Okay, bringing this back, but this January we officially went on our FIRST trip to Disneyland as a family!! Zack and I used to have annual passes and went allll the time prior to having kids, and then, we had kids and just…. didn’t take them. For 10 years. Which I’m wondering WHY lol, but... Continue Reading Read the full post OUR FIRST FAMILY TRIP TO DISNEYLAND + DISNEYLAND PLANNING TIPS on Katie Did What.
Okay, bringing this back, but this January we officially went on our FIRST trip to Disneyland as a family!! Zack and I used to have annual passes and went allll the time prior to having kids, and then, we had kids and just…. didn’t take them. For 10 years. Which I’m wondering WHY lol, but I think we thought it’d be too hard? Especially with our struggles with our eldest son, who is on the autism spectrum and is non-speaking, we just thought it’d be… too much for him. Anyway…. We finally got brave enough to try this year, so for Sophie’s 9th birthday, we surprised the kids with a family trip to the Happiest Place on Earth, and… IT WAS AMAZING!!! Literally, the DREAMIEST of dream trips, and could NOT have gone better!
Scroll down for my top Disneyland planning tips, and notes on the DAS disability pass!
FAMILY TRIP TO DISNEYLAND
First of all, we did a fun scavenger hunt to surprise them, which you can watch the video I put together for HERE! They LOVED that!
I found a scavenger hunt via Pinterest and the kids had the best time doing it and at the end they unwrapped a present (a Disney puzzle) and then another box with a paper that said, “We’re going to Disneyland!” After, Sophie told me “I didn’t look very excited at first because I was just SO surprised, I couldn’t believe it!!!” And they both assured me- they were VERY excited. Since Zack and I spent so much time there together, to say we were possibly even more excited than the kids would be quite accurate.
ANAHEIM HOTELS
Each of the times we’ve been to Disneyland (twice now, in January and again in May of 2025), we stayed a a “good neighbor” hotel, simply meaning one that is walking distance to Disneyland. The first time (the trip I’m recapping in this post) we stayed at the Fairfield Marriott and it was VERY nice, comfy beds, nice ammenities, close walk to the park. BUT the second time we stayed at a less pricey hotel, the Del Sol Inn, and it was even CLOSER of a walk! Like, I think the closest hotel you can stay at, just about! A quick 10 minute walk into the parks! It was not as fancy, nothing to write home about, BUT it had everything we needed. It was clean, and comfy beds, and BONUS: it had a bunk bed! The first time we had to get two adjoining rooms because of a fiasco with Sam and his sleeping and something we learned the hard way (he needs to have his own space to sleep comfortably, otherwise it’s just NOT GOOD). The bunk bed allowed us to put a sheet over the bottom bunk and give him his own little oasis, so to speak, and that’s all he needed! Plus, how fun for the kids to sleep in a bunk bed! And Ollie got his own queen bed, haha, living the dream! Another note on the hotel: we go to Disney to GO TO DISNEY, lol. We don’t take mid-day breaks (no nappers here, this would be different I’m sure if we had a baby/little one) and literally open and shut down the parks, so we only use our hotel room for SLEEP and a place to land. Therefore, the hotel isn’t a huge deal to us, just that it’s clean, has a bunk bed, and is close walking distance. The Del Sol Inn fit our needs perfectly and I definitely recommend it! It even has a pool!
Disneyland Day 1:
We celebrated Sophie’s 9th birthday, and it was the sweetest, most magical day!!! She wore her Belle dress for a bit (before changing into something more comfortable, parents be warned lol!), and her “Birthday Girl” mouse ears, Ollie and Sam rode their first rollercoaster (gadget coaster)- and LOVED it! We ate good food and met Goofy, and walked 25,000 steps!! The kids did amazing, with no stroller! We just carried Ollie sometimes, and Sophie at the very end. Thankfully we stayed at the Fairfield Marriott Inn (which was so nice! They even surprised use in our room with some special Disney gifts for Sophie for her birthday!) This was all on minimal sleep the night before… we realized with Sam that we need to have either two rooms, or a bunk bed situation where he can have his own space. Unfortunately learned this the hard way by not getting much sleep and then having to add a second room onto our room, buuut you live and learn and now we know! And regardless, it was an amazing day- that’s what coffee is for! Very grateful for that Starbucks inside Disneyland park! Our first day was absolute pure magic from start to finish.
Day 2 at California Adventure:
We were much more well-rested and ready to make all of the memories today! More good food (the soft pretzels are a 10/10), and the Mexican restaurant by Goofy’s Sky School has delicious options too! A new favorite ride for everyone (except Zack lol) was the Mater ride in Cars Land!! We must have gone on it 10 times, at least. In the evening, we just kept going back to back- the smiles from Sam made it all worth it. I love seeing him so happy!! He can’t tell us with words how he’s feeling, but something I’ve learned is that sometimes you just don’t need words. SHOP BEFORE YOU GO:
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Day 3: Disneyland again!
