We have been to Disneyland countless times as we have had 4 annual passes over the last 13 years. It takes us about 6 hours to drive there, depending on traffic, and we have tried many different accommodations over the years!
One of our favorites, because we love to camp, is the Canyon RV Park, which is about a 45 minute drive from Disneyland! If you’re serious about staying close to Disneyland then this definitely isn’t the option you want to take! We love our Disneyland time, but we also enjoy a break away from all the people and having some open space, which is what this park provides for us! It’s right next to the freeway, so easily accessible, and the freeway noise isn’t crazy loud as the freeway is elevated there so the noise seems more faint. There is a playground for the kids, lots of grass to run around on, the nearby Santa Ana river with a nice walking path next to it, and great restaurants and shopping nearby. Camping makes things a little more budget friendly too! We eat breakfast at our site, make lunches to take with us to the park, and depending on the day sometimes dinner too, or we will plan to eat dinner in the park. We have camped in another campground much closer to Disneyland, and it was nice as well, but a lot tighter squeeze on the sites, so it depends on how you are planning to spend your days. A quick hint that when we stay at the Canyon RV Park, we do plan our drive to and from the park around the lowest traffic times.
On one of our stays we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel for a week and it was great. Being close to the park, seeing the characters in the lobby, and all the Disney details in our room and throughout the building were amazing! We have friends who have stayed at Disney’s Grand Californian and they say it is amazing as well! We have walked through the lobby of the hotel and it is absolutely stunning, so even if you don’t stay here, we recommend walking through the lobby!! One of the perks of this hotel is that you walk out of the hotel and into the park (literally)! This is one of the higher budget hotels and if you can do it, that would be where I would suggest staying! This is on our “someday” list!!
A FEW DISNEYLAND TIPS
At least on a few days, get there when it opens….this means arriving at the park about 45 minutes before it actually opens. This gives you time to get through security (always a line) and get in the front gates (always a line) and be on Main Street in Disneyland or inside California Adventure when they open the rest of the park at the open time. The stores along Main Street are all open before the rest of the park opens so if you get there early enough and still have some time before the park opens you can get in some shopping time. The stores seem to be a lot less busy at this time because most people are standing on Main Street waiting for the rides to open.
A fun activity for the kids that you can “chance” having the opportunity to do is to “Open Disneyland”! When getting there early and waiting on Main Street for the park to open, go to the Main Street Photo Supply Co. on the right side (last store you come to on the corner). Go inside and “hang out” or ask if you can “open the park”. This simply means everyone gathers in a circle and pushes a button that announces that Disneyland is now open. Don’t ask me why, but kids think this is so cool! Even my teenagers were SO excited that they got to do this. Remember, this is just a “chance” as they don’t seem to have a consistent way that they “pick” who gets to do this.
Our “family rule” is to always try and have a Fast Pass for a ride!!! Even at Disneyland’s busiest times we don’t stand in a line much longer than 20 minutes! More on that later!
HIDDEN FUN
Disneyland is the “Happiest Place on Earth”, but sometimes it is nice to have a quiet-ish break without having to return to your accommodations. If you find yourself needing this or just want a place to sit or eat that is a bit secluded (or just a shortcut to more rides), this is the quietest place we have found in Disneyland.
While walking next to the lake going towards Splash Mountain, you will come to a little building on the right side…walk in front of the building (going right) and then go around it (turning left) and you will be on a sort of “hidden boardwalk”. There are a few cute building fronts you will walk past (fun for cute pics) and then there is a place with a few tables where you can take a break. I haven’t ever been through here when there hasn’t been available tables. If you continue walking, there is a great place to view the Splash Mountain Hill and other parts of the ride. If we are walking to or from Splash Mountain area, we always use this pathway as it is a temporary escape from all the people and it bypasses the almost always busy bridge that is the main path.
Fun to see: Just before entering the line for the Indiana Jones ride, look behind the garbage cans at the base of the tree and there is a little “house”
The story behind the leprechaun who lived here is a great book called LITTLE MAN OF DISNEYLAND that can be found on Amazon.
Cats Rule: Cats roam Disneyland at night when all the people are gone but sometimes you can see a few during open hours. We have seen them in the late evening (almost closing time) around Indiana Jones, but there is 1 cat that I can see every single time! It pretty much sleeps right next to a tree during the day and tends to blend in so look carefully…it is in California Adventure between the river ride and Soarin’ behind the fence in the trees:
FAVORITE SHOWS
All of the shows in Disneyland are great!! We haven’t ever seen one that we weren’t happy with and they are all great for kids and adults of all ages! It’s like magic that Disney can make that happen!
Mickey and the Magical Map – Disneyland…on the left before entering Toon Town.
