Like many of my “great” travel ideas, our first trip to Disney was initiated because of something random I read and decided to run with. On Instagram, there was a question about when is a good time to go to Disney. Part of the answer was that children are free until the age of three. How did I not know this? The twins were two and a half at the time so paying for 3 tickets instead of 5 would obviously save us a lot. I started looking at Google flights just to see…
I must have found the sweet spot between spring break and summer break, because there was a flight for one weekend at the end of April/beginning of May that was somewhat affordable. It turns out that this may have been due to the unreliable weather and “May Gray” but that is beside the point. The next step was to arm myself with the information needed to convince the hubby that it wouldn’t be a crazy idea (even though it was, in fact, a very crazy idea). An initial search showed that hotels in San Diego and Anaheim were not unreasonable. Due to my hyper-fixation, I spent the next 24 to 48 hours looking at every single possible hotel, twice. Maybe 3 times. I’m not proud of it. I presented my case and somehow it was decided – we’re going to Disneyland!
We were also itching for a beach trip so it seemed like this idea would satisfy that as well. I am most familiar with beaches in the SanDiego/La Jolla area so we decided to stay in that area for the first part of our trip. We eventually settled on a cheap hotel in the Point Loma area, which is fairly convenient if you’re looking to go to the beach in La Jolla, as well as to Coronado. This was not a hotel I’m going to recommend but let me tell you, it was much more difficult to find a hotel that was under $200 a night and had the possibility of sleeping 5. We checked all possible combinations (2 double beds + 1 or 2 cribs; 2 double beds + roll away; 3 double beds) and this was the only hotel that had any of these combinations in the San Diego area, with 3 double beds. Why is it so hard to find enough beds for a family of 5 that doesn’t really want to pay for 2 rooms or put their 4 and 2 year olds in a room alone in case they don’t have adjoining? This is why we usually pick to stay in Airbnbs. But truth be told, that fifth bed spot is still difficult sometimes, especially if you don’t love the idea of a sofa bed. Anyway, it was a risk to put the girls in a bed but they actually did great sleeping in the bed and thankfully they happily returned to their cribs at home. But they looked so sweet sleeping in a big bed together.
While in San Diego, we were outside as much as we could be. Unfortunately, the weather was in the low 60s much of the time, unlike the mid 70s that were projected when I started packing. If you plan to visit in late April or early May, definitely pack more layers than you think you’ll need. We flew Frontier and chose to bring only one checked suitcase so it was a challenge to pack extra layers for all 5 of us, as the weight limit had recently changed to 40 lbs. We had planned on spending most of our time before Disney at the beach, but because it was so much cooler that expected, we only went to the beach on the afternoon that we arrived. We settled on Mission Beach, meeting some friends from college there. The kids didn’t seem to mind too much that we didn’t get in bathing suits or get in the water, and they happily played in the sand. We also didn’t have much room to pack sand toys but I did pack shovels and they proved to be just enough.
The next day, we had to pivot from plans to be at Coronado beach all day because of the weather. We had a slow morning and got breakfast at a neighborhood bar that also served breakfast, because what says family friendly more than a place that smells like last night’s miller lite, amiright? Jackson enjoyed chatting with the waitress and all of the kids liked the loud dance music. Ha. Then we grabbed surf and turf burritos from Taco Surf in Pacific beach for lunch (always the place we recommend when we know people are traveling to the area) and spent a good part of the afternoon at a park near the beach called Fauel Street Park. There were sand toys left for all to use, and I think Jackson would have been content to stay there all weekend. “Have my mail forwarded, thanks.” The view was not bad from my seat either.
We try to visit local breweries when we travel and spent the rest of the afternoon visiting one in Ocean Beach. Breweries and kids are typically a good match, too. I brought small block kits, coloring book play packs, and LCD doodle pads. But really it’s the snacks that are important. Nothing beats the time we got each kid their own Sonic blast for a brewery hang though. Not that I can blame them. After that, we met up with another friend for dinner in the Old Town San Diego area. We didn’t get a chance to explore because meltdowns, but it looked like a fun neighborhood to wander, lots of colorful decor and shops and restaurants to explore.
