room. Traveling is exhausting and that day you travel it is better to nap the kids and have them rested than trying to busy them while you wait for your flight.

Fourth, I will try to plan our day at Disney a little before. What parades we want to watch, what rides we want to go on, and what attractions we want to see. This would help in making sure we prioritize the things we don’t want to miss, and we care about doing most!

All in all, we had a very special trip! I hope this post helps you when planning your trip or at least encourages you to travel with your little humans! It is TOTALLY worth it! Let me know in the comments any tips that have worked for you!