Celebrating the Holidays at Disneyland with Preschoolers

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It’s pretty obvious that we are Disney fanatics in this house, and if you’ve been around here for a while you know we had passes until Sully was about 18 months old. Meaning that we have about a zillion trips under our belt with one and two toddlers and now we are starting a new journey with three kiddos running around the happiest place on earth! Now both of our big kids are tall enough to go on most of the rides so this last trip was super fun! Plus, it was all decked out for the holidays in the parks which makes it about 100 times more magical. I’m going to share with you my top 5 tips for tackling the Disneyland with preschool aged kiddos. I also am sharing some SWEET discounts at the end of the post if you are planning to go to Disneyland Resort in California or Florida anytime between now at the end of 2020. So basically, I got you covered!

1. Get Fastpasses for the Holiday themed rides

Probably two of the biggest rides during the holidays are It’s a Small World Holiday and The Haunted Mansion holiday. they are both decked out for Christmas (or a combo of Halloween and Christmas thanks to Jack Skellington in the Haunted Mansion). They tend to both have pretty long wait times which is not exactly fun with preschool aged kids. Luckily they both offer fastpasses. My recommendation would be to snag one as soon as you get in the park so you can get a fastpass for the other one later in the day. If you have Max Pass on your tickets you can do it all way easier all from the Disneyland app. If you’re in California Adventure, both Luigi’s Rollickin Roasters and Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree are decorated for the holidays and play holiday music throughout the ride.

2. Make reservations for a character breakfast

This is a no brainer for me, when we don’t have annual passes we typically do a character breakfast during our trip. There’s a few reasons why and I know I need to explain because you’re going to have to spend a bit more money than you would at a standard restaurant. Let me start with, ALL YOU CAN EAT. Hello, why would you not want to just shovel as much food as you can in at one sitting to save more time for all the fun. The food is actually incredible! You get to have guaranteed intimate moments with your child’s favorite characters because they stop at your table while you dine. No waiting in line! That also leaves a time later to do more rides instead of waiting to see Minnie. If you go to my very favorite Plaza Inn breakfast you also get to see characters that you may not get to see around the parks like the Fairy Godmother, Tigger, or Captain Hook. This year we ate at the Storyteller Cafe at the Grand Californian Hotel and it was actually a really great experience. Plus, Mickey was at that location and he is not at the Plaza Inn one. There is also another option at each resort hotel and a princess themed one at the Grand Californian!

3. Watch holiday themed entertainment

If it were up to me, a perfect Christmastime day at Disneyland would include 75% shows and performances, 20% food, and 5% rides. There are so many incredible things to do that are either only around for the holidays or are tweaked to be themed temporarily for the holidays. Here are my favorites!

Disneyland

– Christmas Fantasy Parade

– Believe In Holiday Magic Fireworks

– Dickens Yuletide band

– Castle Enchantment

– Small World Lighting

– Snow along the Rivers of America

DCA

– Holiday Toy Drummers

– Mickey’s Happy Holidays

– Viva Navidad street party

– Buena Vista Street Tree Lighting

– World of Color Season of Light

4. Eat alllll the holiday treats

I don’t think I really need to explain this much at all, other than to say that throughout the resort there are a TON of specialty food and drink items that are only available during the holiday season. There are candies, baked goods, snacks, meals, beverages, and the Holiday Foods Marketplace at California Adventure. This is a really special thing that you must check out! The walkway between Carthay Circle restaurant down to Paradise Pier is filled with themed kiosks that each host a few unique holiday themed items. They are so unique and always really, really tasty!

5. See Santa in both parks or the Disney Resort hotels

We always see Santa on our holiday trip to Disneyland. Let me tell you, Disney does NOT mess around when it comes to casting “characters” and you better believe they knock it out of the park with Santa. You never have to worry about someone not looking the part or a cheesy costume. Also, you’re already there so why not save yourself a trip to the mall during the holidays if you can! Plus, its the whole experience that is magical, the decorations and line queue (complete with elves) is my favorite at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail at California Adventure. We have also seen him over by Splash Mountain and the Winnie the Pooh ride and that one is a bit more intimate and cozy but still great!

   

If you do think that you may take a trip to Disneyland Resort anytime between now at 2020 I have got the hook ups for you from my friends at Get Away Today. Right now is their Black Friday sale with amazing deals! Plus if you use the code MSC10  you can get $10 off! Here’s what you’re working with:

So, there you have it! Seriously, if you’re going to be going at all next year, you should take advantage of this deal! For now, I’m off to bed to dreaming about eating a mickey shaped gingerbread man cookie and watching the fireworks with my family.

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