To Disneyland and Beyond!

I will start this off with a preface. I am not a frequent Disney traveler, or a diehard fan. If you are looking for a professional review of Disney that covers how to maximize your time and hit all the rides with the fast past, which churro stand is the best in the park, the perfect spot to stand to get the ultimate view of fireworks at night, and any other Disneyland “secrets”, this is not the review for you. This is a down to earth, straight forward, honest review of doing Disneyland with a toddler under 2 years old and trying to stay sane.

Let me begin by saying that Kent is a great traveler. He seems to be relatively go-with-the-flow when we travel and is pretty carefree, but Disneyland with him was harder than I expected. This trip wasn’t the picture-perfect Disneyland trip that you see in the brochures. This was definitely not our best trip; Disneyland was much harder than I anticipated with a toddler. But my goal with this blog is to always be honest and candid and provide any tips possible to help make your trip even smoother than ours.

The first day in the park we had a few things working against us. Kent had been up since 4:30am, only got a 20 minute nap in the car ride to Disney, wanted to run around, and Brad and I were starving for lunch. All of these combined made for a very chaotic and long first hour or two. We dropped our bags at the bell hop while we waited for our room to be ready and hit Disneyland to explore. Once we got some lunch and Kent had a chance to run around a little bit, things started to go a little smoother. However, Kent isn’t old enough to understand delayed satisfaction. So, he was not a fan of waiting in the lines for the rides. Thankfully right now all the lines are pretty short. I think the longest we waited was 15 minutes. He also slowly started to figure out that when we were in line something fun was going to happen soon. But I get it, I also don’t like waiting in lines.

One of the biggest advantages that we had working for us was staying at the Grand Californian, which is connected to California Adventure! This resort was priced higher than nearby hotels, but I figured it would be worth the extra money to be able to pop out to the hotel throughout the day within a few minutes, opposed to getting our car, driving to the hotel, and then coming back, finding a new parking spot, and going through the long line to get back into the park. This worked out super well for naptimes as we could just head up to the room, get a nap in (I needed the naps too!), and then quickly head back out. The other big advantage was that the Grand Californian has a separate entrance into the park. I think we waited maybe 2 minutes to get into the park, compared to however long it would’ve taken to go through the regular gates.

There were several rides that Kent was able to do, and there was a surprise parade that we got to watch. (During Covid times there aren’t scheduled parades but sometimes you get lucky and see one as you’re walking by). We were able to get several rides in (most rides for Kent’s size were either a 5 or 10 minute wait) before our room was ready. We took a quick nap back at the room, took a dip in the pool and then headed out to dinner in Downtown Disney before calling it a day.

Highlights from Day 1 :

· Beignets and (alcohol free) Mint Juleps from Mint Julep Bar near Pirates of the Caribbean

· Tarzan’s Treehouse and Toon Town to help get some of Kent’s energy out!

· Kent going on his first ride ever, Buzz Lightyear of course

· Getting to see Star Wars land in person

· Tortilla Jo’s in Downtown Disney for Dinner

The second day was much better. Kent got a full night of sleep, had a big breakfast (there are no character breakfasts right now. One big disclaimer with staying on site is that the restaurants are very expensive. We opted for the “cheaper” restaurant for our breakfast, the Craftsman Grill. 2 breakfasts of cold scrambled eggs, tater tots, soggy bacon, and mushy toast, 2 drip coffees and a yogurt parfait were over $50! And clearly not delicious, or worth the 25 minute wait! Next time we will just grab some muffins or pastries and save our time and money) and was ever so slowly starting to slightly understand having to wait for rides. Day 2 was in California Adventure, which meant we were able to get in extremely easily and quickly. (Guests staying at the Grand Californian have a special entrance into California Adventure!) Thankfully there were surprisingly quite a few rides for Kent to go on still! We also learned exactly how tall Kent is, 32.5” (several rides are 32”, so this was perfect! I attribute half an inch to his slip on Vans!) He had an absolute blast on several rides, which made everything worth it!

Highlights from Day 2:

· Sandwiches for lunch in Downtown Disney from Earl of Sandwich (if you are pregnant, this is a must! All the sandwiches are toasted which means you can actually eat the deli meat! I was in heaven!!)

· Churros, duh!

· Jessie’s Critter Carousel (Kent was so obsessed with this ride that he cried when he got off so we immediately got back in line again)

· Redwood Creek Challenge Trail

· Lucky Fortune Cookery for dinner

· Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop for dessert

As far as tips go for going to Disneyland with a young toddler:

Tip #1: Lower your standards. Like really lower them. Lower them to expect several breakdowns during the day for one thing or another. I assumed Kent would just understand the magic the moment we walked into the park and forgot that he’s a toddler with his own agenda.

Tip #2: Break up the day! A full day at Disneyland is a lot for a toddler, especially one that still takes a nap during the day. We would go out first thing in the morning, go on as many rides as we could, let Kent run around and burn off energy, and then head back to the room in the afternoon to let him get a good nap in before heading back out.

Tip #3: Bring a stroller (or rent one)! Before we left for vacation we went back and forth on if it was a good idea. If nothing else, it’s a place to get your child wrangled instead of running through the busy crowds. Disney is also a lot of walking and I sure wasn’t going to be the one to carry an almost 2 year old across the park when he got tired.

Tip #4: Bring snacks for waiting in line! For the most part we were able to distract Kent with watching the ride happen in front of us, tickling him, or playing with him. But the longer the wait, the harder it was to occupy him. Enter the snack trick. I had packed several small baggies filled with about 10 Skittles each. When we were waiting 15 minutes for one of the rides, we eventually had to pull out the skittles to keep him cool, calm, and collected.

