Advice on DisneyLand

Be careful though. My mom has this bright idea to dress us all in clothes that she had made. Yellow clothes for the morning and blue and red for the afternoon. We kept getting asked if we were singing somewhere that day.

My advice would be to rent a condo instead of a hotel. Its cheaper and everyone has their own rooms. Also, you can eat-in any meals you like, which helps with the cost! We used florida sun vacation homes last october ($89/night 3 bedroom condo), but there are tons of brokers on the internet.

Lucky you! We had a great time in Disneyland last year.
I think your four year old will be in a second heaven. There are plenty of rides for her age group and the Disney Parade and fireworks are something she will love! The two year old is young, and it may be a long day for him. Plan on staying near the resort with transportation back and forth by shuttle. That way you can bring back the kids during the day for short naps/breaks. Be sure to have a great stroller for the two year old and lots of toys, snacks etc to keep him occupied. I will say the food is expensive and not that great. If it is possible to pack lunch/snacks I would recommend this . One more thing- the fast pass is definetly worth the money!

We took our 5 yr old daughter and 2 yr old son last march. She is into princesses and LOVED IT!!!! However, there were rides my 2 yr old couldn't ride because of height requirements (and he's tall for his age). I would get on line and see how many rides your youngest would make. There are a lot for little ones, but it did hurt his feelings when he wasn't allowed to ride some rides. THEY LOVED. I think if I would have waited one more year it would have been perfect!!!

I would stay there if that is the only park you are visiting! If the youngest gets tired or cranky one of you can hop a shuttle and take him to the room for a nap while the other one stays with your daughter so she doesn't miss out on any fun!!

They have a tent that you wait in line for hours to see all the princesses. Your child gets to talk to each one and get a pic taken. Worth it!

We stayed at a hotel at universal and it was SSSOOO great and very convienent.

I wouldn't take a stroller. You can reserve one and I wish I had done that. The ones they have are so neat and the kids can lay back in them...plenty big for two. Bring a blanket and if one or both falls asleep it's perfect for them to lay down on.

If you go and need more advice let me know!

Good luck, have a great trip if you go!

I believe that the children are too young to really appreciate Disney Land. There is so much to see and they would probably tire out and not be able to last a full day. Taking into consideration the cost of the park, I think that it would be better to wait at least a couple of more years so that the little ones will have "more" memories of the park.

I went to Disneyworld a few years ago and my children were much older (teenagers). A lot of the rides were boring for them--more for little ones. I think your daughter will love it. Your son--I'm not sure. He will probably like it also but it may hinder what you can ride together as a family because he's so young. But there is something for everyone there. Just remember if you buy your tickets in advance online it's much cheaper. Also, don't forget to buy hopper passes. And it's pretty confusing when you buy your tickets in what parks are included. I thought I had bought tickets for all of the parks but the water parks weren't included. I ended up spending another $150 so we could go there also. Since I had older children--the water parks were the huge hit! They were great!!! I'm not sure, since your kids are so young, that you'd want to go there though. Sea World was great also! I think we liked sea world more than disneyworld. I know I did! Disney World/Land are set up to have something for everyone. I think if it was me though I'd wait a couple years until the kids were just a little older.
We didn't stay in the park--we rented a hotel a couple miles away and they had shuttle buses that took you back and forth. My son went w/grandma a few years before we all went and they stayed in the park though. He really liked that. You also might check into houses to rent near the park. My husband did that years ago and had a great time--private pool--fully equipped kitchen--everything. It's real reasonable with the feeling of home.
Good luck and hope you have a great time!
D.

there are books in the travel section about the cheapest and best ways to go to Disney Land/World. We bought one before we went to Disney World and it was awesome. It helped us plan our trip and save some money...and we found out what was appropriate for our kids to do and what was a little too scary.