Frozen – California Adventure….We have seen this 5 times and we all love it! You don’t have to like Frozen to like this show….it has a lot of great affects that make it amazing and in my kids words…”magical”. Even the High School Drill Team girls loved this show when we took them!
Turtle Talk with Crush – California Adventure in the Animation Studio. This is an audience interactive show and so is a little bit different every time you see it! I can’t count the number of times that we have been to this show!! Also, it is inside and on hot days is a good escape/break from the heat.
World of Color – California Adventure at the lake. We do this on a late night. There are 2 shows in the evenings and the 2nd showing is typically less crowded than the first. We think it is worth staying late one night and seeing the 2nd show, and for a double win, we go to Toy Story during the 1st show because the line is typically half as long as normal.
RIDES
Get a Fast Pass for a ride, and as soon as allows, get another fast pass for a ride, and then go use your first fast pass. For example, get a fast pass for Haunted Mansion that is good to ride from 11:00-12:00. While waiting for 11:00, go ride Pirates of the Caribbean (no fast pass option) and then at 11:00 go get a fast pass for Splash Mountain, then go ride Haunted Mansion. Depending on the time of day, your fast pass for Splash may be ready to ride by the time you get out of Haunted Mansion so go get a fast pass for Indiana Jones and go ride Splash Mountain. 3-4 rides in 1 hour without a lot of standing in line! We used to send all the passes with one or two people to get the fast passes for everyone so not everyone is walking to get the passes. NOW there is MAX PASS that you can use on the Disneyland APP that makes it so you can get a fastpass with out going to the ride and getting one you just reserve on the app.
If you go to the park when it opens and aren’t using “Magic Morning”, then plan on going to the park that doesn’t have Magic Morning, that way there aren’t already hundreds of people in the park. Our typical morning routine:
Disneyland:
Get Space Mountain Fast Passes
Get in line and ride Star Tours
Get Star Tours Fast Passes
Use Space Mountain Fast Pass
Get another Space Mountain Fast Pass (or Buzz Lightyear fast pass)
Use Star Tours Fast Pass
Get in line and ride rockets
Get in line and ride Buzz Lightyear
Use Space Mountain Fast Pass
California Adventure
Get Cars Fast Pass
Get in line and ride Toy Story (short-ish line in the morning)
Get another Cars Fast Pass
Go use first Cars Fast Pass
Ride the rides in Bugs Land and/or watch the Bugs Life movie
Get Soarin’ fast pass as soon as available
Ride Grizzly River Run
Use Soarin’ fast pass
Go to the Pier and get Screamin’ fast pass
Get in line and ride Ferris Wheel
Use Screamin’ fast pass
Maybe by now the 2nd Cars Fast pass is ready to useF
Disneyland Food
These are our favorite places to eat, but note that when I say sharing, that is mainly my girls and wife sharing. My son Dylan & I usually get our own. And, we always carry plenty of snacks in our backpack (full size bags of chips, granola bars, fruit snacks, water bottles that we refill at drinking fountains or a Camelbak) so when we do eat a meal in the park, the kids aren’t already starving. We have found that getting a regular meal and splitting it is more budget friendly than getting 2 kids meals.
- Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe:
Toasted Cheese Sandwich with Tomato Basil Soup $10….2 people share
Oven-roasted Turkey on Ciabatta $10….2 people share
- Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor:
Firehouse Dalmation Mint Sundae & Choc Chip Cooke Sundae…Treat for the fam to share
- The Golden Horseshoe
Chili in a Bread Bowl $11….2 people share
- Harbour Galley
Cheddar Broccoli Soup in Bread Bowl $11…..2 people share
They also have Clam Chowder and soup of the day here and all are good.
- Plaza Inn
Fried Chicken meal (potatoes, veggies, biscuit) $17….2-3 people share
Pasta with Chicken Alfredo $15…..2 people
Turkey Leg Carts – Dylan LOVES the turkey legs, the girls really like the Chimichangas
- Blue Bayou Restaurant
For a nice sit down meal in a themed restaurant, the Blue Bayou is fabulous! It is delicious food, great service, and always enjoyable. You do need reservations though or you may not get in! We recommend calling to reserve your time as soon as you can so you can pick when you want to go!
California Adventure
- Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill
Burritos and salads are good here $12-14….2 people share
- Pacific Wharf Cafe
Soup Bread Bowls $11……..2 people share
- Ghirardelli Chocolate shop
All of the sundaes are good and our fam shares one for a treat. They have a big one that says it serves 4 for $40, but our fam of 6 always gets a regular one for $12 and it’s a great treat.
- Lucky Fortune Cookery
Rice Bowls $12……..2 people share