smallbutmighty
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2021
Hi everyone! These forums and everyone here have been exponentially helpful in planning my little family’s Disneyland vacation so I first wanna say THANK YOU (it was a success!) and also, hopefully offer some helpful tips/reviews for future travelers. 
Of note, we do not live in California. We flew in and only visit DL once every few years.
There are only 3 of us, 2 adults and 1 child. We stayed 4 days, 3 nights.
My husband is easy going but both my son and myself struggle with anxiety (I have GAD & panic attacks) and my son is sensory sensitive so I had to plan specifically around these considerations. These things factor in when you plan. But anyway, my experiences/takeaways from a recent trip below!
- Flight: We flew into SNA (John Wayne Airport/OC) as this is closer and you don’t have the hassle of LA traffic. Roughly 25 minutes away from Disneyland.
- Transportation: We used a private shuttle from Midwilshuttle both to and from the airport. We were able to request a booster seat for my son, not ride with anyone else (sorry, just hate doing that LOL), and it was quick/easy. You pay and tip in person both to and from. We were staying on DL campus the whole time so didn’t need a car and tbh, didn’t want to drive anyway. Uber/Lyft makes me nervous nowadays too…
- Planning: Yes, I booked everything way out in advance. Long story short, we had canceled our Disney cruise due to …new rules… so DL was a good alternative. I’d say we started planning at least a year in advance, booked the room/tickets 6 months in advance, and yes- I had to do the 0500 wake up for booking dining reservations. But I mostly got the ones I wanted (including World of Color dessert party).
Day One: Disneyland Hotel / Trader Sam’s / Downtown Disney
- We arrived around lunchtime and since we were super off schedule, we just snacked until our late afternoon reservation for Trader Sam‘s.
- Disneyland hotel is adorable!
Not the “fanciest” but I like that it still has true, classic Disney appeal. Love the retro items / decor strewn about the place. Check-in was done via the app and we dropped our bags at bag-drop up front since our room wasn’t ready. Of note, they said they’d text us when it was ready & they didn’t. 
Just keep checking the app. It will not likely be ready before 3 PM.
- The pool was chilly but at least somewhat heated water. Love that you can order drinks/food to your seat! Of note with seating: Good luck! It is very hard to find seating when the weather is nice. Either have someone come out early to snag a chair or rent a cabana in advance. They also offer free towels & water which is nice. There are bathrooms in the AC to change in/out of and an outdoor shower, too.
- Trader Sam’s: The earliest reservation I could grab was 250 PM
so this was “Linner”. Enjoyed the cute decor and the food was pretty good but not crazy about the drinks, to be completely honest with y’all. With all the hype, I definitely expected more. Oh well. Fun nevertheless. Just don’t come with super high expectations. Green beans were good, chicken wings good, poke bowl good. Better for sitting at the bar, just for adults.
- Downtown Disney: Also super cute! Roughly a 5 minute walk + security to get in. What’s nice is once you do security here, you’re good to go for DL/CA. Definitely not as many shopping/dining options as Florida’s but we loved the Confectionary, WOD, and the pizza was tasty, too.
Day Two: Disneyland here we come!
- Woke up naturally around 0600 since we are two hours ahead where we liveSo that worked to our advantage (well, in the morning, anyway). Made coffee in the room & brought breakfast/protein bars to snack on while walking into the parks. The options at the hotel or DTD are suuuuuper packed and not worth the wait IMO. We just wanted to get going.
- Rope drop was pretty smooth/easy. Of course, there will always be ignorant folks who like to push down/run over/knock over people once it drops, but we just tried to stay to the side/out of the way of these… people. Just not worth seeing my son injured.
- Purchased Genie+ and reserved a ride while waiting for rope drop. Game changer!
- Fantasyland first as this was best course of action for the little dude and optimizing time. Peter Pan was down at first but we were able to come around. TBH, don‘t really think its worth the wait but its still cute. Loved Its a Small World, of course. Loved the Storybook Canals!
- Mobile ordered breakfast at Rose Tavern. Yes, the gray stuff is delicious. Meals can be split between people which helps with cutting costs *and* being able to try more food throughout the day, lol.
- Lunch at Cafe Orleans! Loved the Monte Christopher (both regular + vegetarian version) and loved just sitting down for a while, haha. Mint julep was tasty too.
- Loooooooved all the character meet and greets! There are SO many characters walking around! And you can actually interact with them! Just love it.
- One of our longest lines was to meet Tinkerbell in Pixie Hollow. WORTH IT!!! And since we bought Genie+, these beautiful Photopass pictures were free/included. Love that.
- Hyperspace mountain was fun but made me super nauseous
wasn’t prepared for that.
- I actually don’t remember what we had for dinner since my tummy was all messed up after Hyperspace. But I gotta hand it to Mobile Ordering- we never waited for food, just planned ahead what we might want and went in to pick it up when we were ready. Between Genie+ and Mobile Ordering, you’ve got a great game plan and accessibility options.
- I know this seems obvious but I can’t stress enough the importance of bringing a portable phone charger. You are on your phone a good amount of the day so it will drain your battery fast. This is a necessity. The Wi-Fi was working well, which is a plus. Overall, though, I don’t feel as if I was on my phone “too much”. I was still able to quickly book what I wanted and tuck it away. I still felt like I was able to disconnect and engage with my family/the park/ the experiences. So don’t worry about that too much. You just have to get the hang of things.
More on the next 2 days in my next post! This one is getting too lengthy, haha.
