The 50+ Best Tips That Made Our Disney Trip Unforgettable

A few weeks ago our family took our first ever vacation to Disneyland and this trip meant a great deal to me. It’s not a cheap trip to take, so I wanted to get the most out of it while having the best time. So in order to do that, I researched my tail off. I spent HOURS looking at flight and hotel info, information on Disney tickets, read numerous informational sites as well as one book cover-to-cover. Yes, this sounds a wee bit obsessive, and I actually was pretty obsessive over it! I am the type that likes to be well-informed and know it all before going and can then make the best decisions for our family. And luckily, it paid off! We had the BEST time! Truly, an unforgettable trip. If you missed it, you can catch the recap HERE, with tons of photos and videos.

Today I am sharing what I found to be most helpful, the best deals, and the tips that I only learned through experiencing it myself. Buckle up, you’re in for a LONG, but super informational, ride! Here we go!

Travel

1.If you fly Southwest, your bags fly free, so pack an extra-large suitcases so that you can bring home a few goodies.

2. If you happen to fly on Mother’s Day and are a mama (and I am sure Father’s Day, too) you get free alcoholic beverages!

3. Fly into the John Wayne Airport. It’s much smaller, thus less crowded, and the closest airport to Disneyland. Plus, we also found the cheapest flights into this airport.

4. Grab an Uber from the airport to your hotel if you aren’t renting a car (which if you are just doing Disneyland, you don’t need to do).  It cost us about $30. The city buses cost more than that and you don’t have to go to anyone else’s stops or catch it at certain times. Plus, if you have a friend refer you and you are a new Uber user, you get $15 off your first ride.

5. If an Uber isn’t your thing the two main shuttle services are Super Shuttle (1.800.258.3826), which is $12/person and you must give 24 hours notice and Disney Express (714.978.8855) which is $20/adult and $15/child.

Where to Stay Off-Site 

6. After extensive research, these were my top 5 hotel choices: The Best Western Parkplace and Mini Suites, Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites, Park Vue Inn, Fairfield Inn Marriott, and the Howard Johnson hotel. The Marriott and Howard Johnson are probably the nicest of the bunch, so if you are looking for a nicer place, I would recommend these. Plus, the Howard Johnson has a really cool water park-type play area. But, they are a little further down the street and do not have breakfast.

Ultimately, I chose the Best Western Parkplace and Mini Suites due to its PRIME location and free hot breakfast in the morning, which were both very important to me. This is a no-frills hotel and has an outdoor entry, as do most of the hotels surrounding it. The little pool is outside, though and the amenities are decent. Plus, it was one of our cheapest options allowing us to spend the extra money elsewhere.

Tickets

7. Look into booking your vacation with Get Away Today. There aren’t many sites out there that offer legit discounted Disney tickets, but this is one of them, and a good one at that. You can really save if you bundle your flight, hotel, and Disney tickets, especially if you are wanting to stay on-site.   Some deals I have seen include a 5th day FREE in the parks, free children’s tickets to a character meal and adults at kids prices. AND, you can use discount code LITTLELOVES for an additional $10 off of your vacation package. You’re welcome!

Park Info

8. If you buy 3 or more days at Disneyland, you are given one morning called “magic morning.” This allows you into the parks one hour before the general public, and you are able to choose which morning you would like. The parks switch on which days have magic mornings; for instance, Tue, Thurs, Saturday are magic morning days in Disneyland, and Mon, Wed, Fri and Sun are magic morning days in California Adventure.

9. Arrive at the park at least 30 minutes before it opens- the first hour has practically nonexistent lines and you can just walk onto rides!

10. Sometimes they open the park early! We arrived at 8:30 (park opened at 9 for us) and the parks were already open! So we enjoyed even more time of no lines.

11. Choose to enter the park that does NOT have a Magic Morning option first if you are arriving at the park at the normally scheduled time. The park will be much emptier as it won’t have the Magic Morning people already in it.

What to Buy Ahead of Time

12. Wikki Stix

One of the BEST things I bought online HERE were these Wikki Stix. They are basically just little wax sticks that you can create things out of and these kept our children busy in lines, at restaurants and anywhere else where patience may have run low. EVERYONE was asking me where I got them.

