PART THREE
DISNEYLAND
with KIDS
I am very grateful for the help your book gave me. The best part was there were no surprises that spoiled the fun. I was ready for rain, wind, cold, expensive food, small child meltdowns, and 40-minute potty stops for the grandparents (well, maybe not quite ready for the 40-minute potty stops). I did need an hour alone in the Grand Californian bar after the third day.
—Mom from Lompoc, California
The BRUTAL TRUTH about FAMILY VACATIONS
IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED that the phrase family vacation is a bit of an oxymoron because you can never take a vacation from the responsibilities of parenting if your children are traveling with you. Though you leave work and normal routine far behind, your children require as much attention, if not more, when traveling as they do at home.
Parenting on the road requires imagination and organization. You have to do all the usual stuff (feed, dress, bathe, supervise, comfort, discipline, and so on) in an atmosphere where your children are hyperstimulated, without the familiarity of place and the resources available at home. Though not impossible—and possibly even fun—parenting on the road is not something you want to learn on the fly.
The point is that preparation, or the lack thereof, can make or break your Disneyland vacation. Believe us: You don’t want to leave the success of your expensive Disney vacation to chance. Your preparation can be organized into several categories: mentally, emotionally, physically, organizationally, and logistically. You also need a basic understanding of the two theme parks and a well-considered plan for how to go about seeing them.
MENTAL and EMOTIONAL PREPARATION
MENTAL PREPARATION BEGINS with realistic expectations about your Disney vacation and consideration of what each adult and child in your party most wants and needs from his or her Disneyland experience. Getting in touch with this aspect of planning requires a lot of introspection and good, open family communication.
DIVISION OF LABOR
TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU AND YOUR PARTNER need and what you expect to happen on the vacation. This discussion alone can preempt some unpleasant surprises mid-trip. If you are a two-parent (or two-adult) family, do you have a clear understanding of how the parenting workload is to be distributed? We’ve seen some distinctly disruptive misunderstandings in two-parent households in which one parent is (pardon the legalese) the primary caregiver. Often, the other parent expects the primary caregiver to function on vacation as she (or he) does at home. The primary caregiver, on the other hand, is ready for a break. She expects her partner to either shoulder the load equally or perhaps even assume the lion’s share so she can have a real vacation. However you divide the responsibility, of course, is up to you. Just make sure you negotiate a clear understanding before you leave home.
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Try to schedule some time alone with each of your children—if not each day, then at least a couple of times during the trip.
TOGETHERNESS
ANOTHER DIMENSION TO CONSIDER is how much togetherness seems appropriate to you. For some parents, a vacation represents a rare opportunity to really connect with their children, to talk, exchange ideas, and get reacquainted. For others, a vacation affords the time to get a little distance, to enjoy a round of golf while the kids are enjoying the theme park. The point here is to think about your and your children’s preferences and needs concerning your time together. A typical day at a Disney theme park provides the structure of experiencing attractions together, punctuated by periods of waiting in line, eating, and so on, which facilitate conversation and sharing. Most attractions can be enjoyed together by the whole family, regardless of age ranges. This allows for more consensus and less dissent when it comes to deciding what to see and do. For many parents and children, however, the rhythms of a Disneyland day seem to consist of passive entertainment experiences alternated with endless discussions of where to go and what to do next. As a mother from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, reported:
Our family mostly talked about what to do next with very little sharing or discussion about what we had seen. [The conversation] was pretty task-oriented.
Two observations: First, fighting the crowds and keeping the family moving along can easily escalate into a pressure-driven outing. Having a plan or itinerary eliminates moment-to-moment guesswork and decision making, thus creating more time for savoring and connecting. Second, external variables such as crowd size, noise, and weather, among others, can be so distracting as to preclude any meaningful togetherness. These negative impacts can be moderated, as previously discussed in Part One, by your being selective concerning the time of year, day of the week, the time of day you visit the theme parks, and the number of days of your visit. The bottom line is that you can achieve the degree of connection and togetherness you desire with a little advance planning and a realistic awareness of the distractions you will encounter.
LIGHTEN UP
PREPARE YOURSELF MENTALLY to be a little less compulsive on vacation about correcting small behavioral deviations and pounding home the lessons of life. Certainly, little Mildred will have to learn eventually that it’s very un–Disney-like to take off her top at the pool. But there’s plenty of time for that later. So what if Matt eats hamburgers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day? You can make him eat peas and broccoli when you get home. Roll with the little stuff, and remember when your children act out that they are wired to the max. At least some of that adrenaline is bound to spill out in undesirable ways. Coming down hard will send an already frayed little nervous system into orbit.
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
IF YOU TRAVEL WITH AN INFANT, toddler, or any child who requires a lot of special attention, make sure that you have some energy and time remaining for the rest of your brood. In the course of your planning, invite each child to name something special to do or see at Disneyland with Mom or Dad alone. Work these special activities into your trip itinerary. Whatever else, if you commit, write it down so that you don’t forget. Remember: A casually expressed willingness to do this or that may be perceived as a promise.
WHOSE IDEA WAS THIS, ANYWAY?
THE DISCORD THAT MANY VACATIONING families experience arises from the kids being on a completely different wavelength from Mom and Dad. Parents and grandparents are often worse than children when it comes to conjuring fantasy scenarios of what a Disneyland vacation will be like. It can be many things, but believe us when we tell you that there’s a lot more to it than just riding Dumbo and seeing Mickey.
In our experience, most parents and nearly all grandparents expect children to enter a state of rapture at Disneyland, bouncing from attraction to attraction in wide-eyed wonder, appreciative beyond words to their adult benefactors. What they get, more often than not, is not even in the same ballpark. Preschoolers will, without a doubt, be wide-eyed, often with delight but also with a general sense of being overwhelmed by noise, crowds, and Disney characters as big as toolsheds. We’ve substantiated through thousands of interviews and surveys that the best part of a Disney vacation for a preschooler is the hotel swimming pool. With some grade-schoolers and pre-driving-age teens, you get near-manic hyperactivity coupled with periods of studied nonchalance. This last phenomenon, which relates to the importance of being cool at all costs, translates into a maddening display of boredom and a “been there, done that” attitude. Older teens are frequently the exponential version of the younger teens and grade-schoolers, except without the manic behavior.
As a function of probability, you may escape many—but most likely not all—of the above behaviors. Even in the event that they are all visited on you, however, take heart; there are antidotes.
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The more information your kids have before arriving at Disneyland, the less likely they’ll be to act out.
For preschoolers, you can keep things light and happy by limiting the time you spend in the theme parks. The most critical point is that the overstimulation of the parks must be balanced by adequate rest and more-mellow activities. For grade-schoolers and early teens, you can moderate the hyperactivity and false ennui by enlisting their help in planning the vacation, especially by allowing them to take a leading role in determining the itinerary for days at the theme parks. Putting them in charge of specific responsibilities that focus on the happiness of other family members also works well. For example, one reader turned a 12-year-old liability into an asset by asking him to help guard against attractions that might frighten his 5-year-old sister. Knowledge enhances anticipation and at the same time affords a level of comfort and control that helps kids understand the big picture. The more they feel in control, the less they will act out of control.
BASIC CONSIDERATIONS: Is Disneyland for You?
ALMOST ALL VISITORS ENJOY Disneyland on some level and find things to see and do that they like. In fact, for many, the theme-park attractions are just the tip of the iceberg. The more salient question, then (since this is a family vacation), is whether the members of your family basically like the same things. If you do, fine. If not, how will you handle the differing agendas?
A mother from Toronto wrote a couple of years ago describing her husband’s aversion to Disney’s (in his terms) “phony, plastic, and idealized version of life.” Touring the theme parks, he was a real cynic and managed to diminish the experience for the rest of the family. As it happened, however, Dad’s pejorative point of view didn’t extend to the area golf courses. So Mom packed him up and sent him golfing while the family enjoyed the theme parks.
If you have someone in your family who doesn’t like theme parks or, for whatever reason, doesn’t care for Disney’s brand of entertainment, it helps to get the attitude out in the open. We recommend dealing with the person up front. Glossing over or ignoring the contrary opinion and hoping that “Tom will like it once he gets there” is naive and unrealistic. Either leave Tom at home or help him discover and plan activities that he will enjoy, resigning yourself in the process to the fact that the family won’t be together at all times.
DIFFERENT FOLKS, DIFFERENT STROKES
IT’S NO SECRET THAT we at the Unofficial Guides believe that thorough planning is an essential key to a successful Disneyland vacation. It’s also no secret that our emphasis on planning rubs some folks the wrong way. Bob’s sister and her husband, for example, are spontaneous people and do not appreciate the concept of detailed planning or, more particularly, following one of our touring plans when they visit the theme parks. To them the most important thing is to relax, take things as they come, and enjoy the moment. Sometimes they arrive at 10:30 in the morning (impossibly late for us Unofficial Guide types), walk around enjoying the landscaping and architecture, and then sit with a cup of espresso, watching other guests race around the park like maniacs. They would be the first to admit that they don’t see many attractions, but experiencing attractions is not what lights their sparklers.
Not coincidentally, most of our readers are big on planning. When they go to the theme park, they want to experience the attractions, and the shorter the lines, the better. In a word, they are willing to sacrifice some spontaneity for touring efficiency.
We want you to have the best possible time, whatever that means to you, so plan (or not) according to your preference. The point here is that most families are not entirely in agreement on this planning versus spontaneity issue. If you are a serious planner and your oldest daughter and husband are free spirits, you’ve got the makings of a problem. In practice, the way this and similar scenarios shake out is that the planner (usually the more assertive or type-A person) just takes over. Sometimes daughter and husband go along and everything works out, but just as often they feel resentful. There are as many ways of developing a win-win compromise as there are well-intentioned people on different sides of this situation. How you settle it is up to you. We’re simply suggesting that you examine the problem and work out the solution before you go on vacation.
THE NATURE OF THE BEAST
THOUGH MANY PARENTS DON’T REALIZE IT, there is no law that says you must take your kids to Disneyland or Walt Disney World. Likewise, there’s no law that says you will enjoy Disneyland. And although we will help you make the most of any visit, we can’t change the basic nature of the beast—er, mouse. A Disneyland vacation is an active and physically demanding undertaking. Regimentation, getting up early, lots of walking, waiting in lines, fighting crowds, and (often) enduring the hot California sun are as intrinsic to a Disneyland vacation as stripes are to a zebra. Especially if you’re traveling with children, you’ll need a sense of humor, more than a modicum of patience, and the ability to roll with the punches.
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You can have a perfectly wonderful time at Disneyland if you’re realistic, organized, and prepared.
KNOW THYSELF AND NOTHING TO EXCESS
THIS GOOD ADVICE WAS MADE AVAILABLE to ancient Greeks courtesy of the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. First, concerning the “know thyself” part, do some serious thinking concerning what you want in a vacation. Entertain the notion that having fun and deriving pleasure from your vacation may be very different indeed from doing and seeing as much as possible.
Because Disneyland Resort is expensive, many families confuse seeing everything to get your money’s worth with having a great time. Sometimes the two are compatible, but more often they’re not. So if sleeping in, relaxing with the paper over coffee, sunbathing by the pool, or taking a nap rank high on your vacation hit parade, you need to accord them due emphasis on your Disney visit (are you listening?), even if it means that you see less of the theme parks.
Which brings us to the “nothing to excess” part. At the Disneyland parks, especially if you’re touring with children, less is definitely more. Trust us: It’s tough to go full-tilt from dawn to dusk in the theme parks. First you’ll get tired, then you’ll get cranky, and then you’ll adopt a production mentality (“we’ve got three more rides and then we can go back to the hotel”). Finally, you’ll hit the wall because you just can’t maintain the pace.
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Get a grip on your needs and preferences before you leave home, and develop an itinerary that incorporates all the things that make you happiest.
This mom had a great vacation, but not exactly the vacation she had been expecting:
Unfortunately, I was unprepared for traveling with a 2-year-old. All the indoor rides were deemed too dark and scary, and all she wanted to do was see the characters (which I thought she’d be petrified of!). We had a great trip once I threw all my maps and plans out the window and just went with the flow! … We all would have appreciated more pool time. It was a great trip overall, but I would definitely warn people to think twice before bringing a 2-year-old. It is one exhausting trip!
Plan on seeing the Disneyland parks in bite-size chunks with plenty of sleeping, swimming, napping, and relaxing in between. Most Disneyland vacations are short. Even if you have to stay an extra day to build in some relaxation, you’ll be happier while you’re there and more rested when you get home. Ask yourself over and over in both the planning stage and while you are at Disneyland: What will contribute the greatest contentedness, satisfaction, and harmony? Trust your instincts. If stopping for ice cream or returning to the hotel for a dip feels like more fun than seeing another attraction, do it—even if it means wasting the remaining hours of an expensive admissions pass.
The AGE THING
THERE’S A LOT OF SERIOUS COGITATION among parents and grandparents in regard to how old a child should be before embarking on a trip to Disneyland. The answer, not always obvious, stems from the personalities and maturity of the children, and the personalities and parenting style of the adults.
Disneyland for Infants and Toddlers
We believe that traveling with infants and toddlers is a great idea. Developmentally, travel is a stimulating learning experience for even the youngest of children. Infants, of course, won’t know Mickey Mouse from a draft horse but will respond to sun and shade, music, bright colors, and the extra attention they receive from you. From first steps to full mobility, toddlers respond to the excitement and spectacle of the Disneyland parks, though of course in a much different way than you do. Your toddler will prefer splashing in fountains and clambering over curbs and benches to experiencing most attractions, but no matter: He or she will still have a great time.
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Traveling with infants and toddlers sharpens parenting skills and makes the entire family more mobile and flexible, resulting in a richer, fuller life for all.
An Iowa City, Iowa, mother of three says, “Get over it!”:
Get over it!! In my opinion, people think too much about the age thing. If taking your 3-year-old would make you happy, that’s all that counts. End of story. It doesn’t matter if the trip is really for you or your child—it’s all good. You shouldn’t have to jump through a bunch of hoops to give yourself permission to go.
Somewhere between 4 and 6 years of age, your child will experience the first vacation that he or she will remember as an adult. Though more likely to remember the coziness of the hotel room than the theme parks, the child will be able to experience and comprehend many attractions and will be a much fuller participant in your vacation. Even so, his or her favorite activity is likely to be swimming in the hotel pool.
As concerns infants and toddlers, there are good reasons and bad reasons for vacationing at Disneyland. A good reason for taking your little one to Disneyland Resort is that you want to go and there’s no one available to care for your child during your absence. Philosophically, we are very much against putting your life (including your vacation) on hold until your children are older.
Especially if you have children of varying ages (or plan to, for that matter), it’s better to take the show on the road than to wait until the youngest reaches the perceived ideal age. If your family includes a toddler or infant, you will find everything from private facilities for breast-feeding to changing tables in both men’s and women’s restrooms to facilitate baby’s care.
An illogical reason, however, for taking an infant or toddler to Disneyland Resort is that you think Disneyland is the perfect vacation destination for babies. It’s not, so think again if you are contemplating Disneyland Resort primarily for your child’s enjoyment. For starters, attractions are geared more toward older children and adults. Even designer play areas such as the Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island in Disneyland Park are developed with older children in mind.
By way of example, Bob has a friend who bought a video camera when his first child was born. He delighted in documenting his son’s reaction to various new experiences on video. One memorable night when the baby was about 18 months old, he recorded the baby eating a variety of foods (from whipped cream to dill pickles) that he had never tried before. While some of the taste sensations elicited wild expressions and animated responses from the baby, the exercise was clearly intended for the amusement of Dad, not junior.
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Baby supplies—including disposable diapers, formula, and baby food—are for sale, and rockers and special chairs are available for nursing mothers.
Along similar lines, remember when you were little and you got that nifty electric train for Christmas, the one with which Dad wouldn’t let you play? Did you ever wonder for whom that train was really? Ask yourself the same question about your vacation to Disneyland Resort. Whose dream are you trying to make come true: yours or your child’s?
That said, let us stress that for the well prepared, taking a toddler to Disneyland Resort can be a totally glorious experience. There’s truly nothing like watching your child respond to the color, the sound, the festivity, and, most of all, the characters. You’ll return home with scrapbooks of photos that you will treasure forever. Your little one won’t remember much, but never mind. Your memories will be unforgettable.
