Find Part One of my FAQ here.

Where should we stay?

We stayed at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa. It’s the high end of the three Disney hotel properties, and I really think it’s worth the extra bucks. I loved the decor - dark wood, vaulted ceilings, very subtle Disney themes. It felt far more adult than I expected, which was refreshing.

The other two Disney hotels are also very convenient to the parks, but when I saw that the Grand Californian actually had a private entrance to Disney’s California Adventure, I was sold. Especially when the five of us were totally wiped out and able to take a much-needed short cut back to the hotel (vice carrying two sleeping children through Downtown Disney as we’d done the night before).

There are other hotels in the surrounding area with access to the parks, but considering the time value of money, I’m sold on the Grand Californian.

Should we bring our own stroller?

I was impressed, as only a mom of small, whiny children can be, by the stroller rental service at the parks. They don’t have double strollers, but one single stroller is $12/day, two for $22.

The strollers are joggers, easily maneuverable and quite comfortable for babies who can sit unsupported all the way up to pre-schoolers. In fact, Tacy and CJ perched in our two strollers to watch Fantasmic! and the fireworks display.

I especially liked that we could return the strollers, hang on to our placards (each stroller has a placard with your name on it, which reduces the potential for mix-ups) and receipt, leave the park for a while and then come back and get new strollers without waiting in line again or paying a second time.

The only drawback is that you must turn in the strollers before leaving the park, which means that you might end up carrying sleeping children all the way back through Downtown Disney, as we wearily did after the fireworks.

Is the food any good?

Surprisingly good!  At Disneyland, we had dinner at the French Market restaurant in New Orleans Square.  I had the jambalaya, and Kyle had the citrus chicken.  The girls shared a plate of macaroni and cheese (which comes with carrot and celery sticks), and Oliver chowed down on shreds of chicken from Kyle’s plate and mine too.  We also splurged on dessert - a chocolate mousse torte for the ladies, and cheesecake topped with red raspberries for Kyle.

The next morning, we had breakfast at the Storyteller’s Cafe at the hotel, accompanied by Chip ‘n Dale.  It was probably the most pleasant sit-down meal we’ve ever enjoyed with all three children, thanks to intermittent visits from the character, plus a post-meal dance parade around the entire cafe.  My only gripe?  The food is pricey - $25 for the buffet for adults, $12 or so for kids.  We ordered off the menu, and in retrospect, we should have ponied up for the buffet and taken advantage of the selection - like Eggs Benedict, sauteed asparagus, and smoked salmon with capers.

Then we had a late lunch at the Wine Country Trattoria at Disney’s California Adventure.  I had a caprese sandwich, and Kyle had a meatball sandwich - both of which were delicious.  It was pretty chilly out that day, so we forewent the adult beverages in favor of hot tea.

How much is this vacation going to cost me anyway?

Believe it or not, I’ve got some good news for you there.  Our airfare was surprisingly low, and because there are several different airports in the general area, you can shop around for flights.  Just make sure your chosen car rental company has a location at each airport; we learned that lesson the hard way.

Disneyland has also begun a new promotion that makes for an ideal vacation.  Buy a three-night hotel and three-day ticket package, and get two more nights and two more days absolutely free.  The reason I think this offer is so fantastic is that it lets you relax more as you explore the parks.  Instead of feeling compelled to see and do everything in only a couple days, you’ve got five full days to leisurely make your way to every corner of both Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure.  And aren’t vacations supposed to be leisurely?

Granted, a five-day stay means you’ve got more days’ worth of meals to buy and more time to be tempted by souvenirs.  But you can return home knowing that you’ve really made the most of your time at the parks.

In short, for a family of four - with the cool new promotion (get the details here) - with airfare and car rental and meals and a few sets of souvenir mouse ears, I’d say you’re looking at around $3500.

But like I said in Part One, it’s an experience for the whole family, and unless you live in SoCal, it’s not one you’ll repeat every year - or even every other year.  Plus, you’re just not going to find a comparable family vacation for less.  Certainly not one that’s anywhere near as memorable as a trip to Disneyland.

For more information on Disneyland promotions, check out their Special Offers page.  And if you’ve got any more questions about our Disneyland experience, please email me directly at mothergoosemouse AT gmail DOT com.

Okay, so no one has actually asked me these questions yet.  But these are the questions I asked (or wish I’d asked) before going to Disneyland, and I hope my answers will help others who are planning a family vacation to this classic and timeless resort.

Are my kids too young/too old to enjoy Disneyland?

Personally, I don’t think anyone is too old to enjoy Disneyland.

Too young though…that depends on your situation.  For example, I know Oliver (14 months) won’t remember this trip to Disneyland at all.  Tacy (7 years old) will remember it well, and CJ (4 years old) will remember certain highlights, especially with the aid of pictures and video.

