Visiting Disneyland is no easy task – particularly when planning for a successful (and fun) day with your little tot. This year we were set on visiting Disneyland in the summer months, specifically late June. Right when school is out for most kids and the summer days begin to warm up in Southern California. We knew that our visit would require some thoughtful planning in order to make sure that we maximized our visiting hours to the parks with our one-day reservation.
I’ll get to the nitty-gritty and share my packing list with you below:
- Packed Water bottles
- Liquid IV Powder (Hydration Multiplier)
- Snacks
- 2 back packs (each parent)
- Jogger stroller, cooling towels for everyone, neck fan, stroller fan and spray water fan, light linen blanket for additional shade at nap time
- Change of clothes for toddler.
- Sweaters for evening
- Water/Baby Wipes
- PJs for toddler night time change
- Portable Potty for Toddler (Car Ride Home) – Amazon
- Toddler Large Toilet Seat Covers – Amazon
- Activity/Picnic Blanket – Skip Hop
- Tablet (for toddler entertainment)
Hours Present
We arrived to the parking lot by 7:45am and were in the park by 8:15am. To my surprise we didn’t leave the park during the day and we made it until almost 11pm. Late enough to catch the fireworks show. Yay ~ I call that a success (and getting your money’s worth) !
What we did that helped ensure a successful and full days trip?
- Genie + with Lightening Lane. Do you research, for us the $20 add-on per adult ticket was well worth it! Remember we were only there 1- day.
- I had a list of each park with rides I wanted to get to and in which order for each park. This ensured I didn’t lose any valuable time deciding where to go next. This allowed us to go on some rides twice at Disney California Adventure. We used it on 3-4 rides per park.
- Dine in Reservations at the Park – book your reservations no later than exactly 60 days from your visit. They usually open reservations spots on the Disneyland App 60 days out from your visit, early in the morning. By reading the menu you know that they will have options your family will actually enjoy and again saves you on decision making time at the park. The tablet played a huge role for Mila here. It allowed her to watch a Disney favorite show (Bluey) while we ordered and waited for dinner. I think this helped her have something to focus on at the end of the day when energy was running low.
- We really lucked out with our lunch reservations at Carthay Circle. We made alfresco dining reservations for lunch and when we arrived we were sat in the dining lounge, the cool air-conditioning was a real treat and respite from the 90 degree Southern California summer heat wave. (Yes there was a heat 3 day heat wave during that time). Café Orleans dinner was great as well, all seating outside had a great amount of shade for our early dinner at 5:45pm. While I loved the Monte Cristo entree – I would probably split that with my husband next time as it really is too much for even one adult. Mila loved the Mac n Cheese.
- Follow your toddlers routine for naptime. (As much possible) Potty time, change in clothes if needed and stroller/shade quiet time. We found a great shady location at DCA and truly only stumbled across it. It even had benches in this little quiet area. We truly lucked out by scoring a bench for us. Disney does a great job of adding quiet little places for respite where you will notice parents run to, to give their kids a break. It was located next to Hollywood Land. Don’t try to plan this out too perfectly. Our toddler is a light sleeper and she crashed out for a 2 hour nap. Perfect opportunity to give us parents a rest.
- Oh, remember those cooling towels and fans I mentioned? Life savers. We were going through a heat wave with temps at 92 degrees. The park ran out of fans. No one wants to spend time hunting for things like this so make a Target/ Walmart trip before hand. Or purchase via Amazon. You can thank me later!
- Toddler favorite Fantasyland – we left our stroller parked and walked to most of the rides so that we wouldn’t have to waste time parking our stroller after each excursion.
- I packed a small collapsible Skiphop (I think) activity/picnic blanket and it was great for holding our seats for the fireworks show. We ate some snacks and had somewhere other than the direct floor to sit on. Tip: Research first to determine what parades/shows you will want to view.
Were both parks worth it?
- Yes but only with Genie +
- I would recommend travelling only with your immediate family if possible. Larger group reservations would have been more challenging, and I don’t think we would have gotten that nice little seating upgrade at Carthay Circle. I also don’t think we would have been successful with nap time (i.e. finding the location we did was perfect for our party).
Now I’m definitely no Disney blogger but I do know that as a working parent, preparation is so key to maximize a good family trip or outing. If you’ve stumbled across this post, chances are you like me also like to read articles that help us working parents plan a good time. And if you’re on the fence about booking a trip to Disneyland, I say do it. Spend less time thinking and more time doing. Happy planning!
P.S. You will notice I don’t have any affiliate links here but if you have any specific questions feel free to email me, DM me on IG or drop a comment here and I’ll get back to you.
xoxo,
The Sun Queen