Anyone go alone with 2 younger kids?

[LuLuO]

Venturing over from the WDW boards.

DH just got word that he will be joining a unit in Port Hueneme for his reserve duty and will likely be traveling through LAX 4+ times a year. Of course my mind goes right to Disney. I'm thinking that the kids and I could join him for the flight and go to DL for few days and DH could join us at the end of our trip for our last DL day.

I haven't been to DL since I was 12. Are many of the rides doable for a single adult and a 4 year old and a 3 year old?

 

[mrswh]

Sure, there are plenty of rides you could do with the two of them! Even on most rides that fit two, you could easily fit one adult and two small children. For a 3 and 4 year old I imagine you won't be doing many of the thrill rides anyway so I think you will be just fine! Plus there are tons of great shows/parades, etc. that you can see. I think it's definitely doable and there would be plenty to do to have a great time!

 

[skiingfast]

I haven't been to DL since I was 12. Are many of the rides doable for a single adult and a 4 year old and a 3 year old?

You haven't been doing this in wdw? Many rides with bench seats can take three, like PP or Autopia(TLS).

 

[NMMickeymom]

One of my favorite trips to Disneyland was when Hubby was at a conference next door and I stayed with my girls in the park all day by myself. Daddy would come and join us in the evenings.

My girls were all of 3 and 5 at the time? We chased princesses for autographs, rode IASW many many many times, and in general had a slow and wonderful day. We played at the climb around spots for much longer than we ever would have with more adults present. It was Fabulous! The cast was wonderful about making sure I had enough time to load into and out of rides with two little ones. I had a really nice double stroller and that helped a lot. The kids were able to nap in the stroller and I was able to SHOP!

I would go for it! Have a great time.

 

[LuLuO]

You haven't been doing this in wdw? Many rides with bench seats can take three, like PP or Autopia(TLS).

Not on my own. We've only been to WDW once with children and I wasn't sure how different the DL attractions are from WDW. Thanks for the help.

 

[LuLuO]

One of my favorite trips to Disneyland was when Hubby was at a conference next door and I stayed with my girls in the park all day by myself. Daddy would come and join us in the evenings.

My girls were all of 3 and 5 at the time? We chased princesses for autographs, rode IASW many many many times, and in general had a slow and wonderful day. We played at the climb around spots for much longer than we ever would have with more adults present. It was Fabulous! The cast was wonderful about making sure I had enough time to load into and out of rides with two little ones. I had a really nice double stroller and that helped a lot. The kids were able to nap in the stroller and I was able to SHOP!

I would go for it! Have a great time.

Thanks so much!

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

My girls are 19 months apart (now 6 and 4.5). I'm always at the parks with them and it's pretty easy. Make sure you let them guide the visit and it will be memorable and less stressful. They will guide you to interesting things through their eyes and they'll be happy that you did. We've had the best time just exploring and wandering. We've even spent the entire day doing nothing but catching a parade, street entertainment, and wandering around. You can even just wander into the princess storytelling and coronation ceremonies. It's an open theater and very casual!!! (Bring swimsuits and water shoes into DCA and they will spend a good hour in the water play area in Bugs Land. Don't forget they can also spend a lot of low maintenance time in Big Thunder Ranch with the animals and also running about Tom Sawyer Island.

Also, break and spend time at the hotel. Napping is good for everyone's soul!

Just make sure you keep an eye out for where the potties are and take them before getting into a longer ride line. You'll be happy you did! Also, make sure you take advantage of Baby Care for emotional breaks. My girls love to go, use the little potties, and sometimes sit with the books they have there. The DCA one has an adult toilet inside (something the DL doesn't).

 

[LuLuO]

Great tips. Thank you YellowMickeyPonchos.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

LuLuO - I don't know if you do podcasts, but we here at the DIS have a great Disneyland one! I often talk about my experiences with my girls on it. We also have some great blogs on some things to do with your family. I write a lot about what I do with my girls.

Just click on the link at the top of this page that says BLOG and it will take you to the list of articles. Podcast will take you to our show page and archives, where you can find our Disneyland shows!

 

[J. Galt]

Not on my own. We've only been to WDW once with children and I wasn't sure how different the DL attractions are from WDW. Thanks for the help.

I have been to both WDW and DL with little ones. For our DL trips I am usually on my own for a few days while my husband is working (we follow him out there). While I wouldn't really want to do WDW with little ones all by myself I have no problem doing this at DL. I think the main difference is that there are no transportation issues at DL. We stay at a walking distance hotel at DL and I don't have to worry about trying to balance a double stroller and holding on to my little ones while standing on some bus to get to the parks like I do at WDW. I just get up, get everyone ready and walk to the parks. I haven't had any problems squeezing the three of us on the rides together (or now that they are older I let them sit in the front car together with me in the back). We can easily walk back to the hotel for breaks if we want. Really, for me, the BIG difference is that it doesn't take me 30 -45 minutes to get to a park and I don't have to load into any boats/buses/monorails like I do at WDW>

 

[LuLuO]

I have been to both WDW and DL with little ones. For our DL trips I am usually on my own for a few days while my husband is working (we follow him out there). While I wouldn't really want to do WDW with little ones all by myself I have no problem doing this at DL. I think the main difference is that there are no transportation issues at DL. We stay at a walking distance hotel at DL and I don't have to worry about trying to balance a double stroller and holding on to my little ones while standing on some bus to get to the parks like I do at WDW. I just get up, get everyone ready and walk to the parks. I haven't had any problems squeezing the three of us on the rides together (or now that they are older I let them sit in the front car together with me in the back). We can easily walk back to the hotel for breaks if we want. Really, for me, the BIG difference is that it doesn't take me 30 -45 minutes to get to a park and I don't have to load into any boats/buses/monorails like I do at WDW>

Thank you for this. The idea would be that DH would drop us at the hotel and then he would take the rental car to Port Hueneme. It seemed to me that walking to DL would be much more doable for me with small kids than trying to deal with WDW's transportation system. Good to know I am on the right track.