Kid management at Disneyland

[kgwoozle]

I know this has been done to death but search skills are failing me. I'm looking for tips and trick for doing Disneyland with small kids. Tips, tricks, advice, and links to old threads would be great.

I have only gone with adults in the past, and have talked my sister into going with her family, 4 year old princess and 7month old prince + dad (she hasn't been since she was a teenager) and my Mom.

I'm looking for advise of stroller management, snacks and eating issues, places to go and clam down, in park places to nurse and rest. How people deal with buying stuff. Whatever you can think of.

We are staying off site at Desert Inn Suites, for 2 part days and 2 full days with hopper passes.

I know there is a lot of wisdom out there, but I never bookmarked it since I don't have kids.

 

[bumbershoot]

There are baby care stations in both parks, with rocking chairs and drapes for nursing babies. It's also very nursing friendly all around, if she doesn't like to find a place each time, and rides like POTC are great for nursing.

We bring in many of our own snacks, b/c the snacks are such junk at Disney, even the uncrustables are filled with corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup. Bleah. DS cannot have those at all (once I read the ingredients as he was eating one at DCA I realized why our zoo trips had been so awful, as those were a little treat sometimes). They don't mind you bringing in snacks and even already-made sandwiches in a backpack or soft-sided cooler (or the bottom of your stroller, LOL). No glass, though. Bringing in snacks also makes it cheaper, giving the adults more money to get their own snacks after promising ot not have sugar highs.

You're staying pretty close, but still, just getting out to the esplanade and to the Harbor crosswalk can be a journey...you could probably survive without your sis bringing her own strollers and just renting as needed in the parks. Then again, I'm not a big fan of little babies in what are essentially jogging strollers, so maybe a stroller for baby would be better. We "wore" our son instead of a stroller until he was 2 (when I got a jogging stroller) so I hope she wears the baby too... I used a mei tai for our first Disneyland trip and an Ergo for our second one.

The 4 year old will likely LOVE bug's land in DCA. We love it much more than Fantasyland. Dumbo and the Teacups are faves with DS, but he likes all of bug's land (though he hasn't seen "it's tough to be a bug" yet) but pretty much can do without the other rides in Fantasyland. Oh he likes the Carrousel, too in FL.

Take the 4 year old on bright and cheery, outdoor rides FIRST. (bug's land!) At DL that means Dumbo, maybe the Teacups if you think she likes spinning like that. Carrousel. Let her see how FUN things are before you take her into IASW and Pooh. Then if she's having fun, that's when you think about things like Alice, Peter Pan, etc. If she's very brave, you can think about Snow White and Pinnochio, but there are adults (me) who don't like those, so those are definitely for the bravest (or very very very little) kiddies.

Hope that's a good start!

 

[kgwoozle]

Just what I'm looking for. We are bringing a stroller but Mom and Dad both use a sling a lot.

Thanks for the tip on starting with Bugs Land. Dad's excited since she is tall enough to ride most of the rides. Her main fear oddly, is things break and crashing.

 

[BellaMommy21]

I have taken 4 trips now with my DD, the first 2 when she was 3 and the last 2 when she was 4. My main advice with a 4 year old is always having snacks and drinks on hand because thats what mine asks for the most. We usually buy the little bags of chips and goldfish crackers etc. and boxes or pouches of juice. That way, when hunger strikes we dont have to spend $3 on a churro (even though they are soo good! lol).

For a 4 year old girl, I would highly suggest the PFF, if she is into princesses and/or Pixie Hollow for Tinkerbell and her friends. The lines can be long, but the result is priceless, getting to spend a few minutes alone with a princess or fairy is heaven for a little girl.

I would suggest bringing a stroller from home because we always use our stroller for storage during our visits. We usually bring at least one blanket for nighttime strolling, fireworks and parades. We also carry a soft sided lunchbox filled with water, juice and sandwhiches. Also, its cheaper than spending $10 a day to rent one of their strollers, which don't have a lot of holding capacity.

A good place to rest and possibly nurse would be Main Street's Plaza Gardens Pavilion which is next to the Castle. We stopped by there muliple times every day on our last trip to escape the crazy crowds. We could sit in the shade and eat and relax our feet til our next "adventure" lol.

