I sat in the hotel bed and scanned my Disneyland app, searching to add my ticket to my Apple Watch. But after going through every setting and then a Reddit thread, I found out that Disneyland didn’t offer one.
Taking these toddlers to Disneyland wasn’t starting off on a good foot.
We had become Disney people after going on a Disney Cruise and conquering Disney World. We were pros at this point. Right?
We spent two very different days at the two parks in Anaheim. Between breakdowns, meltdowns (theirs and ours), and battling the first rainy day in California in weeks, here’s what happened at the happiest place on Earth.
Update April 6, 2026
🎙️ I was a guest on the Adventures and Mousecapades podcast! Alicea, Nathan, and I spent 52 minutes breaking down our Disneyland trip — the lost pillow, the record crowds, the Boba Fett moment, and why California Adventure in the rain is its own kind of adventure. Listen to Episode 223 here.
Taking Toddlers to Disneyland for that Disney Magic
Between our two days, we had an amazing time. It wasn’t always easy, but that magic got sprinkled in often enough to improve our trip.
Character Meets Were Magic
Because of my family’s last visit, the kids became obsessed with Star Wars. When we went to Disney World, I was the only one who enjoyed the galaxy far, far away, so I didn’t want to make my kids go through it if they didn’t like it.
A meeting with Rey brightened our day after a slightly rough start (see the Rise of the Resistance below). We were searching for Boba Fett at the time, so finding Rey made both my kids get shy. She posed for a picture with us and then hurried away to fight the First Order.
We left to hit up the Millennium Falcon to find Chewbacca greeting park-goers. When he saw my son dressed up as Boba Fett, he acted scared, which delighted my son. Then he saw my wife had on a headband that had Leia’s hair buns on it, and he pushed me out of the way.
The best part of the entire trip came later that afternoon. We had done more parts of the park and realized that we hadn’t met Boba Fett yet. We trekked back to Batuu to search for him. We found Kylo Ren and some stormtroopers, plus a rebel, but no Boba Fett.
As we wrapped up with the rebel cast-member, Boba Fett strode out of nowhere and across the walkway in front of us.
My son chased him down, and as soon as Boba Fett realized how my son had dressed up, he took him by the hand and walked him around the shops. After that short walk, he positioned my son and him for a special photo op.
Unlike Disney World, all these pictures we took with cast members came to us for free. We loved that they didn’t nickel and dime us on the pictures and immediately printed them out once we got home.
While there are so many things to do at the park, it’s these special moments from cast members that enhance these trips. I don’t think any of us will ever forget these moments.
The Shows Saved Us
On our day at California Adventure Park, it rained all day. We had ponchos and did our best to stay dry, but it was miserable.
Luckily, some of the shows saved us.
We ducked into the movie hall and got to see Turtle Talk with Crush. I’m amazed at how they make these things happen. I hope these cast members get paid well because they do an amazing job.
We capped off the day with the live Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show. My sons loved dancing around and singing.
Finally Got Good Park Food
I really wanted to get some good Disney food this time. Last time, we were so focused on the kids that we missed out on all the fun stuff that people who aren’t toddlers might like.
I got the Ronto Breakfast wrap. It was good, but didn’t blow me away. Regrettably, I didn’t get to try the cold brew because they didn’t start serving it until the afternoon. In fact, I never got to try any of the cold brews the entire trip. I guess I’ll have to keep going back.
On our water logged day, I got to try some steak tacos. As a Texan, I have big expectations for tacos, and I would put these up there. They were steak with onions and cilantro and they hit the spot.
Toontown Play Area
My kids really loved the play space in ToonTown. As soon as they saw it, they took off to play with other kids. It was great not having to wait in a line and have the kids get some energy out. They loved it because they had some unstructured time that they could do what they wanted.
The space is pretty big and kept them entertained for a long time. But keep an eye on your babies. There were so many kids around, keeping up with them felt difficult.
When That Disney Magic Fails
But not everything went smoothly. We had some pretty big issues, which weren’t the parks fault. Still, we had a tough time.
The Matterhorn Meltdown
We didn’t know how to really use Lightning Lane at first. There was too much going on when we got into the park and things opened up. We also didn’t know the park, since it was our first time.
We booked the Matterhorn Bobsleds for our first ride. Once we got there though, my oldest (the only one of the two tall enough to ride) immediately panicked. He didn’t want to ride it because it looked too scary.
He had done something similar on our trip to Disney World. He feared Slinky Dog Dash and I had to take him onto the ride against his will. But as soon as that ride started going, he smiled and loved it. To this day, he still talks about Slinky Dog Dash.
I thought this would be the same since it was the first rollercoaster of the day. I was wrong.
He screamed, kicked, grabbed everything he could. I didn’t want him to miss out on something he had worked up in his mind. Everyone told us this was an easy ride and tried to help, but he wouldn’t hear it.
