Cliff Notes: The Anaheim Majestic is my favorite Hotel with a free shuttle. Keep reading for my full review of it!

Hi, I’m Hilary, the curly head behind this website Pulling Curls. I’m what you call a Disneyland trip planning pro. I’ve been going to the parks for years and I spend a few hours each month researching pricing and options for your best Disneyland experience. I almost like planning trips as much as I like going on them, so I’m a great resource for you as you make this decision.

While I think getting to the parks is a huge part of your plan — check out some of my other posts on Disneyland including: Disneyland Hotel Tips, Disneyland hotels with family suites and the Best Disneyland Good Neighbor Hotels. I really am your guide to hotels in the Disneyland area, I have toured a lot of them through my hotel partner Get Away Today (and you’ll see a lot of the links go to them as they have amazing pricing).

But for now, let’s talk bout how to get to the parks!

OH, be sure to grab my Disneyland Trip Calculator to help make sure you stay on budget:

Hotels with Free Shuttle to Disneyland:

There are a few hotels in Anaheim that have a free shuttle service to the Disneyland area, as far as I know at this time…. Keep in mind that many other Anaheim hotels have offered free shuttles in the past, but these are the current ones, I also have one that has a paid dedicated shuttle service (meaning it doesn’t stop anywhere else). We’ll talk more about group shuttles coming up if you want more options.

Anaheim Majestic Garden Hotel

This is my personal top pick for a hotel with a free shuttle — why, you might ask?

This hotel is NOT walkable (you have to go over the free way which would not be fun), and has GREAT pricing (in my opinion) but has a hotel-specific shuttle that I think just skyrockets its value.

That means it doesn’t pick up anyone else along the way.

I stayed at this hotel (full disclosure, it was a hosted stay, but I was very clear I’d give my clear and honest opinion of them) in spring 2024. We had an AMAZING visit. Some of the highlights of the hotel:

• The rooms and property are HUGE loved their gardens (and baby ducks)
• The restaurant/deli was reasonably priced. Not regular hotel restaurant pricing which was nice to see
• The shuttle was efficient and easy to use (which was REALLY nice to see).

They have a few different options for their shuttle, some are converted school busses, some are shuttle busses. Either way they all ran well and got us to the parks. They also had availability for scooters to board most of the shuttles.

They start running an hour before the park opens. They go every 30 minutes til’ around noon-4, and then it went to hourly until 4 when they resumed every 30 minute shuttles.

They were on time, they were efficient, and I was SUPER pleased with it.

We took the 7 am shuttle and were to the gates (through security) by 7:18. I think we were dropped off to the park by about 7:10.

The hotel is not fancy, but it’s roomy and clean. While they don’t offer free breakfast they do have a nice on-site restaurant that serves breakfast.

We also ultimately decided we wanted 2 rooms for 4 adults and 1 child (I did book my 2nd room through Get Away Today) and they were able to give us a connecting room which was really nice.

Ultimately I was VERY happy with the shuttle service and it’s a huge perk for staying there! I have also had friends stay there and they had a very good experience with the shuttle as well.

Pro tip: I like to book with Get Away Today, and then keep an eye on the Majestic specials page to see if they offer a price less, and then ask Get Away Today to price match if it goes lower.

Knotts Hotel

Now, I think this a sleeper hit, in my opinion. I think the pricing is great, the hotel is nice (they recently updated it and we’re fans) and they have a FREE SHUTTLE. Now, you have to realize that this isn’t as close as some of the other hotels, and I think the first one is a half hour before park opening but I think it’s a great solution for families looking for a budget alternative.

(Seriously guys — check-out Get Away Today pricing…. it’s great)

And, unless you only have very tiny kids maybe consider adding a day at Knotts to your stay. We have a great time there!

Embassy Suites Orange

People love the free breakfast at Embassy suites (including made to order omelets). However this hotel is a few miles out from Disneyland — just be aware that the 3.5 miles it says will probably translate into a 30 minute drive into the resort.

However, they do have a free shuttle, and free breakfast, which is a nice perk.

Candy Cane Inn

This hotel has almost a cult-like following. Prior to the creation of Disney California Adventure Park this hotel was just across the parking lot from Disneyland. The rooms are dated, but there is free breakfast, and a free shuttle service. It is often sold out. It’s a boutique family-run hotel that people seem to just love.

Some of you may be here hoping to find a hotel with a shuttle that ALSO has breakfast. Click here to go right to those! {this is my favorite with a free shuttle}

Hotels with a Paid, Dedicated Shuttle

The Hyatt Regency Orange has their own shuttle, It comes every 30 minutes, but it costs $6/person. I don’t consider it to be within walking distance — so it’s a good option (if there’s a few of you, an Uber may be cheaper though).

There are a few other hotels that have offered a complimentary shuttle in the past including the Days Inn and suites, and the Delta Hotel… but as far as I can tell (and have talked to my travel agents) they are no longer offering these rewards.

In reality, if it is just free shuttle tickets, maybe that’s not a huge value to ALL of their guests (at a big cost for the hotel), so maybe they decided to lower their rates and let people decide if they wanted to buy their own tickets or not.

The good news, there are other transportation options…

But, before we get to them, you’ll find that a lot of my hotel links go to my favorite partner Get Away Today. I’ve actually used them since 1998. I am consistently shocked by how great their rates are and how much you can save when you use them. While browsing on their website can be helpful, I think their customer service is one of their best benefits. Their agents just know those hotels (and have visited most of them). Whatever way you choose to book use code CURLS10 to get an extra $10 off your vacation hotel/ticket package.

I seriously still use them because of their great customer support. I even booked an upcoming cruise with them too.

Other Disneyland Transportation Options

Walk

Your feet are my favorite transportation to Disneyland, ESPECIALY when the hotel is close!

I actually have a whole post about Disneyland feet and making sure you keep your feet happy (which isn’t a small task when you’re walking so much).

Now, if you haven’t been to the Disneyland resort, you may be thinking that the on-site hotels are probably the closest, but you might be wrong (this is very different from Walt Disney World, if you’re coming from that).

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel is very close to California Adventure. But the hotel is VERY long and depending on where your room is placed you may have a bit of a walk just to get out of the hotel. AND, if you plan to go to Disneyland you have to walk through most of the Downtown Disney District. It’s a great hotel, just don’t book it for being the closest.

The Disneyland Hotel again walks through all of Downtown Disneyland. There is also Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel (soon to be Pixar Place) where you also have to walk quite a ways (although they do have a special entrance into California Adventure, and can get through the Grand Californian decreasing the walk time a bit).

Favorite Walkable Hotels

I have a whole post on my favorite closest hotels to Disneyland, but to save you a little time — here are my top three walkable hotels near Disneyland.

Best Western PLUS Park Place — if you want to stay close, this is hands-down my favorite place to stay because not only is it close, but it also has a decent free breakfast. I have stayed here, and while the accommodations are nothing fancy they are 100% adequate and being able to back on your BED within 5 minutes of the park is a HUGE plus! It has the most easy access of one I’ve found.

Pro Tip: if you want to stay here, but don’t quite have all the cash for your room use trip layway to get it booked early and then pay it off before your visit!

Tropicana Inn & Suites — This is a very basic hotel. No free breakfast, and parking is always a little sketchy (valet only with a fee), but it’s close — and cheaper than the Best Western. All the rooms also have a sleeper chair so they sleep 5 (it’s tight, but it works — I did it last year with 4 adults and a child).

Fairfield Inn & Suites — I think if you’re looking for a room that is a BIT nicer, the Fairfield is a nice option. No free breakfast, although it is close to the McDoanlds and the Panera.

Bonus Splurge Option: If you’re looking for a bit of a splurge, the Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance is walkable, AND has a water park on site of the hotel (which you can see from the road and your kids will go just bonkers over). I’m always surprised by how expensive it is, but it truly is a guest-favorite and I see a ton of people booking this one each year. And once again, you can always use layaway to pay it off month by month before your trip.

OTHER SHUTTLES

2026 Update: There USED to be a shuttle called the ART shuttle that serviced all of the Anaheim area hotels, however in March they shut it down and we’re left with a few different options, and I think a lot of hotels are working to get their own options up too.

Here are the shuttle options right now:

HMR is operating a shuttle that will go between the

• Sheraton Park
• Hilton
• Anaheim Marriott
• The Clarion (probably one of the best prices out there, hotel’s not fancy but it’s decent).

As of the published date (as as far as I know):

The shuttle will operate on the following schedule 

• 7:00am-10:00am every 30 minutes
• 10:01am-8:00pm every hour
• 8:01pm-11:30pm every 30 minutes

The last shuttle coming back from Disney will be 30 minutes after the last park closes.
$6 per Adult
$3.50 per Child 3-10
$4 65+
These are all day passes. Guests will utilize QR codes in the lobby to purchase the passes. 

Garden Grove Hotels are offering a shuttle. These include:

• Hampton Inn & Suites Garden Grove
• Embassy Suites Anaheim South
• Hilton Garden Inn Garden Grove
• Residence Inn Anaheim Resort
• Hyatt Regency Orange County
• Homewood Suites by Hilton Anaheim Main Gate
• Marriott Suites
• Delta Hotels by Marriott
• Sheraton Garden Grove Anaheim South

It looks like the pricing for this one is $7/day (for unlimited rides)

Looks like both of those shuttles seem very similar to ART and seem doable. If you have a child in a car seat, I think it’s your best option. However, for me — because I don’t have kids in car seats I tend to use what I’ll talk about next….

If you need a shuttle, I’d 100% call Get Away Today and make sure that the hotel you are booking meets your needs. Honestly, their operators are so helpful and so knowledgeable. That’s why I love them! Be sure to mention you heard about them from Pulling Curls — and use coupon code CURLS10 to get an extra $10 off your hotel package!

And yes, this all feels a little scary…. I get that…. I’ll leave this right here:

Some of you might be wondering if there is shuttle service from the airports. So far, no cheap shuttle service is offered from John Wayne airport, Los Angeles International Airport, or Long Beach Airport — but there are shuttle services you can book directly. The one I’ve heard the most about is Carmel shuttles (but it is not cheap).

Uber/Lyft

This is my preferred method. They pick you up at your hotel and wisk you right to the parks. In general this is about $10/way for anaheim-area hotels.

The main issue is the drop-off/pickup area can be slow. I wish this was done better by Disneyland, it’s a really poor experience, but there are curbs to sit on while you wait for your Uber.

Keep in mind that even if it shows your Uber as being 1-minute away there is still a long line of Ubers for them to wait in to get into the lot — so it can still be a bit of a wait.

Another thing to think about is that the hotels further out are more likely to have free parking. If you’re bringing your own car that can save a LOT!

Drive & Park

Driving and parking at the park is still a good option.

Daily parking at Disneyland is currently $40/car, with the option for “priority parking” for $60.

The structures are SO efficient. Seriously, we got out with fireworks one night and I was sure we’d be there for hours, but we got right out.

They are a bit of a walk, or you can wait for the tram to get you. There is also the Toy Story lot that uses buses to get you to the parks (it’s not on-property).

They really do try to do it well, it’s just one more thing in my book.

Which is why I try to stay walkable.

Remember that Disneyland has a few walkable areas — see if your hotel lists how far it is from the park in minutes away or miles from Disneyland. Some of them list it as “1-mile from Disneyland park” and that usually means to the property line, not the spot where you can get into the parks. There are several hotels that are walkable via Ketella or Ball as well (just not AS close as the ones I listed).

Favorite Hotels with a Shuttle to Disneyland

Keep in mind that the hotels in the Disneyland® resort area all seem to have the same basic amenities, incluidng:

• fitness center (as if Disneyland was enough of one)
• Outdoor pools (although a few do have indoor pools) & hot tubs
• Free Wi-fi
• Most also have a fridge, and some have a microwave — but check on your particular hotel.
• Enhanced cleaning and safety measures

Some hotels also have full kitchens, tennis courts, a basketball court, Koi Ponds (Majestic has one of those), game rooms and more — so be sure to know what is important to you! Oh, and be sure to check on the bed size. Some only offer double beds vs a queen bed.

Hotels near Disneyland with Shuttle and Free Breakfast

So, the two with a free shuttle and free breakfast are Hyatt Orange and the Candy Cane Inn.

I always caution families about free breakfast at Disneyland. A few thoughts:

• Some of the breakfasts are REALLY bad. Like, very few options, the food tastes pretty bad and while it will be calories, your kids might not eat it (I will 100% muscle some down though as an adult to fuel my Disney day)
• My kids (even teenagers) are often too excited to eat. I’ve ultimately decided to just bring some gogurts, put them in the fridge and then haul snacks to the park. It doesn’t end-up being worth the extra cost a hotel with breakfast adds (although if you can find a good one at a price you can afford it’s nice).

I have a whole post on the best hotels with free breakfast.

Here are a few of my favorites with free breakfast:

1. Anaheim Suites Hotel (formerly Cambria) – they also have a water park included with Get Away Today purchases. I actually really like their breakfast and I think it’s worth it (as of this writing, does not have a shuttle)
2. Residence Inn Resort Area – this can be a great price, and offers LARGE rooms!
3. Embassy Suites South has a great breakfast, as with all Embassy Suites it has an omelet station!
4. Homewood Suites Resort Area – this is also next to the Toy Story Lot and as of this writing you can use those as a free shuttle (it’s just a small walk into the lot). The breakfast is meh — but it’s something. It’s also a hotel near the convention center.

Be sure to check out that post on free breakfasts if you want more info on those!

If you have a few different things you want in a hotel — like bunk beds, a shuttle and breakfast — I think your BEST bet is to Call Get Away Today. There’s no extra cost to speak with their agents. Maybe get a few options, look at pricing and you can always book online too. I always called in with a few things I wanted when I had smaller kids and they are so helpful. Most of the agents have toured the hotels and have a good grasp of what will work for a family’s needs!

Cheapest Hotels with Disneyland Shuttle:

The Clarion consistently has the best rates. It’s definitely an economy hotel, but it does have a shuttle — OR you can cross the road and ride from the Toy Story lot. So many guests find this a GREAT option!

The Cortana has great rates. I haven’t actually stayed there, but it isn’t TOO far to walk (I would probably consider walking there and ubering back — or you could also take the free toy story shuttle and save yourself some steps). It also offers a free breakfast!

Eden Rock has great pricing — and it could be walked up from Katella. I had a friend who stayed there who said it was very adequate.

Nicest Hotels In the Anaheim Resort Area

These are three of the best hotels I know of near Disneyland park

JW Marriot — I have stayed here and walked (but I Uber’d back at night)

The Westin — consensus is, this is the nicest one. (maybe even better than the California Grand)

I love The Viv — I love this hotel, not 100% sure why, but our stay here was quiet and peaceful. I was a fan. Doesn’t currently have a shuttle.

Largest Hotel Rooms with a Shuttle

Anaheim Suites Hotel (formerly The Cambria) has nice spacious rooms, and does have a water park. Bonus is that it has a couple of shuttle stops nearby in case the one closest is taking a while. Plus it has a water park — which is a pretty fantastic amenity (and guests who book with Get Away Today get free access to it). It also offers complimentary breakfast and a huge breakfast room. This is one you’ll need to be OK using Disney parking or an Uber at this time.

The Residence Inn is a favorite of mine. We recently stayed in the 1 king, 2 queen with a sofa bed hotel room and it was SO nice. Comes with two bathrooms! It is also close to the Anaheim Convention Center, and has full kitchens.

Embassy Suites books a LOT of guests. It also has a couple of shuttle stops that can work for it (I think the one for Residence Inn isn’t too far away).

I do have a post about my favorite hotels with bunk beds, in case that interests you too.

Ok, hopefully that gave you some ideas of how to book. That Majestic is probably my favorite as far as taking a shuttle — but be sure to use my calculator to estimate all your costs, and compare room rates– because even adding shuttle tickets to some of these makes them a better value than the walkable ones.

And, be sure to use CURLS10 if you book with Get Away Today (remember you can use it on the phone or online) Whatever you do, check their rates before you book to see if they fit your family’s needs (or, frankly just use them because it’s SO much easier than checking 400 hotel rates).

And, grab my Disneyland day planner to get the most out of your trip to Disneyland:

Don’t miss my list of Best Affordable Disneyland hotels — a list of 30+ of my favorite hotels (plus my own current top 10 hotel list).