But we’ll remember CJ’s and Oliver’s enjoyment of the trip, their reactions to everything that they saw and did.  As much fun as I know Tacy had at Disneyland, I think CJ’s and Oliver’s experiences were more magical, which made them even more fun for Kyle and me to observe.

So if you’ve got an only child, I’d say wait until they’re three or four, so that they can get the full effect and you can marvel at the experience through their eyes.  But if you’ve got two or more, don’t wait for the youngest to be old enough to remember the trip.

What are the must-ride rides?

I love rides.  I don’t care how kiddie they are, rides at a big park like Disneyland are all awesome.

But I did have a few top favorites that I’d highly recommend.  First, at Disneyland, “It’s a Small World” is non-negotiable.  It’s integral to the Disney experience.  The ride itself, inside and out, is just beautiful, and I love the subtle cultural messages.  Plus, if you’re there on a day like the one when we visited, a nice cool boat ride is just the ticket.

Also at Disneyland, if you have a fan of the Disney Princesses, check out the Disney Princesses Fantasy Faire.  Even if you don’t wait in line to meet and greet the Princesses in person, go around the corner to the merchandise area and spot them as they make their entrances and exits.  CJ waved at them all like she was hailing a cab, and Belle - still in character - greeted her: “Hello!  Have you read any good books lately?”

Over at Disney’s California Adventure, I had to forego the big rides in favor of those the kids could enjoy too.  But I didn’t expect to love Toy Story Mania! as much as I did; I insisted that we ride it twice.  It’s a 3D virtual midway, where you “shoot” targets and a small screen mounted on your car totals up your points.  Absolutely addictive.

My other top favorite at Disney’s California Adventure was Soarin’ Over California.  It’s a simulated hang glider that suspends you over a hemispheric screen with footage of gorgeous parts of California - sail over orange groves (you can smell the oranges!), up the cliffs of Yosemite, skimming the ocean past the surfers, down the ski slopes.  I’ve never been on another ride like it.

What’s FASTPASS?  Does it cost extra?

One area in which I did not adequately do my homework before our trip was FASTPASS.  I thought it was a premium service, so I dismissed it as a nice-to-have.

FASTPASS is basically a virtual line.  At the rides which feature FASTPASS, you can get a ticket that tells you to return to the ride during a certain window of time, and when you do, get in the FASTPASS line instead of the regular line.  This means that you will likely wait somewhere between 5-15 minutes to get on the ride, instead of 45-90 minutes or more.  But it also means that you need to plan out your day, so that when you get a FASTPASS ticket for a particular ride, you can be sure to make it back there during the window.

While FASTPASS is found at rides with height requirements that leave out many younger kids (such as California Screamin’, with a 48″ height requirement), it’s also available at rides with lower height requirements like 40″, which both Tacy and CJ met.  I really could have used FASTPASS when the three of us went on Soarin’ Over California, and it would have allowed Kyle and me to enjoy some of the bigger rides ourselves without splitting up the family for an hour or more while one of us waited in line.

What are the must-see shows?

I have to admit that I’ve never really been one for seeing the shows at amusement parks.  Why sit on bleachers when there are roller coasters waiting to be tamed?  Even when we went on family vacations to Disney World and Disneyland, we stuck to the rides.

But this trip to Disneyland really changed my mind about shows.  I was fairly well blown away by every one we saw.

The newest one, which just debuted the day before we saw it, is Celebrate! A Street Party with costumed street dancers and dancing characters.  High energy, with lots of crowd involvement - it had even Kyle and me dancing and singing along, and we typically only do that at Depeche Mode and Rush concerts.  But even better was how much Tacy and CJ got into the fun, thanks to the engaging performers.  I would absolutely recommend camping out twenty minutes ahead of showtime to get a front row spot for Celebrate!

Also at Disneyland, we were amazed by the theatrics of Fantasmic!, the evening show featuring Mickey Mouse, which takes place just before the fireworks display.  The effects are incredible, in particular the projection of vintage Disney film sequences onto huge sheets of water.

Over at Disney’s California Adventure, we saw the stage production of Aladdin.  It’s a 40-minute show, and all five of us were riveted.  The costumes were beautiful, the animatronics were lifelike, and the actors were talented and entertaining.  I was genuinely impressed.

As an aside, I haven’t taken the kids to any stage shows yet.  I knew Tacy would do well at Aladdin, but I wasn’t sure about CJ - that’s a lot of sitting for a four year old.  But since she knew the story and was able to follow along easily, it was an ideal first stage show for her.

Go see the shows.  They’re absolutely worth the time.

Next up: the logistics and costs associated with a trip to Disneyland.

