Taking infant to Southern CA

[maxie]

My sisters and Mom just got back from WDW and told me I was nuts for going forward with our planned trip to DL with our young son. He'll be about 15-17 months depending when we finally book - probably Jan/Feb 05.

We are thinking of doing 8 nights with 5 in LA and 3 in San Diego. We would be very much following the baby's lead and am certainly not worried about seeing everything. People keep saying he's to young to take as he won't get anything out of it. We plan on keeping short days, walking back to hotel for naps and taking it slow.

We are thinking of doing 3 days DL, Knott's, SW, Zoo, Legoland and PERHAPS a 3 hour tour of LA which stops for lunch at the Farmer's Market and for a walk on the Walk of Fame.

So is this a waste of time and money or have others have good experiences with youngsters this age?

 

[Sonya in Boise]

My youngest daughter was 18 months when we went to DL for the first time and she LOVE it. It was so worth the money. We had a character breakfast at Goofy's kitchen and she still talks about it. Take tons of pictures and let the little one look at them when ever you want to relive the magic. VIdeo tape rides and parades and watch them also. My girls love every Disney vacation we have taken and I don't mind spending the money for the memories.

Take it slow and enjoy the ducks, water, birds, colors, lights and sounds of Disney. It is so much more than a bunch of rides. One of the girls favorite things to do is get a box of popcorn and feed the ducks. We have taken an entire hour to do this, give them one piece at a time. LOL

Have fun and enjoy the trip.

 

[almostGoofy]

I agree with Sonya that it would be worth your while to take your 15 -17 month old to DL but I think your overall vacation plan is overly ambitious with a child so young. Personally, I'd plan a day or two to relax and not do a theme park. Maybe shop a little, play in the pool or take her to a local park and just simply relax. In San Juan Capistrano there's Jone's Mini-farm. You could take her there for a pony ride and to feed the animals. They have a pen where the kids (and adults) can go in and feed the rabbits and watch them scurry about up close. That and lunch at Ruby's Diner would take about two hours. Add the mission and that would total about 3 -4 hours.

Legoland is great for young children but for a child that age, there aren't a lot of rides for one quite that young and it doesn't have the multitude of sights and sounds that DL has to stimulate a toddler. I think Legoland would be better when your child is one more year older. You might want to check out their website to see what there is there.

The San Diego Zoo is great but be forwarned: it's very hilly. Not very stroller friendly. SeaWorld is relatively flat compared to the zoo therefore more conducive to strollers.

 

[maxie]

Thanks so much for the tips! Legoland sounded good in my SC tour book but if people think we wouldn't get much out of it wei'll change that.Any other suggestions to do around LA or SD with an 18-month old and no car? I was thinking of some resort days but not sure what there is to do. We're going to be at either Carousel or PP.

I chose Knott's for Camp Snoopy, rules out Universal.

Is the Zoo going to be too much of a pain with the hills. I don't care how much of it we see. If we spend the whole time at one exhibit so be it as long as the baby is enjoying himself.

BTW we are planning on getting the SoCal City Pass which includes the zoo.

My sisters and Mom observed so many temper trantrums of little kids at WDW in Oct and thougt I should wait to go.We want this to be as relaxing as possible as its our first family trip. We don't care if we miss 90% of the attractions. If the baby wants to do nothing but climb stairs and feed ducks than i would rather spend my holidays in Calif watching him do that than using a week of holidays to freeze my butt off doing nothing new up here in Canada.

 

[Sonya in Boise]

I would also say skip Lego Land if you want a day of rest. I have never been, but heard it's geared for 4-8 yrs old. Parents can't ride many of the rides and kids much older (or younger) don't really enjoy it. But again, this is just what I have gathered by reading trip reports.

Does the City Pass include Knotts. I don't know if I would purchase it seperatly if you have to. Three days at Disneyland with the LA tour thing sound great for 5 days in LA. But if the City Pass includes Knotts, I would think about skipping the tour and keeping one day open to checking out Down Town Disney and the hotel pool. There are many different shops to check out and the Disney hotels have some interesting things to look at. The little guy could just walk around and stretch his legs that day.