Hi J.! We actually just moved out here from California and we had season passes to Disneyland. I recommend if you can afford it stay in the hotel. Take advantage of some of the fun stuff they offer for families. Like breakfast with the characters. I took my son there for the first time before he even turned 2 and he had a blast. There is a part of California Adventure that's geared toward younger kids and it's pretty fun. You know your kids better than anybody else and if you think they would have fun then go for it. After the parade they actually do a firework show too. My son loved watching the parades and all the dancing. They show the light parade at California Adventure.
Have fun! And I hoped this helped!

Definitely stay on site. They have incredible service and shuttles every 20 minutes or so back to the hotel. You can go back, rest up and then back to the parks for dinner and fireworks etc. It adds so much more to the experience to be that much closer.

I don't know about you but the last thing I want to do after walking around a theme park all day is to come home and cook! I want to be on vacation too! I thought the dining plan was an incredible value and provided more food than we could possibly eat. I would get it only for the adults. The plan includes 2 "snack" choices (we used these for breakfast items,) lunch with dessert, for dinner..appetizers, entree and desert. We were able to eat at some of the high end restaurants in the park that had the character dining. There is no way we could have afforded them otherwise. Definitely call ahead of your trip to reserve the character dining restaurant, like the Princess table. Its really worth it for the extra experience. Plus, when you stay on site your room key, park tickets and meal plan are all on one plastic card which make it incredibly easy.

We stayed in Disney World, Orlando. The plane fare there was much cheaper than Cali. We were able to take advantage of the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom. A word of warning. Its exhausting. My advice is, if at all possible, to plan a couple of extra days just so you can make sure and enjoy the parks at your leisure. We went for 5 days and I wish it had been 7. We STILL didn't see all that the parks had to offer. We went at a busy time though. Definitely try going when most others are in school. There will be much less wait times in line and chances are you'll get a better deal. Its a great and magical experience. Have fun!

Here's the Disney site. You can compare prices etc. here.
http://home.disney.go.com/travel/

Hi J.,

My name is L. and I have a three year old son and we would like to take him to Disney World in Florida. However, I remembered that my parents took me to the park when I was four and the memories I recalled were from the pictures that they had taken. It wasn't until I was taken again several years later that I was really able to enjoy the trip and recall anything about the park.
Also, my husband and I went as H.S. band sponsors three years ago and we decided then that we wouldn't take our son until he was at least 5 or ideally 6 years old. He loves Mickey Mouse and all things Disney but the week that we were there, the park was averging 85,000 to 90,000 people a day. Those with younger kids we noticed were not having as great a time as they should at Disney. The wait to get on rides was around 45 minutes for the most popular rides (the ones that are appropriate for young children to ride; ie. teacups, Peter Pan, Small World, etc.) and the food lines were just as long. If your kids are like mine, they won't be able to wait that long. These times were with the Fast Pass tickets that were part of the package. Line waits without fast pass were an hour and 15 minutes to two hours long.

I don't want to shatter your dreams of taking your kids there this year, but I will pass on the advice that the park workers gave us when we were there. One, wait until the kids are a little older so that they can ride ALL the rides and one parent won't have to set back with one while the other rides. Two, the best and least crowded time of year to visit is late August through Late October. Lines are shorter and there is rarely any wait time to ride. Three, if you plan to stay all day at the parks, food passes included in your package are the best way to go. We agree, we had meals included and it kept everyone from "grazing" all day long on junk food in the park, and we didn't have to worry about budgeting our funds for food. What we had we could spend on suvenirs and gifts. Four, if you can, stay at one of the resorts at the park. The tramway train takes you right to your resort and you don't have to fight the traffic in and out of the parks. We sat in a travel bus for an hour trying to get out of the park one night.

No matter what you decide, your kids will love the parks and so will you and your husbnd. Just plan to take your kids again soon if you take them this year so that they will be able to recall the fun memories and so that your youngest will get a chance to ride all the rides also. They will enjoy the other parks too if they are older.

Have fun, Disney is AWESOME!!

