Back in January, I wrote
a post about taking young children to Disneyland and promised a follow-up post with some more information about our frequent Disneyland trips. I've mentioned before that we are not travel experts (we've never owned passports, and our only luggage is Scotty's mission suitcase that is missing a wheel), but we do Disneyland well.
Driving straight to Anaheim from where we live takes us about 11-12 hours with our three kids.
We usually opt to drive all the way in one shot because we are not fans of stopping to stay somewhere for one night. It's just not worth the effort of unloading the car and loading it back up for a few hours of shut-eye. Plus, we're excited to get there so we try to avoid delays. We make stops for bathroom breaks, meals, and unpredictable catastrophes (like the time Daisy peed all over her car seat, so we hauled it into the gas station, rinsed it off, and used the hand dryer to dry it). As long as the kids are somewhat calm and somewhat dry, we just keep going.
We have always driven our fuel efficient Mitsubishi Lancer. When gas prices are high, we spend about $200, but we have been to California and back on less than $100 before. We throw the kids in the back seat (securely fastened in their appropriate car seats, of course) and strap the stroller to the roof. I admit, it is a tight fit, but it works.
Update: We now have four kids, so it's mini van or bust!
A tip: use the express lane through Vegas, and don't drive home through Vegas on a Sunday.
We have a few methods of keeping the kids happy during the drive. We do all of the usual things:
portable DVD players,*(
Update: tablets), toys, books, etc. I always bring some Disney CDs and some audio books. But we have a couple other fun things we do, too.
Before our trip, I buy some cheap stuff from the dollar store or Target to give to the kids throughout the car ride. Some of these things have included holiday window clings, snacks, activity packs, etc. I wrap them in wrapping paper, and
each time we make a "pit stop" I leave a gift on my kids' seats. They are always really excited to unwrap the gifts. We tell them that the Disneyland Fairy brought them, but they know it's just me, and they're good sports and play along. I make sure I have things for the way there and the way back. We also use the time in the car to play communication games. My kids loved to be asked what their favorites are, so I ask them all about their favorite movies, toys, food, etc. We also play "Ten Things" where I will ask them to name ten vegetables, ten cousins, ten colors, etc.
Update 2024: We no longer do the Disneyland Fairy, but I always try to have some treats and activities for the drive. Our kids mostly play on their tablets while we drive, but I get soduku puzzles and print off some road trip scavenger hunts to give them some variety.
We usually book our trips through
Get Away Today.
We always pick a hotel within walking distance of Disneyland, preferably right across the street, but we have stayed in hotels up to a mile away. We don't like to stay anywhere that requires a shuttle because shuttles make you to fold up your stroller. Our stroller is always full of stuff like food, diapers, and jackets, so it's always easier for us to walk. Plus, we like to come and go on our own time.
Update 2024: We are now stroller free! But we still prefer to walk.
We are not very picky about the class of the hotels we stay in. Two stars? Fine with us. But
there are a few commodities we look for:
- Continental breakfast
- Fridge and microwave
- Free parking
- Disney Channel
The Disney Channel is negotiable, but since we don't have cable at home, we like to get our fix while we're on vacation. Since we are early risers
and California is an hour behind Utah in time, we always have a few hours to burn in the morning before we go to the park. This is when we get caught up on
Jake and the Neverland Pirates and
Handy Manny.
Only recently have we noticed that some of our favorite hotels are starting to charge a daily parking fee. We now watch closely for this when we book our trip so we don't end up with any unexpected expenses.
Update 2024: Things have changed a lot since I wrote this post. Now we look for hotel rooms that can fit a family of six. Continental breakfast isn't a priority (the hotels that offer it are more expensive than where we usually stay), free parking no longer exists, and the Disney Channel isn't special anymore now that we have Disney +. And sadly, Jake and Manny aren't the popular Disney Channel shows anymore, and I'm sad that times have changed!
