Disney with Toddlers

[Yakety76]

I was wondering if anyone out there has some tips for doing DL and DCA with two very young ones (DD3 and DS1.5). We will be there the last week of February for 5 days. We are staying at DLH, so we will have EE. We are going during low season to try to minimize our time in line and with large crowds. I know that means we will miss out on some of the entertainment, but I felt it was a good tradeoff for our family's first trip- especially with our little ones being so young.

If anyone has posted a schedule or review from their trip with young ones, I would be very interested in that. I have a schedule that I have devised after reading the UG guidebook and the threads here, but one never knows!!

The kids are so excited. Thanks for your help in making this a wonderful experience for all of us!!

 

[grizbuzz]

I can hardly believe it myself, but my almost 3 year old has been to DL 4 times and WDW twice (all for free!). My 4 and 1/2 year has been those times plus one additional trip to DL when he was 1 year old. Here are some tips that work for us.

1. Bring a double stroller. Helps getting from hotel to park and vice versa. Stroller is also a place to carry diapers, extra clothes, snacks, etc. I leave the double stroller with snacks/diapers parked in stroller areas while we go on rides (taking with me anything I couldn't stand to have stolen). You can also take stroller on monorail (though you do have to fold it).

2. Schedule in "run around" time. Most of day in Disneyland/CA is spent waiting in lines or on rides and little ones need time/space to move and explore. Take advantage of Redwood park area in CA, Tarzan tree and Tom Sawyer Island in DL for kids to play. My kids like these areas as much as the rides.

3. Take naps before melt downs. We usually leave the parks by noon, have lunch and then take a 2-3 hour break in the middle of the day to get refreshed for evening fun.

4. Limit table service meals. My kids don't like to spend a lot of time in restaurants and quick meals are better. We do no more than one character meal and then eat the rest in the room or at quick service places. Favorite is Whitewater Snacks in GCH.

5. Get good food in to the kids. There's a ton of sugar/unhealthy food at the parks and when my kids live on sugar, they are prone to over activity and melt downs.

6. Limit shopping. We've had to establish the rule that the kids get one toy at end of trip. Of course, we always break this rule, but it does help to limit the screaming for toys (especially Buzz Lightyear toys) whenever you go by a shop - which is often in DLR.

7. Schedule in some relaxation time for the parents. My DH usually gets an afternoon at ESPN zone by himself and I get some time by myself for shopping or jacuzzi. Or to go on rides that the little ones can't go on. Nice to have some "downtime" for the parents. We've also used the babysitter referred by GCH once, which despite my nervousness, went well.

8. Ride Dumbo in early morning during EE. On the morning that you're not rushing to Nemo, go to Fantasyland and do Peter Pan and then Dumbo. Pictures of little ones on Dumbo are so great for the memory book.

9. Pace yourself. My philosophy is that less is more when traveling with kids. Everyone will be happier if little ones are well fed, well rested and comfortable. It doesn't matter if you miss a ride or two, as there will be plenty of time to go back. Important just to share the magic of the place with the kids. And it truly is magical to see Disneyland through their eyes.

10. Expect bumps. As grandma used to say, hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Kids will have melt downs, someone may get sick, parents too may have moments of grumpiness. Just take with ease to get back to the fun part of the trip.

ENJOY!!

 

[CrAzY4DL]

I LOOOOOOVE taking toddlers!! My 4 year old was sooooo amazing her first trip to Disneyland when she was 2(and her second at 3 and her third at 4!) Here, I will post my trip report from the very first time we took her. We also took my niece (also 2 at the time).

Full Name: CJ Hensley
Email Address: PottersDisneyPics@yahoo.com
Dates of Trip: 12/04/2005-12/05/2005
Travel Method: Personal Car
Resort: Disneyland Hotel

Cast of Characters:
Me (CJ) age 27-gi-normous Disneyland fan
Nicole (my brand new SIL and very good friend) age 26-been to Disneyland once
Jylian (my daughter) age 2-very first trip
Katie (Nicole’s daughter) age 2-very first trip

Pre-Trip Planning:
Nicole was only able to stay one night due to work and we were originally booked at the Holiday Inn at the Park for $87.75 for 2 queen beds, after taxes. After staying at the DL Hotel with my family 11/27-11/30 I got kind of whiny about staying off property so I was “farting” around online at the Disneyland website and found where we could get a room for $148 after taxes. I had drawn Nicole’s name for our annual Christmas drawing and decided the extra $50 for the hotel would be my Christmas gift for her.

