Our Very FIRST trip!! Need some tips!

[AlohaMickey]

HI we just booked our very first family trip to Disneyland!! woohoo! DH and I have been numerous times (pre-kidsL WDW and DL-Tokyo) but this will be our very first family adventure to the happiest place on earth! So I have lots of questions:

We booked our rooms at Sheraton Anahiem (got a major discount) - Is it walkable or should we just take the shuttle?

What attractions are "must see" for a 2yo boy?

Is a character breakfast a must do or should we pass?

We have a 6month old so are the restrooms diaper changing friendly?

Souvenirs-Mickey ears are a MUST but what do you recommend? Mr.Potato Head Stuff? Shirts? What are exclusive to DL only??

Any Bay area folks have tips on the drive down?? (best time to drive, etc)

Some people say 2yo is a little young for DL but we think DS will LOVE it! Any other tips for traveling to DL with small children is greatly appreciated! TIA

We can't wait ! DS is already super excited when he see's ANYTHING Disney esp the Disneyland commercials

 

[DLR29]

The Sheraton Anaheim is probably too far to walk (especially with a 2yo). They do have a free DL shuttle, so go ahead and take it.

Attractions that are must see include most Fantasyland rides (Dumbo, Casey Jr. Circus Train, Storybookland Canal Boats, It's A Small World-however IASW is goign down for a 9month rehab in early 08). If he is scared easily, I'd start the dark rides with Peter Pan. It's dark, but not scary. Then try Alice in Wonderland. The real problems might come when you try Snow White, Mr. Toad, and Pinocchio. All three are quite intimidating and have scary scenes. So make sure that you warm him up to them.

Also he will loved Finding Nemo(though this one develops a long line fast! It should also be new to you as well), Winnie-the-Pooh (similar in intensity to Peter Pan), and Jungle Cruise. If you will be visiting DCA, he will love the "A Bug's Land" rides (except the 3D movie is a bit scary), Monster's Inc. (similar to Winnie-the-Pooh), and Turtle Talk w/ Crush. For areas for him to burn off extra energy try Pirate's Lair at DL or Redwood Creek Challenge Trail at DCA.

I've never done a character breakfast because I don't see it worth the $, so I can't help you there.

Of course the bathrooms are baby-friendly. It is DL! Families with toddlers visit every day.

Coming from the Bay Area (Palo Alto area), we usually leave morning/early afternoon. We make it down there around dinnertime (6 or 7) if we hit good traffic. Although it may be longer with younger kids (cause me and my brother are well past that stage and my parents are grateful). Try leaving early to try and avoid L.A. rush hour traffic.

 

[jlima]

HI we just booked our very first family trip to Disneyland!! woohoo! DH and I have been numerous times (pre-kidsL WDW and DL-Tokyo) but this will be our very first family adventure to the happiest place on earth! So I have lots of questions:

We booked our rooms at Sheraton Anahiem (got a major discount) - Is it walkable or should we just take the shuttle?

What attractions are "must see" for a 2yo boy?

Is a character breakfast a must do or should we pass?

We have a 6month old so are the restrooms diaper changing friendly?

Souvenirs-Mickey ears are a MUST but what do you recommend? Mr.Potato Head Stuff? Shirts? What are exclusive to DL only??

Any Bay area folks have tips on the drive down?? (best time to drive, etc)

Some people say 2yo is a little young for DL but we think DS will LOVE it! Any other tips for traveling to DL with small children is greatly appreciated! TIA

We can't wait ! DS is already super excited when he see's ANYTHING Disney esp the Disneyland commercials

Your son will probably LOVE the Disneyland Railroad, and also Tom Sawyer Island. Try to ride the Mark Twain or the Columbia too.

The Mr. Potato Head pieces, as far as I know, are only at the EnginEars store at CA. You don't have to buy the potato; but if you do, fill the potato with the smaller pieces.

Every bathroom, even the Mens rooms, have changing facilities for infants. There's also the baby center at the end of Main St. near the first aid center. It's a great place to unwind if you need it.

Mickey Ears - they come in tiny sizes, but I always got the adult sizes for my kids. The shops at CA may have a shorter wait for getting a name embroidered.

Have Fun!

 

[basketballmom]

We took our oldest daughter to DL for the first time when she was two. (she's 16 now) She loved it! And now, she may not have too many memories of it, but we have lots of priceless pictures and I have memories!
I say kids are never too young for Disney!

 

[audrabolster]

I'd say no to a character breakfast, but yes to some other character meal. My favorite was at Ariel's grotto, but I don't know how your son feels about the princesses lol.

 

[AlohaMickey]

I'd say no to a character breakfast, but yes to some other character meal. My favorite was at Ariel's grotto, but I don't know how your son feels about the princesses lol.

