Planning Your First Disney Trip: Getting to the Parks
Yay! You’re ready to start planning your first Disney trip! Well, maybe you’ve gone before as a kid, but it’s time to get serious. Disney planning can get exhausting if you’re not too experienced with the parks. There are so many tips and tricks that I can give, but here is a crash course on simply planning the trip, specifically Disneyland. In this post we’ll go over the best time to go, how long you should stay and where to plan to spend your time, and planning ahead to maximize your time and why! If you’d like to just skip ahead and get the info, I’ll bold all the important info to get right down to it. I’ll be doing a series of first Disney trip posts covering the different aspects on how to make your Disney trip as magical as it can be!
Best Time to Go
Disneyland is a very popular destination for people all over the world, it’s important to be mindful of when you go so you can really enjoy it. While it may seem exciting to go during the holidays like Halloween and Christmas time, those are the busiest and most crowded times and the time of year you do go effects how much your tickets will cost. Hotel and travel fares will also be very high. Putting cost aside, during the holidays, the parks are decorated and there are different shows, attractions, even the characters are dressed differently! Definitely go during this time, but not for the first time. Without all the dazzle of the holidays, Disneyland is still a very magical place with many surprises and magical moments! Try avoiding any times the California districts are on school breaks as well. The locals love getting as much Disney as they can whenever they can! January, February, April, May (right around Mother’s Day), and early September are the ideal times to book your trip!
How Long to Stay & Where to Go
If you spend any less than three days at the parks, you’re really missing out! One day at Disneyland, one day at California Adventure, and one day to get in everything you missed or want to try again! Let’s be real, you are not going to be able to experience everything Disney has to offer the first trip. It’s just not possible. But give yourself a chance to take it all in and the time to do it. You’ll want to see all the shows, meet all the characters, and get all those classic pictures! That’s where those Park Hopper tickets really come in handy! Park Hopper tickets do cost more, about $50 more, but they allow you to “hop” back and forth from either park to get the most out of your Disney experience. More than worth it!
Where to Stay
If you’re looking to save money, Priceline, Trivago, and Kayak are great to compare costs! No matter where you end up staying it’s very important to consider what you would be more comfortable with when going to and from the parks. Parking at the park costs $20 each day and using a ride sharing app would probably end up costing just as much if not more pending on how close you are. My personal recommendation is to stay close. There are many hotels within blocks of the parks that are reasonably priced and it’s more than worth it to get that extra time at the parks and not spend them in the car a lot of them even offer a free shuttle to and from for those of you with kiddos. I definitely recommend staying at the Hilton Anaheim Convention Center. It was amazing being close enough to see the fireworks from our hotel window! It’s by far the nicest hotel we’ve stayed at during our Disney trips. The hotel is so clean, beautiful, and comfortable and there’s a Starbucks right in the lobby! A must!
Maximizing Your Time
Definitely more to come on this topic, but here are a few very important tidbits. Download the Disneyland app. This will allow you to scan right into the park with your phone, get photos from the rides, view wait times for rides, see when characters will be available for meet and greets and where, and literally so much more. This app is a must have! Maxpass will also make your life much easier and will allow you to truly maximize your Disney experience. It costs $15 extra per ticket per day. It allows you digital access to all the photos from any ride or photographer (that’s right, all those super cute castle photos!) additionally, you can plan out all of your FASTPASSES not only as soon as they’re, but as soon as you scan your ticket into the park so you don’t have to go to the FASTPASS stations to get them.
You can purchase tickets online at https://disneyland.disney.go.com/tickets or when you get to the park. My next post will cover what you should expect for your first trip and what you shouldn’t miss out on so stay tuned!
