DL pro - 1st time with toddler - questions!

[romymichelle21]

The nap/train idea would be good - but they have to get out of the stroller for that, right? And if she did that, she'd be waaaaay too excited to sleep. (She loves trains). But that was one of my original ideas too

We've decided to definitely not tell her we're going! We're just going to wake her up and tell her she's going to "school" (daycare). She might start to wonder why it's taking an hour to get there, or she might fall asleep. Either way.

Plus, she has no idea what Disneyland looks like, so I'm wondering how far we can get once we get there, before telling her where we are

If she doesn't figure it out too soon, I'll definitely get either a picture or video of her reaction. Ideally, I'd like to be able to get her inside the turnstiles without her figuring it out. Not like she can read the signs or anything, ya know?

Also - my Mom decided to take our stroller after all. The full-size one.

And, unfortunately, DB will not be able to make it this time. So Mom and I will be on our own - taking turns hitting up the single rider & baby swap! Not as much for me as for my Mom, I don't want her to miss some of the good 'grownup' rides. (She hasn't been since 1991!).

What are some Disneyland-specific things we should remember to bring? Besides the normal 'day trip' kid stuff, like extra clothes, water, sunscreen, etc. So far I have,

* Shiny pennies, nickels, & quarters (for the squished coin machines)
* Autograph book & pen
* Disney Dollars

 

[mechurchlady]

Get a mini M&M candy container to hold your coins. Penny then quarters and alternate. Bring an extra pen and make sure it is a fat pen as the characters that have costumes that make it hard to hold a pen. Fidget toys for lines like beads, games, or a doll anything she can fidget at to while away the hours.

Bring snacks from home like power bars, trail mix, or crackers to munch. Raisins are at times sticky and pure sugar you want something with some carbs like trail mix or crackers (not saltines of course) to nibble on. Bring small and large zip loc type baggies. You can dump popcorn in one of those then shove it in a stroller or pass it around without a mess. I often buy popcorn then zip it up, hit a ride, and then munch away without a mess. Baggies can be used for wet socks and for lots of things. Wet wipes are good also.

 

[romymichelle21]

Ok - I think we're almost ready! Leaving bright and early 7 am tomorrow! The kid has no idea

I made a color-coded aerial map awhile back, and thought I'd share it with you guys, because it's come in really handy in showing my Mom where things are in relation to other things, within the whole Disney property - since park maps only cover the park itself.

I can't find the original online anymore - the website images are all broken - so I don't have the blank version. Everything is outlined to the best of my ability! Perhaps a little off, but I did this just from memory.

It's too big to post - but you can click here.

Red - Disneyland, of course.
Yellow - California Adventure.
Pink - The Esplanade/Courtyard.
Green - Downtown Disney (or, pretty close, anyway).
Blue - Mickey & Friends parking structure.
Purple - Timon lot.
White (down in the corner) - Entrance to Timon.

Downtown Disney may be slightly off, and the blue line from Mickey & Friends is just an estimate of the tram's route, because I couldn't tell exactly where it is.

If you wanna use it without the lines, or add your own, you can print b&w and they barely show up.

Hope someone else can use this too!

 

[romymichelle21]

We came, we saw, she napped, we left!

Yes indeedy, she napped alright. Twice!

And yes - we managed to keep the whole thing a surprise till we were IN the gate! I got it on video, perhaps I'll post the link when I get home and know where it is.

But, I have this one other unrelated question that I didn't wanna start a whole thread for -

My birthday is June 11th, a Thurs, and I have the SoCal AP. Hopefully, DB and I will be going *on* my birthday. Apparently, if you go on a blockout day, the only 'surprise' you get is a 1-day, 1-park ticket. We would absolutely be going to BOTH parks. So, if I go, and buy a $40 blockout upgrade for the day, I would get... nothing? Correct? If I don't take the 1-park offer, or use it to upgrade my pass (which I don't plan on doing), then there's no other alternative? Cuz if not, I'd rather not stand in line only to find that out once I get to the window!

I'm sure someone has asked that on here already, but there are about 50,000 threads on the topic, and I'm not about to weed through them all

So if anyone knows...