One Day Only! With 3 Y/O

[Tastle]

Hello! the title says it all- we are thinking of driving over for one day during our Santa Monica long weekend, only because we had such a great time at WDW in May with our then 2 1/2 year old daughter. Now she is three and we would love to take her to Disney Land - None of us have been to Disneyland and we know virtually nothing.... sooo what should we do? We need a morning till night game plan with no rest break and we'd like to stay as late as possible (she will nap as needed in a stroller). Our weekend will be mid Feb, and we could arrange to go on Monday rather than the weekend if that is better. Need some great tips!! Thanks in advance!!
Tastle

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Tip #1: Avoid president's day weekend.

Are you getting PHs or just concentrating on Disneyland? Park hopping in DLR is very easy as the park gates are a short 2 minute walk from one another. Park hours on Mondays in Feb. (other than on president's day) are A LOT shorter than the weekend hours (10 am-8 pm), plus no fireworks/Fantasmic!, etc, so I'd stick with Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

 

[Tastle]

No, we will be there Grammy's weekend so I think that is the 12th - 15th, Friday or Saturday might make the most sense. Thanks!

 

[bumbershoot]

Get there well before opening.

Avoid a Tues, Thurs, Sat, or Sunday, unless you're staying onsite and will be able to take part in Magic Morning that generally happens those days. Because if you don't have MM and you want to play in Fantasyland, then the time to do it is immediately at park opening...but if it's a MM day, Fantasyland will be full of lines already and it won't be nearly as much fun as it would have been if you chose another day. So avoid the MM days!

And get there well before opening. Parking at the lots/structure means time for lines, trams, and walking to bag check. Make sure you have scheduled time for those things and to still be at the gates before opening.

I LOVE DCA, and LOVE bug's land. I love it more than Fantasyland (except for "it's tough to be a bug"). I love it for 3 year olds so very very much. I HIGHLY recommend getting a hopper ticket so that you can go to DCA and experience both Monsters Inc (if she's dealing with dark and loud rides well) and bug's land.

 

[jlmarr]

No, we will be there Grammy's weekend so I think that is the 12th - 15th, Friday or Saturday might make the most sense. Thanks!

Friday Feb 11th is not a Magic Morning day so as bumbershoot says that has advantages. Generally they will open the gates before the announced time (9am that day) so you can see Main Street and get ready for the rope drop at the official opening time. For your 3 y.o. you'll want to make a bee line for Fantasyland and ride Peter Pan and Dumbo before the park gets busy.

Let me add Turtle Talk w/Crush to the list of highlights in DCA. It's in the Animation Building in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot area. I believe the Playhouse Disney show would be a highlight for your DD if you have the time.

 

[Cagirl767]

Yep, get to DL just before opening if you can, and make a bee line for Fantasyland and go go go on rides as long as you can, going to Peter Pan first then Dumbo then Alice, Nemo and It's a Small World. We do this until lunch and if it starts to get crowded then we go to lunch, and then on the less crowded rides such as Storybook canal boats, Casey Jr., or head out toward the Mark Twain, Jungle Cruise, POTC, Winnie the Pooh, the train around the park, Main Street cars, Monorail. We never go on these in the morning as they are our rides we save till the afternoon, just incase. Or we head over to DCA and go to Bug's Land then. If you think your DD is in need of a nap, we go on the train around and around and let them sleep, being sure to bring a snack and drink for us.

Have fun!