Day One: Sunday, 12/4/2005
We were on the road at 8:45am after stopping for McGriddles at the nearest Mickey D’s. We made very good time and stopped in Bakersfield for some caffeine at Starbucks and potty breaks all around. We arrived at the Disneyland Hotel at 1:30pm, Nicole still in the dark why we were there. I told her I wanted her to look around the hotel as she has always wanted to stay there. We drive right up to the front of the hotel and as I place the car in park I ask her, don’t you wish we could stay here? And she says, oh yeah, but for $300 a night, no thanks. And I said, hmm good thing because we have a reservation, Merry Christmas!! She got all teary-eyed and excited and we went inside. The lobby was jammed with people and luggage, so I got in the check-in line and she went to a chair with the girls. Halfway through the line, I asked her to come to me for a second as I had left my money in the car and I didn’t want valet to move the car before I could get it. She said she would see if they had moved the car and if not, get my money. Somehow, Katie was behind her during this and she didn’t know and there wasn’t a lot of room and there was this extremely graceful yet oh-so-painful fall where she tried to avoid landing on Katie and instead landed on her thumb. All of her weight, on her thumb. She kind of laughed it off and went to see about the car. When she came back, she couldn’t move her hand, her fingers were starting to hurt and the thumb was swelling rapidly. Oh my! We checked in, she called down to Medical Services; they called back and said she would have to go to the ER and off she went. About an hour after she left, I received a call from the front desk and a very nice gentleman named Josh said he had extended our check out to 1pm for the next day and if that wasn’t enough time to just call down and they would extend it for however long we needed. Very nice!! 30 minutes after THAT, there was a knock on the door from room service. I promptly informed the nice gentleman that I had not ordered anything and he says, Oh no, this is for the kids and left. So I look at what he brought; 2 very large Mickey Mouse cookies, a bucket with ice and milk in it and a note. The note said “Nicole, We hope you are feeling better From the Disneyland Hotel.” Very sweet!! I took the girls down to the Cove pools which I fell in love with!! Neverland Pool is very nice, but for 2 two year olds it just wouldn’t have worked. I put their teeny tiny life jackets on them (yep, the hotel provides different sizes!) and we got in. The water was a lot warmer than the Neverland Pool and very shallow. The depth markers listed it as 2 feet to 5 feet, but the 2 feet deep came up to the girls’ chests and the 5 feet came up to my chest (I am only 5’5”) so I think the water was low, LOL. We spent about an hour and a half to two hours here; the girls had a really great time. After we got out, we stopped at Croc’s Bits and Bites for some dinner. I ordered the BBQ chicken sandwich which came with fries and got the girls a chicken strip meal which came with 3 strips, fries and a drink (for me, no soda for these two!) Total after tax was $15.38, not bad for such convenience! We got up to the room and out of our swimsuits, dried off, etc. and ate. The girls seemed to like their food; I must admit I thought mine was really nasty. The fries were decent with ketchup, but the chicken sandwich was just pitiful. The BBQ sauce comes on the side, which I thought was odd, LOL. Katie fell asleep while eating (I had to pry half of a strip out of her hand!) and Jyl watched cartoons. Eventually she came over and started munching one of the hotel cookies, which she found super tasty and I thought were pretty nasty. They were very hard, dunking them in milk didn’t make them soft or soggy and the chocolate didn’t taste like anything. They were very nice to look at though and such a nice thought! Nicole got back to the hotel around 7pm, after spending a little over 4 hours at the ER, they had to take several X-rays and she needs to see an orthopedic surgeon as soon as she gets home because there is a good chance she will need surgery. Always Ms. Suzy Sunshine, she suggested we go to the park and make the most of it. We walked through Downtown Disney and she stopped at Tortilla Jo’s Taqueria and ordered a sprite and Carne Asada burrito for $10.99. She rated the burrito 3 stars out of 5, not bad! We got her ticket (AP Bring-A-Friend 2 day parkhopper, $86) and headed into DCA, which we thought we could do everything there that we wanted so we wouldn’t have to hop on Monday. When we got in DCA, we found out they closed in 20 minutes and Turtle Talk was already closed, the girls couldn’t go on Soarin’ so we said OOPS and headed to Disneyland. The line for Disneyland was a little long but moved fairly quickly. After renting a stroller for Katie, we were hoping to take the train but the Candlelight Processional display was still up and appeared to be blocking the entrance, so we walked to Tomorrowland. Our first ride was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and the girls LOVED it! Jyl is a HUGE Toy Story 1 & 2 fan and Katie has never really seen the movies so I was wondering how that would go, but the girls never seemed scared and played like champs. We broke down about 1 minute after the ride started and I kept zinging the bejeebers out of some target that gave 1,000 points per hit. The ride started back up after 2 or 3 minutes (hee hee, helped me get my all time high score of over 135,000!) and we hurried off to see our pictures. Mine