Disneyland Trip with a 19 Mo Old!

I bring my own stroller.........we stay within walking distance of the Park so we can "ride" the kids back to the hotel instead of unloading from the stroller only to carry it all in a long line for the trolly, etc.............

2 Blankets.......change of clothes for getting wet.

A Backpack with "kid things".......capri suns, fishies, etc.... I know they say NO FOOD, but they just don't want a "picnic" from everyone...baby stuff has always been allowed..........for us anyway.

When the kids were little we picked a couple of "shows" for them to see, then pretty much kept on the "right" throughout the park until we were all the way finished :O)

Have fun!

~N.

take your own stroller....it is nice to have the stroller for the walk back to the Hotel with all your goodies. pack healthy snacks for sure. They say not to bring food into the park but I have never had anyone tell me to throw anything out as long as it is in the diaper bag for the baby. The snacks at the park are usually expensive and not very healthy. The healthy snacks you can find cost an arm and a leg. If you have the option from the hotel for early entry take advantage of that too.

Lots of great advice below, my main thing would be: Go to the park as soon as it opens. Less crowds, shorter lines and see more during the morning. By lunchtime it will be crazy crowded.
Also, try not to pressure yourself/your family into Being Happy Every Moment and Have The Best Time Ever. It can be stressful and confusing, crowded and slow. So try to remain calm, take it as it comes, and do the best you can. My daughter doesn't remember being there before she was 3, but we have the pictures with the characters (Breakfast with Mickey was awesome) framed, and the pictures of the princesses from the parade. Relax, it'll be great!

That is a fun age to take them. We brought our own stroller and pack-n-play for sleeping but we drove so we could bring more. You can probably go either way on the stroller, maybe compare the cost of checking it vs renting a stroller. Your baby can go on a majority of the rides which is a great thing about disneyland. My little one loved toon town when we took him around that age. They you and hubby can get a switch pass so the two of you can still enjoy some of the adult rides and not have to wait in line twice. Have fun!

We just went to Disneyland for the day a few weeks ago with our 3 yo and 8 month old. Everything was perfect! We were camping at the beach in Dana Point so we had our dog - they even have a kennel there that we used!
We brought all of our own food. (I didn't know it was frowned upon!). Tons of fruit, a LOT of water, pretzels, string cheese, cookies, sandwiches. (we even had it in a mini collapsable cooler and they didn't mind. All we really bought there was beverages. We also brought our own stroller. It is important to bring a stroller that they can recline fully in and take a nap. It is also important to have a lot of storage.
We brought one change of clothes and sweatshirts for the evening, hand sanitizer and lots of wipes.
Our 3 year old was a little scared on Mr. Toads Wild Ride, Alice and Wonderland and Pirates of the Carribean. (but ended up loving Pirates...). We didn't have time for the haunted house. The volume in the yellow submarines was so loud that we had to cover our 8 month old's ears and she started crying.
Toontown is great for the little ones but really crowded. Everything in Fantasyland (except what I mentioned above) is good for the little ones.

We brought a stroller but my daughter is the kind that didn't like sitting in the stroller so we only used it once for her. But it was helpful for carrying around the diaper bag and snacks. You have to leave the stroller outside some attractions so you still have to carry your stuff in. I think the rentals were reasonably priced but they are the hard plastic kind so I don't know how comfy they are.
My almost 2 yr old loved having lunch with characters and the shows. She wasn't really into rides then. She also got an autograph book and had fun collecting the characters' autographs and it made her more willing to take pictures with them.
Keep hydrated. Take your time and don't worry about hitting up all the spots if you don't get to. Get a map and plan your day. They have a guide for attractions for little ones. They also have rides and attractions with a Fast Pass or something like that where you can go at a certain time and join a shorter line. That takes more planning but it sure helps save time in line.
Have fun!

Take your own stroller. If you rent theirs, you can't take them out of the security area so you have to carry your child and all bags, etc from the security area to the hotel.

We definitely bring snacks when we go, pretzels, raisins, apples, etc. We usually bring one bottle of water each to start the day and then buy more drinks as needed.

My biggest suggestion would be to do a few outside rides first (Dumbo, Casey Junior Railroad, Merry-Go-Round) to get your child excited about rides and then move on to the indoor rides.