13. Pins

Pin trading is a fun thing for people of all ages to do at Disneyland, but pins can be pretty pricey in the parks. I bought THIS lot of 25 pins off Ebay for $11. That’s about the cost of one pin at Disneyland. Essentially, you just put these on a lanyard, a hat, or wherever you’d like, and you can trade your pins with any cast member or store board for any of the pins they have. Our kids both went home with new pins they love!

14. Lanyards

I recommend you also buy lanyards ahead of time as they are pretty cheap online. I also recommend that each adult also have one with a clear plastic holder on the bottom like these ones have. The park tickets that they give you that you need to use each day are pretty small, and they fit nicely into these holders. And to obtain Fast Passes, (a pass that will get you on a ride faster) you need to scan your park tickets and these were so nice to keep our tickets and Fast Passes in as I can see how easily these pieces of paper could get lost in pockets, backpacks, etc.

15. Mickey and Minnie Ears

I bought all of our Mickey ears HERE ahead of time. They are sold EVERYWHERE in the parks, and they have much cuter ones online and in the parks as well, but if you’re looking for inexpensive ears to just get the job done, these are a great deal.

16. Wear those Mickey ears while you travel! It is INCREDIBLE how much people enjoy Disneyland, even if they’re not going! We wore our Mickey ears to the airport and throughout our travels, and you have no idea how many smiles they brought. Plus, one older gentleman was so tickled that this was our kiddos’ first trip that he gave each of them $5 to spend on a treat! HOW nice was that?!

Food 

17. I packed SO many snacks! And I must say, this was so smart to do. To make it easy, I pre-packed the snacks for each day in Ziplocks so that all I had to do was grab a bag and throw it in our backpack. I also bought some things I don’t normally do so that the kiddos were happily surprised.

18. If your hotel doesn’t serve breakfast, if you want to have more groceries in your room, or if you want to be able to pack your lunches/other meals, VONS/Safeway delivers  to your hotel room! You must have a minimum order of $50 and order two days in advance, but how nice not to have to grocery shop upon arrival! AND, if this is your first order, you get $20 off!

19. Pocket Blanket

This thing was amazing! This pocket blanket proved to be worth every penny. It’s super tiny folded up, so it didn’t take up much room in our backpack, and it unfolds to be enough space for about four people or so to have a place to sit, or to save a spot at a parade! (You can see this unfolded further down.)

20. Ponchos

Our weather was amazing while there, but I did go ahead and buy rain ponchos ahead of time, just in case. The week before had some rain, and I wanted to be prepared in the event a child did not like getting wet on certain rides. And at $1 each at Walmart or the dollar store, these were worth having on hand as in the parks, rain ponchos were $10 each.

21. Dollar Store Items

These are most of the items I bought at the Dollar Store and most of them came in super handy

1. Hand sanitizer- pack of 3 we stashed in various places.
2. Mini fan- It got pretty hot at times (outside or in line indoors) and this was nice to cool people down.
3. Giant lollipops. I didn’t end up giving these to the kids, but I had them ready in the event they begged and pleaded since they are everywhere. But, they didn’t!
4. Travel first aid kid
5. Umbrella- For obvious reasons or to give some shade if needed
6. Packs of gum- I actually forgot about these.
7. Baby wipes- Hands and faces get sticky, these were great.
8. Glow sticks galore. The parades and night shows are filled with all things glowing, these prevented our kids from asking for anything else.

22. Autograph books and 23. Clickable Sharpies 

Buying these autograph books beforehand saved some money, and I was sure to buy the kind that has a place for the pen to attach to. No one wants to be fishing around for a pen! Plus, get these clickable Sharpie pens so you don’t lose any pen caps, and I read Sharpies are easier for characters to grasp and look the best for signatures.

24. Portable Phone Charger–

This is a MUST! Trust me, you are going to be snapping so many pictures and taking so many videos, your battery is going to DRAIN! Having one of these portable chargers will allow your phone to stay charged all day.

25. Miscellaneous–

Here are some other items I had and I am GLAD I did! The only item I didn’t use here was the laundry detergent. Nothing was spilled that I needed to get out right away, but we definitely used everything else.

That mini gold notebook was so handy. I wrote down all of our flight info, hotel info, Disney reservation numbers, places that were recommended to eat, etc., and I referred to it often! It helped not to drain my cell battery, too!

