My Best Tips for Disneyland

Before we left to go to Disneyland I did as much research as possible. Here are my best tips:

1. Bring water bottles into the park. We froze our each night at the hotel and then let the kids drink cold water throughout the day. We also brought in our own snacks. We actually had an entire suitcase full of snacks that we brought with us on the plane. Food is expensive. So we ate a big breakfast at the hotel. The Staybridge where we stayed had a free continental breakfast each morning. We then had snacks and then went back to the hotel to cook dinner in the kitchen in our room. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the hotel they also had a free dinner for guests.

2. If you have kids under the age of 5 bring a stroller. You can rent one there but it is expensive per day. We brought an umbrella stroller that had a basket under it and it was a life saver. There are a ton of places around Disneyland to park the stroller. We used it as a base to store our water bottles which I wouldn't have wanted to carry around. Our stroller had polka dots so it was easy to see, otherwise tie a bright scarf on to it. I have heard if you rent a stroller this is a must because it is hard to tell them apart.

3. Have an agenda. Maybe this is for me because I am a planner, but I feel that you need to have some kind of agenda ahead of time. We actually subscribed to Ride Max and planned out our days, which worked for the most part for us. It at least gave us a direction.

4. If you don't want to plan too much I would get there 45 minutes before the park opens then down Main Street and head left. The majority of people go right to Tomorrowland and Fantasyland.

5. Hit the big rides first thing in the morning, or during the parades, or fireworks.

6. Know your limits. I realize that people do Disneyland in only 3 days, but if you have children under the age of 5 I don't know how you do it. I think pushing the little ones too far makes everyone miserable. The best thing for them is to go about 4 hours, take a break and then come back in the evening.

7. Disneyland is loud and the noise and stimulation would get to me after awhile. It is a good idea to have a balance between the high energy excitement rides and the low ones.

8. Have a designated meeting place if you get separated. If everyone has cell phones that can text then this may not be a necessity for you. Between Ken and I we had one cell phone. There was one time he went back to get a stroller and we weren't able to find each other again for nearly 1 hour. When you call each other in Disneyland you can not hear each other because it is so loud.

9. Tell your kids that you are not going to buy any souvenirs until the last day, but that they can look for ideas throughout the trip. Then at the end of your last day going in to the Emporium on Main Street it has everything from all the parks and buy your item. That way you don't have to carry it around.

10. The fireworks show is amazing and it is pretty neat to see Dumbo and Tinkerbell fly. The first night we sat to the right but the trees were in the way. In order to get a spot in front of the castle you need to get there at least 1 hour before the show starts. My husband said there are great seats on Main by the train station that were still available 10 minutes before the show.

11. Have a plan for waiting in lines. Kids under the age of 5 hate lines. We did everything from bringing dum dums (huge hit), to letting them look through the videos we had taken on our camera of previous activities, or playing I Spy. In reality the best trick was having one parent wait in line while the other took them to a less busy ride. The carousal was perfect for us. We would get dirty looks sometimes when we cut, but get real people do you really want my 2 year old screaming his head off next to you for 20 - 30 minutes.

12. Pin trading is really fun for older kids. You can buy pins ahead of time on ebay for a fraction of the cost of what they are in the park.

13. Have your kids make their own autograph books ahead of time. The characters always commented about the kids books and it was fun for the kids to share them.

14. The train is a great way to get from one side of the park to the other. It is relaxing and comes frequently and you get to see new parts you wouldn't normally see.

15. Measure your kid ahead of time and know the height requirements. I saw one kid bawling because he wasn't tall enough to ride and his parents had promised him he could go.

16. The best rides for toddlers were Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Casey Jr. Circus Train, The Railroad, Goofy's House in Toon Town (not a ride I know), and rides in A Bug's Land.

17. Have the professional photographers take pictures of your family with your own camera. We also made sure to have them take some family shots in front of the castle and they superimposed tinkerbell into my kid's hands. You can order a single picture for $15 and this might make a great Christmas shot. I wish we would have had even more pictures in front of the castle, because I really liked what they did. The photographers are really nice and they know what looks good.

18. Make sure your phones are in water proof bags.

19. Lines 13, 20 and 21 are the fastest moving lines at the Disneyland entrance. I thought this was nuts when I read this on someone else's website, but it is true. There are large tree right in front of these entrances and people don't realize that you can sneak in front of everybody and get in these lines.

20. Don't be a sheep. Everyone has a crowd mentality. When we went to see the Aladdin show everyone was going in one entrance. We saw another door and asked if we could go in the upper level. We used this door and were able to then walk back down to the front and got great seats in the third row.

21. Toy Story Mania and Peter Pan are fun rides but they don't have a fast pass so do them first (except on Magic Mornings)

22. Use the fast pass system. You don't have to go between the designated time. The passes don't expire. You can also get another fast pass as soon as the first designated time on your first pass has passed. You can also get multiple fast passes for the same ride on the same day. Just make sure that if you have a runner go and get the fast passes that they take everyone's tickets because you have to scan each ticket individually. Having a runner go while the rest wait in line is a good way to spend your time.

23. Just splurge and do the Ariel's Grotto or character breakfast instead of the Princess Fantasy Faire. The lines for the faire are crazy long. If you want to save the money than have one parent wait while the other parent does Toon Town or It's a Small World. The wait is 30 - 40 minutes from the end of the first roped off line.

24. If your child wants to see Rapunzel (the new "it" princess) have a parent wait in line as soon as it opens. I asked and they said it is crazy every day as soon as it opens and the minimum wait time is 45 minutes.

25. I thought it was fun to have a list of the food items I really wanted ahead of time. On my list was a dole whip from Tiki Juice Bar (we hit this 3 separate times), cream cheese pretzel (amazing and I wish I would have bought another), mickey mouse shaped chocolate dipped ice cream, corn dog from the truck near Main Street, Monte Cristo Sandwich (heart attack and a half), chocolate peanut butter sandwiches (2 times - and I still fantasize about these).

26. The parade either starts on Main Street or by It's a Small World. Ask which direction it is starting on and plan accordingly. If it starts by It's a Small World you will be able to slip into Fantasyland after the parade passes while most people are still watching the parade. It is also fun to immediately follow behind the parade after it passes. The kids think they are part of the parade and you get to beat all of the crowds that are still watching. If you have seen the parade hit all the major rides you want to during the parade.

I had on my list but never got around to it: smoked turkey leg, beignets from the jazz kitchen in Downtown Disney, Rice Krispie Treats, Mozzarella Cheese Strips at The Stage Door Cafe, and Seafood Herb Crepes and Pommes Frites at Cafe Orleans. Maybe next time!