Disneyland "Dont's"

I have learned the hard way about the mistakes you can make at Disneyland. Here are my top 5 mistakes and what you can do to avoid them and enjoy your vacation!

1) Wearing flip flops, no sunblock and no hat. Even though there are three things here, they go together. Being in SoCal, Disneyland has summer weather most of the year, wearing sunblock and a hat to avoid heatstroke and painful sunburns. Since the park is packed with strollers, it is very easy for someone to run over toes, but by avoiding flip flops you'll be in good shape.

2) Expecting it to not be crowded. There are over one million annual pass holders and Disneyland is a lot smaller in size than the Magic Kingdom, with only one other park instead of three to absorb the people. It will most likely be crowded when you go. Get there at park opening if at all possible and go in with the expectation that it will be crowded. In addition, try to use the fastpass system if you are looking for ways to deal with the crowds.

3) Not eating or eating when everyone else does. It is common to want to keep going from ride to ride or attraction to attraction and forget about eating. You need to eat to keep your energy up. You also need to avoid that hunger meltdown that can hit and the most inopportune time. If you eat your meals at 11 a.m. and 4:30 or 5:00 p.m instead of the normal 12 and 6 p.m. times, you will avoid a lot of the crowds and have a shorter ordering line. You will also have a place to sit and eat. 

4) Not making advance dining reservations. If you would like to eat at a table service restaurant, you will need to make advance dining reservations. It is best to do this earlier rather than later. There are some restaurants, such as Blue Bayou in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, that will turn you away once they fill up times- and they will fill up! This is also important if you do not want to wait, wait and wait before being seated to eat or have special dietary requests. Advanced dining reservation information can be found here.

And finally...

5) Not taking into consideration the time it takes to park or get into the park. It will take about a half an hour to park your car and get into the park via tram or walking on a good day. If you are using transportation from your hotel, please keep in mind that some of their buses will stop to pick up passengers at other hotels owned by the chain.