How To Disneyland & Make It A Magical Experience

Disneyland… The Happiest Place On Earth, Right? Well, I mean it is for me. It is like I am a little kid when I am there… Just ask anyone from my family. I grin from ear to ear the entire time. Disneyland is not just something you can go in unprepared for though… Otherwise it just might not be your happiest place on earth, and you will be wanting to pull your hair out by the time you are finished (or spending tons of extra money on things that you could have just brought in). Hence why I am putting together this list of musts for your trip to Disneyland.

Must Have Items to Bring

• I highly recommend bringing some type of portable phone charger. Trust me, you will definitely need this. You will be on the Disneyland app often (especially if you are utilizing the Genie Plus) and then taking pictures to capture all of your memories and the yummy food you will be eating. If you do not have a portable phone charger you will be wishing you did early on in your trip. These are the ones that we use and they are amazing! Everything is built in, including the wall plug and the phone cord. So, technically you don't even need to bring an actual phone charger with you, even for the hotel. Well, unless you are one of those that like to have a six foot long cord and your phone accessible from your bed. (phone charger link) I ended up forgetting mine and that was an instant regret. I bought a regular one from Target and had to lug the portable battery, two cords, and the wall charger around all day… There are so many other things that are way better to occupy the space in your bag… like Goofy’s Sour Cherry Balls.

• BRING A BACKPACK unless you have littles and you are bringing a stroller along that can hold all of your stuff. There are lockers that you can rent but trust me… you will not want to be walking back to your locker all the time. You will be getting in enough steps for the day without that. We had multiple backpacks on the trip due to being a larger group and then I had my cute Disney Stoney Clover LN fanny pack. It is a little pricey but definitely ended up being worth it. The quality of it is amazing (nothing inside got wet on Splash Mountain and I was SOAKED) You can even customize it with cute patches or your initials. (Fanny Pack) Any fanny pack would be great though. It was so nice having everything that was important right there and easily accessible. Especially since everywhere took ApplePay all I needed was my phone that was in my fanny pack.

• Speaking of getting SOAKED on Splash Mountain (Peep the picture above) I highly recommend bringing extra socks and keeping them in a ziplock bag in your backpack. Otherwise you will end up like me sat at the Hungry Bear Restaurant, shoes and socks off trying to dry them out. Another word of advice… make sure to triple check the weather… especially what it will be in the evening if you plan on staying until midnight. Let’s just say this desert rat was in shorts and by eight o’clock at night could not handle the cold and I was miserable. This led to having to purchase quite the expensive pair of Mickey Mouse joggers that I was sporting through the park over my shorts. Make sure to bring warm clothing at night so you do not end up in the same boat as I did.

• Comfy Shoes are an absolute MUST and DO NOT go thinking that you can go and get a cute new pair of Nikes and not have to break them in before. We did three days at Disney and even wearing my well worn in Nikes my feet were still killing me! You will be doing a lot of walking and standing in lines. Save yourself the pain!

• Refillable water bottles are something that I highly suggest (Like more than the phone charger and I am pretty passionate about that one)! These are the cute ones that we brought in. Water Bottles We would fill them up with cold water and Liquid IV when we went into the park and this would last us until at least lunch. Here is the best trick though to save you money. When you eat lunch and dinner order cups of ice water and poor them into your water bottle. My brother and sister-in-law did not bring their water bottles the first day and it was an instant regret for them. At one point they paid $9 for a bottle of water. Another suggestion is a cup to put your soda in (I only recommend this if you are bringing in a stroller because then you can leave it in the stroller, otherwise it is a bit tricky with the rides.) These would be a great way to keep your Diet Coke nice and cold and no soggy paper straws. Tumblers

• Make sure to bring snacks with you! We even brought Uncrustables in. You are walking so much it is nice to have something to keep your energy up until you get your next meal… or in my case churro. This will definitely help you save some money though.

