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As a family we love heading to Disneyland each year for a family vacation. We started our Disney family vacations in 2008 and have gone every year since (with the exception of 2010 & 2013 when we went to Disney World instead). This will be our 7th family trip to Disneyland and believe it or not there are things we have NEVER done (some may even surprise you). I thought it would be fun to share these things with you before we head to Disneyland & California Adventure this month and we can see how many of these items we can cross of our list.
Here are the 10 things we have never done on our Disneyland vacations before:
1. Watch a parade from beginning to end – You’re probably thinking to yourself “Say what? They’ve never seen an entire Disney parade?” It’s true! If we see a parade going by we may stop and watch, but we have never actually sat on the parade route and waited for a parade to start. With this year being the 60th Diamond Anniversary I am thinking we need to sit, wait and watch the entire parade. DONE!
2. Eat a Monte Cristo – This has been on my wish list for several years now, but I have never been able to make it happen. This may be my year! DONE!
3. Have one of our kids participate in the Jedi Training Academy – We have watched the Jedi Training Academy on several occasions, but have never had one of our kids participate. Our youngest is hoping to volunteer this year.
4. See “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” – This is one thing we have never seen, I’m not sure how excited I am to see it, but I have a couple die hard Disney fans that say we must do this this year. DONE!
5. Ride the Storybook Land Canal Boats – This is a ride we have never gone on, even though we don’t have super young children anymore we figure we need to ride it once. DONE!
6. Participate in the Animation Academy – My husband and I have participated in the Animation Academy at Disney World, but we have never done this as a family at Disneyland. We have several boys who are great artists and I think they would get a kick out of this. DONE!
7. Join the Mad T Party – We’ve seen and heard this party going on, but we’ve never actually participated. I’m certain there are a few of my children who wouldn’t enjoy this, but I think my daughter might have fun with it.
8. Eat a Disneyland Corn Dog – There is a long list of items we haven’t eaten yet, but this is one of those items that everyone raves about but we just haven’t tried yet. DONE!
9. Take The Bakery Tour hosted by Boudin Bakery – We’ve never taken the time to go on a the tour and see how the world-famous San Francisco sourdough bread is made. I’ve heard there are FREE samples so I might need to add this to the top of my list. DONE!
10. Ride The Tower of Terror as a family – This is one ride we have never rode together as an entire family, and it’s all my fault! This is the one ride that scares the heck out of me. I don’t even like to ride regular elevators. While this is something we haven’t accomplished yet, I am totally fine never completing this task.
I think it’s interesting that no matter how many times you visit Disneyland there is always something new you can do. I’d love to hear what things you haven’t done at Disneyland.
Okay, so here’s what I think, lol!:
1. Your kids are older, so you might wait for the second Paint the Night Parade. It tends to be less busy. Unless you also want to
The Storybook Land Canal Boats are my FAVORITE ride!! I know a lot of people think it’s lame, but I just adore it!
watch the fireworks. In that case, stay put after the first parade.
2. I believe they serve the monte cristo at cafe Orleans, which is an alternative to the Blue Bayou. I would suggest you just get one sandwich to share between 2-4 people, and order a few other entrees to try. It’s a lot of sandwich for one. While there, try the garlic frites.
3. I’m not sure, but hopefully your youngest isn’t over the age limit. In any case, bring a Star Wars shirt to wear, sit as close to the front as possible (you guys can watch from further back), maybe wear a birthday or other button, and be enthusiastic!
4. I enjoy this much more than the hall of presidents at WDW. Maybe bring some tissues.
5. If you’re only going to ride it once, I prefer it at night. The little buildings are lit, and it is a magical. Very romantic if you can get a boat to yourself (they’ll sometimes do that for special occasions like anniversaries). If you’re lucky, you can get a ride during the fireworks.
6. The last time I went, it was all frozen characters, but this may have changed.
7. Not my cup of tea, but they have revamped it for the 60th.
8. The corndogs used to be better when I first discovered them years ago. I still get one occasionally, they are still really good. If the line at the wagon is long, they serve them at Golden Horseshoe (with fries) and at Corndog Castle at DCA. I don’t like apples and I try not to eat chips, so I actually get the corn dog a la carte…it’s a little cheaper and I don’t have to throw away food.
