Disneyland With Kids: Things To Know Before Going 2025

Here is the link to The California Resident deal for 2026! It’s a three day park hopper for as low as $68/day. It’s open to California residents only and must be used between Jan 1 and May 21st. The days do NOT have to be consecutive.

Getaway Today (authorized Disney ticket seller) has them for $68 per day versus the Disney website where they are $85/day.

Looking to visit Disneyland Resort with kids or Disney California Adventure Park in California? You need a plan and I’ve got your back. We are huge Disney fans and I have been taking my young kids to The Happiest Place on Earth (and Most Expensive Place on Earth) regularly for nine years. I have learned many things and helped many moms. I am going to share tons of tips with you including my best ideas for beating the long lines.

Having a plan at Disneyland with kids will make or break your Disneyland vacation. Disneyland has the potential to be crowded and hot, and consequently miserable especially if you’ve got little kids with you. If you do it right though, it’s a great place to make memories with the whole family!

These are Disneyland California tips, just so we are clear!

Holidays at Disneyland: Christmastime!

A big component to whether or not Christmas is fun at Disney is when you go. The last two weeks in December are insanity, even with all the annual pass holders blocked out. Proceed with caution. Your best best is early December or even November! I like to go just a few days after they put everything up OR after New Years as the decor stays up until January 7th.

Here is what you absolutely cannot miss this year:

Ride the Christmas Train: Extra points for sipping hot chocolate as you ride! Get on at Main Street (the other stops take WAY too long cause nobody gets off). It’s gorgeous to see the lights from that angle. My favorite is the area around Small World!

Eat Christmas Treats: Oh the Christmas treats at Disney! My favorite place to drink hot chocolate and eat treats is The Jolly Holiday, but they have treats all over the park. I highly suggest mobile ordering the Mickey Gingerbread. They have it at Market Cafe, Jolly Holiday and a few other spots around the park!

Meet Santa: Santa is set up in Redwood Creek Challenge Trail in DCA or the Fantasyland Theater near the Toontown Entrance in Disneyland. Sometimes he’s at The Grand Californian too. The setup is really cute and you can get professional pictures with the Photo Pass.

See Christmas Shows: The Christmas Fantasy Parade is at 3:30 and 6:00. The Christmas tree lighting is on Main Street at 5 pm. There’s also a short show called Wintertime Enchantment involving pretend snow at the castle at 7:30 and 8:30. The Christmas Believe in Magic fireworks show start at 9:30 every night.

Follow this schedule:

3:30: Christmas Fantasy Parade

5:00: Main Street Tree Lighting OR Small World Lighting

7:30: Wintertime Enchantment at the Castle

9:30: Believe in Magic Fireworks Show

Ride Christmas Rides: Haunted Mansion and Small World Holiday both have Christmas versions. Small World has a charming show when they turn on their lights (usually around 5:15, you may have to choose between this and the Main Street Tree lighting). Note that you do not have to wait until nightfall to ride these rides. In fact, we rope dropped Small World and started the Christmas fun right at 8 am! We almost rode it twice it was so cute. Probably you should rope drop Haunted Mansion Holiday, we just didn’t because I have one kid that is terrified of that ride.

Galaxy’s Edge Life Day: Star Wars has their own Christmas celebration called Life Day with special holiday treats and sometimes events. Make sure you walk around there to see everything all lit up red!

Christmas Shop and Crafts: Browsing shops for Christmas decor and ornaments is always fun. My two favorites are the Cars shop and the shops on the right side of Main Street. Sometimes there are free Christmas crafts by Little Mermaid and Christmas cookie decorating in Redwood Creek Challenge trail.

Dressed Up Characters and Decor: I like the classic characters on Main Street and Buena Vista Street, but I also love the Cars characters all done up! I also die over the Radiator Springs decor and rides, so don’t skip that either.

Disneyland Family Trip Planning: Who To Book With

If this is your first time at Disney, I highly recommend booking through a certified Disney agent. The commission is built into the price and you won’t pay more than booking with Disney directly, in fact often you’ll pay less cause they will find you deals. Since Disney just raised their prices, they are still able to sell tickets at the old prices at least while supplies last.

My favorite is Getaway Today, as their agents know EVERYTHING Disney. They will make sure you aren’t booking on a day the park closes early, that you have your correct reservation etc. Plus they have insurance policies on all their tickets which Disney does not have. Disney won’t refund a single thing, even cruises. If you’re booking a hotel AND tickets, definitely use an agent as bundling can help you save.

If you find this guide helpful, I would greatly appreciate it if you booked through this link! Use code SDMAMAS for a discount on ticket and hotel packages. It’s an affiliate link and it’s how I support my Disney addiction and am able to keep this free guide updated. Or if you book on the phone (their agents are super friendly and helpful!), mention San Diego Mamas sent you and I’ll get credit for sending you. Thank you!

Why I Made This Guide

I created this guide for overwhelmed moms who have to do all the research and still be expected to have fun at Disney. Disneyland is masterful at getting you to spend money out of sheer desperation. I will outline all the ways they do this and workarounds throughout the guide. Your best defense is to read at least to the Rider Swap section before going. The rest can be read in line.

Disneyland is lot of pressure for THE BEST DAY for parents and kids. Take a second to just let that expectation go and have the kind of Disney day your kids let you have. It’s gonna be great whether you ride every ride or spend hours walking Mainstreet with a sleeping kid in a stroller.