In preparation for the Disney part of our trip, the next day we moved north to the Anaheim area. We stayed at the Peacock suites based on a recommendation from my sister and were overall very pleased with our stay. It had 2 double beds with a french door separating the sofa bed. When we checked in, they gave us a welcome drink and snacks. The hotel also had fun contests for the kids to participate in depending on the day but we weren’t there enough days for one to be relevant to us. Just more snacks when we went to ask about it, but the snacks were a win anyway. Toddlers (and 30 something year old moms) are pretty easy to please. After we settled in a bit, we hit the pool. For packing, we buckled the puddle jumpers into the kids car seats before checking them (I don’t love how people have started talking about cramming a bunch of stuff into car seat bags, those who abuse it will ruin it for the rest of us! But we will put diapers or puddle jumpers because they are bulky but mostly lightweight). Our little fishes love to swim and I love making Cameron swim with them. I kid. Then we walked down the street to find some dinner. There was a decent amount of options a short walk away so we didn’t have to worry about parking. It was also a bit of an adventure for the kids because we don’t usually walk to dinner. Call it an adventure, maybe they whine less? Our only complaint with this stay was that the room was a bit bright despite the double pull down shades. (Memo to self, always pack push pins in case a blanket needs pinned over the window.)
Ok, back to the Disney adventure! Peacock Suites is a 20-30 minute walk from Disneyland, and has an option to use the shuttle that runs in the area. I found it a bit difficult to locate much information on the ART shuttle prior to arriving, but it is supposed to come every 20 minutes in the morning and then again in the evening, with more spread out availability throughout the day. There was more information about it at the front desk, and there is a cost to ride. In the morning, we decided not to wait for the shuttle and just walked, especially since we brought our double stroller and Jackson rode on shoulders for part of the walk. And then Disneyland closed at 8 pm for a special event the day we went and we chose not to deal with the crowd to shuttle back and returned to our hotel on foot as well.
We spent 11 hours in the park. Our poor children were so tired but i think it’s safe to say they had so much fun. We brought snacks, fruit, juice boxes, water, and lunch into the park – lunchables for the kids and sub sandwiches for mom and dad. Bringing a small cooler into the park was super easy, especially with the stroller to carry it. They did check it as we entered the park. We just added a lot of ice to our Nalgenes and used that to cool everything else. Next time I’ll bring a gallon Ziplock to pack ice from the hotel so I don’t have to worry about ice packs or having a cooler that leaks. We tried to grab snacks and drinks while waiting in line for rides so that the 20-30 minute waits didn’t feel so long. The biggest hit was the bowl of fruit we brought in. We did have a bit of difficulty with finding spots to park the stroller in areas that were close to the rides we were on, but it was still really nice to have the stroller with the diaper bag and cooler on it. Plan ahead to be sure you can take your valuables with you quickly if you plan to bring a stroller. I could easy grab my belt bag (aka fanny pack), and if someone was desperate enough to steal a bag of cookies from the stroller, have at it I guess.
