{"id":17021,"date":"2014-11-06T01:30:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-06T01:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/?p=17021"},"modified":"2021-10-28T16:37:27","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T16:37:27","slug":"daddy-does-the-disneyland-resort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/daddy-does-the-disneyland-resort\/","title":{"rendered":"Daddy does the Disneyland Resort"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cRelaxing\u201d isn\u2019t a word this father of two (young girls) would use to describe a family vacation at the Disneyland Resort<\/a>, in Orange County<\/a>, California.<\/p>\n

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Sure, a few days with my girls at \u201cThe Happiest Place on Earth\u201d can make them happy (most of the time). And, yes, there are moments\u2014rare moments\u2014when my wife and I can kick back and enjoy a moment of solitude (before we face-plant into our pillows at night).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Most of the time, however, I liken visiting California\u2019s most famous theme park to playing a hard-fought game of football: Do it right and you feel it in your bones, an ache that satisfies.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What causes this phenomenon?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Let\u2019s start with the physical demands. The Disneyland Resort (that is, the tandem of Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park) sits on a 500-acre parcel. To see it all, this means you\u2019ve got to walk. A lot. In most cases, we dudes are the ones pushing the strollers and\/or carrying the kids. That gets old. Quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Baby and Pluto, 2012.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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(On our last visit, my younger daughter, who was 10 months old at the time, fell asleep in my arms and stayed there for two hours. Adorable, right? But when she woke up, I couldn\u2019t bend my right elbow. For a long while.)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Next up: Psycho-emotional demands. FASTPASS tickets or not, most rides require riders to wait before they can ride. This, in turn, necessitates some form of entertainment for the kids. Telling stories, telling jokes, even using the iPad to search YouTube for old Officer Byrd videos can be tiring.<\/span><\/p>\n

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In many families, playing Jester like this falls on Daddy. And it\u2019s hard work!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Last but not least, there\u2019s the issue of hydration. Southern California is hot. Especially in summer. While you\u2019re traipsing around the resort and\/or waiting in line, the sun gradually wears you down. Even if you bring a Camelbak, even if you refill it maniacally, dehydration still can strike and leave you wobbly.<\/span><\/p>\n

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(Oh, and just as an FYI, fighting \u201cthe spinnies\u201d with copious amounts of coffee only makes it worse.)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Thankfully, small steps to counterbalance what I call the \u201cDisney Stupor\u201d can go a long way.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Viewfinder Tip: Adults seeking adult beverages can find everything they want and need inside Disney California Adventure Park.
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No. 1: Embrace Rider Switch<\/a>, an unheralded-but-totally-awesome way for parents with young children (who are too small for most attractions) to switch off on certain rides without having to wait in line twice.<\/span><\/p>\n

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It also pays to use technology to get a sense of which lines are the longest so you can figure out which rides to avoid. Disneyland Resort has its own apps<\/a>, but over the last few years, a number of independent apps have come out to provide users with a mostly real-time sense of wait times, too. (Even though I\u2019m not an Apple guy, I\u2019ve had success with MouseWait. Other good ones include the Walkee Disneyland Guide and Wait Times.)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Finally, of course, let\u2019s be honest: Especially for us dads, it\u2019s critical to know exactly which lounges serve alcohol (and have TVs!), and how far we are from these spots at all times.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n <\/span><\/p>\n

My personal fave: the Carthay Circle Lounge, an Art Deco masterpiece downstairs from the new Carthay Circle Restaurant on Buena Vista Street inside California Adventure. Cocktails here steal the show; in particular, the Pimm\u2019s Cup is perfect on a hot day.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n <\/span><\/p>\n

No, one drink and a bunch of line-beating tools won\u2019t make the Disneyland experience any easier on a Dad\u2019s body. That said, these strategies certainly can guarantee a good afternoon at \u201cThe Happiest Place on Earth.\u201d If you\u2019re lucky\u2014if the kids cooperate\u2014you might even have a bit of fun.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> What are your secrets for minimizing stress when you visit theme parks with young kids?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Minimizing stress on a family visit to the Disneyland Resort<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1808,1782,1775,1777,1788,1774,1940,1818,1881,1776,1807],"tags":[47,563],"authors":[2227],"class_list":["post-17021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-california","category-destinations","category-fall","category-family","category-interests","category-occasions-and-seasons","category-orange-county","category-summer","category-theme-park","category-type-of-vacation","category-winter","tag-disney","tag-shoulder-season","authors-matt-villano","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDaddy does the Disneyland Resort | Expedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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