I also HIGHLY recommend watching a ton of POV Ride videos on YouTube beforehand. Helps the kids know which rides they want to prioritize and can cure fear for some kiddos.

Where to Stay Near Disneyland With Kids

There are tons of options for places to stay at Disney in every price range. The onsite hotel by Disney can be the most expensive and a total ripoff, especially with early entry going away in 2026. Make sure whichever hotel you choose includes parking. Parking is $35/day at the resort, so it can add up over multiple days.

Best Hotels To Stay in Near Disneyland With Kids

My first hotel choice at the moment is Anaheim Suites Hotel (formerly Cambria, they just changed their name). This edges out Grand Legacy for our family of five as it has cheap suites with bunk beds. We have outgrown everyone actually sleeping in one room. It also has a hot breakfast that starts at 6:30 AM, making it easy to get there by park opening (more on that later). This hotel is not next to Disney, but next to Toy Story parking lot. Toy Story parking lot has a free shuttle to the park gates. Best of all, you can bypass the long Disney security lines because there is a security line at the shuttle. This hotel also has a great waterpark and movies and entertainment for any days not spent at the park.

For across the street hotels, my top choice is The Grand Legacy Anaheim. It’s only five minutes from the park and it has a pool and splash pad.

Park Vue Inn or Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites are right next to the Disneyland drop-off as well. Another good budget-conscious option is the Days Inn & Suites by Wyndham Anaheim at Disneyland Park. They have a huge parking lot so they will likely let you leave your car after checkout. 

For those with higher budgets, I would go with The Courtyard by Marriott (huge waterslides!) or The Grand Californian which is a GORGEOUS Disney hotel with an entrance to California Adventure and early entry (until 2026 when Early Entry goes away)!

Monthly Updates and Ride Closures

We last went September 2025. Big Thunder, Casey Jr, and The Storybook Cruise are all closed. The Disney train wasn’t running either. Everything else is open! Double check the app because they will post ride closures when you go.

The main update you need to know if you haven’t been in a while is Lightning Lanes are necessary now. It’s very crowded and looks like it’s staying that way. I held out for as long as possible, but if you want to ride more than 3-4 rides you’re going to want Lightning Lane. Build it into your ticket budget.

As of October 8 2025, they just raised their prices and Lightning Lane prices, boo. Book with Getaway Today for the old prices! The price for the annual passes remains the same (for now).

Ticketing and Reservations

If this is your first time at Disneyland, you may be wondering which tickets to buy. If you are looking to save money, I would purchase the single day single park ticket and skip the Park Hopper. There is so much to do at each park, there’s no reason to waste money on Park Hopper Tickets! I would choose to upgrade to Lightening Lane over doing a Park Hopper (more on that soon). Make sure the reservation day you want is available BEFORE buying your tickets. The reservations fill up months in advance. You need both a ticket AND a theme park reservation to enter either park. Getaway Today can help you with this.

Tickets are tiered pricing with the most expensive on the weekends and range from $100-150 per day. After you buy your ticket, you will also need to make a reservation. For park hoppers or Magic Key passes, you choose one park to enter first and can cross to the other park with a park hopper at 1 pm. With three days I would do Disney, DCA, and then Disney again. 

There are frequently SoCal deals available for tickets. Right now it’s just the Imagine Pass on sale for SoCal. They usually release winter and spring tickets so watch for that!

Magic Key Passes

Magic Key Passes only go on sale every so often. As of Sept 2025 the bottom two tiers are on sale. If you are just visiting for the day, you don’t need to think about a Magic Key Pass. 

We have the Imagine Pass. It’s $599 for the year and has a ton of blackout dates including weekends and all of June, July, and December. It is only available to SoCal residents. 

The other pass to consider is The Enchant Pass. The blackout dates are better and it includes some Fridays. The rest of the passes are so expensive I would not consider them. Even with Magic Keys, you will need to make a reservation and indicate which park you will begin your day in. After 11 am you can go over to the other park. 

The passes have interest-free monthly payments if you can’t pay upfront. They also get you a mediocre discount on dining and merchandise. They get you 25% off parking at The Toy Story lot and Lightning Lanes. If you are hoping to purchase a Magic Key, stay tuned on my IG as I will be sure to notify you when they become available again. 

Disneyland With Kids: Money Saving Tips for Parents

This place is a money pit. There is no denying it but there are a few ways to get around it. Here are some of my favorites!

1. Get Mickey-shaped snacks from Target or the grocery store before you go. Did you know they sell some of the exact same food from the parks at grocery stores? My favorites are the real Mickey ice cream bars, but I wouldn’t recommend bringing those in. 
2. Tell your kids they can pick ONE souvenir from the gift shops at the END of the day. This will cause them to really think about what they want, plus you don’t have to carry it all day. Also people steal merch off strollers. Sucks, but it’s true. TIP: My kid’s favorite souvenir came from Galaxy’s Edge by Rise of the Resistance. $15 for a die-cast Millennium Falcon model. 
3. For gear, order online from Target, H&M or Amazon. All have partnerships with Disney. If you want to pick it out in person the Target in Anaheim has three entire sections of Disney stuff, even Mickey ears! They are $40+ at the parks and $9 at Target.