26. Guide- 

If you are dreading the lines, consider hiring someone to guarantee you won’t wait in any line for more than 10 minutes. Not a ride, not to see a character, not anything. You submit your ride/character wish list and they’ll take care of everything from there. We did this for our first day and it was SUCH an amazing thing! We were able to enjoy the parks without feeling restless or frustrated.  If interested in booking, contact Serena at 562-746-9408 and tell her I (Shannon) sent you for a discounted rate!

27. The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland

This book was SUCH a great read- it gave reviews of all rides, restaurants, and attractions and was a WEALTH of knowledge (Thank you, Sarah!).  They come out with a new one every year so the info is current and updated. I highly recommend reading this book beforehand. I read it cover-to-cover!

How to Pack

28. Packing our clothes in Ziplock bags was so helpful! Each bag contained the day’s outfit- Pants/shorts, shirt, socks and undies. Hotel rooms get messy enough and I didn’t want to be hunting for pieces of clothing in the morning.

29. Bring some extra Ziplocks for wet/messy clothes or for leftover food you don’t want to throw away!

30. Packing each kid their own backpack full of entertainment and snacks for the airplane kept our flight much more relaxing as they were well-equipped and able to get things for themselves out of their own backpacks.

What to Wear

31. Disney Gear

I wanted our family to have matching shirts for our first day in the park, so my friend, Nicci, made us these “Let’s Do This” shirts. All I had to do was buy the materials, so if you have a friend who can do this for you, I recommend! We were complimented a ton on them. Or someone on Etsy could make them for you as well.

I found this shirt HERE, which was a super comfy and a relaxed fit.

My friend lent me this shirt (Thanks, Sarah!) and it can be found HERE.  I saw many others wearing it in the park, too. Cute baseball tee look!

And finally, this shirt I found at Walmart! It’s a large but fits more like a medium; I don’t like my shirts too tight and the back was super cute, too.

32. Watch– Wear a watch! It was SO nice to not have to pull out my phone every time I wanted to know the time, plus it saved my cell battery! I bought a cheap, yet stylish one at Target and it was one of my best purchases.

33. Kids Disney Gear

We got Cal THIS shirt and Gwyn THIS one and then found some other great shirts and sweatshirts at local kids secondhand clothing stores. I highly recommend you check your local stores! Both of these sweatshirts were $4!

34. Soft, Flexible Sunglasses

My son’s eyes are super sensitive to the sun, and we are always buying him sunglasses, but somehow they always break in backpacks, in my purse, being sat on, etc. These glasses are so great because they are flexible! Both kids enjoyed them and wore them frequently in the parks.

35. Water shoes 

Pack water shoes! I recommend wearing comfy tennis shoes for the majority of the time with thicker socks, but having these water shoes for the Grizzly Mountain ride and the splash pad in California Adventure made it so nice for the kids to not have to walk around in soggy socks. Our favorite water shoes are THESE.

36. Princess dress

If you have a little one doing the Bippidy Boppidy Boutique (highly recommend!) then bring your own dress from home! They sell them at the boutique store, but for a lot more. THIS was Gwyn’s Halloween costume, and by far her favorite dress, and she was elated when she discovered I had brought it.

What to Eat

37. The Matterhorn Macaroon– This is a coconut cookie and very delicious! I found this at the Jolly Holly Bakery Cafe on Main Street.

38. Dole Whip– EVERYONE raves about these, and I can see why they would be a favorite, but they just weren’t our fave. Super refreshing, though! These are found outside of the Tiki Room, but if there’s a long line, go inside the Tiki Room, the line is much shorter.

39. Two-For-One Treat– Disney will split any treat they can into two, which was plenty for our kiddos! Two milkshakes for one, please!

40. Corn Dogs-There is a corn dog cart right around Main Street with the most delicious corn dogs! If you ask for it “a la cart” it will save you $2 if you don’t want the small bag of chips.

41. Fried Chicken- The fried chicken at the Plaza Inn is super yummy! And it’s a nice place to take a break for lunch, too.

42. Monte Cristo Sandwich– This is a MUST! It is so delicious and big enough for two! You can find this at the Blue Bayou or the New Orleans Cafe (for less).

43. Some other eats and treats I hear are delicious are the Lobster Nachos at the Cove Bar, the Bacon Wrapped Asparagus at Bengal BBQ and you can get a delicious sandwich for a good price at Earl of Sandwich.

