I've held out for a long time on not going to Disneyland with the kids. Exhausting, right? I'm not even sure where to begin. I think it's time though. I can't wait any longer to see their little faces light up with excitement. Also, supposedly January/February are the least busy times, so it's now or in another year... so come on a journey with me as we break down the Disney barriers to understand how to EASILY plan a trip.
I'm lucky that I've been to Disneyland and understand enough about how the park works, but there's been so many changes in the past couple years that I also feel completely at a loss. Sooo here's to planning... Step 1: Check out the Disney crowd calendars. I just Googled different sites and was able to get a general sense of when it might be busy vs when it shouldn't be too busy. Sites like...Just be mindful if you are looking at Disneyland or DisneyWORLD. There seem to be A LOT more Disney World sites out there! Step 2: Visit the official Disneyland website. I know, it's simple but there's some great information I got on the website like hours of operation, ticket pricing, hotel information (we decided we wanted to stay on-site since Cal is so little yet), ride refurbishments (Boo! Haunted Mansion is closed!), dining reservations. Step 3: Once you have some general dates, get going on those dining reservations. Reservations open 60 days in advanced, so if you have less than 60 days until your trip, you'll want to make those reservations as soon as possible. They do take a credit card to make the reservations, but most of them you can cancel up to 24 hours before the reservation without getting a cancelation fee. I reserved any potential character dining that we might want to do. As I make more sense of the schedule, I can cancel these, but I wanted to snag what I could find. **PRO TIP** Keep checking! I was showing no availability for the Plaza Inn Dining for a couple days and I kept trying and was able to snag a morning spot for breakfast. Also! Even though young children won't necessarily need their own plate, keep them in your party count so you get seated at a large enough table to accommodate them! It took me FOREVER to find the answer on this one! Step 4: If you are ready to commit or even semi-ready to commit, go ahead and purchase your tickets. Disneyland now has a reservation system where you have to lock in which park you are visiting on which day. If the parks are at maximum capacity already that day, it won't let you visit, so if you are traveling during a busy time (like every day of the year) then get your tickets quickly!
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