Dresser

Love this dresser from Eco First Start

Demobaza

Lace Up Hooded Jersey Dress

Disneyland Tips for Parents with Little Ones

I know a lot of parents dread going to Disneyland but our family has had a great time. I think there’s a key to having fun – at least for those who aren’t Disneyland fans regardless of parenthood. My husband dreaded our first trip but due to great planning, towards the end of the vacation, he was asking ‘when will we go back?’

We’ve gone twice now and both trips have been fantastic. Our first trip was when our daughter was 4. A great age, although, if you really want to get the most of out Disneyland’s offerings, wait until age 5. Five, allows you to take advantage of Pinocchio’s Workshop, an evening childcare facility, so that you can have a nice dinner out. Five also means your child will be a bit taller and more adventurous. For some kids, a little more adventurous is important. Our daughter loved seeing the characters, even the characters she didn’t recognize (there were lots; we don’t allow a lot of television) but for some kids, life-size mice, dogs and more can be pretty intimidating. Did I mention Pinocchio’s Workshop?

So, here are my tips (please keep in mind, my tips are geared for parents of young children; if you have older children, not all of them will not be useful)…

If you can, stay at the Grand Californian. I didn’t do a tremendous amount of research but from what I can tell, AAA offers some of the better rates and perks.

What are the benefits of staying at the Grand Californian? Besides the fact that it’s a newer hotel, has better restaurants than the other Disney hotels, Pinocchio’s Workshop is located in the hotel complex, and more, the hotel has a direct entrance into California Adventure Park and direct access to Downtown Disney, which is basically an entrance to Disneyland. Why is this important? It gives you flexibility.

I don’t care what people claim, 4 and 5 year olds need naps and if they don’t need naps, they need time away from the constant barrage of stimuli that Disneyland offers. That means, a trip to the hotel room for some down time. I know, I know, Disneyland is expensive and the Grand Californian is the more expensive hotel in the Disneyland chain; still, it’s worth it, IMO.  Our daughter is iffy on naps. Sometimes she needs them, sometimes I need them (some of you moms know what I’m talking about). At Disneyland, she doesn’t think she needs them but she does.

Our Disneyland schedule is like this:   
     - Breakfast

     - Disneyland Park

     - Lunch in Downtown Disney  (better food and they serve alcohol for parents that need it)

     - Hotel for NAP

     - Disneyland or California Adventure Park

     - Dinner

     - Bedtime for Daughter

Don’t let your child(ren) fool you. You will arrive in your hotel room and they will escalate, bounce on the furniture and basically try to prove to you that they do not need a nap. Lay down, pretend to sleep, if you have to. Wait for it, wait for it…. A scream, crying, silence, and they’ve passed out colder than ice. Sometimes I tell our daughter to pretend to sleep and a little while later I look over to see that she is no longer pretending. If you need it, want it, take a nap yourself or go out on your balcony and enjoy a glass of wine, answer your email, or any number of other things you can do without a lot of noise in the hotel room.

We have friends that don’t do naptime but instead do pool time. This works well too, if that works for your child. If you question it, gauge your child’s behavior. If he/she is acting out of control (assuming you aren’t pumping him/her full of sugar), a nap may be the key to his /her, and more importantly, YOUR sanity. If your child seems to be doing fine, maybe the pool is the key to get away from the onslaught of noise, visuals and everything else that Disneyland offers. Maybe one day you nap, the next you pool (yea, I turned it into a verb; what of it?).

If you can’t stay in the Grand Californian, consider other nearby Disney hotels or hotels close to the Park but not affiliated with Disney (we all know they charge extra for the privilege of the Disney name). I know it will be a pain to trek back to the hotel for a nap or pool time but trust me, that time away from the noise, candy, excitement, and more will do you all some good. You bought an all day pass; take a nap and go back later, refreshed. It will be a lot more fun for all of you.

Don’t try to do it all. This, by far, is what my husband considers the most important thing to do, or not do, depending on how you look at it.

Is your child going to hate the experience because you missed a few rides? No. On the other hand, you AND your child may hate the experience if you stand in line from 8 or 9am until nearly midnight, eating crappy food and trying to cram every single Disney experience into a one-day ticket. If you can only afford one day at the park, so be it; but, isn’t it better to have a really great time that one day than it is to torture the entire family because you’re bound and determined to experience every inch of the park despite hunger, exhaustion and over-stimulation? Lots of children never go to Disneyland; if you’re lucky enough to go, make it a good time, even if you have to miss a bunch of stuff.