If you elect to take your infant or toddler to Disneyland Resort, rest assured that their needs have been anticipated. The theme parks have centralized facilities for infant and toddler care. Everything necessary for changing diapers, preparing formula, and warming bottles and food is available. At the Disneyland Park, the Baby Center is next to the Plaza Inn at the end of Main Street and to the right. At DCA the Baby Center is tucked out of the way next to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory in the Pacific Wharf area of the park. Dads in charge of little ones are welcome at the centers and can use most services offered. In addition, men’s rooms in the parks have changing tables.
Infants and toddlers are allowed to experience any attraction that doesn’t have minimum height or age restrictions. A mother of three from Utah wrote to us, saying:
We traveled with my 9 month old, so we did the switch-off option a lot. However, I would appreciate it if you listed in the guide a complete list of all the rides that babies can be carried on. I was there alone with all three kids while my husband had to work for part of the time, and it would’ve been really nice to just look at a list of all the rides that we could’ve gone on with a baby.
It’s actually far easier to list the attractions that you can’t take a baby on at Disneyland. Unless a minimum height or age requirement is explicitly posted, children of any size—even handheld infants—are welcome on any ride. That includes all the family dark rides, kiddie carnival attractions, and slow-moving boats. Opposite is a table of all the rides that do impose a height restriction; if a ride isn’t listed, you can bring the young ’uns along. But as a Minneapolis mother reports, some attractions are better for babies than others:
Theater and boat rides are easier for babies (ours was almost 1 year old, not yet walking). Rides where there’s a bar that comes down are doable, but harder. Peter Pan was our first encounter with this type, and we had barely gotten situated when I realized that he might fall out of my grasp. The [3-D] films are too intense; the noise level is deafening, and the images inescapable. You don’t have a rating system for babies, and I don’t expect to see one, but I thought you might want to know what a baby thought (based on his reactions).
At the Park: Jungle Cruise—didn’t get into it. Pirates—slept through it. Riverboat—the horn made him cry. Small World—wide-eyed, took it all in. Peter Pan—couldn’t really sit on the seat. A bit dangerous. He didn’t get into it. Railroad—liked the motion and scenery. Tiki Room—loved it. Danced, clapped, sang along.
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In addition to providing an alternative to carrying your child, a stroller serves as a handy cart for diaper bags, water bottles, and other necessary items.
The same mom also advises:
We used a baby sling on our trip and thought it was great when standing in the lines—much better than a stroller, which you have to park before getting in line and navigate through crowds. My baby was still nursing when we went. It is impractical to go to the baby station every time, so a nursing mom had better be comfortable nursing in public situations.
The rental strollers at the parks are designed for toddlers and children up to 4 and 5 years old but definitely not for infants. Still, if you bring pillows and padding, the strollers can be made to work. You can alternatively bring your own stroller, but unless it’s collapsible, you will not be able to take it on Disney parking lot trams.
Even if you opt for a stroller (your own or a rental), we nevertheless recommend that you also bring a baby sling or baby/child backpack. Simply put, there will be many times in the theme parks when you will have to park the stroller and carry your child. As an aside, if you haven’t checked out baby slings and packs lately, you’ll be amazed by some of the technological advances made in these products.
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Infants are easy travelers. As long as they are fed and comfortable, there is really no limit to what you can do when on the road with little ones. Food plus adequate rest is the perfect formula for happy babies.
Attraction Minimum Height Requirements
DISNEYLAND PARK
AUTOPIA 32″ minimum height (54″ to drive unassisted)
BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN RAILROAD 40″ minimum height
GADGET’S GO COASTER 35″ minimum height
INDIANA JONES ADVENTURE 46″ minimum height
MATTERHORN BOBSLEDS 42″ minimum height
SPACE MOUNTAIN 40″ minimum height
SPLASH MOUNTAIN 40″ minimum height
STAR TOURS: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE 40″ minimum height
DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
CALIFORNIA SCREAMIN’ 48″ minimum height
GRIZZLY RIVER RUN 42″ minimum height
JUMPIN’ JELLYFISH 40″ minimum height
LUIGI’S FLYING TIRES 32″ minimum height
MATER’S JUNKYARD JAMBOREE 32″ minimum height
RADIATOR SPRINGS RACERS 40″ minimum height
REDWOOD CREEK CHALLENGE TRAIL (rock wall and zip line only) 42″ minimum height
SILLY SYMPHONY SPRINGS 40″ minimum height (tandem swing) 48″ minimum height (single swing)
SOARIN’ OVER CALIFORNIA 40″ minimum height
TUCK AND ROLL’S DRIVE ‘EM BUGGIES 36″ minimum height
THE TWILIGHT ZONE TOWER OF TERROR 40″ minimum height
One point that needs addressing is the above reader’s perception that there are not many good places in the theme parks for breast-feeding. Many nursing moms recommend breast-feeding during a dark Disney theater presentation. This only works, however, if the presentation is long enough for the baby to finish nursing. Shows at the Hyperion Theater at DCA are long enough at about 45 minutes, but the theater is not as dark as those that show films. Captain EO at Disneyland Park is way too loud, as is Muppet-Vision 3-D at DCA.
Many Disney shows run back to back with only 1 or 2 minutes in between to change the audience. If you want to breast-feed and require more time than the length of the show, tell the cast member on entering that you want to breast-feed and ask if you can remain in the theater while your baby finishes.
If you can adjust to nursing in more public places with your breast and the baby’s head covered with a shawl or some such, nursing will not be a problem at all. Even on the most crowded days, you can always find a back corner of a restaurant or a comparatively secluded park bench or garden spot to nurse.
Disneyland for 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds
Kids in this age group vary immensely in their capacity to comprehend and enjoy Disneyland Resort. With this age group, the go/no-go decision is a judgment call. If your child is sturdy, easygoing, fairly adventuresome, and demonstrates a high degree of independence, the trip will probably work. On the other hand, if your child tires easily, is temperamental, or is a bit timid or reticent in embracing new experiences, you’re much better off waiting a few years. Whereas the travel and sensory-overload problems of infants and toddlers can be addressed and (usually) remedied on the go, discontented 4- to 6-year-olds have the ability to stop a family dead in its tracks, as this mother of three from Cape May, New Jersey, attests:
My 5-year-old was scared pretty badly on Snow White’s Scary Adventures our first day. From then on for the rest of the trip, we had to coax and reassure her before each and every ride before she would go.
If you have a retiring, clinging, and/or difficult 4- to 6-year-old who, for whatever circumstances, will be part of your group, you can sidestep or diminish potential problems with a bit of preparation. Even if your preschooler is plucky and game, the same prep measures (described later in this section) will enhance his or her experience and make life easier for the rest of the family.
Parents who understand that a visit with 4- to 6-year-old children is going to be more about the cumulative experience than about seeing it all will have wonderful memories of their children’s amazement.
The Ideal Age
Though our readers report successful trips as well as disasters with children of all ages, the consensus is that children’s ages ideal for family compatibility and togetherness at Disneyland are 8–12 years. This age group is old enough, tall enough, and sufficiently stalwart to experience, understand, and appreciate practically all Disney attractions. Moreover, they are developed to the extent that they can get around the parks on their own steam without being carried or collapsing. Best of all, they are still young enough to enjoy being with Mom and Dad. From our experience, ages 10–12 are better than 8–9, though what you gain in maturity is at the cost of that irrepressible, wide-eyed wonder so prevalent in the 8- and 9-year-olds.
Disneyland for Teens
Teens love Disneyland, and for parents of teens, Disneyland Resort is a nearly perfect, albeit expensive, vacation choice. Although your teens might not be as wide-eyed and impressionable as their younger sibs, they are at an age where they can sample, understand, and enjoy practically everything Disneyland Resort has to offer.
For parents Disneyland Resort is a vacation destination where you can permit your teens an extraordinary amount of freedom. The entertainment is wholesome, the venues are safe, and the entire complex of hotels, theme parks, restaurants, and shopping is easily accessible on foot. Because most adolescents relish freedom, you may have difficulty keeping your teens with the rest of the family. Thus, if one of your objectives is to spend time with your teenage children during your Disneyland vacation, you will need to establish some clear-cut guidelines regarding togetherness and separateness before you leave home. Make your teens part of the discussion and try to meet them halfway in crafting a decision with which everyone can live. For your teens, touring on their own at Disneyland is tantamount to being independent in an exotic city. It’s intoxicating, to say the least, and can be an excellent learning experience, if not a rite of passage. In any event, we’re not suggesting that you just turn them loose. Rather, we are just attempting to sensitize you to the fact that for your teens, some transcendent issues are involved.
Most teens crave the company of other teens. If you have a solitary teen in your family, do not be surprised if he or she wants to invite a friend on your vacation. If you are invested in sharing intimate, quality time with your solitary teen, the presence of a friend will make this more difficult, if not impossible. However, if you turn down the request to bring a friend, be prepared to go the extra mile to be a companion to your teen at Disneyland. If you’re a teen, it’s not much fun to ride Space Mountain by yourself.
One specific issue that absolutely should be addressed before you leave home is what assistance (if any) you expect from your teen in regard to helping with younger children in the family. Once again, try to carve out a win-win compromise. Consider the case of the mother from Indiana who had a teenage daughter from an earlier marriage and two children under age 10 from a second marriage. After a couple of vacations where she thrust the unwilling teen into the position of being a surrogate parent to her stepsisters, the teen declined henceforth to participate in family vacations.
Some parents have written the Unofficial Guide asking if there are unsafe places at Disneyland Resort or places where teens simply should not be allowed to go. Although the answer depends more on your family values and the relative maturity of your teens than on Disneyland Resort, the basic answer is no. Though it’s true that teens (or adults, for that matter) who are looking for trouble can find it anywhere, there is absolutely nothing at Disneyland Resort that could be construed as a precipitant or a catalyst. Be advised, however, that adults consume alcohol at most Disneyland Resort restaurants outside of Disneyland Park. Also, be aware that some of the movies available at the cinemas at Downtown Disney demand the same discretion you exercise when allowing your kids to see movies at home.
About INVITING Your CHILDREN’S FRIENDS
IF YOUR CHILDREN WANT TO INVITE FRIENDS on your Disneyland vacation, give your decision careful thought. First, consider the logistics of numbers. Is there room in the car? Will you have to leave something at home that you had planned on taking to make room in the trunk for the friend’s luggage? Will additional hotel rooms or a larger suite be required? Will the increased number of people in your group make it hard to get a table at a restaurant?
If you determine that you can logistically accommodate one or more friends, the next step is to consider how the inclusion of the friend will affect your group’s dynamics. Generally speaking, the presence of a friend will make it harder to really connect with your own children. So if one of your vacation goals is an intimate bonding experience with your children, the addition of friends will possibly frustrate your attempts to realize that objective.
If family relationship building is not necessarily a primary objective of your vacation, it’s quite possible that the inclusion of a friend will make life easier for you. This is especially true in the case of only children, who may otherwise depend exclusively on you to keep them happy and occupied. Having a friend along can take the pressure off and give you some much-needed breathing room.
If you decide to allow a friend to accompany you, limit the selection to children you know really well and whose parents you also know. Your Disneyland vacation is not the time to include “my friend Eddie from school” whom you’ve never met. Your children’s friends who have spent time in your home will have a sense of your parenting style, and you will have a sense of their personality, behavior, and compatibility with your family. Assess the prospective child’s potential to fit in well on a long trip. Is he or she polite, personable, fun to be with, and reasonably mature? Does he or she relate well to you and to the other members of your family?
Because a Disneyland vacation is not, for most of us, a spur-of-the-moment thing, you should have adequate time to evaluate potential candidate friends. A trip to the mall including a meal in a sit-down restaurant will tell you volumes about the friend. Likewise, inviting the friend to share dinner with the family and then spend the night will provide a lot of relevant information. Ideally this type of evaluation should take place early on in the normal course of family events, before you discuss the possibility of a friend joining you on your vacation. This will allow you to size things up without your child (or the friend) realizing that an evaluation is taking place.
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We suggest that you arrange for the friend’s parents to reimburse you after the trip for things such as restaurant meals and admissions. This is much easier than trying to balance the books after every expenditure.
By seizing the initiative, you can guide the outcome. Ann, a Redding, California, mom, for example, anticipated that her 12-year-old son would ask to take a friend on their vacation. As she pondered the various friends her son might propose, she came up with four names. One, an otherwise sweet child, had a medical condition that Ann felt unqualified to monitor or treat. A second friend was overly aggressive with younger children and was often socially inappropriate for his age. Two other friends, Chuck and Marty, with whom she had had a generally positive experience, were good candidates for the trip. After orchestrating some opportunities to spend time with each of the boys, she made her decision and asked her son, “Would you like to take Marty with us to Disneyland?” Her son was delighted, and Ann had diplomatically preempted having to turn down friends her son might have proposed.
We recommend that you do the inviting, instead of your child, and that the invitation be extended parent to parent (to avoid disappointment, you might want to sound out the friend’s parent before broaching the issue with your child). Observing this recommendation will allow you to query the friend’s parents concerning food preferences, any medical conditions, how discipline is administered in the friend’s family, how the friend’s parents feel about the way you administer discipline, and the parents’ expectation regarding religious observations while their child is in your care.
Before you extend the invitation, give some serious thought to who pays for what. Make a specific proposal for financing the trip a part of your invitation, for example: “There’s room for Marty in the hotel room, and transportation’s no problem because we’re driving. So we’ll just need you to pick up Marty’s meals, theme-park admissions, and spending money.”
A FEW WORDS for SINGLE PARENTS
BECAUSE SINGLE PARENTS GENERALLY are also working parents, planning a special getaway with your children can be the best way to spend some quality time together. But remember, the vacation is not just for your child—it’s for you too. You might invite a grandparent or a favorite aunt or uncle along; the other adult provides nice company for you, and your child will benefit from the time with family members. You might likewise consider inviting an adult friend.
Though bringing along another adult is the best option, the reality is that many single parents don’t have friends, grandparents, or favorite aunts or uncles who can make the trip. And while spending time with your child is wonderful, it is very difficult to match the energy level of your child if you are the sole focus of his or her world.
One alternative: Try to meet other single parents at Disneyland. It may seem odd, but most of them are in the same boat as you; besides, all you have to do is ask. Another option, albeit expensive, is to take along a trustworthy babysitter (18 or up) to travel with you.
The easiest way to meet other single parents is to hang out at the hotel pool. Make your way there on the day you arrive, after traveling by car or plane and without enough time to blow a full admission ticket at a theme park. In any event, a couple of hours spent poolside is a relaxing way to start your vacation.
If you visit Disneyland Resort with another single parent, get adjoining rooms; take turns watching all the kids; and, on at least one night, get a sitter and enjoy an evening out.
Throughout this book we mention the importance of good planning and touring. For a single parent, this is an absolute must. In addition, make sure that every day you set aside downtime back at the hotel.
Finally, don’t try to spend every moment with your children on vacation. Instead, plan some activities for your children with other children. Then take advantage of your free time to do what you want to do: Read a book, have a massage, take a long walk, or enjoy a catnap.
“He Who Hesitates Is Launched!” TIPS and WARNINGS for GRANDPARENTS
SENIORS OFTEN GET INTO PREDICAMENTS caused by touring with grandchildren. Run ragged and pressured to endure a blistering pace, many seniors just concentrate on surviving Disneyland rather than enjoying it. The theme parks have as much to offer older visitors as they do children, and seniors must either set the pace or dispatch the young folks to tour on their own.
An older reader writes:
The main thing I want to say is that being a senior is not for wussies. At Disney [parks] particularly, it requires courage and pluck. Things that used to be easy take a lot of effort, and sometimes your brain has to wait for your body to catch up. Half the time, your grandchildren treat you like a crumbling ruin, amd then turn around and trick you into getting on a roller coaster in the dark. What you need to tell seniors is that they have to be alert and not trust anyone. Not their children or even the Disney people, and especially not their grandchildren. When your grandchildren want you to go on a ride, don’t follow along blindly like a lamb to the slaughter. Make sure you know what the ride is all about. Stand your ground and do not waffle. He who hesitates is launched!
If you don’t get to see much of your grandchildren, you might think that Disneyland is the perfect place for a little bonding and togetherness. Wrong! Disneyland can potentially send children into system overload and precipitates behaviors that pose a challenge even to adoring parents, never mind grandparents. You don’t take your grandchildren straight to Disneyland for the same reason you don’t buy your 16-year-old son a Ferrari: Handling it safely and well requires some experience.