I would avoid Mr. Toad's for sure. Alice in Wonderland is a little loud but shouldn't be too scary except for the volume. Definitely don't miss toontown (you can move levers, open doors and funny sounds come out, explore all of the characters houses, lots of active things to do), Winnie the Pooh ride, Peter Pan ride, Dumbo ride, even the Tea cups (you don't have to spin them). Make sure you do Tom Sawyers Island and the Redwood adventure trail in California Adventure Park. When they are that little, the active things are just as much fun (or more) than the rides. My son did fine on Pirates of the Caribbean at that age but you need to make your decision based on your child. In California Adventure Bug's Life Land is really cute but don't take your child to the 3-D movie, it is quite scary. There are some cute things for kids on the boardwalk area and if you want, you kid can sit on your lap for the Toy Story Mania ride, my son liked it. A lot of what you will do will probably be seeing the characters also. The parades do seem to be a big hit with the little ones.

Others have said it already but you really have to change your expectations from when you went before kids. You may end up going on Dumbo 5 times in a row and never get to Winnie the Pooh, or something else you really wanted to do. It is really about following their lead and you may not get to see everything but you will have fun in the process. Have fun!

If you go to Disneyland online they have a trip planning feature. I can help you decide which park has the most for your family with small children. We've been to Disney 3 times and used the planner to help us decide which park was worth going to.
I get hot, so bring a lot of sunscreen and hats. Bring your own stroller. My kids like having those spray bottle fans. They sell them at the park, but you can get one at walmart for have the price. Oh and your camera!!

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/parks/la...

My son was about this age when we went. Remember it's going to be HOT! There will be LONG lines and A LOT of people. Expect to take short trips out (few hours at a time if possible) and try not to do it during the hottest times in the day, this will aid in keeping them & you from overheating/fits/etc while battling the crowds and waiting in line. We didn't get to see ALL of Disneyland when we went or go on a whole lot of rides, but the few we were able to were very memorible! We found that we all enjoyed our stay much better when we kept our expectations minimal and kept naps on schedule. Our babe enjoyed the parades (especially the light parade), visiting the shops with all the disney toys, the pool, and roaming around the cool hotel. I recommend going on the Pirates of the Carribean! All three of us got to go together and our son LOVED it! Just follow your babes lead, if he/she's happy you're ALL happy!

Also if your babe drinks milk and you have a refridgerator in your room, buy it at a grocery store by the gallon as well as snacks/fruit/etc, trust me the 5-10 min walk will save you mega $$! They charge an arm and a leg if your going to buy them at any hotel/tourist stores etc.

We did disney world with DD when she was that age. She had a blast! We brought our own stroller, it was GREAT For the airport and we had lots of connections. When my mom took DD @ 3yo last year though, we only rented and that worked out really great for them. The benefit of your own stroller is that it lays back, we got lots of good naps out of DD @18mo just by lying the seat back and draping a blaket over her.

SNACKS! We packed and entire small rolly suitcase of snacks. Fruit snacks, fruit leather, granola bars, bags of crackers and chips, pretzels, dumdums, etc. We took those into the park and really saved on purchasing treats...i mean you have to do that too, its fun, and part of the trip. But we ate them all by the time the trip was over, then had that suitcase for taking home souveniers. we also bought a case of bottled water and some pop at a grocery store and took that with us into the park too.

There are lots of kid friendly rides. At 18 mos my DD loved the Pooh ride, peter pan, dumbo, small world, and Pirates of the Carribbean. Also look for non-ride attractions like Tom Sawyer and the Swiss Family treehouse (not sure if they have those at land? I've only been to world). Stop and play at the mini park areas that have room for littles to run around, they have a great pooh one in disney and I imagine they have similar. There is also a lot of kid-friendly stuff at Toon Town.

Definitely have hats and sunglasses. SUNSCREEN!! It is SUPER expensive in the park if you forget. Have a small familiar lovey but not THE lovey, since there is a chance it will get tossed out of the stroller. They are nice for napping or tantrum times too. Bring a backpack too, since sometiems LOs get tired of riding and walking, they get a new perspective. Plan on being in the charater shots with them, a lot of kids that age are scared of the costumes. Wet Ones or other disposalbe antibacterial wipes. Great for handwashign on the go and for swiping over an outdoor table. they have the purse packs at walmart and target for a dollar, take a few of them. Nice for refreshing yourself too :)

Remember to go with the flow. LOs that age can get easily overwhelmed, so you made need to take some breaks to just chill. Watch the ducks on the pond, or grab a snowcone and just sit on a bench and people watch. Maybe have a favorite story or two to throw in the stroller for a snuggle time. There's lots of noise and colors and people and that can be a little daunting. Be sure to get a good night's rest for everyone. Don't be too strict about the nutrition, you might drive yourself crazy! I know lots of people don't agree, but I think its okay to let them eat ice cream 3x a day when you are someplace special like that. Get the Micky kids meals and they all come with veggies or fruit. I think they have done a good job on meals. Focus on the FUN and creating the memories. If you don't get it all done, you jsut have an excuse to go back!! :)

Have FUN! I am so jealous, I can't wait to go back! I would go EVERY year if I could afford it!!

