If you know me or Evan at all, you know we are Disney obsessed.
It was one of the first things that connected us when we first met in our early 20’s (a guy who loves Disneyland as much as me? I heard wedding bells!). We’ve since enjoyed countless vacations across the Disney vacation packages from theme parks to cruises, but being on the west coast, our go-to is of course Disneyland. A quick 2+ hour flight, sunny warm weather, and the perk of getting a second theme park with California Adventure next door makes it an easy “let’s do it” when planning a quick getaway.
As newlyweds and young adults, we thought of Disneyland as our home away from home; it was our playground for date night and the place we made memories and deepened our relationship through laughter. But our love for Disney forever changed once we experienced it with our kids. There’s something about seeing the magic of Disney through their eyes that well, fills my own with tears. I’ll never forget the first time we took Blakely at 1.5 years old while I was pregnant with Brayden, watching her point and squeal with delight watching her first parade. Que the waterworks!
It’s a completely different experience taking a trip to Disneyland as a parent (sorry for the obvious statement): from the speed you walk, to the rides you get to enjoy, to the way you pack. There’s a lot more to think about and coordinate when you have littles with you and for me, the pressure of making the trip feel “perfect” intensifies.
That’s why I’ve put together my top 10 tips for you to help maximize and “easify” your Disneyland and California Adventure vacation.
I have had lots of “ah-ha” moments over the last few years and wished I had known or thought of these before getting to the parks many a time. I’m sure I’ll add tips for other age groups at some point, but for today, we’ll focus on tips I found particular useful for kids aged around 6-10: the post toddler and pre-tween stage. The beautiful stage (my favorite thus far) where you no longer have to pack your entire house with you, they can walk on their own, and they still want to hang out with you. The best!
2023: Our Year for Disney
We’re fresh off our last Disneyland and California Adventure trip. Turns out we took two unexpected trips to Disneyland in 2023…
The first trip was in April over Spring Break and we then ended our year strong with another quick one in December. Evan and I decided for Christmas this year that instead of giving a bounty-load of presents we’d treat them (and ourselves) to a “memory of a lifetime” with a surprise tripe to the big DL.
We packed up and went on Dec 28th, visiting the parks for 3 days, which gave us the amazing experience of spending New Year’s Eve at the happiest place on Earth. We spent our first and third day at Disneyland and our in between day at California Adventure park. I like doing it this way to spread out our Disneyland days and find that California Adventure is a much slower pace so it helps with overall energy levels for the trip.
Our April trip gave me a plethora of ideas that I had jotted down to use for our next trip, as the experience was so different than when we had lasted visited and the kids were 3 and 5. It’s my “I wish I would have thought of this sooner!” list. I was able to utilize them on our second trip and boy did it make a difference.
Related: Disneyland Planning Guide: Where to Stay
Top 10 Disneyland Tips for Parents with Kids aged 6-10
So here they are! My top 10, dare I say life-changing tips that will make your time at Disneyland smooth sailing:
01 | Bring a Stroller to the Parks
Unsure of using Strollers at this age? Do yourself a favor and USE THEM. I could write a whole post about this, and probably will some day, but for now here are my thoughts: whether you have one left in storage or you want to rent one at the parks, seriously do it. Depending on where your kids are at, this will hit you differently. But regardless of if your kids still love riding in the push-hammock or they couldn’t be seen dead in one, having a stroller will save your life (figuratively of course).
And here’s why:
Think of your stroller as your mobile locker.
Even if your kids won’t dare sit in it, or you won’t dare push them, strollers will hold all of the things you could possibly need for the entire day.
Picture this: you’re eight hours in, feet are cramping and the kids are crashing and all you want is your free water bottle ($4.25/bottle and a long line to buy one) and to get your lightweight jacket as it approaches nightfall. Perhaps your youngest could use a quick snack as well. Do you really want to make the long trek back to the main entrance to open your locker? I didn’t even mention you may have a lightning lane ready to use or dare I say, you’re up in Star Wars area which would make it just a ridiculously long walk back.
Seriously, (I’ll say it again) a stroller serves as your mobile locker: it’s a walking purse that truly has its own reserved parking, attendants that monitor it, and it can go with you or be left alone for a while no problem.
My husband and I went back and forth on this during our April trip when Blakely and Brayden were 6 and 8 (I’m sure you can tell what my position was), weighing the pros and cons of bringing a stroller into Disneyland and ultimately we did. Yes, I won the great debate and guess what? Half way through day one he had already said three times how happy he was we had the stroller. Brayden loved sitting it in at night and we loved not having to carry all of our stuff everywhere!
Bring it with you to each ride (there’s always stroller parking nearby) or simply leave it in a central stroller parking area to come back to later in the day. My favorite central spots are right in front of Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, the entrance of Toon-Town or across from Buzz-Lightyear: all spots where you can access many rides/lands without moving it).
