Welcome to PART 3 (of 3) of my Disneyland on the Cheap series!

As you might know, we took our kids to Disneyland for the first time in February. To give you the unbeatable inside scoop, I have created this (brace-yourself-thorough) “Disneyland On The Cheap” 3- part post series for you so I can share my new wealth of knowledge to…well…anyone who’s willing to listen, really. (Not picky here, folks.). This post is definitely more of a “Disney 101” post, for those who (like me) had no idea what to expect…and no idea what I was doing! For all you Disney experts, maybe there are nuggets of wisdom in there. Either way, please leave a comment and let us know what Disney tips I missed!

Now, let's get to the good stuff.

Everything you need and more!  The most inclusive, thorough, helpful, unbiased Disneyland Guide/Ultimate Disneyland Ebook you will ever read!

Note: BE SURE TO READ PART 1 and PART 2 before reading this! Trust me, it will answer TONS of questions you’re bound to have.

• Part 1 covered what our trip cost, how to budget/afford/save up for it, where we stayed, and more.
• Part 2 covered prep, packing, and traveling (with kids especially).
• Disneyland On The Cheap series has been updated by Jessica Sanders, author of Disneyland On Any Budget

They cover SO MUCH INFO that you NEED to read before moving to this one. So again, don’t skip those, mmmmkay?

Now it's time for PART 3: Inside the Parks!

Here's what this post will cover in detail:

• Video of our Disneyland highlights
• When to arrive
• Parking at Disneyland
• The “magic buttons”
• How to avoid long lines
• The best $15 you'll spend at Disneyland
• FastPasses
• Disneyland with young kids
• Walking
• Waiting in line
• Keeping kids entertained while waiting
• Keeping kids from getting lost
• Riding Rides
• Stroller Passes
• Getting a babysitter
• Additional tips for doing Disneyland with young kids
• Disneyland with a baby
• Food, snacks, drinks
• Food we brought
• Food you shouldn't bring
• Photos
• Parades
• Shows
• How to see princesses!
• Souvenirs
• Downtown Disney

So let's get on with it, shall we?!

VIDEO OF OUR DISNEYLAND HIGHLIGHTS:

Enjoy this video showing some of the highlights of our time inside Disneyland and California Adventure! (Watch online or click and watch below)

See how fun that was?! Now here's the REAL scoop on how to make Disneyland truly magical:

WHEN TO ARRIVE:

I talk about Magic Morning in PART 1 so I won't repeat myself here. But my definite recommendation is to arrive as early as you're physically able! Especially if you're doing 3 days or less at the parks. The busy rides fill up fast, FastPasses run out fast (read below), and frankly, you're just wasting time if you dawdle! My advice is to commit to hitting it HARD. Wake up early, and be waiting at the gate when it opens.

PARKING AT DISNEYLAND:

Since we drove to California we had our own car, thus we chose to drive and park vs taking public transportation. Ultimately we are happy with this choice, even though our condo was within walking distance (see a video of our condo and how much we paid for it in PART 1). It costs around $20/day, but we decided it was worth it when our kids threw exhausted, epic, nap-deprived tantrums at the end of the day and it's all we could do to make it to the car in one piece. I don't have experience with non-parking options, but they have great info on their website about it. You will park in the same place whether you go to Disneyland or California Adventure, because their gates are right across from each other.

As explained in PART 1, we went the first week of February, one of the slowest times of the year. Parking was no issue; we hardly had to walk to get to the tram (which our kids loved).

THE “MAGIC BUTTONS”:

Spoiler alert: these buttons are not actually magical. But your kids won't know that! If you are a Disneyland first-timer, or if it's your birthday, you can ask the workers for buttons. Keep them on your shirts all day, and you get special attention from cast and characters…ESPECIALLY the birthday button!

