Disneyland with a 9 month old!

[luna99]

Hey friends! I'm a WDW gal who has been to DLP once before and am thinking of going in October with my mom, sister, and my little boy who will be 9 months at the time. We are debating over what resort/hotel to stay at. I'm honestly a bit nervous about taking him on such a big trip (we live in NY)... it will be his first time flying and I guess since I'm a first time mom I'm a bit nervous about everything.

so my question is this.. is it worth it to stay at a Disney resort like the Grand Californian so that we can be super close to our room? Just in case baby gets fussy/tired/hungry and we won't have a long walk back?

Of course my mom, sister, and I are HUGE Disney fans too and LOVE staying in the resorts to experience that magic... so part of it is us thinking we want to stay there as well. Also, tell me about going into the parks early if you stay at a resort... do you get an hour early sort of like extra magic hours at WDW? And are there other perks we are overlooking of staying in the Disney hotels?

thanks everyone... I'm so looking forward to taking my little pirate to DL! It will be his first Disney park experience and what better place to do it than where it all started!

 

[sonnyjane]

so my question is this.. is it worth it to stay at a Disney resort like the Grand Californian so that we can be super close to our room? Just in case baby gets fussy/tired/hungry and we won't have a long walk back?

"Worth it" is very subjective. Many people love the Grand Californian, but it is VERY expensive and I'd say there are just as many people that prefer to stay off-site, if not more, to save money. You can stay across the street from the parks on Harbor for about a third the cost of GCH and in many cases be just as close to the parks as if you stayed at an official Disney hotel.

Of course my mom, sister, and I are HUGE Disney fans too and LOVE staying in the resorts to experience that magic... so part of it is us thinking we want to stay there as well. Also, tell me about going into the parks early if you stay at a resort... do you get an hour early sort of like extra magic hours at WDW? And are there other perks we are overlooking of staying in the Disney hotels?

It is not quite like WDW. By staying on-site, you will get entry to Magic Morning, which is when most of the attractions in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland open one hour early to hotel guests and to any guest that has a 3-day or more park hopper. Most people only get one MM entry with their ticket, but if you stay on-site, you get to use the MM any day it is available, which is usually Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday (T and S days). Other perks of staying on-site is that you will be able to enter California Adventure at 9:00 to ride Soarin', Little Mermaid, and get WOC FP's whereas regular guests aren't allowed in until 9:30.

 

[Disneyland1084]

Hey friends! I'm a WDW gal who has been to DLP once before and am thinking of going in October with my mom, sister, and my little boy who will be 9 months at the time. We are debating over what resort/hotel to stay at. I'm honestly a bit nervous about taking him on such a big trip (we live in NY)... it will be his first time flying and I guess since I'm a first time mom I'm a bit nervous about everything.

so my question is this.. is it worth it to stay at a Disney resort like the Grand Californian so that we can be super close to our room? Just in case baby gets fussy/tired/hungry and we won't have a long walk back?

Of course my mom, sister, and I are HUGE Disney fans too and LOVE staying in the resorts to experience that magic... so part of it is us thinking we want to stay there as well. Also, tell me about going into the parks early if you stay at a resort... do you get an hour early sort of like extra magic hours at WDW? And are there other perks we are overlooking of staying in the Disney hotels?

thanks everyone... I'm so looking forward to taking my little pirate to DL! It will be his first Disney park experience and what better place to do it than where it all started!

I went to DL last September with my DD, who was 8 months old at the time. We stayed at the Grand Californian and LOVED IT! It wasn't our first time staying there. Once you stay there, there's no staying anywhere else.

 

[94bruin]

The first time we took our daughters to DL, they were 4 yo & 9mos. We stayed at the GCH and am so glad that we did. Loved every minute of it.

 

[luna99]

ooooh yes.. world of color! thanks for mentioning that too cause I certainly want to see it and get a good spot for it! I knew there was something special if you stay at a disney resort regarding world of color!

thanks for all the opinions so far as well.... I will admit I'm a bit of a "hotel snob" too... so I think that's another reason we are leaning towards grand californian....

anymore suggestions would be great! thanks!

 

[HarryMoose]

We are making our 1st trip to DL this summer. Our kids are older, (6 and 10). They went to WDW many times when they were a baby.

I have heard that DL is actually better with young kids then WDW because it is more compact and easier to manage.

What kept us from going to DL sooner was that 5 hour flight from Detroit to LA. The 2 hour flight to Orlando is much easier and cheaper.

We are staying at DLH, but was looking into a few good neighbor hotels near by before we booked at DLH. HOJO and a number of other hotels are very close, kid friendly and well priced. You can walk back and forth easily (or so I understand.)

What made us choose DHL, is even on DVC points (and more points then we normally spend on a 5 day trip) it was around the same price for us at the HOJO was. If we were paying cash, it would be cost about twice as much, not sure it would be worth that. Especially since we are staying for 5 nights.

It would be cheaper to stay at GCV, but by the time we booked they were full. The resort is very small. I don't know how many months out, but renting DVC points if you could get into GCV would make it a lot more affordable.

 

[luna99]

We are making our 1st trip to DL this summer. Our kids are older, (6 and 10). They went to WDW many times when they were a baby.

I have heard that DL is actually better with young kids then WDW because it is more compact and easier to manage.

What kept us from going to DL sooner was that 5 hour flight from Detroit to LA. The 2 hour flight to Orlando is much easier and cheaper.

We are staying at DLH, but was looking into a few good neighbor hotels near by before we booked at DLH. HOJO and a number of other hotels are very close, kid friendly and well priced. You can walk back and forth easily (or so I understand.)

What made us choose DHL, is even on DVC points (and more points then we normally spend on a 5 day trip) it was around the same price for us at the HOJO was. If we were paying cash, it would be cost about twice as much, not sure it would be worth that. Especially since we are staying for 5 nights.

It would be cheaper to stay at GCV, but by the time we booked they were full. The resort is very small. I don't know how many months out, but renting DVC points if you could get into GCV would make it a lot more affordable.

oh what a great idea, I didn't even think about renting DVC points.. I suppose I'd have to get on that quickly though and this trip I'm afraid is going to probably be a last minute type trip since there are a few elements up in the air still....

great suggestion though, thanks! and have a great time on your trip!

 

[JoRo]

I would save your $$ and stay at the BW Park Place or the Carousal across from the parking lot - the distance may even be the same by the time you walk to the Grand or walk across street to good neighbor hotels. This is where we always stayed until we bought DVC now so a little spoiled. We have taken our kids when they are like 5 months old (now 4 and 3), DL is more fun then WDW (in my opinion) because there are more "kiddie" rides for them to go on. So good luck.