How young

[momofcutetwins]

I was just wonderingif there is anyone out there who has brought 3 year olds to Disneyland. If you have any advice I could use any of it. From rides to what to pack to the park. I'm asking this because I'm planning on bringing my 3 year old twins who have never been there before and I want to know if they would really enjoy it. Would they be able to right a lot of the rides. How do me and my husband do baby swap? I have many questions, please help ease my mind. Oh and their strollers, can you fit 2 three year olds in one or do you really need 2?

 

[DLR29]

We had a 3 year old on our super extended family trip in December. He is a young thrill seeker and LOVED all of the "rides that went fast" like Big Thunder Mountain and Gadget's Go Coaster. He also loved watching the parade. But it all depends on the kid. His 5 year old brother was freaked out by the carousel (go figure), but still he loved Dumbo, It's A Small World, and Peter Pan. Let's just say, your 3 year old won't be bored.

Child swap works like this:
1) Obtain Rider Swap pass from Cast Member at the entrance to an attraction
2) Parent A stands in line and waits and rides the ride
3) Parent B can use the Rider Swap pass (I think anytime that same day, but not 100% sure) to skip a lot of the line and wait with a much shorter wait. The Cast Member will instruct you upon returning to the attraction.

 

[DizNee Luver]

I was just wonderingif there is anyone out there who has brought 3 year olds to Disneyland. If you have any advice I could use any of it. From rides to what to pack to the park. I'm asking this because I'm planning on bringing my 3 year old twins who have never been there before and I want to know if they would really enjoy it. Would they be able to right a lot of the rides. How do me and my husband do baby swap? I have many questions, please help ease my mind. Oh and their strollers, can you fit 2 three year olds in one or do you really need 2?

First off....I have twins too!!! I haven't taken mine yet, but they are only 22 mths & have sensory issues.

Last March we took our 2 yr old & she went again last week....now a big 3 yr old. Fantasyland will be your best friend for kiddie rides. Dumbo is a must & most kids love this. The Storybookland boats is a nice leisurely boat ride thru miniatures & Casey Jr is a fun little train. If your kids like spinning, the Teacups will work. King Arthur's Carousel is usually a safe bet. As for darkrides....some kids like them & some kids don't. I would suggest starting with Peter Pan as this is definately the best one & if you don't get anymore in, at least you will have done this one. Alice would be my next choice. Make sure to take them on IASW.
Thru out the rest of the park, kids love Autopia...not sure why, but they do! Winnie the pooh is a very bright & colorful dark ride up in Critter Country. You can take them on a round-trip on the train.
Go check out ToonTown. Lots of fun knobs, buttons, phones & such for them to play with. Also tour Minnie's house & Mickey's house...Mickey will be at the end for a photo op.
At DCA, Bug's Land has all kiddie rides. Over in the Hollywood Backlot is the Monster's Inc. ride. Down on the pier is the new Toy Story Mania.....my daughter loved it (oh, forgot.....Buzz in Tomorrowland is also a fun interactive ride) King Triton's Carousel is also on the pier.

Shows that little ones enjoy is the Playhouse Disney, Aladdin the Musical, Turtle Talk with Crush (all in DCA, Hollywood Backlot)
Over at Disneyland on Main Street, the firehouse band plays & characters show up to dance.

To meet characters: Main Street in the area of City Hall & the flag pole, Frontierland has Woody & Jessie, Critter Country has an area for Pooh, Eeyore & Tigger, Tomorrowland has Buzz Lightyear & Pixie Hollow has Tinkerbell & her fairy friends.
You could also try a character meal for more interaction with the characters.

As for the baby swap....I'm not sure what rides offer this, but I do know that you ask the CM working the entrance for a baby swap ticket & they'll tell you from there. Hopefully someone more familiar with this will help!!

Just so you know, my 3 yr old conquered the HM, Space Mtn & BTMRR & absolutely loved them!! She's a bit of a daredevil......so it will depend on how your kids react to things.

 

[momofcutetwins]

Wow thank you so much that is very good information. Just what I was looking for. Now I just have to figure out what all the abbreveations (sp?) stand for and I'm set, I think I got most of them. What about POTC? Trouble is they aren't very adventorous but 1 is more then the other. And I want to ride all the rides too. I can't believe your 3 year old went of SM wow, she is very brave.

 

[momofcutetwins]

Does anyone happen to have a photo of the strollers they have a Disney? I'm trying to decide whether or not to bring my own double one on the plan and stuff??