While wearing the birthday button, every staff member and character said “Happy birthday, Hutch!”. It was AMAZING how well-trained everyone was. Our son, the birthday boy, got a special wave, nod, point, hug, or hi-five from every character and dancer who came by us at the parade – even the princesses and major characters! He felt like a billion bucks and it really made the trip special.

The rest of us didn't notice any special treatment with our “first time” buttons, but we didn't care because Hutch got enough attention for all of us.

HOW TO AVOID LONG LINES:

It's inevitable that when at Disneyland, you WILL stand in line. Often times long lines. For everything: food, rides, bathrooms, shows, meeting characters, getting into and out of the park….everything. But hey, that's what you signed up for! (Interesting fact: I actually read somewhere that Disneyland purposefully doesn't let lines drop below 10-15 minutes because if you were able to sprint through lines at rides, it devalues the experience. Makes sense…I guess.)

My first tip is: go off-season. I don't see the big deal in pulling kids out of school. Hey, if you're going to spend $4K+ on a trip, might as well get the most out of it, rather than spending your entire 3 days standing in lines. But that's just me! I understand not everyone is like that. But if you can, go off-season. See all the best times of year to go to Disneyland in PART 1.

But whether you go off-season or not, DOWNLOAD THE RIDEMAX APP!! It’s $15, and worth every penny. Don’t download it too early, because you only get it for 90 days at the $15 price.

It's really easy to use. You download the app (or use their website online if you don't have a smartphone) and tell it all the rides, attractions, and shows, and even characters (sometimes) you want to see. It uses a real-time algorithm and gives you an extremely detailed agenda to follow in order to hit the shortest lines. It is VERY detailed. It tells you, to the minute, where you should be, and what you should be doing. It even schedules in breaks and meals!

I don’t know how they do it, but it’s downright genius. Best $15 you’ll spend on your whole trip.

Here's how we used it:

The night before each park visit, we sat down as a group, went through the entire list of attractions and rides, and each commented on what we wanted to see/ride/do. The app gave us a very detailed itinerary. The next day we followed the itinerary as best we could, but would get side-tracked if we saw a character, needed an unscheduled rest, etc. It turned out to be fine! We usually were able to go out of order, or cross off something of lower priority on our itinerary to get back on-track. We didn't follow it as rigidly as some since our kiddos are so little. But it still helped us IMMENSELY. Trust me, you NEED this!

The longest line we waited in was about 30 minutes, for the Dumbo ride and the Radiator Springs Racer ride. The rest were 15-20 minutes on average, which was UH-MAY-ZING.

FastPasses:

Their website says it best! So here's how FastPasses work:

1. Look for the FASTPASS Distribution sign near the entrance of an attraction.
2. Check the Return Time displayed on this sign.
   • If the return time works for you, insert your valid Disneyland Resort admission ticket, readmission ticket or Annual Passport into the FASTPASS machine.
   • The machine will generate a FASTPASS ticket printed with your return time.
   • Return to the FASTPASS Return entrance at your Return Time, show your FASTPASS ticket to the Cast Member and enjoy the attraction with a minimal wait.

A few additional notes about FastPasses:

• You can only be holding ONE FastPass at a time. RideMax (read above) really came in handy with this one. It told us exactly when to run and grab a FastPass, then what rides to ride while you kill time waiting for your FastPass window to open. For example, let's say you grab a FastPass for Radiator Springs Racers at 10am. You might not be able to use it until 12pm (or later), so you need to go ride other, typically less-popular, rides to kill time. Then as soon as 12pm hits, you're now able to grab another FastPass for another ride. There are some exceptions like if your FastPass return time is several hours later or in the case of arare “disconnected' FastPass.

• The FastPass kiosks are NOT always next to the ride they are for. For example, Radiator Springs FastPass kiosk is actually next to it's tough to be a bug by the entrance to bug's land. So be sure to look at a map or ask a cast member so you can find it easily!

• Not all rides have FastPasses! Usually it's just the uber popular ones that have super long lines.

