Just Press Go Travel

Nine months ago I was writing about visiting Disneyland as a family of 3 while I was pregnant with my second, and I’m so excited to recap our first Disney trip as a family of 4!

Same with last time – I’m not going to super cover the differences between Disneyland and Disney World in this blog post or get into the differences of how the resorts celebrate the holidays, that probably deserves its own blog post or posts.

Keep reading for a DETAILED recap of our trip. Note: This was with a 2.5 year old and a 4 month old.

As always, none of these links are commission – just information and vibes.

What is at Disneyland Resort?

• 2 Theme Parks: Disneyland Park and Disney’s California Adventure Park
• Downtown Disney, a shopping and dining district
• 3 Official Disney Hotels: Disney’s Grand Californian Resort, Disneyland Hotel, and Pixar Place Hotel
• These three hotels get onsite perks such as 30 minute early entry to one park a day (check schedule – this perk ends as of January 2026), private entrances into California Adventure, and have first dibs at some of popular hotel dining locations
• 4 Character Dining Experiences

Why this time of year?

Two Reasons:

1. The fall and Halloween decorations! Disneyland hosts Oogie Boogie Bash, a special-ticket event several nights a week in Disney’s California Adventure park. Oogie Boogie Bash is extremely popular and sells out every year. Disney is so good at holidays in the parks.
2. We love to travel in September after school starts as it’s typically cheaper and wherever we’re going has lower crowds. I will say that Disneyland is more of a locals park, so going during the week already has lower crowds, so this just helped.

Where We Stayed

We stayed at The Anaheim Hotel on Harbor Blvd. This is a Good Neighbor Hotel bookable through the Disney (but you can always have me help with that J) and in the “Across the Street” category. The Anaheim hotel is an 8-10 minute walk to reach security for the parks, and most of the walk is shaded if you cross Harbor Blvd immediately at the light in front of the hotel.

As with my review of the Fairfield down the street, I would also consider this hotel “fine.” Here’s my pro and con list:

Pros:

• 10-minute walk to the park entrance
• Always able to find a parking spot
• Offers a loyalty program that can ultimately mean free nights
• Connected to Pizza Press which offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Offers room service
• Beautiful property with so many amenities! The pool is large and heated, there is a yard game area, a café patio, couches with fire pits, a Top Golf simulator suite.
• Small beverage cooler in room with a freezer “shelf”.
• All rooms have either a balcony or patio

Cons

• Cost for parking is not cheap
• There are no elevators for the 2 story buildings – they have ramps to the second floor and they are not necessarily wheelchair accessible to the second floor. If you need an accessible room, I recommend requesting a room on the first floor.
• Could use updates. As with the Fairfield, our bathroom is need of a full refurbishment. Tiles were cracked, grout was coming up, and paint was peeling on tiles. The door to the room also didn’t seal the best but it did have multiple layers of security which I always appreciate. Water temperature was sensitive.
• Can hear and feel the fireworks. Some rooms may be able to see them, ours could not.
• The easiest way back to the hotel, and most shaded way, goes through the Rideshare Pickup/Drop off area which had a lot of smokers. Odd complaint – but man would some of the smoke hit you in the face.

Per my husband – we would stay here again. 

What We Did

Day One: Arrival, Non-Park Day

We drove in from Three Rivers, CA arriving around 2 pm. Check-in is at 4, so we were lucky that a room was available. Note: It was not the room type I booked, but we were willing to change room types to be able to get in a room after our drive.

We unpacked and made our way to Downtown Disney, the shopping district of Disneyland Resort that does not require park tickets. We shopped, grabbed dinner at GiGi’s Chicken Shop in Parkside Market, and headed back to our hotel to get a good night’s sleep.

Day Two: Anaheim Day. Non-Park Day.

My priority for our non-park day was to get my kids to the beach. We drove about 35 minutes over to Newport Beach. We parked on the street, and walked around the Newport Beach Pier and made sure to get the kids to touch the Pacific Ocean and some sand! The baby needed the experience (according to me) and my toddler loves the “Beach” episode of Bluey so it was a fun experience for him. We were there on a Sunday and there was a farmer’s market happening on the sidewalk leading up to the pier that had some great looking fruit and other vendors.

For lunch we went to Flower Child at my friend’s recommendation. It was delicious and a nice healthy meal considering we would be eating amusement park food the next two days, which can be all over the place depending on where and when we wanted to eat. We also learned this is a chain and there is a St Louis location, so we’ll be frequenting that when we get home since my picky toddler is willing to eat it. We also have enjoyed walking around the Lido Marina Village in the past and grabbing food and drinks.

