Fastpasses, Child Swapping, and Single Rider Lines at Disneyland

While lines are a natural part of a trip to Disneyland (if you're not expecting lines, you're really deluding yourself), Disney has done a few things to help you minimize the time you spend standing in those lines. There are a ton of different methods you can use to maximize your time in the park and avoid lines, but that would probably take multiple blog posts to cover. Maybe we'll get there. But for this post, we're going to focus on Fastpasses, child swapping, and single rider lines.

Fastpasses

Fastpasses are a glorious invention that Disney came up with many moons ago. It allows you to basically make a reservation to go on a ride at a later time. Because of this, there are normally two lines at each ride: the standby line and the Fastpass return line. Since Disneyland only offers a certain number of Fastpasses for every return time, during the busiest times at the parks, the Fastpass line will often take at most 30 minutes, in comparison to the standby line which at the same time can be hours long. Essentially, you do your waiting while doing other things in the park.

You can get Fastpasses two ways: with the MaxPass system and in person at or near the ride. To do it in person, there are kiosks where you scan your ticket and it will print you out a reminder ticket with the time frame in which you can return to ride. Usually you have an hour return time, so for example, you go pick up your Fastpass at 9 am and it will tell you to return between 10:20 and 11:20 am.

The other method, and in my opinion the superior one, is through the MaxPass system. MaxPass is an additional service you can buy that allows you to get Fastpasses through the Disneyland app. We enjoy this because it's faster and easier. MaxPass costs $15 per day per person. That seems pricey, but you also get every photo taken by a Disneyland photographer (you'll see them posted around the parks and hanging out with characters). The photos will show up in the Disneyland app and you can download them right to your phone. But when it comes to Fastpasses, the main benefit is that with MaxPass, you can select a Fastpass from anywhere in the parks. So if you're in Disneyland and you know you're heading over to California Adventure soon, you can grab a Fastpass for Soarin' Around the World while you're in line for Splash Mountain. It's pretty awesome.

You can only have one Fastpass at a time, and your current Fastpass will tell you when you can get your next one. It kind of depends on how far out your return time is. If you grab a Fastpass for a popular ride at 10 am and your return time isn't until 5 pm that night, it is not going to prevent you from getting another one until 5. Typically, you'll be able to grab another one about two hours after you picked up the first one. The other exception to this is Fastpasses for shows (World of Color, Fantasmic, etc). They are not on the same Fastpass system as the rides, so you can grab a World of Color Fastpass as soon as you get in the park and then immediately pick up an Incredicoaster Fastpass.

If you are using MaxPass, you can use the Disneyland app to pull up all the rides that offer Fastpasses and it will tell you the time frame they are currently distributing passes for. The app is also nice because it shows you the current standby wait time, so before grabbing a Fastpass for a ride, check and see how long the line is. If it's under 15-20 minutes, grab a Fastpass for something else and just hop in the standby line.

Child Swapping

No, I'm not talking about some child exchange program hosted by the Mouse. Child swapping is a great way for parents to enjoy all the rides in the parks, even those that little ones can't go on, and it will save some time.

So the basic gist is both parents go up to the ride entrance and speak with the cast member. They will scan the ticket of whoever is staying off the ride with the kids. This will give the parent staying off a sort of Fastpass. The other parent then gets in line as usual. After that parent gets off the ride, the parent that stayed off simply goes to the Fastpass return entrance and scans their ticket to go on, thus preventing them from having to wait in the regular line. So this procedure is for when the first parent is getting in the standby (regular) line or the single rider line.

If you are going to use Fastpasses, you'll need to make sure that both parents have Fastpasses. We tried on different occasions to have just one of us get a Fastpass for one ride (i.e., Space Mountain), while the other got a Fastpass for a different ride, thinking then that we'll do child swap on both rides and speed up the process. That way instead of waiting for your spouse to go through the standby line, you're only waiting for them to go through the Fastpass line, which is far shorter. Sometimes it worked; in fact, some cast members actually applauded us for thinking of it, while some others said that if one parent was going through the Fastpass line and child swapping, both parents had to have Fastpasses. It seems to depend more on which cast member is manning the line. So you're welcome to try this method; just know you might get some grief from cast members.

Single Rider Lines

The last line option is the single rider line. This is exactly what it sounds like. If you don't care about sitting next to people in your party, or if you are traveling alone with your family and don't have another couple to child swap with, this can be a great option to bypass long standby lines. It's also helpful if all the Fastpasses are gone for a specific ride. Radiator Springs Racers is a great example of this. Those Fastpasses will go pretty quickly (they're usually gone by early afternoon), and the standby line can be two hours or longer. The single rider line can you get you on in under 30 minutes, even at the busiest times.

Now, not all single rider lines are created equal. Some are not great time savers. Any ride that seats people in twos is not great for single rider, as most people are going in twos. Space Mountain is a prime example. I did the single-rider once when the standby was about 40 minutes. The single rider took almost the same amount of time. Rides that seat in ones or by threes are great because there are almost always spaces to fill. Also, be warned that sometimes they close the single-rider line with really no notice and won't allow more people to get in line. On our last trip, both Space Mountain and Indiana Jones closed their single rider lines.

So yes, lines at Disneyland can get long. But if you use a combination of Fastpasses, child swapping, and single rider lines, you can help minimize the time you spend waiting in lines and spend more time playing.