I even tried to put him on the ride, but he contorted his body to foil my plan.
I felt like a failure of a father through it all. I didn’t know the right thing to do, so ultimately, I didn’t want to scare him for life and took him away.
It’s a hard balancing act sometimes as a dad between pushing for something you know will be fun and listening to their fears.
Rise of the Resistance Broke Down
When we first got into the park, we ended up in the line for the Rise of the Resistance. I didn’t know the ride had just reopened.
We had skipped this ride in Florida because my youngest was too small and we ran out of time. I thought he would be tall enough now, but I was wrong.
They stopped him and had us set up a rider switch so my wife could go on it next.
I took the oldest through the line which was moving quickly. Until it stopped.
The ride had to shut down and they didn’t know how long it would be down. My oldest and I had to decide what to do. Luckily, he didn’t want to wait and we backtracked through the line. It turned out that the ride would be shut down for most of the morning.
We went back that afternoon but the wait was over an hour and lightning lane for that ride cost extra. Luckily, we had the rider switch. We tried to see if we could do a swap off of a swap, but they wouldn’t let us. So, only one of the adults would get to go with my oldest.
My wife let me go since I loved Star Wars and we really enjoyed the ride. But I can only imagine how much time we would have lost if we had waited in line.
Lost Kid in Toontown
When playing in ToonTown, we lost focus on our kids for a second and lost sight of the older one for about ten minutes. It was a very scary feeling.
Luckily, he had just ducked away inside the playhouse right beside the slides we were playing on before.
Lightning Lane Confusion
I loved Lightning Lane and I do think it’s worth the cost if you have impatient little ones. That said, there is a learning curve.
It wasn’t easy trying to figure it out while pushing a stroller through the rope drop crowd. I had even seen videos online about how to optimize your lightning lane, but in real life, with everything going on, it felt like survival.
Once you get to understand the system and know the park a little bit, things get better. But with it, we hardly had to wait in any lines.
Rain or Shine
It really sucks when Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate with your plans. We bought these expensive tickets a ways out, when you don’t know what the weather will do. You can’t get a refund, so we knew we were going no matter what.
And it was miserable.
We did our best to enjoy our time and mitigate the rain, but there was only so much we could take. Everything got soaked and the rain brought cold with it.
We figured that lunch would be a good time to get out of the rain, but there were no indoor or covered places to sit and eat!
We stayed under cover, tried to do indoor rides, and did some shows, but by two in the afternoon we had enough.
What We Learned During Our Disney Adventure
Here’s what we’d do differently next time:
- Know Your Kids’ Limits– The Matterhorn meltdown taught me there’s a difference between nervous jitters and real fear. My frustration with my son refusing an “easy” ride made me blind to the genuine fear he felt.
There’s a fine line between pushing them toward growth and pushing them past what they can handle. I crossed it. Next time, I’ll listen better.
- Pack for Weather Hell– I checked the forecast. It said rain. What it didn’t say was all-day, soaking, miserable rain. We had ponchos. We needed actual rain jackets, waterproof pants, and backup shoes.
- Research Rides Before Booking Lightning Lane– We wasted our first Lightning Lane on the Matterhorn because we didn’t research which rides were toddler-friendly. Look up height requirements and intensity levels before you book. Lightning Lane is expensive—don’t waste it.
- Apple Watch Would’ve Been Nice– It would have been nice to use my Apple Watch to scan in for these lightning lane reservations and get into the park. First-world-problem? Absolutely, but when you’re juggling kids, strollers, and everything else, every little convenience helps.
- Be flexible– We had ride breakdowns, a screaming meltdown in line, lost a kid for ten minutes, and spent half a day in the rain. Still made incredible memories. Know that things will go wrong. Chaos becomes the story.
Bonus Tip: No Popcorn Refills– Unlike Disney World and the Disney cruise, they don’t offer Popcorn bucket refills at Disneyland. Save the space in your luggage.
The Trips You Remember
Did Disneyland live up to my expectations? I think so.
Disneyland felt less daunting than Disney World—fewer parks, easier to zigzag between attractions. But I’d never felt so packed in by humanity. Getting our double stroller through crowds felt like navigating a zombie horde.
California Adventure surprised me. Spider-Man was a hit, the shows saved our rainy day, and those steak tacos were worth the trip alone.
Every park visit, I get better at setting expectations. We had meltdowns (why do my kids touch every trashcan?). Things didn’t go as planned. But those moments—Boba Fett taking my son’s hand, Chewbacca pushing me out of the way for my wife—will stick with me forever.
Admit it: the trips where something goes wrong are the trips you remember. I’ll never forget the Disney Park that rained all day, just like I’ll never forget the magic of having Boba Fett meet Boba Fett.
We’ve become Disney people. I’m curious to see how my kids evolve with each visit, and how we evolve as parents.
Check out all of our Disney trips here.
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