As promised, I’m writing this post to give you all the deets on our most recent Disney trip. Since I was a kid I’ve been going to both Disneyland and Disney World with my family, and since having a family of my own we’ve been to each place a couple of times as well.
I absolutely love both Disneyland and Disney World. For this stage of our lives (with younger kids), I prefer our trips to Disneyland. Let me tell you why. The resort is smaller, yes, but that’s exactly why I love it. We always stay on Disneyland property in one of their three hotels (more on that in a minute) which allows us to take the Disneyland Express to and from the airport, and we don’t have to rent a car OR travel with carseats. Huge win in my opinion. And since we always stay on site, we can walk everywhere. No waiting in line for shuttles or monorails. You just go when you want.
We went to Disney World last Christmas with Brad’s family (they live in Tampa so it’s an easy drive) for a few days. We obviously had a great time and Disney World has SO much to offer, but with a stroller, it was kind of a pain. The monorail doesn’t go to all their parks and hotels or to Disney Springs (their version of Downtown Disney), so to get to some places you have to take a shuttle. To take a shuttle you have to wait in line, empty out your stroller (the worst part really) so that you can fold it up to bring it on, then unfold it and put everything back in when you get off. That probably sounds like it’s not that big of deal, but having experienced both, the ease of walking everywhere at Disneyland is a huge plus for me. That being said, once our kids don’t require a stroller anymore, we will definitely have more visits to Disney World.
The other reason we prefer Disneyland to Disney World is the weather. You really can’t beat Southern California’s weather. In Florida, it’s typically super hot and humid, and tends to rain often in the afternoons. Don’t get me wrong, if you go during the right time of year, their weather is quite pleasant, but California’s is most of the time. Of course, I say that, but during our last trip to Disneyland (October 2017) they had a heat wave and it was HOT. But for this trip, our hottest day was a high of 78. Most days had a high in the upper 60’s with lows in the lower 50’s. It was PERFECT.
HOTELS
Okay, now to where we stay. Like I said, we stay on the resort property, and I sort of refuse to do it any other way. I love having the full Disney experience, plus, again, no shuttles required. Disneyland has three hotels, the Grand Californian, Disneyland Hotel, and Paradise Pier (listed in order of cost from high to low). In the past, we have always stayed at the Grand Californian. Quite frankly, it is a beautiful, cozy hotel with a lodge feel that I love. But over the years, the room rates seem to have gone wayyyy up. You’re talking around $600 per night give or take depending on the time of year you go.
With that in mind, we decided to save about $200 a night and try out the Paradise Pier hotel. I have to say, it was a good move. I definitely want to stay at the Grand Californian again, but staying at Paradise Pier saved us $1000 on this trip, and I was even able to talk Brad into staying and extra night and upgrading our room to one with a view of Disney’s California Adventure Park. The view did not disappoint.
If you’re wondering about walking distance to the parks for each hotel, Grand Californian is closest, about a 5 minute walk. Then Disneyland Hotel is the next closest, just at the far end of Downtown Disney. Paradise Pier is the furthest, but not once did I feel like I couldn’t walk that far at the end of the day or like it was miserable. It was actually quite pleasant.
CHARACTER DINING
One thing that Disneyland doesn’t have a ton to offer of is character dining experiences. From what I can tell, there are only four options. There is one in the Disneyland Park, then one in each of the hotels. The last time we went, they had a princess option in California Adventure Park, but when they redid everything to Pixar Pier, that option went away. For this trip we did two character breakfasts, one with Minnie and Friends in Disneyland, and one with Donald Duck and Friends in our hotel. I’m not going to lie to you, the character dining experiences are grossly overpriced, but also probably one of my kids’ favorite parts of the trip. They seriously get SO excited to see everyone. Mason will point to them and say, “That’s my friend!”
WHAT TO WEAR
I feel like this is kind of anything goes, whatever you’re comfortable in, answer. We had perfect weather for this trip, and it never really got super hot. So for this trip I wore comfortable jeans with lightweight long-sleeve tops and sneakers. I also brought my denim jacket or a different lightweight jacket with me everyday. It was pretty cold in the mornings and evenings.
