A Toddler Focused Disneyland Trip

Updated February 21, 2024

You know those people who tell you not to visit Disneyland until kids are “old enough to remember it”? Ignore them.

If you wait too long, you’ll miss the magic.

I’ve taken children ages 5 months to 23 years to Disneyland over the years, with one brave day including 5 children on my own. It was chaotic, stressful at times, and worth every bit of effort.

My favorite age group to take to the parks is from around 2-5 years old for a variety of reasons. Kids in this age group really believe in the magic and embrace so much of what I love about Disneyland.

Here’s some tips on how to get the most out of your trip with toddlers.

Where to Stay

One of the best perks of a visit to Disneyland is that you can stay on or off-site and have a great experience.

DLR Hotels give you an extra dose of magic with stellar Disney service, close proximity and privileges like package delivery to your room and extra magic hours.

Off-Site Hotels are less expensive and are often closer to the parks than DLR Hotels. They, too, have lots of advantages including location, possible free parking and some have free breakfast, too. 72313_10152108409189674_955216415_n

Announcing Your Trip – How and When

When to tell your toddler? Well, that depends on your toddler. If you have a little one prone to questions like “Is it today?”, “I get in my car seat now?”, “We go to see da mouse?”, I’d maybe hold off until a few days prior.

If you feel like your little one can handle the news, there are plenty of ways to announce your trip that will add to the anticipation. A balloon delivery, a puzzle surprise, Disney themed meals and countdown calendars are fun ways to help your children learn about the big news and even gauge the amount of days until they go.

If you’re flying, consider asking the flight attendant for a special announcement if he or she has time. We did this for a surprise Christmas NYC trip for our kids and they’ll never forget it. (Neither will we.)

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Be Prepared – What to Pack

In addition to the basics of travel, consider these extras for days at the park with toddlers:

Wipes – for bathroom use or not, you’ll use these to wipe sticky hands, clean a table and more

Snacks – have several tried-and-true favorites on hand for meltdown recovery and for in between meals

Small Activities – either on your phone or packed in your bag, kid-friendly options to pass the time will help with waiting in lines or pre-parade

Bubbles and glow sticks – another option for pre-parade fun

Ziploc bags – use these for leftovers, messy clothes, etc etc.

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Stroller Prep

I pushed a stroller – single or double – through the park until my kids were 5+ years old. I can’t stress enough how important having a stroller is for everyone involved.

Kids love to take a rest and even withdraw a bit from the busyness of the park. We used our stroller for naps, feeding, quiet time and more. They provide a great seat for parades, too!

There are options for renting one if you don’t want to bring your own.

Tie a balloon or ribbon onto your stroller to easily locate it within a big crowd of other strollers. They’ll start to look more and more like each other as the day progresses.

Know this about DLR transportation: Children of any ages are not permitted to sit or sleep in strollers while on any form of Disney transportation – trams to the parking garage, monorail, etc. Be prepared to wake your child if you board these options.

Within my stroller post, I provide tips on how to manage your bags. Here is what worked for me:

Bag #1: Pack one with valuables (camera, wallet, tickets, phone) that is easy to carry on rides. I keep these items in a backpack that I wear throughout the day. No need to fumble around for everything upon getting in line. Have it all ready to go in your backpack.

Bag #2: Pack this bag with non-essentials, in case it were to get lost or stolen. For me, this bag contained sweaters, glow sticks, snacks, wipes, diapers, ponchos, blanket (for the parade) and more. Anything bulky and heavy was left at the stroller.

***I’ve never had anything stolen at Disneyland, but you just never know. Bring pricey items with you. For me, that also included princess dresses and Mickey ears that I would not want to replace.

Your Park Agenda

In a bit, I’ll cover strategies and within that information, you’ll find which attractions include a Genie+ (Lightning Lane) option.

Spend a few minutes learning how Genie+ works at Disneyland. Although fewer toddler rides include them, you’ll be glad you used them for the ones that do.