Begin by spending time with your grandchildren in an environment that you can control. Have them over one at a time for dinner and to spend the night. Check out how they respond to your oversight and discipline. Most of all, zero in on whether you are compatible, enjoy each other’s company, and have fun together. Determine that you can set limits and that they will accept those limits. When you reach this stage, you can contemplate some outings to the zoo, the mall, or the state fair. Gauge how demanding your grandchildren are when you are out of the house. Eat a meal or two in a full-service restaurant to get a sense of their social skills and their ability to behave appropriately. Don’t expect perfection, and be prepared to modify your behavior a little too. As a senior friend of mine told her husband (none too decorously), “You can’t see Disneyland sitting on a stick.”
If you have a good relationship with your grandchildren and have had a positive one-on-one experience taking care of them, you might consider a trip to Disneyland. If you do, we have two recommendations. Visit Disneyland without them to get an idea of what you’re getting into. A scouting trip will also provide you an opportunity to enjoy some of the attractions that won’t be on the itinerary when you return with the grandkids.
Tips for Grandparents
It’s best to take one grandchild at a time, two at the most. Cousins can be better than siblings because they don’t fight as much. To preclude sibling jealousy, try connecting the trip to a child’s milestone, such as finishing the 6th grade.
Let your grandchildren help plan the vacation, and keep the first one short. Be flexible, and don’t overplan.
Discuss mealtimes and bedtime. Fortunately, many grandparents are on an early dinner schedule, which works nicely with younger children.
Gear plans to your grandchildren’s age levels, because if they’re not happy, you won’t be happy.
Create an itinerary that offers some supervised activities for children in case you need a rest.
If you’re traveling by car, this is the one time we highly recommend earphones or earbuds. Kids’ musical tastes are vastly different from most grandparents’. It’s simply more enjoyable when everyone can listen to his or her own preferred style of music, at least for some portion of the trip.
Take along a night-light.
Carry a notarized statement from parents for permission for medical care in case of an emergency. Also be sure that you have insurance information and copies of any prescriptions for medicines the kids may take. Ditto for eyeglass prescriptions.
Tell your grandchildren about any medical problems you may have, so they can be prepared if there’s an emergency.
Many attractions and hotels offer discounts for seniors, so be sure to check ahead of time for bargains.
Plan your evening meal early to avoid long waits. And make Priority Seatings if you’re dining in a popular spot, even if it’s early. Take some crayons and paper to keep kids occupied. If planning a family-friendly trip seems overwhelming, try a tour operator–travel agent aimed at kids and their grandparents.
HOW to CHILDPROOF a HOTEL ROOM
TODDLERS AND SMALL CHILDREN up to 3 years of age (and sometimes older) can wreak mayhem if not outright disaster in a hotel room. They’re mobile, curious, and amazingly fast, and they have a penchant for turning the most seemingly innocuous furnishing or decoration into a lethal weapon. Here’s what to look for.
Always begin by checking the room for hazards that you cannot neutralize, such as balconies, chipping paint, cracked walls, sharp surfaces, shag carpeting, and windows that can’t be secured shut. If you encounter anything that you don’t like or is too much of a hassle to fix, ask for another room.
If you use a crib supplied by the hotel, make sure that the mattress is firm and covers the entire bottom of the crib. If there is a mattress cover, it should fit tightly. Slats should be 23⁄8 inches (about the width of a soda can) or less apart. Test the drop sides to ensure that they work properly and that your child cannot release them accidentally. Examine the crib from all angles (including from underneath) to make sure that it has been assembled correctly and that there are no sharp edges. Check for chipping paint and other potentially toxic substances that your child might ingest. Wipe down surfaces your child might touch to diminish the potential of infection transmitted from a previous occupant. Finally, position the crib away from drape cords, heaters, wall sockets, and air conditioners.
If your infant can turn over, we recommend changing him or her on a pad on the floor. Likewise, if you have a child seat of any sort, place it where it cannot be knocked over, and always strap your child in.
If your child can roll, crawl, or walk, you should bring about eight electrical outlet covers and some cord to tie cabinets shut and to bind drape cords and the like out of reach. Check for appliances, lamps, ashtrays, ice buckets, and anything else that your child might pull down on him- or herself. Have the hotel remove coffee tables with sharp edges and both real and artificial plants that are within your child’s reach. Round up items from tables and countertops such as matchbooks, courtesy toiletries, and drinking glasses and store them out of reach.
If the bathroom door can be accidentally locked, cover the locking mechanism with duct tape or a doorknob cover. Use the security chain or upper latch on the room’s entrance door to ensure that your child doesn’t open it without your knowledge.
Inspect the floor and remove pins, coins, and other foreign objects that your child might find. Don’t forget to check under beds and furniture. One of the best tips we’ve heard came from a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, mother who crawls around the room on her hands and knees in order to see possible hazards from her child’s perspective.
If you rent a suite, you’ll have more territory to childproof and will have to deal with the possible presence of cleaning supplies, a stove, a refrigerator, cooking utensils, and low cabinet doors, among other things. Sometimes the best option is to seal off the kitchen with a folding safety gate.
PHYSICAL PREPARATION
YOU’LL FIND THAT SOME PHYSICAL CONDITIONING, coupled with a realistic sense of the toll that Disneyland takes on your body, will preclude falling apart in the middle of your vacation. As one of our readers put it, “If you pay attention to eat, heat, feet, and sleep, you’ll be OK.”
As you contemplate the stamina of your family, it’s important to understand that somebody is going to run out of steam first, and when they do, the whole family will be affected. Sometimes a cold drink or a snack will revive the flagging member. Sometimes, however, no amount of cajoling or treats will work. In this situation it’s crucial that you recognize that the child, grandparent, or spouse is at the end of his or her rope. The correct decision is to get them back to the hotel. Pushing the exhausted beyond their capacity will spoil the day for them—and you. Accept that stamina and energy levels vary and be prepared to administer to members of your family who poop out. One more thing: no guilt trips. “We’ve driven 300 miles to take you to Disneyland and now you’re going to ruin everything!” is not an appropriate response.
THE AGONY OF THE FEET
IF YOU SPEND A DAY AT DISNEYLAND PARK, you will walk 3–6 miles! If you walk to the park from your hotel, you can add 1–2 miles, and tack on another couple of miles if you park hop to DCA. The walking, however, will be nothing like a 5-mile hike in the woods. At Disneyland Park and DCA you will be in direct sunlight most of the time, have to navigate through huge jostling crowds, be walking on hot pavement, and have to endure waits in line between bursts of walking. The bottom line, if you haven’t figured it out, is that Disney theme parks (especially in the summer) are not for wimps!
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If your children (or you, for that matter) think that wearing socks isn’t cool, get over it! Bare feet, whether encased in Nikes, Weejuns, Docksides, or Crocs, will turn into lumps of throbbing red meat if you tackle a Disney park without socks.
Though most children are active, their normal play usually doesn’t condition them for the exertion of touring a Disney theme park. We recommend starting a program of family walks 6 weeks or more before your trip. A Pennsylvania mom who did just that offers the following:
We had our 6-year-old begin walking with us a bit every day 1 month before leaving—when we arrived, her little legs could carry her and she had a lot of stamina.
A father of two had this to say:
My wife walked with my son to school every day when it was nice. His stamina was outstanding.
A Riverside, Utah, dad forgot to train this year:
I think you really need to stress the importance of starting a walking regimen before going to Disneyland. Last year we had a 6-day hopper, and I started walking a month ahead and ran around that place like a champ. This year I didn’t walk much at all and was worn out the first day, and we only had a 5-day hopper!
The first thing you need to do, immediately after making your hotel reservation, is to get thee to a footery. Take the whole family to a shoe store and buy each member the best pair of walking, hiking, or running shoes you can afford. When trying on the shoes, wear exactly the kind of socks that you will wear when using them to hike. Do not under any circumstances attempt to tour Disneyland shod in plastic sandals, cheap flip-flops, loafers, or any kind of high heel or platform shoe (though one of our authors swears by high-quality leather sandals or river-rafting footwear, especially for water rides).
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Be sure to give your kids adequate recovery time between training walks (48 hours will usually be enough), however, or you’ll make the problem worse.
Good socks are as important as good shoes. When you walk, your feet sweat like a mule in a peat bog, and moisture increases friction. To minimize friction, wear a pair of SmartWool or CoolMax hiking socks, available at most outdoor retail (camping equipment) stores, as well as Target and online retailers. To further combat moisture, dust your feet with some antifungal talcum powder.
Now that you have some good shoes and socks, the next thing to do is to break the shoes in. You can accomplish this painlessly by wearing the shoes in the course of normal activities for about 3 weeks.
Once the shoes are broken in, it’s time to start walking. The whole family will need to toughen up their feet and build endurance. As you begin, remember that little people have little strides, and though your 6-year-old may create the appearance of running circles around you, consider that (1) he won’t have the stamina to go at that pace very long, and (2) more to the point, he probably has to take two strides or so to every one of yours to keep up.
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If your child is age 8 or younger, we recommend regular foot inspections whether he or she understands the hotspot idea or not. Even the brightest and most well-intentioned child will fail to sound off when distracted.
Start by taking short walks around the neighborhood, walking on pavement, and increasing the distance about 0.25 mile on each outing. Older children will shape up quickly. Younger children should build endurance more slowly and incrementally. Increase distance until you can manage a 6- or 7-mile hike without requiring CPR. And remember, you’re not training to be able to walk 6–7 miles just once; at Disneyland you will be hiking 5–7 miles or more almost every day of your visit. So unless you plan to crash after the first day, you need to prepare your feet to walk long distances for 3–5 consecutive days.
Not all feet are created equal. Some folks are blessed with really tough feet, whereas the feet of others sprout blisters if you look at them sideways. Assuming that there’s nothing wrong with either shoes or socks, a few brisk walks will clue you in to what kind of feet the members of your family have. If you have a tenderfooted family member, walks of incrementally increased distances will usually toughen up his or her feet to some extent. For those whose feet refuse to toughen, your only alternative is preventive care. After several walks, you will know where your tenderfoot tends to develop blisters. If you can anticipate where blisters will develop, you can cover sensitive spots in advance with moleskin, a friction-resistant adhesive dressing.
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If you have a child who will physically fit in a stroller, rent one, no matter how well conditioned your family is.
When you initiate your walking program, teach your children to tell you if they feel a hot spot on their feet. This is the warning that a blister is developing. If your kids are too young, oblivious, or preoccupied, or don’t understand the concept, your best bet is to make regular foot checks. Have your children remove their shoes and socks and present their feet for inspection. Look for red spots and blisters, and ask if they have any places on their feet that hurt.
During your conditioning, and also at Disneyland, carry a foot emergency kit in your day pack or hip pack. The kit should contain gauze, Betadine antibiotic ointment, an assortment of Band-Aid Blister Bandages, a sewing needle or some such to drain blisters, as well as matches to sterilize the needle. An extra pair of dry socks and talc are optional.
If you discover a hot spot, dry the foot and cover the spot immediately with a blister bandage. If you find that a blister has fully or partially developed, first air out and dry the foot. Next, using your sterile needle, drain the fluid but do not remove the top skin. Clean the area with Betadine, and place a Band-Aid Blister Bandage over the blister. If you do not have Band-Aid Blister Bandages, do not try to cover the hot spot or blister with regular Band-Aids. Regular Band-Aids slip and wad up.
A stroller will provide the child the option of walking or riding, and, if he poops out, you won’t have to carry him. Even if your child hardly uses the stroller, it serves as a convenient place for water bottles and other stuff you may not feel like carrying. Strollers at Disneyland are covered in detail.
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If your kids are little and don’t mind a hairdo change, consider getting them a short haircut before you leave home. Not only will they be cooler and more comfortable, but—especially with your girls—you’ll save them (and yourselves) the hassle of tangles and about 20 minutes of foo-fooing a day.
SLEEP, REST, AND RELAXATION
OK, WE KNOW THAT THIS DISCUSSION is about physical preparation before you go, but this concept is so absolutely critical that we need to tattoo it on your brain right now.
Physical conditioning is important but is not a substitute for rest. Even marathon runners need recovery time. If you push too hard and try to do too much, you’ll either crash or, at a minimum, turn what should be fun into an ordeal. Rest means plenty of sleep at night and, if possible, naps during the afternoon and planned breaks in your vacation itinerary. And don’t forget that the brain needs rest and relaxation as well as the body. The stimulation inherent in touring a Disney theme park is enough to put many children and some adults into system overload. It is imperative that you remove your family from this unremitting assault on the senses and do something relaxing and quiet such as swimming or reading.
The theme parks are pretty big, so don’t try to see everything in 1 day. Even during the off-season, when the crowds are smaller and the temperatures more pleasant, the size of the theme parks will exhaust most children under age 8 by lunchtime. A Texas family underscores the importance of naps and rest:
Despite not following any of your “tours,” we did follow the theme of visiting a specific park in the morning, leaving midafternoon for either a nap back at the room or a trip to the pool, and then returning to one of the parks in the evening. On the few occasions when we skipped your advice, I was muttering to myself by dinner. I can’t tell you what I was muttering….
When it comes to naps, this mom does not mince words:
One last thing for parents of small kids—take the book’s advice and get out of the park and take the nap, take the nap, TAKE THE NAP! Never in my life have I seen so many parents screaming at, ridiculing, or slapping their kids. (What a vacation!) Disney [parks are] overwhelming for kids and adults.
A mom from Rochester, New York, was equally adamant:
[You] absolutely must rest during the day. Kids went from 8 a.m.–9 p.m. in the park. Kids did great that day, but we were all completely worthless the next day. Definitely must pace yourself.
If you plan to return to your hotel at midday and would like your room made up, let housekeeping know.
Routines That Travel
If when at home you observe certain routines—for example, reading a book before bed or having a bath first thing in the morning—try to incorporate these familiar activities into your vacation schedule. They will provide your children with a sense of security and normalcy.
Maintaining a normal routine is especially important with toddlers, as a mother of two from Lawrenceville, Georgia, relates:
The first day, we tried an early start, so we woke the children (ages 2 and 4) and hurried them to get going. BAD IDEA with toddlers. This put them off schedule for naps and meals the rest of the day. It is best to let young ones stay on their regular schedule and see Disney at their own pace, and you’ll have much more fun.
DEVELOPING a GOOD PLAN
ALLOW YOUR CHILDREN to participate in the planning of your time at Disneyland. Guide them diplomatically through the options, establishing advance decisions about what to do each day and how the day will be structured. Begin with your trip to Disneyland, deciding what time to depart, who sits by the window, whether to stop for meals or eat in the car, and so on. For the Disneyland part of your vacation, build consensus for wake-up call, bedtime, and building naps into the itinerary, and establish ground rules for eating, buying refreshments, and shopping. Determine the order for visiting the two theme parks and make a list of must-see attractions. To help you fill in the blanks of your days, and especially to prevent you from spending most of your time standing in line, we offer a number of field-tested touring plans. The plans are designed to minimize your waiting time at each park by providing step-by-step itineraries that route you counter to the flow of traffic. The plans are explained in greater detail starting.
THE GREAT DISNEYLAND EXPEDITION
CO-CAPTAINS Mary and Jack Shelton
TEAM MEMBERS Lynn and Jimmy Shelton
EXPEDITION FUNDING The main Expedition Fund will cover everything except personal purchases. Each team member will receive $40 for souvenirs and personal purchases. Anything above $40 will be paid for by team members with their own money.
EXPEDITION GEAR Each team member will wear an official expedition T-shirt and carry a hip pack.
PRE-DEPARTURE Jack makes Priority Seating arrangements at Disneyland restaurants. Mary, Lynn, and Jimmy make up trail mix and other snacks for the hip packs.
Generally, it’s better to just sketch in the broad strokes on the master plan. The detail of what to do when you actually arrive at the park can be decided the night before you go, or with the help of one of our touring plans once you get there. Above all, be flexible. One important caveat: Make sure that you keep any promises or agreements that you make when planning. They may not seem important to you, but they will to your children, who will remember for a long, long time that you let them down.
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To keep your thinking fresh and to adequately cover all bases, develop your plan in two or three family meetings no longer than 40 minutes each. You’ll discover that all members of the family will devote a lot of thought to the plan both in and between meetings. Don’t try to anticipate every conceivable contingency, or you’ll end up with something as detailed and unworkable as the tax code.
The more you can agree to and nail down in advance, the less potential you’ll have for disagreement and confrontation once you arrive. Because children are more comfortable with the tangible than the conceptual, and also because they sometimes have short memories, we recommend typing up all of your decisions and agreements and providing a copy to each child. Create a fun document, not a legalistic one. You’ll find that your children will review it in anticipation of all the things they will see and do, will consult it often, and will even read it to their younger siblings.