Tip #5: Get that energy out! Kids are active creatures and standing and sitting around all day can be rough on them. Thankfully there are a few areas in each park where kids can run around and burn off some of that energy. We took full advantage of it and had him run around as much as we could before we’d get tired of chasing him. Make sure to check out Tarzan’s Treehouse (Disneyland) and Redwood Creek Challenge Trail (California Adventure).

Tip #6: Don’t bring too many bags. When we were checking our bags at the bell hop, we saw countless dads struggling to manage 5 suitcases, 5 backpacks, shopping bags, and a stroller. Please don’t do this!! How many outfits are you actually bringing to Disneyland?! We have a large suitcase that we put everyone’s clothes into and check to make everyone’s life easier. Trust me, happy dad = happy vacation. Another thing to point out is those cute backpacks that the family has to bring for every member of the family, that dad ultimate has to pack onto himself. Yes, they are super cute to bring and make adorable photoshoots. Get the picture at home of your kid with their backpack by the front door. That way you can get as many photos as it takes to get the “perfect one” and you aren’t dragging it along. So many times, I saw the kids either not old enough to carry it themselves, or not even use it themselves, and once again dad became a pack mule. Save everyone a headache and get the photo at home, captioned “Heading to Disney” and consolidate as many people’s stuff into one bag as possible.

The Ultimate Tip: Toddlers are inconvenient creatures in general, so buffer any inconveniences you can. Convenience is key when traveling with a toddler! (Please note that I am not saying having kids or even kids in general are inconvenient. But toddlers want things done on their timetable and in their way, and don’t typically want things done in the easiest way possible.) Usually these conveniences are an extra fee, but I stand by making traveling easier in any way possible. A few conveniences we did on this trip:

· I have TSA Precheck and take Kent through with me. No taking off shoes, no taking iPads out of the backpack, and honestly Security is much nicer in the precheck line. Brad was so annoyed at the regular TSA line at LAX that he signed up for Precheck while waiting in the security line!

· Flying First Class. I know this is a bigger fee than a few dollars, but if you have the capabilities, I highly recommend it when flying with young kids. More room for your lap child, actual snacks, and you don’t have to worry about climbing over others when you inevitably have to change their diaper.

· Staying at the Grand Californian Hotel. We did this for a few reasons. One reason is because it is so close to the park, we wouldn’t have to leave the general area when Kent needed to take a nap. There also is a designated entrance for hotel guests so we wouldn’t be waiting in a long line to get in in the morning. I also knew my pregnant feet would get tired easily and wanted a quick escape to be able to lay down for a little bit when needed.

· Using a car service to get to Disneyland. We knew we were going to spend our whole trip at Disneyland. Instead of checking Kent’s carseat, renting a car, and paying for parking at the hotel for several days, we found a car service that included toddler carseats for a small additional fee! This was probably relatively close in price, or honestly potentially a little cheaper, but it took away several headaches that we didn’t want to deal with. Who wants to drive in LA traffic anyways?!

There were several questions that I was asked by friends when we were at Disneyland. One question I got was “How is it right now?” That’s a pretty open-ended question. However, as far as the wait times and inside the park go, it’s great right now. Capacity is limited, and thus lines are much shorter than normal. However, the fast pass is not currently in action. Most rides we saw were between 10-20 minutes of wait time, aside from the most popular Cars ride, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and the Toy Story rides which were claiming to be a 60 minute wait. As far as Covid restrictions, the Disney website is currently saying “The State of California strongly recommends that all Guests be fully vaccinated or receive a negative COVID-19 test prior to entering the Disneyland Resort. Face coverings are required for all Guests (ages 2 and up) while indoors, including on many attractions and in enclosed transportation vehicles, regardless of vaccination status. Face coverings remain optional for all Guests in outdoor common areas” and they seem to be following that to a tee.

Another question I received was about character breakfasts and experiences. Unfortunately, right now they aren’t doing character breakfasts and the few photos we did see were “socially distanced” ones where the kids are several feet away from the character. And we also only saw 2 or 3 characters doing these photos.

The last question I got several times was about reservations and if they were difficult to get. We had to change our plans about 2 ½ weeks before going to Disney from Catalina Island to Disneyland. I was nervous about getting park reservations (currently required) since we were so close to when we wanted to go. We clearly had no issue purchasing tickets, reserving dates, and even getting a hotel room for just a few weeks out. I was pretty nervous to screw up getting date reservations into the park since I kept seeing warnings that you had to have a specific date reserved to enter the park. If you’re buying tickets from the Disney website, they have you choose the specific day as you’re checking out. Crisis adverted!

As far as the rides that Kent was able to go on, he was able to ride and went on a decent majority:

In Disneyland:

· Alice in Wonderland

· Astro Orbitor

· Autopia

· Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

· Dumbo

· It’s a Small World

· Jungle Cruise

· King Arthur Carrousel

· Mad Tea Party

· The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

· Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride

· Peter Pan’s Flight

· Pirates of the Caribbean

· Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin

· Snow White’s Enchanted Wish

In California Adventure:

· Golden Zephyr

· Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind

· Jessie’s Critter Carousel

· The Little Mermaid

· Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters

· Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree

· Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!

· Pixar Pal-A-Round

· Redwood Creek Challenge Trail (bring an extra pair of shoes in case your child likes to stomp through the creek like ours did)

· Toy Story Midway Mania!

While this trip wasn’t the Instagram-able, perfect trip that I imagined when I purchased our tickets, it was definitely a learning experience. Kent absolutely loved the carrousel and many other rides, and seeing the joy on his little face warmed my heart. It was also very nice to get away from reality for a bit, and we’re never opposed to getting a chance to travel. I’m glad we went and got the experience we did, but we’ve decided that we’ll hold off on another trip to Disneyland till after Jameson is 4 or 5!