Our trip was fantastic. We actually hit California during a heat wave, so it was HOT (low to mid-30's the whole trip). It was so wonderful. We came home every afternoon for a quick swim and some dinner before heading back for more rides. We stayed at a Residence Inn Marriott and had breakfast and dinner included each day. It was perfect for the kids and the shuttle ride to and from the park was quick and easy. We brought our own lunches into the park, since Target was right across the street from our hotel.
We thought we would have fewer crowds because it is currently off-season at Disneyland, but we were wrong. I think the combination of shorter park hours, rides under re-furbishment (and therefor closed) and the hot weather, made the park feel extra busy. I have been a couple of times in the late fall and I would always recommend that time of year. The weather is still warm, it is way less crowded and all the rides are open.
We got really good at the FastPass system though, which I have never had to use before (the last time we went to Disney we just walked on rides without having any wait times). We also discovered the Rider Swap system, which was pretty much the only benefit of having a little one that could not go on the rides with us. Here is how it worked: the majority of our group would use a FastPass to get into the ride. At the entrance of the ride, one person would stay behind with the baby and request a Rider Swap card. That person could then use their unused FastPass and take 3 guests (usually the 3 kids) on another ride without waiting in the regular line. The kids got double the amount of riding in without the long waits. It was great. I should say though, that even with the FastPass, we were often waiting 20-30 minutes for each ride. It was better than the 2 hour waits for the regular lines though!
Doing Disneyland with a baby is not easy. It would probably be better if you had other little ones with you or no other kids at all. It was hard having one baby trying to keep up with 3 older kids. Micah could not go on most of the rides that they wanted to go on. Alternatively, the big kids did not want to go on the baby rides. There was always one person who had to stay behind with Micah and not go on a ride with the group. If we go to Disneyland again, we will wait until everyone is 48 inches so that everyone can stay together. It was a good experience for him though and he loved the rides he was allowed to go on. It was fun to watch his excitement. I was also surprised at how much he loved the Disney characters. He was not afraid of them at all and was happy to meet them. He is such an easy-going baby and travelled so well for both flights and during the week, despite missing naps and getting to bed really late.
We were thankful that Grammy and Grampy could come with us. Although Ashlyn and Caelan were allowed on most rides, they were not allowed to ride by themselves. We needed the extra adults just to get everybody on the rides.
Shaylah had no fear on rides. Her 3 favorite rides included California Screamin, Tower of Terror and Space Mountain. I was pretty happy to go with her each time. :) Ashlyn loved the MatterHorn and Caelan loved Star Tours and learning how to fight Darth Vader. His favorite souvenir was his light saber. Micah liked anything that moved, including the shuttle ride to and from the park. He did not care! His favorite souvenir was a Goofy doll that he picked out himself. The girls each bought a pair of hoop earrings with Mickey Mouse shaped birthstones.
We did not meet any of the princesses this trip. Anna and Elsa from Frozen had 4.5 hour waits to meet them. Crazy that people actually stood in line that long to get a picture and autograph! Our last visit to Disneyland centred all around meeting the princesses, so it was interesting to see how the kids had changed. This time it was all about the rides. I made them meet and get autographs from the main Disney characters, but they would have been happy without it.
We are all happy to be home in the rain today. The rain means our 2 baseball games have been cancelled today and we all kind of need the day at home to recover. Shaylah ended up getting the flu on our last Disney day and did not even come to the park. Poor girl. At least the rest of us stayed healthy!
Happy Star Wars Day! May the Fourth be with you!
SO great! Thanks for the info too!
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