By now you’re probably wondering what one of these documents looks like, so we’ve provided a sample. Incidentally, this itinerary reflects the preferences of its creators, the Shelton family, and is not meant to be offered as an example of an ideal itinerary. It does, however, incorporate many of our most basic and strongly held recommendations, such as setting limits and guidelines in advance, getting enough rest, getting to the theme parks early, and saving time and money by having a cooler full of food for breakfast. As you will see, the Sheltons go pretty much full-tilt without much unstructured time and will probably be exhausted by the time they get home, but that’s their choice. One more thing—the Sheltons visited Disneyland in late June, when all of the theme parks stay open late.
Notice that the Sheltons’ itinerary provides minimum structure and maximum flexibility. It specifies which park the family will tour each day without attempting to nail down exactly what the family will do there. No matter how detailed your itinerary is, be prepared for surprises at Disneyland, both good and bad. If an unforeseen event renders part of the plan useless or impractical, just roll with it. And always remember that it’s your itinerary; you created it, and you can change it. Just try to make any changes the result of family discussion and be especially careful not to scrap an element of the plan that your children perceive as something you promised them.
LOGISTIC PREPARATION
WHEN WE RECENTLY LAUNCHED into our spiel about good logistic preparation for a Disneyland vacation, a friend from Phoenix said, “Wait, what’s the big deal? You pack clothes, a few games for the car, then go!” So OK, we confess, that will work, but life can be sweeter and the vacation smoother (as well as less expensive) with the right gear.
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Give your teens the job of coming up with the logo for your shirts. They will love being the family designers.
CLOTHING
LET’S START WITH CLOTHES. We recommend springing for vacation uniforms. Buy for each child several sets of jeans (or shorts) and T-shirts, all matching, and all the same. For a 1-week trip, for example, get each child three pairs of khaki shorts, three light-yellow T-shirts, and three pairs of SmartWool or CoolMax hiking socks. What’s the point? First, you don’t have to play fashion designer, coordinating a week’s worth of stylish combos. Each morning the kids put on their uniform. It’s simple, it saves time, and there are no decisions to make or arguments about what to wear. Second, uniforms make your children easier to spot and keep together in the theme parks. Third, the uniforms give your family, as well as the vacation itself, some added identity. If you’re like the Shelton family who created the sample itinerary in the previous section, you might go so far as to create a logo for the trip to be printed on the shirts.
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Equip each child with a big bandanna. Although bandannas come in handy for wiping noses, scouring ice cream from chins and mouths, and dabbing sweat from the forehead, they can also be tied around the neck to protect from sunburn.
When it comes to buying your uniforms, we have a few suggestions. Purchase well-made, durable shorts or jeans that will serve your children well beyond the vacation. Active children can never have too many pairs of shorts or jeans. As far as the T-shirts go, buy short-sleeve shirts in light colors for warm weather, or long-sleeve, darker-colored T-shirts for cooler weather. We suggest that you purchase your colored shirts from a local T-shirt printing company. These firms will be happy to sell you either printed T-shirts or unprinted T-shirts (called blanks) with long or short sleeves. You can select from a wide choice of colors not generally available in retail clothing stores and will not have to worry about finding the sizes you need. Plus, the shirts will cost a fraction of what a clothing retailer would charge. Most shirts come in the more durable 100% cotton or in the more wrinkle-resistant 50% cotton and 50% polyester (50–50s). The cotton shirts are a little cooler and more comfortable in hot, humid weather. The 50–50s dry a bit faster if they get wet.
LABELS A great idea, especially for younger children, is to attach labels with your family name, hometown, the name of your hotel, the dates of your stay, and your cell phone number inside the shirt—for example:
HODDER FAMILY OF DENVER, CO.; CAMELOT INN; MAY 5–12; 303-555-2108
Instruct your smaller children to show the label to an adult if they get separated from you. Elimination of the child’s first name (which most children of talking age can articulate in any event) allows you to order labels that are all the same, that can be used by anyone in the family, and that can also be affixed to such easily lost items as caps, hats, jackets, hip packs, ponchos, and umbrellas. If fooling with labels sounds like too much of a hassle, check out “Lost Children” for some alternatives.
DRESSING FOR COOLER WEATHER Southern California experiences temperatures all over the scale November–March, so it could be a bit chilly if you visit during those months. Our suggestion is to layer: for example, a breathable, waterproof or water-resistant Windbreaker over a light, long-sleeved polypro shirt over a long-sleeved T-shirt. As with the baffles of a sleeping bag or down coat, it is the air trapped between the layers that keeps you warm. If all the layers are thin, you won’t be left with something bulky to cart around if you want to pull off one or more. Later in this section, we’ll advocate wearing a hip pack. Each layer should be sufficiently compactible to fit easily in that hip pack along with whatever else is in it.
ACCESSORIES
I (BOB) WANTED TO CALL THIS PART “Belts and Stuff,” but our editor (who obviously spends a lot of time at Macy’s) thought “Accessories” put a finer point on it. In any event, we recommend pants for your children with reinforced elastic waistbands that eliminate the need to wear a belt (one less thing to find when you’re trying to leave). If your children like belts or want to carry an item suspended from their belts, buy them military-style 11⁄2-inch-wide web belts at any Army–Navy surplus or camping-equipment store. The belts weigh less than half as much as leather, are cooler, and are washable.
SUNGLASSES Smog notwithstanding, the California sun is so bright and the glare so blinding that we recommend sunglasses for each family member. For children and adults of all ages, a good accessory item is a polypro eyeglass strap for spectacles or sunglasses. The best models have a little device for adjusting the amount of slack in the strap. This allows your child to comfortably hang sunglasses from his or her neck when indoors or, alternately, to secure them fast to his or her head while experiencing a fast ride outdoors.
HIP PACKS AND WALLETS Unless you are touring with an infant or toddler, the largest thing anyone in your family should carry is a hip pack, or fanny pack. Each person should have one. The pack should be large enough to carry at least a half-day’s worth of snacks and other items deemed necessary (lip balm, bandanna, antibacterial hand gel, and so on) and still have enough room left to stash a hat, poncho, or light Windbreaker. We recommend buying full-size hip packs at outdoor retailers as opposed to small, child-size hip packs. The packs are light; can be made to fit any child large enough to tote a hip pack; have slip-resistant, comfortable, wide belting; and will last for years.
Do not carry billfolds or wallets, car keys, Disney Resort IDs, or room keys in your hip packs. We usually give this advice because hip packs are vulnerable to thieves (who snip them off and run), but pickpocketing and theft are not all that common at Disneyland. In this instance, the advice stems from a tendency of children to inadvertently drop their wallet in the process of rummaging around in their hip packs for snacks and other items.
You should weed through your billfold and remove to a safe place anything that you will not need on your vacation (family photos, local library card, department store credit cards, business cards, movie-rental ID cards, and so on). In addition to having a lighter wallet to lug around, you will decrease your exposure in the event that your wallet is lost or stolen. When we are working at Disneyland, we carry a small profile billfold with a driver’s license, a credit card, our room key, and a small amount of cash. You don’t need anything else.
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About 2 weeks before arriving, ship a box to your hotel containing food, plastic cutlery, and toiletries, plus pretty much any other consumables that might come in handy during your stay. If you fly, this helps avoid overweight fees and problems with liquid restrictions for carry-on luggage.
DAY PACKS We see a lot of folks at Disneyland carrying day packs (that is, small, frameless backpacks) and/or water bottle belts that strap around your waist. Day packs might be a good choice if you plan to carry a lot of camera equipment or if you need to carry baby supplies on your person. Otherwise, try to travel as light as possible. Packs are hot, cumbersome, not very secure, and must be removed every time you get on a ride or sit down for a show. Hip packs, by way of contrast, can simply be rotated around the waist from your back to your abdomen if you need to sit down. Additionally, our observation has been that the contents of one day pack can usually be redistributed to two or so hip packs (except in the case of camera equipment).
CAPS Kids pull caps on and off as they enter and exit attractions, restrooms, and restaurants, and—big surprise—they lose them. In fact, they lose them by the thousands. You could provide a ball cap for every Little Leaguer in California from the caps that are lost at Disneyland each summer.
If your children are partial to caps, a device sold at ski and camping supply stores might increase the likelihood of the cap returning home with the child. Essentially, it’s a short, light cord with little alligator clips on both ends. Hook one clip to the shirt collar and the other to the hat. It’s a great little invention. Bob uses one when he skis in case his cap blows off.
RAINGEAR Rain is a fact of life, though persistent rain day after day is unusual. Check out the Weather Channel or weather forecasts on the Internet for 3 or so days before you leave home to see if there are any major storm systems heading for Southern California. Weather forecasting has improved to the extent that predictions concerning systems and fronts 4–7 days out are now pretty reliable. If it appears that you might see some rough weather during your visit, you’re better off bringing raingear from home. If, however, nothing big is on the horizon weatherwise, you can take your chances.
Respect for the Sun
Health and science writer Avery Hurt sheds some light on the often confusing products and methods for avoiding sunburn.
No matter what time of year you make your trip, don’t underestimate the Southern California sun. Even in winter, it can be a problem.
The most obvious precaution is to slather on the sunscreen. But you may discover that choosing a product is anything but simple. Cream? Lotion? Spray? Waterproof or not? And what’s this SPF number all about anyway? Don’t worry. It’s not as complicated as it seems. Here’s the basic advice from the medical experts.
Choose a sunscreen that is convenient for you to use. Some prefer sprays, others lotions. The form of the sunscreen doesn’t matter as much as the technique of applying it. Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before going out, and be sure to get enough on you. One ounce per application is recommended—that means a full shot glass worth each time you apply. The 1-ounce amount was calculated for average adults in swimsuits; larger adults will need proportionately more. For a 1-year-old child wearing a bathing suit, figure about one-third of an ounce (10 cc) per application. An average 7-year-old will probably take two-thirds of an ounce (20 cc). It’s a good idea to measure that ounce in your hands (at home, when an ounce measure—shot glass or whatever—is handy), so that you will be familiar with what an ounce looks like in your palms. It really is far more sunscreen than you tend to think.
Don’t miss any spots. A few years ago, a group of researchers went to the beach to measure how well covered beachgoers really were. It turned out that even the most dedicated sunscreen users did an abysmal job of applying it. Most areas of skin were only sparsely covered, and areas such as the ears and the tops of feet were hardly covered at all. Get a generous covering on all exposed skin. Then reapply (another full shot glass) every 2 hours or after swimming or sweating. No matter what it says on the label, no sunscreen is waterproof, and water resistance is limited. And none last all day.
MAKING SENSE OF SPF
SPF stands for sun protection factor and is a measure of how long the protection will last. Geniuses in lab coats come up with this number by calculating how long it will take a person to burn without sunscreen (don’t volunteer me for that study) and comparing that to how long the same person takes to burn with sunscreen. Theoretically, a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 will protect you 15 times longer than if you wore no sunscreen at all.
This might make it sound like the higher the SPF the better, but studies have not borne that out. The effect diminishes as the number gets higher, and the initial estimate doesn’t take into account the fact that during the day your sunscreen rubs off, washes off, and sweats off. In actual practice, there is very little difference in protection between 15 or so SPF and 45 or 50 or greater. There is no need to spend more for higher SPF numbers. In fact, it is much safer to choose a lower (and typically less expensive) SPF (as long as it is at least 15) and apply it more often. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recommends an SPF of at least 30. Paying more for a higher SPF will give you very little more protection, and the false sense of security that comes with a 45 or 50 SPF may do more harm than the slight increase in protection. However, do be sure to choose a product that has broad-spectrum coverage, meaning that it filters out both UVA and UVB rays.
CHILDREN AND THE SUN
It is best to keep babies under 6 months covered and out of the sun. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics condones a small amount of sunscreen on vulnerable areas, such as the nose and chin, when you have your baby out. Be very careful to monitor your baby even if he is wearing a hat and sitting under an umbrella. The sun moves. A spot that was shady when you ordered your funnel cake might be baking by the time you’ve finished eating it. If your child develops a rash while using sunscreen, get the baby out of the sun, stop using the sunscreen, and call your doctor.
With older children, slather liberally and often. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that because you’ve coated your children in a bazillion-SPF-water-resistant-all-day-protection-top-of-the-line brand sunscreen that you don’t have to worry until dinnertime. Reapply and check for redness often. Sunburn can be sneaky. Children aren’t likely to notice the mild discomfort of impending sunburn, especially when they are having fun. Check them often and get them out of the sun as soon as you see even slight redness. You don’t have to pay extra for special formulas made for children. As long as the SPF is at least 30 and offers broad-spectrum protection, one brand can serve the whole family.
NOT JUST SKIN DEEP
It is just as important to protect the eyes and lips as the skin. Using a lip gloss with an SPF of 15 is pretty easy to do but also easy to forget. Keep several tubes in your bag or pocket and reapply often to your own lips and those of your kids. Again, the brand is less important than choosing something that you will use—and remembering to use it.
Sunglasses are also a must. Too much sun exposure can contribute to age-related macular degeneration (among other things). This may not seem much of an issue when you are young and healthy, but when you get old and go blind, you’ll wish that you had remembered to put on some shades. Not all sunglasses filter out damaging rays. Be sure to choose shades (for adults and kids) that have 99% UV protection. Large lenses and wraparound styles might not look as cool, but they offer much better protection. You may have to spend a little more to be sure that you are getting adequate protection, but you don’t want to skimp on this. Much of the damage to the eyes from too much sun is irreversible and, like sun damage to the skin, it starts accumulating in childhood.
If you do slip up and get a burn, cool baths, aloe gels, and ibuprofen (or for adults, aspirin) usually help ease the suffering. Occasionally sunburns can be as dangerous in the short-term as they are in the long-term. If you or your child experience nausea, vomiting, high fever, severe pain, confusion, or fainting, seek medical care immediately.
All of the above is important—and sunscreen is a must if you are headed to Disneyland after a nice, cushy winter indoors in less-sun-drenched climes—but don’t let that little bottle with its inscrutable numbers get you off your guard. You still need to wear a hat and stay well-hydrated.
We at the Unofficial Guides usually do not bring raingear. Raingear is pretty cheap at Disneyland, especially the ponchos for about $7 adults, $6 child, available in seemingly every retail shop, and it’s even cheaper at local discount stores (such as Target). Moreover, in the theme parks, a surprising number of attractions and queuing areas are under cover. Finally, we prefer to travel light.
If you do find yourself in a big storm, however, you’ll want to have both a poncho and an umbrella. As one Unofficial reader puts it, “Umbrellas make the rain much more bearable. When rain isn’t beating down on your ponchoed head, it’s easier to ignore.”
And consider this tip from a Memphis, Tennessee, mom:
Scotchgard your shoes. The difference is unbelievable.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
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Often little ones fall asleep in their strollers (hallelujah!). Bring a large lightweight cloth to drape over the stroller to cover your child from the sun. A few clothespins will keep it in place.
MEDICATION Some parents of hyperactive children on medication discontinue or decrease the child’s normal dosage at the end of the school year. If you have such a child, be aware that the Disneyland parks might overly stimulate him or her. Consult your physician before altering your child’s medication regimen. Also, if your child has attention-deficit disorder, remember that especially loud sounds can drive him or her right up the wall. Unfortunately, some Disney theater attractions are almost unbearably loud.
SUNSCREEN Overheating and sunburn are among the most common problems of younger children at Disneyland. Carry and use sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher. Be sure to put some on kids in strollers, even if the stroller has a canopy. Some of the worst cases of sunburn we’ve seen were on the exposed foreheads and feet of toddlers and infants in strollers. Protect skin from overexposure. To avoid overheating, rest regularly in the shade or in an air-conditioned restaurant or show.
WATER BOTTLES Don’t count on keeping young children hydrated with soft drinks and water fountains. Long lines may impede buying refreshments, and fountains may not be handy. Furthermore, excited children may not realize or tell you that they’re thirsty or hot. We recommend renting a stroller for children age 6 and younger and carrying bottles of water and sports drinks. Bottled water runs about $3 in all major parks, or bring your own water bottle and strap from home.
COOLERS AND MINI-FRIDGES If you drive to Disneyland, bring two coolers: a small one for drinks in the car and a large one for the hotel room. If you fly and rent a car, stop and purchase a large Styrofoam cooler, which can be discarded at the end of the trip. If you will be without a car, book a hotel with mini-fridges in each room. All on-site Disneyland hotels provide free mini-fridges and coffeemakers. If mini-fridges aren’t provided, rent one from the hotel.
