Do you make a schedule?

[disneylover2005]

My family and I are going to Disneyland for 1 day next month and I was wondering if we should schedule our day. I have never been to Disneyland in one day and I don't know where to begin.

We want to see the character's for our son who will be 15 months. A couple of rides at the most (10). Eat twice in the park, and watch the parade. Oh yeah SHOP also! So how could this be possible in one day? Is it possible?

We would get there before the park opened and stay as late as our son can handle. We also might be having our friends with a 19 month old come along as well. Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[PinkBudgie]

One thing to keep in mind is that your son might be afraid of the characters. You never know how children will react.

I would come up with several must rides and get to those first thing in the morning. We went one day on Jan 2 this year just to see the Christmas stuff. We had priorities which we did first. After that anything we did was gravy.

 

[Rivergallery]

It is possible, definately make a schedule. For the most rides for him head right to Peter pan, do a non T or S day. Do Pan, Dumbo, Alice, Toad, Teacups, Canal Boats, Casey Jr, then Carrousel, Pinocchio, and Snow white. This you could all get done before lunch .
that is 10 rides.
Then head up to toontown let him waddle around and go into Minnie and Mickey's house.
I would skip meeting Tink as the wait is so long, but if he is scared of Minnie and Mickey it might be a good option, give him a snack/lunch while you wait. The wait time is about 45min most of the day.
For more rides you could head to Bug's land, let him play in the water and ride Heimlich, the Ladybug ride and Flic's flyers.
I might skip Tuck and Roll it is a bit bumpy.

If he likes anything especially in Bug's land ride it again.
This schedule will eliminate the majority of the long lines.
You will want to skip Nemo this trip the wait is just insane, and the rush their just as tiring.

Otherwise just meander through the park and enjoy.

You could do Jungle cruise and pirates if he does ok on the dark rides he might like these.
Keep a hand ready on the dark rides to cover eyes.

Winnie the pooh I would skip unless it is your kids fav character's as their meet and greet is right there also, but it is a long walk..even if you take the train.

You could also do kid swap easily.. get FPs for the fast rides you want to ride so you don't have to wait hardly at all.. check the times guide when you enter to double check which ones are available.

 

[Teki]

I usually try to have a base plan just for the sake of planning out fast passes, but don't over plan because then you wind up being disappointed if you don't stick to it.

 

[AmericanItGirl]

Also, since parades and shows tend to have multiple showings (that tend to overlap), make sure to plan out when it would be best for you to sit and watch the shows and parades that you want to see. This way, you won't miss out on anything and you will know well in advance when you want to see something so you know when to start heading over in a particular direction.

 

[evandmp]

I think ten rides before lunch would be a bit overwhelming but I guess it would depend on the length of the lines and your child. With a 4 year old and 21 month old we do maybe 10 rides in a day. Doing all those lines back to back would have been pretty hard for my daughter to do. With a toddler I would really take things easy. Do maybe 4 rides, then have a snack/lunch break and let your dc explore. My dd favorite thing to do at disneyland is people watch, eat, dance and walk around. She also loves it when she spots a character. I do think the winnie the pooh ride is worth the walk as is the meet and greet after the ride. I would make a schedule but a really loose one. What I would include are where you are eating and what time, the show/parade times that you don't want to miss and then a list of the rides you'd like to do. Anything more structured and you may find yourself dissapointed.

 

[dmked]

I always make a schedule and by doing so, we are always ahead of schedule and get a lot more things done than just going w/o a set plan. I schedule, but I don't over-schedule...we are on vacation after all! I always write an order of "must-dos" and then an order of "if-we-have-time" things.

I would never go to DL without a plan, you waste so much time!

 

[disneylover2005]

Thank you all!