What To Bring to Disneyland With Kids

Stroller: You will need a stroller, even if you think your kid has outgrown it. Your kids will need it for Disney cat naps and to haul all your stuff. Think of it like your home base for the day. Make sure your stroller fits within the Disneyland guidelines. A double stroller barely makes the guidelines. Wagons are NOT allowed. Bring your ugliest most beat-up stroller to deter stroller thieves and don’t leave anything valuable in plain sight. Stanley cups count, those get stolen a lot.

Fanny Pack: Bring a fanny pack for your valuables because you will have to park the stroller while you are on the rides. They do not allow strollers in line. 

Sunscreen and hats: Both are overpriced in the park (though I do love the hat store by the Teacups).

Good Shoes: Think athletic running shoes for everyone, including you. I always dress like I am going to work out (with Disney accessories!) because I will hit 30k steps with no problem.

Food:  Bring your own food and your pack water bottles. There are lots of refill stations. Disney is a long day and everyone will require more calories. I bring SO much food. I figure we can always take home whatever we don’t use. I prefer to eat one meal in the park and one meal from home otherwise the day gets way too expensive (and I get a stomach ache). You can bring in whatever food you want as long as it’s not in a glass container.

Power Bank: The Disneyland app sucks your battery like nobody’s business. My phone always dies by 2 pm even in low power mode.

The Best Days To Go To Disneyland With Kids

This has become an actual science. If you’re reading this, you probably live in San Diego or Southern California and can visit Disneyland whenever you want. Your experience there is going to be SO much better if you go on a day that isn’t crowded. Many crowd trackers predict this for you. You can try this one or this one. I usually check them both before making my reservation. 

However recently it’s become a bit of a gamble. Sometimes my crowd tracker is dead wrong. If this happens and you are there on a more crowded day, I would go for Lightning Lane. Unless you are a season pass holder and can come back another day!

Recently I have heard that the weekends are less crowded than weekdays, probably because a lot of passes don’t work on the weekends. Sundays and Wednesdays are generally the least crowded (this is only through the grapevine, I can’t confirm or deny).

Where to Park at Disneyland With Kids

All parking is $35. My current favorite is the Toy Story Lot in the morning because of the fast security line and Magic Key discount. My second favorite parking structure is the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure or the adjacent Pixar Pals Parking Structure.

Take a picture of the character and the number where you parked as soon as you get out of the car. You are royally screwed if you forget.

If you choose to park at Pixar, the pedestrian bridge from level 2 (Coco) is perfect for strollers. This is a great option with hard-to-fold strollers and when security lines are long. There’s a bathroom to the right of the Lego store entrance, just as you enter Downtown Disney.

EV Parking: There are tons of EV spots if you get there early enough in the morning, both Tesla and Charge Point. Ask at the booth and they will give you a blue ticket. Bonus, the EV spots are RIGHT next to the tram for Pixar and Mickey and Friends.

Taxi / UBER: The UBER drop-off is really close to Disney. If you are staying in an Airbnb that’s further from Disney, this is a good way to avoid the $30 parking fee.

The Disneyland App

The Disney app has so many wonderful features. Download it and poke around before you go to familiarize yourself. If you’re crazy like me you can track wait times in the days leading up to your visit. 

Mobile Ordering: How It Works

Utilize mobile food ordering. There’s no need for more lines. Think about what you want for your next meal about an hour ahead and use mobile ordering. We like to order in particularly long ride lines so we don’t waste any time!

When you arrive you’ll press a button that says you are there and then boom you have your food! Do not say you’re there before you are. They are strict. One time I did that, missed my window and they tried to not give me my food. Luckily I was pregnant so I immediately started crying which freaked them out and they gave me my food. 

Height Requirements: What Can Little Kids Ride at Disneyland?

One thing that not a lot of people know that you can do is sort rides by height requirement! This is super useful because you can see at one glance what rides your kiddos can ride. Saves a lot of tears when they don’t quite measure up. Some of our favorite all family rides include: Little Mermaid, Jungle Cruise, and meeting their favorite characters Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in their houses in Mickey’s Toontown. 

Online Ticketing

All the tickets are online now. Meaning you don’t have to be worried about losing them, thank goodness. I speak from personal experience that this is a great thing as we have lost paper Disney tickets before. You will need the ticket on your app to get in. Don’t hold up the line trying to pull it up at the turnstile, pull it up while waiting in line! They now have those face scanners they have at the airports to make sure you match with your annual pass. They mean business so don’t let anyone borrow your ticket or pass.

Wait Times and Show Times

The Disney app will show you which rides have low wait times. The only bad part about this is the wait times shoot up as soon as you see that they’re low because everyone goes there! This is why I prefer to have a plan rather than wing it.

Before you go, download the Disney app and click on the day you’ll be there. Click “Attractions,” and then “List View” (instead of Map View). Scroll through and see what shows are on that day! We love the rotating show at Storyteller’s Theater. Get there 15 minutes before any show starts to get a good seat.  

Do I Need Lightning Lanes at Disneyland with kids?

They’ve been known by many names. Fast Pass, Max Pass, Genie +, they’re all the same thing. Their name is now Lightning Lane and unfortunately you do need it. Build it into your ticket price. Buy this instead of a park hopper.

