Lots of questions about DL (sorry, long)

[JennaTX]

Hi everyone, this is my first post on the Disneyland board here on DIS. I have a lot of questions, hopefully someone can help me out.

DH told me today about a conference that he wants to attend in Anaheim from Nov 9th - 12th of this year. The conference has special hotel pricing for The Hilton Anaheim Hotel, special car rental pricing with AVIS, special airline pricing with AA, and discount park tickets. To get the best pricing on everything, we need to book by October 7th!

First, I would be in the park during the morning/early afternoon hours by myself with the two kids, they are 3 and 6. Would we be able to ride most of the rides together? At least those in Fantasyland? We went to WDW this June, and thinking about the rides like Dumbo, Peter Pan, etc. The three of us would fit no problem.

Second, am I insane for thinking about taking the two of them without DH to the parks? (He would be in meetings during the day) Has anyone else taken kids this young without another adult?

Third, has anyone stayed at the Hilton Anaheim hotel before? Looking at the mousesavers website, they get a good review there.

Also are there any must know DL facts that I need to know before I go?

I am going to search and read on the DL threads here tonight, but wanted to go ahead and post my questions since I don't have much time to decide about this.

Thanks!

 

[Dakota_Lynn]

You and your two kids should be able to fit together in the vast majority of Disneyland rides. I don't think it's crazy at all to go by yourself with just your kids. There's no doubt in my mind that you would have a great time! By all means, take this chance and have fun!!!

I've never stayed at the Hilton, so I can't help you there! Sorry.

 

[Disneyland_emily]

Ditto- Id have no probs going with the kids- They appear to be old enough to be self dependant to the point of getting in and out of things by themselves (ie strollers) and can wait without running off which is a BIG help

The hilton seems nice- never stayed there before though

-em

 

[Judy from Boise]

DL is so much more managable than WDW for little legs ! I think you would do great.

 

[JennaTX]

Thanks for the replies, I am feeling much better about doing the rides alone with the kids. Now I am just trying to research Disneyland, it is like a whole different planet (sort of ) from WDW. I think I am feeling a little stress because I only have about 5-6 weeks to plan.

If the kids and I spent one afternoon at California Adventure, would we be able to do most of everything in "a Bug's Land"? And also fit in Playhouse Disney/Muppet Vision?


Thanks!

Jenna

 

[Glynis]

You will definitely be able to do all the stuff you want to in Bug's Land. We were there a couple of weeks ago, and there were no lines whatsoever. My kids loved the Bug's Land rides, and went on several of them multiple times in a short period of time.

 

[carmel]

Bug's Land rides are geared for the wee-ones! My 2 yr old rode them this past March.

You will be going at a 'small crowd' time so it will not be like you will be alone with your kids at the height of crowds. That should make it easier.

I'm a veteran WDWer too but went to DL this past March for the first time. I ADORED it! It is just so manageable. Especially FL. You could park your stroller and ride 4-5 rides without having to move it. The grounds are lovely, everything is within walking distance and it is just beautiful.

I think you will have a fabulous time.

 

[JennaTX]

Thanks so much for everyone's help! I feel much better about going alone with the kids, I know we will have a great time!

 

[Sthronds]

I have stayed at the Hilton on numerous occasions and will be there again on our trip in Nov. I like it. They have a good restaurant, rooms are clean, nice lobby, big pool, no negatives in my book. They have good transportation to and from the parks as well. My favorite thing about the Hilton is . . .There is a Starbucks at the Marriot across the street! I love my coffee!

 

[kmsandrbs]

First- Do it!

But here are some things to think about ahead of time ...

While there will be many rides you can all go on, when we went recently (July and again in August) (myself, DW, DD 6, DS 4, and DD .5), we occasionally ran into rides where the max number of riders for a 'vehicle' was two (fit didn't matter). Unfortunately, I cannot remember which ones. On these rides, a child had to be 7 to ride alone. This would obviously cause a problem for you. (For us it was a problem because there were five of us but none of the children were over 6).

Again, I don't think this was very many rides, and I still think you could have a great time in the mornings (light crowds, watching shows, visiting characters, etc.). However, if there is a long line for a ride, you may want to try to ask before hand if this could be the case (for example, on Pirates, it's obviously not a problem ... but it is on the bumper cars in Flik's Fun Fair).

Also, most likely, there will be many rides which your 6yo is tall enough, but your 3yo is not (unless very tall for 3). I think 40" is a big cutoff point. This probably won't be much of a problem if your DH joins you at night, becuase your 6yo will be able to go on some of the bigger rides then. But if the three of you are just going during the day, this might be frustrating for the 6yo if she/he is used to going on those rides at WDW.

