Top tips for planning a trip to Disneyland from Australia (2023)

Planning a trip to Disneyland from Australia is exciting and terrifying at the same time. There are flights, accommodation, visas, park tickets, travel insurance and an itinerary to plan. Here's my step-by-step guide to help you plan your next Disneyland adventure from Australia!

First, you want to participateDisney Mums and Dads Australia Facebook-gruppeto help you plan everything and get advice from other travelers!

When is the best time to travel to California from Australia?

This is a tough choice, but my personal favorite time of year to travel is between September and November. We have been there in October 3 times now so we have had the chance to experience Halloween in America and will try to travel that time of year every time we go. The weather is warm but not too hot and the crowds are light. Check mypublication of crowd calendarto help you plan the best time with low crowds.

Flights

Airfare is all over the place right now, so I recommend watching and waiting for a sale to pop up! Qantas has had a few sales recently and had the best price. United will also fly direct from Brisbane until the end of the year, so hopefully airfares will drop when that happens. I like to use flight sites such asExpediato find the cheapest price and airline to book. We recently paid $1300 return from Brisbane to LA.

Accommodation

Make sure to book your plane tickets first! Sometimes it is cheaper to book directly with the resort/hotel, but not always! See prices for direct booking and then on sites such asHotels.comtheExpedia. I prefer to useHotels.comlike every ten nights you book, you get one free. You can also adjust your search results to book the top-rated hotels, so you know when you book that it's highly rated and you can read through the reviews. Be sure to book a hotel that is close enough to walk or has a free shuttle service. I always stay within a 15 minute walk as the last thing you want to do is take an Uber or drive to the parks. The convenience of walking to and from the parks on a busy day is worth spending a little extra to live close. I also recommend booking a hotel that offers free breakfast as this will save you money and is a great way to start a busy day at Disneyland and California Adventure Park. I'm working on a post that includes the top 10 hotels booked by Australians in Disneyland and I'll have it up soon.

A view

When traveling to the United States, you must apply for an ESTA from the official Department of Homeland Security. Other sites have been set up that charge three times the price, so you'll want to use the official site, which will cost you $21.00.

To be eligible to apply for a visa waiver:

• You are a citizen or eligible citizen aVisa Waiver ProgramLand.
• You do not currently have a visitor visa.
• Your trip lasts 90 days or less.
• You plan to travel to the United States for business or pleasure.
• You want to apply for a new authorization for one person or a group of applications for two or more people.

You may also be asked to provide the following details:

• Valid passports from a Visa Waiver Program country.
  List of visa-exempt countries
• The traveler's valid email address.
• Home address and traveler's phone number.
• Travellers' emergency contact telephone and e-mail.
• Payment method:
  The application fee is $21.00.
  Valid payment methods include MasterCard, VISA, American Express, Discover (JCB or Diners Club only) and PayPal.

Park tickets

The best place to buy park tickets is throughLOOK, and they are also the cheapest with regular sales and discounts that I will update on mineFacebook group for Disney moms and dads. You can buy tickets directly from Disney, travel agencies and other travel websites.

Ticket types:

• One-day tickets- These tickets allow you to enter either Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park for a single day. You can choose between a single park ticket per day or a park hopper ticket, which allows you to visit both parks on the same day.
• Multiple day tickets- Multi-day tickets provide access to either Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park for multiple days. You can choose the number of days you want to visit, usually between two and five days. As with day tickets, you have the choice between single station tickets per day or park hopper tickets.
• Tickets for Park Hopper- Park Hopper tickets allow you to visit both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park on the same day. With a park hopper ticket you can quickly move between the parks and experience attractions, shows and entertainment in each.

Ginny +

Genie+ is a paid service starting at $25 per day that provides access to Lightning Lane entrances for select attractions. When you purchase Genie+, you can reserve all-day Lightning Lane entrances on the Disneyland app. It allows you to skip the regular queues for participating attractions, saving you time and reducing your waiting time. Genie+ also offers additional features such as augmented reality experiences, audio stories and photo features to enhance your overall park experience. You can read all about the Genie+ service in detail in my post here!

Individuel Lightning Strip

Individual Lightning Lane Access allows you to purchase access to certain extremely popular or in-demand Disneyland attractions without purchasing the Genie+ service. Not all attractions have this option and availability may vary. Check the official Disneyland website or app to see which attractions offer individual access to Lightning Lane. Please note that individual Lightning Lane access is separate from the Genie+ service and requires a separate purchase for each attraction. Availability and pricing for individual access to Lightning Lane may vary, so it's best to check the official Disneyland website or app for the most up-to-date information.

Travel insurance

Healthcare in America is expensive, so I don't recommend traveling without travel insurance. There are some discount codes available if you google them (I recently used groupon20 for 20% off). I have personally booked with Insure&Go for the last couple of trips as they had the best prices and reviews on travel groups, but luckily I've never had a claim on them so I can't speak to that process.

Things you need to make sure your travel insurance covers:

• Trip cancellation or interruption cover
• Coverage of medical expenses (including Covid 19)
• Coverage of luggage and personal belongings
• Travel delay or lack of connection coverage
• Don't forget to include pre-existing conditions.

Money

When traveling in the US, prepaid travel cards or credit cards are the way to go. You'll need some cash to tip, but you'll find it easier to pay by credit card. When choosing a debit, credit or prepaid travel card, consider the fees. You should choose a card with no foreign transaction fees and a reasonable price.

The most popular credit cards:

• 28 degree card
• Macquarie Bank
• Bankwest

The most popular prepaid payment cards:

• Clever
• Westpac
• Commonwealth Bank

route

You need at least 3 days to explore Disneyland and California Adventure Park. This is the best part of planning any trip! If you are traveling all the way to the US, I recommend staying at least 2-3 weeks if possible.

Some places you want to visit!

• San Diego- Legoland, San Diego Zoo, USS Midway Museum, SeaWorld, Balboa Park, Belmont Park and the new Children's Museum.
• Palm Springs- Palm Springs Aerial Tramway (there was snow up there on our last visit), Joshua Tree National Park, Desert Hot Springs, Main Street in downtown Palm Springs, and Cabazon Dinosaurs.
• San Francisco- Exploratorium, California Academy of Sciences, Park og Golden Gate Bridge, Cable Car, Alcatraz Island, Children's Museum of Creativity, Full Houses, Mrs Doubtfire House og Walt Disney Family Museum.
• Roadtrip til San Francisco via Highway 1(Pacific Coast Highway) - stops in Big Sur, Pismo Beach (4-wheeling on the beach here and it was the highlight of our entire trip), Santa Barbara, Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea (overnight here) and San Jose (Winchester Mansion Tour).
• Las Vegas- Circus Circus, Discovery Children's Museum, walk the strip, Las Vegas offers family-friendly shows, Wildlife Habitat at Flamingo, Coca-Cola Store and M&M's World store.
• The angels- Universal Studios (ET MUST), Knotts Berry Farm, Griffith Park, California Science Center, Santa Monica Pier og La Brea Tar Pits.

I hope this post helps you plan your next trip to Disneyland, Anaheim, CA! If you have any questions, please let me know.