In the Genie+ post I mentioned above, I cover Single Rider attractions, too. This will help adults enjoy attractions quickly when children are not interested in them.

Want to know which attractions might work for you? This Disneyland Ride Capacity graphic is available for you to print out for only $1 from an Etsy shop I like. It shows you how each ride seats guests along with other details. Or, you can use Disneyland’s website to peruse your options.

Rider Swap

Also included in that post is info on Rider Swap (or Rider Switch or Child Swap) might work for you.

Here’s how it works: As you approach the line, let a cast member know you’d like to do a Rider Swap. Everyone (adults and children) will then stand in line together. When it’s your turn, one adult will ride (with an eligible child) and the other adult will stay with the remaining child or children. Then, the other adult will get a turn to ride without having to wait in line all over again. This means the eligible child can ride twice!

Rider Swap is available at these attractions in Disneyland:

Autopia (Tomorrowland)

Big Thunder Mountain (Frontierland)

Gadget’s Go Coaster (Toontown)

Indiana Jones (Adventureland)

Matterhorn (Fantasyland)

Space Mountain (Tomorrowland)

Splash Mountain (Critter Country)

Star Tours (Tomorrowland)

Rider Swap is available at these attractions in California Adventure:

Incredicoaster (Pixar Pier)

Goofy’s Sky Skool (Paradise Pier)

Grizzly River Run (Grizzly Peak)

Radiator Springs Racers (Cars Land)

Silly Symphony Swings – tandem or single (Paradise Pier)

Soarin’ Around the World (Grizzly Peak)

Guardians of the Galaxy (Hollywood Land)

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Bringing a Princess?

Toddler princesses are pretty much the cutest thing ever and they deserve to see and do everything princessy possible at the parks.

I’ve detailed many options and have included some tips on outfitting your princess, too, in my Disneyland for Princesses post.

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Take a Break for Nap Time

Toddlers need naps and I encourage you to leave mid-day to make that happen. The crowds are heaviest from around 2-5pm, so take a break and spend some time at your hotel.

Start your day early and enjoy a less crowded park prior to lunch time. Then, take a break.

Let little ones nap, take a shower or have a snack….and return refreshed and ready for an evening of fun.

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Favorite Dining Options

When planning your trip, consider a meal with Disney characters. Toddlers light up during these times and the experience will give you a chance to do several things that you would have had to stand in line for at the park, including taking photos and getting autographs.

There are five options for character dining within the Disneyland Resort. Each offers something a little different, so review your options to see what best works for your crew.

Toddler friendly (outdoor seating, counter service) dining options in each park include…..

Disneyland

  • Jolly Holiday (sandwiches, salads)
  • Rancho del Zocalo (Mexican)
  • Alien Pizza Planet (pizza and pasta)

Disney California Adventure

  • Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta (pizza and pasta)
  • San Fransokyo (Mexican, Asian, American, etc)

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Some Stuff You Might Have Not Considered

Disneyland has several unexpected scary attractions that you’ll want to know about prior to your visit. Review the ones I think might surprise you.

As expected, most bathrooms at Disneyland will have diaper changing stations. In addition, there are two Baby Care Centers within the parks that have excellent accommodations and supplies for sale in case you run out. The Baby Care Centers go above and beyond providing accommodations to breastfeed, change diapers, warm food in a microwave, feed children in high chairs, or simply sit down for a minute.

Prepare yourself and your children by knowing which attractions will be closed for refurbishment during your visit. Most closures are planned well in advance, so you can let toddlers know ahead of time what they might miss out on (or just avoid that area of the park all together).

Take a look at which rides will work for your family ahead of time to avoid disappointment. Disneyland has an easy-to-use filter to navigate through the attractions. I’ve got you started by selecting which rides work well for preschoolers.

If the parks are super crowded, you have options. Review my suggestions for what to do when Disneyland is crowded. Many of the suggestions I provide are great for toddlers because they require less time in line (or none at all).

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Strategies for your Day

Visit this post for how to start your day at each park.