The post Hotels with a Disneyland Shuttle appeared first on Pulling Curls.

2 Parks Close 1 Park Far (+ Water Park)

The Universal Orlando has 4 parks. Two of them are right next door to each other (think Disneyland and California Adventure):

Universal Orlando — The Original Park. It’s age is showing, and they are working to mix it up a bit, but still a lovely park, and has one of my favorite Harry Potter areas.

Islands of Adventure – This park may have the best coasters of any park, anywhere — between Velocicoaster, Hagrid’s and then Hulk (at a very distant 3rd).

Those two parks are right next door to each other. You can go between them using the Hogwart’s Express (stay tuned for more on that) or easily walking.

There is also Volcano Bay — their water park. I’ve never been, but I’ve heard rave reviews.

Epic Universal — The newest park. This park is amazing, but new — and doesn’t have a ton of rides. But, even with Express pass I’d still have loved to spend another day there. It is pretty far from the other parks — not walkable. It also has it’s own set of hotels around it.

Looking for more Epic Universe Info — be sure to check out these posts:

• Ways to Save at Epic Universe
• 7+ EASY TIPS for the Universal Orlando Resort + 3 JUST For Epic Universe!

Great Transportation

Just like the Disneyland resort, there is great transportation between the different parks and also the Universal hotels and the parks.

Just make sure the bus is going where you want to go. I have heard they’re hoping to set up separate transportation between the 2 main parks and Epic Universe (think: Skyliner, although I think they’re going below ground vs above ground). Currently, it’s just busses.

FYI, it takes about 15 minutes to get between the Epic Universe area and the “main” area. You do go through “regular” Orlando to get there.

Confusing Booking – Free Help!

Much like Disney World there are a LOT of options to stay both on property and off property.

In my best ways to save with Epic Universe I detailed how we switched hotels a few times to save both time and money. Guys, you need an expert on this one.

I used Get Away Today. Their assistance is free (I’m seeing a LOT of people charging for it lately).

• They can check a few different systems to make sure you’re getting the best pricing
• They book both on-site hotels & off-site hotels (we stayed at the Fairfield close by one night, and it was lovely).
• I checked back every 3-4 weeks to make sure the pricing hadn’t changed (several times it went down, and they quickly saved me some cash!) — this would have been a HUGE PAIN to do on my own!
• They’ll happily book you several hotels for your stay and answer questions about both the park, hotel transitions, and each resort!

Use coupon code CURLS10 to save an extra $10 on your trip with them!

I’ve used them for years to book Disneyland, and I will say for a long time their Disney World & Universal booking were confusing — but it’s gotten a LOT better in recent years, and they’re a valued partner now!

You can still my trip calculator as well:

Citiwalk=Downtown Disney

Ok, if you’re familiar with Downtown Disney or Disney Springs, that’s similar to Citiwalk. AND, similar to Downtown Disney at Disneyland — Citiwalk is what you walk through to get to the parks from the transportation hub.

There are a bunch of restaurants in there, and entertainment options.

Frankly, I just usually zoom through it on my way to the parks, but it’s there, and may be an option if you want to get out of the parks for a bit (we’ll talk more about food in a couple of sections).

Pro Tip: Stay at the Hard Rock, Portofino, Sapphire Falls or Royal Pacific and you can take a boat to the parks (or walk — which is usually what we do — about 10 minutes from Royal Pacific or Hard Rock). You get to skip City Walk which is really nice (in my opinion). And yes, I did use Get Away Today to book those.

Universal Express = Lightening Lane

Every park has their own system to pay more and “skip the line” (Knotts oas Front of the Line Passes and Dollywood has Time Saver).

In the Universal sphere they’re called Universal Express. There’s a few options where you can skip each ride just once or in the older parks you can get one that allows you to the skip the line as many times as you’d like.

At Epic Universe these must be purchased separately (or as a combo with the other 2 parks). However, you can get Express Passes if you stay at either the Hard Rock, Royal Pacific or Portofino resorts (but not Sapphire Falls — even though it’s considered “deluxe” as well) you get express passes included for your stay (for everyone named on your reservation).

This is a huge perk and one that Disney does not give with their nicest resorts.

I also give the BIG tip that every night’s stay gets you two days of unlimited express passes — so we most often include one night at those deluxe resorts during our stay. More in that post on how to save on your trip.

Now, if you take a peek at the pricing you’ll see this is not cheap. It’s most often much more than the price of your ticket. Because the cost is so high, there aren’t many people in the Express Pass line, meaning it moves much quicker than it does at Disney. A nice perk. But a pricey one.

A Note on Epic Express Passes:

As I said above, they are not included with any of the deluxe hotels –you must purchase it separately.

However, if you’re not staying at one of those express pass included resorts, I’d encourage you to check out the pricing on the multi-day express pass options.

Personally, we did pay for express pas at Epic Universe. I think we could’ve done the day without it, but we would have missed the Harry Potter Ride — and since that was a “can’t miss” for us, we splurged, but it’s a lot! We sure did enjoy it though!

Food Isn’t a Highlight

When I say this, I mean the original parks — Universal Orlando and Islands of Adventure. Their food is just your basic park foods. Even the foods people tell me are “amazing” I think — meh.

However, the food at Epic Universe is probably the best theme park food I’ve ever had. The French Restaurant in the Harry Potter land is amazing (I recommend the Quiche and French Onion soup if it’s not blazing hot).

It shows me that Universal CAN produce winner food — I hope they bring that to their other parks.

I will say that we stayed at the Endless Summer resort and really enjoyed the food options there after a long day at the parks. There was a lot of variety that a family can choose between, and the value was pretty good for what we got. Plus, we boxed it and brought it up to our rooms to enjoy on our beds!

My hope is that Universal will up their food game in the future with their older parks, but as of this writing. It’s not there yet.

Great Shows!

I feel like a lot of the Disney shows cater to smaller kids, but they Universal Shows are so great!

We LOVE the Bourne Identity and Horror Makeup shows. Not only are they will air conditioned with good seats (a must in the hot Orlando sun), they really are fun for adults too.

I haven’t done the animal one for a long time. It’s not air conditioned (insert sad trombone sound) but I’ve heard good things….

Chill Out.

There’s no reservations.

No weird time for park hopping.

Just enjoy the day!

Less For Littles

Universal is more of a park for tweens and teens on up. It has less to do for littles.

That isn’t to say that you can’t take smaller siblings and have a good time, but you need to be aware (these are in comparison with Disneyland):

• Height limits tend to be higher
• Very few rides don’t have a height limit
• Some of the rides are just scarier (think Transformers and Harry Potter)

I definitely scared my youngest on the Forbidden Journey ride, probably taking her too early.

They do have a GREAT family swap program, that allows kids to do the lines (lines are amazing — more on that) and enjoy an air conditioned room while you wait.

They also have some fun areas for little kids including a Dreamworks area that is REALLY sweet. But, it’s just a nice playground…. There is a lot for little kids to enjoy (think Minons, etc) — but you just need to know it’s going to be more experiences, and less rides.

There are a few kid areas, Epic Universe’s Mario Land is more tailored to kids (but can be VERY over stimulating). I think the How to Train Your Dragon land would be fun for kids as well.

Just be mindful Universal doesn’t mind scaring people a bit more. Be thoughtful of rides you take timid riders on, and it may want you to wait a few years before you head to Universal.

Personally, I wouldn’t take kids much under 8 unless they’re younger siblings that just need to come along. For reference, I’d take kids of any age to most Disney parks, but think it doesn’t really get “good” til’ they’re about 3.

Pass Holder Benefits

I honestly had no idea about these until recently when I got.

Universal Passes aren’t much more than a 3-day ticket, but they do have black out dates — especially on the lowest “tier” of tickets — so, be very thoughtful of which tier you purchase. Honestly, if I had a 3-day ticket I’d at least stop by Guest Services to see how much it is to upgrade if there is any possibility of you being in the Orlando area any time soon.

Currently, annual passes are NOT good at Epic Universe (as of this writing). They do give some very mild discounts to Epic Universe, but I wouldn’t buy it just for that.

However, they offer AMAZING discounts at the hotels (no matter the tier you purchase). I think I spent around $40 to upgrade to a pass from a 2-day ticket. I saved well over $300 on hotels on my next trip.

They also offer discounts and some offer Express pass after 4 or free parking, depending on what tier you get.

Just something to consider.

Park to Park = Hopper

Every park system has their own “hopper” type pass — and with Universal it’s called Park to Park. You need to be careful about which parks you can go to — but a Park to Park is required to go on the Hogwarts Express as you are going from Islands of Adventure to Universal Orland (or Vice Versa).

While park to park wasn’t allowed initially with Epic Universe, it is now allowed.

I would have loved an extra half day at Epic. It’s just a great park!

You can upgrade to Park to Park if you decide you want to go on the Hogwarts Express. Just FYI.

Bonine to the Max

The Universal Parks are the first place that I realized I could get motion sick.

Oy. vey.

They have a lot of screen rides. If you’re a Disney fan — think Star Tours or Millenium Falcon type rides (or frankly Mickey and Minnie’s, that sometimes gets me too).

The magic of Bonine fixed me. It’s a single pill, non-drowsy, and magical.

Lately I’ve also added a motion sickness patch with it too — just to be sure.

If you’re a Costco member you can ask for a big bottle of Bonine (generic name Meclezine) behind the counter. Much cheaper than the small viles you get on Amazon (but I love to put those in my park bag).

Honestly, without it I can’t last at parks anymore. It’s spread to Disney parks as well… I’m a big fan of it, and I don’t notice any issues when I take it.

Lines are Rides

Universal’s lines are amazing.

Now, not all of them.

But some of them are just amazing. Ones that come to mind that you really want to walk through even if you don’t ride the ride (think Rise of the Resistance hanger type rooms)

• Escape from Gringot’s (that first room is amazing)
• Forbidden Journey

And, in Epic Universe:

• Frankenstein’s Expirement
• One TINY part in Minecart Maddens (the rest is very boring)
• Ministry of Magic (best line ever — which is good because it’s INSANELY LONG)
• Mario Cart — SO good!!!!!

Disney tends to make the “cool” parts pretty far into the ride, but these are well themed throughout.

Less Time on Your Phone

I feel like I’m on my phone 90% of a Disney day — checking wait times, getting lightening lanes, mobile ordering.

And a lot of those have perks.

But at Universal (especially with an Express Pass) I get to submerse myself a bit more.

Yes, there is mobile ordering (which I love) but you tend to sit down and then do it.

I love this part of Universal — maybe my favorite thing (as a mom of teens/adults).

YOU. GET. WET.

Not kidding there. I’m talking drenched.

Honestly, I hadn’t gotten that wet on Jurassic Park River Adventure, but the last time it threw a BUCKET of water on me. It was crazy.

But, the real wetness (i’m talking wetter than taking a shower with your clothes on) comes from

• Popeye’s
• Dudley Doo Right

So. sO. SO wet! Maybe you thought that you got wet on Kali River Rapids or Grizzly River Run. And sure, you get wet.

But not this wet.

I 100% recommend ponchos, and most important shoe covers like these (we used those exact ones — the one thing I’d recommend is to have your pants go OVER them — don’t tuck them in — my son tucked his in and the water traveled down — mine went over and I didn’t have an issue, my shoes were almost entirely dry)

Or skip them. Those are you two options.

Bags on Rides

And finally, Universal is a lot more strict about bags on rides.

But the GOOD news is, on those rides that they don’t allow bags on, they do give free lockers that are SUPER easy to use.

Some rides allow you to take a small cross body bag on (think just one shoulder or around your waist), and some rides do not allow ANYTHING on beyond your lanyard which you have to tuck into your shirt). You even have to go through a metal detector before you get to the ride. They’re serious about it. These tend to be on coasters — off the top of my head those are Hulk, Velocicoaster, and Stardust Racers.

In Epic Universe the lockers are nicely sized, but in the other 2 parks the lockers are pretty slim. They will not fit a lounge fly with the extra pocket in front. Just FYI.

So, there’s my best tip if your going from Disney to Universal Orlando.

The other tips is smart move. Especially if you have older kids. My kids LOVE Universal, far more than Disney. They love the themed lines, the coasters, the scares and the more “adult” humor.

I think you’re going to have a GREAT trip. Just be sure to check pricing with Get Away Today >> it’ makes it EXTRA special when you come home with extra dollars and great customer service!

The post 10+ Things to Know About the Universal Orlando Resort (coming from Disney World) appeared first on Pulling Curls.

Find Your Hotel

Unless you’re staying with friends (or live close) — you’ll need a hotel. Sure, you can look, and book on the park websites (which is what I do for every other travel destination) but for Disneyland I’ve found a company that gets me prices that are SO much lower.

Honestly, zero ideas how they do it — but I can’t recommend them any more. I’ve used them since 1998. I’ve also arranged for you to save $10 with coupon code curls10 with them too!

When I had little kids I had specifics to a room on where a playpen needed to be, etc — and they are SO good because they’ve seen the rooms and can advise you.

My favorite hotels are:

• Best Western Park Place (the closest hotel to the parks — I believe even closer than the Grand)
• The Viv – this one’s note walkable but for the price it might be worth it to take the shuttle (picks you up at the front doors) or Uber. It’s quiet, and I just love it (previously called Raddison Blu)
• The Anaheim Hotel — This is where I’d stay if it was just me and a husband or a friend. The price is nice and I like all the open spaces that close to Disneyland (plus the on-site pizza place)
• Castle Inn & Suites — HUGE fan of this one when we had little boys. They loved the castle theming. The price is nice and they also have a giant suite if you want that.
• I also really like the Tropicana — it’s really close and the price is a bit less than the Best Western.
• If you want somewhere nicer I’d check out the Westin or the JW Marriot.

When looking for a room — a few things to consider:

1. Price point — Get Away Today has rooms to fit ANY budget. The Clarion is great for budget-seekers (but very bare-bones). Check out my post on Cheap Hotels in Anaheim by Disneyland for more!
2. Location — you’ll notice many of the rooms I listed are very close to the parks — because we love that. Check out my post on Hotels Nearby Disneyland: Close enough to walk to Mickey! OR save some cash and use Hotels with a Disneyland Shuttle
3. Amenities — want a nice pool, or a hotel near Disneyland with free breakfast, or a kitchen? What’s important to you there? BTW, want a nice pool I love the Cambria (or, if your budget is more check out the Courtyard). Pro tip: The Cambria pool is an upcharge if you purchase on their site, but is included when you book with Get Away Today. Crazy, right?

Honestly, budget is the biggest part of this — and I have a Disneyland trip calculator that will help you out with that:

Honestly, I’m good at hotels near Disneyland. I’ve toured most of them, and stayed at many of them. Here are a few more posts that might help you out:

• Disneyland Hotel Packages for Families: Alternative to Costco Travel
• Best Hotel Close to Disneyland
• 30+ Best Affordable Hotels Near Disneyland
• Disneyland Hotels in Anaheim, California: 10 of the nicest hotels around Disneyland
• 16+ of the Best Disneyland Hotels for Families: Near the Anaheim Action

Get Your Tickets

Ok, here is the one thing I am ADAMENT ABOUT:

Do NOT buy your multi-day tickets from Disney.

It’s the best (and and possibly only) place to get a 1-day ticket, but most people are getting more than one day and there is NO benefit to purchasing from them (but they will cost more).

Save and get your tickets right here.

That link can also save you on other parks like Universal and Sea World if you’re looking for that as well.

When you get tickets you need to know:

1. How many days do you want?
2. Do you want to park hop — that means you can go to both CA Adventure and Disneyland on the same day (or just stay in one park for the day — this helps a lot Disney Feet)
3. Do you want to include Lightening Lane (helps spend less time in lines — personally, I need it — but you need to know how to work it, and it can add “stress” to the day)

Our family has done this a variety of ways:

We love a 1-day Park Hopper with Lightening Lane to just DO the parks. We’ve done them a lot, and this is a rope-drop to close strategy that isn’t for the faint of heart, but we hit the rides we’re interested in and often ride them twice. This strategy is only to be done with older teens+ and if you’ve been to the parks before. I would NOT recommend this for a newbie.

We love a 3-day one-park-per-day with Lightening Lane — this allows us to take our time and do what we want, and likely go back to the hotel for a nap. Who doesn’t love a nap?

We also love a 2-day pass with Lightening Lane. Depending on our budget we may park hop, or we might not.

