First Trip to Disneyland

My 4 year old got scared of the Snow White ride. It gets dark in there. Depending on your child, that's one I may avoid.
Its a small world and toon town are good choices. The characters breakfast is a fun thing for kids - a little pricy, but my girls loved it.
At California Adventure, there really isn't much for young kids. They have a lot of 3-D shows which terrified by daughter. But they have a Disney Playhouse show she'd love!

Check the Disney website. They have a feature that lets you plan your day based on the age of the kids. It lists all the rides with no height requirements, etc. We took my son for his 3rd bday and the list was a great guideline. We got to see a lot of the park and still have lots to look forward to as he gets older.

I just took my 3 year old daughter and 11 month old son to Disneyland for the first time in April of this year.
My daughter is very active & daring too, but she was frightened on the rides that were very dark. For example, she loves Snow White (and all Princesses) but she was very scared on the Snow White ride because it is dark through most of it. Because of this reaction, I did not take her on Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, or anything that was dark through most or part of it. She absolutely loved Toon Town (but she was scared on the Roger Rabbit ride because it was dark with a lot of suddent noises). She wanted to spend most of the time in toon town. She also loved the Carousel, Dumbo, the teacups, Small World, and the railroad.
We also went to Ariel's Grotto at CA Adventure for the Princesses lunch. You need to make reservations ahead of time, but she still tells everybody how she met the princesses.

Have fun!

ALl the advice you have recieved sounds great, one other thing is if you and your other family members want to ride a few rides that your two year old can't go on or if she gets scared at the last minute you can do a ride swap, they will let a few people in your party get on the ride while the others wait with your daughter and then when their turn is done you can swap with the rest of your party so everyone in your party has a turn on the ride minus your daughter if she is too litte or scared. This works well if their is older kids with you or if she gets to scared at the last minute!

A.,
PAck lots of snacks, waiting in line can be very hard for her, the lines will be long and strollers are not allowed in line, so snakcs to eat in line (things that take time to eat) can be a great distraction.

Start with OUT door rides. They are not as loud and they feel safer. My daughter is 2 her favorite rides are Dumbo and autopia. Most of the in-side rides are VERY loud and I'll tell you this if you spook her once you won't get her on another ride, LOL we made that mistake. My son begged for pirates of the carabian so we did it first and it ruined our whole day.

Also where ever your not sure, go to the exit of a ride and see who is coming out and what are their reactions, if the kids your daughters age are coming off happy it's probably a good idea, if they are crying you might want to skip it.

There is a princess area, I forget what its called but it's up the hill from toon town that is fun, they get to meet and greet the princesses and have story time.

I think the most important thing to remember is that the day is for her, if she wants to ride the same ride over and over again, well.....

Heehee, well that was much more then I intended to write but there you go, there is what worked for us, and didn't.

Hetaher

A. I am so excited for your family. I have been to disneyland about 20 times in my 24 years of life. I love it. We are also taking my 2 year old daughter next month who went with us to Walt Disney World last year. Most of the rides have a height requirement. There will only be a handful of rides that your little one wont be able to enjoy. Depending on how many days you are going try to get as much as possible out of your days. Check on line to see what time the park will be open. If your little one feels like a nap and is comfortable sleeping in her stroller (bring your own and dont forget to put your name on it, their stroolers are plastic and get get hot) providing everyone wants to stay and enjoy more rides, then take turns going on rides that she can't go on. All ride lines will let the second party in the exit so they don't have to wait additional time in line, providing the first party has already done the waiting. Make use of fast passes. Only a handful of rides have them, but if you get a fast pass for one ride (the time to come back is about an hour away) then you can go to another ride and wait in that line to ride. Once that ride is done go to your fast pass ride and your line should be much shorter if not all the way to the front! Any ride that your little can ride I suggest you take her on once to try. My little one also loves thrills and we took her on Pirates with two semi-high drops in the beginning and she was laughing her head O.! Bring a big diaper bag with you. Fill it with juice, snacks, suntan lotion, water for you grow-ups, a favorite toy or doll if need be(just dont take it on any rides). Your little one will get very thirsty (so will you) and hungry and food and drinks in the park are expensive. If you would like to save a few bucks go outside the park across the street and eat at dennys, mcds or even mimis cafe. If you and your husband would like a quiet dinner and dont mind spending a few bucks, try Blue Bayou in New Orleans Square(make reservations on main street and it is a little pricy). Also bring your own camera and always keep it with you. Any questions please ask me. Hope this helps! Have a blast!

we got disneyland passes for our two and three year old children. you can go on the disney web site and they will map out a plan for children for you but my kids love the parades, its a small world, driving in autopia... the new nemo sub ride is open,the carosel,pooh,peter pan,.... I would stay away from pinoccio (p.s. i can't spell to save my life) stay away from the roger rabbit ride in toon town....those ones scared my children... also you can visit mickey in his house sometimes the line can be long but my kids don't mind..... as for california adventure, there isn't much there for the really small children but my kids like the monsters inc stage show but that is only if she likes the movie. oh yeah, my kids also like the buzz lightyear ride.... she will get to shoot all of the bad guys...
oh one more things... my son is terrified of pirates and the haunted house but love the tikki room (it is a nice sit down ride for mom to have a break) and the jungle cruse.