I recommend following the Little Kids plans if you really want to focus on everything for young children. If you want a mix of options for young kids but want to do some bigger rides, too, use my Big Kids plans.

Knowing how to move through the park efficiently will make such a difference in your day.

If you follow my tips and plans, you will not wait more than 20 minutes for any attraction in either park (with maybe one exception).

Entertainment

Don’t forget about shows, parades and fireworks.

This post details your current options with info on when to watch.

Enjoy!

Take a look at how Get Away Today can help with your vacation

76 thoughts on “A Toddler Focused Disneyland Trip

  1. Hi Casey! Love your articles and resources. Any suggestions regarding taking a toddler on her first trip during December? Trying to balance the new ToonTown, plus first time visit for her and all the holiday fun. Thank you!

    1. Hi Jessica. How fun! You have a magical trip ahead.

      Arrive early each day to enjoy the park with lower crowds. That will be helpful for sure. I love Toontown close to sunset, as it’s pretty and also less crowded. Let me know how else I can help!

      1. Thank you so much – we will be early risers and will try ToonTown later in our day based on your recommendation.

  2. Hi we came to visit family last minutes and hoping to get tickets for end of this week. We have a 4.5 year old whom loves Mickey everything, Cars, Toy Story, obsessed with Avengers. Not sure if we should do one day hopper pass (if that is even possible today) or do todays at each park. Any advice is welcome

  3. This site is amazing, thank you so much! I have already used many of your ideas/tips. My question is, we are going in May (hopefully) and have 4 of us, myself, husband, 51/2 year old and almost 2 1/2 year old. We are staying at Marriott Courtyard Theme park entrance and are flying into John Wayne. I have a car rental reserved but it’s $24 a night parking. Was wondering if its realistic to walk from this hotel both directions every day or should we drive the 5 min and park and also can’t find any information if uber or lyft have car seats in the disney area if we choose to uber from the hotel I don’t really want to pack a carseat around… Any advice for transportation would be so helpful!

  4. Hi Casey,

    This is such an amazing site. We are taking our almost 2.5 year old to Disney land for one-day towards the end of this month. Because of his age, I checked the app and the Fast pass does not show up as option for many toddler rides or attractions ( for example Dumbo, Carousel or winnie the pooh). Think I should still get the Maxpass to surpass the lines , what are some toddler specific rides for ages under 3 that I can use this pass for ? Should both me and my husband get maxpass or just for adult would be ok?

    Thank you so much for all the help 🙂
    -Asmi

  5. Hi Casey!
    This site is amazing! Love all the info.
    We are first time Disney goers so we really want to get this right.
    My husband and I are bringing our 3 children in November.
    Just want to run our itinerary by you to see if you think we have the right parks/activities on the right days.

    Arriving Sunday afternoon. Staying at a Good Neighbour Hotel – Homewood Suites by Hilton Anaheim Convention Centre. The family suite there seemed to be a good setup and breakfast /light dinners included was a bonus.
    We want to head over to Downtown Disney for dinner and souvenirs that evening. Get that out of the way before 3 days of parks!

    Monday – day 1 – thinking of starting off with DL
    Tuesday – day 2 – this is our only day for MM, so we need to do DL this day.
    Wednesday – day 3 – CA. Do you think 1 day is enough for CA? Our 5yo is “Cars” obsessed!

    We don’t have hoppper passes. Do you think we should? Or does this itinerary seem ok?

    We want to do a character dining on of these days (need to book now!) Would you suggest we do Minnie and Friends on Day 2? On the day we have MM? Maybe a later breakfast after a few hours of park that morning? What time do you suggest?

    Also, we were thinking of doing BBB on day 1 or 2. What day/time do you think is best?

    So much more research to do, but this site is the absolute best. Thank you so much!!!

    1. Hi, there.

      Your itinerary looks great! Use this post to guide you through each park when starting out in the morning:

      https://disneylanddaily.com/how-to-start-your-day-at-the-disneyland-resort/

      Later meals are ideal so that you don’t interfere with the early hours when you can enjoy so many attractions. I recommend Minnie’s at 10:30am. That’s perfect for your Disneyland day.