Coolers and mini-fridges allow you to have breakfast in your hotel room, store snacks and lunch supplies to take to the theme parks, and supplant expensive vending machines for snacks and beverages at the hotel. To keep the contents of your cooler cold, freeze a 2-gallon milk jug full of water before you head out. In a good cooler, it will take the jug 5 or more days to thaw. If you buy a Styrofoam cooler, you can use bagged ice and ice from the ice machine at your hotel. Even if you have to rent a mini-fridge, you will save a bundle of cash as well as significant time by reducing dependence on restaurant meals and expensive snacks and drinks purchased from vendors.
FOOD-PREP KIT If you plan to make sandwiches, bring along condiments and seasonings from home. A typical travel kit will include mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, salt and pepper, and packets of sugar or artificial sweetener. Also throw in some plastic knives and spoons, napkins, plastic cups, and zip-top plastic bags. For breakfast you will need some plastic bowls for cereal. Of course, you can buy this stuff in Anaheim, but you probably won’t consume it all, so why waste the money? If you drink bottled beer or wine, bring a bottle opener and corkscrew.
ENERGY BOOSTERS Kids get cranky when they’re hungry, and when that happens, your entire group has a problem. Like many parents you might, for nutritional reasons, keep a tight rein on snacks available to your children at home. At Disneyland, however, maintaining energy and equanimity trumps between-meal snack discipline. For maximum zip and contentedness, give your kids snacks containing complex carbohydrates (fruits, crackers, nonfat energy bars, and the like) before they get hungry or show signs of exhaustion. You should avoid snacks that are high in fats and proteins because these foods take a long time to digest and will tend to unsettle your stomach if it’s a hot day.
An experienced and wise grandma underscores the point:
Children who get cranky during a visit often do so from all that time and energy expended without food. Feed them! A snack at any price goes a long way to keeping the little kids happy and enjoying the parks, and keeping parents sane. Oh, and the security people are very nice about you taking snacks or drinks in, but DO NOT bring glass containers! That is apparently what they are really looking for.
ELECTRONICS Regardless of your children’s ages, always bring a night-light. Flashlights are also handy for finding stuff in a dark hotel room after the kids are asleep.
MP3 players and iPods with earphones, as well as some electronic games, are often controversial gear for a family outing. We recommend compromise. Earphones allow kids to create their own space even when they’re with others, and that can be a safety valve. That said, try to agree before the trip on some earphone parameters, so you don’t begin to feel as if they’re being used to keep other family members and the trip itself at a distance. If you’re traveling by car, take turns choosing the radio station or CD for part of the trip.
Likewise, mobile phones are a mixed blessing. On the one hand, they can be invaluable in an emergency or if your party wants to split up, and if you have a smartphone, you can use our Lines app to see current wait times in the parks. Unfortunately, they also lead to guests missing out on what’s around them and bumping into each other because they’re glued to a tiny screen. If you bring yours, consider disabling high-speed data, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth to save on batteries.
DON’T FORGET THE TENT This is not a joke and has nothing to do with camping. When Bob’s daughter was preschool age, he almost went crazy trying to get her to sleep in a shared hotel room. She was accustomed to having her own room at home and was hyperstimulated whenever she traveled. Bob tried makeshift curtains and room dividers and even rearranged the furniture in a few hotel rooms to create the illusion of a more private, separate space for her. It was all for naught. It wasn’t until she was around 4 years old and Bob took her camping that he seized on an idea that had some promise. She liked the cozy, secure, womblike feel of a backpacking tent and quieted down much more readily than she ever had in hotel rooms. So the next time the family stayed in a hotel, he pitched his backpacking tent in the corner of the room. In she went, nested for a bit, and fell asleep.
Since the time of Bob’s daughter’s childhood, there has been an astounding evolution in tent design. Tent manufacturers have developed a broad range of tents with self-supporting frames that can be erected virtually anywhere without ropes or stakes. Affordable and sturdy, many are as simple to put up as opening an umbrella. So if your child is too young for a room of his or her own or you can’t afford a second hotel room, try pitching a small tent. Modern tents are self-contained with floors and an entrance that can be zipped up for privacy but cannot be locked. Kids appreciate having their own space and enjoy the adventure of being in a tent, even one set up in the corner of a hotel room. Sizes range from children’s play tents with a 2- to 3-foot base to models large enough to sleep two or three husky teens. Light and compact when stored, a two-adult-size tent in its own storage bag (called a stuff sack) will take up about one-tenth or less of a standard overhead bin on a commercial airliner. Another option for infants and toddlers is to drape a sheet over a portable crib or playpen to make a tent.
THE BOX Bob here: On one memorable Disneyland excursion when my children were younger, we began each morning with an immensely annoying, involuntary scavenger hunt. Invariably, seconds before our scheduled departure to the theme park, we discovered that some combination of shoes, billfolds, sunglasses, hip packs, or other necessities were unaccountably missing. For the next 15 minutes we would root through the room like pigs hunting truffles in an attempt to locate the absent items. When my kids lost something, they always searched where it was easiest to look, as opposed to where the lost article was most likely to be. I would be jammed under a bed feeling around while my children stood in the middle of the room intently inspecting the ceiling. As my friends will tell you, I’m as open to a novel theory as the next guy, but we never did find any shoes on the ceiling. Anyway, here’s what I finally did: I swung by a local store and mooched a big empty box. From then on, every time we returned to the room, I had the kids deposit shoes, hip packs, and other potentially wayward items in the box. After that the box was off-limits until the next morning, when I doled out the contents.
PLASTIC GARBAGE BAGS At the Grizzly River Run raft ride at DCA and Splash Mountain in Disneyland Park, you are certain to get wet and possibly soaked. If it’s really hot and you don’t care, then fine. But if it’s cool or you’re just not up for a soaking, bring a large plastic trash bag or a cheap poncho to the park. By cutting holes in the top and on the sides, you can fashion a sack poncho that will keep your clothes from getting wet. On the raft ride, you will also get your feet wet. If you’re not up for walking around in squishing, soaked shoes, bring a second, smaller plastic bag to wear over your feet while riding.
SUPPLIES FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS
BASED ON RECOMMENDATIONS from hundreds of Unofficial Guide readers, here’s what we suggest that you carry with you when touring with infants and toddlers:
- A disposable diaper for every hour you plan to be away from your hotel
- A cloth diaper or kitchen towel to put over your shoulder for burping
- Two receiving blankets: one to wrap the baby, one to lay the baby on or to drape over you when you nurse
- Ointment for diaper rash
- A package of wipes
- Prepared formula in bottles if you are not breast-feeding
- A washable bib, baby spoon, and baby food if your infant is eating solids
- For toddlers, a small toy for comfort and to keep them occupied during attractions
Baby-care centers at the theme parks will sell you just about anything that you forget or run out of. Like all things Disney, prices will be higher than elsewhere, but at least you won’t need to detour to a drugstore in the middle of your touring day.
REMEMBERING Your TRIP
Purchase a notebook for each child and spend time each evening recording the day’s events. If your children have trouble getting motivated or don’t know what to write about, start a discussion; otherwise, let them write or draw whatever they want to remember from the day.
Collect mementos along the way and create a treasure box in a small tin or cigar box. Months or years later, it’s fun to look at postcards, pins, seashells, or ticket stubs to jump-start a memory.
Add inexpensive postcards to your photographs to create an album; then write a few words on each page to accompany the images.
Give each child a disposable camera to record his or her version of the trip. One 5-year-old snapped an entire series of photos that never showed anyone above the waist—his view of Disneyland (and the photos were priceless).
Nowadays, many families travel with a video camera, digital camera, or camera phone, though we recommend using one sparingly—parents end up viewing the trip through the lens rather than being in the moment. If you must, take it along, but only record a few moments of major sights (too much is boring anyway). And let the kids record and narrate. On the topic of narration, speak loudly so as to be heard over the not insignificant background noise of the parks. Make use of lockers at all of the parks when the camera becomes a burden or when you’re going to experience an attraction that might damage it or get it wet. Unless you have a camera designed for underwater shots or a waterproof carrying case, leave it behind on Splash Mountain, the Grizzly River Run, and any other ride where water is involved. Don’t forget extra batteries.
Another inexpensive way to record memories is a palm-size tape recorder. Let all family members describe their experiences. Hearing a small child’s voice years later is so endearing, and those recorded descriptions will trigger an album’s worth of memories, far more focused than what many novices capture with a camcorder.
Consider using Disney’s PhotoPass service for some professional-quality pictures; it’s free to use and you only pay for the images you want to keep (see for details).
Finally, when it comes to taking photos and collecting mementos, don’t let the tail wag the dog. You are not going to Disneyland to build the biggest scrapbook in history. Or as this Houston mom put it:
Tell your readers to get a grip on the photography thing. We were so busy shooting pictures that we kind of lost the thread. We had to get our pictures developed when we got home to see what all we did [while on vacation].
TRIAL RUN
IF YOU GIVE THOUGHTFUL CONSIDERATION to all areas of mental, physical, organizational, and logistical preparation discussed in this chapter, what remains is to familiarize yourself with the Disneyland parks and, of course, to conduct your field test. Yep, that’s right, we want you to take the whole platoon on the road for a day to see if you are combat ready. No joke—this is important. You’ll learn who tuckers out first, who’s prone to developing blisters, who has to pee every 11 seconds, who keeps losing her cap, and, given the proper forum, how compatible your family is in terms of what you like to see and do.
For the most informative trial run, choose a local venue that requires lots of walking, dealing with crowds, and making decisions on how to spend your time. Regional theme parks and state fairs are your best bets, followed by large zoos and museums. Devote the whole day. Kick off the morning with an early start, just like you will at Disneyland, paying attention to who’s organized and ready to go and who’s dragging his or her butt and holding up the group. If you have to drive 1 or 2 hours to get to your test venue, no big deal. You may have to do some commuting at Disneyland too. Spend the whole day, eat a couple of meals, and stay late.
Don’t bias the sample (that is, mess with the outcome) by telling everyone that you are practicing for Disneyland. Everyone behaves differently when they know that they are being tested or evaluated. Your objective is not to run a perfect drill but to find out as much as you can about how the individuals in your family, as well as the family as a group, respond to and deal with everything they experience during the day. Pay attention to who moves quickly and who is slow; who is adventuresome and who is reticent; who keeps going and who needs frequent rest breaks; who sets the agenda and who is content to follow; who is easily agitated and who stays cool; who tends to dawdle or wander off; who is curious and who is bored; who is demanding and who is accepting. You get the idea.
Discuss the findings of the test run with your spouse the next day. Don’t be discouraged if your test day wasn’t perfect; few (if any) are. Distinguish between problems that are remediable and problems that are intrinsic to your family’s emotional or physical makeup (no amount of hiking, for example, will toughen up some people’s feet).
Establish a plan for addressing remediable problems (further conditioning, setting limits before you go, trying harder to achieve family consensus) and develop strategies for minimizing or working around problems that are a fact of life (waking sleepyheads 15 minutes early, placing moleskin on likely blister sites before setting out, or packing familiar food for the toddler who balks at restaurant fare). If you are an attentive observer, a fair diagnostician, and a creative problem solver, you’ll be able to work out many of the problems you’re likely to encounter at Disneyland before you leave home.
ABOUT THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TOURING PLANS Parents who embark on one of our touring plans are often frustrated by the various interruptions and delays occasioned by their small children. In case you haven’t given the subject much thought, here is what to expect:
1. Many small children will stop dead in their tracks whenever they see a Disney character. Our advice: Live with it. An attempt to haul your children away before they have satisfied their curiosity is likely to precipitate anything from whining to a full-scale revolt.
2. The touring plans call for visiting attractions in a specified sequence, often skipping certain attractions along the way. Children do not like skipping anything! If they see something that attracts them, they want to experience it now. Some children can be persuaded to skip attractions if parents explain things in advance. Other kids severely flip out at the threat of skipping something, particularly something in Fantasyland. A mom from Charleston, South Carolina, had this to say:
Following the touring plans turned out to be a train wreck. The main problem with the plan is that it starts in Fantasyland. When we were on Dumbo, my 5-year-old saw eight dozen other things in Fantasyland she wanted to see. The long and the short is that after Dumbo, there was no getting her out of there.
3. Children seem to have a genetic instinct when it comes to finding restrooms. We have seen perfectly functional adults equipped with all manner of maps search interminably for a restroom. Small children, on the other hand, including those who cannot read, will head for the nearest restroom with the certainty of a homing pigeon. While you may skip certain attractions, you can be sure that your children will ferret out (and want to use) every restroom in the theme park.
STROLLERS
STROLLERS ARE AVAILABLE for about $15 per day for a single, $25 per day for two; the rental covers the entire day and is good at both parks. If you rent a stroller and later decide to go back to your hotel for lunch, a swim, or a nap, turn in your stroller but hang on to your rental receipt. When you return to either park later in the day, present your receipt. You will be issued another stroller with no additional charge. The rental procedure is fast and efficient, and a central stroller rental facility is in the Main Entrance Plaza between Disneyland and DCA. Likewise, returning the stroller is a breeze. Even in the evening, when several hundred strollers are turned in following the fireworks or water show, there is no wait or hassle. Note: Rented strollers are not permitted in Downtown Disney.
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Strollers are also great for older kids who tire easily.
The strollers come with sun canopies and small cargo compartments under the seat. For infants and toddlers, strollers are a must, and we recommend a small pillow or blanket to help make them more comfortable for your child during what may be long periods in the seat. We have also observed many sharp parents renting strollers for somewhat older children. Strollers prevent parents from having to carry children when they run out of steam and provide an easy, convenient way to carry water, snacks, diaper bags, and the like.
When you enter a show or board a ride, you will have to park your stroller, usually in an open, unprotected area. If it rains before you return, you’ll need a cloth, towel, or spare diaper to dry off the stroller.
Bringing Your Own Stroller
You are allowed to bring your own stroller to the theme parks. However, only collapsible strollers are allowed on the monorail and parking-lot trams. Your stroller is unlikely to be stolen, but mark it with your name. We strongly recommend bringing your own stroller. In addition to the parks there is the walk from and to your hotel, the parking-lot tram, or the bus/hotel-shuttle boarding area, not to mention many other occasions at your hotel or during shopping when you will be happy to have a stroller handy.
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Beware of stroller stealers. With so many identical strollers, it’s easy to grab the wrong one. Mark yours with a bandanna or some other easily identifiable flag.
If you do not want to bring your own stroller, you may consider buying one of the umbrella-style collapsible strollers. You may even consider ordering online at places such as walmart.com, toysrus.com, or sears.com and shipping it right to your hotel. Make sure you leave enough time between your order and arrival dates.
Having her own stroller was indispensable to this mother of two toddlers:
How I was going to manage to get the kids from the parking [garage] to the park was a big worry for me before I made the trip. I didn’t read anywhere that it was possible to walk to the entrance of the parks instead of taking the tram, so I wasn’t sure I could do it.
I found that for me personally, since I have two kids ages 1 and 2, it was easier to walk to the entrance of the park from the parking [garage] with the kids in [my own] stroller than to take the kids out of the stroller, fold the stroller (while trying to control the two kids and associated gear), load the stroller and the kids onto the tram, etc…. No matter where I was parked, I could always just walk to the entrance…. It sometimes took a while, but it was easier for me.
An Oklahoma mom, however, reports a bad experience with bringing her own stroller:
The first time we took our kids we had a large stroller (big mistake). It is so much easier to rent one in the park. The large [personally owned] strollers are nearly impossible to get on [airport shuttle] buses and are a hassle at the airport. I remember feeling dread when a bus pulled up that was even semi-full of people. People look at you like you have a cage full of live chickens when you drag heavy strollers onto the bus.
Stroller Wars
Sometimes strollers disappear while you are enjoying a ride or a show. Do not be alarmed. You won’t have to buy the missing stroller, and you will be issued a new stroller for your continued use. Lost strollers can be replaced at the main rental facility near the respective park entrances.
While replacing a ripped-off stroller is not a big deal, it is an inconvenience. One family complained that their stroller had been taken six times in one day. Even with free replacements, larceny on this scale represents a lot of wasted time. Through our own experiments and suggestions from readers, we have developed several techniques for hanging on to your rented stroller:
Write your name in permanent marker on a 6-by-9-inch card, put the card in a transparent freezer bag, and secure the bag to the handle of the stroller with masking or duct tape.
