15 tips to know before your next Disneyland trip!

Our family loves going to Disneyland — and a little planning beforehand can go a long way to making your trip more magical! Here’s 15 tips for your next Disneyland trip.

Tips for Disneyland and California Adventure Park

1. Where to eat at Disneyland: Look at dining options before your trip

There are so many different dining options across both parks so it's a good idea to research what's available before your trip. On the Disneyland app, you're available to view all the dining options available. As your scroll through the dining options listed in the app you'll be able to see the menu, prices, and even photos of the food.

We have found it so helpful to look through the menus with your kids and plan out where you think you'll want to eat, especially if you have kids that are more particular with what they will eat! This will save you lots of time at the park.

 2. Download Disneyland App Before your Trip

On your Disneyland trip you will be using the app a ton so you'll want to be familiar with the app before your trip.

The Disneyland app is super helpful during your visit — you can search ride wait times, book lightning lanes, mobile order food, search for characters, and more!

3. Get Lightning Lanes

Lightning Lanes are definitely a game changer for making the most of your Disneyland Day and skipping the lines.

However, for kids under 40 inches, Lightning Lanes aren't as valuable (there aren't many rides available on lightning lanes for kids under 40 inches) so be sure to check out the list of rides you can use it on before purchasing if your kids are younger.

 4. How to Maximize Lightning Lanes

From the moment you scan into the Disneyland or California Adventure park you can book your first Lightning Lane. There is some strategy in which rides you want to book first, becuase some lightning lanes will "sell out". For example Indiana Jones, Guardians of the Galaxy, Space Mountain, and Toy Story Mania run out of available times early in the afternoon so if those are important to you may want to book those sooner.

You can book a lightning lane as soon as you use a lightning lane reservation or two hours after your last reservation. If the lightning lane time is more than two hours away, set an alarm on your phone so you don't forget to book another reservation!

5. Know the Height Requirements

Nothing is more disappointing for kids (and for the parent!) then walking up to a ride and finding out that they are not tall enough to ride it. Measuring your child before the trip, and knowing the height requirements for different rides can ensure that there aren't huge disappointments (and tears) at the parks.

 6. Kids with allergies at Disneyland

I have two kid with food allergies so we have gotten to know the allergen menu and allergy process very well at Disneyland. Here's some Disneyland tips for food allergies:

If you search the menus on the Disneyland app it will show you what foods are safe for each allergy. For example, if you have a peanut allergy it will show which foods are safe at a partiulcar resturant at Disneyland for peanut allergy. I recommend searching the menus before you trip so you know which restaurants have safe meal options for you or your kids.

There are several resturants that don't list their allergens on the app. This is typically at the restaurants that don't have mobile order options and are more sit-down/not grab-and-go. In that case, when you arrive to the restaurant and go to order, ask to speak to a chef about an allergen. They will get a chef and you will be able to ask them about the menu item you are looking at getting and ask if it contains the allergen you have. The staff and chef have always been so helpful in this process to make sure my kids with allergies are eating food that is safe for them at Disneyland.

7. Disneyland Packing Checklist

For Disneyland here's my go-to's for packing:

• Battery Pack . You’ll need to use your phone to book lightning lanes, mobile dining, rider switch, take photos, etc. so your phone battery will drain fast. I recommend getting the Fuel Rod becuase you can exchange the fuel rods in the park if it the battery pack runs out of battery!

• Ponchos. Ponchos are a must for us for Tiana's Bayou ride and Grizzly Rapids. In the summer you can get away with a little wet clothes, but in the colder times nothing will ruin your kid's day faster than being wet and cold. I always grab this pack of panchos on Amazon — it has a great assortment of adult and kid sizes.

• Sandals/Flip Flops: Along that line, bring sandals/flip flops to change into before the water rides. I know what you're thinking — that sounds like a lot to pack, but TRUST ME those rides our feet always get soaking wet — and wet socks and shoes are the worst, even in the summer! If you're going with kids and have a stroller just store the extra shoes underneath. If you don't have a strolle you can rent a locker at the parks to store extra clothes/shoes.

  
  

• Stroller. If you have kids under 10 I would recommend a stroller. Even if your older kids don't use them at home anymore you will want them at the parks. There is a ton of walking and they will love having breaks here and there in the stroller. Plus, the stroller can double as storage underneath. I have a lot of different strollers, but my favorite stroller to bring to the parks because it's lightweight, easy to maneuver, and a great price point is the Zoe Stroller. We have the double stroller, but they also have great single and even triple and quad strollers!