I love Disney. You're going to have a great time! Each park has a baby care center that is just the greatest thing ever. It's a nice quiet area with comfortable changing tables and little potties. The one in Disney is located next to the first aid center on the little street before the Plaza Inn. The one in California Adventure is near the bug world, across from the winery restaurant. Whenever we go, I go out of my way to change my son there instead of in the regular restrooms.

The Plaza Inn used to offer breakfast with the princesses. If you go to the Disneyland website, they'll have more info on that. I have two boys, so we don't get to do much of that. I would stay away from Snow White's Scary Adventure (it's scary). There is a princess shop in Sleeping Beauty's castle that I never buy anything because I have no little girls. Also, there are lots of meet and greets around the park where your princess can meet the Disney princesses. I'm sure she'll love that!

And don't miss Playhouse Disney in California Adventure. There isn't a lot in CA for the kids. My sons love running around the trails near Grizzly Mountain (I think that's what it's called). And the grown-ups should totally check out Soarin' Over California.

You will find lots of information at www.disneyland.com. You can plug in the dates you will be there and find out which rides are closed, when the shows are, etc.

Have fun!

Check http://www.mamasource.com/request/16685948589356089345 to see what everyone told Kristin B back in April. She got 41 responses in all. ~J.

Hey A.,
You will have so much fun. My husband and I and my girlfriend, we took our babies in Feb. My daughter was only 6 1/2 months. She went on everything except the big rollercoasters. And she did well, the only one that she was scarred on was buzz lightyear because of the lasers that you shoot. But we even took her on Pirates and the haunted house.

Also, there is a mother's room on Main street. It has a diaper changing area, a tv and sitting area for little kids who may get tired.

Have fun!!!! Hope that helps!

B.

Hello. I take my daughter quite often. We have an annual pass, it's great to go for four/five hours each time. My daughter is almost three (next month). We took her for the first time at 2 1/2, she loved it.

The last time we went, we took her to the Disney Princess Fantasy Faire right across (the way) from Small World, she loved it. She is really into the Disney Princesses so it was perfect. You can take pictures with some of the Princesses. They also have one come out and tell a story and then they have a show. Some of the rides in Fantasyland are great too. She likes Small World, Alice in Wonderland, Tea Cups, etc. The new Nemo Submarines, I believe, are open now. There is also Toon Town where you can go in Mickey, Minnie and Goofy's Houses. My daughter loves to go in Minnie's House. We even took her on Pirates of the Caribbean..that scared her a bit but she didn't cry.

California Adventures has a Playhouse Disney show that is great for little ones. They also have the Bugs Life area that has rides for little ones. There is also an area in Bugs Life that kids can play in water, if it's hot and you have a change of clothes. We only usually stay at California Adventures for a few hours and head to Disneyland for the rest of the time.

Disneyland is just a happy, fun place to be. I'm sure your daughter will enjoy it no matter what you go on that day.

Have fun.
S.

Dear A.,
My two boys, ages 2 and 5 were at Disneyland on Thursday. We started at California Adventure in the Bugs Life area. We went on all four rides in 30 minutes or less because there was no lines. Next we went over to Disneyland. I would suggest going into Fantasyland. We love the Carousel, Dumbo, Casey Jrs. Choo-Choo Train, Tea Cups, Peter Pan, and Small World are great. We also go on Autopia (my sons love to drive). My two-year old loves the Jungle Cruise (boats with animals as he says). Unfortunately, one of the elephants was "sick" on the day we went and fell into the water and needed to be fixed. We were very sad. Pooh and Tom Sawyers island is also fun. There is are many things to do. I hope you have a super time. My children also loved watching the parade. Hopefully, the park won't be too busy for you. Good luck!!

S.

We took our daughter to Disneyland when she was 2 and 4 months old. She loved Dumbo and Pirates of the Caribean(warning, it does get dark and has fake cannon explosions) but unfortunately otherwise she was rather bored. She did get a kick out of meeting mickey mouse though. We didn't get to go to CA so maybe that will be cuter. But my real advice would be going on a Wednesday, there was hardly anybody there until 3pm.
Sorry I cant be more help, just be ready for a bored baby. Oh but try the new nemo ride, that one might be cute.
T. and Kelsie

How fun. I went with my 2 year old son and not sure you know this but kids under the age of 2 are free. That is a good thing. At Disneyland there is no wrong rides but do stay away from the spinning teacups. The only loud noise ride was the roger rabbit. The haunted house was not to scary for my son because we named our ghost "George". Have a great time.