The good news is a lot of the little kids rides don’t have Lightning Lanes. So if you are going on rides with low height requirements you might not need it. They also don’t accept it for the Cars ride or Rise of the Resistance. They have individual ride Lightning Lanes for purchase (not the group one). I would not recommend buying those, just plan to wait in those lines at some point.

You cannot purchase Lightning Lane until your ticket has been scanned into the park. Pricing is dynamic and rises throughout the day, so buy as soon as you scan your ticket if you’re planning on using it that day.

How Lightning Lane Works at Disneyland

Here’s how Lightning Lane works: You go into the Lightning Lane part of the app and make a ride reservation for your party. Then you go ride that ride. In the day, it could be immediate, as the day goes on the times get further away as more people reserve. For example, I walk into the park at 8 am. I reserve Space Mountain for 8:15. If I try to reserve Space Mountain at 12 pm, it would probably say 7 pm is when I can ride.

You can only have one reservation at once, so if I am waiting for my ride time to come up, I can’t make another reservation. I also can’t reserve rides more than once per day. So if I reserve Space Mountain in the morning, I can’t reserve it again later that day.

When your time to ride comes up, you scan your ticket and then walk through what used to be the Fast Pass entrance and bypass the Standby Line.

You should note that they purposefully make the standby wait times longer on the app to encourage people to buy Lightning Lanes. I have timed the standby line times against what the app says and they are always 5-10 minutes shorter than posted. However they are still ridiculously long.

If you’re planning on doing Lightning Lane BRING A POWER BANK. The Disney app kills phone battery FAST. They sell power banks but they’re super expensive.

Why You Need a Ride Plan

The best way to understand how Lightning Lanes work is to use it. Here’s a sample of how he used it on a recent visit. I prefer to have a plan instead of letting the kids choose rides. Saves a lot of arguments over which ride to do next. This plan is inspired by SoCal Dailey Casey, another fantastic Disney resource. She has additional plans if you don’t think this one will work for your family.

Following wait times at the park doesn’t work. As soon as it says the wait is low, everyone goes there and the wait is long! Follow one of the plans for the best predictions of when to hit each ride!

Sample Ride Plan For Disneyland With Kids

Rope Drop: LL for Space Mountain

Ride Star Tours

Ride Space Mountain with LL

LL for Matterhorn

Ride Buzz Lightyear

Ride Matterhorn with LL

LL for Haunted Mansion

Ride Big Thunder Mountain

Ride Pirates

Ride Jungle Cruise

Ride Tiana’s Bayou

Ride Haunted Mansion with LL

LL Indiana Jones

Ride Winnie the Pooh (skip if line is long, it stays short all day)

Ride Fantasyland Rides until Indiana Jones LL is ready (Snow White, Mr Toad, Pinnochio, Dumbo, Teacups etc).

Ride Indiana Jones with LL. Mobile Order food in line. I like Bengal BBQ

LL for Millenium Falcon

Ride Millenium Falcon with LL

LL for Mickey’s Runaway Railway

You’ll likely have a big break here, so a good time to stop for lunch or do a few rides that don’t use LL.

Gadget’s Go Coaster

Rodger Rabbit (if you want, skip if line is long)

Meet Mickey and Minnie or nap by Gadget’s Go Coaster

Small World

Ride Mickey’s Runaway Railway with LL

LL Autopia

Ride Autopia with LL

Dinner or finish any rides you missed. This plan should get you on all the big attractions though! If you need a break, ride the Disney train around the perimeter! We also like Tom Sawyer Island, the treehouse, and the rowing ride in the boats.

Parade at 8:30!

If you still have stamina after the parade, ride Peter Pan’s flight or anything else you missed or want to ride again.

SoCal Daily Casey says that the Rise of the Resistance line is best around 6 pm and closes early for the night. So go get in line for Rise around then! You can also pay to skip that line but it’s a lot of money. I would just wait!

Sample Ride Plan for Disney’s California Adventure With Kids

I wrote this one without Lightning Lane because I don’t find it QUITE as necessary at DCA, if you get there at Rope Drop. Up to you, LL will definitely make it more fun! The best ride Radiator Springs Racers does not use Lightning Lane.

Rope Drop: Radiator Springs Racers. RUN! Have someone in charge of getting to the line and the other in charge of parking the stroller. Be on the LEFT of the crowd at Rope Drop.

Web Slingers. Lowest the wait will be all day. Skip if it’s high and ride at the end of the day.

Guardians of the Galaxy.

Soarin’ Around The World

Incredicoaster

Toy Story Mania. Dumb ride with a surprisingly high wait time, get it done early.

Mickey Ferris Wheel. You can choose the swinging gondola if you’re a masochist.

Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind. The wait gets long in the afternoons

Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree (I know, back to Car’s Land… there’s a strategy here just trust me).

Luigi Rollickin’ Roadsters.

Break for lunch (I like the Mexican place in Plaza de la Familia)

Goofy’s Sky School. Now you are going to double back and get all the low wait time rides in Pixar Pier and the little kid rides near Plaza de la Familia.

Silly Symphony Swings

Jumpin Jellyfish

Golden Zephyr

Little Mermaid.

Jesse’s Critter Carousel.

Monster’s Inc Ride

Congrats. You’ve ridden everything. Time for a shopping break in Car’s Land and on Buena Vista Street. I love the Mickey caramel apples in the bakery there.

