What would you do?

[kuusimo]

Yesterday, DH received some good news that his company has been selected to present to some investors. Bad news is that it is next Tuesday when we planned on being at Disneyland. That being said, it is in San Jose so DH is going to fly in and out that day from LAX.

My issue is I did not want to take the three boys by myself to Disneyland on Tuesday. If it was just the two older that would be one thing, but with the baby still eating constantly, I don't think we would get much done with the rides. So I am trying to think of ways to keep the 5 and 3 year old occupied until 4:00 that afternoon when dad gets back. Here are some things I have thought of:

Go to DTD and see World of Disney or Build a Bear.
Go to the character warehouse.

That is all I can think of though. Anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[TeamTnC]

In DTD there is a movie theater and Rainforest Cafe. Those two are right across from each other. I also think the Lego store is right there as well. I know the day we arrived with our kids the same age, we did those since we were not going to the park until the next day.

Good Luck,

 

[csolson2003]

I would walk around DTD until everyone got tired. You probably wouldn't leave your hotel until about 10am walk around for a couple of hours, have lunch and then walk around a little more if you wanted. Then head back to the hotel and rest if needed. You could take them to the pool, most hotels have one. Have a great time.

 

[got2travel]

Would you consider a character meal without your DH? You could do breakfast at Storytellers in the Grand Californian. You have your choic of buffet or ordering off the menu. The other 2 (Goofy's Kitchen and Lilo & Stitch) are both buffets and with all the kids you probably don't want to have to keep helping them with the food.

 

[familyoffiveAZ]

If you end up doing DTD, you could swing over to the DLH and take a walking tour of the grounds. Don't they have little motorized boats there? The boys would probably love that.

If you decide you want to try to hit the parks, DCA might be a good place to pop in at. Playhouse Disney would be a good show for their age group. Bug's Land also does a show a few times a day (not the It's Tough to be a Bug show, the other live show).

 

[Zoemakes5]

You may want to consider one of the parks. This is how I'd plan it. Plan to go over after breakfast, sleeping in, taking it easy. Then, tell your boys that we're going to xxx place. That might be "We'll go to innoventions and tommorowland" or Fantasyland or Adventureland or whichever. I'd choose a place that you can either sit and watch them do things (like Toontown or Innoventions) and places where you could easily feed the baby (many of the rides). If you limit the expectation of we'll only go xxx place for the day, then you can take your time and really explore. Do things, like Jedi Academy or something. Then, plan to have lunch at TS or at a restaurant in DtD or outside the park. Go back to the hotel for naps and some pool time and then when Daddy comes back in the afternoon, you can go back to the parks.
Otherwise, if you want to do stuff outside the parks, I, too, was going to recommend the character breakfast. Still "Disney" but not in the park. Then exploring in DtD, maybe see a movie.
The Aquarium of the Pacific (in Long Beach) is a nice place, from what I hear, if you want to go offsite. Or go down to the beach.

 

[nun69]

I was going to suggest the DTD walk and maybe doing lunch there somewhere, then take the kids back for maybe some swim time at the pool and then some naps. By then it willprobably be almost 4 pm anyway. I know time flies when you are not actually watching it!!! And you could probably spend alot of the day just walking around DTD...just my 2 cents!

we leave in 21 days!!!!

 

[MATTERHORN]

If it's any consolation, I did DL a bunch of times by myself with three little ones starting when they were 5, 2 and 2 months! It can be done and it can still be lots of fun. Are you nursing the baby? There are some great rides to nurse on (Pirates, Railroad, in 3-D shows, etc) so that the older ones are still entertained while the baby eats.

If you still aren't comfortable doing it, I would totally do DTD and a character meal for sure!! That would be fun too!


Andrea

 

[kuusimo]

I think we may do DTD and walk around. My 2 month old still gets prettey cranky if he is not comfortable all the time. He has reflux still and has a hard time sleeping with too much stimulation. That is one reason I want two of us there. My other two boys are so used to Disneyland that they know what to expect. If I tell them that we can't do these rides, I would get more grief than if I did not take them at all. I also found Mickey coloring books at Target today for 98 cents.

Thanks for the suggestions. At least I know I am not too off track!