We headed back to our hotel after lunch for naps.

Our after-nap activity was meeting up with a friend I work with that lives in Orange County to grab dinner. She brought her whole family along and it was the best to finally meet them after hearing so many stories over the years. We met at Center Street Anaheim (her recommendation) which has roughly 10 restaurants and cafes to choose from that you can either dine-in or carry out. There is a large green space with turf and large tables, so we did carry out and ate there to allow the kids to run around. 

Day Three: Park Day #1

Toddler wakes up around 6ish, so we rolled with it. 

• Left our hotel room around 7:30 am to walk over to Disneyland Park for our reservation.
• Security is long and slow at Disneyland. They will go through all of your bags. Be prepared.
• Made it in the park for rope drop at 8 am (when the cast members literally tie up the rope that’s been holding all of the guests on Main Street to signify the park is open).
• While waiting for the park to officially open, I snagged our first Lightning Lane Multi Pass (LLMP) for Haunted Mansion Holiday. This was a priority for us as we love Haunted Mansion, and the holiday overlay is only in California.
• We went for Jungle Cruise in Adventureland first at the request of my toddler that has been reading the Little Golden Book. This is actually a great strategy, as it is close to the front of the park, does not offer lightning lane, and the line can be long and hot. We were on the ride by 8:04 am.
• Next was Pirates of the Caribbean. Again, this does not offer Lightning Lane and the line can be long and hot, so we jumped on the chance to do it early. We walked on the ride and had a boat to ourselves.
• The toddler was patient through Pirates, so he chose to do Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster next. Note: This will be a trend through the rest of the recap. This offers lightning lane, but it was essentially a walk on so we did not use it at this time. 
• Can’t hit up Tomorrowland with a toddler and not let them drive, so we did Autopia next. 
• Last in Tomorrowland was Astro Orbiter, or as my toddler calls it, Rocketship Ride. This is “Any Height” and does not offer Lightning Lane. Line can move slowly and in the sun.
• We decided after this to try to meet Mickey as we saw that the line looked short on the app…by the time we made it to Mickey’s Toontown in the back of the park, the line was more like 45 minutes, and it is not typically faster than what you see on the sign. 
• We pivoted and my toddler went on his first roller coaster! Chip n Dale’s Gadget Coaster is in the back of Toontown and has a 35” height requirement. It takes longer to load and unload the ride than it is to ride, but it’s a cute ride for littles. Unfortunately, the line can be slow, and part is in the sun (this is a common issue with Disneyland queues).
• Had a few minutes before our next lightning lane reservation, so we sat in the Toontown Park, fed the baby, and let the toddler run around. There is a playground and splashpad in Toontown as well, but we did not play around there this time.
• Last ride in Toontown for us was Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Used above mentioned LLMP.
• While in Toontown, I placed a lunch mobile order for Jolly Holiday on Main Street. Pickup times can “sell out” for restaurants, so I recommend booking early and choosing a later return time. I love the grilled cheese and tomato soup from Jolly Holiday – so this is always a must for us.
• Got a LLMP for Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster again and used it after lunch.
• At this point it is nap time for my toddler. We decided to try for a stroller nap and walked back to Galaxy’s Edge and bought a blue milk. After walking around for 30 minutes we had the realization that a stroller nap was not happening and walked back to the hotel.
  • If you message me personally on Instagram @justpressgotravel, I’ll tell you the sweet spot to sit to meet wandering Star Wars characters. My kiddos got special 1:1 time with Chewbacca and Sabine.
• After nap it was back to Disneyland Park. We had told my toddler if he napped he could have ice cream. 
• Jungle Cruise had a 10-15 minute line, which moved quickly. Mobile ordered Dole Whip from the Tiki Room Express while on the ride.
• Picked up our Dole Whip and enjoyed.
• Next up was our LLMP for Haunted Mansion Holiday. It was temporarily closed when we arrived, so we called an audible and went to Winnie the Pooh which had a 5-minute wait.
• Watched Tiana’s Bayou Adventure for a few minutes. The toddler loves water.
• Walked back to Haunted Mansion Holiday and it was operating again, so we rode using our LLMP. It took around 10 minutes to board our Doom Buggy, which isn’t bad. These LLMP sell out. Make sure to prioritize booking if you are wanting to ride and not use the standby queue.
• Park Hopped to Disney’s California Adventure.
• Used LLMP for the Monster’s Inc. ride. My toddler loved this ride – he’s going to be sad when we go back and it’s closed to make way for the new Avatar land.
• Mobile Ordered dinner from Aunt Cass’s Café in San Fransokyo. So many dining options in San Fransokyo – and plenty of tables to find a spot to eat.
• Our table in San Fransokyo was near a short cut to Cars land, so we walked over for my toddler to ride “Mater Ride”. This has a height requirement, so we used rider swap to allow me and my husband to ride. Just talk to a cast member at the entrance that you want to do rider swap and have the second parent wait at the exit to swap. There is no LLMP for this ride.
• Walked around Cars Land – happened upon Lightning McQueen in his Halloween costume meeting by the closed Radiator Springs Racer ride entrance.
• Used LLMP for the Little Mermaid.
• Used LLMP for Toy Story Mania. This is another ride that “sells out” so make sure to prioritize booking this as well if you want to ride. The line can be long.
• Rode Critter Carousel on the last ride of the night at 8:30 pm. This ride closes early due to World of Color.
• Walked over to find a spot for the 9 pm World of Color on Pixar Pier. This is the nighttime show at California Adventure that is a mix of water and projections. We had a decent view of the show, but the audio was not great in our spot. If possible, use the virtual queue or do one of the dining/dessert parties for best views.
  • We’re glad that we were in an easy location to leave our viewing spot as our toddler only made it 10 minutes into the show before he kindly requested to go back to the hotel to sleep. Loved that he used his words, so back to the hotel we went to get some sleep.

