Oct w/ 2yo twins

[violentlyserene]

We are planning our first Disneyland trip with our twins who will be 2 1/2 next Oct. I've been to DW once 16 years ago and husband went to DL around the same time so we have a vague idea of what to expect but so much has changed and the twins make a huge difference in everything. The crowds the last week look pretty good so I'm inclined to plan for the first week of Oct next year. What else should I consider in our date selection? We definitely want to go to the Halloween Party but I'd like to otherwise avoid big crowds where possible. The weather looks a lot hotter than I expected though, is that typical? We should be able to have enough time to do whatever we want but I have to make sure that there's enough vacation time requested now for that. Currently the plan is 2-3 days for DL, 1 for CA and one for Universal Studios. I'm a planner anyway so planning the whole trip asap and then replanning later when it's a lot closer doesn't bother me. I want to get to know the park pretty well so we can change plans as needed.

I have a billion questions but the most pressing is about planning tools. What's your favorite? I like the tourplans.com app for iphone, is that generally the best or are there others? What would suggest is a must do for 2 year olds? They are pretty adventurous and handle crowds well as well as being night owls but are still toddlers obviously. In addition, what's there to do at night after the parks close? This won't be an every night thing for sure but I'd like to know options we have.

This is going to be an 18 hour road trip so that will add an extra layer of fun to the planning. Any thoughts on all this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[figment_jii]

The only caveat I would mention about the first week in October is that the first weekend in October (10/3-10/4/2015) is likely to be Gay Days weekend at Disneyland. The parks tend to be more crowded that the preceding weekend as a result. The crowds start to build on Friday and will remain high on Saturday and Sunday. It's just something to keep in mind when choosing that week. The weekdays (Mon-Thu) are likely to be quieter. HalloweenTime is very popular, so I don't think things will be walk-on, but the crowd levels should be manageable.

For 2-1/2 year olds...the one I went with liked Dumbo, the Carousel, Alice, Tea Cups, Astro Oribtor, the Ferris Wheel, IaSW, Peter Pan, Astro Blaster, Jungle Cruise, Winnie the Pooh, Little Mermaid, and Aladdin show (mostly, some of it scared her). She also like the fireworks and the parades.

 

[tiggeroo42]

Hi! I don't use any planning tools so I can't help you with that, but I also have 2.5 year old twins who are making their first trip in about 3 weeks! My older son went when he was 2, and he LOVED the Disney Junior stage show in DCA. If your twins watch Disney Junior at all, make sure you make time to see that at least once if not twice.

You may be able to do the pool after the park closes. It would be unusual for it not to be warm enough to swim the first week of October. Downtown Disney is also open late after the parks close, although there's not a ton little ones can do there. Maybe the Lego Store?

I will also warn you, my girls are tremendously different at 2.5 than they were at 1.5! I started planning our Nov. trip in March and have had to throw out preconceived fantasies about how much better behaved and more mature the twins would be by this age. They are much more unpredictable and challenging than my 4 year old ever was!

 

[violentlyserene]

Thanks for the input! We will be sure to hit the Disney jr show. They are big fans since I often use shows on the channel to distract them. Is Doc Mcstuffins available to meet anywhere yet? Both would die for that possibility.