 

[DizNee Luver]

Abbreviations I used:
IASW-It's a Small World
DCA- Disney's California Adventure (the other park)
HM - Haunted Mansion
BTMRR - Big thunder Mtn Railroad

As for the strollers:

My 3 yr old was able to nap in it.....you won't be able to put 2 in one. If you're double is easy enough to get on the plane...I'd suggest it. We were sorry we didn't have our own stroller this trip. Carrying a sleeping 3 yr old thru DTD or back to the motels was quite hard. Disneyland doesn't have double strollers so you'd need 2. (I think the rental for 2 at a time is $20, otherwise $12 for one/day)

 

[clairabell29]

I went for my sons 3rd birthday. He is more of a quiet child. He was a little ride shy at first, but loved the charactors right away. And the first day entering the park he was WAY overwhelmed. He wanted to just sit in his stroller and "look" as he put it. It took about an hour to move from infront of city hall, so be prepared. Everything in Disneyland and DCA is LOUD. My DS covered his ears most of the time, so I would suggest some kind of ear plugs. If you have your own double stroller, I would bring it. You really do need 2 strollers and they don't look very comfy.
BRING in the park:
sunscreen
hat
sunglasses
a cup or bottle of water
snacks like granola bars, fruit snacks, goldfish, sandwiches
a backpack leash for each child so they can't run off
toys in the backpack, like cars or bubbles for line waiting
a dog tag in thier shoe lace with name and phone number
zip lock bags to store snacks, wet socks, etc

Bring for the trip:
2 pairs of shoes to switch if they get wet or feet are sore
tylonal
swim trunks
lots of socks
autograph book
large pen
and of course all the regular stuff

As for rides I think the pp got most of them. I suggest showing them some rides on youtube so they kinda know what to expect. You can go here http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/help/gsDetail?name=HeightRequirementsGSDetailPage for height restriction rides. These are the child swap lines and just learned Toy Story Mania is as well. If you need any more help feel free to PM me. We are going again in 9 days and DS will be 3 and 5 months at the time.

OH and Buzz can be scary as Zurg is ULTRA loud and big. POTC was one of my son's favorite rides.

 

[mechurchlady]

I asked the stroller people and it is $12 a day per stroller and $20 for a two day rental.

 

[disney-inspired]

We had a 3 year old on our super extended family trip in December. He is a young thrill seeker and LOVED all of the "rides that went fast" like Big Thunder Mountain and Gadget's Go Coaster. He also loved watching the parade. But it all depends on the kid. His 5 year old brother was freaked out by the carousel (go figure), but still he loved Dumbo, It's A Small World, and Peter Pan. Let's just say, your 3 year old won't be bored.

Child swap works like this:
1) Obtain Rider Swap pass from Cast Member at the entrance to an attraction
2) Parent A stands in line and waits and rides the ride
3) Parent B can use the Rider Swap pass (I think anytime that same day, but not 100% sure) to skip a lot of the line and wait with a much shorter wait. The Cast Member will instruct you upon returning to the attraction.

Sorry to bust your bubble but they don't have child swap at Disneyland I've asked and at every ride they give me the same answer "We don't have child swap at Disneyland". Sorry.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Sorry to bust your bubble but they don't have child swap at Disneyland I've asked and at every ride they give me the same answer "We don't have child swap at Disneyland". Sorry.

Not sure what happened with your experience, but we use child swap everytime we go to Disneyland, including when we were there on Sunday and Monday of this week.

 

[mechurchlady]

Not sure what happened with your experience, but we use child swap everytime we go to Disneyland, including when we were there on Sunday and Monday of this week.

Baby swapping is only on rides that toddlers and pre-schoolers cannot go on so you will not get one on Snow White for example. Yeah, last time I was at DLR this week I saw several baby swaps. Kayla's Mom and I are probably in a different park lol. Also make sure you are asking the right person such as the greeters at rides.

 

[swimrsal]

Abbreviations I used:
IASW-It's a Small World
DCA- Disney's California Adventure (the other park)
HM - Haunted Mansion
BTMRR - Big thunder Mtn Railroad

As for the strollers:

My 3 yr old was able to nap in it.....you won't be able to put 2 in one. If you're double is easy enough to get on the plane...I'd suggest it. We were sorry we didn't have our own stroller this trip. Carrying a sleeping 3 yr old thru DTD or back to the motels was quite hard. Disneyland doesn't have double strollers so you'd need 2. (I think the rental for 2 at a time is $20, otherwise $12 for one/day)

The strollers are FREE if you have a Disneyland Chase Visa (so worth it). In fact if you and your husband both have a card you can each get one. Or it might have been 2 per card - can't remember!

