baby for keeps

So originally I was going to write a long, detailed post with a ton of information about how I planned our trip to Disneyland and how those plans paid off at the parks but you know what? There's a bunch of really great blogs and articles online written by people who spend a lot of time at Disneyland and those articles will be way more informative for you than anything I write based off of one trip. So instead I'll just share a bunch of our photos here and a few tips that I found extra helpful and I'll link to some of the other great sites at the bottom for anyone looking to plan a family trip to The Happiest Place on Earth.

I'll start by saying I'm not a Disney fan. I don't like animated movies, I'm not into sparkly, pink princess crap. I have no attachment whatsoever to any of the Disney charcters. And being fairly introverted the idea of huge crowds and long lines makes me feel cranky just thinking about it. So when I planned to take Babe to Disneyland it was one hundred per cent for her. I didn't think I would enjoy it very much, I wasn't really looking forward to going (other than to be there for Babe as she had fun) and basically I was just assuming it would be a five day Babe Shit Show where she just ran wild and I grinned and bared it in the name of parenting.

But now, I'm a total convert. I drank the Kool Aid. The promoters, marketers and all the staff members (pardon me, cast members) of Disneyland have conspired together to make sure that everyone who comes through their gates never really leaves. I was so anti-Disneyland before and so pro-Disneyland now that I have legitimate concerns that it might be a brainwashing cult.

We had so much fun. Seriously. So. Much. Of. It.

I'm usually pretty good at finding things to complain about when reviewing something. Even if I really like something I can easily recognize and acknowledge its flaws. But not so much with Disneyland, there really was so very little disappointments or annoyances that they aren't even worth mentioning as things for you to try and avoid with a future trip.

I will say this. At first I was thinking I wasn't going to plan out the days at the parks very much. I thought it would be better to just focus on the experience being for Babe and basically let her guide the show without much planning on my part. But that failed when I fell victim to my own bullshit patterns and (like a typical journalist) I researched the shit out of our trip. Within a couple days of pretty intense research I realized that if I wanted Babe to have the free and easy-paced schedule that I was envisioning while still getting to taste a lot of what the parks had to offer - I HAD TO PLAN.

Seriously...it's pretty much mandatory to plan out your trip if you want to see as much as you can and especially if you want to use your time effectively and have lots of free time while you are there. Not planning will result in long line waits, confusion, frustration and missing a bunch of stuff that is either scheduled simultaneously at opposite ends of the park or simply gets crossed off the list because it's just too damn hard to free float through the Disney Sea with little ones in tow and no direction in mind.

In the end I completely deviated from my no-plan plan and ended up with three days worth of an impeccably laid out itinerary. But it worked for us and despite the intense crowds and low patience threshold of ~~a three-year-old~~ me, we had a pretty leisurely time and got to hit pretty much everything that I wanted us too.

Planning Your Days:

Read up on Disneyland and California Adventure FastPasses and USE THEM!

Get the FastPasses for shows like Fantasmic, World of Colour or character Meet and Greets right when the parks open. Holding these won't stop you from then grabbing your first ride FastPass but after that there is a waiting period before you can grab another FastPass.

Download a park map before you go and plan out rides and activities according to areas. That way you can knock off a bunch of stuff at the same time without criss-crossing the park. Because trust me, no matter how good your shoes are, by the end of the day you will want to cut your feet off.

If you get a three-day or more pass you'll get an early Magic Hour (where you get let in an hour before the park opens on ONE day) USE IT. And plan on cramming in a handful of rides during that time. We got more rides done in that one hour than we did at any other time during our stay. NOTE: Not all rides are open during the Magic Hour so look up the list ahead of time and plan to hit a bunch in the same general area instead of wasting your hour criss-crossing the park.

DON'T arrive right at 8:00 am for the Magic Hour opening. Arrive at about 7:15-7:30 am. Even though it's way less busy there will still be a big line waiting to get in for the early hour.

Plan lunches, indoor shows and indoor activities for the middle of the day if you are going during the hot season. Not only will you get some relief from the sun but it'll buy you more time out of the crowds and mid-day is nuts at the park.

Do yourself an extra solid and reserve your lunches (if you aren't packing them in) ahead of time. It'll be way easier knowing you have a spot waiting for you somewhere. The restaurants get super busy, especially at peak mealtime hours.

Saving Money:

Well to start with we didn't stay at one of the Disneyland Hotels. They look AMAZING and almost all the reviews say that they don't disappoint but there was no way I could afford it on this trip. So we stayed at one of the neighbouring hotels right nearby. I looked for a good deal, grabbed it when I found one and our hotel - Holiday Inn and Suites - didn't disappoint. For what I paid it was a smokin' deal and although the rooms are a little small and it didn't have all the perks of the D-resorts it did have a lovely pool and splash park and we really only slept there and swam a little anyway.

We packed a lot of snacks but I chose to spend money on restaurant lunches mostly to get out of the heat and crowds. But you can bring pretty much as much food as you want into the park so as long as you're willing to pack it around then that'll save you cash cuz Disneyland food ain't cheap.

For the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique I opted out of the full package because it cost so much and instead purchased a princess dress at the Disney store at home (when it was on sale) and brought it with us the day she was going to the spa. That move saved me about $50 right there.

I read a tip on another page about bringing along little items to entertain the kids in lines and while waiting for parades etc. and it worked out great. It was a fun surprise for Babe when we arrived at the hotel, kept her distracted when I whipped one of the items out in line and saved us money on purchasing things like bubbles and light up wands. Actually we did buy a bubble gun on site because so many kids had them and it was a worthwhile purchase because it kept Babe so entertained. For the surprise box I simply bought a little Disney box at a dollar store and filled it with bubbles, light up night sticks, a little fan, stickers, a Disney autograph book (also expensive to buy on site), some Tinkerbell pens, glow sticks and stuff like that. She got it when we arrived at the hotel as a welcome to Disneyland greeting package.