As far as shoes, I took three different pairs of sneakers. I am a firm believer that not matter how comfortable the shoes are, your feet get tired if you wear the same shoes every day. I packed my Tretorns, my Golden Goose’s, and my Adidas. I never ended up wearing the Adidas, I just alternated every day between the Tretorns and the Golden Goose’s. I have said in the past how comfortable my Golden Goose sneakers are, and they were fine, but I HIGHLY recommend a pair of (much more affordable) Tretorn sneakers for any trip where you might be doing a lot of walking. Not only are they super comfortable, but they are really lightweight too.
For a purse, I wanted something lightweight but that could still fit my sunglasses case, backup phone battery, small wallet, and a couple of pull-ups and wipes for Mason (yeah, we really need to potty train him). This backpack was a life-saver y’all. I am seriously so glad I bought it. It’s really lightweight because it’s nylon, and even with packing it full of whatever my family was throwing in there (it can fit a surprising amount of stuff) it never got too heavy.
Day 1 Outfit
jeans / jacket / sneakers / backpack / sunnies
Day 2 Outfit
jacket / jeans / top / sneakers
Day 3 Outfit
top / jeans / sneakers / backpack
Day 4 Outfit
vest / hoodie (similar) / jeans / sneakers
THE PARKS – DISNEYLAND
This is the OG of all Disney parks. For those of you more familiar with Disney World, this park is pretty much the same as their Magic Kingdom. Here you’ll find smaller sections of the park including Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland, Toontown, and Main Street U.S.A. This park has some of the Disney favorites as far as rides go like Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Matterhorn Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and my personal favorite (and one you won’t find at Disney World) Indiana Jones.
Pro-tip: When you enter the park in the morning right when it opens, go to the left side of the park once you pass Main Street. Most people naturally veer to the right crowding Tomorrowland and Fantasyland right off the bat. You can go the other direction and ride Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones, and Haunted Mansion with a minimal wait time. While you’re doing that, you can grab a Fastpass (which I will explain more of below) for Space Mountain.
As far as food favorites in this park, there are several must-haves. First of all, who goes to Disney and doesn’t eat a churro. That’s a no-brainer, and easy enough to find because they are everywhere. In Adventureland, Dole Whips are everything, and you must have one. The line gets long, but I have two tips. 1 – If you go before lunch, no one is eating ice cream yet and you can grab one super quick. 2 – There is a line on the back side of the stand that a lot of people don’t realize is there. Get in line back there, it’s typically shorter. Another favorite in this park is Bengal Barbecue. Sounds weird for a theme park, but it’s basically kabobs. The spicy beef and the chicken in a polynesian type sauce are my favorites. My last must-have for this park is the Mickey-shaped beignets between New Orleans Square and Haunted Mansion. SO good.
THE PARKS – CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE PARK
You guys, I LOVE this park. Disneyland park is classic Disney, so obviously it’s amazing. But California Adventure is sort of Hollywood meets Pixar, meets California. On the left side of this park you’ll find the Frozen show, which rivals a Broadway-level production. It’s also the perfect opportunity to rest your legs, because the show is inside, in A/C, and lasts for an hour. You can even take snacks and drinks (even alcoholic ones sold near the show) inside. Nearby you will also find the Guardians of the Galaxy ride (formerly Tower of Terror, RIP) which is one you’ll definitely want to grab a Fastpass for. Other attractions near here include a toddler friendly Monsters Inc. ride, a chance to meet Anna, Elsa, & Olaf, and a Disney Junior show for the little ones.
Heading straight toward the back of the park, off to your left you’ll find Carsland, which is probably my favorite park. It is also everybody else’s favorite right now, and typically very crowded. The Radiator Springs Racers ride is a MUST. It’s amazing. So amazing it comes with a two hour wait time, so grab a Fastpass for this one immediately upon entering the park, or they will run out. I know, because this happened to me. But, this area is adorable because it literally looks exactly like the movie. There are also a couple other rides for the littles.
Go even further back and you’ll pass Pacific Wharf (where all the food is), but more on that in a sec, before getting to Pixar Pier. Here you’ll find the Incredicoaster (formerly California Screamin’), a high-thrills ride including big drops and loops that is themed after the incredibles movies. There is also a Toy Story ride that I’ve actually never been on, but it always has a really long wait-time, called Toy Story Mid-Way Mania. If you’re looking to meet some of your favorite Pixar characters (especially the Incredibles or Buzz and Woody), hang out in this area for a while and you will find them.