Food at Disneyland

One of my very favorite things to do at Disneyland is eat food. While Disneyland has been dragged for their crappy food quality in the past, they have gone to great lengths the past ten or so years to improve their food offerings. I personally love the food at Disneyland. There are so many great and fun options. While it is definitely expensive to eat in the parks, and I totally understand those who choose to limit how much food they buy, Andrew and I always save up for food because eating in the parks is our favorite.

As I mentioned in a previous post, you can bring food into the parks with you. Which I 100% recommend if you have any super picky eaters. No parent wants to spend $5-$10 on a meal their kid won't eat. One trick we used on our last trip and that we will most definitely use in the future is to buy snacks online (we ordered on Amazon) and have them shipped to your hotel. Most hotels will hold packages for you. We ordered goldfish, applesauce pouches, baby food pouches, chips, and fruit snacks, all of which were waiting at the front desk when we checked in. We also shipped formula for Peanut and some snacks and sodas for the parents. It worked out fantastically when we flew to California. It saved us a lot of room in our bags. We've also had friends and family take PB&Js into the park (our picky Goober won't eat PB&Js, so that wasn't really an option for us, unfortunately). When we drive, we usually just stop at a grocery store to pick up snacks once we arrive, but we might start shipping our non-perishable items regardless of how we're traveling.

Disneyland Dining

When it comes to Disneyland food options, in general, there are four types: Food carts, counter-service restaurants, table-service restaurants, and character dining. Food carts and counter-service restaurants do not take reservations; you just get in line and order at the counter (hence the name). All table-service restaurants (or sit-down restaurants) take reservations. You can make reservations up to 60 days in advance, and if there is a table-service restaurant you want to eat at, I highly recommend you make your reservation as soon as you can. They fill up fast, and the wait without a reservation can get long.

Character Dining

Character dining is a different animal. At these meals, you will eat at your table and certain characters will come to you and say hi. We have been to Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel and Minnie and Friends - Breakfast in the Park at the Plaza Inn. If your kids love meeting characters, this is a good way to cross a bunch off your list in one go. They aren't exactly cheap, but the food is good, and they are both all-you-can-eat buffets. The great thing about Goofy's Kitchen (and the other character dining options at the resort hotels) is that you don't need a park ticket to go. We like to do Goofy's Kitchen the day we get in to get a fun taste of Disney without using up a day at the park. If you do Minnie's breakfast, that does require park admission; the Plaza Inn is on Main Street. 

Meeting Dale at Minnie's breakfast at the Plaza Inn. May 2018.

Peanut meeting Chip at Goofy's Kitchen. May 2019.

Goober meeting Minnie at Goofy's Kitchen. May 2019.

Snacks and Treats

In addition to the many places where you can buy full meals, there are also many, many awesome little snacks you can buy throughout the parks. There are bakeries and candy shops that sell cake pops, rice krispy treats, cookies, macarons, and so on. Then there are the popcorn carts, the ice cream carts and shops, and the churro carts and shops. The restaurants also often have fun themed treats for special events and holidays. The Disney Parks Blog will often post foodie guides for special events. They're a good follow on social media if you're interested in the special treats (and for other general information about Disney parks). 

The Alien macaron at Pizza Planet is delicious. But huge. Definitely good for sharing.

Another great resource for Disney food that I recently found (thanks to my awesome hairstylist who also happens to be Disney obsessed) is the Instagram account @disneyhungry. Andrew and I haven't really made the rounds for a lot of the treats at Disneyland, but we have a list of Halloween treats (and others) we can't wait to try thanks to her account. We'll be trying a ton of new treats when we head to the parks in a couple of weeks (can't wait!!!!). 

Mobile Ordering

Disneyland has recently launched mobile ordering for quite a few of their counter-service restaurants. We used it for the first time this past May, and it was AMAZING. While we were in Tomorrowland, we decided that we wanted corn dogs at the Stage Door Cafe, which is on the other side of the park in Frontierland. So as we headed that way, I placed an order through the Disneyland app. By the time we got to the Stage Door Cafe, our order was ready, and there was no line for pickup. This was especially awesome because the Stage Door Cafe has a notoriously slow-moving line. They have also recently added the Mint Julep Bar (which sells mint juleps, obviously, but also Mickey-shaped beignets, which are the bomb and I'm going to eat my weight in the pumpkin beignets on our next trip), which I am SO EXCITED for because the line gets crazy long. 

The Disneyland app has a list of all the participating locations, and directly underneath the name is the next available pickup time. You just click on the name, select your return time, then scroll through the menu and make your choices. You can even connect a credit card to your account so you can pay through the app, so literally all you need to do is show up and pick up your food. It's a great way to save some time in the parks.

Dining Packages

One last dining option is a dining package for various shows. There are dining packages for the Frozen show and World of Color in California Adventure and for Fantasmic in Disneyland. These are all shows that require a long wait if you're hoping for a good seat. World of Color and Fantasmic do offer Fastpasses for the shows, but you still have to get to your area at least an hour early in order to get really good seats. Frozen doesn't offer a Fastpass. There are three shows a day, and if you want to sit in the Orchestra, you're going to want to get in line anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour early. Dining packages are a great way to get a good meal and a reserved viewing area. As you can guess, these are not cheap. They cost anywhere from $45-$90 per person depending on the restaurant and whether you're going for lunch or dinner. 