 

[DisQueen]

Do you have enough days on your parkhopper so you aren't "wasting" a day with just a couple hours in the park? If so, what about visiting DCA? It's much less crowded so it's easier to watch young children with a baby.
My suggestions for play areas:
near the back of the redwood creek challenge is an area with slides, a cave, tunnel tube... You can sit and watch the older kids play

across from the orange stinger is the s.s. rustworthy, a playarea with McDonalds ... inexpensive lunch and you can sit and watch the playing

Sit and relax:
playhouse disney show (20 min show)

aladdin show easily held the attention of my 2 and 6 year olds - even better than the playhouse show (45 min show)

muppet 3-D, indoor theater show (20 min show)

We like DTD, but it's so much shopping. It's hard for my kids to just window shop unless we're buying something also. they can do it, but it's tiring for me. When we've traveled with DH and needed to kill time, we always opted for a play area with a little relaxing time afterwards. Then we were ready for fun when the work day was over!

 

[kuusimo]

Do you have enough days on your parkhopper so you aren't "wasting" a day with just a couple hours in the park?

We are getting 3 day passes. Our original plan was to do 3 days and go home on Friday.

My suggestions for play areas:
near the back of the redwood creek challenge is an area with slides, a cave, tunnel tube... You can sit and watch the older kids play across from the orange stinger is the s.s. rustworthy, a playarea with McDonalds ... inexpensive lunch and you can sit and watch the playing.

Sit and relax:
playhouse disney show (20 min show)

aladdin show easily held the attention of my 2 and 6 year olds - even better than the playhouse show (45 min show)

muppet 3-D, indoor theater show (20 min show)

Ironically, my boys are VERY sensitive. Last year we took them to the muppet show and it is now a "scary" show. I know that Aladdin would scare them as well, having seen it myself. (they can't make it through the movie without asking to turn it off) Playhouse Disney would work though. They love to play though. They also love Dot's sprinklers in Bug's Land.

We like DTD, but it's so much shopping. It's hard for my kids to just window shop unless we're buying something also. they can do it, but it's tiring for me. When we've traveled with DH and needed to kill time, we always opted for a play area with a little relaxing time afterwards. Then we were ready for fun when the work day was over!

My children are used to me window shopping all the time. That is why I had thought of World of Disney. If I told them they could choose one thing there- they would be in heaven. Knowing them they would choose a flashlight or pencil. They are very good boys. It is their baby brother that I am trying to figure out. DH calls him "the quicker spitteruper."

If DH did not have school the following Friday, we would have postponed the vacation a week. This trip is mainly for our two boys. They have been through a lot this past year with everything our family has gone through. I don't have the easiest of pregnancies, we moved, DH is starting his business and getting his MBA on the weekends... I think I will just play things by ear and see how things go that morning. Thanks for the support! You guys are the best!

 

[fidoprincess]

On Tuesday mornings at the DLH, they let the kids feed the koi fish! It happens at 9:30 and is very very cool. There is an attendant that helps (and holds if necessary!) the child doing the feeding and it is never very crowded because most people are in the park. It might be fun to do Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast and then feed the fish and then let them do the remote control jungle boats and walk through the waterfall area. You do not have to be staying on site to do these things.

We have spent many leisurely mornings doing just this and taking our time walking around DTD. The lego store has a whole section in the back set up with tables for the kids to sit and play and there is no time limit and plenty of room and bricks.

If you have the day on your pass, I would not hesitate to go into the parks. I have nursed in practically every line with a small blanket over the baby. Just be prepared with extras for spit up and you will do fine. Easy rides (and lines) with baby and the other kids are jungle cruise, small world, & pirates. The tiki room is always great too as is the Hillbilly show, not scary at all! You could do Plaza Inn for character breakfast but we think Goofy's is easier for the kids to help themselves and we always ask for a table that lets us see the food stations. My kids just love helping themselves and there is no better "kid friendly" place to let them try it so you can sit with the baby. Kids drop plates and spill all the time and it is cleaned up with a smile in seconds! (At the Plaza, you will not be able to watch them from your table and since it is not all self serve, they will have to ask for things which my shy kids were afraid to do.)

I would be nervous doing the sprinkler area at DCA just because if you are on a bench, you can not see the kids the whole time but I would do the redwood play area but Grizzly Tiver Run since there is just one exit! My kids loved that and could easily spend hours there. Remember, too, if you are in that area, there is an easy entrance into the Grand hotel that has a wonderful lobby area with kids rocking chairs. You could pop in there to feed the baby and the other kid would probably enjoy waiting in that area. It is very big and easy to find a private spot to nurse.

Just a tip too, don't count on your DH getting back quickly! If he arrives at LAX anytime in the afternoon near rush hour, he could take hours to get back to DL depending on the traffic. Have a back up plan for dinner too.