Preface
This isn't a "how-to" post for pulling off Disneyland solo with kids, nor is this a guide for parenting. It's how I did it, and while my kids are probably as Disney-crazy as yours, your experience and how you negotiate churros with your child is going to be different from mine.
Costs
Disneyland is by no means cheap. You're paying hundreds of dollars for you and the little ones' tickets, and then you have lodging, food, and transportation to worry about. That doesn't include the fact that your kids are likely going to be merchandise magnets, and Disney is one of the best at marketing to little kids while making you feel compelled to buy that one last Mickey pin. Adding to my challenge is that we were there for the holidays, which is generally the most popular and therefore the most expensive time of the year for Disneyland.
We bought a package through Costco, which saved us probably about $100 in hotel and ticket costs, plus it also featured a free (well free with package) character meal. If you're a Costco member, I don't know of any other better package available to the general public.
Setting Expectations
For me, probably the best thing that I did for myself and my sanity was to accept the fact that while we were there to have fun, ultimately when you go to a place like Disneyland, the people who are going to be most affected by the environment is the little people. And so, if you're a single dad there with the kids you're really there for the kids. The trick is to find ways to do things in a way that your kids are going to have the most fun, since if they're having fun with you, then you're having fun, and it doesn't matter that their lack of size will make it impossible for you to go on Indiana Jones this trip.
Pacing
We were staying in a Good Neighbor hotel and we arrived very late (about 11pm) the night before our first day. Our arrival day was also a long day for the kids (we were at a football game all day), and so I didn't want to start up again at the crack of dawn. Kids love Disneyland, but no rest will leave you with all Grumpy dwarves. And so, we arrived at DL at the crack of 11:00AM.
While we were there, we did things that clearly had shorter lines. Most of the exhibits at Toontown qualify, and even on heavy days like these there were always things that the kids could do without waiting for an hour. Oh, and by the way, the parades in the middle of the day were a great way to consume an hour. Add another 45 minutes for lunch and dinner, and you really didn't have huge blocks of time where you're forced to find something to entertain the munchkins.
I used fastpasses as frequently as possible and kept an eye on the timestamp that indicated when you can get a fastpass again. I also learned that you can't have two live FPs for the same ride for the same person. (I tried that.) While waiting for the FPs to become valid, we looked for the slower exhibits, like the Tomorrowland walkthrough (which actually is a lot more impressive than the Tomorrowland of yesterday (aka my childhood), more Toontown, and Critter Country (where the line for Pooh seemed to be always pretty short). Kids love trains too, and the ride on the train (or monorail) was an easy way to keep the kids off their feet while keeping them entertained between FPs.
Finally, there's Downtown Disney. There aren't rides, but if you're willing to sweat the merchandising, it's still lots of entertainment for the kids. The food is also probably a bit healthier than what you'll find in the park. There's also a monorail (read: ride!) that'll take you there.
Pacing II
I ended up staying pretty late every evening. Here's how it unfolded:
Day 1: 11am to 10pm, all at Disneyland
Day 2: 10am to 9pm, all in California Adventure
Day 3: 8am (yup) to 11:59pm (another yup), starting in CA but then going to DL.
By keeping the first days dedicated to one park vs. the other, I didn't lose time transiting between parks (and thus avoiding more miles on their tiny legs). The first day also ended with the fireworks show, which the kids will always enjoy (especially the fake snow spray at the end). The second day ended with actually three hours at Downtown Disney, mostly because we realized there was no way to ride the Cars ride when entering that late, and that ride was probably the most important ride of the park to them.
I'm sure you must be thinking how insane that last day was. If you are staying in a good neighbor hotel, you do have the option of going in early in one of the parks. If you do, and your kids are tall enough for the Cars Racers Ride (40" - and they're strict about it), then go there for your early day. In fact, unless you're staying at a Disney branded hotel (there are three as of this writing), you really should go to the FP line for the racers ride immediately since all of the Disney hotel guests are already in the park. To give you an idea - the line for the FP took about 45 minutes for us (and we arrived around 8:15 at the back of the line). Another family that was with us went straight to the ride and waited about 2:10. We ended up waiting another 40 minutes in the FP line when we went to the ride, but two 45 minute blocks (alone with two kids, remember) is better than 2:10.
In all of these days, since we were staying in a good neighbor hotel, going back to the hotel for a nap really meant an extra hour combined in travel time, and time at DL is precious. So, um, we didn't nap. Of course, your mileage will vary if your kids don't nap. I think my kids held up well, although during that last day they were clearly tired. But, strangely within the lights of DL, they didn't want to leave if they weren't asked to.
I don't recommend doing a day that involves closing the park unless it's your last day there (and you don't have an early flight out the next day). (Read: don't fly out at 6am the day after your last day at DL.) I recall having to get a churro (10pm on the last day is ok to break the rules) for the kids to keep them up for their favorite ride (Star Tours), and I also recall vividly holding a sleeping 4 year old while standing in line, waking her up so that she could be measured for height, and then having her collapse on me again for the 2nd part of the line.
