It requires separate admission into the one park (it ranges from $79-$99 this year, depending on the day, plus $18 parking if you want to drive there), and you can enter it at 3 or 4 p.m., depending on the day, and stay there until 11 p.m. or midnight. You can even wear costumes (though there are a few rules about that), so Emma dressed up as Minnie Mouse and Phil wore a Batman shirt with a cape (adults can't wear masks, so he had to leave that at home). This is a great time to go as there are only a certain amount of tickets for the event, so it's a lot less crowded than it usually is (they kick out the public as soon as the party starts, which is 6 or 7 p.m., so you only have to deal with bigger crowds for the first three hours)! There are five days still available to purchase, so I highly encourage you to go if you can!
This was Emma's first time to Disneyland, so we thought it would be the perfect test run for her with the shorter hours (and for us with the cheaper admission - added bonus, she was free as she's under 3). The 7-hour drive went smoothly for the most part (we ran into a bit of car trouble, but duct tape fixed it right up - ha!), though the drive through LA is never fun. Emma was sooo good on the drive, so that was a blessing.
We stayed at the Anaheim Lodge. It is super affordable (only $62/night), clean, quiet, and a 15-minute drive to Disneyland. It doesn't serve breakfast, but it does provide a microwave and a mini fridge in the room - plus, free WiFi! We had packed food to save money, but when we arrived, Phil realized we never put the food in the car, which stunk. That was a spendy mistake on our part! But, we remembered our snacks at least. Anyway, I totally recommend this place if you're visiting the area. That being said, parking at Disneyland is a nightmare! I think the next time we go, we'll try to go somewhere that's in walking distance. We left for the park at 3 p.m. as we could enter at 4. I had prepaid for parking, thinking that it would quicken the process - it doesn't. Plus, my confirmation email wouldn't pull up, so we had to repay for parking (I got a refund later). So, if you're planning on visiting, don't bother with prepaying for parking.
In total, it took us an hour to get into the park because there were so many other people coming in at the same time (this includes driving there, waiting to get into the parking garage, waiting for the tram, and then waiting in the bag check line). In all the blogs I've read (I did a LOT of research for this trip), they recommend getting to the gate a half hour before you can enter, so to aim for that, you need to get there MUCH sooner! Because I hadn't considered how much of a hassle it would be to get in, we were an hour and a half behind my perfectly written itinerary by the time we actually got through the gates. (And, even when we got through, the machine that prints the tickets ran out of paper, so we had to wait even longer while they found someone to refill it! Gah!) At this point, I was very grouchy and did not consider this to be the happiest place on Earth! But, we made it in at last.
Since we were so behind on my itinerary, we definitely had to improvise. We originally wanted to take a picture in front of the giant Mickey pumpkin, but there was a huge line, and I was sick of lines at this point! So, we headed to Fantasyland to hit up the classic rides there first.
We weren't sure how Emma would react to the rides, but she loved ALL of them. At first, she didn't grasp the concept of waiting in lines, so she kept trying to cut to the front. Eventually, she got it and was patient. All but two of the rides we went on had a wait time of 10 minutes or less (Haunted Mansion and Peter Pan's Flight was a half hour - even that's not too shabby). After we went on a few rides, we went to the pre-party celebration in Toontown - party guests only! There were trick or treat stations throughout all the character houses, so we got to walk through them and enjoy candy at the same time (they do hand out healthy options too - you just have to ask).
Emma barely hit 35", so Phil and I decided to take her on Gadget's Go Coaster. An older mom in front of us gasped when she saw Emma and asked us if we were really going to take her on it. Her daughter laughed and said, "Mom, if she can do it, then you can definitely handle this ride!" Emma LOVED the coaster! She tried to turn around and get back on it. But, we had so much we wanted to do, we didn't repeat any rides. After Toontown, we went on a few more rides in Fantasyland. At this point, our camera died because we forgot to charge it - oops, so we weren't able to take any more pictures.
We hit Pirates of the Caribbean and a couple more trick or treat stations on our way to dinner. We decided to eat at Hungry Bear Restaurant in Critter Country. While there weren't many options, the food servings were plentiful, quite tasty, and not too expensive. I got the turkey wrap, yum. And, the crew there was so fun to chat with! I'd definitely come back again! After dinner, we went to Haunted Mansion and watched the firework show while in line (not the best view, but adequate - Emma definitely enjoyed watching them). We were pretty tuckered out at this point, so we staked out a spot for the parade afterwards and just sat there until it started. This was the first year that the Headless Horseman made an appearance in the parade, but I thought he was kind of lame, personally. All the other villains and dancers in the parade were awesome though. I was excited to see Hades make an appearance.
Finally, we went shopping as we were on Main Street and close to the entrance. Emma got a Mickey Mouse plushie, Phil picked up a keychain, I got my monopoly game, and Phil's mom got a big Mickey container full of popcorn. And, even though we only hit up half of the trick or treat stations (if that), we walked out with TONS of yummy candy. We'll be good for a month! We were there until midnight, surprisingly. Emma did so, so well. The only time she really broke down was at the end because she was exhausted. I was too - my back was killing me!
We definitely want to go again next year. I think we'll tweak a few things. We didn't have time at all to get a picture with any of the characters or try out any of the seasonal goodies the park offers. We also didn't hit some of the adult rides we were interested in, such as Splash Mountain and Indiana Jones. We'll probably extend our stay next time around so we don't feel so rushed. And, even though we hit quite a few problems at the beginning, it was a wonderful trip overall!
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