Mini Memorial day with a baby report

[DSNY4ever]

Well the park was PACKED. Okay so that is an obvious statement, but it was so crazy there were times we couldn't navigate our stroller to even go anywhere (we had to just park it and try to walk through and come back later).

We were unable to get through Adventure land, it was just too crowded. The line for pineapple whips was about 40 people long (and inside the tiki room had about 25 people in line for whips!). That section by Indiana Jones and the tree house was just chaos.

The lines were so long that we didn't get on much and what I didn't realize was that for the child swap you actually had to wait in the beginnings of some of the lines in order to get your pass and since our DS was asleep we would have had to wake him up and get him out of the stroller to go through (not worth it).

The Splash mountain single rider line was great, the Indiana Jones one was chaotic and still very long. And I think because of the crowds a lot of the rides were breaking down and we waited in line for HM and IJ and they both broke down when we got to the front. Which when the lines are that long it ate up a big chunk of our day.

And people- PLEASE protect your kids from the sun!!! I cannot tell you how many people were pushing around sleeping (or exhausted looking) babies that were just frying in the sun. We got a Protect-a-bub stroller cover before the trip and it was fantastic, I know there are other good brands too, but ours was only $19 on Amazon- well worth the money.

We still had a good time and we saw many other families having fun, but we would not go in again on Memorial Day. We originally thought even if it was crowded we would just enjoy treats and wander around and people watch. The food lines were incredibly long and we could barely maneuver the streets or the gift shops.

We did get some priceless photos and my DS LOVED the Winnie the Pooh ride, just those moments where worth the chaos for this crazy DIS-er

 

[All American]

The lines were so long that we didn't get on much and what I didn't realize was that for the child swap you actually had to wait in the beginnings of some of the lines in order to get your pass and since our DS was asleep we would have had to wake him up and get him out of the stroller to go through (not worth it).

That happened to us on our recent trip. I wasn't aware of it either and boy did it make for one epic tantrum in line for Star Tours. (We had been to DW earlier in the summer and just walked up to the cast members, showed our daughter, and go the swap passes -- easy, peasy, and much more enjoyable that way.) I learned real quick to make sure our toddler was fed and ready for a twenty-minute wait to get the pass. It sure was a pain, but I really like that the passes are good all day and you can bring a couple of people with you when you redeem confused3) it.

I'm glad you were able to get some good pictures and walk away with happy memories. Sometimes, I think going to Disneyland can be like childbirth. It can be long, painful, and frustrating, but when the tough part is over, it's been worth the effort.

 

[DSNY4ever]

I'm glad you were able to get some good pictures and walk away with happy memories. Sometimes, I think going to Disneyland can be like childbirth. It can be long, painful, and frustrating, but when the tough part is over, it's been worth the effort.

Haha, exactly. Still fun, and I think we learned a lot of good lessons from our one day in the park that will prepare us for our two "real" trips that are coming up. Our next trip is in November (4 days) and I hope it will be a lot less crowded. The guy checking us out at our hotel said they are expecting record crowds through Christmas because of Cars land. I can't imagine what it will be like on 6/15!!! I hope people post pictures that brave the crowds!

 

[All American]

I can't imagine what it will be like on 6/15!!! I hope people post pictures that brave the crowds!

Me too!

 

[Briarrose1306]

I would think you'd have to wait in the line once regardless for the child swap and I'm pretty sure we did that when my brother was a baby (there's 11 years between us). My mom and I would wait in line and when we got on to ride we would tell them that my step father was with my brother and they'd give us the child swap pass and my step father and I would come back and ride, but we always had to wait in line the first time. It makes sense in my opinion because why would your entire party get to completely bypass the line just because you have a child? That would make for some very upset people. Or maybe I'm just misunderstanding?

 

[DSNY4ever]

I would think you'd have to wait in the line once regardless for the child swap and I'm pretty sure we did that when my brother was a baby (there's 11 years between us). My mom and I would wait in line and when we got on to ride we would tell them that my step father was with my brother and they'd give us the child swap pass and my step father and I would come back and ride, but we always had to wait in line the first time. It makes sense in my opinion because why would your entire party get to completely bypass the line just because you have a child? That would make for some very upset people. Or maybe I'm just misunderstanding?

I wasn't trying to bypass the line. I thought one person waited in line while one waited with the baby by the entrance/exit, and then you switched. That is what we had done on some of the rides with my nephews a few years back, but they wanted us both to go through the line and switch half way through the line on some of the rides, we couldn't take the baby out of the stroller (an obviously you can't bring the stroller through the line). At Star Tours they were actually nice enough to come and give my husband a pass anyway because he was waiting by the entrance for so long while I rode, haha. And, no, you could not tell them you were switching, you had to show them the child to get the pass.

 

[Briarrose1306]

Oh okay, so I was misunderstanding then. My apologies. Yeah, that's weird, like I said, we never took my brother through with us and were still able to get the pass. Maybe they've changed it since then. I can totally understand not wanting to take a small child through some of those lines.