So what's included? You get a three-course prix fixe meal, which includes a starter, an entree, and a dessert, as well as a drink. But the main thing you're paying for is the reserved viewing areas for the shows. They save you time in the park because you don't have to get there quite as early, and you're guaranteed at least a decent view. 

The only dining package we've done so far is the World of Color dining package. We've had meals at both Carthay Circle and Wine Country Trattoria, but I would very much recommend Carthay Circle over Wine Country Trattoria. It's more expensive, but the food is better. We weren't impressed with the food or the service at Wine Country Trattoria.

However, we will be doing the Fantasmic dining package at Blue Bayou during our next trip, so we will definitely be writing up a review once we get back.

Our Recommendations

To conclude this rather massive entry, I'll give a quick list of our favorite places to eat. Hopefully in the near future we'll be able to write some detailed reviews of some of these restaurants, complete with pictures.

Counter-service restaurants:

• Disneyland
• Stage Door Cafe (Frontierland - excellent place to try Disneyland's delicious corn dogs)
• Rancho del Zocalo (Frontierland - very tasty Mexican food)
• Red Rose Taverne (Fantasyland - the Beast Burger is huge and delicious, and they have delicious desserts, i.e. the Grey Stuff)
• Galactic Grill (Tomorrowland - tasty burgers)
• Plaza Inn (Main Street - a bit pricey, but super good food; try the fried chicken)
• California Adventure
• Award Wieners (Hollywood Land - great hot dogs)
• Flo's V8 Cafe (Cars Land - excellent American diner food, we eat there almost every trip)
• Cozy Cone Motel (Cars Land - this falls under counter-service and snacks; they sell everything from ice cream to churros to mac and cheese cones, which are great)
• Smokejumpers Grill (Grizzly Peak - good burgers, fries, and shakes)

Table-service Restaurants:

• Disneyland
• Blue Bayou (New Orleans Square - the food is delicious and the ambiance cannot be beat; it's inside the very beginning of Pirates of the Caribbean, and it legitimately feels like you're outdoors)
• Carnation Cafe (Main Street - tasty food similar to Plaza Inn)
• California Adventure
• Carthay Circle (Buena Vista Street - probably the most expensive place in both parks, but the food is pretty amazing)

Snacks:

• Disneyland
• Tropical Hideaway (Adventureland - loaded Dole Whips are THE BEST; the bao are also super tasty)
• Tiki Juice Bar (Adventureland - for regular Dole Whips, though you can also get those at the Tropical Hideaway)
• Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor (Main Street - hand-scooped ice cream)
• Mint Julep Bar (New Orleans Square - Mickey beignets!)
• California Adventure
• Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats (Pixar Pier - the lemon soft serve is awesome, and dairy free!)

As I said earlier, we haven't gotten many snacks other than our go-to places listed above. Hopefully we'll be able to update this post with a couple of new recommendations after our next trip. Only 15 days to go!

What to Take Into Disneyland

So much for writing more frequently. Life just keeps getting in the way. Trying to keep up with work and take care of our girls and plan our own upcoming trip just takes so much time. We'll try to post a few things this week, since we're now to the fun stuff: What to do in the parks!

First of all, you have to know what you need to take in the parks with you, especially when you're taking kids. You can take far more than you'd initially think into the parks with you. First of all, you should review Disneyland's park rules and regulations to see specifics about what you can and can't take with you. The main things to note are the sizes of bags that you can take with you (basically just don't take something absolutely huge with you) and the size of allowed strollers. Most strollers fit within their parameters (31" wide and 52" long), even double strollers, so it's not a huge restriction. But you cannot take wagons of any kind into the parks anymore as of this past May. So if you have a wagon, leave it at home.

When it comes to strollers, if you have little ones with you that you know won't be able to walk all day, take a stroller. Both double and single strollers are available for rent at Disneyland, so that is an option too, but it is a daily charge. It costs $15 a day for a single stroller and $35 a day for a double, which is just one more thing to pay for when it's actually pretty easy to bring your own. We've never rented strollers from Disneyland; we've always brought our own. We make room in the car when we drive, and we gate check it when we fly. That tiny bit of extra hassle is worth the money we save.

In case you're curious, our favorite stroller we've taken is the Joovy Twin Groove Ultralight, which is a double umbrella stroller. We love it. It's lightweight, folds up pretty small so it's easy to travel with, and the seats lay all the way back so the girls can take naps in it. Goober is big enough to walk quite a bit, but she's not to the point where she can walk all day, so the double is still a great option for us.

Goober passed out and stayed asleep for quite a while. It must have been pretty comfy in there.

The other important thing to know is that you can take food with you into the parks. There are limits on coolers and the kind of ice you can bring in your coolers, but when it comes to snacks, you can bring all you want for your littles. There are no restrictions there. We enter the park equipped with a bag full of snacks. Goober is a super picky eater, so we bring applesauce, fruit snacks, goldfish, chips, fruit leather, etc. You never know when your kids are going to get hungry, and food in the park is pricey. I'm not willing to buy Goober food she won't eat, so we always keep stuff on hand that we know she likes.