Want more info on tickets/other parks?

• Can I Buy Disneyland Tickets at the Gate? Updated with 2026 Info!
• Knotts Berry Farms vs Disneyland? Which one is right for you?
• San Antonio Family Fun: Is Six Flags Fiesta better than Disneyland?
• 7+ EASY TIPS for the Universal Orlando Resort + 3 JUST For Epic Universe!
• Dollywood vs Disney: A Theme Park Comparison

Pick Your Parks (& Get Reservations)

Ok, now that you have the basics down — what park do you want to go to on which day.

When you purchase tickets you can get one-park-per day or you can get a hopper that allows you to go to both parks.

Honestly, that hopper is pricey — and I enjoy not walking, so one-park-per-day is pretty snazzy too.

BUT the flexibility of the Hopper is also great.

The most popular option is to get a 3-day pass. If that’s you, we like to Disneyland our first day, CA Adventure our 2nd Day and then back to Disneyland on the 3rd (or, if you have Hoppers, that’s the parks I’d start at).

As of me writing this, you do need reservations to go to Disneyland. I’m hopeful this stops at some point, but it hasn’t as of yet.

If you buy your tickets with Get Away Today (honestly, smart) — they will give you explicit instructions on how to get a reservation with your tickets — it’s not hard at all!

Travel?

How will you get to the parks? Since we live in AZ we drive if it’s more than 2 of us, but we will fly if it’s two or less of us. We most often fly on Southwest (love their credit card – I think it’s worth the fee).

Then we Uber to the hotel. I’ve also used the Eve shuttle if I’m flying into John Wayne.

I know a lot of people think they should rent a car, but I couldn’t disagree more. If you rent a car you’ll be paying the car price, plus driving in the yucky LA traffic PLUS you’ll likely pay for parking at your hotel (and maybe at the parks too). However, I know for families with young kids this might be your best option with car seats, etc.

I do love the Art Shuttle if you have kids — no car seats necessary!

There are shuttles that provide car seats that you could check out as well.

If I can avoid parking I will do it.

Get Away Today often discounts the parking fees at hotels as well — a huge perk!

Dining Reservations?

If you want to eat at any of the sit-down restaurants at Disneyland/California adventure you’ll want to get reservations early.

Honestly, this isn’t a “need” for us — we most often use mobile ordering and are very happy with the results.

But there is something nice about having your own table and having a server bring you water.

My favorite restaurants are:

• Lamplight Lounge in CA Adventure
• Blue Bayou in Disneyland (this is the restaurant in Pirates — it’s fun, but pricey). Want somewhere similar, but cheaper, check out Cafe Orleans?
• And, I’m crazy, but I like the Riverbelle Terrace… and you can often get a reservation there.

I have a few posts about food at Disneyland:

• Best Disneyland Restaurants for Families
• Best Food at Disneyland: Eating at Disneyland easily!
• Food I hate at Disneyland that Everyone Else Loves
• 12 Easy Ways to do Disneyland on a Budget

Rope Drop?

Ok, what time do you want to arrive to the parks? I’m a rope dropper, but I an a morning girl.

Rope drop will allow you to get on more rides when it’s less busy, but it’s not for everyone — closing down the parks can be nice too. I rarely do that. I’m old.

But, decide what time you want to get there.

If you want to hit rope drop you want to plan to get to the parks about an hour before it opens to get through security, etc.

Top Rides First

What rides do you want to ride a lot? For us we love to hit Space Mountain first thing and save our Lightening Lane for later in the day because we love that ride.

Other things to think about is rain — outdoor rides may close if it’s raining (more important at Disney World where it rains more) — but I think this is something not a lot of people think about. So, we try to hit outdoor “must-do” rides first.

Beyond rain, rides will randomly close sometimes — so if you have a “must-do” I say hit it early on.

Beyond that — popular rides are awesome to hit early on. I have them listed in my planner here:

Mobile Order In Line

Mobile order is one of my favorite Disneyland things.

It’s just basically ordering your food on your phone. But I love to order when we’re in line for rides (hook onto to Disney wifi if you don’t get a good signal). It allows everyone to pick their food, and then pick the time slot when we will get off. It saves time, eats some wait time and then we can eat as soon as we’re off.

This post talks more about mobile ordering if you need more specifics.

This speaks to one of the most important part of a Disneyland day — being on top of things. Once you use a Lightenin Lane which one are you picking next. When you’re in line do you need to Mobile Order. If you want to get the most out of your park ticket you’ll want to be thinking ahead. If you want to chill out, I recommend Dollywood (love that place).

Mid-Day Break?

Going back mid-day for a little break can be a good use of your time.

I love to stack Lightening Lanes and give us a little break in the afternoon to either take our time eating, or go back to the hotel. Your legs need a break.

There is definitely a strategy to using Lightning Lanes effectively. I detail it here.

Shows/Parades?

Any shows or parades you want to hit — be sure to plan those into your day.

Personally, our family much prefers to ride rides at this point in time, so we hit rides during those times (often they have less lines).

Our strategy has 100% changed since my kids were little. Kids love parades right now, but you hate them? I promise it won’t last forever. I can’t imagine all the moaning I’d get if I asked them to sit for a parade now.

Exit Strategy

Finally, you’ll want to think about when you’re leaving.

The most popular time to leave is after the fireworks show — and for many people that’s just when you’ll leave.

You just need to know it’s a mob of people.

If you can avoid it, you might be happier. Maybe a late night snack, or another ride on a few favorites will make it less crowded as you leave. Important if you’re taking a shuttle or an Uber (less important if you’re walking to your hotel).

So, that’s how we do a Disneyland day. It all starts with hotel & tickets with Get Away Today. I hope you enjoy your upcoming Disney trip as much as our family enjoys ours. It’s a great day, as long as you know what you want from it!

Here are a few more Disneyland Planning tips that might help you out!

• Disneyland Hotel Packages for Families: Alternative to Costco Travel
• How to Plan a Disneyland Trip: 5 EASY Steps
• Gift Ideas for Someone Going to Disney
• Disneyland Untangled – Making the Most of Your Trip
• When Is Disneyland the Least Busy?
• 4 Things to Avoid When You Plan Your Disneyland Trip
• 6 Ways to Skip the Lines at Disneyland

The post The BEST Way to Do Disneyland appeared first on Pulling Curls.

Knotts Berry Farm vs Disneyland

Disclosure:  I was given Knotts Tickets for our family and have gotten Disneyland tickets at times in the past, but no posting requirements were included.  All opinions are my own.

Differences between Knotts Berry Farms & Disneyland

Disneyland is truly a magical place.  I don’t think of it as a theme park, but as more of a destination.

Knotts Berry is a theme park (owned by Cedar Fair, which owns a LOT of US theme parks).  And frankly, probably the best one I’ve been to.

Knotts has big rides — HUGE rides, that are super fun.  It’s well-kept, themed well, has good food, and is great for a family day.

Disneyland has smaller rides, with more imagination.  There is something for every member of your family to delight in.  It has a high standard of cleanliness, has great food, and is a destination for family travel.

BUT, each one has its place.  I’ve talked a TON about Disneyland tips — so, today I’ll talk more about Knotts Berry and what is great about it!

Knotts Berry Farms Ticket Pricing

If you’re looking more into Disneyland — check out my Disneyland budget and my Disneyland trip calculator.

Knotts Berry Farms Tickets (when bought online at the time of publication) are about half the price (or more — depending on when you go) of Disneyland. That is HUGE. If you have other things you’d prefer to spend your money on, but still have a fun vacation, that makes Knotts a great option!

Plus, Disneyland has the whole park hopper/Genie+ add-on, so that adds to the price as well.

Let me spell it all out for you in a table. Please note that both parks have dynamic pricing for 1-day tickets (meaning it’s more expensive on weekends, etc).

Disneyland tickets vary from about $90 to $169/day (this is why most people prefer multi-day tickets — your price/day goes WAY Down). Knotts seems to vary from $69-$89

Keep in mind that with Disneyland “Genie” you only get to use each Lightening Lane once, vs the Knotts Berry farms Fast Lane allows you to the ride the same rides over and over if you’d prefer. It is a much better value for people who want to ride a few times many times in one day.

Like most places, I recommend buying your tickets before the gate (buying at the gate is one of my biggest Disneyland Mistakes)…..

I have a whole post on if you can buy your tickets to Disneyland at the gate (you shouldn’t, and 99% of days you can’t) — that shares the CHEAPEST way to get Disneyland tickets!

Knotts Berry Farms Discount Tickets

My #1 choice for Southern California tickets is Get Away Today.  You can usually get Knotts tickets on this page (just scroll down a bit to find the Knotts tickets). FYI, sometimes Knotts has sales that make buying off their site cheaper, but Get Away Today will price-match their ticket prices.

You can also get great prices on Universal, Disneyland, Sea World, and more (and when you combo them, you save even more!).

I would 100% recommend pricing a Knotts hotel in the area with them as well.  They have the best price guarantee.

2025 Note: I often see that Get Away Today is not selling Knotts tickets, in that case I do think your best bet is to purchase through Knotts online.

Knotts Berry Farms Hotels

If you plan to go to Disneyland as well, I would get your hotel location based on Disneyland, and drive (or Uber) to Knotts.  They’re actually quite close to each other.

If you’re just going to Knotts, they have their own hotel — The Knotts Hotel

We actually stayed there at our last visit and I was nervous because the hotel doesn’t get great reviews.

The hotel has recently been updated and the rooms were nice, but it was definitely a surface remodel. The rooms were loud, and the handle on my sink came off when I turned it to hot. However, it’s SUPER close to Knotts, and if I was visiting Knotts again I’d probably stay there.

• The price is great — check it out here
• It’s so close
• The rooms were comfortable, just loud.

**AND when you book with Get Away Today you get REDUCED PRICE PARKING which is a nice savings!

There are some great deals that can be found if you want to go to Knotts and stay at their hotel. Their packages can be found here.

If where you stay is important to you, we have also stayed with the Ayres chain that is in LA (we stayed in their Seal Beach Location — and Get Away Today can book any hotel if you call them).  Get Away Today offers a few of them. They have an AMAZING breakfast, the rooms are large and we really enjoyed our stay there.

They also recommend the Holiday Inn Buena Park — which is at a great price point.

Disneyland to Knotts Berry Farms

They aren’t far from each other at all.

Personally, I find the area around Disneyland to be much harder to navigate, so we usually stay near Disneyland and drive to Knotts on the day we are headed there.

This shows to take the 5, but we often drive down Ball and then turn north just past the 39 — there are some fun things to see along the way.

I also checked the price for an Uber/Lyft, and it was about $25 each way (obviously depending on timing) to go from Disneyland to Knotts.

Knotts Berry Farms Rides

Knotts Berry Farms has rides for everyone in your party.  Even with small children, Knotts can be very fun.  There is a Snoopy area, and lots of other fun rides for kids & families (more on that).  Many of the rides don’t have height restrictions, and kids will find them SUPER fun.

I think Knotts can be fun for kids of all ages, similar to Disneyland.

Knotts is split into areas.   There are lots of rides and something for every taste.  However, they are much more amusement-park-like rides, unlike Disneyland which seems to have its own brand of rides.

Of particular note of popular rides:

• GhostRider — a great wooden roller coaster, my husband said it’s one of the best he’s ever been on (you can see it in the photo above). I rode it for the first time recently and REALLY enjoyed it.
• Knotts Berry Tales — an interactive dark ride where you learn the history of Knotts and “shoot” things.
• Timber Mountain Log Ride — A log flume — has a lot of story to it.  Very similar to Splash mountain, we really enjoyed it (and didn’t get TOO wet)
• Silver bullet — a hanging-type coaster.
• Calico Mine Train — This is a family-friendly fun ride through a mining mountain.  It’s like Knotts Berry’s Pirates of the  Caribbean.
• HangTime — this was their newest ride when I went and has one of the steepest drops of a coaster on the west coast.
• Xcelerator — Another steel rollercoaster that is amazing – per my husband, because I am NOT a roller coaster rider

There is also a raft ride and lots of spinning rides.   Like I said, most of your basic amusement park rides.

I will say if you’re a lot on the overweight side, Disneyland will likely be more comfortable.

There were a couple of rides that I was too big to ride (or very uncomfortable buckled in).

Also, if you’re pregnant, there isn’t a ton for you (but you could still have a fun day. There are a lot of places to sit down, and a few rides you could enjoy. Knotts is MUCH easier on my feet.

Knotts Soak City

Knotts also has a water park tied to it called Soak City. You can get tickets to it here. It’s only open during the summer months, and is just your basic water park. It was crowded, but spread out enough I didn’t feel claustrophobic. They had a nice locker system and changing area. It’s across the street from Knotts. Most people that are doing Soak City have a pass and are enjoying both. I would not recommend buying Knotts Theme park tickets, and adding on Soak City also.

On our stay we went to Soak City on our arrival day for a few hours and then went to Knotts the next day.

Camp Snoopy & Other Options for Little Kids

Camp Snoopy has been re-done in 2024. As I toured it I will say most of it looked pretty familiar, just some re-theming, new coats of paint, etc. Lots of times to visit snoopy and places to explore. This area tends to have rides for small kids similar to other amusement parks.

There is also the Ghost Town area that has informational stuff on the history of California and sometimes extra fun for little kids (especially at Halloween and Christmas). Lots of interactive experiences (including a blacksmith etc). That type of interactive entertainment isn’t just for Disney. When I was there they also had “Ghost Town Alive” where characters would talk to kids and it was super interactive and fun!

One of the biggest perks for small kids is not having to wait long for rides. Anyone who’s waited an hour for Buzz Lightyear with a 2-year-old knows from whence I speak.

Note: Fast Lane does not work for any of the rides in Camp Snoopy — so Getting smaller kids that would be of no use, just FYI.

Knotts Berry Farms Rides for Teenagers

Like most amusement parks — Knotts is a mecca for teenagers. yes, while they will likely skip Camp Snoopy (and the many routes through the park makes that doable, the rest of the park is perfect for them).

While not impossible, I think Knotts is a little harder to do with kids of all ages.

Knotts Berry Farms Rides for Adults

I think adults will find a lot of fun at Knotts as well. Because it’s not as crowded you aren’t constantly faced with teenagers who will annoy you. There are a lot of really nicely themed areas and adults also appreciate the lack of lines.

Knotts Berry Farms Crowds

In general Knotts is much less crowded than Disneyland. But, at crowded times at Disneyland, Knotts also tends to be quite crowded.

We went the 3rd of July, and it was BU-SY. Thankfully, we had fast lane passes.  That got us on to the rides quite quickly, and I think they were 100% necessary on that day — I would not have wanted to go to the park without them.

There are times that ride wait times will get to about 3 hours (looking at you Ghostrider).

On a regular day, I think the Fast Lane passes might not be worth it.  You can add them to your pass in the park if you decide to do so  (you can get them at many of the stores).

Knotts Berry Farms Entertainment

I have to say that I’m not sad that my kids aren’t too into the “shows” anymore.

Knotts has great shows, some of the best I’ve seen at amusement parks. They also have great bands and characters around the park. WAY better than your “average” amusement park.

But, Disneyland has broadway-esque ones. So, for me, there isn’t much of a comparison. The win to Disneyland on this one.

Knotts Berry Farms Parking

Knotts doesn’t have a lot of hotels that are within walking distance, but there is plenty of parking in the area it is currently $30, vs the $35 it costs at Disneyland. 

As far as WHICH parking lot at Knotts, I recommend the North lot — it seems to be closest to the main entrance.

Food at Knotts Berry Farms.

Knotts has a LOT of food options, and I found the pricing to be pretty great in comparison to Disneyland food.

We got some Carne Asada fries that were really yummy, and very shareable — just near the Fiesta Plaza.

We got those in the afternoon and then had an early dinner at Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Restaurant.

It was pretty good, and HUUUUUGE.  I would recommend ordering the fried chicken dinners — My adult son and I split and we still couldn’t eat even close to all of it.  it included:

• Soup
• Salad
• Biscuits (SO yummy, with their delicious KNOTTS jam)
• 4 pieces of chicken
• Mashed potatoes
• Corn
• Pie

All that is around $30.  I think 3 of us could have split that dinner!

Disney also has a great chicken dinner, at a bit lower price point, but less food.  I think their chicken is better (you can find it at the Plaza Inn at the end of Main street).