I hope this helped, this is what has gotten me through a few trips with a 4 year old girl

 

[wwomant]

We just returned from 4 nights at the Desert Inn & Suites with our 4 year old and 19 month old. Our 4 year old normally doesn't use a stroller anymore, but we knew that with all the walking at Disneyland it might be good for him to have there. We debated whether to bring or rent, or if we should bring a single or double. We decided to bring 2 singles, the normal stroller (Graco single) for our 19 month old, and an umbrella for our 4 year old, which he can easily hop in and out of since it has no tray. We were so glad we chose this! Our oldest chose to ride in the stroller much of the day, and I think it's what saved him from ever having a melt down. It was also much easier to keep track of him in the crowds when he was in the stroller, which also allowed us to move more quickly when we wanted. If you rent, you can't bring your stroller back to the hotel with you, and you can't walk around Down Town Disney with it. Since our 4 year old is 43 inches, he could go on several rides that our youngest couldn't, so it was nice to have the 2 singles so DH and I could easily split up when needed.

 

[princessnicchia]

I've taken my now 6 year old when she was 4, and my youngest went when she was 2 and her big sis was 5. The above posters all had great idea, and amen to whoever suggested the bright rides first.

Depending on the 4 year old's attention span, I'd also suggest for "down time" the Aladdin story time show in Tomorrow land, which is fun and relaxing after running around like crazy. I also took my 4 year old to the Aladdin show at the Hyperion, which she loved, though there were some parts that were scary. There is also a western themed show which we've never seen but want to. There are just lots of things to do in the park which can be a nice diversion and a wind-down after the rides. We ate in New Orleans square and got to watch some music and pirates dancing...make sure you leave time in your schedule for the "unexpected" because if you get too focused on planning (that's what I do) you can lose some of that natural magic that your kids have.

For the 4 year old, the Pirates cove would be awesome---it's a great area to run around in and explore. My kids both loved it.

As for strollers, both times we did not get one and I was glad (I never had a baby there, I"m talking for the older child). there was so much to see and do, my kids would never have sat in one for very long, and when it's crowded I see people get "stuck" in the crowd trying to find a way out with the strollers as it can be harder to navigate with one. Of course, that meant both times I ended up carrying one child or another at some point. Good think I have strong arms. And strollers might work better for you, I think that's just one of those preference things.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[firefly87]

I've done DL with small children quite a few times. I would never think of doing it without bringing my own stroller!! It is very handy to store all of our stuff (food we bring in, drinks, jackets, etc), not to mention the obvious reason for bringing it!

We make sandwiches ahead of time and bring those in for lunches along with snacks (goldfish, grapes, string cheese, etc). It makes it nice because as soon as the kids are hungry, we find a place to sit and pull out the food. No looking for a restaurant, counter service, deciding what to eat, etc. We typically spend our mornings in Fantasyland and have eaten at the outdoor seating at the Hof Brau (I think that's what its called??) several times. The kids tend to get hungry early before the usual lunch rush so we've sat there and had the place to ourselves several times.

It's also nice to have kids in strollers during high crowds, like the scramble before & after parades and fireworks. At the end of the day, my kids were just wiped out and it was nice to have the stroller for the walk back to the hotel. If you rent in the parks, you have to leave it there as you leave the park. My son who was 7 at the time, even tried to squeeze into a ball and get into the storage under the stroller for the walk back to the hotel because his little legs were just too tired. (my 4 yr old was sitting in the stroller seat and I was sure wishing I had a double stroller then!!)

The Disneyland Railroad ride is a nice place to rest your feet too. We would get on and leave the stroller and ride the train all the way around the park. It was a nice break for the kids too.

If you are going into DCA, there is the Chip & Dale play area over by Grizzly River Run. We spend alot of time there letting the kids climb things and run around. After being in the stroller, it's nice for them to get out and stretch their legs!

We are headed to DL again Mar. 20-26th and are staying across the street at the BW Park Place Inn. We've actually never stayed that close to the park before, so that will be convenient. Not sure when you are going but leaving the park in the afternoon to go back for naps or a swim is also a nice break in the day. Then you can head back again in the evening.
Have a great time!