and Jyl’s came out cute, I quickly emailed it to myself (Jyl got 200 points then decided to just watch the rest of the ride) but Nic and Katie’s picture had difficulties. Bummer! We stopped in Store Command because Jyl wanted a Buzz Lightyear basketball that her sister had bought 5 days before when we brought her and had it sent to our room for pickup from Bell Services the next morning ($16.61 for a mini basketball-go figure, these kids!) The fireworks had been cancelled after we got off and the line went from walk-on (which we did! I love how fast this ride seems to load and unload!) to absurdly long! We headed to Fantasyland so Nicole could see the lights, one of the main reasons for a trip during December. We rode It’s A Small World Holiday and we all loved it, especially Nic and the girls (their first times). Then we boarded the Monorail for our super speedy trip back to Downtown Disney, went to the Hotel and fell asleep. Jyl woke me and Nic up with her coughing at 4am, so I drugged her nicely and we fell back asleep. Poor Nicole, her hand was hurting her so badly she didn’t get back to sleep until 6:30 and then we got our wake up call at 7. (Nicole was offered a prescription for Vicadin at the hospital but she refused, saying she had a 2 year old to take care of and she couldn’t be all loopy-what a great mom!)
Day Two: Monday, 12/5/05
Monday we got a semi late start (we definitely didn’t take advantage of Early Entry!) and arrived at the park a little after 9am. We got in, rented a stroller for Katie again (note: We have decided we will NEVER travel together again without bringing the twin stroller in case one of us gets injured. It was so hard for poor Nicole to maneuver Katie around all the people but again, she was such a trooper!) We walked to Fantasyland where the castle walkway was closed because they were doing some filming for Walt Disney World (or so the sign said) so we entered off the side and came right up on the Alice in Wonderland ride. We decided, what the hey! and took the girls on. They did very well, even though the family in front of us had a hysterical 2 or 3 year old, I thought for sure they would catch her fear but nope. The ride was great and cute, with about a 10 minute wait. We got off and went on the Tea Cups; we even got the Gold Teacup, yay! A very nice Cast Member took our photo and our ride began. Afterwards we headed to Dumbo where there was about a 15 minute wait. Jylian was very excited as she likes the movie Dumbo very much. She couldn’t make up her mind what color she wanted to ride, kept going back between orange and blue, we ended up on blue by default (oranges were taken). After Dumbo I decided I wanted us all to go on Peter Pan as Jyl likes that movie VERY much (loooooves Jing-A-Bell, as she calls her!) so we got in the line. The line was very long or maybe it just seemed that way because after about 10 minutes, Katie got very upset. Both girls wanted to be held and there was no way Nicole could hold Katie with her one arm without constantly having to put her down to rest it, so whenever Katie was on the ground, she got super upset and let everyone know about it. Jylian developed a little bit of an attitude and started mouthing off (the fruits of having an older sister-Haha!). I thought we kept our cool pretty well until Katie started pushing Nicole because she was so mad, so I intervened. I grabbed Katie away from Nicole and put her next to Jyl and we had a little talk, the 3 of us. Didn’t really do much, so I held Katie for a while and got her calmed down a little bit. (Note: It’s none of my business if Katie pushes Nicole, my concern was it looked like she was pushing her very hard and I was terrified she was going to knock her down. Figured all we needed was another hospital trip! After talking with Nicole, I found out she wasn’t pushing very hard at all-if I had stopped and thought about it, I would have (might have!) realized that a 2 year old probably wouldn’t be able to push an adult over! Silly CJ!) After the long line and all the drama, Katie and Jyl got a little scared when it came time to board our ships but we pushed ahead with them. As soon as the bars came down, Jylian was calm (kept asking where her seat belt was though, haha!) and enjoyed the ride. I don’t know how Katie did, but I am assuming she did great as well since I couldn’t hear her on the ride and the one time I was able to see them Nicole was pointing stuff out to her and she seemed happy. After all of the line drama, we decided to leave Fantasyland as we didn’t think there was much else for the girls to do or see there. We stopped off at the restrooms near the Fantasyland Theatre, where we all used the facilities and then headed on to Frontierland, hoping against hope that Jyl would see Woody. When we got there, there was Jesse!!! Jyl was super excited and we went and got in line. Being 2 and standing on the ground, Jesse looks very tall and imposing so when it was our turn, Jyl was a little nervous and scared. I picked her up and we talked to Jesse for a moment and I told her that this was Jyl’s very first character interaction and I must say, Jesse was AMAZING!! She held out her hand so Jyl could “pet” it and then she touched Jyl’s face and next thing I knew, Jyl was on the ground with Jesse crouched down with her and they were hugging and whatnot. Jyl’s visit ended with a kiss on Jesse’s cheek. Katie said hi to Jesse from her stroller (no fear from this kid!). After that we decided to head over to DCA where we were hoping to eat at the Princess Character meal at Ariel’s