I love that everywhere you look in Disneyland you are surrounded by little princesses hoping to meet their favorite Disney royalty. But, if your boys are like mine, the castle, tiaras, dresses and princesses just aren’t appealing. We just returned from Disneyland and here are 10 awesome things for boys at Disneyland, according to my boys.
10 Awesome Things for Boys at Disneyland
1-Jedi Training Academy
The Jedi Training Academy gets to take the #1 spot on the list of things my boys loved at Disneyland. This is a must-see if you have a Star Wars fan in your family. Kids ages 4-12 are eligible to be chosen to train and take the Jedi Oath and ultimately fight Star Wars Villains. We got lucky and my 6-year-old not only fought Darth Vader but also used the Force to fight off two Storm Troopers. Kids even receive an official certificate stating they have completely Jedi Training.
Check out his impressive video. 🙂
2-Build Your Own Star Wars Light Saber
My boys were thrilled to find that they could design and build their own lightsaber inside the Star Trader shop in Tomorrowland. They could get a single or double blade and I was impressed that they were pretty inexpensive compared to the majority of souvenirs in the park. They could get creative and design their own or follow the pictures to build a replica of their favorite Star Wars characters.
3-Autopia
What little boy doesn’t love cars and hasn’t asked their parents if they can drive from the time they could talk? Autopia was one of our favorites! My boys loved the chance to “drive” their own cars. Even my three-year-old loved taking his mom and dad on a wild ride down the highway. We put our pedal to the metal and survived my toddlers first driving lesson. Also, at the end of the ride you can purchase your kids their very first drivers license.
4-Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island
Tom Sawyer Island was always one of my favorite places to go when I was a kid. I think the thought of having your own private island to explore appealed to me. Now that pirates have invaded Tom Sawyer Island it is even more exciting and my boys LOVED it! It is a great place for mom and dad to take a break while the kids explore and look for the Pirate’s gold!
5-Tarzan’s Treehouse
When I was younger I loved the Swiss Family Robinson tree house and now my boys get to climb on and enjoy Tarzan’s Treehouse. As kids climb up an 80 foot tall tree and through the tree house, they get to watch the story of Tarzan unfold and end up in the base camp where they can make some noise like the gorillas. My boys thought it was great.
6-Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
Photo courtesy of Disneyland News.
Did you know that while your princess is getting dolled up at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, your young boys can be transformed into a knight with a shield and sword? The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique offers a Knight package that transforms boys into a heroic knight. The package includes a hairstyle, sword and shield.
7-Fantasmic
Photo courtesy of Disneyland News
Fantasmic is a breathtaking water show over the Rivers of America where Mickey dreams he is fighting off the powers of evil. The show contains fireworks, lasers, pyrotechnics, video projected on walls of water and a 45-foot fire breathing dragon! My boys were completely fascinated by the show. If you plan to go, make sure to get a fast pass for better seating. Fast Passed for the show can be found outside of the Thunder Mountain Railroad.
8- Disneyland Railroad
Photo courtesy of Disneyland News
The first thing that greeted us as we entered Disneyland was the Disneyland Train. The Disneyland Train is one of those rides that my boys wouldn’t let us miss, especially my 3-year-old. Not only is it a fun way to get from one part of the park to the others, but the ride takes you through the “Grand Canyon” and even through the land of the Dinosaurs. The train has a few stops at different areas of the park so it is easy to get on and off at your next destination, or just take the entire ride around.
9-Favorite Rides for Little Boys 
My youngest boys liked most of the rides. There were a few that were a bit scary for my 3-year-old but he loved Buzz Lightyear, Autopia, Dumbo, the Disneyland Railroad, King Arthur’s Carousel, the Jungle Cruise and Gadget’s Go Coaster.
10-Favorite Disneyland Rides for Big Boys
I asked my boys to list their favorite rides at Disneyland and their list included Star Tours, Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones and Thunder Mountain Railroad. None of those were a surprise because I’m sure most guests at Disneyland love them. But they are the ones that stuck out the most to my boys . I will note that The Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain and the Matterhorn were all closed when we were there or else I’m sure they would have made the list.
We had a magical vacation at Disneyland and my boys are already talking about when we will get to make our next trip.
Are you surprising your sons with a Disney vacation soon?
Make sure to surprise them in a fun way! We LOVED our last Disney vacation and made sure we surprised our boys with the news that Mickey Mouse would be welcoming us to his home.
This was a super easy way that we surprised our boys with the trip.
And once you have a trip planned, these countdown are a fun way to pass the time and build excitement while you wait:
Plan out your time in the park with this Disney Vacation Planner. Keep things organized and hopefully a bit less chaotic. Download your own Disney Vacation Planner HERE!
If you have boys, what are their favorite things to do at Disneyland?
Great job! My son is 10 and we have been 4 times. He loves all of this plus his favorite rides are Tower of terror, Indiana jones and Screamin’ California but, he is bigger. Mickey and the magical map is an awesome show to watch also. Glad you had fun. We live Disneyland and are going in April for my sons birthday.
When my boys were little they also loved the Casey Junior train, Winnie the Pooh and the Tiki Room. And playing around in Toon Town. As they got older, Gadget’s Go Coaster was added to the list. Now it’s all Indy, Star Tours and coasters.
In DCA they loved horsing around in the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and seeing Muppet Vision 3D, Turtle Talk with Crush and Toy Story Midway Mania. Now they love Goofy’s Sky School, Screamin’ and Radiator Springs Racers. Lots of adventures can be had in DCA.
This is ridiculous. My girls would love every one of these things. And I’m sure there are plenty of little boys who enjoy princesses and castles. This article should be titled “10 awesome things for children at Disneyland.”
You’re right. I’m sure there are boys who enjoy princesses and castles. This post was written entirely from the input of my boys, as mentioned several times in the post and it specifically lists the things that they liked the best.
Love this article. Sometimes it’s easier to find things like princesses and castles at the parks. This is a great post for things boy love. Doesn’t mean it’s for boys only! Just things that maybe aren’t as obvious like the boutique experience for boys. Great article!
Do you have the cute letter for Disneyland that surprises the kids? I saw several things to print off for Disney world, but I was looking for disneyland
Thank you