Food
Food at Disneyland, well, isn't the most healthy, so don't try to think you're going to use the trip to introduce the kids to Brussels sprouts. However, there are things that worked for me.
Snacking
To me, it's ok to snack. Food is everywhere, but if you can find a short line to get a few chicken nuggets (read: protein), it'll buy you perhaps just a few more useable hours to keep them going. I tried to stay away from the churros and other carby snacks (although I did promise the kids upon arrival some cotton candy), as they don't seem to keep the kids full as long. Keeping them hydrated during the daytime (which would have been worse in the summer) was also a bit of a challenge; I kept giving them lots of water, and the occasional artificially sweetened lemonade. (For those wishy-washy about artificial sweeteners, the fake lemonade is indiscernible to the real thing for kids, and you're there for only a few days; hopefully you don't have a PKU issue with your children, though.)
Meals
We were lucky enough to stay at a hotel that featured free breakfast, so you know where we went for food in the mornings. For lunch and dinner, I had to make sure that they ate, lest we fall into that hungry-grumpy mode again. Kids aren't going to tell you that they're hungry, especially in the Happiest Place on Earth, so you kind of have to get them to eat. Kids don't need much to keep going (see: snacking), and so oftentimes, I ordered two things for the three of us - either two kid meals or one adult and one kid meal. The one who didn't eat to the point of getting full was of course me, but that didn't matter, since I wasn't exactly sitting down for a 5-star meal. Plus, daddy's grumpy meter requires a lot more hunger than the munchkins'. Furthermore, most kid meals still come with carrots or something that somewhat resembles a healthy attempt by DL, and it wasn't hard to get them to eat it in order to get to the next ride.
Our package also featured a character meal, and I recommend doing this at dinnertime, which means Goofy's Kitchen. The reason is that (1) the kids are hungrier at dinnertime than breakfast (or lunch, especially if you're a late riser), and (2) it's a good way to end a busy day. Which characters are featured is pretty much hit-or-miss (aside from Goofy), and the food is very kid-oriented, but at least they'll eat, they'll have a place to wash hands, and they'll see some of their favorite characters. BTW, I think Ariel's Grotto (California) did feature a dinner, but unless all of your kids are into the princess thing (and neither of mine are), it's not worth it.
Going (really, I mean that)
I had a 4 year old girl and 7 year old boy during our trip. The boy was easy; he could just go, but the girl was a bit of a challenge, as you can imagine. Disneyland I think advertises that they had family bathrooms, but I couldn't find any, and add the stress of a child who really has to go, well, you don't have a lot of time to look for that little dot on the map. In some cases, the smallest one could go by herself, but sometimes she came out complaining that she couldn't reach the sinks. (She's tiny for a 4 year old; heck, she's still tiny today.) And so, sometimes I brought her into to the men's room, and no one seemed to mind.The big challenge, however, is when I (or you, the parent), has to go. I'm not fond of having the kids just stand there in the bathroom while you're doing your business, and so I had to make sure that they waited for me right outside the bathroom, every time. Then, it's get in, go, get out, as quickly as you can. At ages 4 and 7, they understood what they had to do. However, if I had smaller ones, it would probably have been more nerve-wracking. More importantly, if all three of us had to go, I had the two of them go first, and I waited for both to return before I entered myself.
The DL Staff
I didn't interact with the DL staff all that often, but when I did, they were always really friendly and helpful. If they realize that you're a single parent with multiple kids, particularly at the sit-down restaurants, they'll pay particular attention to you. I also had a case where I was sort of rushing to see the fireworks, and unbeknownst to me my son had lost his hat; there was a DL staffer who was following me, knifing through the crowds through Critter country and New Orleans Square, with hat in hand, trying to return it to me. Thank you to whoever that was.Anyhow, the DL staff is there to help if you're in a bind. Don't be afraid to ask them if you need a hand.
Stuff (read: how to survive all of the shops without breaking the bank)
The kids will always want something from the stores in DL, and there are plenty of them all over both parks. It's an exercise of saying "no" over and over again and redirecting their attention elsewhere (next ride, next activity, etc.). You can tell them as I did that the stuff that they see is sold elsewhere (usually the World of Disney in Downtown Disney), and it's better to buy stuff there instead of the right-there-and-now and having to carry it everywhere. What worked for me, however, was keeping a mental note of what the kids gravitate towards, and during day 2 or 3, surprise them with one (one!) item from a store that you happened to pass by. Tell them that they're getting it for doing something right, not because they're in Disneyland. By surprising them, my kids lost the expectation that they'd always get something, but since it was something they was consistent of what they asked before, they enjoyed it that much more. It also kept the control in my pocket, not theirs.Stuff to Bring
Bring sunscreen; it'll keep your kids cooler, which means they'll be happier (and not burnt). Its good for you too. Bring hats too; kids like hats (mostly), and it'll cut down on how much they have to drink. For the nighttime hours, I also brought non-Disney branded light-up necklaces from another park. The advantage here was that my kids were at lot easier to spot at night (imagine losing a little one in darkness), so much that at one point, while standing in line, when my older one really had to go, I had him turn on his light, and he ran over to the bathroom. It would have been hard to see where he was without the light.