Hi, J.
Please feel free to send me a private e-mail. I have been to Disney 4 times and I can tell you all the best and cheapest ways to go about having a wonderful trip!
You can private message me on mamasource, or my e-mail is ____@____.com

We took our two kids to Disneyworld last summer for the first time. They were just turning 5 and 2 1/2. But already, my younger one doesn't remember anything but seeing a fire at the end of the trip. Luckily, 3 and under are free. My 5 year old is totally into princesses, so we thought she would really enjoy it. They were fine for the first 2 days, but after that, they were exhausted and slept a lot in the strollers. We stayed out of the park and rented a house which was great. We were able to go back and just relax whenever we wanted and not feel that we had to eat out all the time. We decided that we are going to wait about 3 years and go back. Good Luck!

J.

I just got back from Disneyland with my 14 y/o daughter who is developmentally delayed - We did it by ourselves and had an AWESOME time!

I went online to disney and got their "itinerary for short attention spans" I sat down and laid out a well thought out trip that made all the difference in the world!

We even incorporated "rest periods" that was where we went to the hotel for a nap and then back to disneyland. At the hotel prior to the nap we swam in the pool and hottub to assist her in switching gears. So instead of calling it naptime or rest perios I called it "swimming time" then when back into the hotel room drying off I said "Ok now our bodies need a break before we go to dinner and back to disneyland - so climb up and snuggle in" we cuddled and withing MINUTES she was sound asleep for a two hour nap (that I soooo needed).

I too am from Oklahoma and so I also had to consider the plane ride, airport, and changing planes as far as stimulus to counteract good moods. I spent a lot of time preparing her for the 'expectations' on vacation. We took a polaroid camera and built our own "how to have a vacation" book.

I took pictures of her in a restaurant "acting good" and pictures of her at the airport with her suitcase and pictures of every other detail I could think of I needed her to know and we spent everynight 'telling' safety stories of how to have a great vacation!

WHen we got there she was even telling me the steps. "Ok mom we have to check into the hotel" "Now we unpack out suitcases" "now we take a short break and explore the hotel" and "now we go to dinner" and then we "go ride the monorail and see the entire place from a viewpoint not so stimulating as walking through the crowd.

******I highly recommend the polaroid of your children and you as a group for security purposes if you all get separated then you have an immediate identification photo (make one for each adult and each child to keep on their person) on my daughters photo was my cell number including area code so that if a Disney emplyee found her she could immediately call me and minimize trauma for both of us.

OH yes ***warning those disney characters are sooooo talll they intimidated her and she is two inches taller than me (I had no clue Goofy was 6"ll" WOW)

Have a GREAT TIME let me know what you do !

J.

We have been to both Disneyland and Disney World several times and it is our favorite vacation destination!
Whether or not your kids are ready mainly depends on their personalities. We took our daughter for the first time to Disneyland when she was 24 months old and it was great. She had also quit taking naps by then.
I would suggest visiting in early June before school gets out in California.
It is always best to stay at a hotel in the park if you can afford it. It is great to not have to get in your car during your vacation, and it adds to the magic! With young kids, it is easy access to the room for naps, etc.
From research I have done on the meal plans, the only way our family would come out ahead doing that would be to spend lots of hours at full-service dining restaurants, which are the more expensive dining options. We prefer to spend our time in the parks instead. We generally eat one table-service or big meal on these vacations daily. If your family enjoys lingering over meals, then you might want to take advantage of using the meal plan, but I think it would take 4-5 hours of your day to do that.
Hope this is helpful, let me know if you have more questions.
I recommend www.mousesavers.com lots of great info!

We went when my daughter was two and she had a blast. There were plenty of rides and games that she could play. We also went when she was five and that was great also. There was so much more to do this time around. Just make sure that you take your stroller (so the baby is comfortable) and plenty of snacks. We stayed at the resort the first time, and really enjoyed the whole experience. The hotels are decorated so nice, and there are shops and restaurants all around the hotel.
Have fun,
J.