As we entered the park, there were lines formed to meet a few characters at the end of Main Street. When we walked up, we were told most were going on a break and would return in 10 minutes. But because everything I read told me to immediately go to the back of the park for shorter ride lines before others walked back that way, we decided not to wait. In the end, this was a mistake for us because we were interested in meeting some characters and princesses and really did not see any in the park aside from a few headed to break that weren’t around long enough for photos. We made sure to stand in line to see Minnie and Mickey at their houses in Toontown and got some pictures and autographs. The wait for Minnie was much longer then indicated, but once inside her house, Minnie was right there inside the door. Despite promises to give Minnie a hug, Charlotte and Cassidy kept their distance. Strange, two year olds are usually so trustworthy. Instead, there was lots of screaming and clinging to mom and dad. Once they recovered, they were excited for me to get an autograph for them in their books. I made “autograph books” for the kids before we left, and it was a fun activity for them to make me do for them. Maybe next time, they’ll be able to ask for autographs on their own. If you’re able to stop at the Walmart in the Anaheim area, I also saw cheap ones for sale there, as well as a lot of Disney merch so you don’t spend as much in the park. We did enjoy Toontown overall. The girls were much happier to explore Minnie’s kitchen, with doors and drawers to open and a baking cake to check on. There was also a tea table set up behind her house as we exited. We also enjoyed walking through Mickey’s house, as it is interactive and has lots of things to push, pull or turn. There was a short line to meet Mickey at the back of his house and the girls were slightly less terrified. Jackson loved getting to spend a few minutes with Mickey, who was in a room with just a few other families.
In hindsight, I think I should have researched and planned for a more relaxed sit down meal for a bit of downtime for the kids. We grabbed a burger and chicken tenders from The Red Rose Taverne, which is decorated in Beauty and the Beast style. We also tried the grey stuff, which was – forgive me – only decent. I wish I’d taken time to look at the decor in the restaurant, but we ordered quickly and sat outside – ya know, hungry toddlers (and dads). Soon after sitting, Jackson needed to go to the bathroom so Cameron took him. One of the girls needed to go soon after they left so I weighed the pros and cons and abandoned our table. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it. You win some, you lose some. Thank God we brought lots of extra clothes! If you are in the midst of potty training, definitely over-pack extra clothes, and bring pull-ups even if they’ve got it down. You just never know, and it’s much easier to deal with a mess in pull-ups in a public restroom.
That second lunch was around 3:00 and we were pretty tired by that point, but we still needed to hit up Peter Pan, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh… We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening fitting in as many rides as we could, which as it turns out, meant we missed a few things. I regret that I was not paying attention to the parade schedule and that I did not know that there were designated areas to see princesses. We missed both. Or perhaps we spent way too long waiting to see Minnie Mouse in Toontown. Who knows if these sisters would have actually wanted to meet any princesses anyway. We also missed out on Mickey-shaped pretzels and ice cream because we didn’t make our way back to main street until they were shepherding us out due to the early closure for a special event. Before you go, be sure to download the Disneyland app and pay attention to the schedules if you’re wanting to see the parades. Luckily, I will know better for Disneyland Paris. Stay tuned!
The attractions that we found most toddler/preschool friendly were:
– Toontown – The kids enjoyed the freedom and ability to move around Donald’s boat and Goofy’s house, as well as the slides and such around there.
– Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters – This was the first ride we went on and it was very interactive and we all loved that part of it. Charlotte was out for some Emperor Zurg blood! (The best picture of Charlotte ever above).
– Autotopia – This was definitely Jackson’s favorite ride! We were smiled upon and he and I got to ride in a green car. He drove and it was a hoot. (Pictured below)
– Casey Jr. Train – I think we all got a kick out of riding in the animal cage car and even though this is a simple ride, trains are always a hit.
– King Arthur Carousel – An oldie but a goodie. The kids enjoyed it and Jackson decided it was his favorite until we rode the Jungle Cruise.
– Jungle Cruise – Jackson’s proclaimed favorite. I think he just liked riding in the boat.
The rides we found to be underwhelming were:
– Finding Nemo – This ride was so underwhelming, I don’t even know what to say. You look through the submarine window and the sharks and other creatures, but it just didn’t have a wow to it. I didn’t excite our crew.
– Pinocchio – I think this one is just old, and it’s sort of random. I also think maybe the car goes through too quickly to understand what’s going on
– Storybook Land Canal Boats – This was mostly because we couldn’t hear the guide
– Astro Orbiter – This rocket ride may have permanently scarred Jackson; time will tell. Charlotte “Danger” was the only kid that had any fun. If you’re not familiar, you ride in little rockets that go up and down, and spin around. It went too high and spun too much.
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Everywhere on our list 