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. The best part of DCA IMO. Run free children!

Animation Academy, Mickey’s Philharmagic, see any shows.

Dinner. Get soup in a bread bowl from Boudin’s.

Ride anything you missed or had too long of a wait in the morning! Or ride stuff a second time that you really liked. Or go home. I bet you’re exhausted.

How To Schedule Your Day at Disneyland With Kids

You probably won’t be able to follow that plane exactly, that’s fine. Here’s how the crowds unfold at Disney during the day so you can adjust as needed.

The parks start uncrowded. 8-9 will be your best hour at Disneyland. You can get MOST of the rides in during this hour if you plan things right. Crowds start to arrive en force around 10 am, and by 12/1 pm all the rides are crowded. 1-4 pm is Disney torture. It’s hot, and crowded, and overtired kids who’ve skipped their naps are melting down left and right.

By 5/7 pm, the Magic Key holders show up after work and further gum up the rides. As the night wears on, the crowds thin. From 10-12 pm, the wait times are back to 5 minutes all over the park, excluding the teenager rides like Space Mountain.

Now that you know what to expect, here’s how to schedule your day.

Do Not Miss Rope Drop

The key to a great Disney day is making it to rope drop. This is when they open the park. They play a little song and count down and it’s a speed walking foot race to ride your favorite rides.

To make it for rope drop, plan to be AT the Disney gates 30 minutes before opening. Buy your tickets online ahead of time and make your reservation. Do not waste precious morning time in line buying tickets!

Plan on 30-45 minutes to get from the parking structure to the actual park. So if Disney opens at 8, you will need to be at the parking structure by about 7 to make it in time for the most magical hour of your Disney vacation.

If you’re staying in a hotel, it’s a bit easier to make it to the gates by 7:30. There are four security entrances, one near the trams, one at the entrance to Downtown Disney, one right near the Disney gates for the UBER dropoff area and off property hotel guests, and my favorite secret security line is at The Toy Story parking lot. The security lines open at 7 am. For the hotel side, we have had good luck showing up around 7:30 and just walking through security and into the gates because the initial crowd has died down.

Rope Drop Strategy

Make a plan once you are at rope drop. You can follow mine or make your own. I like to bring breakfast and feed everyone during the half hour we are waiting there. I also sunscreen everyone and make sure everyone’s bathroom needs are taken care of so we can go hard from 8-9 AM. Anyone who has to pee from 8-9 am can hold it. Also my kids don’t get to pick rides until we have ridden everything. They choose poorly.

One last rope drop tip: head for one particular ride, but be willing to change gears if you get there too late. For example, one time we wanted to ride Web Slingers first. We got stuck on the wrong side of the rope drop crowd and by the time we got to the ride, the wait was already 80 minutes. This is similar to how long it would be at the peak of the day. Instead of wasting an hour and a half of the best ride times, we skipped our initial attraction and hit 7 different short wait rides in that time.

Later in the day, we doubled back and did Web Slingers. The wait was 60 minutes. The moral of the story: do not use the precious hours of 8-9 AM standing in line. If you encounter a big line (more than 15 minutes), go ride something else and come back to that ride later.

Morning Plan

First thing, aim for popular rides with low ride loads first. In Disney, that’s Peter Pan’s Flight, Dumbo, Rise of The Resistance, and Mickey’s Runaway Railway. In DCA it’s The Incredicoaster, Radiator Springs Racers, and Web Slingers.

We also have good luck starting with Space Mountain and the Tomorrowland rides, which is why I suggest that in my touring plan. For some reason people don’t go to that land first, they all run to Star Wars or Fantasyland.

Keep riding rides consistently until wait times creep above 20 min (usually around 11:30/12) and then stop for a leisurely lunch. Now it’s time to watch everyone else wait forever or pay to skip lines for rides you’ve already ridden!

This is usually the time we go back to the hotel for naps or to the car to take a break. Breaks are key for keeping stamina up at Disney and afternoons are the perfect time!

Break Spots For Afternoon Rest Time at Disneyland With Kids

If you can’t or don’t want to leave, find a break spot. My top spots in Disney are the new Toontown play area, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Tom Sawyer Island, The Mickey Theater on Main Street for screen time, or take the Disney train around the park (it’s about 30 min to do a loop) until everyone falls asleep. We also love the little changing window displays at the entrance of Main Street. For DCA, we love killing high wait times in Redwood Creek Challenge Trail or The Animation Academy.

Around 5 pm, many of the little kid rides will open up again. Just use your Disney app and look for anything with a low wait time that you haven’t already done. This is also a good time to bite the bullet and wait a long time for a ride you’re dying to do, like Rise of The Resistance. You won’t be missing anything.

If you have younger kids at Disneyland, you can send older family members around individually to do single rider lines while the other person waits with the napping child. Matterhorn Bobsleds, Indiana Jones, thrill rides like Incredicoaster and more!

Nighttime at Disney

Once night falls, Disney becomes magical all over again! We love the fireworks show and World of Color. For the fireworks, you’ll get the full experience on Main Street, but lately we’ve loved watching from Frontierland near the Star Wars entrance, Fantasyland near Dumbo, Small World, or Tomorrowland. They light the fireworks from Toontown, so anywhere near there will give you a great view.

As of Spring 2025, Paint The Night Parade is back! This show is so fun, but also the ride times are so low during the parade so if you’re there multiple days this is a great time to fit in some rides. 

