New here & of course I have some questions!

[momma2twincesses]

First I just want to say I have been lurking here for a few weeks, and reading EVERYTHING, this board is great, and I never realized how much I didn't know!

On to the trip I'm planning, we are going to be going June 13th-June 19th for my girls 4th birthday -on the 14th. We will spend 4 days in the park & 1 at Universal! My parents MAY be coming for a short visit and take the girls the for a day and a half, if that happens that will be the day we go to Universal.

On to my questions!
First of all, my girls are pretty tall (3-1/2 feet last October, not sure now) so they are big enough to ride almost everything but Indiana Jones, Mailboomer & CA Screamin. Looks like they are even big enough for Tower of Terror! Now I wont make them go on anything they don't want to, but how do most 4 year olds do on the rides there? Splash Mtn is top priority for me, do you think they could handle that one? And do we just take turns on the ones they cant/wont ride?

Strollers is my next question! I have not used a stroller since right around when they turned 2, but I figure I should for DL. Should I suck it up and bring the huge bulky duoglider, or do you think I could get away with 1 umbrella stroller and them taking turns? We do have 2 umbrella strollers, but I dont want us both to be tied to one the whole time.

On to food. If you have little ones close in age, do you order off the kids menu, or do they split an adult meal? My girls are severally allergic to peanut butter, which seems to be big in DL, and the only other thing on most menus seems to be chicken nuggets, which is fine 1 or 2 times but not more! Also, I plan on getting Visa gift cards & disney ones too, will I be able to at least use one of those at all Disney restaurants?

Ok and my last one for now! I plan on waiting to tell the girls until right before we leave. Either on the 12th which will be there family party, or the 13th when we leave for the airport (which will be about 5 am!). Any ideas? I am getting them minnie ears & suitcases for there bday so that can be incorporated into it!

Anything else I need to know? Special things to do on there bday there? I'm sure I will have more questions coming up!

 

[Mugglemama]

i have 4 kids and they've all really enjoyed splash mountian at 4 years of age. you know your kids best, though. the last drop is big, but it's over quickly. is there an adult to hold onto each one during the drop? my one "nervous" child felt much better at the drop on her first ride because i held onto her tightly (after that she loved the ride and never cared about being held during the drop again!). if one won't ride, then it's easy to wait for the other adult who is taking the willing rider. we've had to do this countless times when some of our kids were too short to ride...one of us just waits at the exit, because there are places to sit over there (and it doesn't hurt that there's a pooh bear themed gift shop with yummy goodies inside right there, too).

p.s. our experience has been that 4 year olds do not typically enjoy TOT.

i, personally, would still DEFINITELY bring a stroller for kids who are just barely turning 4. our next trip will be our very first without a stroller, and my youngest will be 5 and a half by then. i know you don't want to be tied to 2 strollers, but it would be even more miserable to have one, plus one crying child who doesn't get to rest, while the other one does. plus, pushing them both in strollers means you get to where you're going faster (just please, try not to ram or run over other guests, LOL!).

FOOD: we always buy everyone their own meal, once they get to be about 3 years old. but you're right, the chicken nuggest get old QUICK. we usually eat a breakfast of bananas and yogurt before heading to the parks, bring in a ton of our own raisins, granola bars, etc., we have one meal per day in the parks, and then we eat one meal out of the parks (usually at El Pollo Loco because they have grilled chicken that we love). after the first in-park meal, you will probably be able to gauge whether your girls each need their own kid's meal, would do better sharing just one, or need to share an adult meal. it's hard to tell before you get there (i also notice that with all the walking, my kids build up a stronger appetite than they usually have at home, unless it's really hot and then nobody really feels like eating - we bring in a lot of apples and things like that though because too much disney food really does a number on the tummies of everyone in our family).

i can see why telling them just before you leave would be a very fun surprise! personally, we tell our kids months ahead of time because the planning and dreaming and anticipation of the trip is a lot of fun for us. maybe you could give them each a b-day card "from Mickey" that lets them in on the surprise??

 

[goldies 5]

If you ride the train between New Orleans and Toontown you can let your chilren see inside Splash Mountain. It is a brief passing but the kids can see some critters in there. It might make it easier to ride if they see the drop. just let them know there are many cute animals inside. We always tell our kids they have to try it once, and if they don't like it, they don't have to do it again on this trip.
When one girl gets tired and cranky does it set off a chain reaction? This might be a problem if they both want the stroller at the same time. I would bring both the umbrellas and leave one at the hotel if you have no problems. It is very easy to leave them around the park, in stroller parking, and only use them when you feel you need them.
Avoid the bagged candy, because it is processed with machinery where nuts are used.
We have used the gift cards for shopping, food, upgrading passes etc. We only had a problem with a couple of places in DTD. I think the Tortilla Joe's and I can't remember the other place. However, where we couldn't use the cards we were able to use Disney Dollars. I thought that was strange.
You can get burritos at the Mexican Restaurant. They also sell salads at various restaurants, and counter dervice stations. I would definetely bring snacks you are comfortable with for your girls. Make sure you are familiar with the location of the First Aid Station, just in case.
Get them a birthay button at Town Hall. You can purchase birthday buckets, or do the BBB. They might enjoy getting done up like a princess. I like to surprise our little ones with new PJ pal jammies from the Disney store online. If you are staying onsite you can order a cake. They are pretty good. Good luck keeping the surprise. I have never been any good at that.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