• IF A RIDE HAS A FASTPASS OPTION, USE IT!!! You are seriously wasting time otherwise! We would zip through lines, while others in the non FastPass line would be waiting for upwards of 45 minutes or more. I didn't understand it! I was like, “DUDES! Aren't you miserable?!” Seriously, if you are wise about using the FastPasses you'll hit 2x the amount of rides in a day.

• FastPasses are limited, and they DO run out! We sent a runner to grab Radiator Springs FastPasses for everyone within the first 5 minutes of entering California Adventure. It was probably no later than 10:05, and our FastPasses couldn't be used until that evening! It was nuts. If people came even 30 minutes after us they didn't get a FastPass because the quota had been met. And remember, everyone needs to be IN the park to get a FastPass. No sleeping in and sending dad at the crack of dawn to get Radiator Springs Racers FastPasses. If your ticket isn't scanned at the gate the FastPass machine won't work and then you just look silly holding up the line trying to get FastPasses for people who aren't even there.

• Choose your most important rides of the day and focus on those FastPasses.

DISNEYLAND WITH YOUNG KIDS:

Walking:

It's no secret that you do A LOT of walking at Disneyland. I mean, a lot. It was exhausting for the adults, let alone the kiddos!

In our group we had a newborn, a 2, 3, and 5 year old, my mom who got knee replacement surgery not too long ago, and a whole lotta stuff to lug around between the 11 of us. We not only brought our Phil & Teds double stroller (read all about it in PART 2), but also brought the double stroller available at our condo AND got a wheelchair for my mom. We joked that we were the misfit parade (which was true), but we were so glad we had all the wheels we did!

Waiting in line:

Even though we went during a slow time of year and the lines were relatively short (15-20 mins on average I'd say), waiting in line is hard for everyone…especially kids. Ours did surprisingly well, mostly due to the fact that we had so many adults around to help entertain them, and the lines moved quickly.

Strollers are not allowed in line, and car seats are a NIGHTMARE – so prepare yourself that you will be holding your young ones.

Ideas for staying entertained in line:

• Play “I spy”, “Simon Says” or other cute games

• Download Heads Up!, Ellen Degenerous' app. It's a hoot! It's like the game Hedbanz, but on your phone. You choose a category (like animals, for example, if playing with kids). You start the game by holding the phone to your forehead so you can't see what's on the screen. The group acts out or describes what animal (or whatever) is on your screen and you have to guess as many as you can before time runs out. My kids love it!

• Come armed with snacks and treats! I know I get cranky when I'm hungry…

• Take selfies with them! Kids LOVE seeing themselves on camera. If you have an iPhone turn on all the fun photo effects and let them go at it. Keeps them entertained and gives you some pretty cute shots as well 🙂

• Bribery! My mom brought a huge sack of “fishy treats” (Swedish Fish). She pulled them out semi-regularly for those “who were being good”. Worked like a charm, and really helped them remember to be good during aaaaaaaall that waiting!

Keeping kids from getting lost:

• As mentioned in PART 2, we recommend bringing a Sharpie. It came in handy several times – writing names on water bottles and matching souvenirs, writing names on our buttons, and writing our phone number on our kids in case they got lost.

• We didn't use kiddie leashes, but I don't think they are a bad idea. Hey, if your kid is a runner, they can be gone in an instant! No shame in my book.

• We kept our kids locked in the stroller almost all the time. They got to be out while waiting in line, but walking around (especially when hustling to get FastPasses or what not) they were always tied in. It gave me peace of mind knowing they were safe, and also helped them last longer by giving their little legs a break!

Riding Rides:

Since we were Disney-ing with young ones, we mostly stuck with activities and rides that were age appropriate.

However…

I do love me a good thrill ride! We found ourselves trading off a lot. At California Adventure, for example, we all loved the California Screamin' coaster. The kids were all too short (and scared) to go, so my mom and I took them on the carousel (next to the coaster) a few times while everyone else went on the coaster. When they were done we traded. The lines were so short, we hardly had to wait.