Affix something personal (but expendable) to the handle of the stroller. Evidently most strollers are pirated by mistake (since they all look the same) or because it’s easier to swipe someone else’s stroller (when yours disappears) than to troop off to the replacement center. Since most stroller theft is a function of confusion, laziness, or revenge, the average pram-pincher will balk at hauling off a stroller bearing another person’s property. After trying several items, we concluded that a bright, inexpensive scarf or bandanna tied to the handle works well, and a sock partially stuffed with rags or paper works even better (the weirder and more personal the object, the greater the deterrent). Best of all is a dead mackerel dangling from the handle, though in truth, the kids who ride in the stroller prefer the other methods.
A multigenerational family tried this:
[We] took the suggestion from one of your readers and “decorated” our stroller with electrical tape to make it stand out. We also ziptied an unused, small, insulated diaper bag to the handle to make carrying things easier. One of your readers mentioned using a bike chain or cable lock to insure their stroller was not stolen but said the Disney cast members were a little disturbed. So I took an extra firearm lock (looks like a mini-bike lock) to lock a wheel to the frame while parked. My son added a small cow bell to make it clang if moved. The stroller could then be moved easily for short distances by lifting the back, but trying to go farther would be uncomfortable and noisy.
We receive quite a few letters from readers debating the pros and cons of bringing your own stroller versus renting one of Disney’s. A mother with two small children opted for her own pram:
I took my own stroller because the rented strollers aren’t appropriate for infants (we had a 5-year-old and a 5-month-old). No one said anything about me using a bike lock to secure our brand-new Aprica stroller. However, an attendant came over and told us not to lock it anywhere because it’s a fire hazard! (Outside?) When I politely asked the attendant if she wanted to be responsible for my $300 stroller, she told me to go ahead and lock it but not tell anyone! I observed the attendants constantly moving the strollers. This seems very confusing—no wonder people think their strollers are getting ripped off!
As the reader mentioned, Disney cast members often rearrange strollers parked outside an attraction. Sometimes this is done simply to tidy up. At other times the strollers are moved to make additional room along a walkway. In any event, do not assume that your stroller is stolen because it is missing from the exact place you left it. Check around. Chances are it will be neatly arranged just a few feet away.
BABYSITTING
CHILD-CARE SERVICES ARE UNAVAILABLE in the Disney parks. The services of Pinocchio’s Workshop, a child-care facility at the Grand Californian Hotel, are available only to guests of the three Disneyland Resort hotels. Children ages 5–12 can be left for up to 4 hours at a cost of $13 per hour, per child. Pinocchio’s Workshop requires a minimum of 2 hours, and its hours are 5 p.m.–midnight. Dinner is available for an additional fee.
Fullerton Child Care Agency, an independent organization, provides in-room sitting for infants and children. If you pay the tab, Fullerton sitters will even take your kids to Disneyland. All sitters are experienced and licensed to drive, and the Fullerton Child Care Agency is fully insured. The basic rate for in-room sitting for one or two children is $48 for the first 4 hours, with a 4-hour minimum, and $10 each hour thereafter. The charge for each additional child varies with the sitter. There is no transportation fee, but the client is expected to pay for parking when applicable. All fees and charges must be paid in cash at the end of the assignment. To reserve a sitter, 1 or 2 days’ advance notice is requested. They fill up quickly, so a couple of weeks’ notice is ideal. You can reach the Fullerton Child Care Agency by calling 
714-528-1640.
DISNEY, KIDS, & SCARY STUFF
DISNEYLAND PARK and Disney California Adventure are family theme parks. Yet some of the Disney adventure rides can be intimidating to small children. On certain rides, such as Splash Mountain and the roller coasters (California Screamin’, Space Mountain, Matterhorn Bobsleds, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad), the ride itself may be frightening. On other rides, such as The Haunted Mansion and Snow White’s Scary Adventures, it is the special effects. We recommend a little parent-child dialogue coupled with a “testing the water” approach. A child who is frightened by Pinocchio’s Daring Journey should not have to sit through The Haunted Mansion. Likewise, if Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is too much, don’t try Space Mountain or California Screamin’.
Disney rides and shows are adventures. They focus on the substance and themes of all adventure, and indeed of life itself: good and evil, beauty and the grotesque, fellowship and enmity, quest, and death. Though the endings are all happy, the impact of the adventures, with Disney’s gift for special effects, is often intimidating and occasionally frightening to small children.
There are rides with menacing witches, rides with burning towns, and rides with ghouls popping out of their graves, all done tongue-in-cheek and with a sense of humor, provided you are old enough to understand the joke. And there are bones, lots of bones—human bones, cattle bones, and whole skeletons are everywhere you look. There have to be more bones at Disneyland Park than at the Smithsonian and the UCLA Medical School combined. A stack of skulls is at the headhunter’s camp on the Jungle Cruise; a veritable platoon of skeletons sail ghost ships in Pirates of the Caribbean; a macabre assemblage of skulls and skeletons are in The Haunted Mansion; and more skulls, skeletons, and bones punctuate Snow White’s Scary Adventures, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
One reader wrote us after taking his preschoolers on Star Tours:
We took a 4-year-old and a 5-year-old and they had the *#%^! scared out of them at Star Tours. We did this first thing in the morning, and it took hours of Tom Sawyer Island and It’s a Small World to get back to normal.
Our kids were the youngest by far in Star Tours. I assume that either other adults had more sense or were not such avid readers of your book. Preschoolers should start with Dumbo and work up to the Jungle Cruise in the late morning, after being revved up and before getting hungry, thirsty, or tired. Pirates of the Caribbean is out for preschoolers. You get the idea.
The reaction of young children to the inevitable system overload of Disney parks should be anticipated. Be sensitive, alert, and prepared for almost anything, even behavior that is out of character for your child at home. Most small children take Disney’s variety of macabre trappings in stride, and others are quickly comforted by an arm around the shoulder or a little squeeze of the hand. For parents who have observed a tendency in their kids to become upset, we recommend taking it slowly and easily by sampling more benign adventures such as the Jungle Cruise, gauging reactions, and discussing with children how they felt about the things they saw.
Sometimes, small children will rise above their anxiety in an effort to please their parents or siblings. This behavior, however, does not necessarily indicate a mastery of fear, much less enjoyment. If children come off a ride in ostensibly good shape, we recommend asking if they would like to go on the ride again (not necessarily right now, but sometime). The response to this question will usually give you a clue as to how much they actually enjoyed the experience. There is a lot of difference between having a good time and mustering the courage to get through something.
Evaluating a child’s capacity to handle the visual and tactile effects of the Disney parks requires patience, understanding, and experimentation. Each of us, after all, has his own demons. If a child balks at or is frightened by a ride, respond constructively. Let your children know that lots of people, adults as well as children, are scared by what they see and feel. Help them understand that it is OK if they get frightened and that their fear does not lessen your love or respect. Take pains not to compound the discomfort by making a child feel inadequate; try not to undermine self-esteem, impugn courage, or subject a child to ridicule. Most of all, do not induce guilt, as if your child’s trepidation is ruining the family’s fun. When older siblings are present, it is sometimes necessary to restrain their taunting and teasing.
A visit to a Disney park is more than an outing or an adventure for a small child. It is a testing experience, a sort of controlled rite of passage. If you help your little one work through the challenges, the time can be immeasurably rewarding and a bonding experience for both of you.
The Fright Factor
While each youngster is different, there are essentially seven attraction elements that alone or combined can push a child’s buttons:
1. THE NAME OF THE ATTRACTION Small children will naturally be apprehensive about something called The Haunted Mansion or Snow White’s Scary Adventures.
2. THE VISUAL IMPACT OF THE ATTRACTION FROM OUTSIDE Splash Mountain, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad look scary enough to give even adults second thoughts. To many small kids, the rides are visually terrifying.
3. THE VISUAL IMPACT OF THE INDOOR QUEUING AREA Pirates of the Caribbean with its dark bayou scene and The Haunted Mansion, with its “stretch rooms” are capable of frightening small children before they even board the ride.
4. THE INTENSITY OF THE ATTRACTION Some attractions are so intense as to be overwhelming; they inundate the senses with sights, sounds, movement, and even smell. Captain EO, Muppet-Vision 3-D, and It’s Tough to Be a Bug!, for instance, combine loud music, tactile effects, lights, and 3-D cinematography to create a total sensory experience. For some preschoolers, this is two or three senses too many.
5. THE VISUAL IMPACT OF THE ATTRACTION ITSELF As previously discussed, the sights in various attractions range from falling boulders to lurking buzzards, from underwater volcanoes to attacking hippos. What one child calmly absorbs may scare the owl poop out of another child the same age.
6. DARK Many Disneyland attractions are dark rides—that is, they operate indoors in a dark environment. For some children, this fact alone is sufficient to trigger significant apprehension. A child who is frightened on one dark ride, for example Snow White’s Scary Adventures, may be unwilling to try other indoor rides.
7. THE RIDE ITSELF; THE TACTILE EXPERIENCE Some Disney rides are downright wild—wild enough to induce motion sickness, wrench backs, and generally discombobulate patrons of any age.
Small-child Fright-potential Chart
As a quick reference, we provide this chart to warn you which attractions to be wary of and why. The chart represents a generalization and all kids are different. The chart relates specifically to kids 3–7 years of age. On average, as you would expect, children at the younger end of the age range are more likely to be frightened than children in their 6th or 7th year.
DISNEYLAND PARK
MAIN STREET, U.S.A.
DISNEYLAND RAILROAD Tunnel with dinosaur display frightens some small children.
THE DISNEYLAND STORY, PRESENTING GREAT MOMENTS WITH MR. LINCOLN Brief battle sound effects may surprise small children.
ADVENTURELAND
ENCHANTED TIKI ROOM A small thunderstorm momentarily surprises very young children.
INDIANA JONES ADVENTURE Visually intimidating, with intense effects and a jerky ride. Switching-off option.
JUNGLE CRUISE Moderately intense, with some macabre sights; a good test attraction for little ones.
TARZAN’S TREEHOUSE Not frightening in any respect.
NEW ORLEANS SQUARE
HAUNTED MANSION Name of attraction raises anxiety, as do sights and sounds of waiting area. An intense attraction with humorously presented macabre sights. The ride itself is gentle.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN Slightly intimidating queuing area; an intense boat ride with gruesome (though humorously presented) sights and two short, unexpected slides down flumes.
CRITTER COUNTRY
DAVY CROCKETT’S EXPLORER CANOES Not frightening in any respect.
THE MANY ADVENTURES OF WINNIE THE POOH Not frightening in any respect.
SPLASH MOUNTAIN Visually intimidating from the outside. Moderately intense visual effects. The ride itself is somewhat hair-raising for all ages, culminating in a 52-foot plunge down a steep chute. Switching-off option.
FRONTIERLAND
BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN RAILROAD Visually intimidating from the outside; moderately intense visual effects. The roller coaster may frighten many adults, particularly seniors. Switching-off option.
FRONTIERLAND SHOOTIN’ EXPOSITION Not frightening in any respect.
GOLDEN HORSESHOE STAGE Not frightening in any respect.
MARK TWAIN RIVERBOAT Not frightening in any respect.
PIRATE’S LAIR ON TOM SAWYER ISLAND Some very small children are intimidated by dark walk-through tunnels that can be easily avoided.
SAILING SHIP COLUMBIA Not frightening in any respect.
FANTASYLAND
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Pretty benign but frightens a small percentage of preschoolers.
CASEY JR. CIRCUS TRAIN Not frightening in any respect.
DUMBO THE FLYING ELEPHANT A tame midway ride; a great favorite of most small children.
IT’S A SMALL WORLD Not frightening in any respect.
KING ARTHUR CARROUSEL Not frightening in any respect.
MAD TEA PARTY Midway-type ride can induce motion sickness in all ages.
MATTERHORN BOBSLEDS The ride itself is wilder than Big Thunder Mountain Railroad but not as wild as Space Mountain. Switching-off option.
MR. TOAD’S WILD RIDE Name of ride intimidates some. Moderately intense spook-house-genre attraction with jerky ride. Frightens only a small percentage of preschoolers.
PETER PAN’S FLIGHT Not frightening in any respect.
PINOCCHIO’S DARING JOURNEY Less frightening than Alice in Wonderland but scares a few very young preschoolers.
SNOW WHITE’S SCARY ADVENTURES Moderately intense spook-house-genre attraction with some grim characters. Absolutely terrifying to many preschoolers.
STORYBOOK LAND CANAL BOATS Not frightening in any respect.
MICKEY’S TOONTOWN
CHIP ‘N DALE TREEHOUSE Not frightening in any respect.
GADGET’S GO COASTER Tame as far as coasters go; frightens some small children.
GOOFY’S PLAYHOUSE Not frightening in any respect.
MICKEY’S HOUSE Not frightening in any respect.
MINNIE’S HOUSE Not frightening in any respect.
MISS DAISY, DONALD DUCK’S BOAT Not frightening in any respect.
ROGER RABBIT’S CAR TOON SPIN Intense special effects, coupled with a dark environment and wild ride; frightens many preschoolers.
TOMORROWLAND
ASTRO ORBITOR Waiting area is visually intimidating to preschoolers. The ride is a lot higher, but just a bit wilder, than Dumbo.
AUTOPIA The noise in the waiting area slightly intimidates preschoolers; otherwise, not frightening.
BUZZ LIGHTYEAR ASTRO BLASTERS Intense special effects plus a dark environment frighten some preschoolers.
DISNEYLAND MONORAIL Not frightening in any respect.
FINDING NEMO SUBMARINE VOYAGE Being enclosed, as well as certain ride effects, may frighten preschoolers.
CAPTAIN EO Extremely intense visual effects and the loud volume scare many preschoolers.
SPACE MOUNTAIN Very intense roller coaster in the dark; Disneyland’s wildest ride and a scary roller coaster by anyone’s standards. Switching-off option.
STAR TOURS: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE Extremely intense visually for all ages; the ride is one of the wildest in Disney’s repertoire. Switching-off option.
DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
A BUG’S LAN
FLIK’S FUN FAIR Not frightening in any respect.
IT’S TOUGH TO BE A BUG! Loud and extremely intense with special effects that will terrify children under 8 years or anyone with a fear of insects.
CONDOR FLATS
SOARIN’ OVER CALIFORNIA Frightens some children 7 years and under. Really a very sweet ride.
GRIZZLY PEAK
GRIZZLY RIVER RUN Frightening to guests of all ages. Wet too!
REDWOOD CREEK CHALLENGE Trail is a bit overwhelming to preschoolers but not frightening.
HOLLYWOOD LAND
DISNEY ANIMATION Not frightening in any respect.
DISNEY JUNIOR Not frightening in any respect.
HOLLYWOOD BACKLOT STAGE Not frightening in any respect.
HYPERION THEATER Some productions are both very intense and loud.
MONSTERS, INC. MIKE AND SULLEY TO THE RESCUE May frighten children under 7 years of age.
MUPPET-VISION 3-D Intense and loud with a lot of special effects. Frightens some preschoolers.
THE TWILIGHT ZONE TOWER OF TERROR Frightening to guests of all ages.
PACIFIC WHARF
BOUDIN BAKERY Not frightening in any respect.
PACIFIC PIER
CALIFORNIA SCREAMIN’ Frightening to guests of all ages.
GOLDEN ZEPHYR Frightening to a small percentage of preschoolers.
GOOFY’S SKY SCHOOL Frightening to the under-8 crowd.
JUMPIN’ JELLYFISH The ride’s appearance frightens some younger children. The ride itself is exceedingly tame.
KING TRITON’S CAROUSEL Not frightening in any respect.
THE LITTLE MERMAID: ARIEL’S UNDERSEA ADVENTURE Moderately intense effects; Ursula may frighten children under 7 years of age.
MICKEY’S FUN WHEEL The ride in the stationary cars is exceedingly tame. The ride in the swinging cars is frightening to guests of all ages.
SILLY SYMPHONY SWINGS Height requirement keeps preschoolers from riding. Moderately intimidating to younger grade-schoolers.
TOY STORY MIDWAY MANIA! Loud and intense but not frightening.
CARS LAND
LUIGI’S FLYING TIRES Not frightening in any respect.
MATER’S JUNKYARD JAMBOREE Midway-type ride can induce motion sickness in all ages.
RADIATOR SPRINGS RACERS Moderately intense effects, with high-speed sections that may frighten younger children.
A Bit of Preparation
We receive many tips from parents relating how they prepared their children for the Disneyland experience. A common strategy is to acquaint kids with the characters and the stories behind the attractions by reading Disney books and watching Disney DVDs at home.