My oldest went on Splash when she turned 4, she wasn't sure at first, but decided she liked it. BTMR was her favorite. She tried TOT when she was 7 and HATED IT, she cried and everything. She barely tolerates it now.

As far as food goes, we always bring snacks. Some of the meals are big enough to share. I know Plaza Inn has large portions, as well as Rancho Del Zocalo and Pizza Port. Pizza Port has some pasta dishes (chicken fusilli is our favorite) and that would be easily shared with your girls. I think some of the kids meals you might even be able to share between the 2 of them depending on how much they eat.

As far as surprising them....you could have them open a box and have a Disney balloon float out w/ a sign that says they are going to Disneyland. Well, guess that would work better for an older child that could read....but it's an idea!

Special things you can do - they have the Pat E Cake Birthday Party at the Plaza Inn. It's about $15.99 per person and everyone gets a little cake to decorate. Mickey and Minnie make an appearance too. Or you could take them to Ariel's Grotto if they like the princesses.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

First I just want to say I have been lurking here for a few weeks, and reading EVERYTHING, this board is great, and I never realized how much I didn't know!

Welcome!

On to the trip I'm planning, we are going to be going June 13th-June 19th for my girls 4th birthday -on the 14th. We will spend 4 days in the park & 1 at Universal! My parents MAY be coming for a short visit and take the girls the for a day and a half, if that happens that will be the day we go to Universal.

So you won't take the girls to Universal? I'm sure they'd rather spend that extra time at DLR. We've never been, I don't have a desire to really.

On to my questions!
First of all, my girls are pretty tall (3-1/2 feet last October, not sure now) so they are big enough to ride almost everything but Indiana Jones, Mailboomer & CA Screamin. Looks like they are even big enough for Tower of Terror! Now I wont make them go on anything they don't want to, but how do most 4 year olds do on the rides there? Splash Mtn is top priority for me, do you think they could handle that one? And do we just take turns on the ones they cant/wont ride?

My DD's favorite ride for a while was Splash, since she's been tall enough for most rides (still too short for Indy) she's enjoyed them for the most part ~ she was a little scared of Space Mtn. but that stopped about a year ago. Yes they're tall enough for TOT ~ it's only 40 inches! DD used to like it ~ not anymore - I don't like it either!

Strollers is my next question! I have not used a stroller since right around when they turned 2, but I figure I should for DL. Should I suck it up and bring the huge bulky duoglider, or do you think I could get away with 1 umbrella stroller and them taking turns? We do have 2 umbrella strollers, but I dont want us both to be tied to one the whole time.

DD still uses a stroller at Disney ~ and she hasn't used one outside of Disney for several years. Her Disney stroller is a Mac Volo. DS has never used a stroller at Disney ~ his 1st trip was just before his 6th B-day. Do you need your double or 2 singles ~ I don't know, have you considered your walk to and from the parks?

On to food. If you have little ones close in age, do you order off the kids menu, or do they split an adult meal? My girls are severally allergic to peanut butter, which seems to be big in DL, and the only other thing on most menus seems to be chicken nuggets, which is fine 1 or 2 times but not more! Also, I plan on getting Visa gift cards & disney ones too, will I be able to at least use one of those at all Disney restaurants?

They might be able to split a kids meal ~ do they have big appetites? You could have them split adult meals to give them some variety. My 2 kids and I can split the Chicken Fusilli & bread sticks @ RR Pizza Port, DS and I split the fried chicken meal at the Plaza.

Ok and my last one for now! I plan on waiting to tell the girls until right before we leave. Either on the 12th which will be there family party, or the 13th when we leave for the airport (which will be about 5 am!). Any ideas? I am getting them minnie ears & suitcases for there bday so that can be incorporated into it!

I surprised my kids for one of our trips ~ morning of or night before, they didn't like it! Anticipation and planning *showing them ride videos on youtube* is 1/2 the fun, a long wait is hard but maybe you could let them know a couple weeks before your trip.

Anything else I need to know? Special things to do on there bday there? I'm sure I will have more questions coming up!

Have fun ~ aren't you glad you found the Dis?!?

