Visiting Disneyland for 1St Time

I went with my older sister when she took her kids. They were tired, cranky and pooped out mid-day. My niece remembers the trip because she was 7. My nephew was four and has no memory of the trip.

We took my kids when they were older, 7 and 10, and they had so much more fun. We went on an off time and got to ride so many more rides. It was really enjoyable for all of us. Some times we only had to wait 10 or 15 minutes to get on a ride. We did a two day pass and still didn't get to everything, because they wanted to ride some things more than once. We will go again when they are teenagers to they can enjoy the "scarier" rides. As a parent though....Tower of Terror is awesome! Sorry had to throw that in.

Hi, I would urge you to work in rests or naps by staying near or at Disney. Also keep to your regular meal times if possible. kids this age especially get so overwhelmed and then generally lose it. keeping a little bit of their usual life will help you get the most out of your trip. Maybe your lucky and your little one will pass out in a stroller- ours never did! they have a little kid area with bugs life- it would be good to read some of those bug life books or see a movie before so he knows who the characters are. I would skip the mad hatters (alice in wonderland ride)not sure of exact name of it though, sorry! as well as the haunted house and possibly the pirates of the Caribbean if your son gets scared/upset at surprises and scary faces. most kiddos love the boat rides especially for its a small world and the star wars demo was a hit when my boys were younger. Pace yourself and hope you have a great time! If you can go on weekday, you will have much less lines for rides.

I think 3 is the perfect time. My 3 yr old loved it! Make sure you stay close by so you can walk back and forth to your hotel. We stayed at Anaheim Inn i believe. Took 5 minutes to walk to entrance. We were in line by 7:30 a.m. That way you get right in. The first couple of hours you should get right on the rides. If your husband or you want to ride a ride, just tell person at beginning of ride you are a single rider and you will get to cut in front of everyone on most rides. Also there is a parent switch pass you can get. Dumbo, its a small worl, peterpans flight, were some of our faves!

Something I hadn't thought about when I went... Write your cell phone number in permanent marker on your child's arm above the elbow (so it doesn't come off when they wash their hands). Just in case you get separated. I saw many children there with numbers on their arms and thought it was a great idea.

Can you get there before school lets out for X mas break?? Beat the crowds if you can!

Over the years I've been with two boys that same age. My only advice would be to skip Pirates of the Caribean. As much as you might want to go, and no matter if they have seen the movies. For my son, who loved the movies and dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow for weeks before the trip, it totally ruined everything! He was so scared that he had a terrible day from then on out. We had made the trip with my youngest brother (23 years younger) before the movie renovations and same thing. Scared him so bad he was reluctant to go on anything else.
And that's my favorite ride there. Go figure!