My favorites items to store in my “mobile-locker”:
- Blankets to sit on or use (think parades, fireworks, long lines at night or in the winter)
- Snacks for on the go and a packed lunch
- WATER WATER WATER ($4.25/bottle in the park!)
- Clothing: depending on time of year, this will change, but it’s nice to have a hoodie for each person in case it rains or is cold in the evening.
- Small first aid kit: bandaids (for owwies or blisters), Advil (for headaches or sore feet), small pack of kleenex, etc.
- Pack of wet wipes and hand sanitizer (reason should be obvious)
- Any purchases made throughout the day (who wants to carry them?)
Second reason to bring a stroller: It’s your cheapest option.
You can rent a locker for $7-$15 a day, depending on size (multiply it by days you’re in the park) or you can skip it and not spend a dime. Strollers as you’re probably aware, are free to check on the plane.
Third: It’s the Best Seat in Town.
Beyond the obvious that a stroller can be a quick seat when the benches are full and offers a quick reprieve for your littles’ legs, your stroller serves as the perfect seat for the beloved Disneyland parades. They not only get one of your kids off the dirty ground and settled in one spot, they help reserve a bit of space to ensure you don’t get accidentally squeezed into the back row as the crowds start piling in.
If I haven’t sold you on bringing the stroller yet and you change your mind when you’re in the park (I obviously think that you will), you can always rent one day of.
02 | Plan Parades into your Day
Speaking of parades, my best advice is to plan ahead; don’t try to grab a spot last minute. I have a few tips for these to help make the most of it, thus, the most of your day:
- Disneyland parades start at It’s a Small World (Adventure Land), travel along Main Street and end at the front entrance at 3:30 and 6:30 every day. There are several great spots, but I personally like to grab a seat on Main Street; setting feels most “Disney-esque” to me with the castle as the backdrop and the hussle and bussle of shoppers surrounding. To grab a front row seat, plan to arrive 30 minutes prior to the start time (for busy seasons, shoot for 45 min).
- If you’ve followed tip #1 above and you have your mobile locker with you, park it curbside and on the DL main entrance side of where your family will be sitting (the parade will come from the direction of the castle so placing it on main entrance side means it won’t be in the way of your view while you’re sitting). Then, place your handy-dandy blanket (stored in your stroller of course!) on the castle side of your stroller and you’ve got yourself a great little picnic spot.
- Which brings me to my next tip: the 3:30 parade is a great time for a late lunch or mid-day snack. It’s at the perfect time where kids typically start to get a bit cranky (Disney really does think of everything!) and if it’s summer it’s peak-heat so the break is nice. Water and food are much needed by this point! If you’re sitting on Main Street, plan on getting a corndog at The Little Red Wagon. It’s THE place to go to at Disneyland in my opinion as it’s affordable, convenient and kids love it.
You can mobile order your corndog, grabbing them en route to your spot or, if you have an adult that can run up and grab them while one of you wait at your picnic spot, you can do that too. Kids will love snacking on them and won’t notice the “long” wait for the parade to arrive.
Parent tip is to also pick up a Starbucks coffee at Market House because, let’s be honest, you need it. It’s right there on Main Street. The line tends to be pretty quick and it’s a nice and well deserved pick-me-up for the second half of your day.
All in all, the parade serves as a great break from the day to reset and recharge. You’ll leave with happy tummies, an hour rest with a great show, and fully caffeinated parents. Win!
03 | Bring Snacks into the Park
Do yourself a favor and BYO snacks: this may seem like an obvious tip, but in my opinion it is the most important one as it reduces risk of cranky mid-day tantrums and also saves a few (or several) bucks.
But here’s how to do it well: in my opinion you have two options. My favorite is using instacart to deliver fresh groceries from Walmart straight to your hotel the night you arrive. You simply put in the notes that you’ll meet them in the lobby or at curbside when they drop off. Second option is to drive or take an Uber to pick up some groceries. Your hotel most likely has a mini-fridge so options are endless. This is the perfect opportunity to buy a case or two of bottled water (as mentioned previously, they’re $4.25 a bottle in the park and you’ve got your handy mobile locker to store them in).
- My top go-to items to bring into the park:
- Bagels & Cream Cheese (assemble in the morning) or Bagels, Sliced Cheese & Deli Meat. Pack ziplock baggies from home to use for this or buy a small pack.
- Apple Sauce Packets
- Granola Bars
- Lunchables
- Ritz & Wheat Thin snack packs
- My top go-to items to buy for the Hotel:
- Fresh Fruit for a quick breakfast before you head off for the day
- Starbucks bottled Frappucinos to start your morning off right and to avoid the long Starbucks lines, getting you and your family in the park and in line for your first ride faster.
