Disneyland in California has become my favorite theme park as a dad with kids. With its unique rides and lands, as well as a smaller footprint making it easier to get around the park, our whole family has come to really enjoy vacationing here.

What sets Disneyland apart from Disney World

I have been to Disney World quite a few times and our family loves to spend time there, but it can be quite busy. To me, going to Disneyland seems like a more relaxed and laid back vacation. I’m not sure the exact reason for this. It may be because its more of a “locals” park. It’s busy, but the crowds don’t appear to be as large or last all day long like in Disney World. While definitely not a low cost vacation, the overall cost is generally lower in Disneyland than Disney World , and they even sometimes have special ticket prices for kids at certain times of the year (more on that in a bit). 

What really sets the 2 parks (Disneyland and California Adventure) apart from their eastern counterparts is that they have unique rides that can only be found at these parks. In Disneyland, there is the Matterhorn Bobsleds and Indiana Jones Adventure as well as many original 1955 opening day rides including Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Casey Jr. Circus Train and Storybook Land Canal Boats.

Over in California Adventure there is Pixar Pier with its boardwalk-themed rides and attractions including the Incredicoaster as well as Cars Land with Radiator Springs Racers. I’ll talk more about my favorite rides and attractions a little later on.

View while on the Radiator Springs Racers ride at Disney’s California Adventure Park

Spending your time

It is possible to get in most of the rides and attractions at Disneyland and California Adventure Park in 2 days. However, as a family of 5 we typically have chosen to go a little longer to ensure we get in everything that we want to do. In Disneyland, the ticket length range is 1-5 days. We have had a full range of trip lengths to the parks here (1 day, 3 day and 5 days). On our most recent trip in January 2024, we just did 1 day in Disneyland and it was on a Saturday so we expected it to be a very congested day. Even though it did turn out to be a very busy day, we were pleasantly surprised to be able to get in the all rides and attractions we wanted. 

We also had a 5 day ticket back in 2023 and we were able to go at a slower pace each of the days since we had a longer stay. This was even more enjoyable as we didn’t feel the stress and pressure to get all the rides in on the same day since we knew we would be back another day later in the trip. Another perk to staying longer is the opportunity to take a break in the afternoon and go back to the hotel and swim or to go to Downtown Disney and wander around the shops.

View from our room at Grand Californian Hotel

Ticket Prices and Park Reservations

Upon looking at ticket costs, I have noticed that 1-2 day ticket prices are pretty comparable to what one would expect at Disney World but as you add more days in Disneyland the cost per day does go down. This is especially true if you choose a 5 day ticket which offers the best value. Also keep in mind that children under the age of 3 do not require a ticket to access the parks.

Our family has also taken advantage of discounts on kids tickets on a couple of our vacations as well. In January 2024, when we went for 1 day to Disneyland, they had a ticket special going for a $50 ticket for children between the ages of 3-9. This made our day of fun so much more affordable. Of note, some of the discounts offered are only available for Southern California residents so you do need to watch the discounts closely to ensure that you qualify for it.

It’s a Small World ride at Disneyland Park

Unlike most tickets at Disney World, Disneyland still requires a valid ticket AND a park reservation to enter one of the parks each day. When you purchase your tickets, you can grab a park reservation right away. You can also make changes to your reservations as long as there is still availability. Typically Disneyland will “sell-out” faster than California Adventure and the weekends are also more likely too “sell-out” quicker than weekdays.

I would definitely recommend keeping an eye on the park availability calendar especially if you are waiting to closer to your trip to buy tickets. Days can fill up fast and show no availability especially during busier times of the year such as holiday weekend, summer, spring/winter breaks. For our 1 day trip to Disneyland in January 2024 we purchased our tickets a couple weeks before we left and there was plenty of availability when we bought our tickets. However as we got closer to the date we were going to the park, the Disneyland website showed no more availability for our day so I was very happy that we purchased early.

Hotels: Staying On-Property vs Off-Property

Disneyland has 3 hotels that are on-property including Pixar Place Hotel, the Disneyland Hotel, and the Grand Californian Hotel. These hotels are very convenient as they are very close to the parks but can be quite expensive depending on the time of the year and whether there are any available discounts.

There are many other hotels in the area though that are still just as close to the parks and offer similar amenities but can be much lower in price. We have stayed on-property at the Grand Californian but have also stayed nearby at the Residence Inn by Marriott at Anaheim Resort/Convention Cntr as well as the Anaheim Marriott Hotel.

One thing that I love about staying on-property is being in the “Disney Bubble”. What I mean by that is that you can feel transported away from the real world for just a few days and just be in Disney vacation mode. There is something quite special and relaxing about not having to drive from here to there and not having parking lots/ramps to deal with. You can just be on vacation and enjoy!