 

[SeansMom]

Places to nurse your baby that worked great for our family:
Haunted Mansion--The ride is dark and slow, and that seemed to signal time to nurse, time to sleep; if you ask nicely, they may let you go around again!)
Pirates: Again, the ride is dark, and after the drops it's calm. Ask to sit in the back if your sister is shy.
The train: The great thing about the train is that you can leave your family anywhere and loop around enjoying the park while baby nurses and sleeps.
There is a little walkway between FL and AL where there is a shaded bench. Not many people seem to go through there so that became a great place to rest and nurse as well.
This may not be true anymore since they rethemed the island, but it used to be a great place to let the older kids explore while you nursed the baby, and very few people seemed to be out there. Worth exploring.
Of course, there are baby stations at the end of main street with nice rocking chairs and solitude. They seem to encourage the mother and baby to come in alone (at least that was my impression.) They also have everything you could need for comfort if you forgot something at home.
Let's see: Don't forget the baby swap option, if nobody mentioned that. I think my husband rode every ride first as we had extra hands with us. It took us most of the trip to catch on that he always got to ride twice. Clever man. And, I think I'll end on that derail!

 

[disney-inspired]

In Disneyland:

What I hear from my cousin (who has taken her baby to Disneyland at least two times and she is turning 2 in May) the baby care centers are GREAT for feeding, changing, and sleeping the baby.

For the 4yo I would definitely take her to see the Playhouse Disney, Aladdin Musical, Monsters Inc (if she is not afraid of dark rides), and all the attractions in a Bug's Land.

 

[disneydreamerbelle]

Write your name and phone number on their arms. If they get lost they can show it to a cast member who can then contact you. It worked for my friend.

 

[Teki]

Poohs corner, Princess theater, The train, Mark twain's boat, and the Golden Horseshoe are all good places to take a break. I havnt been with a little kid since my sister was a year old (11 years ago) and even then my grandmother doesn't ride much so when we did the big rides she stayed with her.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Write your name and phone number on their arms. If they get lost they can show it to a cast member who can then contact you. It worked for my friend.

Totally second this one. I was just coming in to show you ours (not a great pic but I don't want my phone number plastered on the DIS LOL)

We also took lots of breaks. We let the kids play in the dirt...

(DD and her cousin)

(My two nephews)

DD was too small to go on some stuff so she'd sit with a non rider and play, snack, rest.

TAKE LOTS OF SNACKS! And I wish we'd brought our nintendoDS into the parks for when the kids couldn't ride..it would've made it easier on DS (4). He'd get pretty antsy. We took lots of walks to look at little details and that helped.

 

[nancy drew]

Instead of writing your phone number with a Sharpie, you could buy Safety Tats, which are removable tattoos pre-printed with your cell phone number. They also have medical alert tattoos.

 

[letthembelittle]

Besides all the great advice given already I would suggest watching the videos of the rides on Youtube, this greatly helped me to know what our just turned 3 yr old dd would like and which ones would be best to skip. She loved meeting Cinderella at the PFF and riding Dumbo and the Casey Jr Train best of all. Good luck! We are going again this November and cant wait!

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Re: buying stuff, are you asking how to deal with buying souvenirs and things?

My kids are pretty good about not asking for a lot of things, but we used a system that helped keep behavior good and manage buying of souvenirs...

We went to DL with an almost 4 yr old and almost 21/2 yr old at the time. We gave DS4, 4 coins to keep in his pocket every morning. If he still had them all at the end of the day he could buy a souvenir with them. (of course the souvenir cost more than those coins, but if he picked something too extravagant, we could tell him it cost more than his coins.)

If he wasn't listening or somehow misbehaving we would threaten to take a coin and it usually turned the situation right around. When he would lose one, we would let him earn it back by doing something extra good like.

We didn't over-do it with this or it would stop working or stop being fun. Most of the time DS would pick something little as a souvenir anyway, but we did let him get some more expensive items too. Left to his own will, he'd pick a lolipop everytime (because he never gets sugar!) But we would steer him to something we knew he would like.

We did let DS2 keep a coin or two in his pocket as well. There is less need for a system like this with him anyhow, but he got to have fun like big brother and they did get a souvenir almost everyday.

They also weren't asking for things throught the day because they knew they could earn a souvenir at the end of each day. (Again usually it was something little or something we would have bought them anyway--like mouse ears.)