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I’ve been going to Disney for years! With my most recent trip at the starting of September 2021. I’ve learned a thing or two in all my magical vacations, that I think really help it be a little more magical. So let’s get into it!
Make a game plan
This is probably my biggest tip. For me I can’t just go to Disneyland! It honestly takes a couple months to prep and plan for the trip ahead. Honestly I think it makes me even more excited and has me looking forward to it even more. It’s part of the anticipation of the trip for me!
With that being said I always start my Disney trips with reading the latest Unofficial Guide to Disneyland (or Disney World if I’m going there). It was hard this last trip with the Pandemic there wasn’t a 2021 Disneyland guide so we tried a few different things instead.
One of those things being the DLR Lines app. Apparently created by the same people as my beloved books, an app that you can schedule your day complete with rides, restaurants, breaks, etc. I liked this but didn’t love it. The schedule they provided for us was a bit different then what I’ve known and done for years (using the books) and I think it made our wait times a lot longer (if we did have to wait). More than 80% of the time we were able to walk right on to rides, but the ones we had to wait for were very long. I realize that the: crowds, lack of Fast Passes, and research is limited at this time due to the Pandemic, so maybe it’s just a weird time.
No matter if you buy their plan for a couple dollars for the whole week, read the book or read all the blog posts on what ride to go to when, I think it’s best to have a game plan and know what rides you want to go on and a rough plan of when. That was something I loved about the DLR Lines app is that I could customize it throughout the day, having a little princess of our own and currently being pregnant we needed lots of breaks and things didn’t happen right at the time we thought. It was easy to update our personal plan all throughout the day and night.
You can make restaurant reservations up to 60 days ahead of your trip. Make sure to check the app for availability! And if you’re anything like us on this last trip, we booked our trip within the 60 days out mark and all the reservations were completely full. Don’t worry! There is still hope! We got a reservation at every single restaurant we wanted to! Including Blue Bayou for Dallin’s early graduation celebration dinner, by using Mouse Dining this service helped us so much! They have a free version which we used, where they send the update that a table is available through email. I just turned on email notifications so it would be like a text! But they do have a plan that you can pay for to get texted right as it opens as well. You’ve got to be quick because they go fast, but it’s worth it!
Get and familiarize yourself with the Disneyland App! It’s honestly a wealth of knowledge and truly a necessity now a days. Make and manage reservations, check wait times for rides, find locations of everything throughout the park, get in virtual ques, mobile ordering and so much more. I loved to look at this even weeks leading up to the vacation to make the right game plan for our family.
Buy the Disney gear
Ok, ok hear me out! NOT while you’re in the park. That’s totally outrageous and you could spend that money on churros! I’m talking about before your trip. Get the cute matching Disney themed shirts, or the adorable princess dresses, superhero outfits and Minnie and Mickey themed outfits and more. Reuse them every time you go to Disney! Only buy it once and use it up! Here’s the things we’ve loved in past Disney trips:
Themed Shirts/ Outfits
-Our favorite place to get themed shirts is from Etsy, the exact ones we got are not available anymore but there are so many cute options!
-So many options on Jane too! I ordered some for my most recent trip and they didn’t arrive in time. Make sure to order them with enough time until your trip.
–Happiest Tees on Earth are so adorable too!!
-Liv loves Minnie Mouse so I had to get this adorable Minnie dress! And these Minnie shoes (love that they’re flats!) too! She wears them all the time, at Disney or not. We also got Minnie high heels HERE (can’t find them online, found them in store and Liv loves them!)and she HAD to where them for most of the time we were at Disneyland!
-Princess Dresses-If Liv didn’t go to Disneyland without princess dresses I would have been the worst mom ever! She loves princesses, they are her favorite thing (well now princesses and super hero are her favorite things but it’s still up there!)! We get most of ours from Little Adventures like her beautiful pink and blue Cinderella dresses.
-Super hero attire-Liv loves THIS cape and mask. Any little superhero would love to dress up for Avenger’s Campus in California Adventures!
-Liv loved all of her soft swing dress this last trip! I’ll link them here: Princesses with Mickey ears, Minnie and Mickey Dresses, and the classic Disneyland flutter dress.
Mickey & Minnie Mouse Ears
-Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse ears are so fun, but can be so expensive. Grab 1 for what’s in your budget at the park and reuse it every trip you go back. Or you can find ears for kids HERE! I’ll link some adorable ear options here (under $10), here, and here (2 under $7!)! Of course the classic Mickey ears at Disney I think are a necessity! We bought Liv’s ears on our first trip and had her name embroidered on. It’s a Disneyland must really!
Pack Smart
We’ve learned that you’ve got to pack smart and light, especially when traveling with a kid! All the things you need alone is easily doubled when you have a kid(s). Kid supplies is so big and bulky so compact kid essentials while traveling is a necessity!
–Travel Car Seat-So compact and easy to use!
–Travel Stroller-We usually use our stroller because it collapses fairly small. But the stroller linked (under $100) is definitely on my wish list! Did you know you can check your stroller right at the gate? This saves us while walking through the airport, to and from the hotel to Disneyland and more! I’m definitely pro stroller when going to Disneyland!
–Stroller Travel Bag-This helps your stroller get a little less beat up through travel, and it’s easily recognizable too!
–Carseat Travel Bag-When Liv was younger we checked her carseat before so we didn’t have to lug it around the whole airport. Obviously this would have been different if she was younger!
–Portable Phone Charger-I always pack mine for Disney days and one day I couldn’t find it. My phone died at the worst time! I wasn’t able to take pictures that I wanted or anything. There is so much you have to do through your phone it’s honestly vital it’s charged!
