Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a bit of a Disneyland fanatic. Ok ok, not a bit, YES, I'm obsessed with Disneyland. #lovethatplace But, living on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean makes frequent visits difficult, so I definitely try to make annual visits happen. My last visit on December 23rd was a different visit than all previous ones for me because this time I went with my son - I visited the Merriest Place on Earth...as a mom. #coolright?! It's amazing to see Disneyland with a new lens and with a whole new perspective. But, truth be told, because he's only six months old, I was still able to enjoy the Disneyland experience selfishly (rode (Hyper)Space Mountain twice, Big Thunder Mountain twice, and got soaked on Splash Mountain!) and enjoy it with my new family. The task can seem daunting to bring a little one to Mickey's place, but it can be done. So here's my quick top five list to maximize your experience at my favorite place on Earth with a young family ;)
Top 5 Disneyland Tips from Aimee
5. FastPass! Duh! You probably have heard of this amazing option to use at Disneyland. #itreallyisthebest All I have to say is 1) get one for your favorite ride as soon as you enter the park (mine is Space Mountain, oops, I mean, Hyper Space Mountain!), and 2) continue to get them every two hours (as allowed per FastPass rules). I promise you, you'll ride with no lines (well, maybe like, a five minute line) and you can actually enjoy yourself in the park - listen, I do not do any lines longer than 30 minutes...EVER.
4. Feed that baby...anywhere - Before going, I researched and found that they have a Baby Care Center for moms, babies, and families. My hubby and I visited the BCC at Disneyland and it was a nice setup for moms and babies. But, not gonna lie, it is a little difficult to always make the trek back to the BCC (especially because you never know exactly when your baby will convert to monster mode and want to feed...). What I found worked best (for us) was I brought an nursing scarf (I like Medahm infinity nursing scarves - but she's no longer making these #waaaaa) and I fed him anywhere that worked for us. Waiting for the parade, we fed Kai while we sat on the bench...during our dinner break, we fed him in the corner of Village Haus (it was nice and warm inside, freezing outside so this was an excellent find), and for his last feeding (Kai only feeds 4 total times - his first one was done at home), we ended up at the First Aid Station (the BCC doesn't allow dads to join moms - so thankfully, they allowed us to feed Kai privately there. #nothinglikeafullhappybaby
3. Stroller aka Bag Holder - Forget the need for a locker or carrying a heavy bag, the stroller became this amazing option to put our bags down and gave our backs a break, when necessary. The only time I had to carry my bag was when we parked our stroller to ride rides. Note: We packed two bags (one with baby stuff like diapers, change of baby clothes, burp cloths, etc. and the other had our valuables). Whenever we rode with the baby, we felt ok with leaving our baby bag with the stroller and carried our valuables on us. #genius
2. Parades are a great time to head to the rides! "No, I want to stay and watch the parade!" said no six month old ever. Haha - the absolute perfect time we found to head to It's a Small World (no FastPass here!) was as the parade was just about head into the finale. The line to the ride moved briskly AND we had a front row seat (even though we were standing) to the ending of the parade. The dancing reindeer came right up to us and Santa even talked to Kai - it was awesome. What was even more awesome was we literally waited in the It's a Small World line for five minutes. #boom And, we used the Paint the Night parade at the end of the night to make our way to the Disneyland exit - front row seats again as we walked to the exit #doubleboom
1. Bring Grandma and Grandpa!! Not only is the experience that much more fun with Grandma and Grandpa there, extra hands and hugs were extra nice, too. Hubby and I were able to ride without worry and we were thrilled to share Kai's first trip to Disneyland with them. Also, not gonna lie, using their FastPasses at the end of the night allowed us to ride Hyperspace Mountain TWICE #woohoo!
Runners-Up:
- Don't forget your Hydro Flask!! Yup, you heard me right - Hydro Flasks are allowed in the parks! Yippee and yay! for cold, refreshing water. #stayhydrated
- Split your meals! You really don't need an entire burger and tons of fries....so guess what? Share! If you split a meal, that fills you up just right. And it allows you to get treats in between meals like yummy cheese popcorn, beignets, pretzel balls with cheese, or a scoop or two of ice cream on Main Street! #allsnacksilove
Yup, you made it to the bottom of my blog, so I wanted to share the quick and fast video I made for my in-laws about Kai's 1st Disneyland Adventure. Enjoy!
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