      I like to do the BBB late morning so that you get as much out of the day all made up, but again, not interfere with the morning hours.

      Have so much fun!

  6. Hi Casey,
    I’m stumped on what to do. My husband and I will be taking our 22 month old to the parks in June. Grad nights scheduled on both nights we plan to be in Anaheim. Our flight gets in around 3 pm. I want to maximize time in the parks and am seriously debating getting a 2-day park hopper ticket. Would it be worth it for that half day?
    Also, there are obviously rides our son can’t go on that we would like to do and there are ones that I’d like to do, but my husband doesn’t. How do I decide between using a Rider Switch and Fast/Max Pass option vs Single Rider? Now that I type it seems like it’d be logical, but I’ll ask anyway. For example on Indiana Jones, that we both want to ride, how do you determine if you’ll use Rider Switch with MaxPass or attempt Single Rider with Rider Switch (possible?)? Or Single Rider vs MaxPass for a ride like Space Mountain, that only I want to ride?

    1. Hi, Cathy.

      Good questions!

      Don’t panic too much over grad nights, especially since you have a little one. You can get all you want to do earlier in the day and be ready to go if the crowds are too much. Park hopper tickets are ideal for grad night days. I would choose a 2 day hopper. Find discounted hoppers here:

      https://disneylanddaily.com/discounted-disneyland-tickets-that-are-actually-safe-to-purchase/

      I would start the first day you arrive later in the day at Disneyland. Visit this post for how to make the best of a late start day:

      https://disneylanddaily.com/how-to-best-use-a-late-start-day-at-disneyland/

      Start your second day at California Adventure and use this strategy. Enjoy this park until lunch time and then head over to Disneyland.

      https://disneylanddaily.com/how-to-start-your-day-at-california-adventure/#Your_Strategy_Without_Guardians_of_the_Galaxy_8211_Mission_BREAKOUT

      Cross off everything you aren’t interested in doing and then keep moving through DCA. That strategy will allow you and your husband to enjoy some of the ‘bigger’ attractions. You should be able to get everything done by lunch. Before you go, check out the Disney Junior Dance Party on Hollywood Blvd and Bugs Land for pre-school focused fun.

      As soon as you’re eligible to pull a FASTPASS for Disneyland, do so. MaxPass allows you to do that from the other park. Start with Space Mountain (if y’all are interested) and then do your best to continue with FASTPASSES in this order:

      Star Tours (skip this if you’re not a Star Wars fan)
      Splash Mountain
      Haunted Mansion
      Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

      While walking through that list, stop for family friendly attractions like Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc. Just look at what’s close by the attractions I listed above. Omit any attractions you were able to get done on day one.

      This post from a day at both parks shares how I started at DCA and ended at Disneyland. Take a look at it to see how much you can get done at both parks. Of course, you’ll want to slow down a bit for your son and do more of the stuff like Disney Junior, but this can at least guide you on how it can look:

      https://www.facebook.com/DisneylandDailyCasey/posts/1455330824564556

      Rider Switch can work with FASTPASSES. And, you can use that to your advantage. For example, for Indiana Jones, only have one of you select this FASTPASS. Have the other adult use the Rider Switch pass to ride next. That will allow you and your husband to essentially double up on FASTPASSES during both days. Rider Switch rules changed recently. Review this link for all the specifics:

      https://disneylanddaily.com/a-fastpass-guide-for-disneyland-and-california-adventure/#Rider_Switch

      I wouldn’t fuss with Single Rider during your day, as it can be surprisingly longer in some situations. It can’t hurt to use it here and there, but you’ll be in good shape with MaxPass/Rider Switch. Since Single Rider lines are unpredictable, I haven’t included them in my suggestions for you. However, this link lists all the Single Rider options at both parks. Screen capture the graphic I have in it for easy reference while you’re in the parks:

      https://disneylanddaily.com/a-fastpass-guide-for-disneyland-and-california-adventure/#Single_Rider_Lines

      A couple more posts for your reference:

      https://disneylanddaily.com/a-fastpass-guide-for-disneyland-and-california-adventure/
      https://disneylanddaily.com/grad-nights-at-disneyland/

      Hope I didn’t overwhelm you! Let me know if you have more questions.

