This past week, I had the privilege to go on the annual senior Disney trip for the Manogue kids. To be honest, from what my friends had told me last year, I expected the time of my life. And it was, for the most part. But I’m here to lay down the hard but real truth about the Disney trip.

To begin with, prepare yourself for the worst part: the bus ride there. No one told me about how crucial it is to get sleep. Sleep of course is the driving force to energize yourself throughout the day. I assumed that I would fall asleep around my normal bedtime, 11 pm maybe 12 am. However, I got 30 minutes of sleep in total. Which during a 12-hour bus ride, is not enough. Take into account what type of person you are, can you be hyper enough to enjoy the trip or do you really need sleep? I thought I could wake myself up, but by midday, I felt more tired than ever. Wearing yourself out with walking and rides, it takes a toll on you.

I found that the people who at least slept a good amount 5-6 hours, took the trip by storm. Usually having burnout at around 12 am in California Adventure is much better than 4 pm at Disneyland. When I say do anything to fall asleep, do it. Take real melatonin, bring an eye mask, and your OWN blanket (sharing is hard), bring a pillow, listen to white noise, take Nyquil, and just do something extremely tiring before you leave. Anything that gets you to fall asleep, even for 4 hours is better than 30 minutes
Another thing is the energy of the people around you, if you’re feeling burnt out or tired but the people around you are amped and ready to go, sit down and catch up with them later. It’s hard to imagine, but you will be much better off having some time to chill out than constantly doing something. Of course, if you are a hyper friend, find other hyper friends. If you’re the grouchy friend, take a breather, find a buddy who is also tired, and sit down with them.

Disneyland is magical nonetheless. The food, the rides, and the atmosphere is truly amazing. I enjoyed my time and would recommend going. However, remember how crucial sleep is for this trip, don’t underestimate it. Take time for yourself, and try to live in the moment as much as possible. Even if you end up like me, with zero sleep and more tired than you’ve ever been in your life, just remember there is a restaurant in California Adventure that lets you sit for hours during “Grad Nite” which is great for resting your head. People went to the hotel on the parkland to nap, people slept on the benches, anything to wake yourself up is worth it. It’s fine to relax, you’re there from 9 am till 2 am, which is a long time to hit all the rides you want.