I will say…trading off is the pits. Even when using the rider switch pass (read next section), it stinks that the whole group can't be together. So ultimately we really tried to focus on rides that EVERYONE could do, and saved the big thrill rides for our adults-only night on our last day (keep reading about that too).

Rider Switch pass:

When traveling with kids who are too young/short/nervous to ride certain rides, you can go to the FastPass line and ask for a Rider switch pass, which essentially works exactly like a Fast Pass, except there is no time limit or window. Here's how it works:

Let's say we want to go on Radiator Springs Racers, but Beck and the baby are too short to go (true story). Everyone goes through the line as usual (using the Fast Passes we picked up earlier, thanks to our RideMax app telling us to do so) while I ask them for a Rider Switch pass. I wait outside the ride with the kids. Once everyone is done with the ride, they take over waiting with the kids while myself and 1 other person go to the FastPass line, show them the Rider switch pass (which admits 2 people), and wait in line to ride the ride. Meanwhile, the rest of the group moves on to stand in line for the next ride. Again, it's basically a FastPass without having to show up at a certain time to use it; it's good all day. But yes, you do have to wait in the FastPass line just like everyone else.

Getting a babysitter:

As explained in PART 1, we got a 3-day pass. Our kids would've been fine with 2 days! By the third day, they were beside themselves with exhaustion. On day 3 they only made it to 2 pm before they started melting down. It wasn't pretty. But we adults weren't done having fun yet! I got in touch with a friend who lived nearby and hired her nanny to stay with the kids for a few hours that night so we could have some adult-only time in the park. It was SOOOOO NICE, guys. Seriously. We got the kids fed and completely ready for bed, had her come at 6, she put them down at 7, and we partied until about 10:30. It was worth every penny!

If you don't know anyone who lives in the Anaheim area, there is a Nanny In The Kingdom that several people referred me to. She has a Facebook page where you can contact her. She basically is a nanny for hire, has been doing it for years. She will babysit your kids, wait in line for you, grab fast-passes for you, stay with the baby while you go on a thrill ride, etc. I've heard from a few people that she's great, though I've never used her personally – so hire at your own risk.

Either way, if you want some adult-only time make advance plans and work it into the budget to get a sitter. It really was a win-win for everyone on our trip! (Though, my kids love babysitters because they get to eat pizza and watch a movie before bed.)

Additional tips:

• Bring extra clothes for each child! Having 4 kids, it seemed like a TON of extra stuff to pack around! However, each of my kids needed a change of clothes at least once during our 3 days in the parks. My baby ended up needing a new outfit almost every day. I was VERY happy to have spare jammies on day 1, when she had an epic blowout on the 2nd ride of the day. (Sorry for the graphic pic. Couldn't help myself.)

• Stroller parking. You aren't allowed to bring your stroller in any lines for any rides, which I actually didn't know before going to Disneyland (tells you how much of a novice I am!). So just know that anything you leave in your stroller is out in the open for any/all to snag. The good news? We left just about everything in our strollers and didn't have any theft problems. However, I always carried my mini backpack with me that held my phone, camera, and wallet, along with a few necessities for the kids such as diapers, wipes, and a full bottle, as well as snacks and a water bottle. All of which came in handy for some kid or another on just about every ride!

DISNEYLAND WITH A BABY:

Again, I encourage you to check out PART 2 because I go into full detail about what I recommend bringing for baby, and why. But here are a few additional tips:

• BABY CENTERS: There are a number of baby centers inside the parks complete with nursing rooms, changing tables, feeding area with high chairs, kitchen with microwave and sink, and a shop with just about everything you could need including formula, diapers, wipes, binkies, and even medicine. Find where they are HERE. I, personally, never had the chance to use one because they were always too far away from where we were. When a baby needs something, they seem to need it RIGHT THEN. I made sure to pack more than enough of everything I needed, and ended up doing just fine…and got good at changing baby's diaper, even while in line for a ride. Gross, I know, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Just pack a changing pad.