We went to Disney World (in Florida) in September with my 2 1/2 year old son. We had a great time! Also, my sister's family, which includes 2 1/2 year old and 4 1/2 year old girls, went with us, along with my parents. We stayed in a resort hotel. It was one of the value resorts and it was just fine for what we were doing and reasonably priced. We also decided to do the food plan and it was great. I would do it again in a heartbeat! We didn't have to worry about what we were going to be spending on food because it was already taken care of for the most part. Also, when we went to the restaurants we could order whatever we wanted. If you do decide to do this, make sure you make a reservation several months in advance as the restaurants will book up even in the off-season. With young kids you should probably go in the off-season, so you don't have to wait in the really long lines. You can go to mousesavers.com to find out if there are any Disney discounts or specials going on right now.

I am not sure about Disneyland, but I know at Disney World you can use your food plan to have lunch in the castle with the Princesses. My nieces did this and loved it! They dressed up like princesses and you can also go to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique and get your daughter's hair done.

I hope your family has a great time if you decide to go!

We went when my son was 2 and he can't stand that he doesn't remember a thing about it. He did well on the flight until the last hour. He was nauseated. There are so many things you can't take them on and can't take them into watch at that age. We always wished we had waited until he was older. Honestly, I look at it like we spent the money to drag around all the baby stuff you have to take with you, not get the opportunity to fully enjoy it, all so that your child can't even remember you ever took them. That's alot of money to spend without the memories especially when they are the ones you're doing it for. One other thing, we were a little disappointed in that there were as many stores for you to buy Disney stuff as their were rides/shows. We just felt like it was a push to buy. I understand that's what they do...anywhere for that matter, but if you go you'll understand what I mean. My son just looks at the pics now and wonders why he cannot get himself to remember any of it. I keep saying, "you were two"....and then I realize we made that decision without really thinking that part thru. Hope it's helpful. ps GO Sooners!

We took my 4 year old son to Disney world and he was really too young for it. I am not sure if there is any difference between Disneyland and Disneyworld. It was 50.00 per person to get into the park and then there wasn't a whole lot for him to do. We also went in August, so it was VERY hot, which he hated. We ended up staying maybe 3 hrs and decided that was enough. For us it was really a waste of money because he really didn't enjoy himself. I am thinking we will try again when he is around 8 and not in the summertime.

hi J. we too are planning on going to Disneyland in March. My daughters are 3 and 5 and I think that is a great age. I think your kids will love it. I grew up in California and went several times a year as a kid in the 70's. I think things have changed a lot the last time I was there was it the 80's, so we are excited to see what has changed, but what I remember is there is a lot for the little ones to do. we are staying at the Holiday Inn express it is near the park, and it was a good deal. we have a AAA membership, and we found cheap hotels through that, and we are looking on ebay to purchase tickets to the park they are much cheaper if you take the time to research. my advice would be keep checking the ebay sites and see if you can find discount tickets anywhere else. I wish you luck and it will be lots of fun, my family is excited to go to the happiest place on earth.

believe me, your kids will remember and you all will love it!!

J.,

My hubby and I are HUGE fans of Disney. We have been so many times that we cannot count anymore. In fact we are going back again in March. However, we have only been to Disneyworld in Florida. If that is a more viable option, I would suggest going there. There are more theme parks, more hotel choices, and more restaurants. I would certainly look into the all inclusive meal plans, especially if you are an organized person. The character meals are great! Good luck to you if you try to go to a Princess meal as they tend to fill up quickly. As far as the ages of your children, 4 is probably the most magical age to take them. 2 is kind of young, but your son will surely have a great time. If you stay on-site, you can just catch a Disney bus back to the hotel when the kids are tired and go swimming or catch a nap, whatever. My girls are 4 and 6 and have been to Disney since they were about 9 months old. A great website to check out is www.wdwinfo.com. Have fun!

I too would love to here what everyone has to say about Disney. We are taking a big family trip this June, and are starting to work on the details.

One thing someone at work suggested was having the kids wear the same color shirt. Monday-blue, Tues-Red etc. Loved it! Got some Jerzees at Michaels on sale!

I also am making some persoalized clipboard for the kids when the characters sign cards. THen we can make the Autograph book when we get back and work on the scrapbook.

Any other ideas/suggestions?