- Chips & Salsa for a yummy snack after the park
- Bottle of wine or 6-pack of beer for after the kids are tucked in
04 | Save Money by Planning Several Meals at the Best Disneyland “$” Mobile Order Options
Carrying on with the idea of food, here are my top spots to find the yummiest quick-eats that don’t break the bank (one $ sign only, mobile order available):
- The Little Red Wagon | Main Street: hand-dipped corndogs (outdoor tables available to the left)
- Alien Pizza Planet | Tomorrow Land: pizza by the slice, pasta, salads (indoor and outdoor tables)
- Bengal Barbecue | Adventure Land– my personal favorite: DELICIOUS: Meat & Veggie Skewers, Rice Plates, Breadsticks (covered seating to the right)
- Ronto Roasters | Star Wars: Pork or Garden wrap (Limited seating, benches)
- Edelweis Snacks | Fantasyland: Turkey legs, Bratwursts (Limited seating, benches
05 | GENIUS HACK: Grab Lightning Lanes for Temporarily Closed Rides (Genie+ required)
Yes, you read that right! Now, this one doesn’t always work out so you’ll need to use discretion and assess if it makes sense in the moment for you depending on how your day is going. Wondering why you’d do such a thing? Obviously I’m going to tell you:
If you have a lightning lane for a ride that is closed during your time slot, Disney will automatically award you a free LL for any ride, any time to make up for the inconvenience (must be used that day).
This can come in VERY handy to help you maximize your day as it is essentially handing you a golden ticket of LL freedom! It’s best to then redeem it for those rides whose lightning lanes fill up fast and sell out quickly. Say… Indiana Jones, Space Mountain or Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ring a bell? These are tough to get unless you’re in the park super early or are willing to use up one of your two precious LL spots for the whole day (not great for maximization).
Anyway… as soon as your any-ride LL gets awarded, you can then select your next LL as you normal would and save the one you just got to redeem whenever you want for anything you want. Use it for something sold out OR use it for a ride you really love and want to do twice (you can only get a LL once per ride per day, unless you are using this little hack).
Let me give you an example of how we used it:
On Day 1 in DL we got into the park around 9:30 (parks open at 8am). We immediately opened up our DL app to select our first LL for the day and to review wait times for some of the more popular rides, as wait times are shortest in the morning. Our strategy is to try to get as many LL passes in a day, so we typically pick ones with time slots that are soonest to get a lot of rides done early.
We saw Millennium Falcon AND Rise of the Resistance were both only 30 minute waits (incredible!) but Indiana Jones was already at 60 and the LL time slot was already at 5:30 (bummer). Given you can get a second LL 2 hours after you get your first, we didn’t want to waste our LL slot on Indiana Jones for the day.
We then saw Thunder Mountain was temporarily closed. “NOOOO!” one might say. But not us! The LL time slot was at 10:15, in just 45 minutes. We grabbed it and then ran up to Star Wars land to hop in those short lines!
Here’s the thought process:
If Thunder Mountain was fixed by 10:15, great! We could easily get up to Star Wars, do one or two rides and then pop back down to redeem our LL within the hour time slot between 10:15 and 11:15. At that point, we could get another LL for something else and move along with our day as planned. On the chance Thunder didn’t get fixed… well that’s where we’d get a free LL for the day to any ride for any time. We could either use it on TM later in the day OR use it on something else.
Sure enough, TM wasn’t back up and running by 10:15 and we got our golden ticket of freedom! Given Thunder Mountain doesn’t typically have as long of a line as Space Mountain or Indiana Jones, we opted to use our free LL on Indiana Jones (remember how we weren’t able to get a good time slot?) and redeemed it right after we were done with Star Wars around 11am. This got us in the ride 6 hours sooner AND didn’t hold up one of our two LL spots. We then waited in about a 35min line for TM later on in the day once it was back up and running.
Pretty genius, am I right?
Keep in mind, there are a couple of rules to this to make sure it works for you and not against you:
- Make sure the LL time slot is relatively soon (not further out then an hour or so). Most rides, when broken down, get fixed in under 2 hours. If you book a LL for a broken ride at noon but your slot is at 5pm, most likely the ride will be up and running and this “hack” is irrelevant.
- Only do this for a ride you’d actually want to go on. In the event the ride gets fixed before your LL time slot, you haven’t lost out on anything because you’d be happy to go on the ride as “planned.”
06 | Bring Glow-Sticks from Home
Not only are these just down right fun as nighttime approaches, they’ll hopefully save you a bit of money and ease the temptation to buy one of the many glowing light-up toys that come out at nightfall. We all know how those end up: lost in the junk drawer or under the bed. For me, inevitably destroyed by the dog. Lastly, these are great to (sorry to bring it up again) hang on your…. mobile locker! It helps makes your stroller easy to spot in the dark, hidden amongst the sea of other black strollers.