• Waiting in line with the baby was pretty easy. I just kept her in my ERGObaby carrier. Sometimes we would hold her in our arms if she was awake, but I felt like she was pretty exposed to being bumped around or getting germs on her so I preferred the ERGObaby carrier. (and so did she!)

• There were several rides where I was able to actually wear the baby ON the ride! It was a bit uncomfortable (I didn't want to crush her against the lap bar), so I actually preferred to hold her in my arms or on my lap if she was awake.

• Car seat or no car seat? Again, I cover this in full detail in PART 2. I'm still not sure where I stand. It was obnoxious having one, however, my baby was only a few months old when we went so I liked being able to tuck her safely away from germs, the sun, and crowds while she was sleeping. It was also nice to cover her and tuck her away during parades and loud things.

• Nursing at Disneyland is not easy…unless you have a Bomb Shelter Cover! (can you smell the shameless plug coming?)

For real though, I found myself having to nurse in the middle of a line, on a ride, eating in the middle of a restaurant, and even during the parade. No one was interested in seeing any form of side boob or love handle of mine, so I'm glad I had my Bomb Shelter cover (which is my own invention, thank you very much) to allow me to nurse on the go, anywhere, without flashing anything to anyone.

Since I love you all, use the code DISNEY to get yours for just $15.99 for a limited time!

The price hasn't been that low since I was taking pre-orders, so hurry! I'm only going to keep that price active for a few days after this post airs, just FYI. Order yours HERE!

FOOD, SNACKS, DRINKS:

Yes, you can bring your own! Here's what I recommend bringing:

• A small cooler bag. You're not allowed to bring in anything with wheels, aside from a stroller or wheelchair, including a rolling cooler or suit case. Coolers must be smaller than 24″ long and 15″ wide. You cannot bring wagons, or anything else that is pulled by a person or machine. Read their rules for more info.

• Your own drinks, including water bottles. You will pay $4 or more for a water bottle…but you can get an entire case of them for from Costco instead! Pack as many as you can bear (we shoved them into the bottom of our stroller) and find water stations to refill them throughout the day. They are few and far between, so we were glad to have so many spare water bottles to tide us over. In terms of sodas, bring your own! I was hot, tired, and thirsty. I was tempted to pay almost $4 for a small soda when I passed by this stroller, which made my mouth water:

Stop by a gas station and bring in your own drinks to save you much dinero!

In terms of food and snacks, here are some of the things we brought in:

• Sandwiches – PB&J. Nothing that would spoil easily, you're out in the sun ALL DAY.
• Granola bars
• Fruit snacks
• Frozen string cheese. Put it in the freezer the night before and it thaws slowly throughout the day. Keeps your other food cold, too!
• Trail mix
• Fruit leather and dried fruit. Great way to get in fruit without worrying about mushing or bruising.

Food/drinks to avoid:

• Mushy things like bananas
• Fruit in general. We brought a few apples, but even they got smushed and bruised. Just tell yourself you'll make up for the unhealthy eating when you get back 🙂
• Milk, dairy, and other food that spoils easily in the heat (with the exception of the frozen string cheese I mention above).
• Drinks that don't have twist lids, like juice boxes. We brought juice boxes and they were a mess. The kids would toss them back in the stroller without drinking every drop, and they leaked and splattered on things. Twist tops are the best. Plus, you can refill twist containers!
• Crackers. I brought a roll of Ritz crackers and they were crushed to dust by the end of the day.

PHOTOS:

**UPDATE!! Selfie Sticks are now banned in the parks! They WILL be confiscated and not returned, so take heed and do NOT bring them into the parks!**

As explained in PART 2, I do NOT recommend bringing a large DSLR camera. Many of my readers commented and confirmed that recommendation. It's just one more thing to lug around and worry about losing, breaking, or having it stolen! For more items to bring and leave at home see PART 2.

