Need help planning first trip with young kids

[momtotwolittleones]

I went to Disneyland all the time as a kid as my grandparents lived in Anaheim. I also wente quite a bit as an adult. But we have not taken the kids yet. We are planning to go in Sept or Oct, when my boys will be 6 and 3.

I have no idea how to plan this! We'd like to stay onsite. What is the best hotel? What is the best time to go? Who should I book through? What's new in the world of Disney these days?

Thanks so much!

 

[nurse.darcy]

Okay, the onsite hotels are Disneyland Hotel, Paradise Pier and Grand Californian. Its great if you can afford to stay in those because you are in the heart of the magic. I love the pool at the Disneyland Hotel - its my fave. For good choices on Good Neighbor Hotels choos those along Harbor or Convention Center Way. Most of them offer free shuttle to Disneyland. My favorite is the Anaheim Hilton - older but a beautiful hotel with a built in Starbucks.

If you are looking for economy, many people I know like to stay at the Jolly Roger. Its right across the street on Katella. There are many others. If you have specific questions about certain hotels, just post them. I have stayed in nearly all of them.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

We went on our first Disney trip last September (with DS6 and DS2) and had a great time! We stayed at the DLH, and the boys loved swimming at the Peter Pan-themed pool. Even when it was too cold for me, they insisted and cajoled DH to take them in the evenings for 20 minutes or so. Brrrr!

DS6's first ride was Splash Mountain (I was ) and tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted. So DH took him on that while I took DS2 (a big Pooh fan) on the Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride right across the path. Those two rides were the big hits of the whole stay!

DS2 loved the Fantasyland rides as well (especially Dumbo and Peter Pan), and DS6 loved BTMRR, Soarin', Indiana Jones. Both boys also loved the carousels, Buzz Lightyear ride, and POTC.

We did the autographs and photos with characters, as well as two character meals (Goofy's Kitchen dinner, and Lilo & Stitch breakfast), and those were a big hit. We even stood in line for princesses (we were often the only boys), but they didn't seem to care, and got lots of attention from the princesses.

We ate breakfast cereal in our rooms, but most other meals in the parks, and brought our own snacks and water in. We tried the Dole Whip Float (yum, but very sweet) and the Dole Whip (just the ice cream, sooooo yummy!)

We had a lengthy stay, but still couldn't see everything! I wish we hadn't missed:
Dot's Puddle Park (in Bugs Land, DCA), I think the boys really would have loved this!
The Golden Horseshoe (I think it was closed at the time of our visit)
The Tiki Room show (very busy every time we happened by)
The Aladdin Musical (DCA) and the Aladdin show (DL), both closed at the time of our visit

Parades and fireworks were awesome! Turtle Talk with Crush was amazing!

September was a great time to go due to the very low crowds. I think it was much easier on my young boys because they didn't have to stand in horribly long lines. However, many of the attractions are closed for the low season, or shut down for holiday overlays, so you miss out a bit by not going when the parks are busy.

 

[JennyW]

We just went with DD 5 and DS 2. We brought one stroller, but ended renting a second one since we were in the parks until dinner. Bring healthy snacks and lots of water, sunhats, sunscreen, etc. Our kids have had no problem staying happy just because of being where we were. Even the 2 year old is good about waiting in lines because he knows there is a ride at the end. We have rules about moving about, too. When we go from place to place, he either needs to be in the stroller, holding someone's hand, or being held by someone. He gets to choose, but we encourage the stroller so we can "go fast!"

Have fun!

 

[staley7580]

I found an awsome book when I was planning our trip. It is called Disneyland W/Kids. I loved it, mustve read it a bazillion times!

 

[MATTERHORN]

Gosh I don't even know where to start. For us with the kiddos, we really like to stay onsite and love the Grand Californian as the location can't be beat and I don't like to fold up the stroller to get on the monorail. I had a post the other day about great rates onsite from October 2-19 if you are interested!!

If you do decide to stay offsite, we like the Desert Inn and Suites. It gives us more room and more bathrooms for a great price, usually less than half of a regular room on property. The pool is nothing great (it's indoors) but it's clean and close!

We like to bring our own stroller so you have it for the walk to/from the hotel and for DTD. Some like to rent but having ours is easier for us and no extra line to wait in!

Your kids are old enough where you really don't need any of the infant/baby info so that's good! We buy water and juice boxes for our trip and take them in the stroller basket for the parks all day as just water alone can set you back. Once you look at the menus if your kids are picky eaters, you'll know where you might want to eat. If you do want a character meal, you should make a PS 60 days in advance or you won't get in or you'll end up with a long wait!

Since your kids haven't been yet, you will have to gauge them when you get there as far as rides go. If you try a dark ride and they don't like it then you'll know. My DD at 3 can get on all the 40" rides which opens up a whole bunch of possibilities if he is brave!!

Have a great trip! Planning is so much fun!

Andrea

 

[Alex2kMommy]

We just went with DD 5 and DS 2. We brought one stroller, but ended renting a second one since we were in the parks until dinner. Bring healthy snacks and lots of water, sunhats, sunscreen, etc. Our kids have had no problem staying happy just because of being where we were. Even the 2 year old is good about waiting in lines because he knows there is a ride at the end. We have rules about moving about, too. When we go from place to place, he either needs to be in the stroller, holding someone's hand, or being held by someone. He gets to choose, but we encourage the stroller so we can "go fast!"

Have fun!

Good points! Just wanted to add my 2 cents on these topics as well. I debated with myself about whether to rent or bring a stroller, then whether to bring 1 or 2. I decided that DS6 would probably hardly be in one, maybe in the evenings only if at all. So we brought one, reasoning we could always rent one if needed.

Also, a friend had shown me her animal-backpack-style harness for her DS, so I bought one for DS2, who is a bit of a Houdini. He loved wearing it around the house, so I thought we'd have no trouble at DL when he wanted up and about.

We started taking long walks about a month before our trip. (DS2 in the stroller.) Lots of whining from DS6 about it, but he did it because we told him we'd be walking a lot in DL, and he needed to practice.

Once we were at the parks, DS2 was surprisingly good about staying in the stroller. But whenever he did want out, DS6 hopped in, even in the morning! I thought it was odd, but not a bad idea, figuring it would make his legs last longer in the evenings. Unfortunately I had never really practiced walking with DS2 in his backpack (he calls it a 'pappack'), so as soon as we let him loose, he ran right to the end of the line and jerked to a stop, then ran around pulling against it, trying to get away. After asking him to walk with us and that I was worried his pappack would break, he just couldn't seem to help himself, so we stopped using it. He was either in the stroller, holding someone's hand, in arms or up on shoulders.

As for the stroller, we never once rented a 2nd one, which I was pretty pleased about. (Much easier to have to fuss with only one.) As it turns out, our good stroller broke right before the trip, so I made sure a replacement was sturdy enough to hold DS6, and it worked great!

I still think the 'pappack' is a good idea, but I should have actually walked DS2 around the neighborhood in it before we went to DL. Next time...!

 

[gOLDEN bLUE]

sounds like fun.
good luck.