Grotto so that Katie could meet Cinderella but when we got there they were not accepting walk-ins. Sad! None of us had really eaten yet (we did give the girls trail mix and raisins and juice, so I doubt they were as hungry as the adults!) so we stopped at the first food type place we saw which turned out to be Strips ‘N Dips. Nicole ordered a 3 pc. Fish which came with fries, a coke, and then got the girls a chicken strips meal and her total was somewhere around $18. I ordered a coke, a 3 pc. Fish strips which also came with fries, paid extra to get tartar AND bbq sauce and a cookie, and my total was $14.40. Our fish was very good and the fries were tasty with the bbq sauce, which we both enjoyed. The girls were not very interested in eating; instead they were very excited about the little birds that were begging for food. Jyl kept insisting they were going to sit on her finger and she threw them some bits of French fries. We decided to “bribe” them to eat their chicken, said if they each at 1 strip, they could feed the birds. A very nice janitor gave us each a mini candy cane as well. Gotta love the Cast Members!! After they ate, they fed the birds and danced a little, they really enjoyed this area. We walked over to Turtle Talk and sat through the show, which was amazing as usual! Both the girls are huge Nemo fans so they really enjoyed this. I had Katie on my lap and Crush talked to me! He asked my name and I told him CJ and he asked how I spell it, too funny!! Katie wouldn’t talk to him though, too shy. That’s an awful lot to ask of a 2 year old! Another child asked Crush about Dory and unlike the show I had seen a few days earlier with my 6 year old, Dory came swimming out! She taught us all how to speak whale and oops! We ended up calling a whale to us, who squished Dory up against the glass. Good times! After the Crush show we had a few minutes to kill before the next Playhouse Disney show so we sat and rested for a bit. We went into Playhouse Disney Live which I thought the girls would enjoy more but at least they seemed halfway entertained. We went back to Disneyland after the show and got on the train and headed to Toon Town. The train was kind of a bummer because we had to fold up the strollers, which we totally understand why, was just hard to maneuver two 2 year olds, all the stuff that was in the strollers plus the 2 strollers with only 3 arms. Oh well, it rested our feet and got us to Toon Town faster than we could have walked (at least, I think it’s faster!). Toon Town was pretty busy so we basically got in, saw Mickey (again, the girls did AWESOME!!! No fear from these two!) and got out. We walked back to Frontierland hoping to see Woody but then found out he didn’t come out after 3:30pm. Bummer! Nicole really wanted Katie to see Cinderella but no go. We headed over to the hub to get seats, got really good seats! I went to get us popcorn and hot chocolate but because no one but the restaurants was selling hot chocolate at the moment, I settled for 2 Pluto tubs of popcorn-$10. Right before the parade ended, our whole section was told we would have to move to the opposite side because they were moving the filming crew to where we were. The Cast Members were VERY nice and helpful, held back everyone else while we got to our new spots (equally nice as the previous spot). We waited about an hour (not easy with 2 year olds, but not as difficult as anticipated!) for the fireworks and there was a message over the loud speaker saying that because of filming, Tinkerbell would be making a special once-in-a-lifetime trip around the Castle (different than her normal “journey”) but she never showed. Second time that lady has left me high and dry, hahaha! Fireworks started and everyone remained standing <sigh> so I had to stand as well, all the time holding Jyl. Now, Jyl is not very heavy but after 15 minutes, all I have to say is OUCH!!! Katie and Jyl seemed to enjoy the fireworks a little (didn’t cry out of fear but definitely not riveted to the show). After the fireworks, it was time to leave the park (early closure at 6pm) and it was a madhouse!!! I told Nicole if we got separated, to meet at the C in front of DCA. It took an hour for me and Jyl to make it from the hub to the letter C and another 10 minutes for Nicole and Katie to catch up. We had completely forgotten that Nicole would have to turn the stroller in, which was a huge bummer because Katie had fallen asleep in it after the fireworks. Poor Nicole, broken hand and a super grumpy/sleepy two year old to manage without a stroller was definitely not good. Nicole was very upset and we decided to leave ASAP. It took another 30-45 minutes to maneuver through Downtown Disney back to the hotel to pick up my van and then another 20 to deal with housekeeping over a pillow I had forgotten to give to the bellman that morning. D’oh! A new pillow and I had just broken it in! Oh well, you live and learn. They were taking a really long time having been nice enough to actually go up to the room to look for it and I felt I couldn’t leave Nicole waiting outside anymore so I bailed before they came back. We got the heck out of Anaheim very disgruntled (large crowds and no stroller for Nic). We stopped at a Taco Bell and an In N Out somewhere between L.A. and the Grapevine. I drove us down the Grapevine then we took turns driving as we were both so sleepy we could hardly keep our eyes open. I took over about 30 miles from Fresno and let Nicole sleep as she had to go to work the next day and we arrived at her house a little after 1am. What a trip!