Disney has professional photographers all around the park that take your photos constantly throughout the day. You can use Disney's photo pass service and buy their professional photos. For us, we just took our own photos, mostly on our phones. In fact, you can ask any of the professional photographers to take a photo of you with your own camera/phone, and they will happily do it! (Yes, this is confirmed.) Though, obviously, they would prefer you to buy their photos.

When it comes to photos taken of you during a ride, there is a mixed review on this. My family has always taken a picture of the screen, a photo of a photo if you will. I've never thought twice about it because I've never been hassled for this, scolded, or ever told not to. In fact, at the end of California Screamin' we asked am employee to bring our picture back up so we could take a picture of it with our phones, and they did it for us gladly!

HOWEVER – I posted this “take a picture of your picture with your phone” tip on Instagram and several Freebs informed me that it was against Disneyland's rules. OOPS! So I quickly took the photo and tip down and apologized for not knowing better. I couldn't find anything about it in their policies or rules, so I guess I don't know where I stand with the issue. You're just going to have to decide for yourself, I guess!

PARADES:

To be completely honest, the Parades are one of the best parts of Disneyland in my opinion! You get to see ALL the princesses and characters in one place, it's high energy, and it's a good break for everyone's tired legs.

Seating for parades are first come, first served. We got lucky because my mom was in a wheelchair which allowed us to get fabulous seating at the Disneyland parade. We had no such luck at California Adventure, but didn't find it too hard to find decent seats.

My advice? Go EARLY and save spots. My mom and dad sat down 45 minutes early for the Disneyland parade, and it was already getting packed. We were more like 30 minutes early at California Adventure.

On the flip-side, if parades aren't really your thing, it's a great time to ride rides because the lines are shorter! Same with Fantasmic and fireworks show at night; if you've seen it (or don't really care) then use that time to go hit some of the most popular rides!

SHOWS

Shows are a LIFE SAVER! It gives you a chance to rest your legs, get out of the heat and into some air conditioning, allows you to give the kids a snack or let the baby out of the carrier/car seat, and enjoy some quality entertainment.

Here are the shows we saw, all of which I recommend:

DISNEYLAND:

• The Royal Theatre had a cute reenactment of Frozen, complete with song and dance (as shown in the video above). The story changes. In fact, we thought we were going to Rapunzel but were pleasantly surprised to see it was Frozen that day!

• Not sure if this constitutes as a show, but the Jedi Training in Tomorrowland was AMAZING. We stumbled upon it on accident while getting lunch. We watched the entire show (watch the video above to see how interactive it is for kids), and Hutch was dying to be part of it. Sign ups happen first thing in the morning in Tomorrowland. My son still talks about how it was one of the greatest moments of his life to defeat Darth Vader…and he's never even seen Star Wars before! It was pretty magical.

• You must see one of their incredible fireworks night time shows. As explained in PART 2, remember to bring your glow sticks! We saw Fantasmic and I will say, it was a bit creepy, our kids were freaked out. Much of the show focuses on all the Disney villains, and it really made our kids nervous. But, in true Disney fashion, it ended with a happy ending which smoothed everything over. But just FYI if you have young/timid kids like we do. It was almost too much for some of our little ones.

CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE:

• The Aladdin Spectacular was just that…SPECTACULAR (Seriously Broadway quality), has now been replaced with Frozen-Live at the Hyperion. Jessica Sanders, author of Disneyland On Any Budget highly recommends it even to those who aren't Frozen fans. Plus you get a break in the air-conditioned theater.

HOW TO SEE PRINCESSES!!

Let's be honest, Princesses are the reason we go to Disneyland in the first place…right? Anyone? …No?

