What Not to Miss for 3 year old boy 1st Trip

[suzcruz]

taking my guy BFF to DL with his son, know to do Nemo asap and spend time in Toontown. what else do you suggest are must-dos? He is not that into characters (as far as we know), do you think a character meal would still be worth it? TIA!

 

[Lavender_and_Roses]

I'm wondering this as well. My youngest is 3 and I don't want him to feel left out if there a lots of rides he can't go on.

 

[barefootmomma]

A character meal would definitely be a great way to insure he has some interaction with them. It's definitely felt like we've seen less of the characters out and about in the park lately. Mickey is always in his house in Toontown though, and it's a decent photo op.

My 3 y.o. really enjoys all of Fantasyland, Toontown, and Tomorrowland. He does also like some of the less kiddie things like Pirates and Haunted Mansion, but it's hit and miss with those depending on his mood and the day. I usually choose which area we're going to go to and then let him choose which rides he wants to do. We go frequently enough that he's very familiar with them, but even before he was he'd just choose by seeing what looked fun to him I guess.

Good luck! 3 is such a great age to enjoy the park at. I hope you have a great time!

EDITED TO ADD: My 3 y.o. is tall for his age, but even when he was younger and shorter, there wasn't much in the parks he couldn't do. Don't worry too much about there not being enough that he can do or attractions for him to experience. He should be able to do most everything there is.

 

[nemofans]

The Bug's Land area has some rides for little ones. Plan a character meal for later in the trip & then you can cancel if you find he is afraid of the characters. If he begs to meet characters, then you already have a meal scheduled.

 

[LavenderPeach]

Start with the rides that are outside like Dumbo, the Casey Jr. Train and the teacups. The dark rides can be a little scary. The least scary dark ride is small world. My DS (4) loves that ride but is a little nervous on all the other dark rides. There's also the Winnie the pooh ride which, based on DS's reaction, is less scary than snow white but more scary than small world.

Tom Sawyer's island is a great place for kids to run around. My DS loves the caves there. Not sure when you're going but TSI is closed right now for refurb. I think it opens in June? There's also tarzan's treehouse which is fun for little kids to climb up and you get the bonus of burning lots of calories on those stairs to work off any churros or dole whips that couldn't be resisted.

At DCA, like PP said, Bug's Land is great. All the rides there are outside. Just be careful of the It's Tough to be a Bug show. That can be scary for little kids. DS also LOVES the Toy Story ride. He isn't very good at actually shooting anything but likes how the cars sort of whip around the corners.

Not sure about the character meal since we've never taken DS to one. If he doesn't know who the characters are then he probably wouldn't find them as interesting as would if he recognized them. Before we took DS for the first time I made him a book with pictures of different characters so he would be familiar with the ones we would see at DLR. He also watched a lot of mickey mouse clubhouse so he knew who the "main" characters were.

 

[haydeecm]

I would say "not miss" would be Dumbo, my DS fave, and its a small world. The bugs area in DCA is fun, and my 3-year old at the time LOVED Aladdin.

 

[forevercruising]

taking my guy BFF to DL with his son, know to do Nemo asap and spend time in Toontown. what else do you suggest are must-dos? He is not that into characters (as far as we know), do you think a character meal would still be worth it? TIA!

We took our son to Disneyland for his first time when he was three. He was also not that "into" characters. Here were his favorite parts of the trip:

1. His all-time FAVORITE part of the trip was spending a few hours at the water play area for kids near the entrance of Bug's Land. If the weather is warm, it is a really great play place for the kids. He absolutely LOVED it!

2. He LOVED running around and climbing all around the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail! What a great place for him to just run and run! That is still, to this day, his favorite "attraction" at Disneyland/DCA. He spends hours there!

3. We took him to Minnie and Friends character breakfast and, although he didn't know who many of the characters were, he had a GREAT time! The character interaction was excellent and he felt very special and truly the "center of attention". He loved the entire experience.

4. We also took him to Goofy's Kitchen for brunch and, although we preferred Minnie and Friends, the character interaction was also EXCELLENT and he again had a super time.

Interestingly enough, he really had very little interest in any of the rides, even the outside kid's rides. BTW: We made the mistake of taking him on Peter Pan for his first ride and he was scared to ride anything else, especially indoor rides, for the rest of the trip.

All kids are different, of course, but, perhaps our experiences will spark some ideas for you!