When we have arrived and settled into our hotel, we make a grocery trip. We always do our research ahead of time and program the stores (and other destinations, such as Urgent Care) into our GPS, so we know right where to go. I make a meal plan and grocery list before we leave town to help prevent overspending. I also keep track of everything we spend so we can be accountable for our outgoing money and so we can have an idea of how much to save for future trips. At the store, we buy sandwich fixings, granola bars, fresh fruits and vegetables, trail mix, yogurt, bottled water, and the like. I pack our lunches and snacks for Disneyland in an insulated cooler. We freeze a water bottle or two to put inside to keep things cold.
I also buy a pack or two of hangers at the store because there are never enough hangers at the hotel.
At the hotel, I hang up all of our clothes or put them in drawers. Then as we accumulate dirty clothes (definition of dirty while we're on vacation = soiled to the point where it can not possibly be worn again - we pack as little as possible), I roll up the dirties and pack them in our luggage - lights in one bag, darks in another, paying no mind to whose clothes are bagged with whose. That way, by the time we are done with our trip, almost everything is already packed. Then when we get home, I just dump the clothes straight from the duffel bag to the washer.
Once we're in the park, we have a few traditions we fall back on. I have a very good husband, and I know this tip doesn't work for everyone, but Scotty changes most of the diapers in Disneyland. This is because there is often a line to use the changing tables in the women's bathrooms. The men's room has changing tables and... no line!
Update 2024: No more diapers for us!
One of our favorite times to be at Disneyland is after dark.
We take glow sticks for our kids (from Target or the dollar store) to use at night time when all of the vendors come out with the light-up toys.
Each time we go to Disneyland (or on any other vacation)
we pick a post card for each of our kids and write some memories from the vacation on the back. This is a fun way to document memories, and our kids love going through their boxes of postcards and reading about our travels. We buy post cards from the hotel gift shop because they are less expensive there (the one time I purchased a post card at Disneyland, I paid $4 and almost cried).
I realize this post is making us look like tight wads. Our goal is to keep our Disneyland vacations affordable. We always save every penny to pay for our trips (our kids help, too). We wouldn't go if we had to use a credit card - we don't do debt - so we are very careful with what we spend. We still have a few splurges, though. We eat a meal or two in the park, we buy our kids a toy or a shirt, and we indulge in character dining.**
Update 2024: We no longer do character dining. It got too expensive, and our kids have never really liked having the characters in their faces anyway.
One more thing before I go, I have had a lot of luck finding Disney stuff at the thrift store. I've found Nicky a few Toy Story shirts and Daisy a Minnie Mouse shirt, a Tinkerbell hoodie, and a reversible plush Cinderella/Belle doll. Most of the stuff is actual Disneyland merchandise. This is a great way to get some "souvenirs" without paying the price. I don't go to the thrift store just to look for Disney stuff, but if I'm there, and I see something awesome, and we have a trip coming up, I buy it.
Update: I don't shop at the thrift store very often anymore because their prices aren't as impressive as they used to be. Our tradition for our last two trips to Disneyland has been to buy everyone a Disney themed t-shirt before we go. We have also began to dabble in pin trading. Amazon is a great place to find a grab bag of pins. They need to be licensed by Disney to trade, so watch for that.
Update 2024: I've gone back to my thrift store ways, and I have found a few fun Disney things. We tried pin trading on a few trips and then decided it wasn't really our thing.
I know that Disneyland isn't for everyone, but hopefully there is something helpful in here for any of you who plan to go in the future. If you make the journey, I hope you have as much fun as we do!
*Something always goes wrong with the portable DVD player(s) on our trips, so even though we plan on watching movies, it never really happens, which proves that in 2013, it is still possible to drive long distances without DVD players. Update: We've since realized that our kids are incapable of watching a movie in the car. It's never been successful.
**Our preference is breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen. Breakfast is a little cheaper than lunch or dinner. On our last trip we went to the Minnie and Friends breakfast, and it was nowhere near as good of an experience as Goofy's Kitchen has been. I could write an entire post about it, actually. Update: Goofy's Kitchen has raised their prices since I wrote this. Update 2024: We haven't been to Goofy's Kitchen for about ten years now.
