u/hrifogifhebebksisu

Just ended our 3 day park hopper trip with a 5 and 1 year old. We had a magical time. Core memories were made for my 5 year old for sure (getting drenched in the front row of Tiana’s for her first time) I wanted to jot down my thoughts and tips from what I experienced, I did a lot of research and planning before hand and a few things I learned in park I didn’t see mentioned online. 

Here are my hot takes/ things I learned:

1. Lightning lane only allows you to book the ride once. I think this mistake is for sure on me but I figured you could book the same ride multiple times. Nope. So try to use it when it’s necessary. 
2. Everywhere I saw said to make dining reservations beforehand. I made mine 2 weeks before our trip. We ate at lamplight lounge (our fav) carnation cafe (least fav) and river belle terrace. What wasn’t mentioned is that you should CHECK IN on the app! We got to the restaurant at the given time and were told “check in on the app” and had to wait another 10 min. Def check in on the walk to the restaurant to save time. 
3. I saw a lot online that said California adventure is not as good for littles. I found this wholeheartedly untrue! There is goofys sky school coaster, jumping jellyfish, the zephyr, critter carrousel, little mermaid, the redwood play area! Don’t get me started on Mickey Mouse clubhouse live and the Mickey and friends dance party! It was amazing!! 
4. While the convenience of online everything is great, it does keep people on their phones which is something that bothers me. I am a very low phone usage person, and I was staring at my screen (tickets, lightning lane, rider swap….) for a lot of the day. Just be prepared for that.

 

Here are my agreed upon takes: 

1. Mobile ordering for food and beverages! 
2. Rope drop is worth it! 
3. Go slow and at the pace of your kids. Kids don’t get the idea of “rushing” unless you make it fun and exciting for them and it fits their personality. My daughter (5) loved running around and getting in lines, while my 1 year old hated the stroller and wanted to walk everywhere. So we had some great slow walks down main street and duck watching. 
4. Rider swap is amazing! I saw very few families taking advantage of it!!

 

Fav moments: 

1. As a millennial mom who grew up going to Disney, I loved watching my daughter look at the shop window displays on main street. Those were always so magical for me. 
2. Riverboat at night. The lights, the ambiance, it was magical. 
3. Goofy walked right over to my 1 year old and said hi to her a blew her a kiss. Pure magic! 
4. Seeing my 5 year old try the big kid rides, loving some, hating others!  
5. Our first rope drop when the overhead speaker said “ WELCOME!” And the rope dropped and my daughter just started running and laughing from pure joy!!

 

An amazing trip! Cant wait to make it happen again! Also I’ll say one more thing, we were there on insanely busy days and it was still a blast!!