If you make your way around the Pier you’ll pass Goofy’s Sky School, a little roller coaster that is honestly so fun with it’s unexpected jerky turns. There is a Little Mermaid themed right if you keep walking that Liv loves, and it’s another great one for those who aren’t tall enough for the thrill rides.
Heading back toward the entrance of the park, you’ll see a little street to your left (take a left at the Starbucks basically) and down there is where the Soarin’ ride is. This is one of my favorites, and I highly recommend it. If you don’t know, it basically resembles a hang glider, and it (using simulation) takes you over some of the world’s greatest landmarks, before ending up at Disneyland for a fireworks show and a sighting from Tinkerbell. This is another one you’ll probably want a Fastpass for.
Okay, now onto the food in this park. SO MANY OPTIONS y’all. Like I said before, Pacific Wharf is where most of the food is. There is even a Ghiradelli chocolate shop with more desserts than you can eat. Unfortunately I never made it here, despite me telling Brad everyday I wanted to go. At some point though, I just couldn’t eat anymore! There is also a little margarita stand (which I don’t recommend unless you like baseball park level margaritas), and a craft beer stand (which I definitely recommend).
Back in Pixar Pier there are two foodie spots I love, one is right by the Incredicoaster and is called Jack Jack Cookie Num Nums. If you’ve seen the second Incredibles movie, you get it. It’s basically a warm, deep-dish, chocolate chip cookie. Let’s just say I didn’t hate it. There is also a place themed after the Abominable Snowman from Monters, Inc. that sells lemon-flavored ice creams that are like the Dole Whips (which are pineapple flavored) in the other park. I didn’t try one, but have heard good things. And the line was always long!
Over near the Hollywood area, there is a hot dog stand that always looked really interesting, though I never got to try it. Then back by the Monsters, Inc. ride is a little stand that sells a variety of alcoholic beverage options including a wine slush, Michelada, and some more craft beer options.
Oh! And I almost forgot, kind of in the middle of the park is an Italian restaurant that also has a little wine bar off to the side. Literally the only reason we didn’t hang there one afternoon is because there wasn’t an open table, but it’s a great spot to just chill for a bit.
FASTPASSES
You WANT to pay the extra money to be able to grab Fastpasses for your party through the Disneyland app. Trust me on this one. With it, you also get any professional photos taken of you in the park sent directly to you on the app, so there’s that.
So, if you don’t already know, a Fastpass allows you to bypass long wait times by essentially “reserving” a spot for participating parties in lines for the rides. Here’s how it works, you can’t get a Fastpass until you enter the park, so for certain, very popular rides, you’ll want to reserve them ASAP via the Disneyland app when you walk through the gates. You can also only reserve one Fastpass at a time. When you go to reserve one, you will get a one-hour window in which to return to the ride you got the Fastpass for, and enter the Fastpass return line. You cannot reserve another Fastpass until your return window opens for your existing reservation. For example, if I enter the park at 8am, and get a Fastpass for Space Mountain, my return time may be 9:30-10:30am. I cannot make another Fastpass reservation until 9:30.
If you are traveling with littles, like we were, who can’t ride some of the rides that offer Fastpass, you can get a Fastpass for two of your four tickets for one ride, and two for another ride, without having to wait for the return time window to open, if that makes sense. It doens’t matter WHICH person uses the Fastpass.
DINING
I cannot stress this enough, if you want to have dinners where you actually sit down and someone serves you, MAKE RESERVATIONS, and do it early. Like, two months early. They go quick. Downtown Disney has like 6 or 7 restaurants to choose from and they all get packed. Some of them get so slammed with reservations that they can’t even take walk-ins because they are fully committed for the night.
Inside the parks, there are only a few restaurants that are sit-down, but again, you’ll want to make reservations for these as well. If you want alcohol with your meal, you’ll want to eat in California Adventure Park or Downtown Disney, as Disneyland does not serve it at all.
We chose to do sit-down dinners because by that time of the day we needed to just relax, instead of hunting for a table to carry our trays of food to. But there are definitely plenty of quick-service and counter-service options that, quite frankly, are just as good as some of the sit-down restaurants.
QUESTIONS FROM YOU GUYS:
Where can you eat outside the park with Mickey characters?
