Disney Vacation Tips

Disney Tips


 

 

We loved visiting Disneyland in December!  We researched and learned so much before and while we were there so we could make the most of our vacation.  Here's some of the things we are SO glad we knew!

 

-The best-least crowded days to go to Disney Parks are usually Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

 

-Make sure to check ride closures or rides under refurbishment, show schedules, and park hours before you get to the park.

 

-Arrive at the park EARLY!  I’m serious people.  One day we decided to sleep in and it changed our entire day of what we could do and see. I hadn’t been to Disneyland for quite some time so the security there was new to me.  Each time you enter the Disney resort you have to almost go through airport security.  Make sure to plan ahead because this line can be just as long as entering the actual park!  We tried to be there at least 45 minutes before the park opened. There will still be crowds but it will be so much more manageable and you'll get through the gates so much faster.

 

 

-Get Great Walking Shoes-These are a necessity at the big mouse’s house!  We walked SO much.  We were within walking distance from the parks to our hotel which was awesome, but meant even more walking.  Make sure to break them in at least 3 weeks before so you are set and comfortable for your trip! And all the walking you've done means you can have a few more treats right!?

 

 

-Prioritize and Plan.  We wanted to make sure to prioritize each day so we were able to see everything we really wanted to see.  We were able to do everything we wanted, sometimes twice and much more with always having a plan in mind. If Peter Pan's Flight is on your list make sure to ride it as soon as the park opens.

 

 

-Have FUN!  Be able to adapt and change that plan^^ if needed.  There were several times rides took longer and bumped something later.  Always have a back up plan and different options.

 

-ALWAYS have a Fast Pass –We tried to do this every day we were at the parks and when we actually stuck to it we had our most successful days.  I read somewhere that if the line is longer then 30 minutes grab a Fast Pass instead of waiting in the stand by line, we went during off season on one of the least crowded weeks of the year (the week right after Thanksgiving) and usually didn’t have to worry about this only for the bigger rides.  But boy did those Fast Passes make it a breeze to walk onto rides so quickly and fit even more in our day!

 

-Make sure to grab a map and entertainment schedule right when you enter the park.  Check parades and show times so you can fit them in your schedule.  We were so glad we made time for Frozen-Live at the Hyperion and World of Color in DCA!

 

 



 

-Make reservations as soon as you can.  Typically Disneyland restaurants start taking reservations 60 days out, so plan ahead.

 

-Get the Disneyland App on your phone.  This is so helpful for seeing opening and closing times before you head to the park the next day. Other Apps that could be helpful:  Mobile Magic and Wait Times.



-Bring a poncho even if you don't think you'll need it!  We found ours at the dollar store.  I loved having the option of wearing it during water rides so I didn't have to be soggy and wet for the rest of the day.  We were definitely THAT couple wearing ponchos on Splash Mountain! :)

-Bring your own reusable water bottles. Most places will fill up your water bottle with water for free!

-I feel like we saved SO much money by eating breakfast at our hotel.  Our hotel was one of the few that didn't serve free breakfast, but they had a mini fridge so we made it work.  We bought a gallon of milk, cereal and plastic bowls/utensils our first day and we were set.

-Bring snacks!  We had a lot of treats and snacks from the park (You can see more of what we ate HERE), but sometimes we were stuck in line and wished we had a little something to eat. 

-Enjoy rides all throughout the day-and night!  It totally changes the experience.  Especially Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, it's SO much better at night!

-Enjoy the lights and scenery!  It was decked for Christmas when we went so the lights could not be missed.  No matter what time you go Disney always has so much to look at and enjoy!

-Stay for the firework show at least one time while you're there.  At Christmas it was extra special because after the firework show fake snow started falling all along Main Street. 

-Think of souvenirs that will last.  I kept my eye out for books, board games and ornaments.  I've heard of stocking up at Walmart or the dollar store for Disney goodies that you don't want to keep forever to save lots of money, especially if you have children! 

-Next time we want to discover more things in Anaheim besides Disney including the Anaheim Packing House.

If you are heading to Southern California make sure to check out our ITINERARY that worked amazingly while we were there and what we ATE!

What we ATE in Southern California!

