*****Official February 2015 Thread! Come check in and chat!*****

[TheChapman6]

So we might need to extend our trip so my kids (really my daughter) can wear everything I bought "for Disneyland!" Oops! That's what happens when I buy in advance!

Haha I've bought tons of new clothes, shoes and little toys, glow stick etc too! We just need 1 more cute outfit for my dd

 

[tygersclaw]

Speaking of clothes...what is recommended for attire in late February/early March??

Will it be warm enough to wear shorts or should one dress for cooler California climes?? What about attire for a 5yo girl?? What is the minimum you would pack for her??

 

[Aladora]

Speaking of clothes...what is recommended for attire in late February/early March??

Will it be warm enough to wear shorts or should one dress for cooler California climes?? What about attire for a 5yo girl?? What is the minimum you would pack for her??

Hmm, normally I would say shorts would be too cool but you're from Edmonton so very little will be "too cold" for you!

I've got Anaheim on my Weather Network app on my phone and I check that to get an idea of what the weather is going to be. Right now, they are predicting 20-22C during the day and 9-11C overnight. Later in February will likely be warmer. We're going to be there the second week of Feb and I was planning on jeans and t-shirts with maybe a hoodie for the evenings.

 

[KalamityJane]

We are from Idaho and I fully expect my kids will be asking to swim while we are there the. 6-11 my weather app says highs are mid70s F.

 

[Aladora]

We are from Idaho and I fully expect my kids will be asking to swim while we are there the. 6-11 my weather app says highs are mid70s F.

My husband is amused that we will likely swim and ice skate on the same day!

 

[Eira]

Joining in! We just booked a trip for 30 Jan - 06 of Feb! It was a huge surprise, my mom and dad gave us all their airmiles so we could go! I'll be taking my Husband, daughter (3), and son (almost five months). None of them have gone before, and I am sooooo excited! I just hope we can make it good for everyone, my husband is a bit of a hermit, who hates crowds...

 

[Aladora]

Joining in! We just booked a trip for 30 Jan - 06 of Feb! It was a huge surprise, my mom and dad gave us all their airmiles so we could go! I'll be taking my Husband, daughter (3), and son (almost five months). None of them have gone before, and I am sooooo excited! I just hope we can make it good for everyone, my husband is a bit of a hermit, who hates crowds...

Yay! Welcome to the thread! I'll add your info as soon as I get home and not trying to edit things on my phone.

How nice of your parents to give you all their airmiles, what a great gift.

My husband is not a fan of crowds either but he does not mind them as much at disneyland because hey, we are at Disneyland!!!

 

[KalamityJane]

Joining in! We just booked a trip for 30 Jan - 06 of Feb! It was a huge surprise, my mom and dad gave us all their airmiles so we could go! I'll be taking my Husband, daughter (3), and son (almost five months). None of them have gone before, and I am sooooo excited! I just hope we can make it good for everyone, my husband is a bit of a hermit, who hates crowds...

My older 2 were the same age when we first went, and my husband is a software engineer who is a total introvert Obviously, I'm the extrovert of the 2 of us! Anyhoo, those are GREAT ages. February will be lower crowds too, I'm hoping so that helps with the hubs.

Things that we try to do every time that help keep everyone sane and might work for you -

1. Into the parks early (I think they open at 9-10am so it's not super early) and back to the hotel to have rest time at lunch
2. Never stand in line for meet and greets, we do a character meal. Totally worth it.
3. Disney Junior at DCA was wonderful for downtime in the afternoons - it's dark and cool and not overstimulating. The Tomorrowland pavilion (I don't know what it's called, Land of Tomorrow or something?) worked well for this in DL. The Goofy's House play area in Toontown was also a big hit.

We try to just go with the flow with the kids and retreat before they got to the point of no tomorrow. Good luck, it will be awesome!!

 

[Aladora]

Joining in! We just booked a trip for 30 Jan - 06 of Feb! It was a huge surprise, my mom and dad gave us all their airmiles so we could go! I'll be taking my Husband, daughter (3), and son (almost five months). None of them have gone before, and I am sooooo excited! I just hope we can make it good for everyone, my husband is a bit of a hermit, who hates crowds...

I've added you to the first post, if you want your hotel listed, just let me know!

My older 2 were the same age when we first went, and my husband is a software engineer who is a total introvert Obviously, I'm the extrovert of the 2 of us! Anyhoo, those are GREAT ages. February will be lower crowds too, I'm hoping so that helps with the hubs.

Things that we try to do every time that help keep everyone sane and might work for you -

1. Into the parks early (I think they open at 9-10am so it's not super early) and back to the hotel to have rest time at lunch
2. Never stand in line for meet and greets, we do a character meal. Totally worth it.
3. Disney Junior at DCA was wonderful for downtime in the afternoons - it's dark and cool and not overstimulating. The Tomorrowland pavilion (I don't know what it's called, Land of Tomorrow or something?) worked well for this in DL. The Goofy's House play area in Toontown was also a big hit.

We try to just go with the flow with the kids and retreat before they got to the point of no tomorrow. Good luck, it will be awesome!!

KalamityJane has some great advice but especially the last one about retreating! Never try and push kids past when they want to stay, it only ends in tears. We still take an afternoon "rest" time and my son is 9 1/2. He doesn't fall asleep anymore but he needs the time to relax and decompress.

Oh, if there is a ride that your 3 yr old can ride but the baby can't, make use of the baby swap so both you and your husband can ride with the older one.

 

[Gisele]

I've added you to the first post, if you want your hotel listed, just let me know!



KalamityJane has some great advice but especially the last one about retreating! Never try and push kids past when they want to stay, it only ends in tears. We still take an afternoon "rest" time and my son is 9 1/2. He doesn't fall asleep anymore but he needs the time to relax and decompress.