What to Buy in the Park

44. I thought I was so smart by buying these items ahead of time. Bubbles are all the rage in Disneyland right now, so I bought these bubble guns HERE for about $7 each knowing my kiddos are bubble fanatics. And don’t get me wrong, they worked really well and kept them entertained for a LONG time. But, Disneyland sells bubble wands everywhere for $20 and they also light up.

I had ALSO bought THESE light spinners ahead of time for the parades and light shows. Little did I know the Disney bubble wands also light up, as one of the wands was comparable in price to the bubble gun and light spinner I bought, and it was an all-in-one package.

So, I would say buying the Disney bubble wand is a worthy purchase. And don’t buy ahead of time! They’re selling for $30 at Walmart or $40 on Amazon… They’re only $20 in the parks!

 

45. Gwyn decided to use her spending money on a parasol from this cute little cart, located right outside of the New Orleans Cafe. They personalize it with the child’s name and doll it all up, and for $20 I deemed this a totally worthy and affordable souvenir.

What to Avoid in the Park

46. Do not, I repeat, do NOT buy one of these dang Mickey balloons. Sure, they’re super appealing to all and are seen everywhere and our kids begged for one. But, they are nothing but a nuisance! We caved and agreed to buy ONE balloon for the kids to share, knowing really it would just be tied to our stroller, and that’s exactly what happened. The breeze blew it all over the place and in people’s faces, and the dang thing popped! I will say, one super nice thing Disney does is if you pop or lose it, they will give you another, which they did do for us. And, it did make finding our stroller much easier. But then what do you do with it when you hop on the plane a few days later? We gave ours to a little girl, and that did make her super happy. But, we would not buy one again.

47. Peter Pan ride– This ride does NOT have a Fast Pass option, and ALWAYS has a gigantic line! Unless you are with an escort, this is not worth the wait. It usually has over an hour wait and is literally about 90 seconds long. Even if you book it right when the park opens, you will still have about a 30 minute wait, which we did one day. Mistake! We say, skip it! Your kids will never know!

What to Bring to the Park

48. Stroller

Our kids were 5 and 7 on this trip and normally would not be using a stroller anymore, but if you have young children I highly recommend bringing one! And I will say, people with the side-by-side strollers had a much harder time maneuvering the parks than those with seats one in front of the other. Just to convince you…

-It saves the kids’ feet from aching from all of the walking around the parks.

– It allows the adults to navigate around the crowds MUCH faster

-It provides instant seating when there isn’t any available for a snack/meal

– It provides a place for a child to take a nap when needed

– You can store SO much and have what you need, when you need it. We kept four coats, (winter ones for the night time) a huge bag of food, waters, our backpack full of supplies/changes of clothes, the kids’ souvenirs, and more under that stroller, freeing our arms and preventing us from having to walk back and forth from the lockers you can rent to store your things.

– It provides nice shade when needing to get out of the sun

49. Extra clothes

Bring changes of clothes. I packed changes of clothes for the kids and a couple extra pairs of socks in one Ziplock bag in the event someone spilled something, got wet, or wanted to change from pants to shorts. And we did use them! Then, I put the wet clothes in the Ziplock.

50. Backpack

Filled with sunscreen, your changes of clothes, water shoes, Tylenol or other headache medicine, mini first aid kit, hand sanitizer, autograph books, and plenty of snacks/food.

51. Jackets

Even though the days are warm, the nights can get chilly! We rolled up our coats and stuck them in the stroller for when we needed them later in the night.

Favorite Activities

Our absolute favorite activities throughout our four days in the park were the parades, World of Color show, Frozen show, Bippidy Boppidy Boutique, Jedi Training and eating at Goofy’s Kitchen. See below for important info on the parades, WOC and Frozen shows.

52. Bippidy Boppidy Boutique-  

If you have a little one who still enjoys getting dolled up like a princess, the Bippidy Boppidy Boutique is a must! Spots fill up VERY quickly, so make reservations 60 days in advance. Really… mark your calendar! (714. 781.7895) They get their hair, nails and make-up done and even more depending which package you choose. We did the cheapest one and she LOVED it!

53. Jedi Training

The Jedi Training is a free event for your little Jedi wannabes and was an absolute favorite by both of our kiddos. And they get a soecial button for participating, too! You MUST sign your kiddos early, though, as there are only a limited number of spots available per show for littles to participate. (Sign up in Tomorrowland.)

