Disneyland with toddlers
We braved the reopening of Disneyland with two toddlers and survived! Thankful we had the tips and resources to ensure we had a smooth experience and wanted to compile what we learned into one place:
Ticket reservations and capacity: we had booked our trip prior to California reopening, so we had originally anticipated lower capacity. Despite the reopening, our time there still felt less in the number of crowds and the lines for the rides were considerably shorter than what we remember from the past (with a few exceptions like Rise of the Resistance, Matterhorn, Radiator Springs and Space Mountain, no lines exceed a 60 minute wait time).
Masks optional for vaccinated guests: it was definitely a mixed bag with the number of people wearing masks. It was most noticeable when we’d be in line and indoors, folks would then put their mask on (ourselves included), especially for some rides where lines were very tight and close to each other.
Virtual queues: For Rise of Resistance and Web Slingers: A Spider-man Adventure, virtual queues open up via the Disney app at 7 am. My wife and I set our alarms for 6:50 am and right when it was 6:59:58 (slightly before 7 am!) we began hitting the button to join the line. We got this tip from a friend and it worked wonders - we got a spot for both rides (group 98 for Rise of Resistance and group 78 for Spider-man)!
Double-stroller: We rented our double stroller from City Stroller Rentals for $65 for three days. It was one of the best decisions we made - they deliver right at our hotel and pick it up. It’s sanitized and scrubbed clean like new - the whole time we had the stroller it smelled fresh like it just came out of the laundry. It was easy to push around throughout the park and had enough cargo space for the misc bags and backpacks we brought along for the day.
Restaurant virtual orders: This was an adjustment for us since most of the restaurants (and places for snacks) needed to have orders via the Disneyland app. It took time for us to have to think ahead and figure out where we’d be in the park to time when we wanted to eat, but once we got used to it we thought this process was a breeze.
No nap, no problem: Hailey ended up falling asleep in my arms and knocked out the whole ride for ‘Snow White’, but Gavin powered through the day without any nap and he was running all on adrenaline. Our kids slept so well after each night and for us that is a success!
Disneyland vs. California Adventure: Gavin and Hailey had a blast at Disneyland primarily because there were a ton of rides that they could ride, more movies and characters they were familiar with, and the general feeling of ‘Disney Magic’ that surrounds the park. They got so excited when we’d run into various characters, and Hailey loved the Disney Princess area where you could ‘meet and greet’ up to 5 Disney Princesses at the same time. Despite not being too familiar yet, Gavin was also interested in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge as well. For California Adventure, Gavin was all about Avengers Campus and seeing Spider-Man, Captain America, Thor and any other superhero that was roaming around as well as going to Web Slingers. The kids also loved Cars Land despite not being able to go to Radiator Springs (the line was up to 1.5 hours). But if we had to vote between the two, Disneyland definitely has a leg-up for more familiar movies and characters for our kids and their age.
Four years old = ready to ride every ride: what a difference it was this time around compared to when we came with Gavin when he was 2 (and Hailey was just a baby). Gavin was ready to ride every ride from Thunder Mountain to Pirates of the Caribbean. What had scared him our last trip (Small World was not fun for him!) was completely different this time around. If your kids aren’t ready to ride certain rides, don’t push them because eventually they will be all about it the next trip!
That’s a wrap for our Disney trip 2021. We had such a successful trip we’re already talking about coming back again soon!