Pro Tip: Knotts has a bit different rules on what you can bring inside vs what you can bring to Disneyland, so be aware.

My favorite Knotts treat is to get the funnel cake but with the ice cream and the topping on the side. That way the funnel cake stays warm and doesn’t get mushy with all the liquids on it. They didn’t even hesitate when I asked for it on the side. So good after a long day at the park!

Knotts All Day Dining

This last time we went I tried the Knotts all-day dining package. It was around $37 I think. It allows you to get a full meal every 90 minutes. There were 3 of us, and we just got one. Obviously, it could be a GREAT value if you do it right:

• Get a meal every 90 minutes
• Enjoy the types of foods offered on this meal plan.

Some downsides:

Obviously, this is just for “one person” (although there are no rules about who can eat the food, they’re just very clear that only one person can purchase the food — you are given a wristband). So, THAT person has to stand in line to get the food each time.

This only includes MEALS. Much of the offered food is fries or burgers. During Our day, we got:

• Carne asada fries in the Fiesta Village
• Orange chicken from Panda Express
• Pizza & a salad

In total that food would have been around $45, and we just paid $32. But sadly, this meal plan does NOT include the delicious chicken dinner.

Pro Tip: The Boardwalk BBQ has HUGE meals and are included in the wristband — it was yummy, easily split-able and I’d recommend it!

You’re stuck. The Panda Express line stretched far out of the restaurant, but since I’d already paid the money I was stuck eating at those venues. I also couldn’t just decide we’d rather sit down for the chicken dinner.

Be aware of open/closing. There are no breakfast options on the meal plan, which made it so we couldn’t even get a meal til’ around 11. We’d hoped to get some tots, but that place was closed, so we went for Pizza. Just be aware of those things. Also, if you plan to leave early that limits how many meals you can get since it’s just one every 90 minutes.

The Lines for Food are Long — in reality, you almost need to get in LINE about every 75 minutes, because some of the lines are long. It was fine for me because my kids love big rides and I don’t mind sitting out — but again, something to think about. It did take up a considerable amount of my day.

Honestly, for the 3 of us, it was a decent amount of food for the day. The portions are pretty decent. If our boys were there, I would think 2 bands would do all of us for the day.

Pro Tip: What to BRING to Knotts is very similar to what to pack for Disneyland.

Knotts All-Inclusive Vacation:

As I was typing all of this up — you could get a REALLY sweet Knotts Vacation (pricing is current in July 2023)

• Stay 2-nights at the Knotts Hotel for $304
• Get a 1-day knotts ticket for $60-$70 (looks like weekends are higher)
• Option: Add Fast Lane in the Parks for $99-$119 (busier days being more expensive)
• Optional: Add the all-day eating for $32’ish (might be able to knock off a kid or two depending on if they’re big eaters)

For a family of 4, here’s your pricing (and I’m using average pricing)

• $564 without fast lane
• $964 with fast lane
• You’d even be just over $1,000 if you added in food.

This gives you a total of under $1000 for all the food and fun for 2 days (you’d only get one day of the food pass, I’d recommend splitting a couple of meals at the chicken dinner spot your first day).

I’ve recently seen some Knotts hotel packages that include fast lane — which is a nice option. I love going back to relax there in the afternoon!

Honestly, that’s less than just our Disneyland tickets cost us. Just putting that out there. Be sure to check out my Disneyland Budget. You can also get a better idea in my Disneyland All-Inclusive Packages post.

But, here’s some basic comparative pricing (and I want to be clear that most people visit Disneyland for more than one day, but I want to compare apples to apples):

• 1-day Ticket ($169-$104) I’m taking an average day at $144
• 2-nights at The Anaheim Hotel $430 (this is a similar type of hotel that is close to Disneyland)

The total for those for four is: $1,006 (so, basically double what Disneyland was)

If you add Genie the price goes up to $1106, and if you add park hopping to that it goes up to $1,366

Anyway, that’s just to give you some pricing ideas. The pricing does vary a bit depending on when you go, for both parks. I have a whole post on the cheapest time to go to Disneyland.

Knotts vs Disneyland at the Holidays

We actually attended Knott’s and Disneyland last fall for both of their Halloween festivities.

While Disneyland is certainly amazing at Halloween, I was really impressed by how Knotts did it up.  Our kids were able to trick or treat (no additional charge) and the ghost town was done up really fun.

A few of the rides (especially the log flume) were done up for Halloween.  Although, I am pretty sure my kids are scarred for life from the Log Flume — it’s a little weird, and the music is certainly an earworm.

Knotts does Knott’s Scary Farms in the evenings in the park and I hear it’s some of the scariest stuff in the area, which has ZERO appeal to me. So, there’s that.

They also do a “Knott’s spooky farm” during the day for the littles where ghosts hang out in the Ghost town. It’s pretty fun. Kids can even trick or treat on the weekends.

Disneyland again does Christmas up like crazy, but Knotts isn’t to be beaten with their Knotts Merry Farms!

Knotts also has their own festivals including the Knotts Boysenberry Festival (which sounds delicious).

Disneyland or Knotts Berry Farms: Final Answer.

While each definitely has its own place. A few thoughts:

If Disneyland tickets/hotel alone is going to stress your vacation budget to the max, go to Knotts — I think you’ll have a great time and feel less financial strain. BTW, check out my Disneyland Trip Calculator (which can easily be used for Knotts or any other trip).

If it is your visit to Southern California and can only pick one — pick Disneyland. Overall, it’s better, more iconic, and — something your family will always remember. There are tons of other fun things in Southern California as well!

If you’ve gone to Disneyland a few times, I say try Knotts! I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the decreased crowds, fun rides, good food, and enjoyable days!

All in all a trip to Knotts is a LOT of fun.  I think it’s different than Disneyland, but can be done for a LOT cheaper, and with a lot fewer lines (although I do have a whole post on how to skip the lines at Disneyland).

There are just SO many California Theme parks to choose from (which is awesome). Be sure to check out my post about Universal also (I even have one on the brand new Nintendo land).

All in all — Knotts is awesome for thrill-seekers, and Disneyland (for me) is more magical.  I am not a thrill-seeker though, and our kids absolutely love both parks.

If you liked this post, be sure to join my #1 tip for family travel:

The post Knotts Berry Farms vs Disneyland? Which one is right for you? appeared first on Pulling Curls.

This just in: Costco has STOPPED selling Disneyland packages as of 5/7/2025 — if you’re looking to book hotel & tickets there is NO better option anymore than Get Away Today. They are your best alternative to Costco Travel for your Disneyland vacation.

Disneyland Family Packages

That walk down main street gets me teary every time.  I looked forward to Disneyland SO much as a child.  It was my favorite place.  I remember days of being unable too excited to sleep just to be able to visit my favorite place.

Being able to provide that for my own kids means a lot to me.  But it also means a HUGE investment.  I am slowly getting to be fine with spending the money, but making sure that it is spent well is still VERY important to me.  I really don’t want to spend a lot of money, only to be frustrated by the results.

That’s why picking the right hotel at Disneyland is #1 on my list for our trips.

This post is going to talk about figuring out what you’d really like in a hotel as well as some of the ones we’ve stayed at and our experiences there. Don’t miss my most recent trip to The Viv Anaheim (it has BUNKBEDS!!!).

Best Disneyland Family Packages

Your Disneyland family package will include

• Theme park tickets
• Hotel room
• Possibly Airfare
• Travel to/from the park

BTW, wondering how much (roughly) all of that will cost — check out my Disneyland Trip Calculator.

Disneyland Ticket Deals

Get Away Today has amazing prices on tickets.  It is super easy to book your hotel and tickets together (although, you don’t have to book them as a package all the time — if you have a question about their current offers, ticket prices, etc, always call their agents)!

I have a whole post on if you can get your tickets at the gate at Disneyland {no} that shares the CHEAPEST way to get Disneyland tickets!

Other options are to book through your local travel agent (I promise that will cost you more, or they actually already use Get Away Today) or in the past I have found Disneyland resort tickets for a lower price through my workplace — but if you book with Get Away Today and find a lower price they will price match it (which I’ve done, you just have to call and they credit your card).

Cheap Disneyland Packages

But, the reality is that we don’t all want to stay at the Motel 6.

BUT, we want to pay a low price for a room that our family feels comfortable in, and gets a good night’s sleep.  For every family that will be different.

And, I will promise you that not every room near Disneyland is neither clean nor comfortable. You will want someone to vet that room for you.

Which, is why I love Get Away Today.  All of their agents have toured the hotels and seen what each room looks like.  You can tell them what you’re hoping for, and they can give you GREAT options for the happiest place on earth — at the best price.  So if you are looking for a Disneyland resort hotel or off site hotels for your family trip, they have you covered. You can even use code CURLS10 to get $10 off your trip when you book hotel & tickets together (at least 2 nights and 2 tickets).

>> Book a Hotel with Get Away Today << 

And, if your plans aren’t FIRM, you may want to consider their Peace of Mind plan that will give you full flexibility of the trip to change dates, cancel or whatever (EVEN DISNEYLAND TICKETS) with no cancellation fees.

**Btw, I am going to share all of the hotels in the area that we have stayed at towards the end of this post — so if you’re wanting to know what I liked and did not like (and there are some we REALLY didn’t like) hotel reviews start here!**

In 2021 I also did a hotel tour of 16 of the best Disneyland hotels for families.

Discount Travel to Disneyland

If you are looking for A Disneyland California vacation package with a flight Get Away Today knows which airlines will get you the best price to the many LA area airports.

It’s super confusing as there are a TON of airports and you won’t always find the best price as you search other places online.

Personally, we fly into either Long Beach of Orange County, just because they’re quicker to Anaheim and are smaller airports than LAX.

Discount Pricing or Shuttle to Disneyland

Disneyland parking is always $30 — there is no discounting that.

However, the majority of hotels use the ART transit system. We have used the ART transit system many times.  The busses are regular (most of the time, we have had a few broken-down busses, which is part of mass transit), clean, easy to do with strollers, and well air conditioned (a must in the hotter months).

All-Inclusive Disneyland Vacations

They are ALMOST a thing — except Disneyland doesn’t have any dining packages.  You can learn more about all inclusive Disneyland vacations.

Ok, so how do you pick a hotel for Disneyland…?

How to find your best Disneyland Hotel Family package:

These are questions you should ask yourself before picking your choice of hotel (and don’t miss out on my best Disneyland Hotel tips)

How many beds do you want?  Does each child need their own (they do in a perfect world in our family, but we are willing to sacrifice a bit to save money sometimes).  Keep in mind that when you hit over five kids (guilty) a lot of hotels make you get larger rooms, just do to the laws and how many can be in one bed.

Walkable or Not?  Do you need to stay close enough to the parks to walk (most hotels tout how close they are, but there are truly only a few that are actually walkable), or are you OK to use a shuttle?

You might aloso want to stay at on property resort hotels — so check out this post that tells the perks from staying at the parks.

We’ve used both (and there are perks to both of them).  Keep in mind that the shuttle system really IS great.  It is affordable, it runs frequently and is air-conditioned.   However, I hate waiting for it so we have stayed walkable in the last years.

Breakfast?  Is a good hot breakfast enough for you to spend a bit more?

Lately, our kids haven’t eaten all that much with the excitement of Disney.  I wish I had just stashed some gogurt and Jimmy Dean Sandwiches in our hotel fridge and gone with that.

I find most rooms close to Disneyland do have a fridge, and often a microwave (but be sure to check before you plan on it).

How much time will you be in your room?  Will you be just sleeping there, or do you think you’ll come back for naps?  Naps for young kids means you’ll want to be closer.  However, my little ones napped well in their stroller at Disneyland, seemed like the noise put them to sleep.

Other amenities?  Do you need a pool, or a workout room (frankly, if you really need to workout AND walk all freaking day that is a lot, but if you need it — you need it).  Sometimes other things like having a tub or free parking can be really important as well.

** This is actually one of the reasons I like Get Away today SO much.  Their agents have visited almost all of the hotels (or they can grab someone who has) so if you need something specific — they can help you out. I needed at least a half wall to hide playpen from me (kids didn’t sleep well if they could see me) and they always knew where would be a good spot.

Disneyland Hotel Reviews

I’ve stayed at quite a few hotels around Disneyland.

With that said, my goal is to, at some point, stay at the Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel.  We’d just REALLY like to try it.  We’ll see if we love it. I do have a whole post on perks for staying at the Disneyland® resort hotels in case you’re wondering.

BUT, here are the hotels we’ve stayed at (with our most recent stay first).  I also have another post about Disneyland hotels with bunk beds.

{Full disclosure: many of these hotels did provide me with free nights, but I was under no requirement for a positive review, and you will find that I found pro’s and con’s for each hotel and that I try to be REALLY balanced when I stay at a hotel}

In Fall 2022 we stayed at

The Viv Anaheim

This is a fairly new hotel (formerly the Radisson Blue — but built just before 2020). It is a new favorite. The view from the corner suites and quiet rooms make The Viv Hotel the best deal.

I also have a whole tour of it on an Instagram highlight that you can see here.

Pro’s:

• QUIET. I didn’t hear s single other person once I was in my room. I LOVED THAT!!!!!!
• Clean. This is honestly one of the cleanest hotels I have stayed at. Most of the hotel is a vinyl flooring (I think) with just a few rugs. It was really clean
• Toiletries — they’re just super nice, and sometimes the small things make the difference
• The view — we were on the 8th floor with a theme park view and it was so pretty to look out. We could even see the fireworks from our room!
• My husband and I used the rooftop pool, and we weren’t sad that kids weren’t invited up there. It was lovely
• The other people staying there were just really nice people, we had many conversations at the pool or on the bus that were just nice.

Con’s:

• I don’t personally call this hotel walkable to Disneyland® Park(although I have had friends walk it and say it was about 20 minutes).
• It’s not particularly near any restaurants. I have eaten at one of their on site restaurants and I also heard from others that enjoyed the more casual restaurant.

Honestly, I’d 100% stay here again. You can use the ART bus or an uber to take you to the parks. It was about $7 each way for an Uber — and you’re more than saving that (plus the hotel is nicer than the ones on Harbor).

BTW, Get Away Today OFTEN has free nights with The Viv (so, buy 3 nights, get a 4th night free) — and I think it is the cheapest 4-star rating hotel in their portfolio (especially if you’re staying 4 nights).

BOOK THE VIV ANAHEIM HERE

Fall 2018 we stayed at the…

Fairfield Inn Anaheim Resort

We liked it there.  It wasn’t my favorite hotel ever — but I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that when you go CLOSE, you aren’t going to get a great hotel!

Positives:

• It’s as close as we’ve ever stayed to the park (but I always wish we’d stayed closer) — this is a HUGE benefit!
• It has a pull-out sofa, so no child had to share a bed with another (we only took 2 kids, and it’s nice that this hotel will comfortably sleep 5)
• The beds and pillows are nice
• You can see the park/fireworks from your room (as I could stay awake longer than 3 minutes after I laid in the bed)
• The McDonalds or Panera is on your way to the park, so it’s easy to grab breakfast
• It has hardward floors, which I prefer in hotel rooms as carpets can seem gross
• It has a fridge (a small one, but with a couple of nights in the freezer, our waters did freeze)

Negatives

• The bathroom is REALLY small
• It’s cramped, not a lot of extra storage space for luggage, etc
• No free breakfast
• The fireworks are REAL loud at night, and don’t sound like fireworks — I thought the hotel was collapsing the first time (they do provide ear plugs)
• Doesn’t have a microwave — kind of annoying, although they are available in one are of the hotel, which is nice.

If you don’t book with Get Away Today (and honestly, why would you?) you would have to pay for valet parking each night of your stay.

That’s a pricey add-on (if you have a car), so just be aware!

I even have a little video review:

Christmas 2017 we stayed at the…

Disneyland Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance

We stayed here on our last trip.

It was amazing.  One of my favorite hotels ever:

Pro’s:

• Rooms are super quiet
• Includes a water park (but the water slides close early, so be aware)
• It’s a short walk to Disneyland
• The rooms are well appointed, and I LOVED the bunk beds – which is one of the main reasons we stayed here.
• Nice to have a tub (great for young children) and a shower — so multiple people can get ready in the AM.
• Includes a microwave and fridge.

