Good first rides for toddler?

[poseys]

So today, I went to the zoo with DH and DD (2.5 now but will be just shy of 3 when we go to DLR). She wanted to ride the carousel but when we got on it, when it was about to start, she freaked out and had me hold her. She didn't cry, just very nervous and she did get back on her cheetah near the end. This made me a little worried about DLR/DCA. Does anyone have any inexpensive ideas for getting her used to the idea of all the newness DLR/DCA will offer? Also, any suggestions for rides to start off with at DLR/DCA as she gets used to it?

 

[mom2rtk]

I think the Bugsland rides would be right up her alley.

 

[Angrose]

I think the Bugsland rides would be right up her alley.

This. Also, in DL you could start out with Casey Jr. train and the tea cups.

 

[Angrose]

Also, you could watch the movies the rides are based on. She might be excited to fly with Peter Pan and go under the sea with Ariel! You can also watch ride videos on YouTube.

 

[cherice95403]

Bugs land is a great bet, but do not go to the It's Great to Be a Bug show. The show scared the crap out of my 3 year old and ruined our whole trip because he wouldn't go on any ride that was "inside." Also at DCA: Ariel, Monsters Inc. and Disney Jr show. At DL, Fantasy land and toon town are safe, but Snow White might be scary. Search for the rides on utube...there are a lot of videos that will give you a sense for them. I had my kids watch a few videos of the rides to get them prepped and it helped. I also had a pre talk about how it's all pretend.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

My son freaked out the first time he went on a zoo carousel. But, when we went to Disneyland, he ended up being fine his first time. We did Autopia because of his love of cars. Other good first rides would be Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, Mark Twain, and Jungle Cruise at DL. At DCA, we took our twins on Monster's Inc. and Little Mermaid first. They loved them! The Bugs Land rides would be okay (except the Ladybug ride and the bumper cars if height requirements can't be met).

I would, however, stay away from Haunted Mansion (the ride is probably fine, but some kids get freaked out in the elevator when people scream) and Pirates (I was terrified of the drops when I was little) until you've been on a few other rides to gauge how your kid does.

Before my son's first trip (he was 2 1/2), we watched a lot of Disney/Pixar movies and the "Day at Disneyland" sing along (it's practically vintage from when I was a kid in the early 1990s, but still good). There's also a special that used to be on Netflix called something like "Behind the Scenes at Disneyland", but I don't know where you'd be able to find it now since it was taken off Netflix a few years ago.

 

[poseys]

This is all really helpful! Thank you everyone!

 

[nikkislaght]

At your local Mall.. get her on the little Carousal, just sitting at first.. and then when she gets comfortable put your coins in.. 50cents most of them are.. you can walk around with her.. as most of them are very small and slow.. following her lead ..and not trying to pressure her onto a ride will make life a lot easier.. and maybe allow her to go on a ride later .. hope you have a great time..

 

[TeresaR]

There's also Turtle Talk with Crush over in DCA. Then in Disneyland your could also try the Astro Orbitor and the finding Nemo Submarine.

 

[MouseEXP]

It's a Small world

 

[Epek]

Small World, Dumbo, teacups, Jungle Cruise. I would be cautious of anything indoors besides small world. Ds isn't normally nervous, but he was about the dark rides on his first trip at the same age. After 1 or 2 rides, he was fine. Do not start with the castle walk through! I had intended on Dumbo being his first ride, but as we passed through the castle, he wanted to go up inside. Freaked him out! It's what really lead to the dark ride fear. But, like I said, after a couple, he was fine again and now loves them all!
IMO, I would start in DL. There aren't a lot of rides in DCA that are good for easing in. I guess Bugsland is the best there. Then Ariel and Monsters Inc. I don't get that Classic Disney feel from Bugsland, so it doesn't feel like where I'd want to start my trip.
Have so much fun! I loved bringing ds for his first trip at that age!! We got AP's and have been a ton in the year and a half since, but nothing beats the first one.

 

[starshine514]

My baby hated the carousel. It was really the only ride we took her on that she freaked out on. We did, however, use HM and Pirates as nursing time. Everything else, she was good with. She loved IASW.

 

[shellncesar]

There are so many rides toddlers can go on at Disneyland. A few examples are: Winnie the Pooh, Storybook Canal, It's a Small World, Finding Nemo Submarines, Dumbo, Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise, Disneyland railroad. We even took our toddler on Pirates and Haunted Mansion. Now disclaimer to this, my husband and I loves these two rides so since he was a baby we would listen to the soundtracks. You know your child best so if they get scared easily, don't do these rides. Our son does get a little spooked but here are some tips: Children take their cues from you. If you seem interested and calm, they will pick up on that. Also, we showed our son the you tube ride throughs of the rides so he would get familiar to how they looked.
At DCA, there is Monsters Inc, Ariel's (very toddler friendly because it is the slow moving "doom buggies"), Mater's junkyard jamboree.

