Disney tips for parents with young kiddos

I am writing this post as requested by my friends Debbie, Katie and Sophie who are going to Disneyland with their families next month. (They were smart and didn't book their trips during spring break!) I hope my information is helpful to them and anyone else who reads this. BTW this might end up being a very long post as there is so much to cover, so bear with me as I motor through all my thoughts and ideas.

You can save a ton of money by NOT booking a Disney hotel. Instead book a Good neighbor hotel. They are usually within walking distance and also offer early entry for one day with purchase of 3 day park hopper pass. We also got a deal with Alaskan airlines where the kids fly free...and we got all our Disney tickets at the children's rate. We used River City Travel to book our trip, but I'm sure any travel agent can help get you the best deal. We stayed at the Anaheim Fairfield and thought it was great. Close to the park, friendly people and they upgraded our room upon arrival for no extra fee when they realized we had 3 kids. They also have pack and play cribs, so we didn't have to pack one along for Hayden.

Try to get a room that faces the park. We really enjoyed watching the fireworks every night from our hotel.

Bring your own snacks into the park. I packed a whole suitcase of snacks and distributed them as needed each day. They will let you in to the park with snacks as long as it doesn't appear that you are planning for a whole picnic. Granola bars, fruit snacks, fruit roll ups, cookies, crackers etc are fine. You will be glad you did. Our kids worked up quite an appetite and you can't really find much of anything in the parks for less than 3.95 + tax. We used these snacks for breakfast rather than wasting precious time sitting down for a meal. I also packed extras for times through out the day when the kids get the munchies.

Fruit snacks are also great to give kids on the plane to aid in popping their ears when the pressure from the plane taking off and landing can cause little ones to complain.

Bring your own water into the park...unless you like to pay for your water. I got dehydrated on our second day because we never really stopped long enough to get something to drink. I brought water in for the kids, but didn't drink enough myself. Not only was I not drinking as much liquid as usual, but I was active all day, walking and carrying the kids around. I got a pounding headache and just felt a bit off all day, so take it from me, bring lots of water to drink. (Since you can't bring water on the plane, unless you check it in your luggage, I packed empty water bottles and we filled them up at the hotel and at the drinking fountains inside the park.

Wear comfortable shoes. Preferably, tennis shoes/running shoes. Don't even think about heels!!! We didn't run into problems with blisters, but I brought band aids just in case.

Grab a schedule and a map at the gate when you enter. They have them at California Adventure too and it was helpful to confirm how we wanted to plan our day. You can find a calendar with a semi-reliable schedule on the Disney website, which is how we knew when the shows and parades were ahead of time.

Plan to take a break in the middle of the day to go back to your hotel and give your kids and you a break. You will be glad you did. After a few hours the kids will be charged up and ready to go back again.

Break up your week. We had a 3 day park hopper, so we took our break after day 2 in Disneyland. We still went out to eat and shopped in Downtown Disney...and went swimming at our hotel, but the pace was much slower. No real agenda.

Bring a Neat sheet for sitting on during parades and fireworks. We used ours at least 3 times and I'm glad we had it along. They fold up really small, so you won't need much space to pack one.

Bring a poncho. It might rain...it did while we were there, but most of all , bring it if you don't want to get wet on the Grizzly river run. You can get disposable ponchos at Walmart for 88 cents. I also found glow sticks at Walmart for 88 cents. The kids loved them at night.

Bring sunscreen, hats and sunglasses for everyone. It would be a shame to get burnt, or worse your kids to get burnt.

Other things to pack: Extra, extra large Ziploc bags to store all lotions, hair gel, spray...basically anything you don't want to find spilled all over your clothes. I also packed a few empty bags so I could keep all the dirty clothes in these. Disposable cameras for the kids...you may get lots of pictures of legs and hotel wall paintings, but the kids enjoy being photographers too. At least one hooded sweatshirt or light jacket per person...it gets cold at times. A small backpack to throw stuff in (camera, snacks, money, sunglasses) Not too big that you can't bring it on rides or too heavy that you hate lugging it around. A double stroller if you have or can borrow one. If you have more than 2 kids under 8 it will really come in handy. You can also rent single strollers for $10 a day, but if your kids fall asleep, you have to wake them up and return the stroller before returning to your hotel.

I brought my stash of quarters and pennies for the squished penny machines that are all over the park. You can find them in most gift shops, but there are a lot of them in the penny arcade on Main street.

Wish I would have brought Icy Hot or Bengay type topical muscle ache reliever. My quads were so sore from walking non-stop.

Use the Fast passes. I was surprised at how many people were standing in lines with a 45 minute wait. Find out what rides you are most interested in and plan accordingly. The rides with the fast pass option are the most popular, so don't even bother standing in line when you can use your fast pass. Note, some rides (tower of terror, soaring over California, and others "sell out" of fast passes, so punch your favorites early in the day.) You have to wait 2-3 hours before you can punch for another fast pass, so plan your day with things to fill your time while you wait to use your fast pass.

Early entry. When you purchase a 3 day park hopper, you can get in one hour early (8 am) to Fantasyland . You used to be able to get into the whole park, but now it's just Fantasyland. There are certain days when this option is available, so find out ahead of time. If you have early entry at Fantasy land, go to Dumbo or Peter Pan first. There are no fast passes in Fantasyland and the wait for these rides is usually very long. We rode It's a small world late in the evening and got in right away, but there seemed to be a line during the day.

Wait at the gates at 10 am for Toontown to open. Trust me, we did and we still had to stand in line 30 minutes to go through Mickey's house to meet and get pictures with Mickey. Minnie on the other hand is usually not in her house, but rather on the street and the line seemed to move faster.

