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luxury family travel x nosh & nurture

gluten-free in Disney with littles

4/8/2015

5 Comments

 
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It's no secret to ANYONE we know that Mr. Charming and I ADORE Disneyland. Since we were both kids its been a regular family vacation destination. Living in California, and having friends in the entertainment industry, most of whom danced or perform in the parks, it was a monthly, sometimes weekly trip for me.

More on me and Mr. Charming's Disney story will be found on the future Disney for Couples blog. This post is focusing on Disney with littles, particularly infants and toddler aged. When my niece turned one I told my sister that it was time she visited Disneyland! [haha] Some people may argue this is too young, and I honestly thought she wasn't going to get into it just yet. 

Boy was I wrong!! She recognized SO many characters already from films and Mickey's Playhouse. And she LOVED the rides. Tip Number One: Try to get pictures with characters early in the day. You'll miss some of the long lines, and when the littles are tired or cranky they may be more susceptible to being apprehensive of them. And if you are a thrill seeker, take turns staying behind with the little ones. I'm not a big scary ride person, so I happily took the little one shopping for stuffed animals while the fam rode the big rides. 
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It was so fun to see my sister with her very own happy family, making memories like the ones we made when we were little. It was special to be able to share in that vacation with her. I know, I'm super mushy. Sorry about that. Onto the food!  Tip Number Two: Snacks are important. We always rent a locker and pre-pack a backpack before going to the park. For a great gluten-free breakfast in the Disneyland park, visit The Plaza Inn at the far end of Main Street. They serve eggs, fruit and breakfast meats, and they have gluten-free Mickey Waffles. They also host a morning character breakfast that the littles LOVE! Characters like Minnie Mouse, Tigger and Winnie the Pooh will come to the table to get photos with you and sign the kiddos autograph books. It's a bit on the pricey side, so we usually do this for our big splurge meal of the day and then keep it cheap the remainder of the day.  Tip Number Three: Healthy snacks are SO easy to find within the parks. There are fruit and veggie carts throughout the lands. This is where we stock up on sliced apples, grapes, bananas, apples and broccoli packs for when we want to nosh in long lines. 
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After breakfast & snack time is out of the way, the best lands to spend time in with little ones is Fantasyland and Toon Town. My niece loved Toon Town, getting to visit Mickey and Minnie's homes and playing with all the fun cartoony props. My sister and I had a little fun of our own as well, trying on many hats at the Mad Hatter shop and shopping for clothes and toys! For lunch we went back to the lockers to our backpacks. Tip Number Four: To save money and to ensure healthy eating all day, we pack our lunch. It's fun to splurge on breakfast and dinner, and we make sure to fill up on fruits, nuts and veggie for snacks. We packed rolled lunch meats and veggie chips that we enjoyed outside the park in Downtown Disney and shopped a bit before heading back into the park. Just make sure you get your hand stamp for re-entry! Also, Disneyland will allow you to bring in your outside snacks and drinks, let them know you have food sensitivity issues or allergies if they question anything. 
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Before taking in the World Of Color, which left my little one year old niece awe-inspired and me a puddle of emotional goo seeing how in LOVE she was with the colors and music, we had dinner at Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante in Frontierland. The fam enjoyed tacos and enchiladas while the chef came out (they'll do this!) and prepared me a custom gluten-free steak salad with unseasoned grilled steak (that was PHENOMENAL) over a bed of fresh greens, topped with avocado and sliced tomato and drizzled olive oil and sea salt. It was fresh, healthy, delicious and filling enough to get us through fireworks and a few more rides before the park closed! Tip Number Five: Always pack extra clothes and layers for the littles. And for you as well! Mr. Charming and I always keep a change of shoes and hoodies in our lockers. For the littles it's an extra blanket, outfit change and hoodie. We had a random rainstorm and it was good we had extra clothes and an extra blanket for the baby because her stroller got quite wet! 

It was a memorable trip that we will always cherish as her first Disney experience! 

What are YOUR favorite Disney sites when traveling with babies & toddlers? Would love for you to share! 
5 Comments
Donna link
7/8/2015 06:59:48 am

I love the concept of this series - it is always so hard to stay on track with clean eating when travelling. We tend to travel a fair bit as well, so I like to have all the handy hints I can gather!! Snacks are super important :)

Reply
Mandi
7/15/2015 08:31:46 am

Donna,

So glad you stopped by! I agree, snacks will save you both money and calories when traveling! :)

Reply
Lori Hill-Smith link
7/8/2015 07:26:51 am

It's important to continue healthy eating habits even when on vacation! Thanks for the reminder!

Reply
Mandi
7/15/2015 08:32:12 am

Lori,

You're welcome! And thanks for stopping by! :)

Reply
michelle mink
7/13/2016 12:02:26 am

I love doing the character breakfast at the Plaza Inn. It is such a fun experience. I got to go to Disney with both my nephew and cousin this year and it was so fun seeing Disney through their eyes. They were obsessed with the carousel. Thanks for sharing on the Disney Blogger Link Up

Reply



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Nosh & Nurture was born of this journey I am on to better the health of myself, my family and those around me.  What started as a simple compilation of recipes has grown to a all-around lifestyle journal with ways to incorporate organic products into your home, pantry and beauty cabinet.  I also include stories on pregnancy, new motherhood, travel, Proverbs 31 marriage, and spiritual health, as I am a Christian who couldn't do any of this without my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. For more of my story you can click here. 

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