Really though, the best thing to do with toddlers are not the rides. Waiting in line is too hard. Take them to the castle walk through, meet characters, explore toon town, tom sawyers island, big thunder ranch, walking in the shops on mainstreet, watching the dapper dans, parades.

 

[camosun]

At that age my kids loved the outdoor kids rides like Dumbo, teacups, Casey Jr., storyland canal boats, carousel, all the rides in bugs land. They were quite scared of Pinocchio and Snow White. Those two rides are actually quite freaky for kids. My son also cried all the through the Haunted Mansion with his head in my lap. Looked like I wet my pants when we got off the ride! Indoor rides like Winnie the Pooh and Ariel have pretty gentle themes and should be fine.

The redwood Creek play area is great and she will probably love running around.

I would also persevere with the carousels. Both of them typically have very short lines so you can try the multiple times. Just keep holding her until she finally tells you she is too big for that.

 

[D1sneyfam1ly]

I may be wrong but I don't think you can hold your kids on the carousel at Disneyland and maybe the idea of her sitting by herself is scary. You can share the seat but they have to sit in front of you. The King Triton carousel in California Adventure however has a bench that you can sit on with her, if she feels nervous about sitting on the seat by herself.

My daughter first went to Disneyland when she was 2 and then again at 4. Both times she was nervous going on the first few dark rides we went on but was fine after a few rides. Although I wouldn't start with Snow White, Pinocchio, or Mr. Toads. Watching the rides on you tube could help her and it gets everyone excited. I have heard of others on this forum giving their kids glow in the dark nail polish, shirts or glow sticks to help them be excited about the seeing them glow on dark rides.

 

[MouseEXP]

Safe rides... Carousel, Casey Jr, Dumbo, Storybook, Tea Cups, Disneyland Train, Jungle Cruise, Mark Twain, Columbia, and the Autopia
I find the dark ride starters to be It's a Small World, Winnie the Pooh Adventure, Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters, and Alice in Wonderland.
Gadget Go Coaster is a great introductory coaster, then Big Thunder Mountain.

 

[scrapshappen]

Whatever you do, don't go on Haunted Mansion first. LOL! This may seem like a no brainer but we made that mistake with our son when he was 2 (he had been on it before when he was 1, but he didn't remember). He asked before we got on every other ride if there were ghosts on it.

His favorite ride at that age was Heimlich in Bugsland. We must have gone on it a dozen times. Now that he's 12, we tease him about wanting to go on it still.

And I second what someone else said about "It's tough to be a bug". Our second son freaked out about that when he was 5 and we haven't been back since.

 

[geergirl]

We took our girls when they were about the same age as your DD. They had gone on a carousel before and enjoyed it - probably because they love horses. The first ride we did was Dumbo because they knew the movie and love elephants. They also enjoyed Peter Pan, IASW (loved it), Casey Jr, the carousel, Ariel, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, Astro Blasters, the Autopia, Haunted Mansion and really almost everything they were tall enough for. Except Pirates. One of the girls was freaked out by the drops at the beginning. She got over it quickly and enjoyed the rest of the ride. Then later on when we asked her she said she wanted to go again. So we did. And she freaked out after the drop and calmed down to enjoy the rest. We also had issues with Mr Toad and Gadget's Go Coaster. Mr. Toad upset one of the girls to the point we had to take a day off from dark rides. They wanted to ride Gadget's but immediately flipped out when it took off.

In short, the biggest lesson we learned was that you can't really believe what the kids tell you! If they said they wanted to go we did and if they hated it we didn't go again (unless they told us they wanted to).

 

[bumbershoot]

If I had a toddler I would take them to bug's land first. Ride all the nice bright all-outdoors rides first. Get them used to what a ride is, what the line means, what's at the end of the line.

Then move on.

I personally wouldn't do a *long* ride at first; while I love small world, it's too long to go on for a first ride. I'd wait for that. I would also wait for the rides with the darker lines (Peter Pan can feel quite dark while waiting) and longer for the rides that are dark inside.

DS liked the carousel at DCA more than the one in Fantasyland at first. Wooden horses can look scary in the face, but the sea creatures on the one in DCA weren't scary to him.

Toad can be scary (you are going to hell, after all), and Roger Rabbit was the first ride we had to take him out of before seating; it's just SO LOUD and it was tremendously overwhelming to his little self.

The antics on Jungle Cruise can easily scare kids, I see it most times I ride it. The skippers really get into their roles, and they don't tend to tone it down for fearful kids.

 

[Lauren in NC]

My adrenaline junkie's favorite is Mater's Junkyard Jamboree! For kids who aren't as insane as mine, Heimlich's Chew Chew train would be a great first ride - it's nice and sedate and outdoors. Winnie the Pooh is a great first dark ride. Little Mermaid is also a favorite, but there is an Ursula scene that might scare sensitive kids.

Honestly, we haven't done a lot of the Fantasyland dark rides with him just because now that he's almost 2.5, waiting in line is a lot harder for him than when he was 1 and not mobile, so we stick to things with 10-15 minute max wait times. Just something to consider if your kid isn't so good with being patient either