      1. Casey, this is AMAZING! Thank you! I’ll have to pore over this all and make my plan. Hopefully I don’t have more questions, but will let you know if I do.

  7. When it says Lunchbreak in your plans – is this the time you recommend taking the little ones to nap back at hotel? Thank you!

  8. We have 4 days at DLR: Monday-Thursday. We have a Magic Morning, so that will have to be either Tues or Thurs.

    We already have Minnie breakfast reservations at Plaza Inn for the Thurs, so I guess our Magic Morning will be Tues.

    Should we do DCA on both Monday and Wed? Or is 1 day enough for DCA? The only reason I ask is bc I’d really like to see Mickey and the Magical Map, which I hear is amazing. It’s only on Monday. We don’t have Park Hopper tickets bc our kids are small enough to make it difficult to effectively park hop. (6 and 8)

  9. Just a friendly FYI- for the CA adventure 1 day plan, you have to be at least 40″ for Soarin over the world, Tuck & Roll’s buggies, and Synphony Swings. My daughter is 36″ and they wouldn’t let her on 🙁

  10. Hi Casey. Love your blog, so many great tips!! We will be back the first week of June and I am so excited. We last visited in 2013 (my first time ever) with my then 4 year old. She will be 8, and tall enough for all the rides, by the time we go in June and we now have a 2 year old. Both are super excited about the trip, but I think mommy is the most excited LOL. We will get a 5 day park hopper. Last time we came, we really took advantage of the fast pass system and rarely stood in any lines. Nap time happened to be during all the parades so we missed those last time. My MIL was with us last time and she wasn’t into rides, so she watched my then 4 year old for all the rides she was too little for. She wont be with us this time, but my aunty will be, but she is also into riding rides. I fully plan on taking advantage of the fast pass system, and I was thinking that my husband and 8 year old can ride while me and aunty watch the baby and then we switch off. We will have fast passes for most rides, but do we need to tell them that we are doing rider swap if we have fast passes or do the fast passes negate the rider swap?

  11. Is the world of color show temporary? I dont see it mentioned here, and when looking in advance to see times during the week we will be there, the calendar is not available.

    1. World of Color isn’t temporary. Keep checking the calendar for it to be added. I don’t recommend it for every family with young children because it’s not an entirely easy show to see. Everyone stands and crowds into their space to get the best view. I never enjoyed taking my young kids to it. If you want to add it to your day, grab a FASTPASS for it in the morning. If you get a blue pass, arrive an hour early and get the best spot possible on the bridge. If you get a yellow pass, arrive an hour early and move as close as you can to the front of the viewing area. You might get wet on windy days here, so know that before going in.

  12. Thank you so much!! I have been reading/studying this site everyday for last several weeks as we have first trip with my 39 month old girl in few weeks!!!

    I cannot decide whether to plan to buy 3 days or 2 days We arrive on Thurs 12:20 pm and fly out Sunday 8:10 am. By the time we arrive to hotel and checked in, either my girl will be very tired and nap until 5 pm, or won’t nap, which means it will be early bed time. Is there enough things to do/see at downtown Disney district? What do you think?

    1. Hi, Ward.

      I almost always recommend 3 days over 2, but since nap won’t end until 5pm or so……or with an early bedtime……you might be better off just visiting Downtown Disney and resting up for 2 big days in the park. Well rested kids do much better than exhausted ones.

      Downtown Disney has plenty to do with dining, shopping, etc……plus the Lego Store, Build-a-Bear and more. Check out this post for a complete guide to see if it’s a fit for your family:

      https://disneylanddaily.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-downtown-disney-2/

      Please let me know if you have any other questions. Hope you have a lovely visit!

