2 Days With 2 Preschoolers!

[NYCBella]

My husband and I will be taking our DD2 and DS4 on everyone's first trip to DL next week. It has been a while but I have previous experience at WDW. We have a two day tix and are not park hopping. We are staying on Disney property. At age 3 DS went with us to Legoland Florida and did well with the rides, waiting, etc but this trip to DL it will be two adults and two kids!! We are from the midwest but are currently based in the LA area after a 1week driving trip here.

I see some other threads here that may be useful to my trip planning. But I will throw out my questions here too.

Day 1: Drive in from a friend's house about an hour way. DL is our park today. Hope to make it for rope drop but at the very latest our 10:30 res for Plaza Inn. Sorting the rides by age on the website I think this is our busiest day, but I don't think we'll be able to see it all. Fantasyland is my plan for the morning and then? Open to suggestions. At some point we will need to leave the park and check in to our hotel. Or can we drop our luggage at hotel early in the am for storage until the room is ready? Is it worth me calling the hotel directly to find out? As far as the evening goes...DL has fireworks at night correct?

Day 2: CA is our park today. 4yo loooves Cars and I can't wait for him to see Carsland. I don't have a major plan for today except that maybe we will go back to the hotel at some point to enjoy the pool before coming back for dinner. We recently were in Texas and stopped along Route 66 at the Tower Station and U Drop Inn - the "neon" at night was a huge hit with the kids. Can't wait to see it at Carsland. Anything at this park at night that my kids might enjoy? I saw something about a Disney Jr. show? Any tips for this?

Thanks in advance for any help, tips, or words of encouragement to us preschool parents!!

 

[GatorChris]

When we stayed at DLH last year, we dropped off our luggage and they too care of it.

As for what to do at DL, try out ToonTown for the kids. They'll like that a lot. Nemo Subs, Pirates, and Haunted Mansion can be done by the whole family. In fact, I might do those first. They have small lines in the morning but pile up in the afternoon. FLand is always busy so it doesn't matter when you hit that area. You have a chance to see the Paint the Night parade, but there's no way your kids will want to sit 2 hours to get a good seat. You may have to be ok with being 1 or 2 back. As long as the people in front are sitting, you should be ok.

As for DCA, the kids will love the Mater ride. Redwood Creek Challenge is a good place to burn off some energy as well. Disney Junior will be a big hit with the kids. The actual Cars ride has a 40 inch limit so check the heights. Your smallest most likely can't go, so use the parent swap. The 4yo will get to ride twice! Monster's Inc is a cute ride, as is Ariel's Under the Sea Adventure.

Have fun! I sorta miss those days when both kids fit in the double stroller. Magic was still real back then.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Have fun. Choose the rides and prioritize them because 2 days isn't enough.

 

[ADLFAN]

Whoo hoo! We will be at Disneyland next week, too!

I agree with GatorChris, Toontown is very fun to explore for little ones. I think pictures from ToonTown are fun, even if it is looking a little washed out and sunbleached. I don't usually go on the rides back there because the lines can get long, and I don't recommend going in the heat of the afternoon because there is zero shade and you will bake! I think around 7-8:00 pm might be the ideal time, right before it closes for the night.

I bet they would love the Nemo Submarines, but the line can get looooong. I have only been on once myself and want to fit it in this trip, so I plan to watch it on the app and see when the line seems to be shorter. Like maybe later at night? We shall see...

Cars Land lights up in all it's glory exactly like it does in the movie, and it is super fun to watch. They do it right at dusk so I like to camp out in the outdoor seating in front of Flo's and scoot into the street from when it starts. If you watch Cars right before your trip, it will be fresh in their minds and so magical!

A Bugs Land and the Paradise Pier area in DCA have chronically short lines, and its easy to fill up the hot, busy afternoon hours on those rides. There is a fantastically themed water play area in A Bugs Land that has saved us on more than one sweltering day!

Have fun planning!

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

My biggest bit of advice would be check their heights. You need to be 40" to get on some rides (Thunder Mountain, Star Tours, etc), and I know with my guys the biggest issues were when one was tall enough to go on the rides but the other wasn't, and they were old enough to know they were missing out. So maybe check online (Disney posts all their heights) and see if there are going to be any that are issues so you can plan for that.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

You can check the menus on allears.net to see what food items look good for your family. If there are things you know your kids won't touch, then you'll know which places to avoid.

 

[NYCBella]

Great tips from everyone thank you!! What a magical time. We ended up with a third day thanks to a friend's generosity. Currently on the road back to the upper midwest but will get a trip report posted asap.