There are also no restrictions on baby food or formula. When we did formula, we took the ready-to-feed bottles in with us because they are so much easier than mixing formula in the parks. I could hold Peanut in one arm and pour her a bottle with the other (which I've had to do more than once), so the convenience was worth the extra cost there.

Other things you will need in the park are drink cups and water bottles, especially if you have a stroller to store them in. It is Southern California, after all, and it gets hot, even in the fall and winter. It's nice to have water with you. To make it even more convenient, every counter-service restaurant in the parks will give you free cups of water. You don't have to buy anything; just ask for water and they'll hand you full cups. Most of the time it's ice water, too, so it's far superior to grabbing a drink from the drinking fountains. I love taking metal water bottles because when you fill them with ice, your water will stay cold all day long, no matter how hot it is outside.

The other thing that we always, always take with us is extra outfits for the girls. Multiple extra outfits. I can't tell you how many times we've dealt with blowouts or spitup or rain storms or spills, all of which have required us to change the girls' clothes. Sure, you can always head back to the hotel, but that's precious time wasted that could be spent playing at Disneyland. So we take multiple changes of clothes for both Goober and Peanut, just in case.

And those are the basics, really. Just pack 10 times what you need for a normal day, that's all. Do keep in mind, though, that you will have to go through security before you can enter the parks or Downtown Disney. They will check every bag, sometimes super thoroughly, as well as the storage under your stroller. So the more bags you have, the longer it will take you to get through security. The security lines are often longer than the entrance lines, so that's definitely something to consider as you plan what time you want to get into the park.

Driving to Disneyland with Babies and Toddlers

Hi again! We covered flying with kids, so now we'll tackle the more daunting task of driving with kids. While Andrew and I definitely prefer flying, we also understand that it can get super pricey, especially if you have a big family. If driving just makes more sense for you and your family, we totally get it. We've made the trek from Utah to Anaheim more than once, so we have some wisdom to share there as well.

The trip from the Salt Lake area is about 680 miles, or about 10 hours if you drive without stopping. Which, let's be honest, is absolutely impossible when you have kids. The drive will end up taking anywhere from 12 to 14 hours, depending on how many stops you take. In other words, it's a long drive, and it can be exhausting. But it is also usually far less expensive than flying, so the trade-offs might be worth it.

If you have children that sleep just fine in the car, it might be worth looking into either leaving really early so they'll have a couple more hours of sleep during the first part of the drive, or leaving after bedtime and driving overnight in the hopes that your kids will get an okay night's sleep in the car. Our girls are not great car sleepers, so we like to give them a good night's sleep the night before we leave, otherwise they'll both be monsters the entire day.

I don't know how this was comfortable, but it worked for her.

My first piece of advice when driving long distances with small children: Snacks, snacks, and more snacks. This is not a time to worry overly about your child's nutrition. Bring your kids' favorite snacks, and maybe throw in some extra treats they don't get very often, and hand them out as needed to keep them happy. When we drove with both girls back in February, Goober had a constant supply of goldfish crackers, fruit snacks, fruit leather, chips, and so on. It may seem like an excessive amount of snacks, but it kept her happy and occupied, so it was necessary.

Piece of advice number two: Toys and activities. Lots of them. We packed a tote bag full of random toys and activities for Goober. We raided dollar stores and the dollar section at Target to find some new coloring books and little toys that wouldn't break the bank if they got lost or ruined. We also got her one bigger toy that we gave her for the first time in the car. This was all in addition to some of her favorite toys from home. Most of the smaller items didn't hold her attention for long, but there was always something else we could hand her. And don't discount random things from home that your toddlers like playing with; during our drive last May, Goober's favorite thing was Andrew's broken PlayStation controller. You never know what will hold their attention.

Number three: Bring that iPad (or other tablet)! I know that it's really important to watch your kids' screentime. I get it. But when you're on hour 10 of a 14-hour trek and your kid is screaming and no food or toy is helping, you're going to want the option to turn on their favorite movie, TV show, or app. Before our trips, we download shows from our DVR and movies from iTunes to the iPad. More often than not, we don't have to resort to the iPad until later in the drive when Goober is exhausted and sick of being strapped in a car seat. Watching a show was a great way to pull her attention away from her misery.

We let Goober climb around the car during one stop. She loved it.

When we last drove in February, Peanut was only five months old, so obviously none of the above items worked for her. Which actually made her fairly easy to deal with. We stopped every couple of hours to stretch our legs or get food or get gas, and we timed those stops with when Peanut needed to eat. But for the most part, she was content, which was nice.

One other thing we've done on occasion is stop in either Las Vegas or Mesquite for a night to break up the drive. Las Vegas is a little more expensive (even if you stay off the strip), but even the cheaper hotels are nicer. Mesquite has really cheap hotels (like $80 a night cheap), but there's a reason they're cheap. While it is nice to get out of the car and have that break, it does add the cost of an extra night at a hotel and another day of eating out. It also makes for two long travel days as opposed to one incredibly long day, so take that into consideration and consider how your littles will handle both situations. Our girls also seem to have this weird sixth sense when we're only going to be in a hotel for one night, and they both sleep like crap. Then magically they sleep better at our hotel in Anaheim. I don't understand it, but it has happened every time we've stopped for the night.

What good's staying in a hotel if you can't pull all the toilet paper off the roll?

