Planning your trip to Disneyland.

You’re finally doing it, you’re taking that trip to Disneyland you’ve been talking about for months or even years now. You are super excited but also overwhelmed because you don’t even know where to start. Here’s a few tips I find helpful when we plan our trips.

When to go

One of the first things we like to do when we plan our trips is check and see the best time to go. Some things we look at are: will any rides be closed, are there other events going on that we will have to pay extra for, and how busy will it be? We wanted to go during Halloween time this year but Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets were already sold out (they usually go on sale some time in June) so we decided to wait. Before and after Halloween time and before and after Christmas time some rides are closed to add or remove decorations so you want to check the dates to make sure you’re not missing anything by going around those times. We missed The Haunted Mansion the last time we went because they were getting it ready for Halloween. If you’re worried about it being insanely busy check out disneylanddaily.com they have a handy little calendar that gives you an idea of what it will be like.

Book the trip

We book our trips through Expedia, they have pretty good deals and you earn points that go towards free flights and hotel stays. Most people fly into LAX but we prefer John Wayne Airport, it’s a lot smaller and a lot quicker to get through. When it comes to hotels they have a lot of great ones, the Disney ones are fantastic from what I hear, we’ve never stayed at one since they are a bit spendy. We like the Peacock Suites, it’s not too expensive and they have a pool and two hot tubs. They also have a common area with a pool table, foos ball and an X box One. Fun fact they have dvds and board games you can check out from the front desk which is fantastic when you need to entertain kids. The also have two grills and a seating area on the roof top where you can also get a partial view of Disney’s fireworks at night.

What are you going to do while you’re there

Will you go to one or both parks? What events will be going on? We’re going for Christmas and they have quite a few things going on such as snow at the castle certain times in the day, Disney ¡Viva Navidad!, the Christmas parade, and much more. Definitely look into getting fast passes so you don’t spend the whole day waiting in lines. Decide if you’re going to eat there or if you’re going to bring food. We typically bring a backpack with snacks and eat at a few places there as well. If you plan to drink water I suggest bringing your own. The water from the drinking fountains doesn’t taste very good and the do sell bottles of water but they are not cheap. Look into renting a locker if you plan to buy things that you don’t want to carry around. If you have small children you can rent a stroller for $15 a day. If you have a smartphone be sure to download the Disneyland app. You can scan your tickets, check ride times, see where characters are in the park, and a lot more.

Have fun

I think the most important thing to do while you’re there is have fun and just take it all in. It really is a feeling like nothing else. One of my husbands favorite things is once you walk through the gates into the park, you don’t hear the outside world anymore. They really do try and make it like nothing else exists. I could go on forever and I’m sure there’s things I forgot to mention, I think I’ve covered all the basics though. Hopefully this is helpful for those who are planning to go and hopefully you love it as much as we do.