 

[limace]

Each kid is different, so start with easy stuff, and if he's raring to try more, move on to more adventurous rides. My eldest wouldn't do any rollercoasters until she was 10-my second daughter rode Big Thunder Mountain four times at 3 and still says it's her favorite ride. She also LOVES Soarin'-if he's tall enough and a bit of an adventurous kid, that's a great one to try.

 

[JosieGirl71]

What everyone else has said PLUS Turtle Talk with Crush in DCA! It is a wonderful show and is amazing for toddlers, kids and adults!

 

[spacemermaid]

I'd say, before you spend $ on a Character meal, see how he does meeting Mickey at his house...if he screams & cries but if it seems to be one of the top 10 events of his lifetime so far you could call Disney Dining right then on your cellphone (or during a trip back to your hotel later that day) to make a PS for a Character meal on the next day of your trip.

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

I'm wondering this as well. My youngest is 3 and I don't want him to feel left out if there a lots of rides he can't go on.

My youngest will be a month shy of his 3rd birthday when we go. I thought he could go on everything except for Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and Indiana Jones. (???) What else can't a 3 year old go on?


(Oh, and Big Thunder. It's going to be closed while we're there, though.)

 

[nemofans]

Tower of Terror, Soarin, Jumping Jellyfish, & Star Tours have 40" ht restriction.
Grizzly River Run & Mullholland Mandess are 42".
Screamin & Orange Stinger are 48".
Maliboomer is 52"

There are rides that are 35", but a 3 yr old may be tall enough for those.

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

Tower of Terror, Soarin, Jumping Jellyfish, & Star Tours have 40" ht restriction.
Grizzly River Run & Mullholland Mandess are 42".
Screamin & Orange Stinger are 48".
Maliboomer is 52"

There are rides that are 35", but a 3 yr old may be tall enough for those.

Those are at California Adventure though, right?

 

[jbron423]

We went when my son was 3 and his favorites were Autopia and the Train at DL, and Monsters, Inc. at DCA. He refused to do any roller coaster-type rides (even the little one in Toon town). He also loved the Playhouse Disney show and the Pixar Play Parade was a real hit--seeing Lightning McQueen and Mater was probably the best part for him.

 

[chrissiecutie]

There's several websites you can go to and check height requirements. Try allears.net and go under Disneyland. You can view pictures, descriptions and height requirements- it's a great site!

As far as what to ride- holy moly was I wrong it what I thought my son might like vs. hate. He really surprised me and enjoyed Haunted Mansion, Pirates, the rollercoasters and of course everything in Fantasyland and Toontown.

Even if you don't think your little guy will be into the characters, I strongly suggest you hit Fantasyland then get to Toontown early and at LEAST visit Mickey Mouse. My son still talks about visiting Mickey at his house and it's been almost 2 years! On the plus side, if you get there right as Toontown opens, the characters are actually outside wandering around and Mickey was "waiting" for my son at his front door. Versus later in the day when he's at the end of the line in the "picture" room. And it's not nearly as busy first thing in the day- yuck...Toontown gets super crowded!!

My son also really liked Bug's Land and the kiddie rides at DCA but wasn't tall enough for the bigger attractions. However, Disney playhouse was a big hit!

Plan on seeing the parades, fireworks and Fantasmic (if it's there when you're going) as my son LOVED these!

I guess my main point is, don't bother planning too much! I had everything super planned and pretty much just tossed it all! We were there for my son's 1st visit and we did what he wanted to do. Even if that meant riding Pirates 3 times in a row- we did it! Plus it was nice and airconditioned- so I didn't mind at all!

Plan a few things (like what rides to do 1st), research height requirements and food options, especially if you have a picky eater and then just relax and enjoy!

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Tower of Terror, Soarin, Jumping Jellyfish, & Star Tours have 40" ht restriction.
Grizzly River Run & Mullholland Mandess are 42".
Screamin & Orange Stinger are 48".
Maliboomer is 52"

There are rides that are 35", but a 3 yr old may be tall enough for those.

Those are at California Adventure though, right?

All are at DCA except Star Tours.

 

[Lavender_and_Roses]

I just measured my kids last night so I can start researching rides. My 3 yr old is 38" so hopefully he will be able to go on lots of rides. He isn't the type to be scared of anything.

 

[barefootmomma]

I just measured my kids last night so I can start researching rides. My 3 yr old is 38" so hopefully he will be able to go on lots of rides. He isn't the type to be scared of anything.

He will absolutely be able to do most everything! Have a great trip!!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Turtle Talk with Crush and Playhouse Disney. He will probably love those!