Princess Fantasy Fair opens at 10 am. This is great for girls (but even Zander had a good time). You can hear stories read by princesses, decorate a princess/prince crown, learn how to be a good princess/prince, go through the coronation, learn dances and wait in line to meet the princesses (usually 3 or so princesses). Since we already had plans for a princess lunch, we didn't stand in line to meet them, but we did everything else. There is a Jedi training (in Tomorrowland I think), but we never made it over for that.

Make character dining reservations 3-4 weeks before you go. I was surprised by this, but so glad I knew to do so. There were many an upset guest at Disneyland when they found out there were absolutely no tables available. When I reserved our lunch at Ariel's Grotto 3 weeks prior, all the inside seating was booked, so we ate outside (which is fine BTW, because it's covered and they have heaters above each table).

When making reservations, milk it for all it's worth. When making the reservation for Ariel's Grotto, I told them that we were celebrating Natalie's birthday...all the kids got a special crown and a special pin featuring the princesses and Natalie got a special dessert. I also told them Ariel was her favorite princess...to my surprise, Ariel spent quite a bit more time paying special attention to Natalie. She danced with her and talked to her and flat out made her day. FYI it is a spendy meal, however at Ariel's grotto, Hayden ate for free. They told us if the park doesn't require a ticket for him, they don't charge for his meal. Unfortunately, not every restaurant has this policy.

Blue Bayou. When I booked the Blue Bayou, I told them we were celebrating my MIL's birthday which was the week before. She also got a special dessert and a card signed by the workers. If you are going for lunch reservations, get the first seating, which I think is 11:30 and you are almost guaranteed to sit by the water. We had 11:40 reservations and got second row. It is dark in there, but I already knew what I was going to order ahead of time, so reading the menu wasn't an issue. You can Google words like "Disney restaurant menus" and find out what to expect, just make sure you are looking at a current menu or the selections and pricing may have changed. By the way the Monte Cristo is to die for! It is also a lot to eat, so even with my "I want to eat the whole thing" mentality, I opted to split it with my mother in law and it was more than enough food. I even passed on dessert, which I was fully prepared to order before my meal came. You will be charged $4 to split a meal, but it is a lot less than buying 2 meals, plus you still get all the sides, salad and bread, so not a bad deal in my mind.

Cafe Orleans is right across the street from Blue Bayou and has many of the same things on their menu for a bit less money. We ate dinner there the first night...they have kid's menus that fold into pirate hats too! Beware, their prices are not posted outside. Dinner prices start at the $10-$13 range for adults. I had a salad that was very filling. At the end of your meal they bring you gold pirate chocolate coins which the kids thought were cool.

Taste Pilots (in California Adventure) is located next to Soarin' over California. They serve Chicken and burgers mostly and have great cris-cross fries and onion rings. Lunch starts at $5-$6. I had a crispy chicken salad and we got fries and onion rings to share.

Shows are a great way to get off your feet and keep the kids entertained away from the hot sun or rain whichever the case may be. Shows we loved in Disneyland: Parade of a million Dreams, Fireworks, Princess Fantasy Faire storytime. Shows we liked at California Adventure: Aladdin, Bear and the Big Blue House (Playhouse Disney), Muppets 3-D movie, Turtle Talk with Crush and Electric Parade. I was really only disappointed with the Block party parade.

Meeting Characters. I found this link to be extremely helpful regarding tips for meeting characters. Here are just a few of the suggestions. Bring an autograph book, or buy one at DL. Have your book turned to the page where you want them to sign. By doing this, you avoid ink bleeding through and showing through your other autographs. Some people use their autograph books as photo albums (placing photo next to autograph) so it is helpful to leave enough space for this ahead of time. Also, bring large pens, not skinny ball point type as some of the costumes have big hands which make gripping a pen difficult. The most valuable piece of information I read was have your kid color a picture for his/her favorite character. This gives them more time to be doted on and the characters really love it. Worked like a charm for us...so don't forget to pack your crayons and paper.

Also if any of your kids are into the movie cars, Lightening and Mator come out twice a day by the pier in Disney California, you can also get the times the daily schedule.

Kodak Moments. As any good scrapbooker will tell you, sometimes you have to create a good photo. Don't be afraid to set up your photos a little. I do this on vacation by planning outfits that look good together. One day we did all blue. Don't be afraid to have someone take a picture of your whole family, otherwise you may never get photographed! There are Disney photographers positioned all over the park who will take photos to add to your photo pass. Give them your camera as well, they don't mind taking photos with your camera too. I found the castle photo is best in the morning and later in the afternoon, but mid day to about 4 or 5 when the sun is directly above, the colors tend to be washed out and the subjects tend to squint more when the sun is in their eyes. Another good place for a group photo is the staircase in the ally near Blue Bayou. Don't just take photos of your kids posing with the characters, get them talking and interacting with them too. These are some of the better pictures from our trip.

Just a few ideas to make the magic even more magical: Pack a special gift for your kids and then when you have a special interaction with a character, put the gift beside there bed and write a note from the character about the incident. Mail a post card from the park to your house so that a couple days after we get home you kids get mail from Minnie and Mickey telling them how much fun they had and hope they come back real soon.

Face Painting. You can do it in Downtown Disney or there is an area over by It's a small world close to where they sell Turkey Legs. The cost varies but for a scroll on one side and Tinkerbell on the other with a scroll was only $7. You can also do it at the princess area but the wait is longer.

My online friend works as a skipper on the Jungle Cruise and she said to stop by the jungle cruise and be sure to ask your skipper for a jungle map!
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That is enough for now. Please feel free to ask questions.