****Personal tips****
1. Bring your own stroller(s).
2. Stay calm and collected and throw your schedule out the window.
3. You can never have too many warm clothes waiting in the locker or too many snacks in your bag.
4. Have a blast and take a ton of pictures!!!!

 

[Yakety76]

Grizzvbuzz and Crazy4DL, I really appreciate your willingness to take the time to give me so much information!! Thanks!

I have just ordered a double stroller as we did not have one. I am anxiously awaiting its arrival so that I can try it out before our trip.

I was hoping to do two character meals, but will probably scale back to one. Realistically, my kids don't really like sitting for meals for a long time either. Thanks for the tip Grizzbuzz.
Also a good idea to tell my DD upfront that there will be toys and that she cannot have them all. I hadn't even thought about that!! She does like to shop too, so that could have been fun.

We are soooo looking forward to this trip. It will be a blast!!

 

[lisadoll93]

Have they seen characters before? Some kids are afaid of characters. We find that DCA is a little toddler friendly, not as crowded, more relaxed vibe.

My advice, show them pictures of DL first, be flexible, bring snacks, RELAX and have a great time. Oh, take lots of pictures

 

[Yakety76]

Thanks for the tip about DCA. We are arriving in California on Sunday morning February 24, so I had actually planned on hitting DCA in the morning because I have been reading DL was way busy on Sundays. I have been debating whether to change that or not, but now I think we will stick with going to DCA Sunday to get the kids warmed up. They have seen characters before, but I am sure this will be completely different and a little overwhelming to them.
We are going into DL Sunday afternoon for the Parade of Dreams at 3:30. My kids are early to bed early to rise so they will not be able to stay up for the Electrical Parade or for the Fireworks. Any tips on maximizing this experience for them (where to stand, how early to get there, etc.)since it will be there one and only parade for this trip?

 

[cheesemouse]

We just took our DS (21 months at the time) in December and had a absolute blast. Thinking back, these are my thoughts:

1) Be sure to take a good long break in the afternoons - both for the kids and the parents.

2) Bring your own stroller - great for tired kids getting back to the hotel, waiting at the gates, and through security.

3) Maximize both parents. One parent and a stroller is plenty to secure a good spot for the parade while the other parent and kids can ride stuff or run around. We found a great spot right before the parade - in fantasyland,ACROSS from small world, right where the parade starts. No one there - great viewing spot..

4) DO go visit toon town. As adults, we had never been and this was a true hit with our son. Plenty of space to run around, lots of characters.