For World of Color, you have to make a reservation or get there early to get a good spot. We like to watch from underneath the Silly Symphony Swings. You can’t see all the animations, but you can hear the music and see the lights and you aren’t fighting a crowd.

Once the shows are over (or during, if you’ve already seen the shows), it’s a good time to catch up on any rides you missed.

How To Do Rider Switch at Disneyland With Kids

Rider Switch is a mom of littles’s best friend. Here’s how it works: You tell the cast member you want to use Rider Switch. They give you a return time for you and one other person (however sometimes they will do more if you ask really nicely). Your party (minus the stroller baby and their guardian) wait in line. Then you come back and give them your return time ticket and the person that stayed off gets to ride. It will have your older kids praising the baby because they get to ride twice!

This used to be way more awesome because they would just hand out return tickets. Our family would hoard them all day and then use them all at peak ride times. Disney got wise (they usually do) and now you have to ride again within the hour AND you can’t hold more than one Stroller Swap pass at once.

Still, I think it’s even better for young families than Lightning Lane because the kids get to ride twice and many rides let you in through the exit. I also enjoy the alone time I get to have with the kid who stays off the ride. We wander the shops and just play and enjoy Disney together.

Best Things To Eat at Disneyland With Kids

Unpopular opinion, I think the food at Disney is just okay. The treats are 10/10, but the food always tastes cheap to me. If I am able I like to go and get food in Downtown Disney.

Be that as it may, here are the best things to get inside the park. Don’t forget that Mobile Ordering is your best friend! Don’t create more lines for yourself.

Main Street Food: We love dining at the Jolly Holiday Cafe for Christmas treats. Their regular food is bland. The jalapeño cheese stuffed pretzel from the Refreshment Corner adjacent to The Jolly Holiday at the end of Main Street is glorious and absolutely worth $5.75.

Belle’s Tavern: I love the breakfast here! When we rope drop Fantasyland we get breakfast here when the wait times start to creep up. Their salads are also pretty good.

Bengal BBQ: This is near Indiana Jones and it has the BEST spicy steak skewers! I personally love getting some protein in for meals because the rest of the day is a carb fest.

Disney Classics: These are sold all over the park and include: a giant turkey leg, churros, popcorn in souvenir buckets, and my favorite, Mickey Bars! The Mickey Bars are also sold at Target and sometimes during the pandemic I would go get one just to taste a bit of Disney.

Ghirardelli Square (DCA): Between Cars Land and Pixar Pier lies an excellent food court. Maybe it’s my San Francisco roots, but I think this is the best food in either park. Ghirardelli’s gives out free samples. Boudin’s has delicious bread bowls and a free bakery tour!

More Food Ideas

Hungry Bear Diner: One of my favorite restaurants at Disney! The food is delicious (fancy burgers and meat offerings) and you get a front row seat for the boats and trains going by. Ideal for keeping a toddler eating. The bathrooms are on the lower dining level.

Dole Whip: An essential part of any Disney trip. You get it from the stand in front of The Tiki Room. There are two lines, one at the front of the stand and one in the little alcove as you enter The Tiki Room. The back line is always shorter. You can also mobile order your Dole Whip from the Disneyland app and skip the line completely.

Tiana’s Place: This spot near the Pirates exit sells the famed Mickey Beignets. You can get 6 for $5 and they are pretty good. They accept mobile orders which you should take advantage of because the lines can get long. At Halloween and Thanksgiving they have pumpkin flavored beignets and at Christmas they have peppermint.

Earl of Sandwich: In Downtown Disney, but it’s easy and cheap. I can feed my whole fam for $30.

Disneyland With a Baby

We take kids of all ages to Disney, both big kids and young children. It really is fun for the entire family (which is how we got so many Disney adults). It’s a different experience every time but small children have their own fun. Take advantage of the Baby Care Center! There’s one at the end of Main Street on the right and one in DCA behind the Ghirardelli shop. I like the DCA one better. Both have nursing/pumping private areas, TV for the older kids, big changing table rooms, tiny potties, and vending machines full of pacifiers, diapers, baby food, and formula. Additionally, there are 1-2 large changing tables in every men’s and women’s bathroom around the parks.

If you have a potty training or diapered kid, bring two changes of clothes in plastic Ziploc bags for emergencies. I’ve forgotten and had to buy The Disney Shorts of Shame. At size 3T, the black Mickey shorts are the smallest bottoms you can get. They are sold at the first shop on your right as you enter Main Street. Every Disney mom I know has at least one pair. They have lots of shirts in small sizes but no pants! You can find small kid shoes across from Soarin’ in DCA and pretty much nowhere else. 

Breastfeeding at Disneyland

I have regularly breastfed three babies at Disneyland and I can say that people are cool with you feeding your kid out in the open or however you’d like to feed them. Most adults there are parents and California is pretty open about public breastfeeding. 

If you’d like somewhere more private to feed, the back of Toontown by Gadget’s Go Coaster is my favorite, at the back of the restaurant across from Haunted Mansion, on the Pirates ride, on the Small World ride (both are long and dark, perfect for nursing!), and in The Animation Academy (they have big videos playing which helps amuse older kids). For extra mom points, you can nurse in your carrier while waiting in long lines. I have never been good at it, but I know lots of moms are.