We had so much fun and food while we were in California!  Call me crazy but we actually had a list of things we wanted to try BEFORE we even flew out.  It made it so nice to pull out the list whenever we were hungry and didn't have to think or figure out all the options.

I loved to look at (especially Disney) foodie accounts on Instagram and even some blogs to figure out the best food and treats we just had to try! 

My favorite and most helpful Disney Foodie Accounts on Instagram were:

@Disneyhungry

@firstcomesdisney
@4allthingsdisney 

DOWNTOWN DISNEY

Marceline's Confectionery 

The S'mores Bar was one of my favorites with a thick layer of marshmallow, then chocolate fudge and a crust of graham cracker all dipped in chocolate you can't go wrong. 

The chocolate dipped pineapple skewer was so refreshing!  We loved the perfect pineapple paired with the dark chocolate.

This peanut butter sandwich is perfect for those peanut butter lovers.  I love how it has a bottom of graham cracker and of course, how it's completely covered in chocolate.  I LOVE my peanut butter, but this wasn't my favorite-I think I'd take the S'more Bar over this.

When my family and I would go on Disney vacations when I was little I remember huge rice krispy treats that were incredible, we would get them all the time!!  I was kind of disappointed by how average and small (haha) they were.  They are super cute though!

Sprinkles Cupcakes

Here we got a double chocolate peppermint cupcake.  It was pretty good, I loved the combo of chocolate and peppermint.  The line was pretty long though and I'm not sure it was all it was hyped up to be.



Churro Cart

I'm not kidding when I say this was the best $10 I've ever spent on a treat!  This churro sandwich was incredible!  And incredibly messy!  Think of the most amazingly warm churro mixed with perfectly creamy vanilla ice cream.  Its cinnamon sugar heaven I tell you-and Dallin approved!

Other things we ate...

-Earl of Sandwich-We really liked our sandwiches from here! Warm and filling!

Next time we'll try...

-Churro Cart-Oreo Churro

DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURES

The Cove Bar

Here we got a Cotton Candy Lemonade and Lobster Nachos.  I was so surprised how much I loved both of these things!  The Cotton Candy Lemonade was the perfect balance of sweet and tart, and it comes with cotton candy-what's not to like about that.  The Lobster Nachos had a great mix of flavors, colors, and textures we ate them so fast I didn't get a picture! Make sure to eat here before it gets late, I've heard they close early.

Ghiradelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate

We were slightly disappointed by our sundaes at Ghiradelli Square.  I got the Treasure Island Warm Brownie Sundae and Dallin got The World Famous Hot Fudge Sundae (not pictured).  They were good, just typical.

Other things we ate...

-Mickey Pretzel (get it with cheese)

-Churros Cozy Cone 1-Churro bites with caramel sauce.  My favorite treat out of all the parks.  I loved this one so much!

-Festival of Holidays-This was a special festival that was going on during the holidays.  We tried a few things from different ones but nothing rocked our world.

Next time we'll try...

-The Cove Bar-Trio of Tri Tip Sliders and Wild Strawberry Lemonade

-Cozy Cone 3-Chili Cone Queso or Chicken Verde Cone

-Clarabelle's Hand Scooped Ice Cream-I love the idea of creating your own special hand dipped creation!

-Flo's V8 Café-Brioche French Toast with Salted Caramel Sauce

DISNEYLAND

Jolly Holiday Bakery Café

The Matterhorn Macaroon was a total favorite!  They have definitely mastered the perfect coconut macaroon dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with more white chocolate it makes it easy to have a few!  I had to take one home so my mom could taste the magic too!

Rasberry Rose Mickey Macaron and Salted Caramel Mickey Macaron (seasonal) were huge and delicious!  Our favorite was the Raspberry Rose.  With a handful of fresh raspberries layered inside it makes it so light and refreshing.

We also had a warm cinnamon roll from here-it was pretty good!

Pooh's Corner

I heard rave reviews of Pooh's Corner and it did not disappoint.  Besides all the amazing goodies it has the cutest souvenirs and decorations.  We loved the candy making windows.  We had heard a lot about Tigger Tales (the orange ones below), we decided to try a classic Mickey Marshmallow Pop and a regular dipped chocolate one.  Our favorite was the dipped chocolate without the sprinkles, but we really liked both!  They have the most soft, delicious caramel around marshmallows then dipped in chocolate!  It's a great combo!