Oh, if there is a ride that your 3 yr old can ride but the baby can't, make use of the baby swap so both you and your husband can ride with the older one.

Just make sure when taking part in the baby swap, that you get the right baby back. Believe me, taking the wrong baby can happen, just ask me how I got my sister, well for a little while anyway.

 

[AZMermaid]

We are from Idaho and I fully expect my kids will be asking to swim while we are there the. 6-11 my weather app says highs are mid70s F.

It was in the 80s here this week. We wear pants below 80, so assuming highs in the low 70s, we will be in pants, short sleeve shirts and hoodies for morning and nights.

 

[jasy]

Speaking of clothes...what is recommended for attire in late February/early March??

Will it be warm enough to wear shorts or should one dress for cooler California climes?? What about attire for a 5yo girl?? What is the minimum you would pack for her??

Definitely bring hoodies or a light fleece for the kids. I'm from Edmonton too and I'm always freezing as soon as the sun is gone so I dress in layers. I don't wear jeans or pants, mainly skirts and dresses so I always wear tights or leggings too and always have a cardigan or something handy.

That being said the weather is unpredictable. One year it was 29C when we were there (end of Jan early Feb) and I ended up having to buy my son shorts because he was roasting. Another year it rained. A lot. And we were freezing but I always pack thin gloves and toques so we were set.

I find going to California the worst for packing because I feel like I have to prepare for everything...

 

[Satye1]

We picked up some rain ponchos to throw in our back pack, just in case of rain. Hopefully we don't have to break them out.

 

[jasy]

Joining in! We just booked a trip for 30 Jan - 06 of Feb! It was a huge surprise, my mom and dad gave us all their airmiles so we could go! I'll be taking my Husband, daughter (3), and son (almost five months). None of them have gone before, and I am sooooo excited! I just hope we can make it good for everyone, my husband is a bit of a hermit, who hates crowds...

Welcome!

Like the PP suggested just go with the flow.

My son and I have gone 7 times since he was 11 months (he's now 5). Here are some of my tips.

Breaks are a must and we always go back to the hotel for naps. You're lucky being from Victoria because you don't have to worry about the time change. I found it brutal when my son was younger, just that hour threw his schedule out of whack so I have to remember to eat extra early etc. to avoid melt downs.

Also I found heading to an area, like Fantasy Land, and then parking the stroller and wandering, etc. worked best as opposed to moving the stroller from ride to ride.

If you want to go on a ride and your child is resistant, don't do it! Just move along onto something else.

Bring a small blanket and put it in the stroller, works great if one kids is sleeping, someone's cold, etc. I always rented a stroller from City Stroller Rentals. They were fantastic if you aren't bringing your own. (I've rented both a double and single, the double was amazing!)

Oh and my biggest piece of advice is NOT make any dining reservations, with the exception of maybe one character meal. You never know when your kid is going to be hungry, even if they're quite "scheduled", and there's nothing worse than dragging a cranky kid(s) to a restaurant where you have to wait for your food. It's not enjoyable for you or them.

Have an awesome trip!

 

[Aladora]

Joining in! We just booked a trip for 30 Jan - 06 of Feb! It was a huge surprise, my mom and dad gave us all their airmiles so we could go! I'll be taking my Husband, daughter (3), and son (almost five months). None of them have gone before, and I am sooooo excited! I just hope we can make it good for everyone, my husband is a bit of a hermit, who hates crowds...

Woah, how did I miss that you are also from Victoria???

We're in Esq, what about you?

 

[mum2merida]

I am thinking mix of capris and pants depending on temps and definitely some hoodies and fleeces for night and am. We went twice at end of March and about half the time the night were very cool (and we live in Calgary now). I was wearing a fleece and wishing i had my down vest to throw on top while watching WOC. The other half of he time we were in shorts and sundressses until 10pm.

Aladora… my parents live in Victoria

 

[Aladora]

I am thinking mix of capris and pants depending on temps and definitely some hoodies and fleeces for night and am. We went twice at end of March and about half the time the night were very cool (and we live in Calgary now). I was wearing a fleece and wishing i had my down vest to throw on top while watching WOC. The other half of he time we were in shorts and sundressses until 10pm.

Aladora… my parents live in Victoria

What a small world!

I'd have to look at pics from our last March trips but I think I was in shorts, although the early mornings were a bit chilly! This time we are going a month earlier so I might pack a pair of shorts but I don't really expect to wear them that much!

 

[StyledSugar]

Last time we went in February, we were not prepared. We all had light coats and t-shirts, nothing really warm. We ended up having to buy hoodies while we were there just for the evenings. During the day you will range from jeans/pants weather, right to short weather. As soon as that sun goes down, it can get pretty chilly!

We will be bringing an assortment of items: hoodies, long sleeved light shirts, t-shirts, jeans, capris and shorts. We will be set for anything. We will also be bringing our rain ponchos we bought a few trips ago. They are fairly light weight and will come in our backpack every day we go to the park. Nothing worse than being unprepared and ending up soaked!

 

[StyledSugar]

Does anyone come prepared with Disney gear? We always make sure we have an assortment of Disney related t-shirts for our trip! We purchased a few each at the Disney Store right after Christmas and got them super cheap! Much cheaper than purchasing a bunch in the park.........although we always buy a few things while we are there too.

 

[PoohBearFriends]

My best friend who joins us on most of our adventures has bought us matching shirts for many trips now. The decision is which ones:

Red 4th of July Minnie
Blue 4th of July Mickey
Black Mickey
Grey Muppets
Grey Pooh
and new for this year: grey Olaf sunning himself on the beach.

Ooh plus we have matching purple fleece pooh and purple hoodie Tinkerbell

I know a bit over but it does make it easier to keep track of each other.