Of note, we do not live in California. We flew in and only visit DL once every few years.
There are only 3 of us, 2 adults and 1 child. We stayed 4 days, 3 nights.
My husband is easy going but both my son and myself struggle with anxiety (I have GAD & panic attacks) and my son is sensory sensitive so I had to plan specifically around these considerations. These things factor in when you plan. But anyway, my experiences/takeaways from a recent trip below!
- Flight: We flew into SNA (John Wayne Airport/OC) as this is closer and you don’t have the hassle of LA traffic. Roughly 25 minutes away from Disneyland.
- Transportation: We used a private shuttle from Midwilshuttle both to and from the airport. We were able to request a booster seat for my son, not ride with anyone else (sorry, just hate doing that LOL), and it was quick/easy. You pay and tip in person both to and from. We were staying on DL campus the whole time so didn’t need a car and tbh, didn’t want to drive anyway. Uber/Lyft makes me nervous nowadays too…
- Planning: Yes, I booked everything way out in advance. Long story short, we had canceled our Disney cruise due to …new rules… so DL was a good alternative. I’d say we started planning at least a year in advance, booked the room/tickets 6 months in advance, and yes- I had to do the 0500 wake up for booking dining reservations. But I mostly got the ones I wanted (including World of Color dessert party).
Day One: Disneyland Hotel / Trader Sam’s / Downtown Disney
- We arrived around lunchtime and since we were super off schedule, we just snacked until our late afternoon reservation for Trader Sam‘s.
- Disneyland hotel is adorable!
Not the “fanciest” but I like that it still has true, classic Disney appeal. Love the retro items / decor strewn about the place. Check-in was done via the app and we dropped our bags at bag-drop up front since our room wasn’t ready. Of note, they said they’d text us when it was ready & they didn’t. Just keep checking the app. It will not likely be ready before 3 PM.- The pool was chilly but at least somewhat heated water. Love that you can order drinks/food to your seat! Of note with seating: Good luck! It is very hard to find seating when the weather is nice. Either have someone come out early to snag a chair or rent a cabana in advance. They also offer free towels & water which is nice. There are bathrooms in the AC to change in/out of and an outdoor shower, too.
- Trader Sam’s: The earliest reservation I could grab was 250 PM
so this was “Linner”. Enjoyed the cute decor and the food was pretty good but not crazy about the drinks, to be completely honest with y’all. With all the hype, I definitely expected more. Oh well. Fun nevertheless. Just don’t come with super high expectations. Green beans were good, chicken wings good, poke bowl good. Better for sitting at the bar, just for adults.- Downtown Disney: Also super cute! Roughly a 5 minute walk + security to get in. What’s nice is once you do security here, you’re good to go for DL/CA. Definitely not as many shopping/dining options as Florida’s but we loved the Confectionary, WOD, and the pizza was tasty, too.
Day Two: Disneyland here we come!
- Woke up naturally around 0600 since we are two hours ahead where we live
So that worked to our advantage (well, in the morning, anyway). Made coffee in the room & brought breakfast/protein bars to snack on while walking into the parks. The options at the hotel or DTD are suuuuuper packed and not worth the wait IMO. We just wanted to get going.- Rope drop was pretty smooth/easy. Of course, there will always be ignorant folks who like to push down/run over/knock over people once it drops, but we just tried to stay to the side/out of the way of these… people. Just not worth seeing my son injured.
- Purchased Genie+ and reserved a ride while waiting for rope drop. Game changer!
- Fantasyland first as this was best course of action for the little dude and optimizing time. Peter Pan was down at first but we were able to come around. TBH, don‘t really think its worth the wait but its still cute. Loved Its a Small World, of course. Loved the Storybook Canals!
- Mobile ordered breakfast at Rose Tavern. Yes, the gray stuff is delicious. Meals can be split between people which helps with cutting costs *and* being able to try more food throughout the day, lol.
- Lunch at Cafe Orleans! Loved the Monte Christopher (both regular + vegetarian version) and loved just sitting down for a while, haha. Mint julep was tasty too.
- Loooooooved all the character meet and greets! There are SO many characters walking around! And you can actually interact with them! Just love it.
- One of our longest lines was to meet Tinkerbell in Pixie Hollow. WORTH IT!!! And since we bought Genie+, these beautiful Photopass pictures were free/included. Love that.
- Hyperspace mountain was fun but made me super nauseous
wasn’t prepared for that.- I actually don’t remember what we had for dinner since my tummy was all messed up after Hyperspace. But I gotta hand it to Mobile Ordering- we never waited for food, just planned ahead what we might want and went in to pick it up when we were ready. Between Genie+ and Mobile Ordering, you’ve got a great game plan and accessibility options.
- I know this seems obvious but I can’t stress enough the importance of bringing a portable phone charger. You are on your phone a good amount of the day so it will drain your battery fast. This is a necessity. The Wi-Fi was working well, which is a plus. Overall, though, I don’t feel as if I was on my phone “too much”. I was still able to quickly book what I wanted and tuck it away. I still felt like I was able to disconnect and engage with my family/the park/ the experiences. So don’t worry about that too much. You just have to get the hang of things.
More on the next 2 days in my next post! This one is getting too lengthy, haha.
No shame in our game! I still purchased 
Mostly sunny (sometimes cloudy) and cool in CA versus WDW where its either dreadfully hot or down pouring rain 
Sometimes you get lucky in FL (namely early spring or late fall) and the weather is actually nice but its definitely a gamble.