Cons’:

• You have to valet park, and it’s $20/night (at the time we stayed there) — which seems a little pricey.  I wish it was just included in the room rate.  BUT, the valet was super quick and it was nice when our feet were tired (aka, all the time).
• There isn’t a magical cloud to transport you from the park.
• It is more expensive than some
• The front desk told me they were a shorter walk than the Disney garage, which is a lie.  The Disney garage is also $20, and since you can ride their tram — it was a closer jaunt.

All in all, we loved it.  I would 100% stay here again.  If they served a free breakfast I think it would be PERFECT!

Castle Inn and Suites by Disneyland

This one is just your basic motel, but has a castle theme.  When we just had two little boys they were THRILLED to stay here.  The walk isn’t bad (although I always wish it was shorter).  No breakfast, but it does have a microwave and a fridge (so grab some breakfast sandwiches and yogurt at the local Target).  I’d stay here again.  Nothing fancy, but Get Away Today often adds a free night when you buy 3.  That’s a great deal!

Desert Palms Hotel & Suites

We recently stayed here.  I’d heard glowing things about them and their breakfast.  Since it’s fresh let me show you the pro’s and con’s:

Pros:

• Had awesome bunkbeds in a second room with double beds, great for a large party (and there was room for a sleeping bag at the foot of those beds).
• Clean rooms
• Walkable to the park
• Good morning breakfast with a good # of options and enough seating.

Cons:

• They were under renovation, and while I understand that happens it was annoying.
• Front desk was snarky one morning when I called to see if we could keep our car there, I was clearly bothering them (and we weren’t allowed to keep our car there after checkout)
• The walk was a bit long.  I longed to be in one of the closer hotels as we trudged home
• Morning breakfast wasn’t that amazing, and didn’t change much in the 3 days we were there.  It was fine, but nothing amazing.
• The BIGGEST con is that my husband and I were unable to sleep well.  You could hear every single word of what happened in the hallway.  When you’re paying so much money for each night you’d expect for the doors to be able to keep noise out.  It was super frustrating, I wish I’d brought my earplugs.

Due to the last factor, plus the snarky front desk, I don’t think we will stay there again. I didn’t end up feeling like a valued customer or happy with our stay.

BUT, it is decently walkable and the hotel is pretty nice.

Anaheim Great Wolf Lodge

This is a hotel chain throughout the US and it has recently opened one in Anaheim.

This hotel doesn’t have any shuttle service to the park (I guess they have a van that goes once a day to the Disney resort that you have to reserve seats in), so if you’re going to the park — you’ll need to take your car.

In reality — this hotel is 100% its own resort.  They have a GIANT water park and the also Magi-Quest that is SO fun for kids.

Personally, I would do Disneyland for your chosen # of days — and then I’ll stay a couple of nights here (which is what we did).  It’s very different than Disneyland, but still VERY fun.

Pro’s

• The whole lodge has a rustic feel.
• There is a Daiso just around the corner
• Amazing Water Park
• Everyone gets bands that allow you to unlock your room as well as charge things to your room.
• On-site pizzeria, and Dunkin’ Doughnuts
• Magi-Quest was a very fun game where kids use magic wants to make stuff happen.
• We went at Christmas and it was decked out so fun.  They even made it snow.
• A little animatronic show in the lobby for kids

Con’s

• Rooms can be pricey — especially on the weekends
• The room itself is kind of small (although there are larger rooms, we stayed in a basic room)
• Kids are running through the halls doing the Magi-Quest game, which can be annoying (my kids did it too, and the kids are certainly busy trying to win the game)
• Restaurants are a bit expensive, and beyond the water park, the other activities are an additional fee.

It was a nice way to wind down from the park.  Plus, adults can relax as kids do the magi-quest.  The water park is large enough that there is something for every age- – and the water park is included with your room.

This hotel specializes in kids age 5-12’ish.  Much older than that they will think it’s a bit juvenile, but when you catch kids in the right age frame they will have a GREAT time.

Quality Inn and Suites

We stayed here two trips ago.  The rooms were fine, and the breakfast was fine but the walk was just too far.  You have to go all the way around the corner.  Crazy annoying.

Disneyland StayBridge Inn and Suites

We stayed here the first couple of times we went to Disneyland as a family.  I loved it here.  The rooms are a good size and the breakfast is great.  The only problem was the shuttle.  I hated waiting for it (and hauling the stroller on board).  If we were good with the shuttle, it would be an awesome place to stay.  It can also save you a good amount of money by staying at a hotel a bit away from the park.  Enough that you can probably afford an extra day and slow

down a bit.

Disneyland Tropicana Hotel

I stayed at this one when we went with the Jr High Chorus.  It is your very basic motel room.  And it is SO close I could hug it.  I think they currently have breakfast, but double-check.

But, VERY doable.  Clean, fine.  Nothing fancy.  Honetly, I think this is a great option because it is SO close.

If you’re looking just for a suite, my friend Katie has a good post on Disneyland Family Suites.

Disneyland Family Packages FAQ’s

Are Disneyland tickets cheaper if I buy a package?

Honestly, not necessarily.  Get Away Today sells tickets separately (you just can’t use my coupon code if you’re only buying tickets).  Some hotels will advertise they sell tickets cheaper, but it’s likely no better than Get Away Today! With Get Away Today you can often bundle tickets (to like Universal Studios Hollywood or Knotts Berry Farms) in a ticket package too!

What is the best hotel near Disneyland?

Well, probably the BEST one is the California adventure, but if you’re looking to keep your budget in our stratosphere, I really liked the Courtyard.

Are tickets cheaper if I buy them online?

Yup, they sure are.  You can buy them cheaper through Disneyland, OR through Get Away Today.

Are tickets cheaper with AAA or Costco?

When I last checked, no — I would certainly check around — but Get Away Today has a best price guarantee, AND the best customer service, bar none.

Is Disneyland Expensive?

Yes, it is.  It is also super fun and can be a GREAT trip with less stress for your family.

Is Disneyland free on your birthday?

Nope, not even close.  They did run a promo a few years ago, but no more.   You can get a badge at Town Hall though.

What are the Disneyland Good Neighbor Hotels?

Just hotels near Disneyland that they endorse for people to stay at if their hotels aren’t an option.

Do Disneyland hotels have airport shuttles?

In my experience, no.  Get Away Today recommends Karmel Shuttles, and the price is pretty reasonable (for LA traffic).  But if you have a large group, you might just want to do an Uber.

Does Get Away Today Sell a One Day Ticket

Nope, Disneyland is the only one that can sell those and the pricing on those tickets is based on the dates you have chosen (busier dates will be more expensive). They do sell 2-5 days though.

Can I get Disney Genie with my tickets?

Yes, as of this writing you can get Disney Genie as a ticket magical extras. This gives you lightening lane access to select attractions. Read more about they Disneyland Genie here.

How do I get a theme park reservation if I use Get Away Today?

As soon as you make your package selection and you put your credit card in (and it is processed) Get Away Today will send you your tickets. You then put those tickets (barcode is on the upper right, you can just copy and paste) into your DIsneyland account and make your reservations. Everyone needs a Disneyland account to make a reservation.

Once you have a valid ticket in your account, you can make your appropriate park reservation. ALSO, if you need to switch dates, you just do that through your Disneyland account as well.

I hope you enjoyed this post that has some of the best Disneyland packages 2019.  This will also help you find last minute Disneyland hotel deals, consider Disneyland Travel Insurance, as well as the best way to book Disneyland.  I hope you enjoy your California Vacation packages 2019!

So, to sum it up:

Stay on Site:  This costs a fair amount more but can be the most convenient (keep in mind that the Disneyland Hotel is amazing, but also kind of far away — but you can use the Monorail)

Stay walkable:  Most convenient, rooms are often just basic rooms but are meant for families headed to Disneyland (often come with a fridge and microwave to aid in your trip)

Stay further away:  Take the shuttle or your car and you can save quite a lot of $$

Either way, talk to the agents at Get Away Today.  You WILL get the best deal and they know EVERYTHING about the rooms.  Go through those first questions and then call them, knowing what you really want and they can match you with what’s available.

Also, call early before you go.  Their rooms (because of the amazing rates) go fast.  You don’t want to miss out and end-up paying more!

Get Away Today offers trip layaway for just $175 down, so if you know you’re going, you can start your hotel package early (with the best availability) and then pay it off as you go.  You can even get trip insurance for just $75 where you can get a refund if you have to cancel.  Remember to also save $10 with code CURLS10 when you book with Get Away Today!

If you liked this post, be sure to grab my parent’s guide to Disneyland:

Don’t miss my list of Best Affordable Disneyland hotels — a list of 30+ of my favorite hotels (plus my own current top 10 hotel list).

The post Disneyland Hotel Packages for Families: Alternative to Costco Travel appeared first on Pulling Curls.

Before we get started, grab my trip calculator so you can be aware of of all the costs (because we aren’t here for any nasty Disney surprises):

Step 1: What is your budget?

This is the most important step. I get the feeling some people think that a Disneyland trip can be planned for just a few hundred dollars and while that maybe was the case when we were younger, that is not the case now.

I have a LOT of posts on your Disneyland budget (because I think that’s one of the biggest issues with Disneyland trip planning). I’ll link them here so you can learn more about what to expect:

• How Much Money for Disneyland? Your Disneyland budget
• 12 Easy Ways to do Disneyland on a Budget
• Disneyland Untangled – Making the Most of Your Trip
• Can I Buy Disneyland Tickets at the Gate?
• How Much Does Disneyland Vacation Cost for a Family of 4?

And, in case you’re also considering Disney WORLD…. Disney World On Budget: Stretching Your Dollar for Fun Disney Days

I think it’s really important to be honest with yourself about how much this trip will cost, and to be honest if waiting a year (or two) to take this big of a vacation might ultimately make it more fun (as you save up a bit more).

I’m not saying that you can’t scrimp and save at Disneyland — but there are costs associated with it, and they will be marketing to you (and your kids) at every step along the way. It’s just good to know.

Step #2: When & How Long will you stay?

Your next step (honestly, often done in cohorts on deciding your budget) is how long you’ll stay, and WHEN you are going.

First off — how long will you stay?

You’ll OFTEN see that a “5-day trip is cheaper than a 3-day trip” — and that means that a 5-day ticket is cheaper per day than a 3-day ticket. Every day that you add to your ticket saves on the per-day pricing. However, you have to remember that every day also includes more:

• Lodging
• Transportation to the parks (not a big deal if you’re walking — although your feet may start to hate you)
• Food in the parks
• More time for souvenirs

It also allows for more lounging at the pool, less early days. It just depends on what you want and how you want to price things out.

A longer trip, with a hotel further away might be what you want.

OR, a shorter trip with a hotel close to the parks (as they’re pricier) might be just the ticket for you.

Every family is different, and every choice will be different.

And now, WHEN to go?

Many families have specific dates in mind, but sometimes you have some wiggle room. You can check to see if there is a price change (or a weather change) depending on when you want to go.

Here are a few more posts on this topic you might find helpful:

• 6 Mistakes You’ll Make Planning Your Disneyland Trip
• When Is Disneyland the Least Busy?
• 4 Things to Avoid When You Plan Your Disneyland Trip
• Best Time of Year to go to Disneyland: All Four Seasons

Step #3: How to Get There?

Ok, now you need to figure out how you’ll get there. I do think most familes fly, but if you’re not too far away you can drive.

If you need to drive, I recommend using this AAA gas calculator that figures that out for you.

If you’re flying I recommend Long Beach of John Wayne airport, although you can also use LAX. It’s just much bigger and further away. Long Beach is about 35 minutes away, and John Wayne may be closer to 25? I tend to just fly into who’s closer. John Wayne is a bit cheaper for an Uber ride, so if both are very similar I pick John Wayne.

I usually fly in using Southwest Airlines << and I wish I’d gotten their credit card the first time I flew with them. I’d have so many miles.

And some more Disney trip planning tips:

• Dollywood vs Disney: A Theme Park Comparison
• Gift Ideas for Someone Going to Disney
• Knotts Berry Farms vs Disneyland? Which one is right for you?
• 6 EASY Tips You Shouldn’t do Disneyland Without

Step #4: Where to Stay?

Ok, this is a big one, because the wrong stay can leave you in a TON of traffic in the mornings, or give you that gross feeling you get from nasty beds….

I have always used Get Away Today to book my Disneyland trips. I can trust that if I book with them I’m getting a vetted hotel room that will be safe for me and my family.

For us, as we’re older and maybe have a bit more money to spend, we love to stay close to the parks.

But there are a TON of different options out there, here’s some of my favorite hotels with specific perks:

• Best Disneyland Hotels with Kitchens
• Best Hotel Close to Disneyland
• Hotels with a Disneyland Shuttle
• Best Hotels Near Disneyland with Free Breakfast
• Cheap Hotels in Anaheim by Disneyland
• Disneyland Hotels With Family Suites

But, I share my top Disneyland hotels right here.

Step #5: Plan Your Days

Ok — the bad news is that Disneyland does require some trip planning.

I think it’s important to know which rides are the most popular, so you can decide to skip them, or get them in early in the day (or get a Lightning Lane for them). My Disneyland day planner will help out:

If you’re going to use Lightning Lane, I 100% recommend making SURE you understand how the system works — as I linked to before, this post gives you the basics without overwhelming you.

Disneyland isn’t a park that you can just walk into without a real game plan, unless you’re just there to enjoy the park and a few rides. If that’s the case, you can do that. Just most people don’t.

If you’re not into early days to get more in, then I might recommend somewhere like Dollywood or a Six Flags park….

I just think it’s good to know this isn’t likely going to be that relaxing vacation you might want. It’s going to be a LOT of fun, but also a lot of checking things on your phone, walking, and some planning ahead.

I do think it’s one of the best ways to have a good time with your family of many ages though.

Got more questions about planning a Disneyland trip? Tell us in the comments and I will try to help out! This was the basics, but I have LOTS more tips where this one came from!

The post How to Plan a Disneyland Trip: 5 EASY Steps appeared first on Pulling Curls.

As a bit of background, I’m Hilary — a Disneyland planning pro. I’ve spent a lot of time at Disneyland (I’d sometimes say too much) and I am here to help you plan your vacation. BUT in Spring 2024 I went to Dollywood with some friends. I want to be super clear that Dollywood did give me media tickets (and I told them I planned to write this post) but I will give my true and honest opinion of both parks. Disney has also offered me free tickets in the past. Just thought you should know.

Before we dive too deep, grab my Disneyland trip calculator — it can also even work for Dollywood, just helps make sure you know of ALL the costs before you head out on your vacation:

This post was originally written in April 2024, but in fall 2024 I went back with my family and updated some of the information with that visit. You can also learn more about what we did in the Tenneesee and North Carolina << in that post.

Today I want to compare the parks in a few ways:

• Rides / Attractions
• Pricing
• Atmosphere
• Food
• Lodging
• Vicinity

Rides & Attractions

I honestly just thought there would be a few kiddie rides and some coasters at Dollywood. I was wrong.

They have LOTS of different offerings for families. I found it to be one of the most family-friendly parks I’d been to. There are a lot of REALLY good family coasters. You can see their rides right here. I felt like they sort of combined a lot of what I liked about Legoland and some Disney-eseque rides and that’s Dollywood for you.

Coasters were great, better than Disneyland if you’re a thrill seeker. BIG rides and quite a nice variety of steel and wooden coasters!

Even if you don’t like coasters, there’s still a good amount for you to do. I’m not a huge coaster fan, but I LOVED the Big Bear Mountain ride, and Blazing Fury (I call that one the Pirates of the Caribbean of Dollywood, it does have 3 very small drops). Another friend with us is not a coaster fan either and she LOVED the park — so take that for what it’s worth.

They have LOTS of rides for smaller kids, sprinkled throughout the park, lots of play areas and things for littles to do as older siblings ride bigger rides. Dollywood does a parent swap program similar to Disney’s rider swap. There is even “Hidden Holly” which is indoors if anyone is hot/cold. It was a nice break spot.

I will say that if you have a BABY Disneyland has more offerings. Most rides had some height requirement, vs Disneyland where there are a lot of rides for infants.

HOWEVER, Dollywood also has glass blowing to watch, a metal works barn, bald eagles, and a bird show, and some old-time things to tour, including a replica of the home where Dolly grew-up.

I wasn’t able to tour it (because it doesn’t open til’ may), but there’s more of Dolly’s history opening up near the front of the park for people to enjoy too! There’s LOTS to do if like you coasters, Dolly, the South or just beautiful surroundings.

