Disneyland Tips & Tricks

Since we are nearing the end of our Disneyland Season Pass year, I thought I would share some tips with you. We generally travel as a large group, with multiple children who have special needs, so keep that in mind.  One thing I found to be helpful is to plan in advance. Think about the items you or your children use throughout any given day, then make a list. I am including the list I use for you to download if you'd like.

Going to an unfamiliar place is difficult enough, but when it's filled with crowds and new sights/sounds it can be overwhelming. If you are not familiar with Disneyland, I would recommend that you sit down with a map of the park prior to your arrival. We also had our younger children watch videos of Disneyland on Youtube so that it would not be completely unfamiliar. I created a social story for our son who has autism.  You can find that video here:

 

We recommend downloading the Disneyland app seen below onto your phone prior to your arrival also. It will give you park hours, showtimes, wait times for attractions at Disneyland and California Adventure, locations of characters/dining/shops/restrooms/guest services, as well as you can link your pass to get FASTPASS vouchers loaded directly on them.   

We are naturally early risers since our children wake up early every day. That is very beneficial when visiting Disneyland. Get to the park early and beat the crowds! We have found that visiting the park opposite of the one offering the "Early Morning Entrance" is a best bet also.  For the more popular rides, you will want to get your FASTPASS vouchers first thing to ensure that your ride time isn't at the end of the day. If you are traveling with a child who cannot ride and need to have 1 adult wait off the ride with them, you can ask for a rider switch which will allow the adult who was waiting off the ride to gain entrance through the FASTPASS entrance once the remainder of the party has exited the ride.

If you are traveling with a guest who has a disability, you can check in with guest services at City Hall or any green umbrella throughout the park to have a DAS (Disability Access Service) added to their pass. This will allow the disabled person and their party to obtain a return time for that attraction. This is helpful as you don't have to actually wait in the line while you are waiting. You can use the restroom, get a snack, or even enjoy another ride!

Feel free to comment with any questions and I will respond as soon as possible.

Photo Organization

Here is a preview of the photo book I made on Shutterfly of our family vacation to Disneyland this summer.  It's so easy to do!  I love that I can load my pictures and have the book printed.  Shutterfly makes it easy to share our vacation memories with our family and friends.  We have also done photo books of our Adoption Day, as well as for Mother's Day presents.  How would you use a photo book?

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books offer a variety of layouts and cover options to choose from.

~Nicole~

Disneyland and California Adventure...The Final Day

After a day of rest from all of the walking, we were ready to tackle it again.  This was our final day (Day 3) of Disneyland/California Adventure and it ended up being the hottest day also.  We decided to begin in Cars Land.  All I can say is, "Wow!  It truly feels like you have been transported into the movie."  I was completely amazed at all of the attention to detail, but slightly disappointed that there were only 3 rides in Cars Land.  And it was packed full of people!!

Notice all of the rails.

Radiator caps for Radiator Springs!

Michael, Johnathan & Grandma

Amada and Adriana

James and I (Mater & trailers are his favorite!) 

Alex and Daniel

Yep! Hubcaps.

 Next onto Luigi's Flying Tires ride.  This was a different, yet interesting concept.  Air is generated through the ground to help your tire glide.  You have to lean in the direction you want your tire to go.  Then there are gigantic beach balls flying around.  If you are lucky enough to catch one, you can throw it at another flying tire rider. (Tip: Grab a beach ball before the ride starts.)

(me, Amada and Adriana)

Yes, the wait for Radiator Springs Racers was 270 minutes.  Luckily we were able to get a fast pass to come back later in the afternoon.

 

Amada and I, along with grandma and Michael, waited in the shade while everyone else rode the Tower of Terror.  

We even got to see the red trolley come by and Amada was very excited when Mickey Mouse waved at her.

DJ was trying to hold on to James.  I love all of the expressions!

They ran into Stitch as they were getting off the Tower of Terror, so they stopped for a quick photo opportunity.  Johnathan was wearing his pressure vest today for extra help regulating his body due to all of the over-stimulation.

I knew I wanted to take everyone to the Rainforest Cafe once while we were here so we made reservations ahead of time for lunch.  It's a good thing we did because it was just what we needed to relax and cool off.  We warned the kids of the "thunderstorms" every 20 minutes and they actually did really well.