My favorite for DL is this 248 piece Glow Stick Party Pack because it has plenty of pieces for you to decorate yourselves, kids and stroller plus it comes with those adorable Mickey ears (you get 4)!
07 | Download Heads Up and Play the Disney Version in Line.
This is a super fun game to blast boredom away during the longer-than-desired wait times, all played easily on your phone. It’s also a great way to create home videos (it video records you as you play) and gets lots of laughs. I swear, the lines become almost just as fun as the ride is. I always love how whenever you play it, the kids in the family behind you always peer over your shoulders to watch. We’ve included them many a time- great way to make friends!
08 | Buy Disney Gear/Outfits to Wear Ahead of Time
Bring some Disney gear from home to make pictures cuter, save time and money shopping for it in the parks, and to have something more unique than what everyone else is wearing who didn’t plan ahead. This last trip I bought Evan and Brayden matching Mickey Mouse Hats (seen below). They were super cute, and did the trick of having that “Disney vibe” without them looking like every other DL fan. The matching was fun too. We always get a fresh set of Minnie Mouse Ears for me and Blakely as well- lots of options to pick from on amazon.
#8.5 Treat Yourself to a Disney Fanny Pack
I’m telling you… wear a Disney Land fanny pack (or belt bag as the cool kids call them). My absolute favorite thing I bring to Disneyland is my Minnie Mouse Fanny Pack I got on amazon (seen below). I can’t tell you how many compliments I get when I wear mine!
We now all have one because they not only add a bit more DL flare to your outfit but are super handy. They easily house your phone, a snack, sanitizer, sunscreen, or whatever else you may need throughout the day. It’s more comfortable to wear than a backpack and you get the plus of not having to take it on and off when you hop on each ride (it’s so easy to forget whatever you take off and put in those nets on rides).
Brayden got into it this trip as well and wore Evan’s that he’s had for years. I’m pretty sure he just kept snacks in it. Blakely couldn’t get on board with the retro style and used her Minnie Mouse Backpack.
09 | Plan Out Longer Breaks So Your Littles Make It All Day
Plan out longer breaks so your littles make it throughout the day and have a chance to de-stimulate. Rather than stopping randomly somewhere in the park and trying to find an open bench, I suggest you plan one of the below shows or activities into your day in-between your LL’s so the break is enjoyable and you continue to maximize your Disney experience:
Disneyland:
- Parades (as mentioned above): 3:30 & 6:30 from It’s a Small World to Main Street
- See a show at the Fantasyland Theater. Shows are rotating but a top show to see is Lion King. There’s plenty of seating and it’s a great time for a snack and to get some shade. Bonus tip: it’s right by the Toon Town Railroad station so you can easily get there by train if you’re on the other side of the park.
- One of the lesser known DL experiences is the “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” in the cinema on the right-hand side of Main Street near the Front Entrance. It’s easy to miss, but boy does it do the trick for a quick 20-min rest! This was my favorite one when the kids were super small, because it’s relatively dark, cool and quiet. They’d often fall asleep for a quick nap (we’ve be known to doze off as well). If some of your party doesn’t want to go, they can easily shop on Main Street while they wait.
California Adventure:
- See one of the shows or rest in the lobby at the Animation Academy. The building is enormous and when I say air-conditioned, it’s not doing it justice. There are three experiences here, all spearing off of the main room. We personally love the Turtle Talk with Crush show, which airs every 45 minutes or so. Crush interacts with the kids who can sit criss-cross up front, while you can sit back in your theater seat and unwind. See below for Evan taking a nap while waiting (lay down at your own risk)
- If the kids have energy and you don’t, definitely check out Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. We love to sit on a central bench and watch while they run up and down and through the challenge course. The kids easily spent an hour here when Evan and I just really needed a break.
10 | Have Your Kids Bring Cash to Disneyland to Buy a Toy
Lastly, and I love this one, have your littles bring some of their own money or give them a budget for spending.
This is a great age for them to start thinking about saving for something special and not buying impulsively (que Ariel’s “Part of Your World” soundtrack). This trip both kids brought $50 they had gotten from their Uncle & Aunt for their birthdays and were really excited to shop. It was the first trip where they were actually interested in the stores and looking at all the different trinkets. Once the kids found something to buy, we had them go up to the cashier and pay for it. Disney staff is always super nice so it made for a good experience and helped build up their confidence.
Blakely bought a blue Mickey sweatshirt which she’s probably worn every day since our trip (girl math says it’s basically free at this point) and Brayden found a fantastic spider man gizmo that he can play with here at home or could actually use on the spider man ride in CA (girl math says we like a nice 2 in 1). Overall, it was fun for them, saved us listening to the begging for things throughout the day, and made me one proud mama!
And that’s it (for now!)
What is your great tip for this age group that we all need to know about?! Let us know below and join the Newsletter to follow along for additional tips, tricks & updates!