  13. I just stumbled upon your site in time for our trip to DLR this summer for our daughter’s 5th birthday! We are discussing whether to do both parks or just DL. We will be staying with family in LA and driving down. She LOVES Toy Story and Disney Junior characters which are all at DCA but we can’t have her first visit omit DL! What to do? Is getting a one day park hopper worth it? Or should we plan on a 2 day visit? We could skip DCA but this is the prime time for her to visit. I doubt she will care about Toy Story in 3 to 5 years (the estimated time for another visit).

    1. Hey, Vanessa.

      Good question.

      If you can budget it, I would commit two days and explore both parks. There’s SO MUCH to do in each and you’re in the most magical years. Waiting too long would mean you would miss some things.

      DCA certainly has a lot to see in this realm, but Disneyland does, too. Consider parades and fireworks into your decision……only found at Disneyland.

      And, you would be surprised how long kids actually like Toy Story. Maybe not Disney Junior, but Toy Story has a range of fans. 🙂

      I vote for both! Hope that helps.

      1. Thanks for input! Now to convince my husband that we should stay at hotel between days! I was thinking DL the first day to stay late for fireworks then DCA the second day.

  14. I have a 5 year old and almost 3 year old. Wanting to take them both to the Anna and Elsa Boutique but my little won’t be 3 yet. Do you think we can get away with taking her even though she’ll be a few months shy of 3?

  15. I have a question i will be taking my son for his 2 birthday for the first time. I know we have to purchase an all day pass does that cover for every land we want to visit or is thiere a asditinal fee for each land you vist???

  16. I’m sorry if you’ve answered this elsewhere, but for the rider swap you mentioned the whole family waits in line. Can you bring a stroller into the line? I’m just worried that my 1 yr old would be napping in the stroller and then we can’t do the rider swap because I certainly don’t want to ruin his nap!
    Thanks!

    1. Some attractions will allow you to get a rider swap pass upon entering the line, negating the task of standing in line. Each attraction seems to vary a bit. But strollers can’t go through lines. 🙁

  17. How would you suggest scheduling a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique or Anna/Elsa Boutique visit into one of the touring plans? I think we’re going to try this for my 5 year old daughter. We’ll also have a 2 1/2 year old with us 🙂 Thanks!

    1. I actually recommend doing the BBB or Anna and Elsa’s Boutique the afternoon or night before and then touching up the hairstyle the next morning. That way, you don’t have to stress with both events in one day. Plus, you can see Anna and Elsa super early and not stand in line. The boutiques give you a bag of supplies from the makeovers. Use those and bring hair spray for the next morning. Three other posts that will help:

      https://disneylanddaily.com/a-complete-review-of-anna-and-elsas-boutique-and-how-it-compares-to-the-bibbidi-bobbidi-boutique/

      https://disneylanddaily.com/frozen-live-at-the-hyperion-how-to-meet-anna-and-elsa/

      https://disneylanddaily.com/disneyland-for-princesses-how-to-do-and-see-it-all/

      1. We are going two park days, day 1 no parks, day 2 DL, day 3 at CA Adventure before we leave Anaheim. So maybe an afternoon appt on the DL day while 2 1/2 year old goes back to the hotel for rest? Then touch up in AM for the CA adventure day?

  18. Hello,
    We are taking our 2.5 year old and 11 month old to California Adventure in April, and this has been so helpful, thank you!

    We’re only able to go for one day, and was wondering if you had any good off-site tips for a chilled change of pace for an hour or so (after the hideous tantrum the toddler will have at having to leave, obviously…) We live in Los Angeles, so we won’t have a hotel room to return to sadly!
    We’re planning on arriving extremely early, and realistically will be really lucky if both kids last til the afternoon parade, but I would love to stretch them til then if possible.

    (Also, any and all recent updates on her meeting AnnaElsa (one word) are always greatly appreciated. I noticed your post doesn’t mention the ‘Royal Welcome’ thing on the DLR site, so just trying to clarify!)

