Summer is coming fast upon us and with it comes fun family vacations. While traveling to Disneyland or Disneyworld at the height of the tourist season might not be the most ideal of situations, it’s when the most people are at the park. So how did we survive it with three small children? A lot of research, that proved helpful, a little grace, a dose or two of chill pills and a whole lot of fun!! Now, my tips are built around our trip to Disneyland in Anaheim, California, but many of the tips work for other Disney locations.
1. First things first – Get those tickets! For my military readers, you can’t beat a military discount! The military ticket prices are absolutely amazing, and you can purchase a significant number of them at one time. All that it requires is you, or your spouse with your IDs, to purchase. I purchased ours over the phone and then picked them up. So easy!! One of my favorite parts about these tickets (aside from the price) is the fact that they are park hopper tickets, which usually tack on quite the extra fee.
2. Now that you have your tickets – TOURING PLAN – Get this right now! It’s amazing. Buy the subscription as well. Even if you only go once in the year that you have it, the subscription is worth the price. Honestly I could stop my tips and tricks right here. This website and app lets to schedule your day down to the minute. You can factor in meals (and the meal’s locations), nap times and any other events that might come up during the day. Have rides that are important to you? It factors that in, and calculates the order in which you should obtain your fast passes (Disneyland).
3. Where do you stay? This is a little trickier. There are so man options for to choose from. Stay at a resort hotel, a partner hotel, or neither one. If you belong to a discount club save those rewards up and cash in when you go to Disney! We chose to stay off Disney property. There are some great hotels with military discounts, so make sure to check those out. There are so many surrounding hotels to choose from, many with shuttle systems. Uber and Lyft are amazing in and around Disney and I would highly recommend them. Visit MouseSavers for some excellent tips on staying on and around Disney.
4. You’ve Arrived!! Now what?! Rope drop! Do it! We arrived about 45 minutes before first gate opening. It was just starting to get really busy and the energy was amazing. It’s a lot of waiting around but the kid did amazing. If you have children under 10, get that stroller. Do it! Best money we ever spent. I wanted to bring ours, but my husband was convinced we wouldn’t need it, or that it would be crazy to bring around. Lets just say I was right. The rope drop was the best experience with my kids. People were happy, the music started perfectly welcoming you into the day. I cried…and skipped people!! It gets you into the park early, before its insanely crowded and before it gets really hot. Where should you go first? If you aren’t going to make a beeline for the Materhorn (we never got around to it with the littles), appoint someone your fast pass king or queen and send them off to either the Materhorn or Star Tours. Your first stop in Disneyland should always be Fantasy Land. Those classic rides are where you find the intense lines. Visit Alice in Wonderland, Tea Cups, Peter Pan, Snow White and all that good stuff right out of the gate! This is exactly why you need Touring Plans. Get it and get it now. You can thank me later!
Stay tuned for part two of this Disney series!! This is the Nitty Gritty of it all, more details to follow!!!
