Toddler Disneyland Trip Reports?

[lunarsongbird]

Hi All! We are taking my son to Disneyland in mid-November for the first time. He will be 18 months. So far with the search tool, I have only been able to find one trip report with a toddler. Can you point me to some more?

The biggest question I have now... is to go back to the hotel for a nap, or to try to use a stroller. And if no stroller naps, do I even want to do a stroller at all? I'm not sure how I feel about dealing with stroller parking.

 

[joplinmouse]

For me a stroller is a must. We took my son at 3 and his sister was 2 months old. My son usually doesn't take naps but always ends up falling over exhausted when at Disney. Plus they need to rest their legs. It's pretty far to walk and definitely too far to carry a toddler. Stroller parking isn't near as bad as you think. I always carry a bright colored blanket to throw over the top of mine so I can easily see it and no one else mistakes it for theirs.

 

[hmwinter85]

We took out DS to Disneyland last Sept when he was 18 months. I honestly think Disneyland is way easier with little kids then WDW (though he will have his first trip there in Feb).

-We left the parks for nap time. The first day there we didn't and DS was miserable all afternoon. When we went back to the room for a few hours he was wonderful through dinner and the rest of the evening. Depending on where you are staying it's really easy to go back to your room for naps. Some hotels are less then a 5 min walk from the park gates.

-I would still bring a stroller even if you don't plan on using it for nap time. Since most hotels are so close to the park a lot of people end up walking to an from the parks instead of taking the bus. You will not want to carry your toddler after a long day in the park. Our DS is really attacked to his stroller so for most of the first day in the parks he didn't want to leave it. It was his safe space when he needed a break from all of the over stimulation. The biggest meltdowns we had were leaving the stroller to get on a ride the first day. After the first day he was comfortable with the parks and would gladly leave his stroller to explore and go on rides. When he refused to get out of it we knew it was time to head back to the room to take a break. The stroller was also a lifesaver at parades. We could park it behind the first row or two of people sitting on the curb and DS could easily see over everyone's heads from his stroller and we didn't have to hold him.

If you have any other Disneyland questions let me know. We had AP the three years we lived in CA and went to the parks at least one weekend a month so I know them very well. We have since moved to the Midwest but have taken DS once so I can help with toddler questions too if you have any.

 

[Becca1007]

Hi All! We are taking my son to Disneyland in mid-November for the first time. He will be 18 months. So far with the search tool, I have only been able to find one trip report with a toddler. Can you point me to some more?

The biggest question I have now... is to go back to the hotel for a nap, or to try to use a stroller. And if no stroller naps, do I even want to do a stroller at all? I'm not sure how I feel about dealing with stroller parking.

Where are you staying? That will likely impact if you are going to walk back to the hotel for naps.

If you are staying farther away (aka anywhere you have to shuttle bus too) you can often find a nice spot to relax in the lobby of the Grand Californian, I like the spots by the fireplace in winter. You will often find multiple adults in there napping too

If you are coming back into the park DL post nap and staying for fireworks, than I would say try carrying your little one in an ergo/boba/tula carrier. That way you have your hands free but you aren't trying to navigate the stroller for the worst of the crowds. Post fireworks/parades use the sandwich method for moving about with baby in the carrier. If baby is on your back have the other parent behind you, if baby is on your front have the other parent in front of you; that way baby won't get jostled in the crowd.

There are fewer quiet places for a toddler to burn off some energy now with all the construction, but if the redwood creek trail is open in DCA (sometimes has limited hours in the winter) it is great for them to have a chance to run around without too many people around.