 

[jennifur25]

How funny, I'm surprising my twins for their fourth birthday too! We are also telling them at their family party on Feb 13th and we are leaving Feb 17th My boys are also extremely tall (my husband is 6'7"), but even though they are tall enough for almost everything, I just can't imagine them going on some of these rides. I'll let you know how it goes, though, since we are going before you

 

[carebee21]

We went to Disneyworld for 2 weeks right after my son had turned 5 (this was his first Disney trip where he was pretty much tall enough for everything). We had talked with him in detail about what kind of rides were there and showed him lots of pictures. He saw youtube videos of the inside and outsides of some of the rides and ultimately I left him to make the decision. His dad and grandma won't go on most of the "scary" type of rides, so I told him that he could stay with them if he didn't want to ride, that it really wasn't a big deal either way. He rode everything aside from Space Mountain. He's petrified of the dark so we didn't even attempt to do that with him. He was most nervous for Tower of Terror but I just told him he could come in line with us, and if he got too scared or changed his mind, we would leave. He did it and Tower of Terror is one of his favorite rides now.

But you know your children best. My child is pretty fearless, so I just informed him of what to expect. If you know your children don't do well on certain rides or are scared of the dark, or etc, you know what to skip!

 

[Mugglemama]

another thought....keep in mind that there is virtually NOTHING that your girls will be tall enough to ride at Universal. check it out, but i'm thinking there might not be any rides for people under 48".

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I've got two girls close in age - almost 6 & 4. First off, I would bring the duoglide stroller. We've always brought it and never regretted it. My almost 6 year old still climbs in it sometimes (we usually use it for the 4 year old and baby now). But we NEED it for the walk at the end of the night - even when we stayed onsite!

As for meals - the girls normally share a meal (sometimes kids, sometimes adult). I second, or third, the suggestion of Pizza Port - we eat there a lot and either share the pasta fussili or a pizza. Also, the food area in CA Adventure have a lot of great options (soups, Mexican, etc) which gives some variety.

As for rides - that depends on their personalities. My almost 6 year old HATES all the "big" rides except for Soarin'. She went on Splash, Big Thunder (which she LOVED two years ago, but hated this past year), & the Matterhorn. She won't even try TOT, Space, or Star Tours. My 4 year old however LOVES all of them, including TOT & especially Big Thunder. She'll go on anything she's big enough for.

Have fun!

 

[momma2twincesses]

Thank you all for the wonderful advice! Now to answer some questions (I'll just answer them, since I don't have the whole quoting thing down yet, sorry!)

First off I want you to know I don't have any intention on taking them on TOT unless they want to go on it. Harlie is completely fearless (she scares me!) so I think she will go on the scarier rides, Abbie I'm not so sure of, a lot more reserved but she IS a momma's girl so as long as I am there she may be ok!

Now we DO talk about going to DL, but not when. They ask to go everyday! So while it wont be a total suprise (and I LOVE the idea of showing them the rides on Youtube, didn't even think of that!). I just don't want them to know the exact day, but I do keep saying things like "If we went to Disneyland would you go on this, or be ok with this?" I was thinking of waking them up the day we leave and bringing them to the living room with there packed suitcases and minnie ears and telling them then, but Im open to any ideas! Also can I get the Birthday pins beforehand? Im wanting to order most of the stuff before, and having Peter take them to the pool the day we get there (we wont be doing Disney that day) and making special birthday baskets with everything in them (outfits, autograph books, souveneirs) to open that night or the morning of there bday!

If we go to Universal it will just be Peter and I, my parents really want to enjoy a day with them there, so they may fly in and take them about 3 pm one day until about 8pm the next night, and if they do we will do Universal together, and some thrill rides at Disney the night before!

So it looks like we will bring strollers. If we bring the Duoglider can I check it in at the gate, or do I have to do it with our luggage? When we went to Hawaii a few years ago we just did it at our gate, but that was with the umbrellas.

We are most likely doing a meal at Minnies and Ariels, is breakfast or dinner better at Ariels? They LOVE princesses and Minnie, so I figure we will do both. They are huge breakfast eaters, so maybe that would be better? They usually eat smaller dinners (and sometimes its a fight to eat anything) so I would hate to waste money unless its incredibly better then breakfast!

Jennifur25 - Please do let me know how it goes, I'm interested how the boys did, and what they enjoyed!

Keep the opinions/suggestions comming, I really do appreciate it!

Oh last thing, I know there will be large crowds, but how bad is it that week? It looks like Anaheim schools let out the next week, and 3 days are blockout dates, how much will that help?

 

[DisneyMomma81]

So it looks like we will bring strollers. If we bring the Duoglider can I check it in at the gate, or do I have to do it with our luggage? When we went to Hawaii a few years ago we just did it at our gate, but that was with the umbrellas.

You'll be fine gate checking that stroller I'm sure ~ I've seen some BIG strollers at the gate check drop off/pick up.

 

[jennifur25]

Yep I've checked our duoglider before and I've also checked the Combi side by side stroller- you shouldn't have any problems gate checking it at all!