  
  

• Refillable Water Bottles. There are so many places to refil your water bottles around the parks. The last thing you want to spend money on is water — save it for treats or merch!

  
  

• Autograph Book. Getting signatures from characters is so fun in the parks! It's always such a highlight for our family. Autograph books can be pretty expensive in the parks and hard to find (they aren't at every gift shop) so I recommend bringing this fun Disneyland book for the characters to sign! And don't forget to bring nice, new sharpies for them to sign. Characters don't have pens, you have to have one if you want an autograph.

  
  

• Sweatshirt. Besides the really hot summer months you'll want a sweatshirt for the mornings and evenings.

  
  

• Disney Apparel. I love wearing Disney tees at the park.

8. Best Time to Visit Disneyland

The best time to visit Disneyland varies based on what's most important to you. Let me break down some things to consider!

My personal favorite time to visit is during the Christmas holiday — the weather is usually great and the parks are absolutely stunning with their holiday decorations. That being said, it's also a busier time! So if you plan to go during the holiday season I would plan on purchasing lightning lanes to minimize your wait times at the parks.

Halloween time is a close second for the best time to visit Disneyland for the same reason — the fall and halloween decorations make the park feel extra magical. We recently went in September (The Halloween time at Disneyland starts end of August!) but it was so hot and it felt a little too early for me to be celebrating Halloween. For that reason, if you're looking to go during Halloween season I recommend going in October when the weather will be cooler.

If you're looking for the best time to go to Disneyland for low wait times, I've found January and February are usually less busy, but the weather can be more unpredictable and can get really cold! There are several crowd calendars online that can give you better ideas of less busy weeks — just search "Disneyland Crowd Calendars" on Google.

9. Tips for Families with Kids

If you're going with multiple kids everyone is going to have a preference for things they want to do in the parks. Depending on how many days you are at the parks, you're most likely not going to be able to do everything. Before your trip talk about everyone's top 3 - 5 must do's at the park. Prioritize those, and then anything extra you do is a bonus!

10. How to use Rider Switch at Disneyland

If there is a ride that a member(s) of your group can't ride, you can ask a cast member at the line entrance for a rider switch. You must have the people riding and the people sitting out with you when asking for a rider switch. The rider switch will allow the adult sitting out, plus one more person, to skip the line (you'll go through the lightening lane line, so it's not immediate but still faster) after the first group is done. The cast member will scan two tickets on the app to create the rider switch "ticket" to redeem for later. Each ticket can only have one rider switch at a time, so be sure to use it befores scanning for a new rider switch ticket!

11. Non-Ride Things to do at Disneyland with lines are long

When ride lines get long our favorite non-ride activities at California Adventure are Animation Studio, Crush the Turtle, Disney Junior Dance Party, and Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.

At Disneyland our favorite non-ride activities are the canoes and Tom Sawyer Island.

Also, don't forget to stop and meet the characters! The lines move faster than you'd think and it's such a fun memory for kids. The characters will sign autographs again and will take up-close pictures.

12. Smashed Pennies

When my kids were younger they loved smashing pennies while we waited for the bigger kids to be done with the height requirement rides! We picked up a penny book at the park.

For most of the penny machines in the parks you do not need to bring your own coins. You just insert the cost (credit card or cash) and the penny is already in the machine. Most smashed pennies cost $1.

13. Link Tickets before Trip

If you have other adults in your group I would recommend each adult having an account on the Disneyland app. Then in the app, link your tickets with one another. This is super important for when you are booking lightning lanes — if your tickets aren't linked you may not be able to get the same lightning lane times.

14. Disneyland Ticket Tips & Discounts

There are several places to get tickets for discounts for Disneyland Tickets.

They aren't always available on Target, but when they are if you have a Target Red Card you can get 5% off your tickets by purchasing them through Target.

If you're looking to use credit card points to cover the cost of your tickets you'll need to buy your tickets from a travel agency, such as Undercover Tourist.

Disneyland also does several promotions throughout the year so be sure to check the Disneyland website for any seasonal promotions going on!

15. Rope Drop

Last but not least, to maximize your day I recommend rope dropping — which in Disney terms just means getting there before the park opens that way as soon as the park opens you're ready to ride rides! The first hour or two at the parks is the least busiest times so you can get lots of rides in during those early hours.