Just at the hotels. ALL character dining options are within the resort, whether it be in the parks or in the hotels.
How many days did you guys go?
We were there for 5 nights, Saturday to Thursday. Our day of arrival, we got to the resort around 1:00, checked into our hotel and immediately went to grab lunch at Downtown Disney. We only bought 4 days worth of tickets instead of 5, since the first day would have just been for a few hours in the afternoon. So after lunch that day, we just hung around Downtown Disney and explored our hotel.
Did you do breakfast with the characters?
We did, two of the mornings we were there. Once in Disneyland with Minnie and some other characters, and once in our hotel (Paradise Pier) with Donald Duck and some other characters.
How old is Mason and was he tall enough for all the rides?
Mason is three, and no, he was not tall enough for most of the rides. Liv was barely tall enough for most of them and she is almost 5. They do offer a rider swap option for people traveling with people who can’t ride certain rides. Basically, you let a cast member know, and they’ll give the second person (or group of people) a Fastpass to ride the ride so you BOTH don’t have to wait in the line.
Did you use a travel agent?
We didn’t. We’ve done this trip a few times and kind of knew our way around it.
Recommendations for dining/fireworks?
I’m not sure if you’re asking for dining recommendations during the fireworks show, but if you are, it’s not really a thing. That’s more of a Disney World thing. Disneyland doesn’t have as many restaurants, and none of them (as far as I know at least) have any viewing for the fireworks. The rooftops of the hotels are great for that though! As far as other dining recs, see above!
Comfy sandals to walk in all day?
I typically wear sneakers, but for sandals I recommend Olukais. I have worn them at Disneyland before and they are great. They soles aren’t flat like most sandals, they actually have some arch support so your feet don’t hurt as bad. Nordstrom has a great selection.
What kind of shoes did you wear most of the time and were your feet killing you by the end?
I alternated between my Golden Goose sneakers and my Tretorn sneakers. I HIGHLY recommend the Tretorns. They are super lightweight in addition to being really comfortable, and I even wore them without socks.
How far our do you need to begin planning?
I think that’s up to you. I’m a big planner, so we probably booked it back in September or so? I can’t remember to be honest. But I would say at least two months ahead of time to be able to make any reservations you want.
What can I expect to spend?
I won’t lie to y’all, it’s not a cheap vacation. Disney had never really claimed to be affordable, but you can typically find a way to make it fit your budget. The park tickets are just over $100 per person, per day, for a Park Hopper ticket (which allows you to go between parks on the same day, and I highly recommend this ticket).
Of the three hotels on site, I’ve paid anywhere from $385 a night to close to $600 a night depending on which one we choose. The most affordable option is the Paradise Pier, where we stayed this last time, and our nightly rate was $385 for a premium view. And honestly, the view was amazing. Because we stayed here, we could use the Disneyland Express airport shuttle (they have it for John Wayne airport and LAX) and didn’t have to rent a car since we don’t leave the resort once we are there. There are other hotels that are not Disney, but have a partnership with them and have shuttles running to and from the parks. Those hotels probably save you more money in that regard, but you’ll need some form of transportation to and from the airport.
The food is SO expensive. Like it’s kind of ridiculous. But it is what it is. We didn’t do it cheap, since we had sit-down dinners and two character breakfasts. You can definitely do it cheaper than we did. Downtown Disney has a little bakery/coffee shop or a Jamba Juice for a couple of quick grab-and-go type breakfast options. I’d say we probably spent anywhere from $200-$300 per day on food depending on where we ate. The character dining experiences are like $40 per person.
I’ve heard the park is smaller than the one in Florida. Did you get to see the whole park in one day?
There are two parks, like I mentioned earlier in the post. But, if you don’t have littles or anyone with any kind of special needs, you can likely take one day for each of the parks. We did two days at each park (or kind of went between the parks the last two days) because everything takes longer with toddlers and this way we didn’t have to rush around. There is so much to just “experience” at Disney beside just riding the rides. We like to sort of stroll through and take it all in.
What else did you do beside Disney?
Nothing. We didn’t leave the resort at all because we didn’t rent a car or bring carseats. In the past, when I’ve gone as a teenager, we took one day to drive into LA and go to Universal Studios.
Hope I answered everything for y’all! I honestly had so much fun putting those post together!
xo, Loren