Shop just out of Pirates of the Caribbean

You can't ride Pirates without getting some chocolate coins after!  My mom would always get them for us after this ride so it's basically a tradition now.

 

Maurice's Treats

A Boysen Apple Freeze is frozen apple juice with some wild berry flavoring topped with a passion fruit foam.  This was just ok to me.

This chocolate twist was also just so-so to me.  It's twisted pastry dough with chocolate and dusted with powdered sugar.  Dallin liked this more than I did.

Stage Door Cafe

I know this isn't the best picture but it does not do this amazing corn dog justice!  We waited almost as long as we did for corn dogs as we did for some rides, but I would do it again in a heart beat.  This hand-dipped corn dog was seriously the best one I've ever had!  It is large enough to feed two and the almost corn bread like crust hits it out of the park.  We loved that you could choose fries or apple slices too.  The apples slices were perfect to throw in our bag for later.

Mint Julep Bar

We got these treats later in the night so excuse the darkness.  We got a New Orleans Mint Julep that was a little too minty for us. I know this is loved by many so don't hate us!  All the flavors just didn't go for us.  We did love the Mickey-shaped Beignets, topped with powdered sugar these little fluffs are almost like a donut and scone mixed together.  They are totally delicious!  Shake the bag to make sure you coat them well before you dig in.

Churro Cart by Haunted Mansion

We heard that THE BEST churros in Disneyland were from the cart by Haunted Mansion.  Honestly I preferred the churro and caramel dipping sauce from California Adventure's Cozy Cone, but it was of course still delicious.

Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor

This ice cream shop is perfectly placed to enjoy some ice cream while watching the firework show.  We got a seasonal peppermint ice cream in a dipped peppermint waffle cone.  It was so good!  We loved the minty flavor, not too much, just right!

Other things we ate...

-Blue Bayou-I got the Broiled Filet Mignon, which was delicious and Dallin got the Surf & Turf which he loved too!  We especially loved their cornbread it was SO perfect I wanted to take a box to go!  It also had the most amazing atmosphere, this is the restaurant located inside Pirates of the Caribbean.  We sat right by the water and it was so relaxing after running around the park all day.  Definitely make a reservation for this one, they fill up fast and you can make a reservation online or over the phone up to 60 days before your visit.

-Tiki Juice Bar-We got a Dole Whip Float and really liked it.  I prefer the float and Dallin likes just the soft serve.  I thought it was a perfect blend with the pineapple juice.  Perfect for a hot day at the park!

-Bengal Barbecue-Safari Skewer and a Chieftain Chicken Skewer are such a great snack!  We loved the sauce on the chicken skewer.

-Edelweiss Snacks-Fried Chimichanga-this was like a fried bean burrito. It was just ok, not sure if we'd get this again.

Next time we'll get...

-Jolly Holiday Bakery Café-Frozen Pomegranate Silver Sparkler and a Seasonal Whoopie Pie

-Café Orleans-Mickey Beignets with dipping sauce, Pomme Frites

-Pinocchio Village Haus-Flatbread Pizza

-Pooh's Corner-White Chocolate cookie and a Chocolate Chip cookie

-Carnation Café-Mickey waffles, baked potato soup, fried pickles and a cherry milkshake

-Harbour Galley-Clam chowder sourdough bowl or lobster roll

-Candy Place-This is similar to Pooh's Corner.  I love all the cute souvenirs and obviously candy here!  I want to try the chocolate turtles, dipped caramel sticks, caramel apples, and sugar cookies.

-Hungry Bear Restaurant-House-made Chocolate Brownie or Churro Funnel Cake, Honey Bee Frozen Lemonade, onion rings

-Plaza Inn-Fried Chicken

-Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante-Anything here!  It all looks delicious!

-Troubadour Tavern-Bacon and Sour Cream Stuffed Baked Potato and a Cinnamon-Apple Baton

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD

Butterbeer Cart

We love Butterbeer!  We tried it frozen and original and we loved both, but the original was slightly better to us.  The frozen is like a slushie and was sweeter than the classic, we were there on a pretty cold day so it nearly froze us.  The original is butterscotch cream soda with a vanilla foam on top!  Delicious!