Alcohol. There is one place in Disneyland where alcohol is served. Club 33. If you aren’t a member, the key is knowing a member or someone who knows one (reservations by a member are required). Otherwise, you need to go to Downtown Disney or California Adventure Park for your alcohol. IMO, Downtown Disney offers a better selection than California Adventure, particularly when we’re talking about margaritas. Barring Club 33, you’ll find better food in Downtown Disney than you will in either park. That’s my opinion, anyway. We usually lunch at the Mexican restaurant in Downtown Disney; it’s on the way back to the hotel (remember, naptime after lunch!) and they have good margaritas and a good food selection that works for all members of our family.

Photopass. This is a terrific program. The discs / downloads aren’t inexpensive but if you take advantage of the PhotoPass photographers as often as you can and opt for all of the pictures, vs individual selections, it can be well worth it. Professional photographers throughout the park, take pictures of you, your kids, and your entire family, sometimes adding special features like putting Tinkerbell in the hands of your little girl. Since I’m the usual family photographer, the PhotoPass pictures are a special treat for me as I finally get to be IN some of our vacation photos! It isn’t necessary to register before you hit the park and if you don’t have a PhotoPass, the photographers can give you one to use. It is my understanding that you can combine various PhotoPasses under the same account for a single disc or download but you’ll want to verify that before you go crazy accumulating PhotoPasses on your trip. Once you log onto your PhotoPass account, you can edit your photos to include various borders and other Disney graphics. The program even allows you to add pictures you’ve taken on your camera so that you can add graphics or put all your Disney photos on one disc to send to Grandma & Grandpa.

Rooms at the Grand Californian. We’ve stayed in a room overlooking the pool and a room overlooking Downtown Disney. Our preference is the pool. The rooms over Downtown Disney are fun for people watching but the music plays on until at least 9 or 10pm and, I think midnight, on weekends. If you’re looking for quiet, you won’t get it in your room if you’re overlooking Downtown. Early mornings can be a bit rough too as the garbage & construction trucks come through Downtown, collecting and whatever else they do. Every time they back up, beep! Beep! Beep! Argh!

The iPhone app called Disneyland Mousewait is terrific and FREE. The app depends on users for information and we found it to be fairly accurate for planning which rides to take when. The program also offers other tips and features that are useful.

Autograph book – A combined photo album / autograph book for your child to get autographs from his or her favorite characters and fill with photos (after the trip). They sell them at most places in the park but there’s no reason you couldn’t make or buy one before hitting the park if you don’t want to pay Disney prices. Our daughter loves to go through her book and talk about each character that she met. 

My new favorite trick: Two bags of Stash Peppermint Herbal Tea in a pitcher of water gives it a refreshing, sugar-free, taste of mint.

 I like water but occasionally I find it hard to drink enough and adding a little flavor makes it easier to drink more. Things like Crystal Lite and other products designed to add flavor to water contain sugar and chemicals -- none of which I want in my water.
Cucumber slices, lemons, and limes are great but I don't always get to the store and they are perishable so they aren't something I can keep on the shelf for just-in-case occasions. Other types of tea would work too but, I prefer caffeine-free and many herbals don't appeal to me. In the past, I used an herbal vanilla-hazelnut tea but it was a little too sweet for my taste.

No need to boil the water or even place the pitcher in the sun, just throw the tea bags into the pitcher and leave until the water has the flavor you desire. Easy!

For The "To Read" List

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Jason Wu Lace-Detail Shirt

When I saw this online, I adored it; in person, not so much. The fitted look the model portrays is nothing like the reality. The blouse is boxy and hardly figure-flattering. A good deal of tailoring might redeem it.

Here are the details from the Neiman-Marcus site:
- Black poplin with tonal sheer deconstructed lace panels and short sleeves
- Double-layer point collar; lace-taped button front
- Pintucked detail on back
- Slim fit (??? - perhaps the blouse I tried on was an anomaly?)
- cotton / polyamide / spandex made in USA


 ... does anyone else find the model a little scary?

Lanvin Draped Half-Belt Dress

Lanvin Draped Half-Belt Dress at Neiman-Marcus

From the site:
- silk crepe
- Grecian-inspired draped front gathers at right shoulder, ties in bow high
- asymmetric neckline
- relaxed draping forms slight cocoon silhouette
- ruched half belt cinches front waist