The train was one of my most favorite things ever. It only goes every 60-45 minutes but it blew the Disney train out of the water as a REAL coal-powered steam train! Watch the soot on your face (and wear sunglasses if possible to shield your eyes from cinders).

Wait Times:

I know, I know — Disney lovers are wondering if you’ll be looking at 150 minute wait times? The answer: no. I checked the app quite a lot during the day and the longest line I saw was 75 minutes mid-day. However, we also saw that ride (Big Bear Mountain) slip to 30 minutes in the afternoon, and rode it a couple of times then. Mid-day was always the earliest, and if you’re there at rope drop (which not many people were) you could get a LOT done with VERY few crowds, and then enjoy the rest of what the park has to offer.

We were also there on a pretty busy spring break day, so it wasn’t a non-busy day.

BTW, looking for a fun gift to announce your tip my Disney gift guide does just that (great options for Dollywood too!).

Time Saver Pass

You might also be wondering if you need to shell-out for their Lightning Lanes — I did not, and I still had a GREAT day! They have something called a Time Saver Pass — there are 3 different “tiers” that offer different amount of rides available. It also offers you priority seating at shows as well.

It looks like you go up and show them your pass (I believe they scan it) and then you get on the ride right away. It’s not available on all rides (but most major ones) and I saw lines for that all through the park.

If you stay at one of the Dollywood hotels you get the lowest tier Time Saver for free ($60 in savings). I believe that gets you line-free into 5 different rides (not including Big Bear Mountain).

I did NOT have Genie+ though and I felt like wait times were great, and if one was too long there was plenty of time to do other things with shorter waits.

We went with the Dollywood Hotel Time Saver in fall 2024 and we get to use it as much as we want in the first hour, and then you can use it up to 5 rides the rest of the day. Honestly, when we were there, we didn’t really need it much. But that really makes rope drop a time to get a LOT done!

Plus Size at Dollywood?

Here’s the bad news: I’m an overweight gal (read my overweight at Disneyland post for more on that) — I was concerned about fitting on the rides.

In the fall of 2025 I went on every single coaster. I am a 2X in pants, and I carry most of my weight on my hips and belly. I did have to ask them to push on a few of the rides, but didn’t have a problem. I was always scared to ask them to help buckle me, but they’re very used to it — and if you watch you’ll see they are helping a good number of people.

On some of the rides (Flying Eagle is the one I am thinking of right now) they do have a plus size row. It’s indicated by that row’s # in a different color than other numbers. If you can’t see the numbers, look up — it’s above the rows you pick to stand in. On Flying Eagle I think it was 4 was red and the other rides were in a gold color. It sounds confusing, but when you see it you’ll know.

I didn’t see it on other rides, but maybe I wasn’t looking for it.

I will say that I had previous tried test seats and had NOT fit — so, if you really want to try to ride something, it might be worth it to wait in line.

When we went in fall 2024 I tried to ride a few things that I didn’t “fit” on the test seat and I fit just fine — so I’d take it with a grain of salt. I’ve also heard that room 4 tends to be “roomier” on coasters — and that was the seat I went on.

A Note on Dollywood Rides:

One area I saw Dollywood lacking in was ride attendants. There were a lot as you actually loaded, but none as you got onto the ride, and often none as you lined-up into some rides. Which, was problematic as we got on coasters.

Sometimes groups wouldn’t line-up right and we’d have to skip a ride (leaving a seat empty) so our group could ride together, and it sometimes made for some awkward times….

Disney has that part down to a science, and I know that man power does have a cost with it… so, let’s talk about….

Pricing

I paid just under $300 for one kid to come to Disneyland with us for one day.

I could maybe have taken 4 of us to Dollywood for that price.

Tickets on the day we visited (not sure there is surge pricing, it looked like one price whenever) were $89. SUPER reasonable. AND you can add a second day for like $30 — I think it was $120 for 2 days at the park.

We just did one day and we didn’t see any shows, although part of our group was late and my friend and I scoped out the park for all of us. We could’ve done much more if the whole group was there right off.

Is that giant savings worth having a few less ride attendants? I think maybe so? Plus, the whole day is more laid-back…. I was just super happy with the pricing and found it to be REALLY reasonable throughout the parks!

In fall 2024 we went and had 3 day passes — we hadn’t intended to be there all 3 days but due to the hurricaine it’s what worked out. 3 days was a bit much for us….. I think 2 is perfect for a first-time visitor.

Atmosphere

This is where Dollywood really shines. Yes, Disney has the music in each area, but Dollywood is built in the Great Smoky Mountains. It’s absolutely BEAUTIFUL in the area around it. Many coasters weave in and out amongst trees, and the park train takes you into beautiful territory.

It’s just gorgeous, as is the ride to the park.

There’s lovely country music playing throughout the park (both live and recorded).

The park is just as clean and well-kept at Disneyland, walkways are wide and there’s plenty of space for everyone. There’s loads of benches and areas in the shade. Lots of trees. I was REALLY happy with the atmosphere.

Park workers are SO kind — like bend over backwards kind. They’re beating out Disney as of late with just some of the kindest, sweetest employees who just want you to have a great day.

We LOVED package pick-up. We bought things around the park and then were able to pick them up at the emporium on our way out of the park on our way out. SO handy, rather than hauling them around with us!

I have also heard that they go ALL-OUT for Halloween and Christmas, similar to Disneyland — and it’s a very popular time to visit!

During our fall 2024 they had SO many fun pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns out for their Halloween festivities. I’d love to be there at Christmas. It’s really sweet and fun!

Park Layout:

The park is sort of a giant circle with a few out-croppings along the way. There is no way to get to another part of the park without walking around said circle — here’s the map.

Some areas are just a line where you have to circle back to re-join the “circle” of the park.

That was a downfall for me. I like being able to get places easily like you can at Disneyland — BUT the park, in general, isn’t as big and we all know if you’re considering going from Rise of the Resistance to Pixar Pier you might as well pack a handcart because that is a walk!

Here is a good snippet of the different “lands” in Dollywood (although I wouldn’t say they’re as “themed” as the ones in Disneyland).

Shopping

Oh man, SO great. Honestly, a woman’s paradise. So many cute “southern” shops. I also felt like things were fairly reasonably priced. T-shirts ranged from $19-$25. Lots of Dolly-wear (I got a Jolene t-shirt), lots of stuff about the yummy cinnamon bread (stay tuned). Lots of just “country” wear.

BUT more affordable than Disneyland’s pricing (are we seeing a theme here). Also, the workers were SO helpful and didn’t seem bothered at ALL when I asked a quesiton (and they immediately knew the answer).

LOTS of cute shops, we really enjoyed that part (a group of women).

Food

Once again — Dollywood has this down.

There’s LOTS of places to eat. I wasn’t sitting waiting in line to order for hours on end. Sadly, there is no mobile ordering, but since we barely could make-up our mind on what we wanted to eat by the time we got to order I felt like that was OK.

You’re looking mostly at “southern” food. Think BBQ, Mac and Cheese, funnel cake, etc. I think less variety than Disneyland, if I’m being honest.

The premiere food is the Cinnamon Bread which you can get at the Old Grist Mill. It’s delicious. We shared it with 5 of us, and it was perfect. We bought both the icing and the Apple butter, but everyone preferred the icing I think. It is absolutely amazing (but greasy, so watch that part).

We sat and ate that, and did a Dolly sing-along and honestly I may not have been happier in a long time, it was just amazing. So much happiness.

Pricing was good — I would say around $15 for a meal, and the Cinnamon bread (enough for 5 of us) was around $15 as well.

Portions weren’t huge, but could be split with kids. There was also some festival food that we really enjoyed as well (but was a bit more on the pricier side).

I love food at Disneyland, but I also loved it at Dollywood — this one’s a tie for me, with a slight edge to Dollywood because it seemed cheaper, and faster. But, no mobile ordering…. so there’s that.

Fall 2024 we ate at the Front Porch Cafe and I have NEVER had better shrimp and grits than we had there. AMAZING. I literally licked my plate. My husband got the loaded potato chips and loved those as well!

Lodging & Transportation

There are 2 Dollywood Hotels which I looked at. Pricing for our dates (we went during a busier spring break time) was about $200-$350/night at those hotels. They do have some larger rooms that are for larger families too.

We chose a cheaper hotel in town that was about $140/nt. It was fine, the rooms were clean and we had the Pigeon Forge river just be hind us. It also had a nice breakfast for us. We stayed at the Twin Mountain Inn.

There isn’t going to be a “walkable” hotel to the parks. It’s nestled in a mountain area. SO you’ll need to either:

• Park
• Uber
• Take a trolley from the Dollywood hotels (a great perk for staying “on-property”)

There is a TON of parking and they have a very efficient tram taking you back to your cars.

Parking was $25, I believe closer to $50 if you wanted preferred parking, but I felt like the $25 was fine with the comfy tram.

I think I saw where uber could drop you off, and it seemed close. From our Hotel the Uber would have been under $10, but we decided to park because I wasn’t sure if there would be surge pricing in the evenings at park close….

Fall 2024 we went and stayed at the Dollywood Dream More hotel and I was 100% in love wtih it. Their moto of Care more, Learn More, Do More and Dream more just had my heart. The rooms were nice and the perks were well-worth it. I booked it about 6 months in advance and kept looking for sales they were offering. I’d call and price match it. I got the room down to $215/nt which I thought was worth it.

Sadly, there wasn’t anyone like Get Away Today that you could use to book a Dollywood hotel, but you can easily compare prices on something like Kayak.

Transportation to Pigeon Forge

The bad news is that Pigeon Forge is about 3 hours and 30 minutes from Nashville (a BEAUTIFUL drive though) or about 45 minutes from Knoxville. There isn’t an airport close by — so you need to plan on renting a car and enjoying the area.

Vicinity

I wasn’t sure how to term this — but I’m sort of comparing the Pigeon Forge area (including Gatlinburg and Sevierville) vs Anaheim/Orange County.

And guys — there is no comparison.

The Pigeon Forge (although I saw no iron pigeons, sadly) is just BEAUTIFUL. The beautiful trees and rivers, streams, etc. It makes me just sigh thinking about it. I talk about it more in my post on visiting Tennessee.

If you’ve been to Anaheim you’ll know that’s not the case. Sure, there’s a lot of beauty in the LA area, and beaches aren’t far — but….. well, if you’ve been, you know.

Total hands down to Dollywood on this one.

I will also say that the people at the park, for the most part, were super kind. I didn’t see a lot of fights or blow-ups like I may at other parks…..

There’s a lot of other type small attractions in the Dollywood/Gatlinburg area (a TON of mountain coasters).

Dollywood vs Disney World

Disney World has several parks and water parks. Dollywood has one theme park, and one water park.

I do think Dollywood is comparable to most of the Disney World Parks in terms of rides and things to do (I much prefer Dollywood food). There isn’t as much IP, there is more space and less waits. You won’t be on your phone all the time and you’re likely going to be less sweaty (eye glare at Orlando — I look like a melted rat in all my photos there).

How big is Dollywood compared to Magic Kingdom?

In my mind they seem pretty similar. Magic Kingdom is easier to navigate. Dollywood is a circle which means it’s more difficult to navigate (I’d LOVE a cross-through on that circle, but that might be hard as it’s on a mountain). In looking it up Dollywood is 168 acres, and Magic Kingdom is 107 acres. Both have a good amount of shows, rides.

Dollywood wins for coasters, for SURE, but Magic Kingdom probably wins for smaller rides for those less excited about coasters.

Dollywood vs Disneyland Resort

For purpose of this I’m including DisneyLAND and California Adventure.

The Disney resort has more rides, but less coasters. Disney wins for smaller kids for sure, but again — you’re going to be on your phone and “working” to get stuff done vs Dollywood where you really can just enjoy things more.

I will say the workers were much kinder at Dollywood. They seem to really want you to have a good day, and anymore Disneyland workers tend to just want a paycheck.

How big is Dollywood compared to Disneyland?

They “Disneyland Resort” is 500 acres, but that includes Downtown Disney and the hotels. Actual Disneyland is 85 acres and actual California Adventure is 72 acres.

Dollywood is 168 acres. This encompasses the middle of the park where nothing is and a lot of green space due to how their train goes. You’re not actually walking the 168 acres.

I’d say it’s comparable to either Disneyland or California Adventure but as far as walking if you do both parks, Dollywood feels less.

We did two loops of Dollywood and got about 16,000 steps, for reference.

Keep in mind at Dollywood you wouldn’t “cross” something due to a Lightening Lane. You’re just doing rides as they come. This is because of Dollywood’s set-up (being a circle) and the fact there are no scheduled Lightening Lanes. So, you walk less (and feel more relaxed).

Similar to Disneyland, if you hate larger Coasters Dollywood might not be a favorite, but the atmosphere, relaxed nature, and wide open sky is a win for Dollywood for our family.

Dollywood vs Knotts Berry Farms

Since I have a Disney vs Knotts Berry Farms post — and since I thought Dollywood would be really similar to Knotts (which we love) — I thought I’d compare the two in case you’re wondering.

The basic premise is VERY similar. Dollywood also has quite a few more carnival-type rides, plus some larger coasters like Knotts.

BUT Dollywood, is cleaner, better kept, nicer workers, cheaper food, probably better/more rides overall.

The people at the parks were nicer as well. Just my thoughts on those two.

Which is Better? Dollywood or Disney?

Pricing, Dollywood is definitely better than Disney. Not only can you stay “on property” much cheaper (I think we may try that next time), but pricing on everything, including tickets, was just better.

Family-friendly the edge goes to Disneyland. It has a wider variety of rides for families, especially infants. That isn’t to say that Dollywood isn’t family friendly, but there’s a wider variety at Disneyland.

Coasters goes to Dollywood.

Location goes to Dollywood. However, if you’re looking to just fly in somewhere, and fly back out quick — Disneyland takes the edge there because Dollywood is far from airport transportation.

Service goes to Dollywood (Dollywood is similar to how Disneyland was around 2015 — workers really take their jobs seriously to be kind at Dollywood).

That being said — they are not ANYWHERE near each other, so you have to take each park as their own thing. We loved Dollywood. We do like it better than Disney and I hope you’ll enjoy your trip there as well.

I sort of went to “check it out” for my family, and came away thinking we will for SURE go there for a family trip in the next bit (which we did — with my fall 2024 update). Lots of things to see and do in the Tennessee area (match it with a trip to Nashville and it’s pretty magical). So, we will 100% be back (and I can’t say the same thing for Disneyland which I visited about 2 weeks prior to my Dollywood trip, if that means anything for you).

One other thing….

The thing I loved MOST is that I didn’t feel this like “rush” to do #allthethings at Dollywood. There weren’t influencers every 3 steps taking photos and videoing themselves walking around (you can’t video on rides, thank goodness). I felt like I could just enjoy the day at my own pace, and I feel like Disney influencers may have ruined Disneyland for that feeling. Just my two cents….

The post Dollywood vs Disney: A Theme Park Comparison appeared first on Pulling Curls.

Many of us anxiously waited for fastpasses to return to Disneyland theme park after the pandemic, only to be waiting a LONG time. First they launched Genie+ and in 2024 they changed it to Lightening Lanes.

Today I want to give you my best tips to use Lightening Lanes (which I will hereafter refer to as LL) at Disneyland Resort effectively. We use it on our trip, and find it very effective!

What are Lightening Lanes (LL)?

It’s a paid service that gives you a way to access “Lightening Lanes” which essentials allow you to skip ahead in long lines and not wait as long for rides at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. You can use it one time each day per ride. If you have a park hopper pass, you can skip lines in both parks (if you do not have a park hopper pass, you only skip the line in the park you have chosen).

Disneyland Genie Plus Attractions

Currently there are 19 attractions between the two Disneyland parks that offer it, plus a few more individual lightning lane attractions for an extra fee (I KNOW, it is SUPER CONFUSING — that’s what I’m here for)

Disneyland Rides that Offer Lightening Lanes

• Autopia
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
• Indiana Jones
• It’s a Small World
• Matterhorn
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
• Space Mountain
• Star Tours
• Pirates of the Caribbean (only temporarily at the time of this writing)
• Haunted Mansion (currently a virtual queue, will likely return to LL)
• Splash Mountain Tiana’s Bayou Adventure — will likely be virtual queue and then transition to a lightening lane.

