Our Last-Minute Disneyland Trip (and great tips for you!)

My mother-in-law and 12 y.o. brother-in-law are coming in from Germany on Monday, so we decided that we are going to take our annual Disneyland vacation a bit early (so they could enjoy it, too!). The bonus being that my birthday is on the 18th, so I can get in FREE on my b-day*. Initially we were planning for the end of the year for my daughter's 4th birthday, but it just kind of fell into place that we would go now.

Although I usually like to have months of planning, prepping and list-making time before a vacation, I was forced to make "quick plans" this time around. Lucky for me Katie @ Intentionally Katie just went on a Disney trip so she gave me a ton of helpful tips to reduce my anxiety a little (thanks girl)!

You may remember my post about the deal on Disneyland tickets (check the comments of that post where Katie talks about getting her tickets through AAA for the best price). Since tickets were taken care of and we found a great rate on a hotel within walking distance (parking at Disneyland is $12 a day -- ouch!), we just had to focus on all the little details to make it a smooth trip!

I felt a little under pressure trying to plan everything and still take into consideration that my in-laws speak little English and my BIL has diabetes, so I wasn't quite sure about bringing his Insulin and all that. I have about a million different lists made up to keep me on track (I'm anal like that), but Katie gave me some great pointers for make things a little less stressful... I totally believe that you learn from eachother!!

Katie is the one who suggested getting my tickets through AAA. You'll either need to be a member or have a member buy them for you. For example, 2-day park hopper passes are $133 for an adult (compared to $151 at Disney.com) and you'll get FREE parking passes.

She also does something we like to do: Bring our own food!! It can get so expensive eating out, especially at Disneyland. I did purchase a couple of Restaurant.com gift certificates to eat dinner out and we can use some more coupons and birthday offers if we need them, but I loved Katie's ideas for snacks and how to make sure they stay fresh:

"... I packed turkey sandwiches for Disneyland on Tuesday and for our drive down to San Diego on Wed. I also had cheese slices and Triscuits, apple slices, grapes, pretzels and cheese sticks for snacks and sides for lunches. I made muffins at home and froze them (I kept those on TOP of the ice in the cooler so they didn't get soggy) for breakfast and we had those with yogurt and bananas. "

Gotta remember the muffins on top. (Writes on list)

My friend, Becca, also recommended taking along the tuna pouches for a cheap, protein source (she also found little packets of mayo and relish at the theme park). Brilliant!

And, look at Katie thinking ahead:

" We brought 3 big jugs of Arrowhead water with our own water bottles to refill. That was helpful. I actually kept those in the cooler with ice from the ice maker to save fridge space. We ate out both nights for dinner to be easy and brought coupons from home. I looked up the nearest restaurants to our hotel that we had coupons for...it sounds anal but it made it super easy once we got there."

Love it.

And, this tip will be super handy for us:

"Bring a smaller cooler to stick in your stroller for lunch at Disney, obviously. Plus, I recommend packing ice in large Ziplocks, just in case it melts too fast. We have cool packs too, but the ice in a ziplock was even better because I could weave bunches of ice in between the food that I wanted to keep cold. Remember plasticware, napkins and baby wipes to "wash" your hands. Having a grocery sack for the drive out there for trash is also helpful."

Thinking ahead to waiting in those loooong lines (ugh! I feel like whining already):

"...use the Fast Pass system. Read up on it when you get there...it will save you from standing in lines all day. Also, check out when the characters will be at their locations. (The park map has codes for where characters will be and I didn't realize how important that was to me until we'd left and hardly seen anyone!)"

You're awesome, Katie! Thanks again for all of your helpful tips! :) (Check out Katie's blog for inspiration on getting organized, cooking for your family and every mothering task in between... and congratulate her because she is thisclose to welcoming baby #3!)

Check out Mousesavers for more deals and the latest Disneyland tips.

* By the way, I found out that if you already have a multi-day pass and your birthday "free" day falls on a day you have already paid for, you can actually get different perks like merchandise credit or immediate fast pass entrance to certain rides for your entire party. :)

P.S. If it seems I've fallen off the face of this earth over the next week or so, don't worry... I'll just be enjoying some time with our family. :)