Thanks to half the population of California walking around the parks with video cameras, you can view a clip of every attraction and show on youtube.com. Videos of dark rides aren’t stellar but are good enough to get a sense of what you’re in for. The mother of a 7-year-old found YouTube quite effective:
We watched every ride and show on YouTube before going so my timid 7-year-old daughter would be prepared, and we cut out all the ones that looked too scary to her. She still did not like, and cried at, It’s Tough to Be a Bug.
A mother from Gloucester, Massachusetts, handled her son’s preparation a bit more extemporaneously:
The 3½-year-old liked It’s a Small World [but] was afraid of The Haunted Mansion. We just pulled his hat over his face and quietly talked to him while we enjoyed [the ride].
A Word about Height Requirements
A number of attractions require children to meet minimum height and age requirements, usually 40 inches tall to ride with an adult, or at least 40 inches and 7 years of age or older to ride alone. If you have children too short or too young to ride, you have several options, including switching off (described). Although the alternatives may resolve some practical and logistical issues, be forewarned that your smaller children might nonetheless be resentful of their older (or taller) siblings who qualify to ride. A mom from Virginia bumped into just such a situation, writing:
You mention height requirements for rides but not the intense sibling jealousy this can generate. Frontierland was a real problem in that respect. Our very petite 5-year-old, to her outrage, was stuck hanging around while our 8-year-old went on Splash Mountain and [Big] Thunder Mountain with Grandma and Granddad, and the nearby alternatives weren’t helpful [too long a line for rafts to Tom Sawyer Island, and so on]. If we had thought ahead, we would have left the younger kid back in Mickey’s Toontown with one of the grown-ups for another roller-coaster ride or two and then met up later at a designated point. The best areas had a playground or other quick attractions for short people near the rides with height requirements.
The reader makes a valid point, though splitting the group and then meeting later can be more complicated in practical terms than she might imagine. If you choose to split up, ask the Disney greeter at the entrance to the height-restricted attraction(s) how long the wait is. If you tack 5 minutes for riding onto the anticipated wait, and then add 5 or so minutes to exit and reach the meeting point, you’ll have an approximate sense of how long the younger kids (and their supervising adult) will have to do other stuff. Our guess is that even with a long line for the rafts, the reader would have had more than sufficient time to take her daughter to Tom Sawyer Island while the sibs rode Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain with the grandparents. For sure she had time to tour Tarzan’s Treehouse in adjacent Adventureland.
Attractions that Eat Adults
You may spend so much energy worrying about Junior’s welfare that you forget to take care of yourself. If the ride component of the attraction (that is, the actual motion and movement of the conveyance itself) is potentially disturbing, persons of any age may be adversely affected. Several attractions likely to cause motion sickness or other problems for older children and adults are listed in the chart. Fast, jerky rides are also noted with icons in the attraction profiles.
POTENTIALLY PROBLEMATIC ATTRACTIONS FOR ADULTS
DISNEYLAND PARK
ADVENTURELAND Indiana Jones Adventure
CRITTER COUNTRY Splash Mountain
FANTASYLAND Mad Tea Party | Matterhorn Bobsleds
FRONTIERLAND Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
TOMORROWLAND Space Mountain | Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
CARS LAND Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree | Radiator Springs Racers
GRIZZLY PEAK Grizzly River Run
HOLLYWOOD LAND The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
PARADISE PIER California Screamin’ | Goofy’s Sky School
WAITING-LINE STRATEGIES for ADULTS with SMALL CHILDREN
CHILDREN HOLD UP BETTER through the day if you minimize the time they have to spend in lines. Arriving early and using the touring plans in this guide will reduce waiting time immensely. There are, however, additional measures you can employ to reduce stress on little ones.
1. LINE GAMES It is a smart parent who anticipates how restless children get waiting in line and how a little structured activity can relieve the stress and boredom. In the morning, kids handle the inactivity of waiting in line by discussing what they want to see and do during the course of the day. Later, however, as events wear on, they need a little help. Watching for, and counting, Disney characters is a good diversion. Simple guessing games such as 20 Questions also work well. Lines for rides move so continuously that games requiring pen and paper are cumbersome and impractical. Waiting in the holding area of a theater attraction, however, is a different story. Here, tic-tac-toe, hangman, drawing, and coloring can really make the time go by.
2. LAST-MINUTE ENTRY If a ride or show can accommodate an unusually large number of people at one time, it is often unnecessary to stand in line. The Mark Twain riverboat in Frontierland is a good example. The boat holds about 450 people, usually more than are waiting in line to ride. Instead of standing uncomfortably in a crowd with dozens of other guests, grab a snack and sit in the shade until the boat arrives and loading is well under way. After the line has all but disappeared, go ahead and board.
In large-capacity theaters, such as the one showing Captain EO in Tomorrowland, ask the entrance greeter how long it will be until guests are admitted to the theater for the next show. If the answer is 15 minutes or more, use the time for a restroom break or to get a snack; you can return to the attraction just a few minutes before the show starts. You will not be permitted to carry any food or drink into the attraction, so make sure you have time to finish your snack before entering.
To help you determine which attractions to target for last-minute entry, we provide the chart below.
ATTRACTIONS YOU CAN USUALLY ENTER AT THE LAST MINUTE
DISNEYLAND PARK
FRONTIERLAND Mark Twain Riverboat | Sailing Ship Columbia
MAIN STREET, U.S.A. Disneyland Story, presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
TOMORROWLAND Captain EO
DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
HOLLYWOOD LAND Muppet-Vision 3-D | Disney Animation
3. THE HAIL MARY PASS Certain waiting lines are configured in such a way that you and your smaller children can pass under the rail to join your partner just before boarding or entry. This technique allows the kids and one adult to rest, snack, cool off, or tinkle, while another adult or older sibling does the waiting. Other guests are understanding when it comes to using this strategy to keep small children content. You are likely to meet hostile opposition, however, if you try to pass older children or more than one adult under the rail. Attractions where it is usually possible to complete a Hail Mary pass are listed on the chart below.
ATTRACTIONS WHERE YOU CAN USUALLY COMPLETE A HAIL MARY PASS
DISNEYLAND PARK
FANTASYLAND Casey Jr. Circus Train | Dumbo the Flying Elephant King Arthur Carrousel | Mad Tea Party | Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride | Peter Pan’s Flight Snow White’s Scary Adventures | Storybook Land Canal Boats
TOMORROWLAND Autopia
DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
PARADISE PIER Golden Zephyr | Jumpin’ Jellyfish | King Triton’s Carousel
CARS LAND Luigi’s Flying Tires | Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree
4. SWITCHING OFF (ALSO KNOWN AS THE BABY SWAP) Several attractions have minimum height and/or age requirements; children usually 40 inches tall or under must ride with an adult, or be at least 7 years of age and 40 inches tall to ride alone. Some couples with children too small or too young forgo these attractions, while others split up and take turns riding separately. Missing out on some of Disney’s best rides is an unnecessary sacrifice, and waiting in line twice for the same ride is a tremendous waste of time.
ATTRACTIONS WHERE SWITCHING OFF IS COMMON
DISNEYLAND PARK
ADVENTURELAND Indiana Jones Adventure
CRITTER COUNTRY Splash Mountain
FANTASYLAND Matterhorn Bobsleds
FRONTIERLAND Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
TOMORROWLAND Space Mountain | Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
CARS LAND Radiator Springs Racers
GRIZZLY PEAK Grizzly River Run
CONDOR FLATS Soarin’ Over California
HOLLYWOOD LAND The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
PARADISE PIER California Screamin’ | Goofy’s Sky School
A better way to approach the problem is to take advantage of an option known as switching off or the baby swap. Switching off requires at least two adults. Everybody waits in line together, both adults and children. When you reach a Disney attendant (known as a greeter), say you want to switch off. The greeter will allow everyone, including the small children, to enter the attraction. When you reach the loading area, one adult will ride while the other stays with the kids. The riding adult then disembarks and takes responsibility for the children while the other adult rides. A third adult in the party can ride twice, once with each of the switching-off adults, so they do not have to experience the attraction alone. The 12 attractions where switching off is routinely practiced are listed on the chart above.
Disney has been experimenting with a new switching-off procedure for certain Fastpass attractions. Here the cast member gives two Fastpasses to the parent who will be waiting with the child. That parent and the child then leave the queue and are free to do other things while the riding parent is waiting in line and experiencing the attraction. When the family regroups, the nonriding parent can use her Fastpasses to ride, taking another member of the family with her if she desires.
An Ada, Michigan, mother discovered that the procedure for switching off varies from attraction to attraction and offered this suggestion:
Parents need to tell the very first attendant they come to that they would like to switch off. Each attraction has a different procedure for this. Tell every other attendant too because they forget quickly.
Finally, you don’t have to be a baby to utilize the baby swap; it works just as well for older children and adults who are unable or unwilling to ride an attraction but still want to experience the queue with their party.
5. HOW TO RIDE TWICE IN A ROW WITHOUT WAITING Many small children like to ride a favorite attraction two or more times in succession. Riding the second time often gives the child a feeling of mastery and accomplishment. Unfortunately, repeat rides can be time-consuming, even in the early morning. If you ride Dumbo as soon as Disneyland Park opens, for instance, you will only have a 1- or 2-minute wait for your first ride. When you come back for your second ride, your wait will be about 12 minutes. If you want to ride a third time, count on a 20-minute or longer wait.
The best way for getting your child on the ride twice (or more) without blowing your whole morning is by using the Chuck-Bubba Relay (named in honor of a reader from Kentucky):
Mom and little Bubba enter the waiting line.
Dad lets a certain number of people go in front of him (32 in the case of Dumbo) and then gets in line.
As soon as the ride stops, Mom exits with little Bubba and passes him to Dad to ride the second time.
If everybody is really getting into this, Mom can hop in line again, no less than 32 people behind Dad.
The Chuck-Bubba Relay will not work on every ride because of differences in the way the waiting areas are configured (that is, it is impossible in some cases to exit the ride and make the pass). The rides where the Chuck-Bubba Relay does work appear on the chart along with the number of people to count off.
ATTRACTIONS WHERE THE CHUCK-BUBBA RELAY USUALLY WORKS
DISNEYLAND PARK Number of people between adults
ALICE IN WONDERLAND (tough, but possible) 38 people
CASEY JR. CIRCUS TRAIN 34 people, if 2 trains are operating
DAVY CROCKETT’S EXPLORER CANOES 94 people, if 6 canoes are operating
DUMBO THE FLYING ELEPHANT 32 people
KING ARTHUR CARROUSEL 70 people
MAD TEA PARTY 53 people
MR. TOAD’S WILD RIDE 32 people
PETER PAN’S FLIGHT 25 people
SNOW WHITE’S SCARY ADVENTURES 30 people
DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE Number of people between adults
GOLDEN ZEPHYR 64 people
JUMPIN’ JELLYFISH 16 people
KING TRITON’S CAROUSEL 64 people
When practicing the Chuck-Bubba Relay, if you are the second adult in line, you will reach a point in the waiting area that is obviously the easiest place to make the handoff. Sometimes this point is where those exiting the ride pass closest to those waiting to board. In any event, you will know it when you see it. Once there, if the first parent has not arrived with little Bubba, just let those behind you slip past until Bubba shows up.
6. LAST-MINUTE COLD FEET If your small child gets cold feet at the last minute after waiting for a ride (where there is no age or height requirement), you can usually arrange with the loading attendant for a switch-off; see the chart. This situation arises frequently at Pirates of the Caribbean—small children lose their courage en route to the loading area.
There is no law that says you have to ride. If you get to the boarding area and someone is unhappy, just tell a Disney attendant that you have changed your mind, and one will show you the way out.
7. THROW YOURSELF ON THE GRENADE, MILDRED! For by-the-book, do-the-right-thing parents determined to sacrifice themselves on behalf of their children, we provide a 1-Day Touring Plan for Disneyland Park called the Dumbo-or-Die-in-a-Day Touring Plan for Parents with Small Children. This touring plan, detailed, will ensure that you run yourself ragged. Designed to help you forfeit everything of personal interest for the sake of your children’s pleasure, the plan is guaranteed to send you home battered and exhausted with extraordinary stories of devotion and heroic perseverance. By the way, the plan really works. Anyone under 8 years old will love it.
8. DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE This is not a great park for little ones. With the exception of Flik’s Fun Fair, The Little Mermaid, three play areas, and a carousel, the remaining attractions will be either boring or too frightening for most preschoolers. Elementary school–age children will fare better but will probably be captivated by the low-capacity/long-line rides at the Paradise Pier district of the park. Although designed to be appealing to the eye, these attractions are simply gussied-up versions of midway rides your kids can enjoy less expensively and with a fraction of the wait at a local amusement park or state fair.
9. AUTOPIA Though the Autopia at Disneyland Park is a great treat for small children, they are required to be 54 inches tall in order to drive unassisted. To work around the height requirement issues, go on the ride with your small child. After getting into the car, shift your child over behind the steering wheel. From your position you will still be able to control the foot pedals. To your child, it will feel like driving. Because the car travels on a self-guiding track, there is no way your child can make a mistake while steering.
LOST CHILDREN
LOST CHILDREN NORMALLY do not present much of a problem at Disneyland Resort. All Disney employees are schooled in handling such situations. If you lose a child while touring, report the situation to a Disney employee; then check in at City Hall (Disneyland Park) or Guest Relations (DCA) where lost-children logs are maintained. In an emergency, an alert can be issued throughout the park through internal communications. If a Disney cast member encounters a lost child, the cast member will escort the child to the Baby Care Center located at the central-hub end of Main Street in Disneyland Park and at the entrance plaza in DCA. Guests age 11 or under are taken to the Baby Care Center in the Pacific Wharf area at DCA. Guests age 12 and older may leave a written message at City Hall or the Guest Relations lobby or wait there.
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We suggest that children younger than 8 years be color coded by dressing them in purple T-shirts or equally distinctive clothes.
It is amazingly easy to lose a child (or two) at a Disney park. It is a good idea to sew a label into each child’s shirt that states his or her name, your name, and the name of your hotel. The same task can be accomplished by writing the information on a strip of masking tape; hotel security professionals suggest that the information be printed in small letters, and that the tape be affixed to the outside of the child’s shirt 5 inches or so below the armpit.
HOW KIDS GET LOST
CHILDREN GET SEPARATED from parents every day at the Disney parks under circumstances that are remarkably similar (and predictable).
1. PREOCCUPIED SOLO PARENT In this scenario the only adult in the party is preoccupied with something such as buying refreshments, loading the camera, or using the restroom. Junior is there one moment and gone the next.
2. THE HIDDEN EXIT Sometimes parents wait on the sidelines while allowing two or more young children to experience a ride together. As it usually happens, the parents expect the kids to exit the attraction in one place, and, lo and behold, the young ones pop out somewhere else. The exits of some Disney attractions are considerably distant from the entrances. Make sure that you know exactly where your children will emerge before letting them ride by themselves.
3. AFTER THE SHOW At the completion of many shows and rides, a Disney staffer will announce, “Check for personal belongings and take small children by the hand.” When dozens, if not hundreds, of people leave an attraction at the same time, it is easy for parents to temporarily lose contact with their children unless they have them directly in tow.
4. RESTROOM PROBLEMS Mom tells 6-year-old Tommy, “I’ll be sitting on this bench when you come out of the restroom.” Three situations: One, Tommy exits through a different door and becomes disoriented (Mom may not know there is another door). Two, Mom decides belatedly that she will also use the restroom, and Tommy emerges to find her absent. Three, Mom pokes around in a shop while keeping an eye on the bench but misses Tommy when he comes out. A restroom adjacent to the Rancho del Zocalo Restuarante in Frontierland accounts for many lost children. Because it’s located in a passageway connecting Frontierland and the central hub, children can wander into a totally different area of the park from where they came by simply making a wrong turn out of the restroom.
If you can’t be with your child in the restroom, make sure that there is only one exit. Designate a meeting spot more distinctive than a bench, and be specific in your instructions: “I’ll meet you by this flagpole. If you get out first, stay right here.” Have your child repeat the directions back to you.
TIPS FOR KEEPING TRACK OF YOUR BROOD
• Same-colored T-shirts for the whole family will help you gather your troops in an easy and fun way. You can opt for just a uniform color or go the extra mile and have the T-shirts printed with a logo such as “The Brown Family’s Assault on the Mouse.” You might also include the date or the year of your visit. Your imagination is the limit. Light-colored T-shirts can even be autographed by the Disney characters.