Disneyland Individual Lightening Lane Options:

• Rise of the Resistance $20+

California Adventure Lightening Lane Options

• Goofy’s Sky School
• Grizzly River Run
• Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!
• Incredicoaster
• Monsters Inc.
• Soarin’
• Toy Story Midway Mania
• Spiderman Web Slingers

California Adventure Individual Lightening Lane Options:

• Radiator Springs Racers $7-$20

So, at this time those 19 rides are available at the $25+ lightening lane purchase.

Pricing is subject to how busy the park is. Lightening Lanes are $25 if you purchase it with your ticket, however if you purchase it in the park it can go up from $25. I think up to about $35 (pricing is per person).

And those 2 rides allow individual lightening lane purchase.

Remember, everyone in your party must purchase Genie Plus to use it to make ride reservations and everyone must purchase that individual lightening lane in order to use it.

HOWEVER, you don’t have to purchase both.

So if you’re good to wait in the other lines, but you’d like to skip the Rise of the Resistance line — just purchase it for $25 and use just it. So, it’s up to you and your plans for each day.

What is a Lightening Lane and How Does it Work?

It’s what used to be a fast pass line (same line, nothing there has changed much).

When you go into the lightning lane entrance, it allows you skip a portion of the standby line (for most of them you don’t just go to board, you do still have to wait in a line, and I’ll talk more about that later).

When you look in you app, you’ll see a standby time (that’s the regular line) and then for these select rides I previously mentioned, you’ll see a Lightening Lane return time window. That would be the time you’d be allowed to return to the ride and utilize the Lightening Lane.

If you want to see a return time, just click on the ride’s wait time, and then on the LL Lightning Lane logo to see what your return time would be. Yes, it’s a lot of tapping. I know.

The Basic Tenants of Lightening Lane Use (we will discuss all of this more in this article):

• You can only use it once per ride/day.
• You can only hold one at once, unless it’s been 2 hours since your last selection (or you purchase an individual Lightening Lane).

Lightening Lane Strategy: How to Get and Use Them

LL’s is all done through the Disneyland app (I recommend downloading it before your stay). Once you’re in there, it’s on your home page where you will see the option to purchase a Lightening Lane (the app is not particularly intuitive — and the screens change a lot, so this is just an idea of what to look for).

This isn’t the ONLY way to purchase it (you can also try to select a lightening lane within a ride) — but it’s probably the easiest.

There are a LOT of screens to go through during your purchase of Genie Plus (most of which are not helpful). It is not a quick process — and make SURE that you click all the “continue”‘s and “purchase”‘s you need to to make sure you have it (otherwise you have to start over). I also recommend having your credit card of choice already linked to your Disney account.

They will talk about the regular Lightening Lanes and the individual lightening lanes and then finally you will have it purchased. Be sure to go through ALL the screens. {Recent Edit, I think they have simplified it a bit, but there are still QUITE a loot of screens, so make sure you click continue and purchase all the way through otherwise you won’t actually purchase it}.

Once you have it purchased, just pick a lightning lane, and then go through all THOSE screens (there’s 4 when we counted) as you confirm you want to make a reservation in that lightening lane. You’ll do that each and every time you pick a Lightening Lane.

A few times I though I had it — but I think I got distracted and didn’t finish the whole thing, and didn’t have a Lightening Lane, so make sure you do all of it.

Pro Tip: Have I said that there are many screens in both of these processes enough? It’s much longer than I anticipated. Make sure you do the whole thing!

Your lightening lane selections will then be found under “my day” on your home page.

When your return time arrives, tap on the the lightening lane at your selected ride and hit “redeem’ on your lightening lane and it will bring up the bar codes for your party to scan in.

You hold your phone in the slot and it will scan them, just swipe to see the rest of your party.

Once you’ve scanned in you should be able to also pick your next attraction if you’d like (unless it’s been more than 2 hours, and you’ve picked another attraction already).

If this sounds confusing, we’ll get into it more.

Ok, onto the deeper “tips” beyond just using it….

How to Maximize Lightening Lanes at Disneyland

Don’t Use LL’s with Small Kids

There is absolutely no reason to buy LL’s for kids under 32 inches (and honestly, I’d say to really think about it if they are under 40″). Most of the rides can’t be ridden on for people that small. Also, if you have kids who don’t like big rides, think hard if you’re going to use it with them (or would your money be spent better elsewhere).

Remember the height requirements for main of the main Genie Plus Rides:

• Autopia: 32″
• Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run: 40″
• Matterhorn Bobsleds: 42″
• Big Thunder Mountain: 40″
• Space Mountain: 42″
• Indiana Jones: 46″
• Radiator Springs Racers: 40″
• Incredicoaster 48″

There are a few with no height restrictions, but it wouldn’t make sense to buy it to just avoid 1 or 2 lines one time during the day.

I actually think Disneyland has very generous height restrictions (meaning, your child might not be ready for the big feelings that can come with some of those big rides — even if they’re tall enough — check out my parent’s guide to Disneyland for what is scary on rides):

And, be sure to check out my post about Disneyland height requirements charts. It lists all the rides in both Disneyland and Disney World that have no height requirements.

Rider Swap with Lightening Lanes

Possibly consider using rider swap with Genie Plus for adults/big riders in the party.

I’ve seen some people saying only one parent needs Genie Plus to do the rider swap, but I do not think that is true (and it may vary by how attentive the cast member is). As far as I can tell, Disney says that both people in a rider swap need Genie Plus.

FYI Rider Swap is where adults take turns riding “bigger” rides while one stays with the kids. You can learn more about it in Get Away Today’s post on it.

Should You Purchase Genie Plus With Your Tickets?

Before we get into tickets, I wrote a whole post on if you can buy your Disneyland ticket at the gate (not really) — that shares the CHEAPEST way to get Disneyland tickets!

This is a hard one. Let me give you my thoughts on it:

Benefits of purchasing Genie plus with your tickets:

This make it more a part of your Disneyland budget. If it is something you really want to do and you’re worried about feeling nickle-and-dime’d at the park — consider adding it directly to your tickets, which you can do with Get Away Today. >> Get Your Lightening Lane Tickets Here!

Also, when purchased with your tickets, you are GUARANTEED the current price rather than the surge that may happen if the park is busy.

Pro’s of NOT purchasing Genie Plus with your tickets:

You may want to just feel out crowds when you get there. You’ll find you don’t really NEED the pass until later in the day — so, maybe just see if you feel like you need it, and then just purchase it if you do.

If you have a multi-day ticket and you purchase Genie Plus with it — it will come with ALL the days on your ticket — which may not be a great way to use your money if you only plan to be in the park one morning or something.

BEST PRO TIP: Do NOT get your tickets at the park or from Disneyland. You can save on your tickets with Get Away Today — save your money to get churros! And you can also save on your hotel rooms. Seriously, they offer a best price guarantee! Plus use code CURLS10 to save $10 on your hotel/ticket package.

Use Lightening Lanes for the Photo Pass

Photo Pass alone is more than $20/day — so having the benefit of Lightening Lanes WITH that is awesome — if it was something you were going to do anyway. This only comes with a LL Multi Pass (not an individual pass).

As a reminder the photo pass allows you to get as many ride photos and pictures with the Disneyland photographers around the park. You can then download them to your computer or device when you get home. It’s a fun way to get memories with everyone in the photos!

Don’t Use Lightening Lanes In the Mornings

One of the BIG differences between how it works now vs back in the Maxpass days, is that you can only use the lightening lane once. That means if you’re a family like mine who liked to ride Space Mountain 10 times/day — you’ll need to ride it 9 times in the standby line, and then you should use the lightening lane for when it’s the busiest.

For us, we chose to pick our favorite attractions and ride them in the mornings (or things that didn’t have lightening lane, like Fantasy Land attractions).

Most often, we weren’t even considering using Genie plus until 10-11am

Also, some rides I prefer more in the dark (Matterhorn, Big Thunder) — so, if that’s the case — be SURE to save your lightening lane for when you’d want to ride it!

What Are Select Experience Passes and How Do I Use Them?

If you have a lightening lane booked for a ride and it goes down, that turns into a “multiple experience” pass (this is very similar to how it worked with Maxpass, if you’re familiar with that).

You can see it here:

This is a pass that allows you to ride any of the lightening lane attractions (but not the individual lightening lane ones) in your “tier”. And yes, that is where it gets confusing….

Tiers of Lightening Lanes

There seem to be two tiers of genie plus lightening lane rides (perhaps 3, but I never got there).

Top Tier: Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Indiana Jones, Toy Story Mania {I think, tell me if I’m wrong in the comments please}.

That means if you have a pass for Buzz Light year, and it goes down — your multiple experiences pass won’t allow you to then ride Space Mountain — but it will allow you to ride the other rides with a more similar standby line time.

So, if you get a select experiences pass, be sure to see what rides are included in it (you can see it under “what rides can I go on” when you tap on the select experience).

Pro Tip: You do NOT HAVE to use that pass for the same ride you originally booked on — and you CAN still get another lightening lane for that ride. Essentially, you get an extra pass good on a few attractions.

Example: You book Toy Story Mania for 10 am, but it goes down and it reverts to a Select Experience pass. You can then use that pass to get on Guardians of the Galaxy, and book another Toy Story Mania pass for another time during the day. You’ll also be able to book Guardians of the Galaxy another time as well.

Extra Pro Tip: It sometimes takes a while to turn to a select experience pass…. if the ride is down in your return time and it hasn’t changed you could talk to someone at guest services. One of ours never reverted, so we just cancelled.

FYI, the multiple experiences pass is good for those rides at any time, you don’t have to book anything. You just walk up and use it at your leisure. Meaning we booked a Lightening Lane for Incredicoaster and used a select experience to ride it, and then immediately redeemed our Genie Plus Lightening Lane for Incredicoaster. We got to ride it through Lightening Lane twice.

What’s Your Ride or Die?

Before going to the parks, talk about what rides you REALLY want to do.

If the park is busy, there is a good chance you may just get to ride some favorites.

Remember what you want out of this trip? Is it to have fun together as a family or is it to ride every ride? What’s your actual priority? I sometimes forget that. Especially when I’m thinking strategy! Thinking like that does me NO favors!

Return Times Vary

Your return time is when the genie says you can return to ride the ride you are selecting. As of now, they give you a 1 hour return slot — so, like 1-2 pm (and I’ve heard you have a 5 minute grace period on either end of that return time).

So, if it’s 9:05 and you pick Space Mountain, your return time is 9:30-10:30 you just find something else to do until your return time starts. Often you can ride another ride during this time (or get something to eat — I recommend mobile ordering).

If your return time is more than 2 hours from when you got the pass, you can get a new pass 120 minutes after your last selection (even if you haven’t been able to get on your original selection yet).

This means if it’s 7 pm and you pick Space Mountain, and your return time is 10 pm… at 9 pm you can get another lightening lane pass. You could likely get a less-popular attraction (like Buzz Lightyear) at 9 pm and still get to Space Mountain by 10.

You need to keep an eye on which rides are almost “sold out” for the day — and grab those before they do. You can stack less popular rides with those as your day progresses.

Set an alarm on your phone to remind you when you can select a new return time (2 hours later) — you’ll forget and stacking those lightening lanes makes for a GREAT evening, if you remember to do it!

Which means if you’re set on riding something either keep your eye on its return times (especially if you prefer it in the dark) or just get it early in the day so you’re sure to ride it (remember rides close and if you wait there’s always a chance you’ll miss out).

Be Sure To Cancel Your Lightening Lane if Not Using It

So, we’ve reviewed that Lightening Lanes can only be used one time with a Genie Plus Pass. But, you may get a lightening lane and then change your mind (or get tied up doing something else and miss your return window).

Make SURE you cancel it.

Regular lightening lanes (not individual lightening lanes) can be cancelled and still be used later in the day.

However, if you don’t cancel and just don’t redeem it, it still uses your one time on that ride. You will NOT be able to get another lightening lane for that attraction for that day. So, just make sure you cancel if you’re not going to ride.

Individual Lightening Lanes can NOT BE CANCELLED {however, if the ride goes down, they do have some flexibility to refund you}.

Individual Lightning Lanes

Ok, all this time we’ve mostly talked about the general genie plus lightening lanes, but there are a few rides that have an additional cost to use the lightening lanes.

Hello confusing, right?

At the time of the writing of this article they are (and the per person pricing is next to it):

• Rise of the Resistance $20+
• Radiator Springs Racers $7+

And yes, that’s per person per day.

So, two of us went on Rise of the Resistance — we paid $40.

And we skipped the 100 minute line.

For some families it’s worth it, for some it is not.

I will say that Rise of the Resistance with that lightening lane drops you right into the pre-show. You hardly wait at all, which is good for such a high price tag!

You can only pick two of these to do each day, and you can’t ride the same ride more than once per day with the lightening lane (you can always ride via standby though).

However, you can hold individual lightening lanes that overlap your regular lightening lane purchases (as shown in the photo above).

There are other ways to skip the lines at Disneyland << check out my post on it!

Lightening Lane Doesn’t Save Time Sometimes

We got Lightening Lane on our last day, in which we had to leave by 5 pm (we were riding to get tips for this article — normally this likely wouldn’t be smart). We used it at Indiana Jones that had a 10 minute wait.

We waited longer to redeem our passes and people who did standby just walked right in.

Also, some lines don’t save you much time at all (as they drop you into the regular line pretty early on). Indiana Jones was probably the worst one for this (in my opinion). Monster’s Inc. and Soarin weren’t very great either. Just FYI.

Beyond Rise of the Resistance, almost all of these lines still have you waiting some amount of time tor ride. I’d guess it’s around 5 minutes + 1/4 of the regular line wait time (depending on the ride).

I have definitely waited 30 minutes+ for Space Mountain.

Genie+ PLUS Hopping

Ok, this is where I think the Genie is the most helpful. BUT, keep in mind you’re paying $50 to hop, plus the $25 to Genie… so this can add to the price of your Disneyland budget.

When you hope you get access to all 19 Lightening Lanes vs just the few in each park (especially California Adventure which has much less than Disneyland).

Let’s say you’re starting your day in Disneyland — and plan to hope to CA Adventure at 11 am (that’s the time you can hop at the editing of this article) and are getting a Lightening lane in the new park for your hopping.

It will not give you a lightening lane until 11am (because it knows you’re in Disneyland, and stuck there til’ 11).

This all being said — I loved Lightening Lane-ing it through both parks. It really made it SO simple to ride our favorite rides quickly (since I was there with my adult son most of our favorites are Lightening Lane rides).

Be Mindful of the Differences Vs the MaxPass/FastPass:

Here are the main difference between the old Maxpass and Lightening Lane:

1. Lightening lanes can only be used once per attraction.
2. It does not include ALL of the lightening lanes (the 3 most popular rides aren’t included in Genie plus).
3. There is no free option, you must pay to play the Genie Plus.

Disney LAND Vs Disney WORLD Lightening Lanes

However, in Disney World it works very differently. I’m not going to discuss it here, but just be aware the systems are not the same.

What our Lightening Lane Strategy Looked Like:

We rode our favorite rides all morning while standby lines were short (keep in mind a LOT of the early birds, especially in Disneyland, head to Rise of the Resistance, leaving much of the park available for great ride times).

We also rode rides that don’t have lightening lanes and we love (including Pirates of the Caribbean & Fantasyland rides).

Then as we started to see ride wait times rise we started to be more strategic about when we wanted to use our Lightening lanes.

In general we would pick a lightening lane and then pick another one right after we scanned into that ride.

Then we’d head to the next one, and pick a new lightening lane as soon as we scan into THAT ride.

Also, because we had park hoppers, it allows you to do a lot more throughout the parks.

Remember: If your return time is more than 2 hours away, set an alarm so you can get a new one once that time has past!

Is the Free Genie Worth Anything?

While we’re here, let’s talk about the Genie in general.

We’ve talked about Genie PLUS, but there is a regular genie that can give you tips during the day.

Useless.

To be fair I didn’t plug in a lot about us, but she kept telling me to go to the Tiki Room or Snow White. I don’t know why. I think this would be more helpful if you were completely unaware of the park or what you should do next.

If you honestly have NO idea about what you or your family would enjoy at Disneyland, it might be helpful. But if you have any clue at all, I’d probably ignore it — or perhaps glance at it now and then if you’re wondering what to do next.