When we stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel we noticed some extra perks with staying on-property including early entry into the parks. Early entry is very convenient as you can gain access to one of the parks 30 minutes prior to regular park opening. This helps you to be able to get a head start on some of the most sought after rides at the parks. Disney rotates which park opens early so you do have to check the Disney calendar to see which park has early entry each day of your stay. As a Disney hotel guest, you can also gain access to “a limited number” of dining reservations at some table-service restaurants during your hotel stay.

On the flip side, booking a Disney vacation can also take a big bite out of the pocketbook so staying off-property at a “Good Neighbor Hotel” can help to lower your overall cost of the trip. “Good Neighbor Hotels” are hotels that are “Disney-approved” and are close to the Disneyland Resort. Staying at one of these hotels can still keep you quite close to the parks but help to lessen your hotel expenses. When we stayed at the Residence Inn by Marriott at Anaheim Resort/Convention Cntr as well as the Anaheim Marriot Hotel, we were able save money by being off-property and were still only about a 20 minute walk from the parks.

Rides/Attractions

My wife and I had the chance to go to Disneyland years ago, just as a couple, and that was our first taste of these magical parks. We loved it so much that we have gone back now a handful of times with our children and it has been so fun to share our favorite rides with our kiddos. There are so many different lands to explore in each park that every trip is a new experience.

Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland Park

My favorite land in the Disneyland Park to spend time with our kids is in Fantasyland. This will always be the most magical land in this park for me. With rides such as Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, Snow White’s Enchanted Wish, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and Alice in Wonderland, each ride makes you feel like you are part of the movie. My absolute favorite ride in Fantasyland is Peter Pan’s Flight. This is one of the original 1955 opening day rides and it is still a crowd favorite. I think that the way the Walt Disney Imagineers designed this ride, where you board your own pirate ship as you float over London and then through Neverland, is still amazing to this day. I also love that there are so many attractions in such a small area in which all of the rides are child-friendly and do not have any height restrictions. This makes it so much easier to go from ride to ride quickly to maximize your time.

The Disneyland and California Adventure Parks are unique in that they combine rides and attractions from multiple Disney World parks into these two parks. For instance Disneyland has similar lands as Magic Kingdom in Florida, such as Adventureland, Frontierland, Tomorrowland but also has its own Star Wars Land (as what is in Hollywood Studios in Florida). California Adventure has attractions such as Soarin’, which is in EPCOT in Florida, and Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! which is the same ride system as The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in Hollywood Studios.

Other lands and attractions that set apart Disneyland is Mickey’s Toontown which was recently reimagined and updated in 2023. Toontown is geared towards younger kids (or those young at heart!) and is an area where you can visit the houses of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy. There are also multiple playground structures for kids to play on. The newest attraction in this land is Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway which is the same ride as what is in Hollywood Studios. This is an amazing ride and takes you on the adventure of being in a runaway railcar in which Mickey and Minnie are trying to bring you back to safety.

Avengers Campus in California Adventure is also one of my favorite areas in this park. I’m a huge Marvel fan, so spending a couple of hours in this area of the park is always on my priority list. With the aforementioned Guardians Ride, which is awesome, as well as Web Slingers, which is an interactive ride where you are trying to save the world from some out-of-control Spider-Bots, there isn’t a dull moment to be had here.

Guardians of the Galaxy ride at Disney’s California Adventure Park

Character Meet and Greets

Another thing that sets Disneyland apart from Disney World is the amount of character meet and greets that are available. Typically you need to go on the Disneyland or Disney World (My Disney Experience) app to find out what time character greetings will be occurring. However there have been multiple times when we have been wondering around the park and have met some unexpected characters.

On our most recent trip to Disneyland, we were able to meet Captain Hook right away in the morning when the park opened. This was pretty awesome, as our son was actually dressed as Captain Hook for the day, so it was a pretty memorable moment.

Meeting Captain Hook in the morning!

We have also seen Peter Pan and Wendy strolling through Fantasyland as well as Pinocchio and Geppetto wandering around near the It’s A Small World ride. Other pop up character greetings that we have seen are Woody and Jessie over near Big Thunder Mountain as well as Gaston by the castle. I love the spontaneity of these meet and greets in unplanned places throughout the park as it makes it so much more enjoyable and exciting to seeing characters in this way.

The Bottom Line

Whether you decide to go to Disneyland or Disney World for a family vacation you will have a great time no matter what. If you haven’t been to Disneyland before, I would definitely consider putting it on your bucket list to check out soon.

Do you have any tips for having a magical and memorable trip to Disneyland? Please let me know in the comments below!