I’ve never been really good about taking safety precautions when traveling.  As far as I’m concerned, a semi-recent oil change and a full tank of gas are more than enough preparation.

And although disaster hasn’t befallen me in years (knock wood), I’ve been risking it for far too long.

Snow comes quickly here in Colorado.  It may look merely cloudy when you head out to the grocery store, but by the time you emerge, your car - and the roads - may be covered in the white stuff.  Considering that I’ve seen cars skid onto sidewalks mere blocks from my home, I can’t truthfully say, “Well, that will never happen to ME.”

With kids in the car, it becomes even more important to be prepared.  Sure, it’s great to have a cell phone handy so that I can call my husband to request assistance, but if the roads are that bad, it’s going to take a while for him - or a tow truck - to get there.  I need a way to make sure that our temporarily disabled car is visible to others, so that they don’t skid into US.

So I’ve got Autolite Flareglo lights stashed in the console of each car.  They’re battery-operated LED flares - meaning that they last much longer than traditional flares (try 12 hours instead of just 15 minutes), much more visible (500 feet away - plenty of warning for other vehicles), and much safer.  Even if the kids take them out to play now and then, they’re still going to be ready to go and where I need them - if and when I need them.  Also, because they’re battery-operated, they’re reusable.  I really ought to stash a pack of AAA batteries with them too.

And since my husband drives quite a bit for work - sometimes up to 100 miles in a day - it’s important for him to be safe too, especially since I can’t head out to rescue him if he’s 50 miles away.  Better to have one of these inexpensive insurance policies in the console than to become a sitting duck on the shoulder of a mountain downgrade.

Whether you’re driving to the grocery store or across country, don’t take unnecessary chances.  Get your own Autolite Flareglo lights, an extra package of batteries, and be prepared.

When it comes to strolling, let’s just say I’ve been around the block. Probably thousands of blocks, considering that I strolled Tacy to day care weekday mornings for three years, in addition to all of the city blocks that we logged on weekend trips to parks and museums and through the corridors of Riverside Square and The Mall at Short Hills. I’ve strolled through ice and snow, through pouring rain, through blazing sun. I’ve strolled over sidewalks, across fields, and through dog poop.

In nearly six years, I’ve bought

• A Graco travel system for baby #1 (don’t all new moms buy this behemoth - or something similar - and then discover that it’s not well-suited to any lifestyle?)
• A Kolcraft pseudo-umbrella stroller for baby #1 (not easily maneuverable even under the best conditions)
• A Maclaren Triumph for baby #1 (absolutely fabulous and will kept close at hand until baby #3 has grown out of it)
• A Kolcraft Snap-and-Go stroller frame for baby #2 (love at first use, but sadly I gave it away and will need to purchase another for baby #3)
• A jogging stroller at a garage sale for babies #1 and 2 (I walked home from the pool with it once, but Kyle complains that the alignment is off)
• A generic umbrella stroller for baby #2 (most often used by baby #2 to push her dolls down the driveway at warp speed, shrieking as the stroller reaches the street, over and over again - we call this game “Negligent Mother”)

And now I own a Mutsy Spider, thanks to the good people at Mutsy who offered to send one for us to check out.

I love the Spider. It’s more expensive than most strollers I’d consider buying - the Maclaren was my big splurge, but one I don’t regret - but considering how many other strollers I’ve bought, I would have been better off pooling those dollars for one of these babies.

First off, it’s light. It’s not as light as an umbrella stroller, but it’s light enough that it glides easily, even with a 25+ pound toddler squirming in her seat. It’s bulky enough that I wouldn’t try to take it on a city bus (only because I loathe the bus), but I’d fold it and carry it up and down subway steps.

Speaking of folding, once you squeeze two tabs under the seat, the Spider basically collapses with no further effort on your part, and there’s even a small carrying handle that’s exposed upon collapse. Since I’m far enough into this pregnancy that bending over is a bit of a chore, I wish I didn’t have to bend so far over to see those tabs, but I think that once I get used to where they are, I’ll be able to do it by feel.

I like the adjustable handle even though I’m not particularly tall. The Kolcraft pseudo-umbrella stroller had a handle that was too low even for me (perhaps I inadvertently bought it in a petite size?), and I know it was annoying for Kyle. Even the Maclaren doesn’t have an adjustable handle.

But I do wish that I could put individual shopping bags over the handle (like I do with the two separate handles on the Maclaren). When I took the Spider shopping, I had to carry my bags over my wrists, which gets to be painful.

Conversely, the storage net underneath the Spider is pretty small. I would have put my bags under there if they would’ve fit.

Maybe I just shouldn’t buy so much stuff.