We took a 21 month old to Disneyland and had a blast! Although POTC scared him as did Roger Rabbits Cartoon Spin.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Baby swapping is only on rides that toddlers and pre-schoolers cannot go on so you will not get one on Snow White for example. Yeah, last time I was at DLR this week I saw several baby swaps. Kayla's Mom and I are probably in a different park lol. Also make sure you are asking the right person such as the greeters at rides.

We were also able to use the swap on Toy Story Mania...even though DD2 could go on it. Not sure if it's always like that, or maybe we just got a nice CM.

 

[mechurchlady]

We were also able to use the swap on Toy Story Mania...even though DD2 could go on it. Not sure if it's always like that, or maybe we just got a nice CM.

What I read was two rentals per account per day.

Maybe you are a super nice mommy that charmed some CMs into letting you child swap. I think you must have a special magic spell on them CMs.

 

[IBLarsen]

We went last fall with our 3.5 year old daughter and 5.5 year old son. Keep in mind the height requirements. Our DD3 is tall and was over 40 in at that point so she could ride on most things. I actually had no intention of her going on several things and was going to wait with her while dh and ds went. However, the 3 year old had a different agenda and wanted to go on EVERYTHING. We did explain to her that the ride may be dark...or bumpy...or fast and she said "OK" and went on everything and had a blast, no fear at all. Her favorite ride was the Matterhorn. She even liked Space Mtn, Splash Mtn. I was honestly suprised at her reaction to the rides.

On the stroller issue, we took our own double stroller. We flew and used it as a pack mule in the airport and then gate checked it. It was very nice having the stroller for walking back to our hotel in the evenings, usually both kids fell asleep in it on the walk back.

In addition to the rides that my 3 year old loved. She was absolutely mesmerized by everything in the parks. The characters and the princesses were a huge hit for her of course. It was so fun to see Disneyland thru her eyes, everything was still so magical for her and she believes the characters are real and not just people in costumes.

5 months later and our 3 yr old still talks about Disneyland daily. She remembers details that I didn't expect her to remember. It's a fun age to take them for the first time. Just take it easy and go at a slow pace. Take an afternoon break, we didn't on our first day and we should have.

For packing tips into the parks- Take snacks and drinks. Take a change of clothes for the kids. If something gets spilled you won't want to go back to the hotel. Small toys do a world of good while waiting in line. Take a hat for the kids. If it's hot take a washcloth in a zip lock. You can go into the bathroom or take water from water bottle to soak the rag and wipe the kids down with it to cool them off, and then put the wet rag back into the zip lock and just keep rinsing and reusing to keep them cool.

Hope this helps some, I was VERY nervous about taking our 3 year old and I'm SO glad we did!

 

[Brady's Mom]

When we first went our DS were 2 and 4 and we took our double stroller. It was a life saver. Our DS 2 crashed one afternoon for 4 hours in the stroller. It does have a reclining seat - so he was pretty comfy. Even though they are 4 and 6 now - we still take our double stroller. They get tired when we want to "walk with purpose" to our next land/destination. When we are in Fantasyland we park the stroller and walk to the rides since it has a nice heavy concentration of rides to go on.

On our first trip DS 2 was a little nervous about some of the rides, but he was riding with a parent so we just held on and explained some things. Dumbo was a definite favorite. We rode it a number of times. Bugs land was their absolute favorite spot in both parks, they could ride Heimlich over and over.

We took snacks and water into the park with us - goldfish, granola bars, dried fruit, beef jerky and some peanut butter crackers. This helped them to keep their energy up and it made it easier if they didn't like what was offered for lunch at Counter service places. It also gave us some variety since the choices at CS can be very limited.

We did NOT try Matterhorn that first trip - I don't think either the 2 or 4 yr old could handle it. It was down for an extensive refurb anyway. They didn't want to ride it the next time, either. But finally rode it in Dec. and liked it. They roar as loudly as Harold (abominable snowman) does and say hi in monster just like he does.

Child swap and Fast Pass were great for us - you can get a FP for every ticket even if your child can't ride the ride. You go to the FP entrance and ask the CM for a child swap pass and then you or your hubby ride the ride and then you swap - through the fast pass line with your child swap pass and you each have had a chance to ride. BUT you still have 3 FP's left - so you have 3 more chances to ride that particular ride. You could also use 2 tickets for one FP and the other 2 tickets for another/different FP and really maximize your FP's. That way with each FP and child swap you get 2 separate chances to ride! It works - I promise!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Everyone has given you such good advice.

