After we returned I had MANY people ask a lot of questions about taking young kids and small babies to Disneyland. Was it hard? Were you actually able to do anything? Was it worth it? Etc. I had planned to write this whole post with details of my tips but then it sat half finished for two months so I'll give you the abbreviated version. I'll preface this entire post by saying that our kids were 5, 3, 2, and 3 months old at the time of our trip. 4 kids vs 2 adults. Sounds fun right? ;)
This 5 day trip was the first trip out of state we have taken completely on our own with our kids. We planned, paid for, and executed it entirely ourselves. It felt so good. Who would have thought it took taking our kids to Disneyland to finally feel like grown ups!!
- Plan ahead-kids take planning. Just a fact. I am a planner by nature but I really feel like it makes for a more successful vacation. Plan your schedule, check park hours, weather, and ride closures (to prepare kids if their favorite ride is closed), take the time to think about what to pack, what you will need while you're in the park, food, etc.
- When to go-for us it was more important to go when it was least busy even though it meant shorter park hours and not as much entertainment. Decide what is important to you and choose your dates accordingly
- Where to stay-I don't understand why anyone stays farther than across the street from the entrance. I just really don't. I guess you can save some money but when you factor in the time (and hassle) of riding a shuttle it just doesn't seem worth it to me.
- How to travel-because we live close enough to drive or fly we could choose. Not everyone has a choice. We planned to rent a van and after comparing costs we would save about $200 to drive. Not a huge savings. But the thought of Robert and I wrangling four car seats, stroller, pack and play, multiple suitcases, multiple carry-on bags, plus 4 kids through an airport made me want to break into hives. And flying doesn't really save much time. So we decided to drive.
- Strollers-our two youngest would definitely be needing strollers. Because of shorter park hours we opted to not return to our room for naps but also knew our 2 year old would need a little snooze to stay her happy self. We have a double stroller but it's a monstrosity and not the easiest to navigate through crowds. We decided to take 2 strollers-one umbrella for the 2 year and our larger single stroller for the baby and all our gear. Worked perfectly.
The day before we left I picked up the rental van and after the kids were asleep we loaded it up. We woke the kids up early and sat them on the couch. We told them to go potty and get your shoes on because WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND!!!!! The oldest two didn't believe us and the 2 year old yelled "YAAAAYYYY!!!!!" It was a fun surprise.
Driving to Disneyland is about 10 hours for us. I made treat bags for the 3 oldest kids. Every two hours they got to choose one. They were in colored bags so they couldn't see what was inside. Each one had a small toy/book/etc, a sweet treat, and a healthy treat. I also made a map for Emily that has a road, a small movable car, and photos of landmarks along the route. Every time we would get to the next landmark she would move the car. It definitely helped with the "Are we there yet?" questions. And was educational at the same time.
Once we got there and checked into our hotel, we just went to dinner and then got to bed early so we'd be rested for DISNEYLAND!!
*I'm going to post each day individually (with lots of pics) and then at the end of the post I'll do a little recap of what we did that day-for my own memory and to those I'm sending this to that wondered how much we were able to realistically do in a day. And I will say we didn't hurry AT ALL. :)
