What is every little princess’s dream? To meet the “real” princesses in their castles! As we would speak about Disneyland, Dylan would argue that she has already been there as she was sure the Disney Story at the mall was Disneyland. After spending a week exploring the natural wonders of the unique and harsh environment of the southern deserts of Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona; heading into the complete human chaos that is Disneyland was a huge shock to us mentally and emotionally. We were ecstatic to join Dylan in experiencing this wonderland while she was the perfect age to feel the magic, yet Will and I were a little overwhelmed with the amount of stimuli. Dylan, however, had a blast. We decided that we would take things slow and enjoy every aspect of things as they came up. This allowed us to meet Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and have an extended conversation with Anna from Frozen. Although it was extremely hot both days and I think that ¾ of the U.S. was in the park with us, we managed to get on every ride that Dylan was tall enough to go on.
A few things that I noticed while at the park… 1. Many many families are nerdy enough to get matching shirts to wear while at the park – I was impressed as to the number of dads who joined in on the “fun”. 2. Although everyone was hot and tired I rarely heard any child complaining or parents get upset at their children. 3. Because you are constantly thinking about which ride you need to be at next it was very easy to forget to take the time sit down to a meal. 4. Taking a backpack is a pain in the neck but so necessary. Day one we walked the park all together but by day two we ended up renting a stroller that we used for Dylan as well as a place to leave our back pack. 5. Time kind of disappears. Before we knew it on day one it was 7pm. 6. Evening shows are just as popular as the rides. We missed out on the evening shows because we didn’t arrive earlier enough to get a space worth fighting the crowds to see the shows. Some tips for going with a four-year-old…. 1. If your child is under 40 inches, Disneyland is a much better choice than California Adventure. Dylan could ride nearly every attraction in the former park but only about 10% of the attractions in the latter. She did love the Little Mermaid ride in California Adventure, however, so if you have a park-hopper, this is one to see. It also seemed as though there were more princess interactions in California Adventure. 2. Download the Disneyland App. It informs you of wait times for every ride and you can order food from vendors rather than wait in long lines. 3. Spend $10 extra for the MaxPass. It allows you to make “reservations” for the most popular of the attractions so your wait time is 15 minutes rather than an hour. You will be able to make a reservation every hour and a half. Do so at every opportunity and plan for the ones you really want to do first. 4. Start the day at Fantasyland. Specifically, the Peter Pan ride. These rides are often the most popular and lines get longer throughout the day. These are all the “classic” Disneyland rides for children. We didn’t preempt Dylan’s knowledge of these classics before going but she still enjoyed each ride. 5. Take a lot of snacks with you. While you wait through some of the longer lines, it helps distract children and avoids “hangriness”. 6. Get there as early as possible. The parking structure opens at 6:30 a.m. and the park itself opens at 8 a.m. Lines in the morning were fairly short but by noon, every line was at least 45 minutes long.
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April 2019
AuthorCarolyn and Will Bollwerk share their adventures with their 5 year-old daughter, Dylan. |