Welcome to part 4 of my travel series on Disneyland – I’m hoping that by sharing our family’s experience, you’ll feel a bit less overwhelmed with planning your own family’s vacation – and be able to tailor to your own family’s personality. Check in often and follow our family’s experience, including a selection of our favorite photographs!
Planning Ahead: “Buying Tickets”
First of all, you’ll want to think about how long you’ll be spending in Southern California, and how many days of your vacation you’ll want to spend in the parks itself.
There are several factors to consider, including time of year – which can have a big impact on the crowds at Disneyland. You can find attendance charts online, but generally when school is out, it is more crowded. Don’t be too afraid of the crowds, however. I’m not sure there is a company out there as prepared to handle crowds as is Disneyland, it is truly impressive. Granted you’ll need to have a good attitude and be prepared for lots of bodies around you, but it is certainly manageable.
We found a good deal on our park hopper tickets online, and through the Disney site. It seems that their special rates on their online purchases vary, so check back often to see current specials. Park hopper tickets allow the ticket holder to “hop” between Disneyland and California Adventure as many times as your feet can handle.
In 2010 we spent one day exploring San Diego, but otherwise spent a full 6 days at Disneyland & California Adventure. In 2011 we were on a tighter schedule – sandwiching our visit between two Saturday basketball games… and still bought the 6-day pass. We spent four full days at the park, and used the other two days on our arrival and departure days – as a great excuse to stretch our legs after and before a long ride in the car.
At the time we purchased our tickets, we discovered that the difference between the 4-day and 6-day park hopper pass was not very much, in fact $54 total for the entire family of four. For us, simply having the option to spend all 6 days at the park was a wonderful tool to help us take our time and not worry about pushing too hard to make sure we got the most out of our trip. Actually, it really helped us get more out of the trip, because, as I’ll elaborate later in the At the Park articles, having a good attitude went a long way to making a marathon at Disneyland a wonderful and magical adventure. So, head over to the Disney ticket site (or your favorite travel agent) and crunch the numbers… you may find that the option for additional days is worth the investment.
We found it convenient to buy our tickets online. There are lots of resources, but we went directly to the Disneyland website, and printed them out at home. Once at the park, you can go straight to the entrance of your preferred park, and they’ll exchange your printed ticket for the smaller “real” ticket that you keep for the duration of your visit. You do NOT need to trade it in at a ticket sales kiosk, simply go straight to the gates - and get ready to have FUN!
Planning Ahead: “Super Tip!”
Kimberly Teichrow, staff photographer for True North Parenting, lives in Bend, Oregon with her family. They love to take adventures, and Kimberly loves to capture them through her lens.
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