–Phone chargers for the hotel-Make sure to charge your phones, you’ll need it ready for long days at the park! I linked our favorite for convince.
-Black out cover for Pack and Play-We bought ours a couple years ago through Amazon, but can’t find them being sold there anymore. We got a Slumber Pod and love it! I did find similar and for the price we got ours at HERE! Liv slept in her own bed this last trip, but for the trip before she had just turned 2 years old. She needed her own space and complete darkness to sleep. This saved us!!
–Portable Sound Machine-This was another necessity that we needed when she was younger. I should’ve packed it this last trip with how restless and hyper Liv was at nighttime.
-Good shoes for the whole family-Dallin and I have had ours for years and they’re nothing special, but Liv rarely where’s sneakers, she far prefers high heels! haha But she likes THESE because they are comfortable and have pink on them! Wear them to the airport to save room and pounds in your luggage!
-Makeup & Toiletries-I have SO many more packing tips and tricks. I think I’ll make a whole post about it. But until then these are my must haves, I won a giveaway from Sly Beauty a year ago or so and I won the wonderful and perfect Ever Need makeup bag. With it being the first time we had traveled since then, it was my first time using it and I will use it every single time I travel in the future. There’s a place for everything, it’s classy, compact and wonderful. Trust me you NEED it!
–Cameras-Make sure all your cameras are charged and ready to use. I recommend if you don’t know how to use your fancy DSLR camera don’t go to Disneyland and expect to know how to use it for important pictures. Totally face palm moment!! Liv loves and loved bringing her camera to Disneyland. It takes videos, plays games and of course pictures but has a lot of fun filters you can use too.
-Beach Day Essentials-Sun hat for Dad and Liv, swimsuits (on clearance!) my favorite are long sleeves for sun protection, cash and sand toys.
Carry on what counts
The last time we went on a plane was 2019, Liv was so young and had different interests. I packed all sorts of little activities and toys and she ended up just wanting to watch TV or the Kindle, or sleeping! This time around she never slept and was so excited I was grateful I packed a bunch of things to keep her entertained.
–Kindle or Tablet-This was great for the times Mom and Dad needed a little break and Liv could play a quick game or cool down for a second.
–Headphones-Make sure to bring enough for the family. Trust me it’s not fun sharing! haha
-Activities-I raided my go to stack for holidays and just because gifts for Liv and found lots of new Disney themed stickers, coloring books, and small activities. I also went to Dollar Tree to get a few other new things too! This comes in hand not only on the airplane but in long lines, waiting for your food at restaurants and if kiddos are getting restless.
-Toys-We let Liv pick the one toy she’d like to bring on the trip, and I also packed a few small figurines that didn’t take up too much space.
–Suckers-Suckers are gold for take off and landing! It helps their little ears not hurt as much.
-Snacks-Carry over your snacks to the park. Trust me even with the endless amount of churros available you’ll find yourself needing a quick snack for yourself or your little when you least expect it. Our favorite this trip was fruit snacks, and small protein bars.
-Water bottles-I keep all 3 of our water bottles on individual carabiners attached right to my backpack. Go to the airport with empty bottles and then fill them up after security! Make sure you have a water bottle for each family member!
Save where you can
So you can splurge on what you want. For us we head to the nearest Walmart or Target to load up on makings for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit and cereal/milk or bagels, including plastic utensils and plastic bags if needed. If you get anything refrigerated just make sure your hotel room has a mini fridge before. This is so great because you can eat your breakfast while you’re walking to the park, and you save a lot of money by going this route. You could also pick up snacks for the trip and forgotten or last minute things at this time. It’s nice to have options when you’re in your hotel room early in the morning or late at night and you’re hungry. We also love to load up Liv with lots of breakfast food on her stroller tray and she eats while we’re walking and throughout the morning really! We also always made a sandwich for her because she usually wouldn’t eat a lot of what we ordered and she’s use to and likes her classic PB&J!
2021 Updates
I know things are changing so quickly in either direction for Covid. At this time currently in the park you are required to wear masks while indoors. This includes lines to rides that are indoor, stores, restaurants, etc. They will kindly ask you if you have a mask if you forget. Make sure to always have a mask in your pocket for everyone incase you run on a ride and leave it with your stroller or other things.
Mobile ordering is new and I heard many complaints while there. It is frustrating you have to use your phone more and more at Disney but it is seamless, less contact and efficient. My only frustration was the “return time” windows you had to choose. I don’t know when I’m going to want a churro?? After a few attempts we got the hang of it though!
Make sure to get in virtual ques for Rise of the Resistance (Our favorite ride this trip!) and Webslingers. You cannot ride these rides without this. Ques open at 7AM and 12PM each day. I set an alarm on my phone 2 minutes before to make sure Dallin and I were both on the Disney app and refreshing continuously. Dallin definitely mastered this.
Some things are still different like character sightings, no parades, closures, limited menus, etc. Covid is still definitely tainting Disneyland and the world and it makes sense so just keep that in mind. I do think we were able to see more princesses than we would have seen on pre 2020 trip!
Things I found useful this last trip in 2021:
–Handsanitizer-I had a small container of hand sanitizer in every backpack. There are also several hand sanitizer stations around the parks. (Linked Online option)
–Extra Masks-My mother in law made us a bunch, but you can also get them online. I prefer the disposable kind because I feel like they are more breathable and light.
–Mask straps/necklaces-I got ours from Walmart for super cheap! (Linked online option)
-Clorox wipes-Great for wiping down all the surfaces!
I’m hoping to post a lot more Disneyland tips and tricks! Check back soon!
