My Tips For Disneyland

Here are some tips I have learned after two different trips to Disneyland that others may find helpful from a cruiser's perspective.

• Staying at a hotel that is walking distance to the park is very helpful but much more expensive.  Weigh out the cost with the savings you will encounter from paying or transport.
• Staying at a hotel further away is a great money saver (40% less for our recent stay). However we had to take the local transit (ART) to get anywhere.  Once we walked back and it took 40 minutes.  If you do pick a hotel further away at least find one that has a few amenities nearby.
• The local transit - ART comes in handy.  Check out day passes or 3 or 5 days passes for real savings.  A single ride cost $3, day pass is $5 and a 3 day pass is $12.  Staff on board are very very helpful and patient.
• Download the Disneyland App on your phone for quick access for park times, ride times, food venues, photo pass, dining reservation and so much more. We checked it often to see what the wait times and if rides were back up and running.
• Bring patience - but somehow as soon as we enter the park we except that everything is going to take longer and when we start to loose that patience we know we need to take a break or leave.
• Enjoy meeting new people. Trust me you won't have a choice! When you are line chat with the people around you. Find out where they are from. Smile and chat with the kids - they need as much distration as they can when in those long lines. 
• Remember that it takes a village, so offer to help out when other families need help. Like the large family who tried to board the bus with the four little kids and a stroller after a long day - offer help. When you see a family drop something pick it up. We all have been there and needed help so helping someone else just shows kindness and we need more of that.
• You can bring some food into the park.  We brought some fruit and granola bars and they tied us over between meals as we couldn't afford to eat full meals there. Oh and bring water.
• Be prepared to spend $$$$$ nothing and I mean nothing is cheap. I really don't know how families do it.  We would get a coffee in the park and that was about it.  One day we had a hotdog  and a bag of chips for $7.50 each ($10 Canadian). But food is only the begining rememer cotton candy, pretzels, pins, t-shirts, hats, bubble wands and well anything else you could consider to buy with a Micky on it.
• If you are interested in the Dine and View packages I highly recommend it.  It was expensive but the meal was fabulous and the fewer crowds at the viewing area was nice too.
• Stop and enjoy the experience, spend some time on a bench and watch the people go by.  Enjoy a band or show.  Look around and enjoy the small touches. Look for all the Mickey's hidden throughout the park.
• Oh and sing out loud even if you can't sing.  Dance even if you can't dance.  And don't worry about embarrasing your kids everything embarrases them.