The last important note I will make about driving to Anaheim is the Primm effect. Primm is this tiny town about 45 minutes outside of Vegas that only exists because it has a couple casinos, and the highway goes from four lanes down to two. It's also the border between California and Nevada so you have to go through the California checkpoint to say you don't have any fruits or vegetables. Even if the checkpoint isn't open, you still have to slow way down to go through it. If you hit Primm at the wrong time on the wrong day, you will be stuck in Primm for hours. When Andrew and I drove down with my parents in November of 2014, we were in nearly standstill traffic in Primm for two hours. It was ridiculous. You definitely want to pay attention to that when you're deciding to leave for this trip.

So why is Primm such a crazy traffic spot? Because Southern Californians love hanging out in Vegas. If you're traveling on a weekday, you're probably going to be fine. But if you're heading down to Anaheim on a Sunday, unless you can get through Primm before about 10 am, expect to hit traffic until about 6pm, as that is usually when Californians are heading home from Vegas. This also applies for Monday holidays. Just don't drive down on a holiday weekend. In 2014, we headed down the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was awful. And when you head back north to Utah, just don't drive back on Friday if you can help it, since that's when everyone is heading out to Vegas. This might seem trivial, but seriously, the traffic gets awful. No sense adding 2-4 more hours onto an already long drive.

While driving to Disneyland can be daunting, it is absolutely doable, even with little ones. I mean, it's not exactly fun, but the actual travel part of traveling with little ones rarely is. But the destination makes the trouble worth it, right?

Flying with Toddlers

Hi everyone! This is Andrew. Thought I would give Lindy a break from writing all the posts. Today I'm going to cover some tips about flying with toddlers.

Mickey (or little Mickey as Goober calls him) was her travelling companion

First things first, flying with kids is by no means a walk in the park. It can be stressful and there is a lot more stuff you have to bring compared to flying by yourself, but it is hands down better than driving. We've done both and I'll take the added stress and cost of flying versus driving to California with two little ones. So with that said, here we go:

When booking your flights, you have to decide whether you want a separate seat for your little ones. When we flew with our girls, we had to get Goober her own seat as most airlines require kids two and up to be in a seat, which we were fine with because neither of us wanted to try and have her on our lap for two hours. Holding Peanut wasn't bad and we were able to hand her back and forth as our arms got tired and as she got tired of us. Depending on how big your kids are, you may need a booster seat for them. We got lucky because Goober is giant for her age.

Excuse me stewardess, I was supposed to have a window seat. And where are my peanuts?

How you choose to get to the airport is up to you. We drive ourselves and just park in the long term parking, mostly because it would be way too much hassle to have someone drop us off. So here is where the stress starts with travelling with toddlers. On our latest trip, we didn't want to have to bring the girls' car seats. We've done it before and it was horrible. So we end up putting the girls in our double stroller (which we'll cover in another post), and loaded ourselves down with our bags. The shuttle from parking to the terminal was kind of a pain because the double stroller is quite wide so a couple of times, we actually had to take the stroller off to let other people on and off the shuttle until we got to our terminal. The next time we go, we are going to try leaving the stroller collapsed, Lindy will take the girls and one bag, and I will be the pack mule carrying everything else.

Once you get to the ticket desk, you'll be able to off-load whatever bags you're checking, which will make security a little easier. At this point, we folded up the stroller, I took Goober and the carry-ons, and Lindy had the diaper bag and Peanut in a baby bjorn carrier. When you go through security with kids, they'll just have you go through the metal detector (which is nice because its a little faster). This is also why we didn't bother keeping the girls in the stroller because it has to go through the scanner anyway. If you are bringing an iPad or similar device, remember which bag you put it in so you don't have to search through all your carry-ons. Also, if you are bring ready-to-feed formula or breastmilk, you will have to remove them from your bags and put them in their own tub for scanning. More than likely, TSA will require additional screening of them. Basically they swab them and put them in another scanner. It can be a little time consuming, but there's no way around it. This is also why we only bring enough formula with us in our bag to get us through the day, plus maybe one extra bottle in case of flight delays (but we are DONE WITH FORMULA so this won't be an issue for us anymore, praise Jesus).

Once you finally get through security, you can put the kiddos back in the stroller to get to your gate. Once you get to your gate, ask the gate attendant for a gate check for your stroller. Affix that, and when you get to board, just fold up your stroller and leave it at the end of the jetway. There is no charge to check strollers or car seats, whether you're gate checking them or checking them at the ticket desk. Also checking something at the gate doesn't count against your allowed number of carry-ons. 

For me, after security, the rest of the trip is pretty easy and basically consists of keeping the kids occupied. Thankfully, if you're just flying from Utah, its only a two-hour flight. Bring electronic devices with favorite shows downloaded, make sure you've got kid games on your phone, lots of snacks, and maybe some new toys so hopefully they will keep the kids entertained longer. Then again, on our last trip, Goober fell asleep both on the way out and on the way back home, so we got lucky there.

Goober lost the fight about halfway through the flight

We discovered on our last trip the joy that is flying into Santa Ana airport in Orange County (aka John Wayne Airport). It's a smaller airport, so it's far less crowded and it's closer to Anaheim. It does cost a little more (anywhere from $50-$100 more per ticket), but the benefits are well worth it, especially when you consider that your shuttle will be cheaper and it's only about a twenty-minute drive versus the forty-five minutes to an hour it takes to get from LAX. It's also great coming back because the security lines are MUCH shorter and faster.