Honeydukes

This shop is so cute!  It has all sorts of Harry Potter treats.  Sadly the fudge here was a bust.  I wouldn't recommend it.

The Three Broomsticks

We loved eating here!  The ambiance was absolutely perfect and the food was incredible.  I got the Fish and Chips and Dallin got the Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken, mine was pretty amazing but Dallin's dish was even better!  If you go to Universal Hollywood The Three Broomsticks is definitely a must! 

Lard Lad Donuts

This donut is no joke!  It's easily the size of 4 regular sized donuts!  With the size, a strawberry glaze and sprinkles this was a fun donut to try!

SAN DIEGO

Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill

This came highly recommended and we are so glad we stopped by here after the zoo!  Dallin got a super filling red snapper plate and I got clam chowder.  I'm not a huge fan of seafood but this place made me change my mind.  The clam chowder was perfectly seasoned and incredible!

I can't wait to go back and try more!  We absolutely love trying new things so if you have any recommendations let me know!

If you'd like to know all that we did while in Southern California you can go HERE!

Check back soon for Disneyland Tips!

Southern California Vacation

Dallin and I recently got back from a week in Southern California and we had such a blast!  It was a great time to visit and we did a ton of fun things.  I’m thinking of dividing this post up into a few different sections:  what we DID, what we ATE, and Disney Tips.  I searched the internet, books and any LA, Disneyland, and even San Diego advice and recommendations so we could maximize our time and money while we were there.  I hate passing up a good deal!  I found some great recommendations and discovered some of our own tips too.

To note-we are 2 adults and tried to pack in the most we could in our vacation.  These tips could change for people with children or if your preferences are different.  I want to share what worked (and what didn't) for us!

Our Itinerary

Travel Day/Arrival Day

We flew into LA and went to Tito's Tacos in LA for lunch (it was just ok), settled into our hotel and walked to Downtown Disney.  Next time I'd love to go to the Morphe Store while in the LA area.

DISNEY'S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE

Our first day we went to Disney’s California Adventure. I am seriously so surprised at how much I enjoyed this park!  It has changed so much since I’ve been there!  With the addition of Cars Land and some new rides it was one of our favorite days of our vacation.  

• Make sure to get Radiator Springs Fast Passes right when the park opens!  They will run out by mid morning!  The stand by line is ridiculous so make sure to get a Fast Pass for this one. 


• Spend some time in Cars Land, it seriously feels like you are walking in the movie Cars.  The attention to detail is amazing!


• Get a free sample of bread at The Bakery Tour-Boudin Bakery and right across the street get a free sample of chocolate at Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop at Pacific Wharf.


• Watch it's Tough to Be a Bug!, Frozen Live at the Hyperion, Crush Talk and World of Color (get Fast Pass at the beginning of day, this Fast Pass wont be counted as a ride pass so keep collecting them.)


• Must go on Rides:  Toy Story Mania (So much better then Buzz in Disneyland.), California Screamin', Radiator Springs (with Fast Pass), The Little Mermaid-Ariel's Undersea Adventure,  Monster, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue! 


• Must eat at: Cove Bar and Cozy Cone Motels

DISNEYLAND

Disneyland Day 1

The next day was Disneyland!  We had a Magic Morning (extra hour before the park opens to the public for guests with 3 day passes or if staying at a Disney Resort) so we arrived really early!  This was our best day at Disneyland because we got done with everything around noon.  Seriously, we rode all the rides we wanted to ride, had tons of snack breaks and still had so much of our day left!