Day Four: Park Day #2

• Left our hotel around 7:40 am to walk over to Disney’s California Adventure for our park reservations.
• Made it in the park to hear the 8 am opening announcement telling everyone to walk. Immediately made a lightning lane reservation for Toy Story Midway Mania.
• Walked to Toy Story Midway Mania first, and it was less than 5 minutes to board the ride.
• Toddler wanted to ride again, so we used the LLMP so we could make our next reservation. Then made LLMP reservation for Web Slingers.
• Rode Critter Carousel next since it was essentially a walk on and at the exit for Midway Mania…it is also next to where Buzz, Jessie, and normally Woody meet.
• The Disneyland App showed that Buzz Lightyear would be meeting at 9:30, so we were trying to kill time to get there. We walked up to where Buzz would be meeting and was told Jessie would be meeting at 9 am. Toddler likes Jessie, so we figured we’d just do both. Jessie was late and didn’t start meeting until 9:15, but we were first in line.
• Got back in line after we met Jessie and just let everyone pass us in line so we would be able to meet Buzz when they swapped at 9:30 am. Cast members told us we could do this – I would definitely check with them before trying this to make sure you don’t get a scolding.
• 9:30 am we were the first to meet Buzz and oh man was my toddler happy.
• Made a trip to the Baby Care Center in San Fransokyo to change diapers and feed the baby in air conditioning – it was hot out.
• Snack break at Fillmore’s in Cars Land.
• Met Red at the Cozy Cone with his clown costume. Warning: He makes fire engine noises and may scare toddlers. Ask me how I know. If you have sound sensitive kiddos I would recommend either the noise cancelling headphones or skipping this.
• Walked over to Avengers Campus to ride Web Slingers. This is an interactive game ride and any height so full families can ride. We used a LLMP and then made a reservation for Monsters Inc.
• Next we went to Monsters Inc to use our LLMP. This was the last LLMP we would use in California Adventure – at this point I started making LLMP reservations for Disneyland Park and kept modifying for later times for when we would actually use them.
• Left our stroller in Monsters Inc parking and walked over to Mickey’s Philharmagic show, it was starting in 1 minute, so it was perfect. This exits at the Monsters Inc stroller parking – so that made life easy to grab our belongings. While waiting for the show to start we mobile ordered lunch from Smokejumpers Grill in the Grizzly Peak area of the park.
• My toddler loves water, so we walked over to Grizzly River Run to watch the ride. This is a get soaked river rapid ride – and it is pretty to look at. The theming is amazing and makes you feel like you are in a National Park.
• At this point we decide to try a stroller nap for the kids (because our fail the day before didn’t teach us any lessons).
• We exited California Adventure through the Grand Californian Hotel which has its own entrances to both California Adventure and Downtown Disney. We walked through the hotel – it’s beautiful – and exited to Downtown Disney to do an exchange.
• Kiddos didn’t fall asleep in the stroller, so we went back to the hotel for a real nap. While we were at the hotel I continued to make new LLMP reservations every 2 hours, and modifying them so that they would be for when we finally made it back in the park.
• After naps, we went to Disneyland Park.
• Kiddo requested Jungle Cruise and ice cream again, so that’s what we did (and by ice cream – that’s code for Dole Whip).
• With full bellies I demanded family photos in front of the castle. Disneyland’s Lightning Lane comes with Photopass – so I wanted to make sure we used it a bit.
• Toddler requested Buzz, so we used a LLMP and rode Buzz since he smiled for pictures (we would have rode either way).
• Next was Autopia again and we used LLMP. The baby can’t ride, so toddler got to ride twice – once with each parent.
