We just returned from Disneyland on a trip with my son where we celebrated his fifth birthday. Here's some things I learned or took advantage of that helped our trip.

It may be worth noting my son was recently diagnosed with autism, which may have played a role in how overwhelmed he sometimes could get and how he reacted to loud sounds, but Disneyland is a very stimulating place overall though.

1) Food

As many people note, bring your own food. We packed a small cooler with sandwiches and other snacks and never got hassled by security.

In fact our first evening in the resort area my family (except me and my son) went to a nearby Walmart that's about a 20 minute walk away, and taxi'd back to the hotel with all the food we'd need for the week.

With my son's picky eating, we could get him the food he would actually eat too, and not risk $10 or more for something he'd hate in the park. We saved a lot of money.

Bringing our own food to the park also had a secondary benefit in that we could find quieter places to eat, because...

2) IT'S LOUD!!

Damn, everything is loud. The combined sound of thousands of people, music, sound effects, everything. It's loud. LOUD!

But using advice from online, the best place we found to eat our lunch was in a secluded seating area behind the Harbour Galley restaurant near Splash Mountain. (As a Canadian I appreciate the 'U' spelling as well.)

There was some shade, and we could watch Splash Mountain riders on a nearby bridge afterwards. Great spot.

Another place my kid loved was on the Mark Twain. Shaded seating area, and relatively quiet. (And a good view of the nearby masses of people.) Princess Tiana was always around too if you're into that character. (That's the Princess and the Frog princess right? I haven't seen the film.)

We also had lunch once across from the Star Wars Launch Bay's entrance, a little side dining area away from Galactic Grill. Also shady and less people and noise, and near a water bottle refill station. Good spot.

3) Those rides be SCARY!

So we thought we'd be safe on the Fantasy Land rides for the most part. We started the trip on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and quickly learned how intense these rides are. Noisy, fair bit of motion, and really in-your-face. Pinocchio was like that too. LOOK OUT FOR THAT WHALE!

Long story short, he wasn't a fan. I even got him on Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin which was, uh, maybe a mistake.

My son's favourite ride I think was the Casey Jr. Train. Not too loud, and easy going (and outdoors!). Surprisingly he didn't like the Storybook Canal, but the sound of the boat skip/narrator over the boat speaker was actually fairly harsh and he was clearly bothered by the noise. (Hurt my ears a bit too, even.)

He didn't like Radiator Springs Racers either but he asked for that ride enough that we were doing it no matter what he said when he actually saw it. I recorded a video of him when the racing part started, good memories!

We got him on It's a Small World twice, but put sound muffling ear muffs on him the second time which was helpful. We forgot we had those for the first few days, they may have been helpful to us earlier.

Conclusion:

While the rides were challenging, our son loved the other little attractions, like the fire station on Main Street, the fire truck you can sit on in Toontown and the attached building to play in, and the Mark Twain in particular. (He's really into firefighters...)

Disneyland is a great place, but we quickly learned not to force him to do anything, which let us all have more fun.

Bottom line, as parents it was a big learning experience to see Disneyland through a four/five-year-old's eyes and realize how overwhelming even some of the 'easier' rides and attractions can be.

Finding quiet places to have breaks, not forcing rides, and bringing our own food were very helpful tips that made our trip work.