• Visit Star Wars Launch Bar
• Always have a Fast Pass!  Stay on top of times you can get a new Fast Pass and collect them so you can maximize your time at the park.
• Check my Disney Tips for more tricks that worked for us.
• Disney out does themselves during the holidays.  The lights and decorations at Disney make it even more magical!
• If you're close to Fantasyland/Tomorrowland and want a quaint place to relax or eat go behind Edelweiss Snacks for a perfect view of "It's a Small World." 
• Check out the shops in Toontown, they have unique souvenirs including board games! 
• Must go on rides:  Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at night (it's TOTALLY different at night), "It's a Small World" (for the holidays this ride is transformed on the inside and out!), The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan's Flight (ride as soon as the park opens), Pirates of the Caribbean, Storybook Land Canal Boats
• Must eat at:  Blue Bayou, Pooh's Corner, Jolly Holiday Bakery Café, Stage Door Café and Mint Julep Bar

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

Universal Studios

We could not wait to check out The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Sadly beyond the Butterbeer, scenery, and the Three Broomsticks it was kind of disappointing.  Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey could have been cool if it didn't keep stopping every few seconds and the only other ride, Flight of the Hippogriff is really just for kids. The buildings and details were really impressing though! 


Besides the kind of disappointing Harry Potter world, the rest of Universal pleasantly surprised me!  Like Downtown Disney, Universal has CityWalk leading up to their theme park.  This is one thing I like way more then the Disney version.  With so many different shops and fairly reasonable places to eat it was easy to spend a little longer there!  This park can be done in a day, but make sure to schedule out all shows so you can ride all of the rides wanted in between show times.

• Schedule out show times at the starting of the day so you can see all that you want!
• Watch Shrek 4D
• Stroll through CityWalk-Don't miss IT'SUGAR the biggest most amazing candy store!
• Must go on rides:  Jurassic Park-The Ride, Transformers:  The Ride-3D, Studio Tour, Despicable Me:  Minion Mayhem
• Must eat at:  The Three Broomsticks, Butterbeer at any cart in Hogsmeade, and Lard Lad Donuts

DOWNTOWN DISNEY

Rest Day/Downtown Disney

This day we wanted to chill out and relax.  We slept in and went to Downtown Disney for a movie and more window shopping.  We saw Fantastic Beasts at the movie theater there. 

• Favorite stores there:  WonderGround Gallery and Marceline's Confectionery.  The art at WonderGround Gallery is our absolute favorite, they have so many unique pieces and every time we went they had new ones out!  Marceline's treats are delicious, we especially loved watching the candy makers at work in the big windows!  The Lego store and World of Disney are also a can't miss shop!
• Must eat:  treats at Marceline's Confectionery and churro sandwich at churro cart

SAN DIEGO

San Diego

We headed to San Diego for the day to go to the San Diego Zoo.  While we were there we decided to do a few other things in San Diego too.

• San Diego Zoo:  Take the bus tour as soon as you get there to see what you'd like to see while you are there.  We loved how active the animals were it made it so fun!  There were also loads of different animals we had never seen at other zoos. Our Favorites:  elephants, pandas, hippos, and the reptiles!
• Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill:  Only about 15 or so minutes away from the zoo this place is a must.  I don't even like sea food and they made me like it!  Best clam chowder I've ever had! 
• The Donut Bar:  We actually missed this one, but boy I wanted to go!! If  you know me you know I'm a donut gal through and through.  Sadly we missed their opening/closing times so make sure to check their hours and schedule it out before you go!

DISNEYLAND

Disneyland Day 2

We slept in only 30 minutes this day and it changed our WHOLE day!  We had to wait to get through security and wait to get in to the park.  That is how the rest of our day went too.  Lots of lines and waiting.  We made sure we saw and did everything that we really wanted to and we were so thankful our first day at Disneyland we got through so much!

• Make sure to stay for the firework show at least once. We went the last week of November so everything was decked out for Christmas and at the end there was even fake snow on Main Street.  It made it so magical!
• If you have a second day at the park save this for your shopping day.  We scoped out what we wanted for our few souvenirs to be on our first day and this day we got our absolute favorites. 
• Grab some Ice Cream at Gibson Girl on Main Street before watching the firework show.
• Repeat all your favorite rides!

 Travel Day/Fly Home

We flew out through LAX so we made sure we had ample time to get everything packed, check out, travel, and return our rental car before we had to be at the airport. 

We had so much fun.  I'm wishing I could go back next week! ;)  Let me know if you have any other travel tips or recommendations for this area I know we'll be back someday!

If you'd like to know what we ATE while we were there you can go HERE!
I'll be posting more Disney Tips soon!