Here's some additional thoughts.

Since your children are so young and this is the first time for them, they will believe everything is real. My recommendations from when I took mine when they were young:

Do the "outside" attractions first, and ones that are relatively bright inside so they can get used to Disneyland:
Main Street: horse carriage down Main St (to them it's an adventure), the train around Disneyland,
Fantasyland: Dumbo, the carousel, Casey Jr Circus Train, Storybook Land Canal Boats, It's a Small World (IASW), teacups
Frontierland: Mark Twain steamship or Columbia, Pirates Lair Island (so they can run around);
Adventureland: Tarzan's Treehouse, Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise (though this may seem real to them - my nephews were a little nervous. At that same age, my kids loved it
Tomorrowland: Nemo submarine ride, Autopia cars

Then I would go on: Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Buzz Lightyear, Gadget Go Coaster in Toontown, Winnie the Pooh, Pinnocchio, Mr. Toads Wild Ride.

Snow White in Fantasyland is a little scary for small children. I wouldn't take them on it.

Then I would try Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion, once the children are used to these type of rides. See if they want to go on Big Thunder Mountain,

At California Adventure, I would recommend Monsters Inc, Soaring Over California, Animation Station (definitely) with talk with Crush, Playhouse Disney, rides in Bugs Land, merry go round, Toy Story Mania, etc.

I would stay away from It's Tough to Be a Bug and Honey I Shrunk the Audience, as those shows have some scary elements for small children, unless you think they'll be okay.

I recommend all other shows and parades, however, Fantasmic at night may be scary to them -- my kids & some nieces/nephews were fine with it - two of my nephews would have been scared, so we didn't even try Fantasmic with them.

I'd say to take your time - they will enjoy the whole experience.

 

[thmar]

POTC - Pirates of the Caribbean

 

[avalon451]

Lots of great advice everybody's given! For more information and tips, you would probably really benefit from picking up "The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland" guidebook. They have a big section on doing Disneyland with little kids, with tons of helpful information.

Also, since you've never been before, read Hydroguy's Tips compilation, a sticky thread at the top of this forum: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520483
It has that list of abbreviations you wanted, plus a whole lot more about FastPass, how to get the most out of your stay, etc.

Child swap is for the big rides; we used it extensively while we were there, for Space Mountain, Indy, Big Thunder Mountain RR, California Screamin', and Grizzly River Run. I think it's available for Splash, as well. The Unofficial Guide lists the rides that have Child swap, and gives you a basic rundown on how it works.

Definitely get strollers! Our almost-6-y.o. was comfy in a Disney rental, and it saved her legs and our sanity! The Disney Visa is a great way to get 2 free rentals a day-- you don't have to use the card, just get it for the stroller rentals. Be sure and bring something bright to tie on the stroller handles, so when you leave them outside of a ride with all the other rentals, you can pick yours out quickly from the crowd. We used a bandana. Also, if you go back to your hotel for a midday break (which I HIGHLY recommend with 3-year-olds!), you can ditch your strollers right by the security stations in the Esplanade (keep the paper nametags they gave you). When you come back after your break, there will be a whole load of abandoned strollers there. Just grab one, put your nametag in, and go-- no need to go back to the rental center and show your receipt for a new one.

3 years old is a perfect age for DL! So much wonder and joy at that age!

 

[bumbershoot]

Carrying a sleeping 3 yr old thru DTD or back to the motels was quite hard.

Even harder is carrying a very exhausted but still awake and fighting it 3 year old. Sack of potatoes vs struggling sack of potatoes!



Everything Mary Jo said = golden.


There might have been changes in stroller rental, but from my knowledge, there's no multi-day discount. Maybe a discount on renting more than one at a time, but not for more than one day. There is/was a multi-day rental, BUT it doesn't save you money...only time. INstead of waiting in line every morning (which you will have to do if you have the Disney Visa free two stroller rental ability...you can't get a multi-day Disney Visa free rental, LOL) you wait just the first day, then they give you all the tickets for your stay. So subsequent mornings you walk up to the stroller-giver-outer (no waiting in the line for the cashier), hand over your ticket and take a stroller. It's even faster if you save your big stroller nametag from day to day. Time is money in the morning!


We had a one day visit when DS was 17 months, another one day a year later, then at 3 we went for a longer visit. It was great, and would have been better if I had been able to lower my selfishness and exuberance. Live and learn. My signature has links to my trip reports...the one when he was 3 (er, the TWO trips when he was 3) are the Sept and Dec '07 reports. I think shutterfly has shrunk my pictures, but you can read the reports still.