Pure Speculation: They’re trying to send you to attractions that have a low wait and many of them have a low wait because they’re not great. That is all.

So, those are my best genie plus tips for you.

Here’s 4 things to remember about Lightening Lanes:

1. Genie Plus can ONLY be used once a day for each ride.
2. Genie Plus is best when used with a hopper pass (you can access more lightening lanes with 2 parks available)
3. Watch return times during the day if you have a ride you’d like to be sure and get.
4. After you start using it, always grab another lightening lane as soon as you can (either you scan into a ride or your 2 hours are up) and have an idea of what one you want to grab next.

And yes, I do mean that one person in our party scans in the lightening lanes and I have up another one. as soon as we’re scanned in I complete that Lightening Lane to make sure we’re book on the next one as we wait in line for the original one.

And, of course — book your Disneyland vacation with Get Away Today. They’re my favorites. I’ve used them since 1998 and they just “get” Disney travel for families. Also, I am SHOCKED time and time again at how low their prices are compared to prices on the hotel’s websites. Oh, and they also have a best price guarantee. Remember to use code CURLS10 to save $10 on your hotel/ticket package (you can mention it on the phone too if you call)

The post Top 12 Easy Lightning Lane Tips appeared first on Pulling Curls.

Find it here on Apple or Spotify Podcasts

Big thanks to our sponsor Family Routines — if you’re thinking HILARY Who has time for fun? Getting into routines can make more margin in your life for fun!

Links for you:

Weight loss episode (237)

Timestamps:

00:00 Diminishing joy in frequent vacations and travel.
04:10 Enjoy fun at home, rethink the travel.
06:04 Upcoming episodes on miscarriage, motherhood, and parenting.

Keypoints:

• The episode focuses on finding more enjoyment and fun in activities closer to home.
• Hilary shares her experiences with frequent trips to Disneyland and how the excitement diminished over time.
• She references the law of diminishing returns, emphasizing that repeated exposure to an activity can reduce its enjoyment.
• Hilary talks about how frequent traveling disrupted her weight loss journey and overall routine.
• She highlights the importance of finding local activities and events, such as movies, comedy shows, concerts, and theater.
• Hilary realized that local options, like theater shows in Phoenix, can be as enjoyable as traveling to places like New York.
• Emphasis on having fun without the stress and expense associated with travel.
• The importance of making time for local activities, even those as simple as playing pickleball.
• Hilary encourages listeners to share their ideas on fun, local activities via Instagram.
• She wraps up with teasers for upcoming episodes, focusing on miscarriage in motherhood and the scarcity mindset in parenting.

Producer: Drew Erickson

Transcript

[00:00:00.600] – Hilary Erickson

Hey, guys. Welcome back to the Pulling Curls Podcast. Today on Episode 239, we are talking about having more fun at home. Let’s untangle it.

[00:00:10.670] – Hilary Erickson

Hi, I’m Hilary, a serial overcomplicator. I’m also a nurse, mom to three, and the curly head behind Pulling Curls and the pregnancy nurse. This podcast aims to help us stop overcomplicating things and remember how much easier it is to keep things simple. Let’s smooth out those snarls with Pregnancy and Parenting Untangled, the Pulling Curls podcast.

[00:00:38.770] – Hilary Erickson

This episode of the Pulling Curls podcast is sponsored by Family Routines. If you are looking to make the margins where you’re able to have more fun at home like we’re going to talk about in here, come join me in Family Routines, where we’re going to talk about different things that will help you have more time to have more fun at home.

[00:00:54.750] – Hilary Erickson

So when Disneyland reopened, I got a magic key, and I went to Disneyland I think maybe eight times in a year. And I had so many friends that were so jealous about it. But I was looking at it like, I’m so tired of being here, which sounds really conceited. I get that. Most people I know would look at that experience and just think, I can’t believe you got to do that. That looks like so much fun.

[00:01:21.080] – Hilary Erickson

But if you guys listen to when my dad was on the podcast, my dad’s an economist, and he’s a big fan of the law of diminishing returns, right? So the more you have of something, the less joy you’re getting out of it. And especially even though I had a magic key, and even though I often can stay at hotels for a decreased rate because I write about them on my website, it still wasn’t as fun as the money that I was putting in, because no matter how you look at it, a Disney vacation is pretty expensive.

[00:01:49.420] – Hilary Erickson

Now, I still love to travel, but I just found that the joy I was getting out of Disneyland, and honestly, most of my trips in general was decreasing the more that I did them. And I also noticed If you listen to my weight loss episode, that was something that I really wanted to do. And I found that the more that I traveled, it really took me off my game of weight loss. And I wasn’t eating a ton when I was on vacation, but I think just because I was out of my norm, I wasn’t going to be able to lose weight effectively if I was doing vacations frequently.

[00:02:19.730] – Hilary Erickson

I hope to change that at some point, though, because I still love to travel. Doing it as frequently just wasn’t working for me. But I was like, what am I going to do? I’ve been this Disneyland girl for so long. What am I going to do with my life? And so I really started to look at what I could do at home that could be fun, things I could look forward to that wouldn’t put me off my weight loss game and still have things to look forward to, things to enjoy that weren’t Disneyland.

[00:02:45.430] – Hilary Erickson

And I know a lot of you are looking at me and thinking, Oh, I wish I could go to Disneyland every month. But I wonder if more of you, if you went to Disneyland as frequently as I did at that time frame, if you would start to be like, Oh, maybe this isn’t as fun as I thought. I would like to do other things.

[00:03:00.510] – Hilary Erickson

Let me also say times and seasons for everything. I wasn’t able to do anything like this until my kids were well into junior high, all of them. So two had moved out. Maybe one was in high school, one was in junior high. But I got to the point where I was able to do this, and there is a big part of my life that I was not able to do this for. And if you’re in that season of life, this is going to help you out even more because there are things you can do week to week, day to day, to have more fun at home that doesn’t include an expensive trip or just a lot of stress because going on trips can be stressful to your life, right? Adding all that to your life.

[00:03:35.110] – Hilary Erickson

So I have made a goal to find fun things to do every week or so at my house, and that includes going to movies, comedy shows, finding concerts, theater. Our family loves musical theater, so we’ve booked some theater shows. And in my mind, you guys are going to think I’m insane, I was like, We should go to New York. I want to watch more Broadway, right?

[00:03:54.260] – Hilary Erickson

Guys, there are theater shows here in the Phoenix, the eighth largest city in America, that I can go to that don’t involve me having to fly to New York. But somehow in my head, I was like, I love Broadway. I have to go to Broadway. No, you don’t. You can go out to dinner. You can go to the show. It will be a whole fun thing. And then you can sleep in your own bed and not have to deal with TSA.

[00:04:17.480] – Hilary Erickson

I think so often we’re like, Oh, I need to travel to have all this different kinds of fun when we really could focus on having fun at home. And maybe this is just me, but it was such a revelation to me that I wanted to make a podcast episode about it because I think we could have more fun, more enjoyment, more joy with things that are closer to home that don’t require so much stress because a trip to New York is extremely stressful for me. Trying to book everything, TSA again, all those different things when staying closer to home is less stressful, but still really fun.

[00:04:48.330] – Hilary Erickson

Ultimately, I still do love to travel. I’m hoping to aim for two to four work trips a year. My big dream is to go and speak about pregnancy around the United States at paid speaking gigs to talk to pregnant moms about getting prepared for birth and the realities that they’re going to face with birth and postpartum life. That’s a big dream of mine, so I still want to do it. But also I want to enjoy my time here at home with my family and things in my own bed. Guys, I love my own bed so much. I just want to be able to do it at home, too. So come join me on Instagram. Tell me how you have fun at home. What am I missing? What are some things that I could do closer to home that would be really fun? Again, pickleball. We try and play pickleball a few times a That I have found really fun. And again, sometimes we’re like, Oh, I don’t have time to do pickleball, but somehow I have time to go to a three-day Disney trip?

[00:05:37.150] – Hilary Erickson

No. If you recombobulate your life, you probably have time for that pickleball game, and you can still sleep in your own bed. Has anybody be seeing that that maybe is a highlight for me as sleeping in my own bed. So thanks for joining me on this quick episode. I hope this sparked some ideas for you guys. I would love for you to tell me on Instagram what you thought of this post if you thought it was insane and that I am way too privileged to have gone to Disney so many times that it wasn’t as fun, then let me know that on Instagram as well.

[00:06:04.320] – Hilary Erickson

Stay tuned. We have some great episodes coming up. Next week, we are talking about miscarriage and motherhood and how that can affect your motherhood moving forward. And then the week after that, we are talking about the scarcity mindset of parenting and how that is affecting us. So stay tuned.

[00:06:19.710] – Hilary Erickson

Thanks for joining us on the Polling Curls podcast today. If you like today’s episode, please consider reviewing, sharing, subscribing. It really helps our podcast grow. Thank you!

Keywords:

Pulling Curls podcast, episode 2 39, fun at home, simplifying life, family routines, Disneyland experiences, law of diminishing returns, travel fatigue, weight loss and travel, enjoying local activities, family entertainment, theater shows, Broadway, New York trips, local theaters in Phoenix, stress-free activities, TSA stress, work-life balance, pregnancy preparation, postpartum realities, pickleball, privilege of travel, staying at home, reducing stress, local entertainment, parenting, scarcity mindset, podcast episodes, Instagram engagement, speaking gigs in pregnancy, time management, overcomplicating things.

The post Stress-Free Fun at Home: Activities to Spice Up Your Routine appeared first on Pulling Curls.

Of course the BEST gift for anyone going to Disney is EASY trip planning. As a Disneyland planning pro I recommend Get Away Today. They have amazing customer service, and a best price guarantee that really makes Disneyland trip planning the easiest. I’ve used them since 1998. Use code CURLS10 to get $10 off your trip!

Gift Ideas for Someone Going to Disneyland Under $15

There are a lot of great, inexpensive gifts that can really help take a Disney vacation to the next level!

A fan. Honestly guys I never feel like global warming is more real than when I’m at the Disney parks. There are a few great options:

• This one is Disney themed, and it is nice and flat for your Disney bag.
• I actually prefer this one. I also like the flashlight function “just in case” — since it’s NOT Disney themed you can use it lots of places….
• There is also this misting option (it’s above $15 — but I wanted to include it). I actually liked the misting less than I thought I would….
• Hand fans can be great as well (and take up less room / don’t need charging).

A shirt. I love either having matching shirts or some shirts of our favorite characters before we get to the parks. Not only does this add to the magic of getting ready that first Disney day, it can also save money/time as you don’t shop for things in the parks. There are a lot of cute ones on Amazon (many over the $15 range) or check your local Target or Walmart for some good options too!

Cooling Towel – I am always surprised by how helpful these are, and they are REALLY easy to slip into a Disney bag. I recommend these for anyone going to Disneyland park from about May through September, and almost any time of the year in Orlando.

Cross-Body Bag – these are handy because they don’t get in the way of a seatbelt, and for most rides you can just keep it on throughout the ride. It’s a great thing to get for everyone in your party!

Disney Gift Card – Even a small Disney gift card can allow someone to get a treat while they’re at the parks. They’re super easy to use — don’t feel like you have to get an expensive one to make it “worth it”

Ponchos – If you’re going Disney WORLD this is a no-brainer (random rain all the time). But at Disneyland rain can creep up OR you can wear them on water rides to not hate the rest of your day! I tend to prefer the ones I can just throw away (I try to get them under $1) but there are some nice-reusable ones (just be aware you’ll have to dry them).

Grab my Disneyland Day Planner to make the most of your upcoming trip:

Kid Gift Ideas for Someone Going to Disneyland

Kids are so fun at Disneyland, and there are some really great things you can get them for their trip (and bonus because many don’t cost much).

A Height Chart – Got a little one who’s slowly moving up the ranks for their Disney experiences? A height chart can be a fun way to get excited for your trip and what they CAN ride. I have a whole post on height restrictions you might find helpful!

Autograph album — many Disney characters will sign their album. I always loved to get a photo too and then I could create a keepsake for them. My kids have enjoyed looking back at their photos with favorite characters. Getting this EARLY will save you a bunch, they’re pricey in the parks! Be sure to grab a fan pen (I recommend a sharpie) to go with it (sometimes characters have a harder time gripping “regular”-sized pens). I like that with these you don’t have to worry about losing the cap.

Daily Shirts – I always tried to get a shirt for each day in the parks at Walmart or Target to allow us to bypass the gift shop. I tried to pick out favorite characters and shirts that would be fun to wear after the trip as well. I can’t stress how much this can save you in both time, money and energy!

Their own bag – If kid are going to want things like sunglasses, or an autograph book having their own bag can be handy.

Cheap Disney ears — I would recommend some cheaper Disney ears because there is a good chance these may get lost during your day. BUT they are fun for photos and good while they last. Most kids don’t want them on for a long time though.

Shoes — I can’t stress how important it is for everyone to have proper footwear for their Disney experience. If your child may not have the right shoes for the park, getting some in advance are ones that they can wear after the trip but make your upcoming trip extra special!

Going with kids? Grab my guide for parents so you don’t scare your kids:

Adult Gift Ideas for Someone Going to Disneyland

I think adults will enjoy those cheaper gifts I had up above too — but here are a few more things that have made my park stay more enjoyable:

Compression Stockings – Yes, I sound like I’m 80 years old when I talk about this, but they really do help! If you tend to get an ache in your leg as you stand in line, these help you keep your blood from pooling in that area and give it back to the rest of your body! There are lots of fun designs and even a lighter compression stocking can be helpful!

Pro tip: I’ve also used compression sleeves with some more cushioned socks (the compression stockings tend to have very “basic” socks and I like a little more cushion in mine.

Kinesiology tape: I first read studies about this tape that honestly made no sense, but I tried it out myself with some plantar fasciitis one time and it really made a difference in my feet/calves. If you have parts of your body that hurt more than others at Disneyland, I’d recommend it.

The Right Bag. I have a whole post on the best Disneyland backpacks that I will let you peruse. As a mom I prefer the backpack, although sometimes I’ve had someone else in my family haul the backpack around and I just took a cross body bag.

I think it’s really important to be thoughtful about what you really want to haul through the parks. My backpack is small and it allows me to take it on any ride (but also limits what I can take).

External Battery – you’re going to use your phone a LOT at Disneyland — for things like checking ride wait times, getting a Lightening Lane (if you use them) or mobile ordering. You do NOT want that thing to die. There’s a couple of good options:

• Fuel rods are in the parks and allow you to exchange them for free if you’ve brought one from home (cheaper). Most people find these don’t fill your phone up and they have to make several exchanges during the day, which can waste time.
• I LOVE this one. It does quick charging (as long as you have a fast-charge cable) and holds a LOT of power for everyone in my party!
• I use this one around home — it’s SUPER fast and really convenient. It only does one charge though.

Disney costs can stack-up — grab my cost calculator:

Female Gift Ideas for Someone Going to Disneyland

Cute Mickey Ears — now, adults aren’t as prone to leave their ears somewhere — and I love these types of ears as they don’t pinch my head. They’re also cheaper than the ones at the parks. I have a whole post on Mickey Ears that don’t hurt if you want some other ideas. I REALLY like to get ones based on a favorite character or ride to make it more special.

Pro Tip: I’m a HUGE fan of having an ear holder on my bag so when I take my ears off I don’t lose them. I have always used this kind — but I think these would be really cute on my bag when not holding ears.

Disney Necklace – I have an older Splash Mountain one that I really love (maybe I love it even more now that it’s closed). It’s a fun addition to any outfit, and an extra-fun way to announce a Disney trip! This is a fun more generic one if you’re not sure what to choose.

A great travel backpack. I have this one and I love it. It’s not too big, but can hold a water bottle (it’s tight, but it works). It also folds really small in my carryon so it’s not annoying to take on a plane. There are a lot of Disney-specific backpacks out there, but a great travel backpack would be worth it.

Quick dry pants: Your chance of getting wet at a Disney park isn’t slim, and I LOVE wearing quick-dry pants. I’m a huge fan of them in the parks.

And of course, spending less, making it easier AND having a great bed to sleep the nights off is key to a great Disney trip. Check out the options from Get Away Today!

Don’t miss my list of Best Affordable Disneyland hotels — a list of 30+ of my favorite hotels (plus my own current top 10 hotel list).

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