Now, we got to California, but alas, we don't have our car seats. This is where Payless Airport Shuttle comes in to whisk you away to the Magic Kingdom. For a small extra charge (I believe it is $10/carseat), Payless will provide car seats for the trip. Again, this is one of those small extra fees that we were more than willing to pay if it meant we didn't have to haul two car seats through the airport with us. Basically, when you arrive, you just call the shuttle and let them know you've arrived. They will generally tell you to call them again once you have your bags and are out at the curb. The drivers are generally very helpful and will load all your bags while you are getting the kids strapped in. The trip from Santa Ana airport to one of the hotels across the street from the Disneyland for the four of us and two car seats was $85 each way plus tip. Compare that with some other shuttle services from LAX, which run around $90-$100, and they don't offer car seats.

And that's it! Twenty minutes later you'll be at your hotel and ready to start your Disney adventure! Keep an eye out for a post about our tips for driving, since we know that's a popular option for families traveling from Utah.

Hotels Near Disneyland

One of the more important decisions to make while planning a trip to Disneyland is picking where to stay. We've stayed at a few nearby hotels, and we've also stayed in a rental house. We don't have a ton of experience with all the nearby hotels, but I think we have enough working knowledge to give you an idea of what types of hotels are available.

Unlike Disney World, which has about a million resort hotels to choose from, Disneyland is fairly limited in their hotel offerings. Disney owns a rather limited amount of space in the Disneyland and Downtown Disney area, so they only have room for so many resort hotels. There are three Disney-owned hotels at Disneyland:

• Grand Californian
• Disneyland Hotel
• Paradise Pier

There are also Good Neighbor Hotels, which aren't owned by Disney but have partnerships in place to be named Disney-approved hotels. These are generally within walking distance of the park and are good quality, though most aren't five-star hotels. You can book these through Disneyland as part of a vacation package.

There are a couple of things to consider when picking a hotel, in order of importance (in our opinion). I'll explain why below.

• Distance from Disneyland
• Price
• Quality
• Amenities

Distance from Disneyland

Yes, I believe the distance from Disneyland is the most important factor, especially when you're traveling with small children. Keep in mind that you will be on your feet literally all day long at Disneyland, walking from place to place, pushing a stroller. The last thing you want at the end of a long day in the parks is a 25-minute walk back to your hotel. I also can't imagine it would be fun to fight traffic out of the parking lot at the end of the day when you're already exhausted. It also costs money every day you park at Disneyland, so that's just another item to add to your vacation budget.

Many people assume that since they're Disney-owned, the resort hotels are the closest to the parks. This is only true for the Grand Californian, which has an entrance directly into California Adventure. But it's deep into California Adventure (across from the entrance to Grizzly River Run), so if you were to use that entrance and head to Disneyland, you'd have to walk all the way through California Adventure, through the Esplanade, and then enter Disneyland. The other Grand Californian entrance is in Downtown Disney, as are the entrances to both Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier. Paradise Pier is the furthest away.

On the other hand, there are hotels directly across the street from the entrance to Disneyland. Desert Inn & Suites and the Park Vue Inn are pretty much tied for the closest hotels to the parks. You exit your hotel room, cross the street, and walk past where the trams drop passengers off, and then you're at security. It's literally a five-minute walk from these hotels to security, which is so nice at the end of a long day. I'd much prefer a 15-minute walk back to the hotel, at the longest (that obviously depends on where you are in the park). The walk from the Disneyland Hotel, for example, is about 10 minutes from the entrance to Disneyland, so you're looking at 20 to 25 minutes from the back of the parks. That extra 10 minutes can be a big difference when you've already walked 10 miles that day.

There are also many other hotels, mostly along Harbor Blvd, that are within easy walking distance of the parks.

Price

When it comes to price, Disney-owned hotels are by far the most expensive. They are anywhere from two to three times more expensive than the off-property hotels. There are a couple of benefits. You get an extra hour in the parks when you stay on-site. You can get into California Adventure early on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays and Disneyland on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Keep in mind, though, that anyone who has a 3-day or longer ticket also has access to Disneyland early on those days, so it won't just be hotel guests. Another benefit is the quality of the hotel; they are super nice and keep you wrapped in the Disney bubble for the duration of your trip.

Off-site hotels are much more affordable, especially if you're going during the slower season. There are far more off-site hotels, so the competition helps keep prices down a bit. In general, you'll pay less the further away the hotel is; the really close ones can charge a premium for location, though it's still far less than you'd pay for a resort hotel.

Quality

As I mentioned already, Disney-owned properties are far higher quality than the off-site hotels, and they usually boast fun Disney magic throughout. They also have really nice pools, if that's important to you. Off-site hotels are pretty basic hotels. Some have nice pools, some have basic pools, some have no pools. But basic usually suits our needs just fine. We spend very little time in the hotel because we do our best to maximize our time in the parks.