5) Familiarize them with the rides and characters ASAP. We showed our son the Disney sing-a-long song video "Disneyland Fun" and I am SURE that it made all the difference. He knew the songs, the rides, and more importantly, the characters. He even ran up to them and gave them hugs and kisses just like the kids do in the movie. Also, You Tube has a lot of videos of the rides. Show them to the kids if possible.

6) Use counter service restaurants. This can be a challenge though for one parent to carry all the food for the whole family with the other waits at a table with the little ones. We did do one sit down (cafe orleans - great food) but it takes a while and I wouldn't recommend it everyday.

7) Don't underestimate your kids. I thought for sure that there would be no way our son would be able to stay up for parades and Fantasmic, etc, especially with the 2 hour time change. But he did great - it's amazing what a little sensory overload and stimulation can do. If possible, do go see the Light Parade - it's perfect for kids that age.

8) Bring your own drinks and snacks into the park. Especially with a diaper bag, they won't say anything to you. It's nice to have them on hand when the need arises.

9) make good use of them getting up early - it's a breeze to get to early entry and park opening. actually, get there 1/2 hour before either and you'll really save time in line for the "biggies".

10) get a balloon your first day and tie it to your stroller - keeps them from always asking for one and makes it super easy to find your stroller.

I could go on and on - if you have any specific questions just ask me - I feel we had a fabulous trip. we weren't sure how it would go - it could have been a success or a total disaster. It was definitely a success. I probably should have done a trip report but we returned just before the holidays and it was just too crazy.

 

[Karebear]

We went last month with DS who was 4 and DD who was 2 for their first trip. We took a single stroller for my daughter and an umbrella stoller for my son. This worked great for us because we split up a lot--the 4 year old could do rides that the 2 year old could not. I am so glad that we had 2 strollers instead of one double. Even the 4 year old got tired with all of the walking.

We liked sit-down restaurants better than counter service. Mostly because it gave us all time to rest before heading back into the rides. The sit down places were great and provided crayons and stickers, etc.

My kids were very scared of the Alladin show at DCA. They did Pirates and the Haunted Mansion, but could not handle Alladin. We only did the rides that we felt they could handle. The first dark ride that we did was Peter Pan and we worked our way up from that. We let them set the pace.

There are a lot of great kid rides behind the "Tough to be a Bug" show at DCA.

My daugther's favorite meal was the princess one at Ariel's Grotto--go there if you can.

Hope that you have fun!

 

[trodrigue]

Otherwise you have to hear about it the entire trip. Set your limit, but it and be done. You can buy some stuff at disneyshopping.com or ebay ahead of time and have it with you for surprises. I did that this time, and we did spend less money on souvenirs than usual.

 

[Yakety76]

Great advice everyone. My DH and I are not splitting up when the kids are awake at all, so we are going to bring our double stroller that we just bought for our trip. My DD is only 37 inches, so she won't be able to ride any of the 40 inch rides. In our schedule, I have planned time for DH to ride all of the adult rides during nap time and after the kids go to bed. This is his first time going to DL. I haven't been since I was 12- about 20 years ago, but I really want to make sure he gets a great first experience.

I would love for the kids to see the Electrical Parade and the fireworks, but we have to wake up at 4:30 Sunday morning to make our plane. We get to California by 7:30 am which is nice, but they will probably not be up for a late night. We only scheduled one weekend night not thinking about missing parades and all. Oh well. There is always next time!!

I am unsure about the Aladdin show since my kids have not seen the movie and do not know the characters at all. I figure we will try it and see how it goes. They are not familiar with any of the princesses, but they LOVE Mickey and the Gang. We also just showed my DD Monsters, Inc. for the first time. She is now going by the name of Sulley! She loved it so much. I showed her the ride on Youtube after Cheesemouse suggested that. She is so excited to go on that ride. I think it might be one of our firsts Sunday morning. DS was beyond excited when he saw Mickey and Minnie on Youtube. Great idea Cheesemouse!!
They haven't watched a lot of the Disney shows, but they have a lot of books with the characters. For instance, they haven't seen Peter Pan, but we have a Disney book called Return to Neverland so they know Peter and Captain Hook. Captain Hook is the one person DD does NOT want to see. We are not taking them on Snow White at all. My DD was scared of the witches at Halloween, so I don't think it would be a good ride for us. We are going to try Peter Pan and then take it from there as far as the darker rides go- just as Karebear suggests. We are not too worried about "doing it all". We are completely willing to just follow the kids' lead and let them have fun. We will have a great time just watching them. Of course we are planning on enjoying ourselves too. I cannot wait!!
Thanks everyone!!