We actually added the third day while in the park, because we knew we needed one more Disney day. It was very smooth, we just had to do a video chat for the DAS pass (more on that below). And I’m so glad we did! We got to ride all our favorites again (Gadget Coaster, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean, Winnie the Pooh, Casey Jr Train, all of the Storybook Land rides), Ollie got to meet his favorite character- Winnie the Pooh! That was the sweeeeetest embrace, let me tell ya. One of those top moments you never forget. The smile on his face was everything! And Sam was a big fan of him, too. Sophie got brave and rode her first rollercoaster (the same as her brothers, Gadget Coaster), and it ended up being one of her favorite rides! We didn’t feel so rushed this day, and just truly enjoyed every moment. We closed the park down again (mind you, it was open until 10pm each night we were there, not midnight! That might have been different lol!), and the kids all did amazing, and we walked 25,000 more steps!!
So many memories were made on our very first trip to Disneyland as a family, and now that we’re home and it’s been a few days- we’re all ready to go back. ;) Like, forreal forreal. When’s our next trip?!?!?!
DAS DISABILITY ACCESS PASS
Okay, so the number one reason our first family trip to Disneyland was even possible, and that made it the best experience we could have possibly had, is all thanks to our “Golden Ticket” as we lovingly refer to it- the DAS Pass. This is a pass for members with a disability that disallows them from being able to stand in long lines and wait. For us, this was a no brainer. With Sam and his severe autism, waiting is one of his “triggers” and will send him spiraling. This pass made our trip magical and actually doable (without it, there’s no way we could have enjoyed it half as much as we did).
So the way the pass works is essentially like a fast pass of the olden days. You check in to a ride on your app, and then it gives you a return time. This way, you still wait for the ride, without having to stand in line! You usually enter through the exit of the ride, or closer to the front. Some rides you still wait a short time, but it’s truly a HUGE help and really made our days so much smoother! Another key thing is that the person with the disability HAS to go on the ride that you’re using it for, but your whole group is able to go together, which was amazing! It was a simple zoom call before our trip to answer some questions to be sure we qualified for it.
FAMILY TRIP TO DISNEYLAND AND CA ADVENTURE PLANNING TIPS:
– Starbucks pick-me-up – There is a Starbucks inside both parks, for that mid-day coffee! On hot days, it’s also a nice cool place to sit and recharge. And they have the best iced water!
– Bring your own snacks and water. I’m not a fan of the drinking fountain water, it just truly does NOT taste good to me, so I try to fill up my water bottle or bring one in, and have that be my water, and then refill from Starbucks. That said, there are many water filling stations throughout the park, which are great to have! And of course, BRING SNACKS! Standing in lines, walking all day, much-needed sit down breaks- snacks will be your saving grace with little ones!
– Wear comfortable shoes! Choose comfort over fashion, friends. Trust me. Nobody wants blisters. I wore my On sneakers and Birkenstocks (which were already broken in and I wear them all the time) the whole time and my feet were SO happy!
– Bring Layers! Southern CA weather can be all over the place, warm in the daytime and cool at night, so bring a sweater! And dress in layers! And check your weather app. ;)
– Family restrooms! There are several throughout the parks, large enough to go into with your kids! Love these.
– Get a locker! It’s very inexpensive and right at the front of each park, and a great place to stow anything you buy as well as your jackets/sweatshirts and maybe change of shoes (if you’re planning on going on any water rides)!
– Need a break from walking? We love to ride the train, it takes you all around the parks, with stops in different lands. But you can stay on as long as you want/need! The monorail is another fun way to get around!
– Try to get there as close to opening as possible. I know it’s hard, especially on day 2 or 3, but man, early morning inside the parks is ELITE. Much lower crowds and it just feels different, and more magical!
– There are a few hidden gems for a calm sensory break, one of them being behind Chip ‘n Dale’s Gadget Coaster in Toon Town. It’s more quiet and calm there, and a great place to take a much-needed sensory break for our especially sensitive kiddos (or parents)!
– Download the Disneyland app and be familiar with it before you leave! Also a great place to check what entertainment (parades, shows, character meetups, even what characters will be walking around when you’re there) will be happening when you’re in the parks! Also check for fireworks shows and World of Color in DCA. We went mid-week, and in January which is a slower time, so there was no fireworks show for us, sadly, but I think the trade off of being slightly less busy (although honestly not sure that’s really a thing any more ha!) was worth it for us.
Any more questions about planning your own family trip to Disneyland?? Leave them below! Happy to help!
And but seriously though, when can we backkkk?!
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xo
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