Outfits For Disneyland

You cannot (well I mean I guess you can but you are crazy) go to Disney without having cute outfits, matching shirts, the mickey or Minnie ears… I mean it is a total crime. You can definitely play this smart though and on a budget. If you are crafty or you know someone who is and can cut out vinyl and put it on shirts for you, this is a great way to get those Disney shirts especially for large groups. Etsy has SO MANY cute options that you can buy for cheap, cut out the vinyl, and make yourself a shirt. Then you get a shirt that you know will fit you properly and you will be comfortable all day.

• My sister-in-law made our group shirts and it was so fun to match everyone!

I also quickly made this shirt and it turned out great. (Wrong Park Vinyl Cut Out)

• You can also check out local stores like Target, Walmart, and Kohls. They always have cute Disney shirts.

• My go to place this trip though was Etsy. Everything that I ordered was great quality, super comfy, good priced, and got here pretty quick.

• I didn’t get a picture of my white Mickey Mouse t-shirt because I wore it the day I was freezing and the sweatshirt did not come off much, but here is a link for it so you can see it for yourself. It was so comfortable and simple. (Simple Mickey Mouse Shirt)

• The sweatshirt that I would have froze to death without (I know a little dramatic) was hands down the most used purchase and SO CUTE! I loved how on the front it had Mickey and the back it said Disneyland. (Disneyland Sweatshirt)

• The #1 purchase I made though were these adorable Mini Mouse ears that I got off of Etsy! They are such good quality and were only $11 compared to the $30+ ones that you can get at the park. Bonus points for not giving me a headache. (White Mini Ears)

Food At Disney

I tend to be a creature of habit… Especially when it comes to food so here are my top recommendations while you are at Disney.

• CHURROS (the ones in Cars Land are 20/10… the rest are a solid 9/10) Trust me on this you have to get at least one from Cars Land. All of the new flavored ones are pretty good too. If you are going for that kind of churro definitely try the S’mores one at the churro cart near the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail (CA Adventure).

• Goofy’s Cherry Sour Balls (They are just perfection in your mouth)

• The Classic Cheeseburger at Hungry Bear Restaurant (Disneyland) is DELICIOUS and a great place to sit and dry off after Splash Mountain.

• The Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo at the Plaza Inn (Disneyland) is quite the comfort food after a long day on your feet. It is a sit down restaurant on Main Street and the perfect place to rest for dinner before finishing off your night.

• Mickey-shaped Beignets at the Mint Julep Bar (Disneyland)

• The Jolly Holiday Combo ( toasted cheese sandwich with tomato basil soup) at the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe (Disneyland). It is right on Main Street and makes the perfect dinner to grab and eat while you wait for the parade and firework shows.

• Smokejumpers Grill (CA Adventure) had good burgers (still not as good as Hungry Bear Restaurant in my opinion)

• The Asada Fries at Award Wieners (CA Adventure) were delicious and will definitely be added to my list of food that I eat every time.

The Disney parks have pretty good food overall and you cannot go wrong for the most part. Again, creature of habit over here… My goal is to try at least one new thing each time. You definitely cannot go wrong with the deserts though… The new cupcakes are the best and again… the churros.. I crave them all the time.

What To Do At Disney

You will have an absolute blast at Disneyland. Definitely try to make it a point to get there when it opens. It will make everything go a lot smoother. We got the Genie Pass Plus for the first time and I would say that it is worth it. Not only does it give you a lightning pass for certain rides but it also gives you full access to all pictures that are taken on the rides along with pictures that you have taken throughout the park by their photographers. Again, just make sure to get there when the park opens and try to plan out your day so you are not running around like a crazy person and walking over 8 miles in a day. You do not want to be going back and fourth between the lands at the park, especially on your first day… You will burnout quick. Utilize the Disneyland app!!! You can order your food ahead of time, this was a HUGE advantage! Also, make sure to plan out what shows you are going to do and when. Especially for the night time shows and parade plan on being there at least an hour early to save a good spot. Most importantly though; take it slow, have fun, make those memories, and enjoy the magic. I would love to hear what tips and tricks you have and what your favorite parts of Disney are. Thanks for hanging out in my little space of the internet!