• Had dinner at Galactic Grill. We mobile ordered and it still took a while. This was an Oogie Boogie Bash night at California Adventure which meant that California Adventure closed at 6 pm and made Disneyland Park a lot more crowded. Make sure to order early and click “I’m here” early, especially if you have hungry family members.
• At this point it was around 7:15-7:30 pm and a priority for our day was to see the Paint the Night Parade. We had a LLMP for It’s a Small World – which is also where the parade starts. As we got close to the ride, we saw that parade spots were already limited for front row, which again, was another priority so my littles could see. We decided to divide and conquer. My husband stayed at the front row spot we found NEXT TO A TRASH CAN (my favorite so you don’t have people on one side of you) and I took both kids to ride It’s a Small World with the LLMP.
• The kids and I got back to our parade spot around 7:50 pm at which point my husband took the toddler to walk around and entertain him while I held our parade spot…this was a win for me because Tapestry of Happiness, a projection show on It’s a Small World, happens nightly 7:55 pm (always check the app for show times). LOVED this show! It was so fun!
• Paint the Night Parade started promptly at 8:30 pm and since we were at the back, it took no time to get to us, which was great for my antsy kids. Just like the Tapestry of Happiness – LOVED THIS TOO! It was about 20 minutes and so fun with popular Pixar and Disney characters. The floats are so well done, and the music was upbeat and kept everyone dancing. 10/10. Highly recommend.
• After the parade, Cast Members direct guests either through Tomorrowland or to Fantasyland, so we went to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster again.
• And again. (Yes, if you’re keeping track, that would be 5 times this trip.)
• It’s now almost 9:30 pm and we made our way out to Main Street to watch the Halloween Screams with Projections show. This is the nighttime show right now at Disneyland Park – unlike Disney World, they do not do fireworks every night. There were projections on the castle, Matterhorn, and on the buildings of Main Street. It was cute and not very long.
• As soon as it was over, we left, and that was the end of our park journey this trip!

Things We Missed

Disneyland Park

• Fireworks. They are not every night, and they did not happen the nights we were in the parks.
• Anything with a height requirement over 38” since my kid isn’t that tall yet. There are filters in the app based on height.
• Everything in Fantasyland. We literally never even stepped in it. My kid knew what he wanted to ride and since a lot of Disney is either being contained in a stroller or having to regulate bodies in line, we tried to let our toddler make some decisions.

Disney’s California Adventure Park

• Again, anything over 38” height requirement.
• The Ferris Wheel.
• Goofy’s Flight School because it’s jerky and I had no desire to ride it.

Final Thoughts

I absolutely love both Disney World and Disneyland. I would say that with littles Disneyland is almost easier, other than dealing with car seats to get to and from the hotel which can be avoided in Florida. It requires less pre-planning, and there are more affordable hotels within walking distance of the parks to make it easy to go back for hotel naps. Disneyland also has more characters out wandering – you never know who you are going to see, which is something that Disney World has been lacking.

In the past I would say that 2 days was enough to visit Disneyland…and I think that still applies if going with either only adults, or with adults and teens/older kids.

With littles, I’m changing my guidance. If you want to really hit all the rides and meet characters and see all the shows – I’m going to recommend either 3 or 4 days, especially if going in warmer months. It was hot. It was draining. It didn’t have the humidity of Florida, but there are definitely times you’re just baking walking around.

This was a long one – thanks for reading if you made it this far! Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Questions? Interested in Booking?

Reach out to melanie@simplyperfectvacations.com with any questions, comments, or help booking your next vacation!