I worried a lot at first about taking Reese to Disneyland. Would I miss out on everything? Would it be sticky and poopy and hot and miserable? Would we slow everyone down?

I am here to tell you that Disney with a baby is actually pretty awesome as long as you are prepared. I LOVED IT. It will go down as one of the best trips of my entire life, and my family has done Disney almost yearly since I was like 10 because my dad is obsessed. Taking Reese made everything more fun, and not just because we got to butt in all the lines. 🙂

I read every Pinterest post I could get my hands on, scoured the Disney blogs and sites and talked to friends, family and social media. I also learned and corrected quite a bit while we were there. I have compiled the following list for you and urge you to have babies and take them with you to Disneyland whenever possible.

• BABY SWAP! We worked the system, holmes. It was awesome. Generally I would chill with the baby and whoever needed a break while everyone else rode the ride. The Beard would ask for a Rider Swap pass (sometimes two LOLZ ask at the front of the line and again when you get on the ride) which gets the “waiter” plus 3 through the Fast Pass line. The only line that actually asked to see the baby was Radiator Springs in Carsland. The REAL TRICK is to get fastpasses, then grab a rider-swap or two while using your fastpasses = BONUS FASTPASSES. I waited 10 minutes for Carsland, which almost always has a 90+ minute wait. YAHTZEE.
• Take a stroller – we took our full size (rather than our little umbrella) and the carseat since we were roadtrippin’. I kept my carseat canopy on it, which helped shade her from the sun, section her off for naps and also helped us quickly find the stroller in “stroller parking” since they sometimes move the strollers around while you’re on a ride
• Check out the Mother’s Room as soon as you get there. Its at the end of main street. I waited until the second day and wish I’d seen it earlier. They’ve got a little nursing area with rockers, tons of changing tables, microwaves, sinks and even a little kid toilet. If you run out of diapers or formula they can hook you up. Pretty sicky.
• Keep a flat bag in the bottom of the stroller in which to throw everything. We stayed at a hotel about 2 miles from Disneyland and took the shuttle every day – which meant twice a day we had to empty out the stroller basket to fold it up. I grabbed a flat, cheap, plastic tote bag from Forever 21 impulsively when I checked out one day because it had Minnie Mouse on it. It ended up being PERFECT!Bring a small changing mat and disposable changing pads. I did several diaper changes on the go, since going into a hot, sticky bathroom filled with people just for a quick diaper change seemed stupid. I was quick, stayed out of the way and never did it around food/people eating so no one even cared! I used my Let’s Playground micro and if I knew it was a blowout or a gross one I used a disposable changing pad on top of it. (PRO TIP INSIDER SECRET: I actually use puppy pads for this. I have a huge case from when Glen Coco was a puppy and guess what? They’re the same thing and super useful.)
• Plan for last-minute feedings. Reese doesn’t have a super set schedule, but even if she did I’m convinced Disneyland would throw it off. Plus I was still nursing and wanted to nurse at least once or twice a day while we were there, but I hate nursing in public and knew that it wouldn’t always be convenient, so I tried to plan accordingly. I fed her before we left for the day, then I had a bottle filled with water and either a formula packet or a formula dispenser ready to go with the right amount of formula so I could mix it in line or even walking to the next ride. Enfamil travel packets were super convenient, and the bottles of pre-mixed formula were great for when I didn’t want to run into a bathroom to fill up the bottle with water for the formula. I also brought my nursing cover and nursed in the Mother’s Room on Main Street, at restaurants and even on Pirates of the Caribbean LOLZ. I packed 4 bottles total and the smallest dish soap container I could find. I brought 2 bottles into the park with me each day and washed them each night before bed. {I didn’t bring my pump and I’m glad I didn’t. I only would have pumped in the hotel, when it was easiest to just nurse and I was either rushing to get to the park or rushing to get to bed.}
• Bring 2 backup onesies, and maybe a shirt for yourself! Never can tell when bb will get so excited that her diaper literally can’t handle it. Throw those gross stinky soiled clothes in a ziploc bag and get in line for Tower of Terror. Change diapers frequently, even if they don’t need it. 
• Use a small, portable baby carrier – if you *like* babywearing. I don’t wear Reese all that often. I much prefer pushing her in a stroller. When I do wear her I use the Solly and I like how quick and flexible it is. I actually only used it once the whole time. Granted, we had about 10 people all willing to hold and sit with Reese anytime they could. On the rare occasion that I took her in line with me the Solly was nice. If you have a small group or plan to ride a lot of the baby-friendly rides a baby carrier is a good idea. The Solly was so small and light I didn’t mind taking it even though we didn’t really use it.
• Stock up the hotel room and re-pack your bag each day. I brought a box of diapers, 2 packs of wipes, a pack of disposable changing pads, 2 little tubs of formula, a box of travel packets, boxes of snacks like clif bars/gushers/granola bars/crackers, and cases of water and soda. Each night I would empty and re-pack the diaper bag and stroller. You wouldn’t believe how much detritus you’re accumulating over the day at Disneyland – receipts, trash when you weren’t near a trash can, half of that granola bar you were gonna finish later, that thing your sister asked you to hold… Then I would repack for the next day – diapers, wipes, formula, onesies in the diaper bag, a ziploc of snacks and a little cooler of Diet Cokes (topped off with ice from the hotel ice machine on our way out) for the stroller basket.
• Bring portable external phone chargers. Your phone dies so fast at Disneyland because of the 3,000,000 pics and video you take and the crowded cell towers. You will use them! Maybe even bring an extra charging cable or two to charge them with at the hotel. Every second we were in the hotel we had something charging.
• Don’t be afraid to leave your stroller – just take your phone, wallet and camera out of it, duh. I know it feels weird. 
• Fanny Packs are back, baby. I got this cute one from Victoria’s Secret and you must all know how much it takes for me to call a fannypack “cute,” let alone BUY ONE. Sometimes I would leave the diaper bag in the stroller or with my mother-in-law watching Reese, so I would throw my phone, wallet and fastpasses into this little number and BAM. Hands-free and lovin it.
• Take care of yourself. Wear sunscreen, comfy clothes (Disney fashion post forthcoming) and good shoes. Pack snacks, sodas and water for yourself and monitor your hunger level. You’re a bad parent and a bad party member when you’re hangry. I brought my own Diet Cokes, favorite Clif bars and my big plastic water bottle (most of the cafeteria-style restaurants will let you fill your water bottles with ice and water!).
• Avoid schedules and time commitments. We got to the park at noon or later each day. And you know what? It ended up helping us get our money’s worth. If we had tried to wake up early and grind it out we would have been miserable and definitely wanted to go home earlier. Instead we were able to stay until midnight, got plenty of sleep each night and took all the pressure out of the mornings. 
• Bring as many people as you can! Not only is it way more fun, but it was also so super helpful to have extra hands and arms. My personal trainer brother-in-law sprinted around the park to get us fast passes. My sassy little sister-in-law was always nice enough to stand in drink/popcorn lines for me. My mother-in-law took plenty of opportunities to hold Reesefeets so I could ride Tower of Terror over. And over. 
  
• Coordinate your outfits. I’m only sort of kidding. Mickey Mouse himself stopped to come wave at Reese when he saw us dressed up like this. I’m serious.

It was such a great trip. Taking Reese just made everything more fun. I recommend it to anyone and everyone. I’m sure I missed some things and I’m sure I’ll learn even more next time! Let me know if you have any other tips please!!!