First time visit to Disneyland - need itinerary help

vicious lops

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 27, 2022
Messages
3
I will be going at the end of June with my 6-year old and grandma on an all girls trip,Sunday - Wednesday We will be staying at the Club Level at GCH and already purchased a one-day pass with Genie+ for Monday. I would really appreciate tips on what to do/itinerary/where to eat/must-do rides and activities. Everything seems INCREDIBLY overwhelming. I am sure we will be visiting DL soon in a couple of years and this trip is mostly for us to get away from rainy weather and for kiddo to have some fun theme park adventures. Thanks in advance for any tips!
 
Does your daughter have any specific Disney interests or favorites? How about Grandma? That will help the suggestions a lot! Also, what kind of kiddo is your daughter? Is she adventurous, or timid around new experiences?

We usually take our grandkids when they turn 7yo. We've had one who wanted to investigate all the slow things, and only liked dark rides; not much surprise, as he's always our one who isn't very adventurous! He was all about the magic. The next one was alllllllll go-go-go and the bigger the ride, the better! He didn't give any care about seeing the small, magical things. He just wanted all the rides (and was annoyed when the ride didn't have Fast Pass, ha!). We have Grandson #3 coming up next week, and curious as heck about how he will be!
 
Kiddo is super adventurous and loves crazy rides. She's definitely the wilder, the better kind of kid. Me, not so much. Grandma is also pretty mellow. We're actually pretty stressed out so something low key this time around would be great. I am trying to hit 3 MUST SEE activities and the rest of the time we will try to chill. We'll make sure dad is around for the next trip to do the crazy rides. ETA: Kiddo is not Disney crazy... yet.
 
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Totally forgot to ask how tall kiddo is! That will affect some of the rides she can go on, but there's only a few that require a taller height than some 6yos.

My grandson who's going next week *just* hit the height for Incredicoaster, but has been tall enough for the others for a while now... and to be fair, he's kind of our "shrimpy" kid-- he's just always been smaller than our other grandkids; the 5yo was the same height as the now-7yo until just recently.

We're thrilled that character meet-and-greets are back with hugging, so getting a hug from Mickey and Minnie is at the top of our to-do lists. (The grandson this time is less than excited about this, as he's timid around strangers, so I may be the only one hugging my favorite mice.)

I'd consider Big Thunder Mtn Railroad as your daughter's "starter" coaster, then you can see how much further that she wants to go-- if that's enough, or if she wants to try Splash for example.

We adore the Main Street Electrical Parade. There's a dining package for reserved seating, which is what we traditionally have done. (I've got arthritis in my hips, so sitting on the curb waiting sounds torturous to me, so we are willing to pay a bit more for that reserved seating.)

I'd consider getting Genie+ each day for at least one member of your party so you can get the ride photos and the PhotoPass pictures. Those PhotoPass pics are about the only ones we get with all of us in the picture!
 

If you have a parkhopper I’d go to world of color in DCA.

I suggest getting a map from wonka kid when he offers them. Usually on his Sunday trip reports. It will help you see the lay of the land. 6 yo dd and I loved looking at it as we planned. We also watched ride videos on YouTube.
 
+1 Big Thunder as your 'active' ride.

lalasmama's avatar made me think of this but I'd recommend the Storybook Land Canal Boats as a 'chill' ride to do. I feel like Pirates and Small World get all the boat ride love and it's easy to overlook the Storybook Land Canal, but it's actually really cute. Doing the full circle ride around the park on the train is another relaxing activity I'd recommend if you're looking for a chill break.
 
How many days to you have in the parks? You said a 1-day pass but your hotel res appears to Be 3-4 nights. If you are looking for a carefree trip I would *strongly* consider adding a day or two so you can explore without pressure to “do it all” (you never can, anyways) and be able to repeat the things your DD really loves. Only 1 day in the parks would be exhausting. Being onsite means you can easily take a nice mid day break, which helps with the relaxation aspect and energy aspect for all involved.

You said she is not overly into Disney yet, but as you are staying at the GCH you could absolutely do the princess breakfast at Napa Rose. It’s pricey but gets great reviews. Only if your DD would be into it.
 


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