54. Goofy’s Kitchen/Character Meals

Goofy’s Kitchen is a character dining meal that allows you to see at least 5 characters while dining. They literally come right up to your table, interact with your party, sign autographs, and take pictures. Every so often they also dance throughout the restaurant, too! This restaurant is located in one of the Disney hotels, so you do NOT need a park ticket to enjoy! I recommend doing this on a day that you do not have a park ticket so that you are not “wasting” precious park hours. We did this the night before our first day in the parks and it was the perfect thing to get us excited for what was to come. Plus, we saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale! I also hear dining at Ariell’s Grotto is amazing as you get to interact with all of the princesses. Any of the character meals you definitely need reservations for, so make them well in advance (714.781.dine).

Prime Seating/Standing

55. World of Color 

Obtain a Fast Pass at the park opening to the World of Color show. Just ask any Cast Member where the machines are and they will all know. Doing this first thing should get you the blue standing area, which is the best. An hour or so before the show, have someone from your party get in line so that you can snag a prime spot. After asking a few of cast members, and even someone in charge of the color show, we concluded the prime spot to be in the blue area on the bridge. No one can be in front of you, you won’t get wet from the water (which you absolutely will if you are up close) and the heat from the fire won’t be too intense. Plus, you can see it all.

56. The Mickey Parade 

Find a spot 1.5 hours before the parade (I know, but it’s worth it!) and set up your foldable blanket. I found a spot right on the corner of Main street, and I chose this corner because it was shaded and because it was a corner, it was wide enough to spread my blanket out and park my stroller behind it with ample room for walkers behind me. I didn’t want people toppling over the top of us, and this corner left plenty of space for everyone.

57. If you aren’t watching the parade, this is a GREAT time to enjoy the park! The lines are much shorter. We visited the Royal Hall, where most of the major princesses can be found, and only waited to see them for less than five minutes when the line is usually about an hour.

58. Frozen

The Frozen show in California Adventure is a must! It is SO good! When you enter the theater you will be asked what area you want to sit in. Choose the orchestra. You will be herded into a line to wait in; stay to the right of the line. (It’s a wide line.) Once they let you in the doors to the theater, everyone will be funneling right. GO LEFT! It won’t seem right, but trust me. You will be going up stairs, over the top, and will be taken right to the left aisle of seating in the orchestra where not many people have gotten to yet while everyone else is still backed up funneling in from the right. We were able to score front and center seats in the fourth row!

 Good to Know

59. Alcohol is served in California Adventure! Enjoy a cold one while standing in line.

60. Need medicine, a band-aid, ointment, and I am sure much more? The first aid centers at Disney will just give this to you!

61. Lost children are taken to the Baby Care Center at the end of main street.

62. Storage- Buying a lot of Disney goodies? Some stores will hold them for you! The Stroller Shop, Pioneer Mercantile, Port Royal, The Star Trader and Elias and Company will all hold your purchases so you don’t have to tote them around all day. OR, if you’re staying in one of the Disney hotels, they will send your purchases up to your hotel room for you!

63. Cars Fast Pass – Once you enter California Adventure, get a fast pass for the ride right away. The Fast Pass machines are located right by Bugs Land, and you will see some Cars-themed flags outside the little area. Once you ride the Cars ride, get more Fast Passes for it, as that will most likely be your last chance to get a Fast Pass for the ride as they run out by mid-afternoon.

64. Buttons- If it is your first time visiting, go to Town Hall and they will give you a special First Time button. Same goes if it is your birthday or another holiday; I received a Mother’s Day button and proudly wore it!

65. Switch Passes- If you have a child who is too young/small for a ride, or who just does not want to go on one, you can take the child/children who do want to ride and ask for a Switch Pass once you enter. They will give you one, which works just like a Fast Pass, except you can use it any time of day! So the parent who stayed back with the child who did not want to ride can then take the child/children who did want to ride AGAIN! Gwyn totally scored doing this as she was able to go on twice the amount of rides since Cal wasn’t in to anything fast or scary without the wait. These save so much time!

66. Talk to your friends! Those who recently went are a wealth of knowledge and may be able to give you tips and tricks that are new to the parks, so pick their brains! I absolutely did that and appreciate all of the suggestions I received very much! Thank you, friends!

 

My goodness, that was a NOVEL! But I just couldn’t deny you ANY of the tips that helped make our trip so great. If you have any others you would like to share, please do in the comments so we can all enjoy them!

And if you enjoyed this post, be sure to let me know! I love hearing from you. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by!