List of Disneyland Rides You Can Babywear On

When the baby falls asleep in the carrier, the fun isn’t over! These are all the rides you can easily wear your baby on:

Fantasyland: Peter Pan’s Flight, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, King Arthur’s Carousel, Dumbo, Casey Jr., Teacups, Small World, Storybook Cruise, Alice in Wonderland.

Frontierland / Adventureland: Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, Tarzan’s Treehouse.

New Orleans Square / Critter Country: Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Winnie the Pooh, Disney Railroad.

Tomorrowland: Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Astro Orbiters, Finding Nemo, Disneyland Monorail.

DCA: Little Mermaid, Jesse’s Carousel, Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind, Pixar Pals Ferris Wheel, Monster’s Inc., Golden Zephyr.

Disneyland With Toddlers Tips

Disney is a long day in a stroller for most kids. Here are some ideas for places for them to get their energy out! Now that I have done Disney with toddler and with bigger kids, I would say they are both fun but in different ways.

Disney:

The Toontown Playground: The Toontown playground is amazing. The best part is there’s only one way out so you can confidently set your kid free, post yourself by the exit, and shut off your brain a bit to regroup. On busy days this playground can turn into Lord of the Flies.

Toontown Cars: We spend a lot of time letting my toddler “drive” the little cars dispersed throughout Toontown. Squish the whole family in one and they make for a classic photo.

The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse: Formerly The Tarzan Treehouse, this attraction is great if you have small kids who need to burn off energy because it’s all stair climbing.

California Adventure

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail: If you have stroller kids, this area is a great place to set them free. There’s never any wait and it stays nice and cool in the afternoons. At Christmas Santa sets up here!

Pixar Pier: The area in front of the ferris wheel is a mostly protected area where toddlers can run. My kids like the spinning Pixar ball of germs. Good for entertaining toddlers on a hot day, just bring hand sanitizer.

The Animation Academy: This is an excellent place for a break, especially on a hot day. They have classes on how to draw the characters, an Anna and Elsa meet and greet, and a show for kids called Turtle Talk with Crush.

Disney for Princess Lovers

I enlisted the help of my friend Jeannie from parksinsandiego.com to help me with the princess section of this guide. She is an excellent follow if you are a San Diego resident, go check out her Instagram and blog!

Dress The Part: Dressing up as a Princess at Disney is magical for littles (3-5 years old). Have your child come dressed in one of their own princess dresses, or be sure to bring a dress with you. Dresses inside the park are easily $75. Be sure to have comfortable shoes (even if your princess insists on wearing princess heels). You can also do a princess shirt and a tutu, for a more casual Princess look.

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique: This experience is currently retail-only, but you used to be able to make a reservation (up to 60 days in advance) and have a whole princess experience. It can include: hair, gown, makeup, nails, photos… they have different packages. It’s best for birthdays and extra special occasions. Honestly though, just being dresses up as a princess in the park has the same effect!

More Princess Ideas

Princess Meet-and-Greets: Use the Disney app to find out where your favorite princesses will be during the day. In the map, click the top drop down (it defaults to “Attractions”) and then select “Entertainment”). You can click the icons around the park to see who is going to be where, or click “Show list” in the upper right for a list. The app will tell you where they are and at what time. Plan this into your day just at you would a ride.

Princesses at the Royal Hall: To the left of the castle is an attraction call “The Royal Hall.” You wait in line, just as you would a ride, to do a meet and greet with three princesses (the exact princesses change throughout the day). I don’t know how this has changed with COVID, but you can get a picture with each one individually and they talk with your princess and create a magical experience.

Princess show at the Royal Theatre: near the Royal Hall is the Royal Theatre, which puts on short, live performances throughout the day. The show and showtimes are posted, usually it alternates between Rapunzel and Beauty & The Best. Kids can sit on the rug in front of the stage, or with adults on the benches. After the show, you can usually meet with the princess.

Anna and Elsa at DCA: the Frozen sisters only do Meet-and-greets in Disney California Adventure, so plan accordingly if you don’t have a Park Hopper.

Allow me to introduce myself…

My name is Camille! I am a San Diego stay-at-home mom who is never ever at home. I share a lot of fun things to do around San Diego including parks, restaurants, LEGOLAND, the zoo etc.My goal with my Instagram account and blog is to make any mom feel prepared for any outing with her kids so that she doesn’t have to stay home unless she wants to. Getting out with my kids was key for me in overcoming postpartum depression so I try to pay it forward by sharing what we do to help other moms in a similar situation. Read more about my story here.

Holidays at Disneyland: Christmastime!

A big component to whether or not Christmas is fun at Disney is when you go. The last two weeks in December are insanity, even with all the annual pass holders blocked out. Proceed with caution. Your best best is early December or even November! I like to go just a few days after they put everything up OR after New Years as the decor stays up until January 7th.

Here is what you absolutely cannot miss this year:

Ride the Christmas Train: Extra points for sipping hot chocolate as you ride! Get on at Main Street (the other stops take WAY too long cause nobody gets off). It’s gorgeous to see the lights from that angle. My favorite is the area around Small World!

Eat Christmas Treats: Oh the Christmas treats at Disney! My favorite place to drink hot chocolate and eat treats is The Jolly Holiday, but they have treats all over the park. I highly suggest mobile ordering the Mickey Gingerbread. They have it at Market Cafe, Jolly Holiday and a few other spots around the park!