LOL...I'd LOVE to do Ariels grotto but I can't win that one over with DH




Keep the tips coming! Great suggestions so far!

 

[pixiewings71]

I would definitely do a character breakfast myself. I love the Lilo and Stitch breakfast at PP hotel, my kids had so much fun doing that!!!! We do the Princess meals too and they do prefer them (they are girls) but they still talk about Lilo and Stitch too.

Driving down, we are in Suisun, we do this drive a lot! LOL We have a nice van with a built in DVD player, the kids will watch a movie or 2 but we also have a game called Whoonu that we play. It's actually a card game. Of course 2 is a bit young for the game so it probably wouldn't work well for you. Let's see, we make sure we have water and snacks for the drive and we actually leave late in the day, usually between 4-6 but we have been known to leave later than that too. If you do it at night the kids will be more likely to just sleep through most of it, that may make it easier on your DH and yourself. Also driving at night means less traffic, more semi's but less cars.

BTW- You're never too young, or too old, for Disney Magic!! Enjoy your trip and take tons of pics of DS's face, those you will cherish forever.

 

[AlohaMickey]

I would definitely do a character breakfast myself. I love the Lilo and Stitch breakfast at PP hotel, my kids had so much fun doing that!!!! We do the Princess meals too and they do prefer them (they are girls) but they still talk about Lilo and Stitch too.

BTW- You're never too young, or too old, for Disney Magic!! Enjoy your trip and take tons of pics of DS's face, those you will cherish forever.

Where else are there character breakfasts? Are they only in the hotels? Do I need to make reservations? I'm clueless and need to look more into it.

I love taking pictures and that is the one thing I'm focusing on...the memories and priceless pictures we'll get at this fun age!

 

[bumbershoot]

2 is great. DS remembers more about our trip when he was 2 than we do! It took him a couple months after we got back to talk about it, so we thought he had forgotten, but then suddenly he had a language explosion and all of this Disneyland stuff came out of his mouth!

character breakfasts:

Lilo and Stitch at Paradise Pier
Storyteller's Cafe at Grand Californian has, as I've seen it described, the "woodland creatures" type of characters, like those from Brother Bear, and Chip and Dale, etc.
Goofy's Kitchen (?) at Disneyland Hotel
Minnie's breakfast at the Plaza Inn inside DL
Ariel's in DCA

I feel like I'm forgetting one...

You make Priority Seatings (PS) in advance...either 60 or 90 days, I can't remember. Do that by calling Disney Dining. 714-781-3463

The potato head stuff is good, but be careful with it around the baby, b/c some of those pieces are small! I'm such a stickler for recommended age, I don't know what I'm going to do should we have another baby...

EnginEars has the PH parts, and so does a store in ToonTown. Don't forget to visit ToonTown! Though if you're visiting in warm weather, know that it gets HOT in that land...no trees, it's just open to the sky, and it was significantly hotter than the rest of the park when we went (and I've heard it from others).

We actually didn't buy souvenirs for DS at all, until this trip (he's 3 and September was his 3rd trip...in 2 weeks we're taking his 4th trip!). He isn't into hats, so no Mickey ears until now, and he likes his felt pirate hat MUCH better than his pirate mickey ears. So don't be surprised if they don't want those hats, b/c not all kids do. We do wish we had bought just ONE for display, especially b/c the first year we went was the 50th anniversary and the hats were special!

have fun!

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh, and you should really think about budgeting to buy the Photopass CD!

Anyway, in case you don't know, there are photographers who will snap your pic. They will give you a card that they scan, and it's a really good way to get family pictures, instead of *family - one*, and a good way to get those nice pictures with the castle as backdrop, and so on.

Getting the card and having the pictures taken is free...it's only at the end of your stay that you decide if you want to buy any prints (spendy!) or buy the CD (sort of spendy but you get a release so you can make all the prints you want, and not as spendy as buying more than a few prints at the park!), or a photobook, etc.

I think it's about 99 if you prepay (and if you get to the end of the stay and there's nothing good in terms of pictures and you don't WANT to receive the CD, you can get a refund) and you get access to little editing extras, or about 59? if you buy the CD in the park. The prints are the usual cost of prints from expensive photographers...well over $10 for a 5x7, I believe, if not closer to $20?


Anyway, it's worth thinking about and budgeting for, even if you're going to be taking your own pictures! (I took my own and did photopass, and I like both of them, and am planning on doing photopass for our upcoming trip again!)

 

[AlohaMickey]

Photopass?? I didn't even know about that! Thanks bumbershoot I'm definetly gonna check that out and try to include it in our budget. We ALWAYS have those family-1 shots and it's such a drag. Are there lots of photographers around the park that do this?? Guess I should just check it out. Thanks again for the info.