Being an LA local, oftentimes means that a spur-of-the-moment trip to Disneyland is in order. Whether you’re an annual passholder or just inspired to go for a day with your girlfriends or your daughter, the parks are always a great place to do tons of fun things with your squad.
As fans of going to the Disneyland Resort, we have compiled some of our favorite things to do while at the parks with our girls. From food to eat, where to find must-have Minnie ears to the most Instagrammable places, check out our tips to make the most of a Disneyland girls day out!
Disneybounding
A fun activity before heading to the parks is to plan coordinating Disneybound outfits. Disneybound is creating a casual outfit in the basic color scheme of a Disney character’s iconic look. You and your friends can create outfits inspired by the Disney Princesses, Mickey and Friends and heroes from the Star Wars or Marvel universes. There are even unofficial days at the park where a whole day is made out of specific themes. In the spring and fall, Dapper Day celebrates this by inviting guests to come dressed in Disney inspired Retro clothes which are oftentimes classy Disneybounds as well. For the most part through, Disneybounding has become a staple of fun matching outfits with friends on any trip!
Photo courtesy of MamasGeeky.com
Photo courtesy of Carol Jones
Tasty Treats and Secret Menu Must-Haves
Classic treats to splurge on at the parks are of course items like the Churros, Mickey Mouse ice cream bar and the Dole Whip. The latter of which, we recommend going into the Tiki Room queue for their shorter line to buy the delish pineapple soft-serve and catching a show in the AC’d attraction. But did you know that there is a crazy selection of secret tasty treats? The Starbucks in the parks often make fun colorful drinks like the fairytale “Pink Drink”, there is also the Milk and Honey Funnel Cake at the Hungry Bear in Critter Country, Neopolitan shakes at Flo’s in Carsland, the animal style-esque Galactic burger in Tomorrowland, and the Mac-and-cheese bread bowl at Pacific Wharf in DCA. We loved when they had special edition Star Wars Lightsaber churros in dark side red and light side blue.
Finding Cute Accessories
One of the hottest accessories at the theme parks right now are Minnie Mouse’s rose gold ears and good luck trying to find them as they’re always sold out. However, there are so many new Minnie Ear options that are adorable and fun. Disneyland has recently introduced the purple bow ear headband, which you can get customized with your name and there are also fun Halloween sequined ears similar to the rose gold ones. If you wanna feel like a princess for the day, crowns are also available to channel your inner Disney heroine like Belle or Aurora. We also love scouring main street for the latest in Disney inspired bracelets and jewelry to match. And let’s not forget pin trading! The on-going additions to the pin game at the park make for the best flair to represent your Disney faves.
Perfect Photo Ops and the Disney Walls
A trip to Disneyland calls for lots of pictures. Yes, there are obligatory Disney Castle, Wishing Well and Walt statue pics but did you know that there are many Instagram worthy spots that are now known as “Walls of Disney”? They’re great spots with the perfect background like the Small World wall, the Muppet theater area’s blue walls that are just the perfect shade, the Star Wars wall, and the animation studio’s “Happily Ever After…” wall. Let’ not forget to make time to meet Minnie at her house in Toontown and meet the Disney Princesses. Do it for the ‘Gram!
Photo courtesy of http://thisfairytalelife.com
Get Animated!
We also love commemorating trips with fun activities like group caricatures at Pacific Pier in DCA or New Orleans Square at Disneyland where artists create fun Disney mash-up interpretations of our faces. And there’s also the silhouette print shop on Main St where we can get cool framed cut-outs of our faces. For something more D-I-Y, we also suggest going to the Animation Studio at DCA to learn how to draw a Disney character and being able to take your piece of art home.
Plan-it: Rides and Shows
It’s always great to collectively pick the things you have to do and prepare early enough for them. A lot of the major E-ticket rides offer fast passes and so do shows like Frozen, World of Color and the newly re-vamped Fantasmic (which is not to be missed!). Be sure to hit those ticketing systems early in the day and get your fastpasses. You can also purchase MAX passes that offer in park professional photography downloads (for those Minnie and Princess meet and greets) and digital fastpass downloads for 10 bucks a day per ticket. A lot of restaurants also offer dinning packages for show nighttime show seating included with certain meals so that’s also a route to go.
Disney Drinking and DCA’s Food and Wine Festival
For those who are 21+ there are also fantastic day and nighttime drinking spots to check out. You can basically do a bar crawl at Disney’s California Adventure with their bar selection around the park including classy drinks at the Roarin’ 20’s themed Carthay Circle bar, Marvel Superhero inspired cocktails at the Summer of Heroes areas, Boardwalk style drinks at the Cove Bar like the Funwheel (they also have the best lobster nachos), and wine tasting at the Alfresco tasting terrace which offer the best in California vineyard wines. Speaking of wines, annually DCA hosts a food and wine fest that celebrates all the flavors of California and its a springtime event that’s not to be missed. We have to mention one last place though is Trader Sam’s, the best bar in the resort, which is located at the Disneyland Hotel and is a themed after the Tiki Room with awesome tropical drinks with a Disney twist. Certain things you order will trigger surprises inside the bar like a volcano erupting on a wall or seeing a shipwreck projected into a glass bottle. Some drinks even come out on fire. They also have seasonal themes drinks for Halloween and the Holidays too as well as offer theme park exclusive collectible Tiki Mugs all year around.