Disposable bibs. So nice to keep them clean for pictures and you can just toss them. They fold up so small you dont' even notice carrying them.

Patience, a stroller and a good attitude. Get there when the gates open. We opted for a "kid's" suite for our hotel as they had their room at nap/night time so we could sit in our room with the lights on, have conversation, etc. while they were sleeping. Have a great time. My 25 month old was terrified of the dark, noisy rides so be prepared if yours doesn't want to go on those types of rides.

I would bring your stoller to make sure you baby is comfortable as it is a long day there are designated stroller areas where you have to leave the strollers so I would not bring your top of the line stroller just in the small chance that someone takes it. We recently went a few weeks ago with my child who is under 1 and it was not that bad however it is so crowded and easy to get lost even when you have someone right in front of you. Make sure to bring your baby its normal food, a few containers of water, at least 2 sun hats if they are prone to throwing things on the floor, baby sunblock, wipes and plenty of diapers I woul dnot bring a lot of gadgets I way over packed when I went remember that you can leave some of your items in the car and take the tram back at some point in the day to get them for free. You should bring a light coat for the baby that you can zip up easily.

I check out these sits prior to going and it made the trip more enjoyable as I found out you can ride swap which means you ride the ride and baby stays with dad then dad rides and baby stays with dad. I also learned all the rides that the baby could ride with us which includes pirates of the caribbean and there is a fun buzz light year ride that takes photos of you as you shoot.

Please see the links below:
http://www.disneymouselinks.com/toddler-baby-attractions....
http://sites.google.com/site/babesindisneyland/

Buy the "Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2010" from Amazon.com. About $12 and was awesome on advice for traveling with kids to the park. The rate all the rides for all ages and give advice for the order to visit rides which will be helpful for the busty season. If you go to a Disneyland hotel (I recommend with an 18th old so you can return mid-day easily for naps) go to Disneyland.com to book your hotel and check under booking for Special offers. Book your hotel and tickets separate for best price. The package deals ended up more expensive for us. You can buy your tickets at the same site or in a Disney store. Better price than buying at the park. Note the Disney site price includes tax so it was better than any other offer we found which had tax in addition to their advertised price.

Don't worry about bringing a stroller. They rent them there and to our surprise they have stroller parking and people leave all their stuff in them when they go on rides. Make sure to bring seriously comfy shoes cause you are going to stand in lines-for rides, to see Mickey, to get food.... There are not a ton of rides for kids that small. Our son is 2.5 years old and we didn't come close to seeing all the park. Surprisingly, the food in the park is not that bad or that expensive we thought. The pizza had whole wheat crust and the hot dogs were turkey dogs. They had fresh fruit and plenty of healthy snacks. A helium filled balloon was $7 and we got Mickey light up swords for $7 each. An 8x10 of Mickey with our son was $18. The buses from the hotels seemed to run on time-every 30 minutes-and were convenient. They looked through our diaper bag but let us bring in a sippy cup with water for our son and we had some snacks too that they didn't take away so they don't seem like Nazis about that. Hope this helps! Have fun but really-be ready to stand in lines.

Here are some tips on Disneyland

http://www.bigbluetrunk.com/ourcorner/780

I brought some food in, they didn't hassle me (no glass). There are storage lockers to the left of the main gate. There are also storage lockers inside the park off of main street, right behind the open-air fruit cart (I think it's across from Minnie's cafe, not sure).

When the kids are getting tired and cranky, the train that goes around the whole park is a Godsend.

The Innovations exhibit in Tomorrow Land is a cool, quiet place to go in the afternoon heat. For wet/cool the GRR (river rafting ride) and the fountains inside Bugs' Life in California Adventure are nice.

We went in February this year when our daughter was 18m old. She really seemed to enjoy the Small World tour, the merry-go-round (she still talks about that one) and Nemo. A friend recommended that we go see Nemo and that it was worth the wait and she was right. My daughter had watched Nemo for the first time on our drive to LA a couple of days before we went to the park and she was totally fascinated by the underwater tour. Also, the Toon town is worth a visit if your baby knows any of the Mickey Mouse characters. They walk around greeting people and kids. The Pooh ride was also very good for her.

We brought our own stroller - b/c it is something that is very familiar to her, she had absolutely no problem taking her afternoon nap in it. And plenty of snacks and milk for her to drink. We bought water at the park. And of course as others have already mentioned - sunscreen, change of clothes and all the other usual stuff you bring for outings :-)

Don't forget to bring your camera and your video camera - this will be a video your baby will want to watch for a long time after you return from DL.