We ate breakfast at the hotel (kids ate free) or we just ate snacks on the walk there. So we saved money on extra meals that way. We also brought our own travel cups and thermos of water and refilled them at the park because drinks inside Disneyland are very expensive.

We skipped paying extra for a Park-Hopper Pass which allows you to move back and forth between Disneyland and California Adventure. Babe is still too small to get dragged all over and there was waaaay more than enough to see just in one park without moving between the two. For me it wasn't worth the extra money.

Holy Shit! Avoid the face painting!!! I didn't think to ask how much it was because I thought it would be like $5. It turned out to be $20 just for Babe's forehead. I almost choked.

Splurges I'm glad I made:

The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. It's not my personal style and I was reluctant to encourage Babe in this Toddlers in Tiaras manner and it felt almost sick to spend so much money when she was already being so spoiled by even going to Disneyland...but she really did just love the experience so much and she felt so special running around Disneyland all dressed up. Like I said before we opted out of the full package with dress included. But she got to show up, put on her dress and get her hair, makeup and nails done complete with a crown and a pound and a half of sparkles all over her. She is still talking about it and having it on the first day was a pretty magical way to kick off the trip in her mind. Book early (we're talking some people book months ahead). I did get a spot reserved with only about a week before our trip though and there are people who just walk in so don't stress too much if you don't think of booking until closer to your departure.

A character lunch. We chose Ariel's Grotto because Babe is obsessed with Ariel and it was her best chance to meet a bunch of Princesses at the same time while not standing in long lines or using up a big chunk of the day chasing them all over the park. The lunch was pretty damn pricey but the food was really decent and Babe was so excited to have the princesses come around to her table that I found myself tearing up over it all. Really for the price (about $50 a person) it got us out of the heat, fed us, gave Babe a totally magical experience and saved us a ton of time on trying to find all those princess on our own. I also tried to book her in for Breakfast with Mickey or at Goofy's Kitchen but with only a week before our trip every reservation was GONE. If you want a spot at those tables you'd better call way ahead.

Special souveniers. I'm glad I bought things like light up toys and the Disney autograph book at home but we did splurge on a few special souveniers for Babe that she loves and that we think are really special. Plan to spend a decent amount of cash on souveniers because there's just SO MUCH SHOPPING in the two parks and in the Downtown Disney District. Buy the cheap fun stuff at home and bring it with you and use your spending money for some key items that you or the kids want.

Safety for Little Ones:

Take a photo every morning of your child in the clothing they are wearing to the park so you have it on hand in case they disappear.

I grabbed some labels from work and wrote my name and phone number (not Babe's name) on the labels and stuck them to her back in case she got lost.

I pointed out the cast member uniforms and let Babe know that is who she should look for if she was lost.

I also photographed both sides of our Disneyland passes (which you have to keep for your whole visit) just in case I lost them.

I packed two bags. One filled with all our food, spare clothing etc. And one little bag that had my wallet, tickets, phone and money. The big bag stayed with the stroller and the little bag came with me on all the rides.

An example of our itinerary for one of the Disneyland days

just to give you an idea of how I went about saving time and maximizing our day:

7:30am At park to get in line for Magic Hour. Stopped at Disneyland City Hall as soon as gates opened to get Babe her free FIRST VISIT button.

8:00-9:00am Hit the rides I knew would get long lines. We started with the Finding Nemo ride because I knew Babe would love it but had heard the line is really boring, gets super long and there's no FastPass option. Then went to Fantasyland and stayed in that area doing a bunch of rides to knock them off the list.

9:00-9:30am Ran and grabbed FastPasses for the early nighttime Fantasmic Show so we would have a good spot to watch. Grabbed a FastPass for a busy ride I knew we wanted.

9:30-Noon: A couple more rides and free play.

Noon: Appointment at Bibiti Bobbiti Boutique to get Babe out of crowds and sun.

1:00-4:00pm Lunch and then more rides, FastPass ride, free play in Toontown.

4:00-7:00pm Returned to the hotel for a nap and food. There is an afternoon parade but we planned it for another day.

8:30pm Got in line with our FastPasses for the Fantasmic Show.

9:00-9:30pm Fantasmic Show. Totally worth it!

9:30-9:45pm Stayed at the Fantasmic location and watched the fireworks from there. Not a great view but impossible at that point to cross the park in the crowds and get a better spot for the fireworks.

10:00 to 11:00pm Fought last of crowds who haven't left after fireworks to find a good spot to watch the second showing of the Paint The Night parade. Also totally worth it. One of Babe's favourite parts of the trip. If you have a second adult one can save a spot for the parade while the other takes the kids on another ride.

11:00-12:00am Watched the parade and a couple last rides before heading home. My feet hurt.

So I just want to say that I had originally planned this trip as just a Mommy and Babe bonding adventure. Which I was nervous about taking on on my own but excited to do at the same time. But a couple days before we left my mother decided to join us so I did have a second pair of hands after all.

But for all the single parents out there I want you to know that this trip is totally doable - with one kid anyway - and you will have A LOT more fun than you might think. In fact I took Babe by myself every day for the first half of the day and I actually found it easier than trying to accomodate another adult with us. Looking back I totally could have managed the whole trip on my own with the right planning and I am fully confident that any of you single mommies or daddies can too. It is not as daunting as it might seem and the experience of seeing all the magic through your child's eyes really is priceless. I'm so glad we went.

Please feel free to ask me any questions if you are planning a trip soon. Or scroll to the bottom of this post for links to information that I found really helpful.