With that in mind, though, if I had a chance to take my DD and DS to the park for a few days by myself (especially when it was less crowded), I'd jump on it!

 

[JennaTX]

First- Do it!

But here are some things to think about ahead of time ...

While there will be many rides you can all go on, when we went recently (July and again in August) (myself, DW, DD 6, DS 4, and DD .5), we occasionally ran into rides where the max number of riders for a 'vehicle' was two (fit didn't matter). Unfortunately, I cannot remember which ones. On these rides, a child had to be 7 to ride alone. This would obviously cause a problem for you. (For us it was a problem because there were five of us but none of the children were over 6).

Again, I don't think this was very many rides, and I still think you could have a great time in the mornings (light crowds, watching shows, visiting characters, etc.). However, if there is a long line for a ride, you may want to try to ask before hand if this could be the case (for example, on Pirates, it's obviously not a problem ... but it is on the bumper cars in Flik's Fun Fair).

Also, most likely, there will be many rides which your 6yo is tall enough, but your 3yo is not (unless very tall for 3). I think 40" is a big cutoff point. This probably won't be much of a problem if your DH joins you at night, becuase your 6yo will be able to go on some of the bigger rides then. But if the three of you are just going during the day, this might be frustrating for the 6yo if she/he is used to going on those rides at WDW.

With that in mind, though, if I had a chance to take my DD and DS to the park for a few days by myself (especially when it was less crowded), I'd jump on it!

Thanks so much, you have a lot of good advice! I had not thought about some of the rides (like the bumper cars) that all three of us could not get on. I will have to try and research that some. I was mainly thinking about the rides like Dumbo, Pooh, Buzz, Peter Pan, Teacups, etc. All of those rides with the long lines, that hopefully the kids and I can ride together in the mornings!

I am not too worried about the height difference, my 6 year old DD, does not like to ride many of the height requirement rides. When we went to WDW this summer, all of us rode Goofy's Barnstormer (the small roller coaster), she would not ride again, while DS (3) rode again with his dad, lol!

We have definately decided to go, I bought the airplane tickets, and booked the hotel room today!

 

[JennaTX]

I have stayed at the Hilton on numerous occasions and will be there again on our trip in Nov. I like it. They have a good restaurant, rooms are clean, nice lobby, big pool, no negatives in my book. They have good transportation to and from the parks as well. My favorite thing about the Hilton is . . .There is a Starbucks at the Marriot across the street! I love my coffee!

Thanks for the positive feedback on the Hilton Anaheim, I have been kind of overwhelmed with all of the different hotels around the area. Do you know if the Marriot across the street is the Marriott Anaheim Hotel (that is where DH's conference is)? That would make things even easier, I will have to try and find a good map of the area!

 

[MATTERHORN]

Hi! I answered your post over on the families board and then saw it here. Buzz, Dumbo, Peter Pan, and Teacups I ride all the time with both of my children. They all let us ride with three, even Autopia! On some of the Fantasyland rides, my two girls (2) and (4) sat together in the front seat, or the 2 year old and I were in back with my older DD in front of us in the same car. The only one I can think of off hand that doesn't ise Jumpin Jellyfish and that's because there is literally two seats only, and younger DD wasn't old enough anyways. Anything you will be able to go on with both will fit all of you as far as I have experienced, except Matterhorn and Gadget's Go Coaster. I think those will have to wait for your husband at night! Have a great time.

Andrea

 

[Glynis]

Thanks so much, you have a lot of good advice! I had not thought about some of the rides (like the bumper cars) that all three of us could not get on. I will have to try and research that some. I was mainly thinking about the rides like Dumbo, Pooh, Buzz, Peter Pan, Teacups, etc. All of those rides with the long lines, that hopefully the kids and I can ride together in the mornings!

I am not too worried about the height difference, my 6 year old DD, does not like to ride many of the height requirement rides. When we went to WDW this summer, all of us rode Goofy's Barnstormer (the small roller coaster), she would not ride again, while DS (3) rode again with his dad, lol!

We have definately decided to go, I bought the airplane tickets, and booked the hotel room today!

We ran into the "odd man out" thing, too. It never was a real problem, since there was always a willing CM who would go on the ride with our odd man.

It worked out ok for us.

 

[Sthronds]

Thanks for the positive feedback on the Hilton Anaheim, I have been kind of overwhelmed with all of the different hotels around the area. Do you know if the Marriot across the street is the Marriott Anaheim Hotel (that is where DH's conference is)? That would make things even easier, I will have to try and find a good map of the area!

Yes, the Marriot Anaheim Hotel is the one right across from the Hilton. It is a huge convention network and both hotels are nice and close. I've stayed there too and I like it just as well as the Hilton. They are right by the convention center as well. Have a great time and say hi to Mickey!