• Clothing labels are great, of course. If you don’t sew, buy labels that you can iron on the garment. If you own a cell phone, be sure to include the number on the label. If you do not own a cell phone, put in the phone number of the hotel where you’ll be staying.
• In pet stores you can have name tags printed for a very reasonable price. These are great to add to necklaces and bracelets, or attach to your child’s shoelaces or a belt loop.
• When you check into the hotel, take a business card of the hotel for each member in your party, especially those old enough to carry wallets and purses.
• Always agree on a meeting point before you see a parade, fireworks, and nighttime spectacles such as Fantasmic! Make sure the meeting place is in the park (as opposed to the car or some place outside the front gate).
• If you have a digital camera or camera phone, you may elect to take a picture of your kids every morning. If they get lost, the picture will show what they look like and what they are wearing.
• If all members of your party have cell phones, it’s easy to locate each other. Be aware, however, that the noise in the parks is so loud that you probably won’t hear your cell phone ring. Carry your phone in a front pants pocket and program the phone to vibrate. Or communicate via text message. If any of your younger kids carry cell phones, secure the phones with a strap.
• Save key tags and luggage tags for use on items you bring to the parks, including your stroller, diaper bag, and backpack or hip pack.
• Don’t underestimate the power of the permanent marker, such as a Sharpie. They are great for labeling pretty much anything. Mini-Sharpies are great for collecting character autographs. The Sharpie will also serve well for writing down the location of your car in the parking lot.
5. PARADES There are many special parades and shows at the theme park during which the audience stands. Children, because they are small, tend to jockey around for a better view. By moving a little this way and a little that way, it is amazing how much distance kids can put between themselves and you before anyone notices.
6. MASS MOVEMENTS Another situation to guard against is when huge crowds disperse after shows, fireworks, parades, or at park closing. With 5,000–12,000 people suddenly moving at once, it is very easy to get separated from a small child or others in your party. Extra caution is recommended following the evening parades, fireworks, and Fantasmic! Families should develop specific plans for what to do and where to meet in the event they are separated.
7. CHARACTER GREETINGS A fair amount of activity and confusion is commonplace when the Disney characters are on the scene. See the next section on meeting the Disney characters.
The DISNEY CHARACTERS
FOR YEARS THE COSTUMED, walking versions of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and others have been a colorful supporting cast at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Known unpretentiously as the Disney characters, these large and friendly figures help provide a link between Disney animated films and the Disney theme parks.
Audiences, it has been observed, cry during the sad parts of Disney animated films and cheer when the villain is vanquished. To the emotionally invested, the characters in these features are as real as next-door neighbors; never mind that they are simply drawings on plastic. In recent years, the theme-park personifications of Disney characters have likewise become real to us. For thousands of visitors, it is not just some person in a mouse costume they see—it is really Mickey. Similarly, running into Goofy or Snow White in Fantasyland is a memory to be treasured, an encounter with a real celebrity.
About 250 of the Disney animated-film characters have been brought to life in costume. Of these, a relatively small number (about 50) are greeters (the Disney term for characters who mix with the patrons). The remaining characters are relegated exclusively to performing in shows or participating in parades. Some appear only once or twice a year, usually in Christmas parades or Disney anniversary celebrations.
CHARACTER ENCOUNTERS
CHARACTER WATCHING has developed into a pastime. Where families were once content to stumble across a character occasionally, they now pursue them armed with autograph books and cameras. For those who pay attention, some characters are more frequently encountered than others. Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy, for example, are seemingly everywhere, while Thumper rarely appears. Other characters are seen regularly but limit themselves to a specific location.
The fact that some characters are seldom seen has turned character watching into character collecting. Mickey Mouse may be the best-known and most-loved character, but from a collector’s perspective he is also the most common. To get an autograph from Mickey is no big deal, but Daisy Duck’s signature is a real coup. Commercially tapping into the character-collecting movement, Disney sells autograph books throughout the parks.
One Unofficial Guide reader offers this suggestion regarding character autographs:
Young children learn very quickly! If they see another child get an autograph, then they will want an autograph book as well. I recommend buying an autograph book right away. My 4-year-old daughter saw a child get Goofy’s autograph, and right away she wanted to join the fun.
PREPARING YOUR CHILDREN TO MEET THE CHARACTERS Because most small children are not expecting Minnie Mouse to be the size of a forklift, it’s best to discuss the characters with your kids before you go. Almost all of the characters are quite large, and several, such as Br’er Bear, are huge! All of them can be extremely intimidating to a preschooler.
On first encounter, it is important not to thrust your child upon the character. Allow the little one to come to terms with this big thing from whatever distance the child feels safe. If two adults are present, one should stay close to the youngster while the other approaches the character and demonstrates that the character is safe and friendly. Some kids warm to the characters immediately, while some never do. Most take a little time, and often require several different encounters.
There are two kinds of characters: those whose costume includes a face-covering headpiece (animal characters plus some human characters such as Captain Hook), and face characters, or actors who resemble the cartoon characters to such an extent that no mask or headpiece is necessary. Face characters include Mary Poppins, Ariel, Jasmine, Aladdin, Cinderella, Mulan, Tarzan, Jane, Belle, Snow White, and Prince Charming, to name a few.
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Don’t underestimate your child’s excitement at meeting the Disney characters—but also be aware that very small kids may find the large, costumed characters a little frightening.
Only the face characters are allowed to speak. Headpiece characters, called furs in Disney-speak, do not talk or make noises of any kind. Because the cast members could not possibly imitate the distinctive voice of the characters, the Disney folks have determined that it is more effective to keep them silent. Lack of speech notwithstanding, the headpiece characters are extremely warm and responsive, and they communicate very effectively with gestures. As with the characters’ size, children need to be forewarned that the characters do not talk. The exception is a new “living character” interactive Mickey Mouse with articulated facial features who can converse with guests, much as in Turtle Talk with Crush at DCA. At press time he has only been seen in Disneyland Park for sporadic testing (usually in Toontown), but if he’s greeting guests during your visit, the effect is startling, and well worth the wait.
Parents need to understand that some of the character costumes are very cumbersome and that cast members often suffer from very poor visibility. You have to look closely, but the eye holes are frequently in the mouth of the costume or even down on the neck. What this means in practical terms is that the characters are sort of clumsy and have a limited field of vision. Children who approach the character from the back or the side may not be noticed, even if the child is touching the character. It is perfectly possible in this situation for the character to accidentally step on the child or knock him or her down. The best way for a child to approach a character is from the front, and occasionally not even this works. For example, the various duck characters (Donald, Daisy, Uncle Scrooge, and so on) have to peer around their bills. If it appears that the character is ignoring your child, pick your child up and hold her in front of the character until the character responds.
It is OK to touch, pat, or hug the character if your child is so inclined. Understanding the unpredictability of children, the characters will keep their feet very still, particularly refraining from moving backward or to the side. Most of the characters will sign autographs or pose for pictures. Once again, be sure to approach from the front so that the character will understand your intentions. If your child collects autographs, it is a good idea to carry a big, fat pen about the size of a Magic Marker. The costumes make it exceedingly difficult for the characters to wield a smaller pen, so the bigger the better.
THE BIG HURT Many children expect to bump into Mickey the minute they enter a park and are disappointed when he is not around. If your children are unable to settle down and enjoy things until they see Mickey, simply ask a Disney cast member where to find him. If the cast member does not know Mickey’s whereabouts, he or she can find out for you in short order.
”THEN SOME CONFUSION HAPPENED” Be forewarned that character encounters give rise to a situation during which small children sometimes get lost. There is usually a lot of activity around a character, with both adults and children touching the character or posing for pictures. In the most common scenario, the parents stay in the crowd while their child marches up to get acquainted. With the excitement of the encounter, all the milling people, and the character moving around, a child may get turned around and head off in the wrong direction. In the words of a Salt Lake City mom:
Milo was shaking hands with Dopey one moment, then some confusion happened and he [Milo] was gone.
Families with several small children, and parents who are busy fooling around with cameras, can lose track of a youngster in a heartbeat. Our recommendation for parents of preschoolers is to stay with the kids when they meet the characters, stepping back only long enough to take a picture, if necessary.
MEETING CHARACTERS You can see the Disney characters in live shows and in parades. For times, consult your Times Guide. If you have the time and money, you can share a meal with the characters (more about this later). But if you want to meet the characters, get autographs, and take photos, it’s helpful to know where the characters hang out.
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Explain to your children that the headpiece characters do not talk. Keep in mind, too, that the characters are clumsy and have a limited field of vision.
Responding to guest requests, Disneyland Resort has added a lot of information about characters to its handout park maps and entertainment Times Guide. A listing specifies where and when certain characters will be available and also provides information on character dining. On the maps of the parks themselves, Mickey’s gloved hand is used to denote locations where characters can be found.
At DCA, look for characters in Hollywood Land near the Animation Building, in parades, and in shows at the Hyperion Theater. Elsewhere around the park, characters will be less in evidence than at Disneyland Park, but they will make periodic appearances at Flik’s Fun Fair and Buena Vista Street (the central hub).
The last few years have seen a number of Disney initiatives aimed at satisfying guests’ inexhaustible desire to meet the characters. At Disneyland Park, Disney relegated four (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Donald) of the “fab five” to all-day tours of duty in Mickey’s Toontown. The fifth “fab,” Goofy, works a similar schedule most days in Frontierland but also spends plenty of time in Toontown. Likewise, Pooh and Tigger can usually be found in Critter Country, Belle and Beast in Fantasyland, and Aladdin and Jasmine in Adventureland. Tinker Bell and her fairy friends draw long lines at their Pixie Hollow area off the central hub between Tomorrowland and the Matterhorn. Characters less in demand roam the “lands” consistent with their image (Br’er Bear and Br’er Fox in Critter Country, for example).
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Characters make appearances in all the “lands” but are especially thick in Fantasyland, Mickey’s Toontown, and Town Square on Main Street.
While making the characters routinely available has taken the guesswork out of finding them, it has likewise robbed character encounters of much of their surprise and spontaneity. Instead of chancing on a character as you turn a corner, it is much more common now to wait in a queue to meet the character. Be aware that lines for face characters move much more slowly than do lines for nonspeaking characters, as you might surmise. Because face characters are allowed to talk, they do, often engaging children in lengthy conversations, much to the consternation of the families stuck in the queue.
If you believe that there are already quite enough lines in Disneyland Park, and, furthermore, if you prefer to bump into your characters on the run, here’s a quick rundown of where the bears and chipmunks roam. There will almost always be a character in Town Square on Main Street and often at the central hub. Snow White, Cinderella, and Princess Aurora hang out in the courtyard of the castle; the aforementioned Br’ers cruise Critter Country; and Pocahontas meets and greets in Frontierland. Any characters whom we haven’t specifically mentioned generally continue to turn up randomly throughout the park.
Characters are also featured in the afternoon and evening parades, Frontierland waterfront shows, Fantasmic!, and Disney Princess Fantasy Faire. Performance times for all of the shows and parades are listed in the Disneyland Park’s daily Times Guide entertainment listings. After the shows, characters will sometimes stick around to greet the audience.
Mickey Mouse is available to meet guests and pose for photos all day long in his dressing room at Mickey’s Movie Barn in Mickey’s Toontown. To reach the Movie Barn, proceed through the front door of Mickey’s House and follow the crowd. If the line extends back to the entrance of Mickey’s House, it will take you about 25–30 minutes to actually reach Mickey. When you finally get to his dressing room, one or two families at a time are admitted for a short personal audience with Mickey.
Many children are so excited about meeting Mickey that they cannot relax to enjoy the other attractions. If Mickey looms large in your child’s day, board the Disneyland Railroad at the Main Street Station as soon as you arrive at the park, and proceed directly to Mickey’s Toontown (half a circuit). If you visit Mickey before 10 a.m., your wait will be short.
Minnie receives guests at her house in Toontown most of the day as well, and Donald and Pluto are frequently available for photographs and autographs in the gazebo situated in front of the Toontown Town Hall. There is, of course, a separate line for each character. Also, be aware that the characters bug out for parades and certain other special performances. Check the daily Times Guide entertainment listings for performance times and plan your visit to Toontown accordingly.
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Arrange Priority Seating as far in advance as possible. Your wait for a table will usually be less than 15 minutes.
CHARACTER DINING
FRATERNIZING WITH DISNEY CHARACTERS has become so popular that Disney offers character breakfasts, brunches, and dinners where families can dine in the presence of Minnie, Goofy, and other costumed versions of animated celebrities. Character meals provide a familiar, controlled setting in which young children can warm gradually to the characters. All meals are attended by several characters. Adult prices apply to persons age 10 or older, children’s prices to ages 3–9. Little ones under age 3 eat free.
Because character dining is very popular, we recommend that you arrange Priority Seating as far in advance (up to 60 days) as possible. Priority Seating is Disney’s version of a reservation—you arrive at an appointed time and the restaurant will be expecting you, but no specific table will be set aside. Instead, you will be seated at the first available table. The priority part simply means that you will be seated ahead of walk-ins. In practice the system works reasonably well, and your wait for a table will usually be less than 15 minutes.
“Casting! This is George at the character breakfast. There’s been a mistake. We were supposed to get the Assorted Character Packages with one Mickey, one Goofy, one Donald, one Pluto….”
CHARACTER DINING: WHAT TO EXPECT Character meals are bustling affairs, held in hotels’ or theme parks’ largest table-service or “buffeteria” restaurants. Character breakfasts (there are five) offer a fixed menu served family-style or as a buffet. The typical family-style breakfast includes scrambled eggs; bacon, sausage, and ham; hash browns; waffles, pancakes, or French toast; biscuits, rolls, or pastries; and fruit. The meal is served in large skillets or platters at your table. If you run out of something, you can order seconds (or thirds) at no additional charge. Buffets offer much the same fare, but you have to fetch it yourself.
Whatever the meal, characters circulate around the room while you eat. During your meal, each of the three to five characters present will visit your table, arriving one at a time to cuddle the kids (and sometimes the adults), pose for photos, and sign autographs. Keep autograph books (with pens) and loaded cameras handy. For the best photos, adults should sit across the table from their children. Always seat the children where characters can reach them most easily. If a table is against a wall, for example, adults should sit with their backs to the wall and children should sit nearest the aisle.
You will not be rushed to leave after you’ve eaten. Feel free to ask for seconds on coffee or juice, and stay as long as you wish. Remember, however, lots of eager children and adults might be waiting not so patiently to be admitted.
You can dine with Disney characters at the Plaza Inn in Disneyland Park, at Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel, at Ariel’s Grotto at DCA, at the Storytellers Café at the Grand Californian Hotel, and at Disney’s PCH Grill at the Paradise Pier Hotel. For information about character meals and to make Priority Seatings up to 60 days in advance, call 714-781-DINE (3463).
ARIEL’S DISNEY PRINCESS CELEBRATION Overlooking Paradise Bay, Ariel’s Grotto hosts breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Ariel and friends daily until 1 hour before park closing. Breakfast costs $35 for adults and $19 for kids, lunch is $37 for adults and $21 for kids, and dinner is $50 for adults and $31 for kids.
DISNEY’S PCH (PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY) GRILL PCH Grill at the Paradise Pier Hotel serves a Surf’s Up! Breakfast with Mickey & Friends buffet 7–11 a.m. that features traditional Mexican breakfast items such as chilaquiles in addition to the usual American fare. Prices are $26 for adults and $14 for kids. Mickey (wearing beach togs) entertains you, along with Stitch, Minnie, and Pluto. This is usually the least crowded of the hotel character meals.
GOOFY’S KITCHEN Located at the Disneyland Hotel, Goofy’s Kitchen serves a character breakfast buffet 7 a.m.–noon (2 p.m. weekends) and a character dinner buffet 5–9 p.m. Breakfast is $30 for adults and $16 for kids. Dinners run $36 and $16, respectively. Goofy, of course, is the head character, but he’s usually joined by Minnie, Pluto, and others.
PLAZA INN Located at the end of Main Street and to the right, the Plaza Inn character buffet is usually packed because it hosts character breakfasts that are included in vacation packages sold by the Disney Resort Travel Sales Center. Served from opening until 11 a.m., the buffet costs $24 for adults and $12 for children. Characters present usually include Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip ’n’ Dale.
STORYTELLERS CAFÉ Storytellers Café, located at the Grand Californian Hotel, is the most attractive of the character-meal venues. A breakfast buffet is served 7–11 a.m. Cost is $24 for adults and $12 for children. Chip ’n Dale, the featured characters, are usually assisted by Pluto.