 

[garate55]

All the advice I have is hopefully your double stroller is not a side-by-side cause most people won't move when walking right toward you. We took our single umbrella stroller and I thought it was too big. But if the crowds aren't too bad then you shouldn't have a problem.

Have fun. You are arriving in CA on my birthday.....

 

[DorkyDisneyMom]

I agree with Cheesemouse. Youtube is your friend. I was afraid for our 3 year old too. I showed him all of the rides on there and he was great. It was also great for me so I could anticipate when a potentially scary part was coming. I was able to reassure him when he needed it. Each kid is so different though.

 

[Yakety76]

Here is what I have planned for our February trip. If anyone has the time to look it over and give me feedback, I would love it!! Of Course this is just a guide. I know that things will change once we get there and I will have to go with the flow, but I like to have a plan to start with.
Thanks everyone for all the advice and tips!!

Disneyland February 2008
Sunday, Feb 24 Arrive in California at 7:30 am
• Take the 8:30 shuttle to the DLH – usually it is a 45 minute trip
Morning Disneyland 8-12 am DCA 10-10
Condor Flats
• Soaring over California (Switch Off)- obtain FastPass if necessary
Hollywood Picture’s Backlot
• Monster’s Inc
A Bug’s Land
• Flik’s Fun Fair – Ride the rides that time permits
o Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train
o Tuck and Roll’s Drive ‘Em Buggies
o Flik’s Flyers
o Francis’s Ladybug boogie
• Lunch- Pacific Wharf Cafe in Pacific Wharf
• Try to check in early at the hotel
Nap
• nap and unpack and shower (hopefully!)
Afternoon Fantasyland
• Take Monorail to DL from DLH
• Parade of Dreams 3:30 –
• Obtain “1st Visit” buttons from City Hall for kids and Bob
• Swim and Relax at the hotel
• Dinner- Sandwich or Room Service
Evening DH- Parades and Fireworks
• DCA Electic Parade 8:45
• DL Fireworks 9:25
• Ride Rides – see “Must Ride” list below

Tower of Terror Indiana Jones
Muppet Vision #D Splash Mountain (if running)
California Screamin Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Soaring over California Haunted Mansion
Grizzly River Run (if running) Pirates of the Caribbean
It’s Tough to be a Bug Star Tours
Space Mountain
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience
Matterhorn Bobsleds


Monday, Feb. 25- Disneyland 10-8 DCA 10-6
• Breakfast- Goofy’s Kitchen – make reservations for 7:30
Morning Adventureland/Critter Country
• Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Pooh’s Corner Candy Shop- Get Tigger Tails to take back to the room
• Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes (10 minutes)
• Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer Island (35 minutes)
• Enchanted Tiki Room (15 minutes)
• Tarzan’s Treehouse- Walk through exhibit (8-12 minutes)
• Lunch- Café Orleans – MUST try the Monte Cristo Sandwich, Garlic Fries and Mickey Shaped Beignets
Downtown Disney
• Legoland and World of Disney
Nap DH to DL for Rides
• Indiana Jones
• Splash Mountain (if it is running)
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Afternoon Toontown
• Take the Monorail to Tomorrowland from DLH
• Mickey’s House (15-30 minutes)
• Minnie’s House (10 minutes)
• Gadget Go Coaster
• Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin
• Miss Daisy, Donald’s Boat, Goofy’s Playhouse and/or Chip n’ Dales Treehouse to play - all or one depending on time and energy
• Shop at the Gag Factory for souvenirs
• Legoland and World of Disney in Downtown Disney
• Dinner- Sandwiches or Room Service
Evening DH to DL for Rides
• Star Tours
• Space Mountain
• Honey, I Shrunk the Audience
• Matterhorn Bobsleds
• Pirates and Haunted Mansion




