advice for 8/15 with 4 year old (1 day at DL)

[mickeymom629]

Hi all!
I have a co-worker who is going to CA (from the east coast) for 4 days (husband, wife and son). They are staying at the Howard Johnson's, checking in on Sunday 8/14. They plan to rent a car and only go to DL on Monday, 8/15 - which is the son's 4 year birthday - and have already bought their one day ticket, apparently.

Would anyone mind giving me an itinerary that I can pass on to her? I'm a WDW vet and only have been to DL/DCA twice in the past 5 years.

Any advice I can pass along is appreciated!!

 

[agamble]

They need to get to Disneyland at least 30 minutes before park opening. They should head straight to Fantasyland to enjoy the area before it's crowded. If the day is all about the three year-old then FP may not be a big deal, if they want to enjoy some big rides they can grab FP and use Rider Swap. Toon Town opens an hour after the rest of the park. It is a great place for little ones to explore and has two rides he could enjoy as well as being a great place to meet Mickey and Friends. We usually spend the first hour or two in Fantasyland doing everything except Storybook and Small World (we save those for later) and then head to Toon Town. But if they get to Toon Town right as it opens there is a little ceremony and Mickey comes out and walks guests into his town with Minnie.

 

[agamble]

I will add that Mickey doesn't go to his movie barn for official pictures until 30-60 minutes after Toon Town opens. So if they want to meet Mickey in the barn, they would be better off waiting until Toon Town has been opened an hour or so.