But what I absolutely love about the Spider is how easily it maneuvers. A set of swivel front wheels not only makes this stroller steer effortlessly, but it feels more compact - and less likely to accidentally crash into the feet of the person walking in front of you. Kyle even took it out for a run because it’s lighter than our jogging stroller and it’s correctly aligned. He said it performed great.

Granted, I wouldn’t take it off-roading, and I don’t think any lightweight stroller is going to effectively handle snow and ice. But I wish I’d had this Spider back when I had to push a 25+ pound toddler uphill in the rain, using only one hand so that I could hold my own umbrella.

A rain cover can be purchased separately (highly recommended even if you don’t stroll often - you can never guess when it might come in handy, and it’s a lot easier than making a dash for it), as well as a transit bag (which might help me with my shopping spoils storage issues).

Would I recommend the Spider? Absolutely. As long as your youngest child (and you’re not expecting any more) isn’t yet two, I’d say you’ll get a good year’s worth of use out of this stroller. Considering how well made it is, I think I could have purchased it for baby #1 (once she was out of the Snap-and-Go) and would still be using it now, five years later. That’s a great return on investment. And personally, I believe some baby gear is used so often that it really ought to be considered an investment.

For more information on the Spider and other stroller models made by Mutsy, please check out their site!

My little girl loves New York.

She was born there, and we lived in the city for six weeks until we closed on our apartment in New Jersey.  But even when we left the city, we could still see it every day:

And every night:

She knew which building was the Empire State Building.  She knew which building housed my office.  She knew about the Lincoln Tunnel, Central Park, and the Children’s Museum of Manhattan.  She rode the bus, the subway, and the NY Waterway ferry.  In the city, she was in her element.  When we took her apple-picking in Rockland County, she stamped her foot and announced that she did NOT want to pick apples; she wanted to ride the CAROUSEL.

We moved to Colorado just after she turned three, and although we’ve been here for nearly two years, she still asks me at least once a week: “When can we go back to New York?”

So when “Where Was I? New York!” arrived in our mailbox - addressed and inscribed to her by the author, Dave Carberry - she insisted that we sit right down on the driveway and read it immediately.

The book explores the highlights of a trip to New York.  Written in first-person, the simple descriptions of the sights and activities are a great way to remind kids of what they’ve done and seen - or even to get them excited about an upcoming trip.  The illustrations are bright and cheerful, detailed without being distracting.  From the Statue of Liberty to the subway underneath Grand Central Station, horse-drawn carriage rides in Central Park, Broadway shows and gigantic toy stores - “Where Was I? New York!” covers a lot of ground in only about fifteen pages.

Dave Carberry has more “Where Was I?” books in the works, including Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington DC.  “Where Was I? New York!” is currently available at Lulu.com, and you can get more information about his series of books at the official “Where Was I?” website.

As I keep telling Tacy, we’ll make it back to New York someday.  In the meantime, we can remember how much fun we once had there.

Much of my undergraduate coursework focused on microbiology, and the two most unnerving classes I ever took were Human Parasitology and Food Microbiology.  While I was fairly disgusted by much of what I saw, it certainly did convince me to take precautions to protect myself - and now my family too - against germs.

That said, I hate anti-bac gel.  It smells funny, it feels funny, it dries out your hands, and it leaks.  And for Pete’s sake, would someone please explain why there are anti-bac gel dispensers alongside soap dispensers and sinks in restrooms?  A quick swipe of anti-bac gel does not absolve you of the responsibility to WASH your hands after using the restroom.  And if you’ve already washed thoroughly and you don’t aspire to create super-germs, then why do you need the gel?

We moved to Denver nearly two years ago, and we’re still adjusting to the aridity of the climate.  It’s especially hard on my girls’ skin, especially in the winter.  Anti-bac gel is out of the question; regular handwashing (with hand lotion applied afterward) is our routine.

But I took the girls - and some CleanWell hand sanitizer - to the zoo on Monday.  I love the zoo, but let’s be honest:  it’s gross.  Nearly everything is outside, so it’s covered in grime.  Kids cling to the guardrails and press their noses against the glass.  And when you do run across a restroom, you really don’t feel any cleaner even after you wash your hands.  Other than Disney World, I can’t really think of a better place to try out a new hand sanitizer.

I’ll admit it; I’ve been converted.  This stuff is great.

It doesn’t smell funny.  It doesn’t feel funny.  It doesn’t dry out your hands - ask my older daughter, whose hands get dry and itchy thanks to mere handwashing - and the pump spray bottle and sealed towelettes eliminate leaking entirely.

Count me in with the rest of the anti-bac crowd, because I truly don’t see any reason NOT to carry and use CleanWell.

Check out the rest of the CleanWell reviews, courtesy of our fantastic bloggers at The Parent Bloggers Network.