Sure, you could wait in line for 1 hour or longer to see your favorite princess. We decided NOT to do this, but still got to see TONS of them! Here's where we saw princesses:

• You MUST go to The Royal Hall. It's right next to The Royal Theater. You wait in line (for us it was only about 20 minutes) and when it's your turn you get to go in a special reception hall where you get about 3-5 minutes – ALONE – with up to 3 surprise princesses! We met Snow White, Belle, and Cinderella (as shown in the video above). They kept saying, “come on in, the room is yours!”. It was BOMB.

They have several professional photographers there to take your photos with your own cameras, as well as theirs. The princesses stand and chit chat with the kids, give hugs, talk about the dwarves, Prince Charming, and whatever else comes to their pretty little princess minds. Priya basically died and went to Heaven right then and there. (Ok, so did I.) Worth it guys, WORTH IT!

• You can meet Elsa and Anna in California Adventure and on occasion outisde the Royal Hall at Disneyland.
• Shows, shows, shows! We saw pretty much all the princesses, even the rare ones like Pocahontas, Jasmine, and Mulan. Read above for the shows we went to.

• Read more ways to see princesses HERE.

SOUVENIRS:

As mentioned in PART 1, while we did buy Disney trinkets from the Dollar Store and Walmart BEFORE hitting the park, we still budged ahead for additional souvenirs. Hey, it is Disneyland, after all.

There are gift shops at the end of every ride at Disneyland, and they are themed differently; you will find mostly Toy Story toys after the Buzz Lightyear ride, for example.

My tip? Wait, and go to World of Disney in Downtown Disney just before the end of your trip. Every souvenir from the entire park is in that ONE store (yes, it's huge) so you can find it all in one place.

We allowed our kids to each pick ONE souvenir. We talked about it throughout the week, and in each store when they said “Mom! Can I have this??” we would say, “If that's what you want! You'll just have to wait until the end of Disneyland when it's time to pick your present.” We were able to leave every gift shop without any whining or tantrums, because they were so excited about picking out their one present.

On the last day we took them to World of Disney. Hutch knew EXACTLY what he wanted…a real light saber (again, the Jedi Training was MAGICAL).

Priya, however, wanted EVERYTHING she could get her hands on. Literally.

Instead of her grabbing everything off the shelves (any more than she already had) I had her walk around and show me everything she wanted. I took a picture of each item with my phone. After walking the length of the store, we sat down and went through all the pictures in my phone, telling her to choose from the pics.

She was having a hard time deciding which princess set to get. #FirstWorldProblems. We finally settled on this awesome castle that had ALL the princesses (and princes!) with it.

It was definitely purchased with encouragement for me. It was expensive ($65 I think?) but I knew it was something she'd actually play with for months down the road, vs some of the cheapo $30 light up toys she was looking at.

As explained in PART 1, we had budget for $50 per kid. Hutch's was in the $40 range, Beck's was only $15, so spending more on Priya's was still within budget. Did we need to come home with a huge princess castle? No. But hey, we were caught up in the Disney spirit! 🙂

However you choose to do souvenirs, do them at the very end of your trip so you aren't packing them around all day with you!

DOWNTOWN DISNEY:

As explained in PART 1, we took a day off between going to the parks and spent the day at Downtown Disney. DD is free to get into, and is the row of shops and restaurants you pass through to get to Disneyland or California Adventure. It's pretty magical, as well! We stayed at DD all day and still didn't hit all the shops. As shown in the video above, a few highlights included the Lego store, and the Rainforest Cafe.

WHEEW!

I hope you enjoyed this series. Heck, you'd better because each post took me about 20 hours to complete if you can believe it! So I hope you can feel the love and effort that went into each painstaking detail. And more than anything, I hope your family has as great of an experience as ours did 🙂

Be sure to check out PART 1, and PART 2. If you liked these posts, subscribe to our email list and future fantastic posts will magically appear in your inbox 🙂

P.S – if you like this post, you’ll love my How To Cruise With Kids post series, and my other travel posts too!

Thanks for reading! Now, go rest your eyes a bit, eh?