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Our next Disneyland trip is fast approaching, which means all of us have Disney on the brain #alldayeveryday. Considering that bringing small kids to Disney is seen as confusing, questionable, or even a waste of money (“First of all, how dare you?!” – Mindy Kaling and also me), I figured I’d discuss a) why we go, even though our kids won’t necessarily remember it, and b) some tips for taking small beans to The Happiest Place on Earth (also see: IKEA)!

A few years before William was born, I suggested to Travis that we go to Disneyland. He disagreed, saying it would be weird to go without kids. Boy, how he has changed his tune — albeit, a little late. However, going with little kids is still a blast! We’re obsessed. As a seasoned* Disney visitor (*minor exaggeration; I’ve been to Disneyland three times and Disney World), here’s what I’ve learned:

1. If you can, bring kids before they’re 3. Weird advice, right? Except they’re free! So your bean(s) can experience the magic of Disney for a whopping $0. They might not remember it all when they’re 30, but William still remembers his first Disney trip, which was almost 3 years ago. It’s so cute to see his face light up when he talks about Disneyland.
   

   Look at that face, so full of joy and wonder (both of those faces, really!)

2. Bring a stroller if your kid can fit in one. This may seem obvious, or you may think you’re safe because they have rentals, but the rental strollers are often gone first thing in the morning. Plus, if you leave and come back, you’ll be SOL if it’s a busy time to visit. Having a stroller also means a place for your kid(s) to nap if you’re staying at the park all day; this is another benefit to bringing kids when they’re young! At 6, 7, or even 8, (most) kids are too big for strollers, but still too small to walk all day without getting tired and cranky.
3. A stroller lock (a retractable one is a bit more expensive, but is easier to store) is a good idea, too, since it’s not unheard of to have strollers stolen — wheeled right out of the park! Also, people steal stuff out of strollers, so hide valuables or bring them on rides.
4. Bring a friend or two if you love the “big kid” rides. There are plenty of rides that little ones can go on, but if you’re also there for your own stomach flips, then bring a friend so the adults can all trade off on watching the kids, but you still have someone to go on rides. We aren’t big on the big rides (used to love them, and then adulthood and subsequent nausea happened), so we just take turns bringing William on rides if one of us doesn’t want to go on, or we’ll all go on together.
5. Bring snacks. You can bring food into the parks as long as it’s not in glass containers, so may as well stock up on what you can. We usually go to Target and get fresh fruit, food pouches, fruit chips, granola bars, and other assorted snacks that don’t need to be refrigerated; this way they don’t need to be tossed throughout the day, and storage is easy, too!
6. Don’t bring a selfie stick unless you want to forfeit it at the gates; I didn’t know this rule the first time I went. Buh-bye, selfie stick. We had a good run.
7. Stay close to the parks, whether that’s camping, hotel-ing, or AirBNB-ing. If you can stay within a 10-15 minute drive of the Disneyland Resort, definitely do it. The closer, the better! That way it’s easy to go back and forth between the parks and hotel. We went back to our hotel if we wanted to eat lunch, swim, or nap, or even if it was just too hot (#whitepplproblems — Travis and I both get heat nausea really easily, so we’d go in the morning, leave during the hottest part of the day, then go back again in the evening). Bonus: you don’t need to rent a car (if you fly down) or pay for parking (if you’re driving) if you’re within walking distance of the parks. It saves a lot! 
8. Bring a reusable water bottle for each person. You can refill them all over the park, it saves having to buy plastic water bottles ($$$), it’ll keep you hydrated (you’ll drink more water if you have it with you), and it’s better for the environment.
9. Get the Disneyland app; it’s free! It gives you access to your Photopass photos, a map of the parks, PLUS the wait times on all the rides. Technology: it’s a wonderful thing.
10. Get a Park Hopper. It’s a bit more expensive, but it’s 100% worth it. This way you can go back and forth between the parks in the same day; you can plan out which rides you’re going on based on the wait times on the app, and go to the ones that have the longest lines first. Or you can even get Fast Passes for the rides with longer wait times, go on a few rides in either park with 5-15 minute waits, and then come back to your Fast Pass ride.
    

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11. Take advantage of Magic Morning especially if you can do it on the first day of your visit. Magic Morning allows visitors who have 3+ days at the parks to visit Disneyland an hour before the parks officially open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This means you can get the rides that usually have ridiculously long lines in Disneyland, and then you can Park-Hop over to California Adventure at 9 am and get in line for the good ones over there!
12. Go to Target for Disney attire that doesn’t break the bank. The mouse ears at Disneyland are $15-25 USD, but they have a whole Disney section at the Target near Disneyland for $5-10 USD.
13. Scope out the shop kiosks. There are occasionally really good deals at the kiosks that are just too good to pass up! We saved over $200 on two pairs of Ray-Bans at the Sunglass Hut in California Adventure; the sale was so good, mine ended up being free. Good thing they were such a steal, since our littlest pup chewed mine up.
14. Get coffee before you enter the park. All of the Starbucks’ locations in the parks and in Downtown Disney are always packed, so if you want your grande soy iced blonde latte (this is my fave drink right now 10/10 recommend) within 20 minutes, get it before you step onto Disney property.
15. Love every second of it. Disneyland is truly magic: everything is choreographed down to the second, it snows in December, there are fireworks every night, there’s music playing whilst you walk down the street, there are horse-drawn carriages, and there’s no litter in sight. It’s incredible, it’s beautiful, it’s a lot of walking and exercise, and to our family, it’s definitely a good investment to spend time together and enjoy a little magic in this world of ordinary.

 

Did I miss anything? What are things you wish you knew before visiting Disneyland? Let me know in the comments!