We brought our 3 ½ yo to Disneyland for her first time and we had not been in a long time. I was so glad that I read so much on this board as it really made for a much more enjoyable trip for us! I was worried that there was not enough stuff for a kid her age to do but, thanks to this board I found lots of good rides just her speed for her to go on! We went Thursday Feb 26, Friday Feb 27 and Sat Feb 28. We brought our own stroller and snacks which also worked out great.
We stayed at the Orange County Hyatt. I would give the hotel itself a great review. We had a kids suite that so she had her own bed and TV which was fantastic for us as that gave us a lot more sleep. The room was clean, beds comfortable and we couldnt hear any noise from traffic or surrounding rooms. But the shuttle service would get a terrible review. The reviewers on Tripadvisor.com had said that the hotel had its own shuttle that was very convenient and took 15 minutes to get back and forth. Well, it turns out the shuttle service was for 3 hotels and took between 22-70 minutes, but that was the only thing for us that did not work out very well so live and learn I guess! Now I have to find a better place to stay next time. Maybe the Ho Jo. It was all booked up when we were there probably due to the cheerleader convention (such cute girls!)
I was a little worried because our 3 ½ yo is a little timid and was scared of Santa Claus so I didnt know how she would do with the characters. Well, I showed her all of your character pictures on this board so that she could see exactly how big they were in relation to a child and that really seemed to help. We got our autograph book ahead of time (also thanks to this board) and that worked out wonderfully. It gave her something to break the ice and she was not scared at all! Our one Magic Morning as we were heading to fantasyland she saw Pluto and just had to meet him. She was so excited and gave him a big hug and then saw Mickey and Minnie and Goofy, so we missed out a little on our ride time but it was worth it. She was so excited to meet the characters and it was so magical for her it almost broke my heart as I was thinking that she will probably never be like this again. The look on her face was just wonderful! Plus, we got to see all four characters in about 15 minutes.
Unfortunately, the only ride without much of a wait after that was Dumbo. We spent the rest of our MM waiting for Peter Pan, the Small World and Aurora Castle Walkthrough were closed I was surprised just how busy it was on a Thursday morning.
We spent a lot of time in Fantasyland. We loved the revamped Small World ride although it seems like they were working out the bugs still. We got in the line that said 20 minutes. Well, after we got in the line they opened up two more lines and a bunch of people got way ahead and on boats. 35 minutes later when we got on the boat, and half way through the ride the ride stopped as there were too many boats to get through. It was actually a little freaky sitting there not moving with a small world playing over and over again!
We bought her a princess dress in the castle for the dinner at Ariels Grotto the next day. She had so much fun picking it out it was really cute.
The Goofy Kitchen Dinner was fantastic, food was great and totally worth the money. Character interaction was great. Kind of felt bad for Donald Duck there was a lady with a group of adults that was bordering on harassing him!! She kept pulling his hand and insisting that she sit down in the booth with him. The other adults were pointing out to her that he couldnt sit down there even if he wanted to!
Loved CA for all the small kid rides. That Playhouse Disney show was great, so was Aladdin it was like a Broadway musical! Monsters Inc ride was good and Turtle Talk with Crush was also good for little ones.
The Ariels Grotto was a little too crowded and tense for us, sooooo many people! Little girl didnt want to eat anything because just as we were served dinner we had 4 princesses in a row come and visit! The food was really good though. The princess interaction was wonderful, they all spent time to really talk to her and we couldnt get over how incredibly beautiful they were. The Snow White even talked with a high voice like in the movie!
Mickeys Toontown Morning Madness was great too. Loved spending time in Toontown and that Parade was really cute.
All in all we got to do a lot of things in three days and still get to spend some time and really get to enjoy the scenery.
Now if I can just get the Tiki Room and Small World songs out of my head!!!
Thanks again everyone!
Julie
Will try to post some pictures after this...
We stayed at the Orange County Hyatt. I would give the hotel itself a great review. We had a kids suite that so she had her own bed and TV which was fantastic for us as that gave us a lot more sleep. The room was clean, beds comfortable and we couldnt hear any noise from traffic or surrounding rooms. But the shuttle service would get a terrible review. The reviewers on Tripadvisor.com had said that the hotel had its own shuttle that was very convenient and took 15 minutes to get back and forth. Well, it turns out the shuttle service was for 3 hotels and took between 22-70 minutes, but that was the only thing for us that did not work out very well so live and learn I guess! Now I have to find a better place to stay next time. Maybe the Ho Jo. It was all booked up when we were there probably due to the cheerleader convention (such cute girls!)
I was a little worried because our 3 ½ yo is a little timid and was scared of Santa Claus so I didnt know how she would do with the characters. Well, I showed her all of your character pictures on this board so that she could see exactly how big they were in relation to a child and that really seemed to help. We got our autograph book ahead of time (also thanks to this board) and that worked out wonderfully. It gave her something to break the ice and she was not scared at all! Our one Magic Morning as we were heading to fantasyland she saw Pluto and just had to meet him. She was so excited and gave him a big hug and then saw Mickey and Minnie and Goofy, so we missed out a little on our ride time but it was worth it. She was so excited to meet the characters and it was so magical for her it almost broke my heart as I was thinking that she will probably never be like this again. The look on her face was just wonderful! Plus, we got to see all four characters in about 15 minutes.
Unfortunately, the only ride without much of a wait after that was Dumbo. We spent the rest of our MM waiting for Peter Pan, the Small World and Aurora Castle Walkthrough were closed I was surprised just how busy it was on a Thursday morning.
We spent a lot of time in Fantasyland. We loved the revamped Small World ride although it seems like they were working out the bugs still. We got in the line that said 20 minutes. Well, after we got in the line they opened up two more lines and a bunch of people got way ahead and on boats. 35 minutes later when we got on the boat, and half way through the ride the ride stopped as there were too many boats to get through. It was actually a little freaky sitting there not moving with a small world playing over and over again!
We bought her a princess dress in the castle for the dinner at Ariels Grotto the next day. She had so much fun picking it out it was really cute.
The Goofy Kitchen Dinner was fantastic, food was great and totally worth the money. Character interaction was great. Kind of felt bad for Donald Duck there was a lady with a group of adults that was bordering on harassing him!! She kept pulling his hand and insisting that she sit down in the booth with him. The other adults were pointing out to her that he couldnt sit down there even if he wanted to!
Loved CA for all the small kid rides. That Playhouse Disney show was great, so was Aladdin it was like a Broadway musical! Monsters Inc ride was good and Turtle Talk with Crush was also good for little ones.
The Ariels Grotto was a little too crowded and tense for us, sooooo many people! Little girl didnt want to eat anything because just as we were served dinner we had 4 princesses in a row come and visit! The food was really good though. The princess interaction was wonderful, they all spent time to really talk to her and we couldnt get over how incredibly beautiful they were. The Snow White even talked with a high voice like in the movie!
Mickeys Toontown Morning Madness was great too. Loved spending time in Toontown and that Parade was really cute.
All in all we got to do a lot of things in three days and still get to spend some time and really get to enjoy the scenery.
Now if I can just get the Tiki Room and Small World songs out of my head!!!
Thanks again everyone!
Julie
Will try to post some pictures after this...
I am so glad you all had a wonderful time!