Meet Santa: Santa is set up in Redwood Creek Challenge Trail in DCA or the Fantasyland Theater near the Toontown Entrance in Disneyland. Sometimes he’s at The Grand Californian too. The setup is really cute and you can get professional pictures with the Photo Pass.

See Christmas Shows: The Christmas Fantasy Parade is at 3:30 and 6:00. The Christmas tree lighting is on Main Street at 5 pm. There’s also a short show called Wintertime Enchantment involving pretend snow at the castle at 7:30 and 8:30. The Christmas Believe in Magic fireworks show start at 9:30 every night.

Follow this schedule:

3:30: Christmas Fantasy Parade

5:00: Main Street Tree Lighting OR Small World Lighting

7:30: Wintertime Enchantment at the Castle (snow!)

9:30: Believe in Magic Fireworks Show

Ride Christmas Rides: Haunted Mansion and Small World Holiday both have Christmas versions. Small World has a charming show when they turn on their lights (usually around 5:15, you may have to choose between this and the Main Street Tree lighting). Note that you do not have to wait until nightfall to ride these rides. In fact, we rope dropped Small World and started the Christmas fun right at 8 am! We almost rode it twice it was so cute. Probably you should rope drop Haunted Mansion Holiday, we just didn’t because I have one kid that is terrified of that ride.

Galaxy’s Edge Life Day: Star Wars has their own Christmas celebration called Life Day with special holiday treats and sometimes events. Make sure you walk around there to see everything all lit up red!

Christmas Shop and Crafts: Browsing shops for Christmas decor and ornaments is always fun. My two favorites are the Cars shop and the shops on the right side of Main Street. Sometimes there are free Christmas crafts by Little Mermaid and Christmas cookie decorating in Redwood Creek Challenge trail.

Dressed Up Characters and Decor: I like the classic characters on Main Street and Buena Vista Street, but I also love the Cars characters all done up! I also die over the Radiator Springs decor and rides, so don’t skip that either.

Holidays at Disneyland: Halloween

Here are all the things to do at Halloween time at Disneyland! If you’re a real Halloween nut like me, you should do Oogie Boogie (see next page!). Otherwise, there is plenty to do without paying for an extra event.

Take a picture with the giant pumpkin. Or if you hate lines, to the side of the pumpkin.

Grab a Halloween treat. I love their caramel apples best!

Decor on Main Street. The orange and yellow bunting is too cute!

See characters in Halloween outfits. They usually hang out on Buena Vista Street.

Ride Haunted Mansion Holiday. If you love Jack Skellington this is your spot.

Cars Land Halloween. The Cars characters have the best costumes bar none.

Coco Show + Plaza De La Familia. My favorite show! They retell Coco in 15 minutes. The music and puppets are next level. Get there 10-20 minutes before it starts and grab a seat on the masking tape.

Halloween Screams Firework Show. This isn’t every night but it’s really cool! The villains get to tell their story. Not too scary for kids.

Oogie Boogie Bash With Kids

This is Disney’s ticketed Halloween party. Regular tickets don’t work and neither do annual passes. Tickets go on sale in July. It sells out within days.

If you’re lucky enough to get tickets, start with Villains Grove at Redwood River Run. It’s an immersive walk-through light show. It starts right at sunset, so get in line and knock that out first because the lines get long later in the evening.

Next up, the Halloween parade! We grabbed a spot by Ariel’s Grotto for the 7:45 showing. The parade runs at 10 too and we watched again by Guardians.

Next up, treat trails! They are different every year. When we went, the best ones were in the Animation Academy (Oogie Boogie), by Monster’s Inc (Cruella), and by the Hyperion Theater (The Mad Hatter was so captivating I couldn’t look away!).

Mobile ordering is your friend. Not too much of a wait for any of the restaurants. They give out a TON of candy. Bring backup bags to empty your tiny treat bags they give you. They also give out apples, carrots, grapes, and other less junky snacks.

We didn’t end up doing any rides, but they all had 5 minute waits all night.

Professional photography is included in your ticket. Find the photographers early in the night though. We waited too long and didn’t end up getting any professional pictures.

Your ticket gets you in at 3 pm, the party starts at 6 and goes till 11. Our strategy this year was to have the kids nap until 6 in a hotel. It kind of worked but I think if I had it to do over I would have napped them at the normal time (around 12 for us), driven up at 3, and gotten there at 6. The hours of 3-6 were hot and crowded so not worth tiring them out too early especially if you have a pass!

Thanks so much for reading!

If you find any of this information to be incorrect or need updating, please send me an email to sandiegomamas@gmail.com or a DM on Instagram to @sandiego.mamas . There is a reason I chose to call this San Diego MamaS (plural) not San Diego Mama. It takes our whole mom community (including you!) to ensure I can share the most accurate information for your family.

Sharing this post helps the mom behind you and helps my page grow! Please feel free to share this link with any other mom who might need it.

Oh, I also send out a weekly email with theme park updates, my top picks for events (with discount codes!) coming to town for the month as well as tons of other activity suggestions for you to choose from.

Basically, it will help you feel in the know for all the fun things happening in San Diego. Planning all the activities for your family is a hard job, so let me help you! You can find info on signing up for that below.