Disney Tips & Tricks

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My husband and I recently took a trip to Disneyland and with only two days at the park we really had to plan our time wisely. I hadn't been to Disneyland since 1998 so to say I was excited is an understatement. As soon as our trip had been officially booked, the researching and planning began. I immediately turned to Pinterest so I could easily find anything pertaining to Disney. By the time our trip rolled around, I was more than prepared. Here are 10 tips and tricks I used to survive my trip to Disney!

1. If you're at the park for a special occasion, ask for a pin

They have several different kinds and they're free! Just head to Main Street 

City Hall to get your special pin. 

2. Bring a backpack

This is absolutely essential! There are several things you are going to need while in the park and you're not going to want to pay $10 for something you could pick up for $1. 

Here is a quick list of my essentials-

Portable Charger

Jacket

Sunglasses

Chapstick

Sunscreen

Bandaids

Snacks

Handsanitizer

Water Bottle

3. Pressed pennies make the best souvenirs

They're the cheapest souvenirs in the entire park and honestly my favorite. There's so many different ones to choose from and they're so dang cute! You're even able to purchase a pressed coin collection book to store your pennies in. Here's a great one. Or there's plenty of ideas on Pinterest of how to display your coins.

4. Arrive at the park early

Lines start to form early and if you want to be first in line for Peter Pan or get that fastpass for Radiator Springs Racers you better get there at least 30 minutes (if not an hour) prior to opening.

5. Bring a jacket

It gets pretty chilly at night in California and it's better to be prepared than having to buy a $50 jacket. If you don't want to carry it around with you, you can rent a locker for the day and store it there. The lockers are located at the front of the park.

6. Use FastPasses

USE FASTPASS. They're a huge time saver and when you only have a short time in the magic kingdom, you want to get as much done as possible. Plus they're free!

7. Stay close to the park

No one likes paying a parking fee and with so many hotels near the park, you might as well walk. That being said, we stayed at Hyatt Place and it was about 2 blocks away from the park. 2 blocks doesn't sound that far, right? Wrong. When you spend all day walking around the last thing you want to do is walk 15 minutes to your hotel. There are several hotels right across the street from the park and I would suggest staying in one of those. Trust me, your feet will be thanking me later.

8. Do shopping last

Your time at Disney is precious and you don't went to spend that time looking around shops for souvenirs. The shops on Main Street stay open for an hour after closing so it's the perfect time to walk through each one. *Bonus: they will be less crowded because everyone else will have gone home. Downtown Disney stays open late as well.

9. Use apps to check wait times

My two favorite were the official Disneyland app and Wait Times For Disneyland. I would switch off between the two to get the most accurate time. The nice thing about the official Disneyland app is it has a map of the park so it makes finding the rides very easy.
It also has the locations of characters and show times.

10. Disney Movie Rewards

Before we left for the park I rounded up all of the Magic Codes inside my Disney movies. Most people ignore them or throw them away, DON'T DO THAT. You can use those points towards Disney gift cards that can be used at the park. We were able to get a $30 gift card that we used towards souvenirs. We didn't spend any of our own money and that's always a great feeling. You can learn more about Disney Movie Rewards here.

There you have it! My 10 Disneyland tips & tricks. I hope this helps you plan for your next Disney trip and enjoy the magic while you're there :)

xoxo
Lexi Rachelle

Let me know what your Disneyland tips and tricks are down in the comments!