Disneyland with a toddler- advice/input needed

[lala]

We're doing our first trip to Disneyland this fall, so I'm no expert.

Are you staying at the disneyland hotel? With only one day in the park I don't know if I'd want to give up anytime to eat in a resort. I would definitely plan on getting there first thing before it opens and plow through the whole day if you can and see the parade that night. Hopefully he'll take a good nap for you in the stroller.

[TBM]

It isn't much of a trek to the resort, and if the monorail is running that will get you close-ish.

At that age my grandson loved anything with music, like the Enchanted Tiki Room, It's a Small World, Pirates of the Carribbean, The Haunted Mansion (especially at holiday time with Nightmare Before Christmas), but he wasn't a fan of things with loud noises, like the Pinocchio ride. He loved the trains (Casey Jr is still a favorite of my adult children-lol). Sometime after he turned two he developed a fear of the dark and pretty much hated all of them. He still loved the park but we were limited on what we could actually do with him.


There is some San Diego and park info in the Disneyland post below...you may want to check that out.

[lala]

It's not that it's that far, it's just that with one day, I wouldn't want to give that park time up. Even an hour.

Can you do a character breakfast at one of the resorts the next morning before you leave?

[waterchurch]

At that age, my kids liked all the fantasy land rides, pirates, Pooh, and definitely Tiki Room.
The train is fun, but it's parked right now. You can still check out the train at a couple of the stations, my kids liked climbing on the seats and looking at the different cars. A nice break from the stroller or waiting in line.
I also wouldn't want to leave the resort for dinner, but that's your call.

[Deleted]

I've never been to Disneyland but we took my 15 month old to WDW and here are the (same or similar) rides he liked:

Pirates - I think he was scared but not too bad

Small World - fine

Little Mermaid - fine

Jungle Cruise - liked it

Fantasmic - loved it, which was surprising since it was so late

Peter Pan - fine

Dumbo - loved!  We rode several times.

Carrousel - favorite, rode over and over

Mad Tea Party - iffy

Tom Sawyer Island - he couldn't really walk when we went but it was nice to walk around

[alleinesein]

Jul 28, 2016 12:27:40 GMT -5 @angelicapickles said:

Hi everyone! I've lurked a little bit on this page because we have a Disneyland trip planned in September. Well, actually we have a San Diego trip planned but we're doing Disney on the last day. I've been plenty of times but this will be the first with our son so I'm just looking for a little bit of advice from people who've gone with young toddlers. He will be just about 15 months old at the time that we go. 

What rides or shows did your toddler love or hate? It seems like there's a lot that he can do, which is great. We're only planning on doing Disneyland not California Adventures.

Disney Photopass- worth it or no? I want to have lots of pictures for memories since it's his first Disney trip but I'm not sure if this is the way to go or not.

Lastly, we have reservations for Goofy's Kitchen that night. Is the premium character dining pass something that I should look into? I'm not sure what the benefit to it is. 

Thanks in advance for any advice you have, I really appreciate it! If you have any San Diego trip advice, I'll gladly take that too  

Photo pass- not worth it.  The photographers in the park can be rushed and 50% of the pics I have had taken have been blurry.  Don't waste cash on the pass.  Get pics taken and then check them out before you purchase anything.  Bring your own camera and just ask CMs and guests to take pics of your family.

You really wont save any $$ with the dining pass.  This isnt even something that Disney really advertises and the only advantage is that you can pay in advance.  You might save $3-4 total.

What characters do you want to see for character dining?  Most character dining is at breakfast and each one has very specific characters.  Storytellers is Chip and Dale and has more of the woodland creatures (brer bear, brer fox, meeko, koda, kenai, etc).  Goofys has Goofy, Alice, the mad hatter, donald.  Minnies has Minnie, Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, etc.  Ariels is princesses.  Mickey at PCH.  I'd pick the meal based on the characters that you want to see.

Are you planning on doing rider swaps or will you just stick to Fantasyland?  If you are going to do the rider swap for the big rides you will want to grab a FP for Space Mountain as early as possible.

When will you be at Disneyland?   Halloween Time kicks off super early this year (Sept 9th) and the parties start Sept 23rd.  

RE: dinner at one of the hotels.  You aren't going to be losing time.  This isnt WDW.  Unless you walk slower than a sloth you can be at the Disneyland hotel in 15 minutes or less and you also have the option of taking the monorail over.  Even with a reservation for dinner in the park you will most likely wait 10-20 minutes for your table.  If you choose to do dinner in the park you should consider doing the Paint the Night dining package.  The Blue Bayou option has a viewing spot for the parade on Main Street and it puts you in a perfect location to view the fireworks after the parade.  The Aladdins Oasis viewing area is back by its a small world and you can still see the fireworks but you will miss all of the visuals along Main street and the castle.

Get to the park early.  Hit up Fantasyland first and knock out as many rides as you can.  Use the afternoon for stuff like the Tiki Room and Mickey and Magical Map (check the schedule since it is not a daily show).  The River Belle is now a full service restaurant so that might be a nice option for lunch if you want to sit down.  Don't rule out DCA completely.  You can always upgrade your ticket to a park hopper if you decide that you want to check it out.  A Bug's Land is super kid friendly, has lots of shade and a water play area.  They have also been using the Bugs Life theater to show interactive movie previews.  