Our table was situated in a corner right next to a large fish tank.  We sat the kids facing the fish so they could have some entertainment while we were waiting.  The food and service were excellent and definitely worth the walk all the way through Downtown Disney.

It was time to use our fast pass for Radiator Springs Racers.  We ended up waiting about 30 minutes.  Not too bad!  The cars seat 6 people and since we had 8 people, we split up into 2 cars.  The cars are on a track and steer themselves like a roller coaster.  At one point during the ride, you race the car next to you. The boys loved it!  I think James laughed through the entire ride.

Adriana, Amada, Grandma, & Johnathan

Alex, Daniel, James, & I

Johnathan had to go on California Screamin' again, so everyone went with him except Amada and I.

We went back to the trailer to cool down, rest and eat dinner.  Originally we were all going to try to go back to watch the light show and/or fireworks, but Johnathan was having a hard time keeping it together so I stayed at the trailer with the 3 youngest kids and Daniel went back with the 3 oldest.  I was really tired too and was asleep when they got back later that night.  They were able to catch most of the light show and some fireworks!

Alex and Adriana

Space Mountain again (Adriana & Alex are behind Daniel and DJ)

Our family had a wonderful visit to Disneyland and California Adventure!  We made lots of memories and the kids are already asking to go back.  I don't think it will be anytime soon, but it was great while it lasted!

Say tuned next week for our last stop of the vacation.  I'll give you a hint: it's further south than Disneyland.

~Nicole~

Disneyland...Day 2

It was really helpful that we purchased the stroller specifically for this vacation.  Since James has cerebral palsy it is difficult for him to walk long distances, so he can hitch a ride on the back (sitting or standing) and it is just what he needs.  It was also nice that we did not have to hand-carry our cooler too.  We brought lots of Spark (for the adults) and Rehydrate for everyone!

With our tickets we had the choice of early entrance (1 hour) to Disneyland on one specified day.  We chose our second day (Tues) and decided to visit Tomorrowland since it was incredibly busy the previous day.  The first ride we headed for was Space Mountain.  Since our youngest didn't want to ride it and she wouldn't stay with grandma, we had to split up into 2 groups.  Both of our groups were able to make it through in an hour. 

My group

Since we knew this was going to be our early morning, we made plans to eat breakfast in the park the day before and had reservations at the Carnation Cafe.  This was such a great idea!  The food, service and atmosphere were great and I didn't have to clean up.

 

Look at these cute waffles!

And now we're off to ride more rides!  Autopia was first on the agenda.  The kids were excited because they were going to drive.  Personally, I don't care if I ever go on that ride again.  I feel like I experienced neck trauma from our car going back and forth, hitting the rail every time.

Teacups were definitely on Amada's agenda.  Grandma and I took her on them while dad took everyone else on the Matterhorn (again).

We were momentarily sidetracked at the Mad Hatter store.  Hats for all!

Johnathan looks really happy here, doesn't he? 

We just had to do it one more time...Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!  Amada did not want to stay with Michael so she went on the ride (sitting next to me and Alex).  As the ride started she buried her head and exclaimed, "I should have stayed with Michael!"  It was just too funny.

We got to pretend we were pirates on the big boat...

We went on a few more rides.  Then we decided to head back to the trailer for lunch and rest time (yeah right, who am I kidding!).

When we returned a few hours later, we decided to check out California Adventure since we had park hopper tickets.  Guess who we ran into?  Phineas and Ferb!

I didn't take any pictures on the jumpin' jellyfish ride, but that was another one of Amada's favorites.  Johnathan had his sights on California Screamin'.  We stopped at Little Mermaid and Toy Story along the way.  Amada's face lit up and she smiled when she saw Ariel.  I had fun in Toy Story.  Who said a little competition isn't healthy?

Amada chose to ride the carousel instead.

It was really heating up so Daniel and all the kids (except Amada) decided to get wet drenched.

Quick we need a distraction while at a restroom stop!  Cotton Candy + James = 

We decided to stay out of Cars Land until our 3rd day, but traveled through Bug's Life.

Hungry Caterpillar

Grouchy Ladybug

Animal Cracker Box Balloon Ride

The kids saw the bumper cars and just had to ride them so we stopped.

 Another day bites the dust!  Kids were done.  Parents were done.  We need a rest tomorrow.  Stay tuned to find out what we decide to do.

~Nicole~
Disneyland Touring Guide - Ombros Brands Inc.