  19. We’re taking our first Disneyland trip in August. We live in FL, and we’re well acquainted with WDW. Disneyland isn’t the focus of our CA trip (unfortunately ;o) so we’re just going to be making a day trip there from Laguna Beach. We have a 4 year old and 7 year old. We’ll be there in early August–hot, I know! We’ll have a double stroller, so the little one will probably fall asleep in that. But, what would you recommend doing for the hot/busy afternoon if the lines and heat become too much for us?

  20. Hello, we will be in California for my husbands job and plan to go to Disneyland for only 1 day. I have a 4 year old girl and a 2 year old boy. They are both huge frozen fans so which park would be best to go to for just 1 day? Thanks so much!!

  21. Great tips, thank you so much! Just wanted to let you know that when we visited in May 2015, Radiator Springs Racers told us they did not allow anyone to do the ” child swap”. My husband and I had to take turns standing in the single rider line.

  22. Hi! We live in Los Angeles and are taking my son for his third birthday. Living so close, We know we will eventually do both parks, but are only going to do one for right now. Which park is better for a 37″ 3 year old? He loves Cars, but will we have a better time at Disneyland?

    1. Hi, Alicia.

      Both parks have so much right now. Cars Land is amazing for a child his age, but Season of the Force in Disneyland is a Star Wars dream come true. Really just depends on what he would enjoy most. Season of the Force is temporary, too, with no official end date yet, so keep that in mind. Cars Land will be there for a while and will actually have a new attraction coming soon. Hope this helps with your decision!

  23. Best website I’ve seen on a trip to Disneyland. For the 2 day little plan, day 1, can you explain why you recommend going to 3 fantasyland attractions, the go to toontown, and then go back to fantasyland?

    Vs go to all fantasyland events and the tackle toontown…

    1. Thank you! Good question. I recommend seeing Mickey Mouse in his house earlier in the day, rather than later. Hence, the leaving of Fantasyland and then back to it after lunch. Peter Pan is a must to do first……then the next two……then go over to Toontown to see Mickey……and then break for lunch.

  24. Hi Casey, my husband, 5 year old, and 18 month will be going to Disneyland and C.A in December. My question is what do you think the best stroller is to take? A double stroller, with large cup holders, large carrying basket, try for the kids. A amazing stroller!! Haha. Thank you Casey. I love getting information from your blog. It gets me prepared and excited for our trip.

      1. Great! Thank you. I am excited about using them. I’ve been to Disney tons but this is the first time with my daughter ( or any small child) so I’m trying to plan ahead to make things less stressful. Your site has been a big help!

  25. Thank you so much for this awesome post!! We’re spending 2 days Disneyland and 1 day California Adventure with hopper, will be following your plan. I’ll be grabbing Return tickets for Anna and Elsa meet and greet and FP for Radiator Springs Racers first thing on the California Adventure day. To meet and greet the other Princesses, should I do it first thing on our Disneyland day?

  26. is it best to do one day at California adventures and one whole day at Disneyland if you have 2 days for the parks?

  27. I think I just spent an hour going page to page reading all your tips on DL. So awesome! I will be back for more, but just wanted to say thank you! We had DL passes a few years ago when we had 4 big kids who were all at least 40″ and could go on almost anything. Now we have a new baby and are planning to get passes again this fall. I’m excited for my older kids (2 are now teens!) but am super stressed about disneyland with a baby. He’ll be between 4 months and 16 months during the time we have our passes and your advice is so valuable! One question: for rides that are for “all ages” like dumbo, snow white, peter pan, winnie the pooh, etc. can you bring a little baby in a front carrier or hold them or have them sitting on your lap? or does a rider have to be able to sit independently? that won’t happen with our baby until later in the year. thanks!

    1. I was wondering the same thing… specifically about an infant staying in their front carrier while on the ride????

  28. Thank you so much! Exactly the type of tips I was looking for! 🙂 We are going in September with our 2 year old and 4 year old.

  29. I’ve also found when I take my cousins to disney that Tiki Room tends to scare toddlers. Not something thats really expected to scare them but we have had some leave early crying.

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