Look Out Disneyland Here We Come Five

A Journey to Heaven – The Disneyland Hotel

There is always a debate among parents and even grandparents.  My wife and I heard it all to often.  “You cannot be serious about taking your twins to Disneyland they are too young.” Just about every one advised us. 

“We think that 18 months is the right age” we confidently replied.  But we had a plan. We were Disney veterans.  How could we carry this off, we had seen many times in the previous trips we made there, screaming cranky kids or kids just sleeping in strollers.  What made our plan different?  Our secret was the Disneyland Hotel. 

We knew the secret was avoiding long lines, the heat of the day, and see how they would react to life sized characters dressed in costume.  Staying at the Disneyland Hotel gave us this advantage.  The evening upon arriving, we took our twins, a boy and a girl to Goofy’s Kitchen.  Goofy’s Kitchen has Disney characters that circulate with the dining guests.  Here we could test if they would be frightened by characters.  

Then came the big moment, a five foot mouse came to the table.  Was it Mickey? No, it was Pearla the mouse from Cinderella.  They were awe struck.  They sat and pointed and giggled.  That was the start of a love affair for my children and tradition for our family.  They saw even more characters, Chip and Dale, Pluto, and the chef Goofy.  My son wanted to touch their noses or Pluto’s tongue.  My daughter dropped her ice cream and kept pointing it out to every character. Our mission was a total success.  We knew that the following days would be a winner.

Spending several days was the key to our plan.  A major benefit to staying at the Disneyland Hotel was they offer early entry most everyday of our stay.  Two days they don’t are Wednesday and Sunday.  

So therefore bright and early, we were waiting for the first Hotel Tram.  We should have known right there that our son was a daredevil and would enjoy all manner of rides, he was giddy and hard to hold on the tram.  In those days, the tram was the best way to go to and from Disneyland.  It was convenient because it was a long walk across the parking lot and sometimes the Monorail was not running.  If it was it dropped you in Tommorowland.  This would not add to the experience of the main entrance.

We entered the park an hour earlier than the mob that lengthened the lines.  Fantasyland and its attractions were open.  This plan allowed the twins and us to ride every ride in Fantasyland.  There were no lines.  We rode some twice even.  Then, we went to the River Belle Terrace for Mickey Mouse pancakes. It was now just after 9:30 and we were done for now.  We went out the main gate got our hands stamped and got on the tram again.  As the tram pulled away for its return, we waved at the crowd that was lined up to enter the park.  We were heading back for a nap.  This was the key to avoid that cranky-child syndrome we have witnessed all to often.  We did not encumber ourselves with a stroller on that first visit.  The plan worked perfectly for most of the morning.  Then all of a sudden came the bump in the road,  two of them.  Surprisingly, it was my daughter first who balked at walking.  She went on a sit-down strike.   Being twins they had a secret spoken and unspoken language.  

When my son saw his sister, he too plopped down 300 yards from the Sierra Tower where our room was. They would not move.  We could have drugged them by their leashes.  Yes, being helicopter parents, always hovering closely, we had leashes.  My wife had to carry my daughter and I put my son on my shoulders. 

We all were ready for a nap. We returned later with the stroller to enjoy more of Disneyland that day.  We used four days to leisurely play and explore the entire park.  We took pictures with all the characters, rode every attraction appropriate to their age and height, and watched parades.  We proved all the naysayers wrong with our knowledge of the Disneyland Hotel. 

We avoided the cranky child by extending our stay.  We avoided the heat and long lines by using Disneyland Hotel’s benefit of Early Entry.  This and nap time in the mid morning kept everyone well rested.  Finally, we successfully introduced the twins to the joy of the many Disney characters.  We not only gave the twins and ourselves an incredible first visit but because of the positive experience. We built not only a family tradition but developed two Disney fanatics.

I would like to thank the website Yesterland.com without whom my memories would be less colorful.