Amenities

Another thing to look at is what the hotels offer. Disney-owned hotels don't offer any free breakfasts, so you'll have to bring your own or buy breakfast every day. Many of the off-site hotels offer continental breakfasts, and there are a couple that offer hot breakfasts as well. If you're bringing a baby or toddler who still sleeps in a crib, you'll also want to look into what the hotel offers. Some charge for a crib, others don't. If you're driving, you'll also want to pay attention to parking fees. 

There are also houses available for rent. When we went with Andrew's whole family, his parents rented a house a few blocks from Disneyland. It was a nice house, and it was nice to have a full fridge and kitchen. It also had a pool, though I don't think anyone used it. However, it was at least a 25-minute walk to the parks. Sure, we could have driven. Everyone but Andrew and I tried driving on our first day into the parks. Andrew and I opted to walk. We got into the parks at least an hour before everyone else did. We hit four rides before the rest of the family joined us. Needless to say, no one tried driving after that. But let me tell you, never has 25 minutes of walking seemed so long as at the end of day four at Disneyland.

Our favorite hotel is probably the Park Vue Inn. I believe it's the nicest off-site hotel as well as the closest. Parking is free, and they offer a complimentary hot breakfast. It's not the most amazing breakfast in the world, but they have some combination of eggs, sausage, and bacon every morning, as well as biscuits and gravy. They also have a waffle station. It's nice to have some substance in your belly before hitting the parks. And if you're not traveling with kids, the Park Vue Inn also has a room with a king size bed and an in-room jacuzzi, which is a fabulous way to rest your feet at night. It's not great for kids, though; we stayed in that room with Goober last May, and she would not stay out of the tub. Which was especially frustrating because she could turn on the water.

Our second favorite is the Desert Inn & Suites. It's a bare-bones hotel, but it's incredibly close to the parks (as close as the Park Vue Inn), and they have suites, which are great for traveling with multiple families. We stayed in a suite with Andrew's parents in February, and it worked great. We'll also be staying in a suite there with some friends in January.

We have also stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, which was super nice, but did have some drawbacks. Stay tuned for more detailed reviews about the hotels we've stayed in. 

Where to Buy Disneyland Tickets

Once you've decided when you want to go to Disneyland, the next decision to make is how much time you want in the parks. Disneyland offers one-day tickets up to five-day tickets, and you get a better deal per day the more days you stay. Our personal preference is for a bit longer stay when we have the little ones with us. We usually choose a five-day ticket, which may be a bit much for some families, but we like having the option of taking the girls back to the hotel for a nap during the day or a bit earlier in the evening without sacrificing precious time in the parks. But we've done as few as three days, which also worked for us. If you buy at least three days, you'll also get one Magic Morning, which is early access to Disneyland on Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday. 

There are also two different types of tickets, one park per day and park hoppers. Everyone age three and older will need a ticket; kids under three are free. One park per day tickets are pretty self-explanatory—you can enter either Disneyland or California Adventure each day, but whichever park you decide to enter is the only one you can enter that day. So if you pick a five-day ticket, you will obviously get three days at one park and two days at the other. The benefit is that they are a bit cheaper than park hopper tickets.

Park hopper tickets allow you to move between parks freely. If you want to hit Disneyland in the morning, take a break, and go to California Adventure in the afternoon, you can do that with these tickets. This is our preference. We love having the flexibility this ticket offers. It allows us to make sure we can do everything we want to do, especially near the end of the trip. If we've missed a few things in California Adventure and a couple of things in Disneyland, we don't have to decide which attractions are more important because we can hit them all.

The most reliable way to buy your ticket is through Disneyland's official website, of course. Tickets you buy through Disneyland are good for a year after the purchase dates. You can also bundle certain hotels and airfare through Disneyland's website, which can make booking your trip super easy.

Here's a list of other sites we have experience with that sell vacation packages and tickets:

• Costco Travel
• Get Away Today
• aRes Travel
• MouseSavers also has a great list of current discounts from various agencies

From what I understand, third-party sellers buy a certain number of tickets from Disneyland, and because they're buying in bulk, Disneyland gives them a discount. They then pass that discount on to their customers. Keep in mind that these aren't going to be huge discounts; they're usually only a few dollars per ticket, but if you have a big family, those savings can add up. A couple of times a year, Get Away Today also offers a buy four days, get a fifth free promotion and adults at kids' prices promotion, which are some of the best deals you're going to find on Disneyland tickets.

One thing to keep in mind is that third-party sellers sell tickets for a more limited amount of time. You usually can't buy tickets in March 2019 and expect to be able to use them in February 2020; they will usually expire December of 2019. They usually get their batch of tickets for the next year in the late summer, but then I think they're good from January to December of that year.

Disneyland has a tendency to raise their prices (sometimes just a bit, sometimes a lot) in January or February. In 2018, for example, Andrew and I decided we were going to go to Disneyland in May in January. Literally the next weekend, Disneyland had a price hike. I was really annoyed that I hadn't just bought our tickets right away, but then I found out that third-party sellers still had tickets available at the 2017 prices. We ended up saving quite a bit over Disneyland's prices, which was great.

One last note: If you buy one park per day tickets and then get to the park and decide you want park hoppers, you can upgrade your tickets in the park. You'll simply be charged the price difference. The same goes for adding days to your tickets or upgrading to annual passes. However, Disneyland does know how much you paid for your tickets, even if you bought from a third-party seller. My in-laws learned that the hard way when they went with us in February. They got a pretty awesome deal on tickets on Get Away Today, then got into the park and decided they wanted to upgrade from four days to five. They were charged the difference between their discounted tickets and Disneyland's full price. Fortunately, they were able to talk to another cast member and find out that Disneyland was offering their own promotion that brought the price down considerably, but it's a good thing to keep in mind.