It has been ages since I have done the park with little ones.  Just be aware that some of the dark rides can freak them out (Snow White, Mr. Toads, etc).  Sit near the exit door in the Tiki Room in case you need to leave early.  The lobby of Mr. Lincoln is a nice quiet spot if you need some calm for a bit.  Spend some time in Toontown.  It is very kid friendly and there are so many little surprises hidden all over the place.  Check the park schedule for character meet and greets.  If you have the Disney Chase Visa CC there is a Kylo Ren meet and greet at Launch Bay in DLR and a character meet and greet (Minnie, Daisy, etc. it changes daily) in DCA.  The Chase card gets you a free 5x7 photo from that meet and greet.  

One tip to save some time- buy your tickets online!!  

What info do you want about San Diego?  There is a ton of stuff to check out but some of it requires a car.  Where are you staying in SD?  Downtown? Mission Valley? La Jolla?  Will you have a car? 

[auroraloo]

We just got back from 2 days with my 2/3 year olds.

my kids loved A bug's land at DCA. Star Wars was my 3 (almost 4) yos favorite. Little mermaid was the 2 (almost 3)yos favorite. 2 yo cried at monster's inc.

If you do Character Dining, do Goofy's Kitchen. We did that and PCH Grill and goofy's was waY better. When we were there it was Goofy, Chip, Dale, Minnie, and Pluto. I HIGHLY recommend Goofy's Kitchen.

Depending on how much time you want to spend there, you can get a decent amount done at both parks in one day, depending on what youdo. I would go to DL first and then go to DCA, as DCA was half as crowded as DL when we were there.

[alleinesein]

September 6th is both a good and bad day to go. A lot of stuff will be closed for the holiday install in addition to the stuff that is closed due to Star Wars land construction.

Mark Twain Riverboat Closed for Refurbishment
Sailing Ship Columbia Closed for Refurbishment
Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes Closed for Refurbishment
Hyperspace Mountain Closed for Refurbishment
Fantasmic! Closed for Refurbishment
Haunted Mansion Closed for Refurbishment
The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln Closed for Refurbishment
Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island Closed for Refurbishment
Disneyland Railroad Closed for Refurbishment
The Mad Hatter on Main Street, U.S.A. Closed for Refurbishment

Both parks have very limited hours that day and it looks like the only nighttime event scheduled is WOC at DCA at 8:15.  No fireworks or Paint the Night.  The parks open at 10am with extra magic hours at DLR at 9am.  You could try to snag an early breakfast reservation for the Plaza Inn during EMH.  It would get you into the park early and you would be able to head straight into Fantasyland when the park opens for everyone.

You could still do a late dinner at Goofy's Kitchen since the park will be closing early.  They serve dinner until 8:45 so you could do a 7:45 reservation.  Another option is to get a park hopper and end the day at DCA.  According to the schedule they will be doing WOC at 8:15 that night so you could pop over in the afternoon and hit up Bugs Land and then do a WOC dining package for dinner.

As for San Diego- the beaches will be crowded that weekend.  It is a holiday weekend and everyone heads to the beach.  If you are staying in Ocean Beach it might be a good idea to stick to the beach there especially if you can walk there.  Parking is always a PITA at any beach.  If you want to check out the sea lions in La Jolla head there early and grab breakfast at Brockton Villa.  After checking out the sea lions you can hit up Birch Aquarium.  Birch Aquarium is nice but small so it can be combined with other stuff.  I'd allow about 2 hours for the aquarium to see the main exhibit and the tide pools.  The smaller exhibit area changes and it can be hit or miss for kids.  The seahorse exhibit is pretty neat and the last time I was there it was swarmed with kids so I think it was a big hit with the little ones!

Nighttime Zoo will still be going on so that might be a fun thing to check out.  There is also a really nice playground near the zoo that you should let your LO run around in for a while.  It is behind the Ruben H. Fleet Science center and you will see it on the drive to the zoo.

If you like sweets check out Azucar in Ocean Beach.  It is a little cuban bakery and they also have some savory items.  Hodads if you want a burger.  And if you really need to satisfy a sweet tooth check out either Extraordinary Desserts or iDessert in Little Italy. 

[celiacmom]

In San Diego I'd go to the children's museum. It is awesome!

[nabum]

My DD is almost 2 but we are AP and have been off and on since she was born. I would plan to do Fantasyland, Small World and Toon Town. Buzz Blasters is usually a pretty quick line and although your 15 month old may not be able to participate, he will probably enjoy the A/C and the lights. There's also Pooh which is close to Splash Mountain and usually is a pretty quick ride. If you do opt to do a park hopper, I really like DCA at that age. Ariel and Monster's Inc are both air conditioned and there are a few fun splash pads in Bug's Land and adjacent to Ariel. We were there a couple of weeks ago for my birthday and ended up having lunch at Storyteller. I hadn't been before, but it was way superior to anything in the parks save for maybe Carthay Circle, and there was no wait. We also enjoyed the A/C in the lobby of the Grand Californian while we walked around to get DD to sleep so if you can work that into your day, maybe around nap time for a meal I would look into it! Enjoy your trip!

Oh, and at Monster's Inc you can ask for a buddy pass which allows you to skip the line as long as your child can ride in your lap. We found out about this last trip and it was very helpful!