Tuesday, Feb.,26- Early Entry 9:00 am
• Breakfast- Cereal and Fruit or pastry and coffee at La Brea Bakery in DD
Morning Fantasyland
• Peter Pan’s Flight (E.E.)
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant (E.E.)
• Alice in Wonderland (E.E.)
• Matterhorn Bobsleds (E.E.)
• Mad Tea Party (E.E.)
• Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride (E.E.) – only if DD did well on Alice
• Pinocchio’s Daring Journey (E.E.)- only if DD did well on Alice
• King Arthur’s Carousel (E.E.)
• Casey Jr. Circus Train
• Sword in the Stone - check schedule
• Princess Fantasy Faire 10:30 (if desired)
• Tour Sleeping Beauty’s Castle
• Lunch- Enchanted Cottage in Fantasyland by Fantasyland Theatre
Nap DH to DCA
• Tower of Terror
• Muppet Vision 3D
• California Screamin’
[/B]Afternoon New Orleans Square and Toontown[/B]
• Pirates of the Caribbean (14 minutes)- if DD did well on FL dark rides
• Haunted Mansion (8 minutes)- if DD did well on Pirates
• Golden Horseshoe Show- check schedule
• Take Railroad to Toontown
• Toontown to play and ride rides
• To the hotel early to swim
• Dinner- Hooke’s Point or order sandwiches from The Coffee House at DLH
Evening My Turn!!
• Indiana Jones
• Star Tours
• Space Mountain
• Honey, I Shrunk the Audience




Wednesday, February 27 Disneyland 10-8 DCA 10-6
Breakfast- Story Teller’s Cafe- Make Reservations for 8:00 or earlier. Be at DL by 9:30
Morning Tomorrowland
• Finding Nemo (14 minutes)
• Buzz Lightyear (5 minutes)
• Autopia (5 minutes)
• Jedi Training 10:30,11:35, 12:40, 2:25, 3:30, 4:35 (if desired)
DCA - A Bug’s Land – if there is time
• Flik’s Fun Fair- Ride rides missed on Sunday as time permits
o Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train
o Tuck and Roll’s Drive ‘Em Buggies
o Flik’s Flyers
o Francis’s Ladybug boogie
• Ugly Bug Ball- Check Schedule (20 minutes)
• Lunch- WhiteWater Snacks in GCH
Nap DH to DCA
• Grizzly River Run (if Running)
• It’s Tough to be a Bug
• Ride Favorites again if there is time
Afternoon DCA
Golden State
• Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
• Brother Bear Totem Ceremony 11:30, 12:30, 3:00, 4:00. 5:00 (if desired)
Hollywood Pictures Backlot
• Monsters Inc
• Aladdin Hyperion Theater 12:25, 1:55, 4:10 (45 minutes)
• Disney Animation –Turtle Talk with Crush in Animation Building (30-90 minutes)
• Dinner- Tortilla Jo’s or Ralph Brennan’s in DD
Evening DH to DL
• Ride any missed rides or ride favorites again



Thursday Early Entry 9:00 am• Try to arrange for a late check out at the hotel. Normal check out is 11:00.
• Breakfast- Cereal and Fruit
Morning Tomorrowland/Fantasyland/Toontown to say Good-Bye
• Finding Nemo (14 minutes)- if didn’t do it Wednesday
• Ride favorite E.E. rides again or any that were missed!!
• At 10:00, hit other favorite rides throughout the park.
• At 11:00, make one last trip to Toon Town to say good-bye to Mickey
• Lunch- Sandwiches La Brea Bakery in DD for Grilled Paninis
• Hopefully back to the hotel to nap. Otherwise have fun and hope the kids nap on the shuttle or at the airport!!
Afternoon Airport
• 2:00 or 3:00 Shuttle to the airport to allow for a possible 2 hour commute
• Flight at 6:45 pm.

 

[mariessas_mom]

We just returned from DL a few days ago with a 10 year old and an 8 month old baby. On my previous WDW trips, I had every single minute scheduled. This time, I went with the flow. I did have a list of must sees and a general idea of things - but that is it! It worked wonderful. Of course, when we were there the crowds were crazy. However, we did all of the must dos. We did 5 day park hoppers and it was awesome. That way - we could do parks in short spurts and spread it out over several days.

We were there when the gates opened and were able to ride several rides before 10am (and baby's nap time). If we stayed late for fireworks, we would go to CA the next day (since it opens later).

With toddlers, I would be very careful about a tight schedule. Too many things can get you off track!

Have a great trip!!