9. The “tour” isn’t great, to be honest. You do get free samples, and it is interesting to see the bread being made, but I can’t say I enjoy Rosie O’Donnell’s video. The Mission Tortilla tour was better. I get bread boules next door and ask for butter. When the soup is gone, I slather butter on that bread and stuff it in my face too. Lol!
10. Tower of Terror isn’t that bad. Look for the “body” under the stairs as you exit, on the left before the giftshop.
Mbf – Thanks so much for all your comments!!
2. Yes, the do serve it at Cafe Orleans and I have every intention of sharing it with one or two people.
3. My son is 10 so he is still within the age range. He is very small for his age, he honestly looks about 7-8. He has finally come out of his shell within the last couple of years, so I think he will be up for it. When he was younger, not so much.
4. Now you have me looking forward to this. I cry easily, so thanks for the tip on the tissues.
5. I love the tip about riding at night, I wouldn’t have thought of that. Thanks!
7. Also not my cup of tea (nice pun, by the way).
8. Love the a la carte tip.
9. We’ll move this to the bottom of our list, if there is time we will fit it in if not we’ll skip it.
10. Yes, I am pretty sure it’s that bad!!!! I’m kind of a wimp with regular elevators.
Finally did number 1 on our last trip and loved it, plan to do it again this upcoming trip. number 10 is one our families favorite rides!! will have to put some of the other numbers on our to do list!! love all your post on Disneyland.
Our younger son did the Jedi Academy on our first trip as a family, and it was one of the highlights of his life. I think I got a joy headache from watching it.
At that time, you had to get picked. I don’t know if that’s still true, but if it is, we used the tips on the Dis Board, and they definitely paid off. Oh, I see MBF listed them above. Yes, enthusiasm is key. We had just gotten off the plane, and our little guy managed to jump up and down the whole time. Phew!
I’ve never done the canoes to Tom Sawyer’s Island. Have you?
I think we’ve done most all of the rides, but there are some I’ll never do-no Tower of Terror for me, thank you very much!!
I feel like we’ve missed a LOT of good food. I recommend the friend chicken dinner at the Carnation Cafe if you haven’t had it. It’s got to be the best deal in the park-absolutely massive meal.
Oh, and we haven’t done most of these either, so I’ll look forward to your report. I just love that there is always something new to do at Disney! Now I want to go!
Hi Maegen,
Yes, we have done the canoes. We were there on a super hot day and with all the paddling it was quite tiring. However the guide we had was so much fun it made it all worth it. No, we have never eaten the chicken before, but we have that planned on our agenda. I making sure we get that one accomplished this time around. It’s nice to hear I’m not the only one who won’t set foot on Tower of Terror. : )
3. My friend actually pre-watched the show with me and memorized the moves to practice with her son because he was afraid to mess up. The next time they went, he got picked and knew what to do! You can look it up on YouTube to practice.
4. I never watched it as a kid, nor had my brother. I took him to see it a few years ago and he really liked it. It’s a good amount of time sitting in air conditioning, so save it for when you are tired and hot, lol! Or take turns with one group waiting for the parade and one watching Lincoln. They had Voices of Liberty perform in advance of the show for a limited engagement a few years ago.
Maegen, the canoes only go around the island. If you want to actually go on the island, take the rafts. They stop at dusk though, so be sure to catch it earlier in the day. This is another thing we really didn’t do as kids that I made my brother do with me. We ran around the island climbing up treehouses and through caves and laughing our heads off! Lol! We also love the chicken dinner at the Plaza Inn. I used to get the full meal and end up wasting a lot of it because it is a lot of food. Good to split, but I usually order a la carte here too. Chicken thighs are like $2.50 and mashed potatoes around $3.50. I usually get two thighs and mash.
Lincoln is awesome; it should be a must see for everyone to remember where our roots actually came from.