Planning Your Trip

So you've decided you want to go to Disneyland. Awesome! We say go for it, obviously. But despite what many people think, going to Disneyland does require a plan. Different times of the year are generally far busier than others, and they often have special events throughout the year. Then, of course, they have celebrations for Halloween and Christmas. All of these things should play a part in your decision.

There are about a zillion websites and blogs (just like this one!) out there to help you out with that, but my favorite is Touring Plans. They have reviews and descriptions for every attraction, show, parade, and restaurant, including how suitable each is for varying age groups. But the feature I use the most is their Crowd Tracker. They rank each day of the year with a number from 1 to 10, with 1 being the slowest and 10 being the busiest. These rankings aren't 100% accurate, but they've been fairly close, in my experience. The site also has plans you can use in the park. I've never personally used one, but I know people who have, and they say the plans save them a ton of time when the park is busy. The people who run the website also publish a book, The Ultimate Guide to Disneyland, that's updated every year. It has all the same information, with the exception of the Crowd Tracker. The website does require a paid subscription.

Another good resource is Disneyland's website and app. Disneyland has a ton of information about their attractions, and they generally post the entertainment schedule six weeks out, so you can see what shows will be going on during your stay. I also follow Disneyland on social media so I can hear about new events as soon as they announce them. In conjunction with that, I also check the Disney Parks Blog regularly. They post a lot of details about things going on at the parks.
In general, the slowest times in the parks are the following:

• Mid to late January
• February, with the exception of the few days surrounding President's Day
• Mid-September through October
• November, excluding the week of Thanksgiving
• The first two weeks of December

A good rule of thumb is that if kids are in school, crowds are going to be lighter. When kids are out of school, the parks are busier. It's also good to pay attention to when California schools are out; they observe more holidays than we do here in Utah. For instance, one trip we took in September had mostly pretty low crowds, with the notable exception of one day. It was Rosh Hashanah, and all the kids were out of school, and the parks were a zoo. 

These are generally the busiest times:

• Most national holidays when school/work are out of session
• Mid-March through mid-April (spring break/Easter)
• June through mid-August
• The two weeks surrounding Christmas and New Years

The two main events that Disneyland holds every year are for Halloween and Christmas. Halloween usually runs from the beginning of September through October. Both California Adventure and Disneyland are decked out in Halloween decorations, and there are quite a few rides that are themed for the holiday. The Haunted Mansion becomes Haunted Mansion Holiday, which is Nightmare Before Christmas themed, and Space Mountain becomes Ghost Galaxy. A couple of rides in Cars Land in California Adventure are also themed. There are also Halloween parties a few times a week throughout Halloween, which require separate tickets. This year the parties are being held in California Adventure, and on days with parties, the park will close early for guests who don't have party tickets. 

Christmastime at Disneyland runs from early November through the first week of January. Both parks are decked out in decorations, but there are fewer themed rides. Haunted Mansion stays Haunted Mansion Holiday through Christmas, and it's a small world is also Christmas themed. There is also special food and merchandise for both events. It's also important to note that the themed rides close about three weeks before the holiday starts and about three weeks after they end so the theming can be set up and taken down. 

Andrew and I have been to Disneyland for Halloween and Christmas multiple times, and we'll publish some posts with more specifics at some point in the future. We're attending the new Halloween party in October, and since this is the first year it will be held in California Adventure, I'm excited to write about all the fun details.

Hopefully this is enough to get you started on planning your trip. More detailed posts will be coming soon about driving from Utah with little ones, flying with littles, and how to best handle your time in the parks. Let us know if you have any questions or any other tips we may have missed.

Welcome!

Hi there! We're the Conellys, and we love most things Disney. Most notably Disneyland. We started this blog because we've gotten quite a few requests for our advice on how to tackle Disneyland, especially with young kiddos. And rather than continuing to write novels on people's Facebook posts, we figured we'd set up a blog that we can point people to.

First up, there's Andrew and Lindy, or Mama and Daddy, as our little ones like to call us. Goober is our oldest. She's three, and Mickey Mouse is her favorite person in the whole world. Peanut is eleven months old, so she doesn't really have an opinion on Disney quite yet. But I'm sure she'll learn to love it in time.

We are by no means full-blown Disneyland experts, but we have been multiple times in the last few years. Goober has been five times, and Peanut has been twice already. We finally sprung for annual passes this year, and we have three trips planned within the next ten months. We've gone a lot with our littles, and we've learned a few tips and tricks along the way.

Disneyland is the perfect getaway for our little family. Goober seriously loves the characters. Seriously. And she is starting to really enjoy the rides. Peanut enjoys staring at all the bright colors and being outside. And believe it or not, Mama and Daddy love it too. Andrew is super into pin trading and is obsessed with Star Wars. And I love basically everything. The rides, the characters, the shows, the food. It's all good.

So welcome to our blog! Here's hoping the information we add here is helpful. If you have any specific questions, feel free to let us know, and we'll do our best to answer them.