By: Lisa Cline

We all know parents who draw the line somewhere when it comes to child-raising: a dad who won’t do diapers, a mom who won’t quit her job; a grandmother who won’t babysit. At certain times of life, or ages, certain tasks become intolerable. I get it. For my husband, it was Disney. Before our first was born, he promised that he’d never go.

So when he invited us to a conference in California with him earlier this month, I took the bait. I tested his seven-year-old mandate. “We might want to go to Disneyland while we’re there,” I punted. “Great idea,” he replied. I bought the airline tickets the next day.

Disneyland does bring out the kid in all of us, or maybe just our own kids do. Either way, you’ll leave with memories that will last a lifetime. Here are some tips that we learned along our way:

Stay on Property. There are three hotels physically on the Disneyland property. We stayed at the California Grand. It was priceless to be close enough that kids and parents alike can easily take a break from the park (and the heat) to kick-back at the hotel.

Our son is beyond napping age, but requested a nap after a morning of rides, swimming, and lunch. This also recharged him for the 9:30PM firework display. It does cost considerably more to stay on property, but it you have military id, like we did, you’ll save 40%. (Military personnel also save 40% on the cost of park passes, but you’ll have to get them at your local military base before your trip.)

Negotiate with Your Kids. Cut a deal with your kids to buy one keepsake/souvenir/tchotchke on your trip. Let that be the beginning and end the conversation. There are almost as many gift shops as there are rides, and your child’s eyes will wander constantly — especially if they are too young to understand what money is.

Download a Waiting Time App. We used Mobil Magic, which let us know how long a wait was before we made the trek to check it out.

Buy Cereal. And Yogurt. And Milk. Food is criminally expensive within the park. You will bleed $10 bills if you don’t come somewhat prepared. But you don’t have to be completely low-brow and hand the bellhop three grocery bags full of “outside” food. You can buy a few staples, and eat at hotel and park snack shops instead of opting for table service restaurants.

We did not do this, but will next time. In retrospect, I’d bring a box or two of cereal, some yogurt, cheese sticks, granola bars, pretzels and maybe some milk. These will get you through breakfast, which is when you least want to spend $50 (no, I’m not kidding). You’d also rather spend this time in the park — as those staying on property get in at 7AM versus 8AM for the general public.

Ask Hotel If Your Room Has A Mini Fridge. See above.

Coffee. We all need our coffee in some way, shape or form. There are a couple of Starbucks in the park, but talk about crowded! We did just fine with the mini coffee maker in the room, which is stocked with two decafs and two cafes (plus powdered creamer, sugar and sweet & low) each day.

No Gum. This may seem like no big deal. But gum if one of those dangling bribes you use with your kids, you won’t find any here. Disney is gum-free, which is one of the many reasons it is sparkling clean.

Must See: Cars Land at California Disney Adventure. Do it! Boys especially will really love this new park-within-the-park. Grown-ups will love the retro-cool graphics and piped-in music. It’s pretty amazing.

As for Radiator Springs Racers. Get in the FastPass line early in the morning and be prepared to camp out for about an hour or two. FastPasses can sell out at 9:30AM, which means no more for the day. After that, you can stand in the “regular” line, but this will take over an hour and the staff is not so great about letting one person hold a place for an entire family or group. If one of your kids is under 40”, another option the SwitchPass. This entails having one person from your party ride solo (yes, that means standing in the ridiculously long line — bring a book), then asking for a SwitchPass when you get off. You then give this pass to two others in your party and they can get on using the FastPass line. Confusing: yes, but it might help one or two of you out there.

Go Alone. Do not attempt to do Disneyland with another family — unless you designate one ringmaster. There are so many decisions to make about what ride to do, when to do it, where to eat, when to eat, etc. Unless everyone in your group goes to the bathroom at the same, exact time, you’ll be frustrated fast.

Take the Afternoon Off. Doing rides in the morning is a great way to start the day, but after lunch, hit the pool for a few hours during the hottest and most crowded time of the day. Then, return to the parks at dinnertime, while others are eating.

Good Luck Finding Mickey Mouse. We searched high and low for two days for Mickey himself, but came up empty. We found Goofy, Minnie and Pluto, however.

*Editor's Note: I'd like to take a moment to thank Lisa for all the great advice!!  I would also like to remind anyone planning a Disney vacation to contact Sabrina ([email protected]) to find out about all the current pricing specials, as well as to get more great tips and tricks.  And, for those considering joining the Disney Vacation Club, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] to ask me any questions you may have.