In San Diego, Sea World and the Zoo sound great. That will give you a day off again to check out the hotel pool or maybe catch a cab to the beach/shopping area.

It sounds like you have the right frame of mind to take a vacation with a toddler. Keep the trip about having a good time watching your little one enjoy the trip. Have a game plan, but be flexible enough to toss it out the window on any given day.

I have a few words of advise for a toddler vacation. (a few words thats a laugh, )

Take it slow. If the baby gets up early, start your day early and head back to the hotel for naps and a quiet lunch.

Keep the same schedule if possible. If he naps at noon, try to keep to it. Don't push an extra hour.

Try to keep the diet the same as at home. My girls eat a lot of fresh fruit with their meals or snacks. Our first Disneyland trip we ate hot dogs, chicken nuggets and french fries. By night three they were sick in the bed. I now pay those outragious prices for a bag of grapes, an apple or orange and keep their tummies happy.

Stop at a corner store and buy a gallon of water to keep in the room. Even if you water down juice, keep hydrated. The change in climate/elevation can do drastic things to little bodies.

Pack a first aide kit that contains the usual medication for him. Nothing worse than a medication reaction if something should happen while in a different country or state.

I recenlty found out that a nice quiet lunch at the hotel while watching the Disney channel can do wonders for calming down a child. There is so much go go go while on vacation that slowing down to do something normal makes a world of difference.

Have fun and watch your son for signs of meltdown. If you see a fit coming on, leave the park and walk back to the hotel. If it's not possible to leave the park, find a quiet place and just let him meltdown. Sometimes all the sights and sounds over load little bodies. During the day keep an eye out for little nooks that you can have a quiet moment.

(like I said, a few words )

 

[Dana_Buckley]

I live in San Diego and agree, no LegoLand. Definately the zoo and SeaWorld. Actually, SeaWorld is a bit better at this age because all of the animals are always moving, and you don't have to lift them up over a fence to see everything. A lot of the exhibits at SeaWorld they can enjoy from the comfort of their stroller. And the shows are a nice place to relax, the Dolphin show is my son's favorite.

I would also consider skipping the 3 hr tour. I took my son to San Francisco and took a city bus tour and it did not work out well. I made sure we would be stopping several times, but he wouldn't sit still. There were no car seats or even seat belts. He was standing on the seat and trying to walk in the aisle, while we were moving.

I see you're planning your trip for possibly Jan/Feb. That will rule out swimming pools, as there actually are very few indoor pools at hotels in So. CA. And Jan is the rainy season here, although that only means possibly 1-2 days a week of some rain. If possible, a trip in October might be a better time of year weather-wise. It is much warmer and very dry. And you'd be able to make a trip to the beach, if just to walk on the sand, dip the tootsies in the ocean and watch the waves.

If you have any other specific questions, feel free to ask! Happy planning!

 

[maxie]

Thanks so much for the tips! Any other comments, suggestions are muchly appreciated!

 

[mommykatt]

Hi there! Our first trip to WDW with our daughter was when she was 18 months old -- she loved it! We have been taking her to DL since she was 10 months old without problem (well, actually the only problem we usually have is trying to leave!) I agree with fellow posters - take your time and enjoy the "smaller" things at the park. She really seemed to enjoy the shows and parades more than the rides at that age. Remember the baby center on Main Street for diaper changes/potty trips, feeding, rocking, etc. They are always friendly and helpful when we go there.
I know many have mentioned the SD Zoo, but what about the Wild Animal Park? Fewer hills, animals in a more natural setting, a better tram ride through the park. I don't know how difficult it would be to get there from where you are staying, but it might be worth a look.
Your trip does seem a bit full for a little one. Try to take it slow and follow your little boy's lead -- he'll let you know when he's had enough.
Hope this helps!

Kathleen

 

[IandGsmom]

We first took our twins to DL when they were 2. We had so much fun. They are 6 now and the biggest daredevils. We had also taken them to Legoland. That was ok. The bad thing was we went on a tour bus and were stuck there all day when we could have left in the afternoon. It was a long day. Besides that is was great. Spent most time in Toontown and Fantasyland. We were even crazy enough to take them on Pirates, maybe thats why they love rides so much now.