Tell me about your experiences taking an infant/ toddler to Disneyland

[jenergy]

We will be taking my son to Disneyland in October for his first birthday, and wanted to hear some experiences from others with similarly-aged children.
I went to Disney World with my friend when she had her 6 month old and I don't remember it being any different than any other visit.
With that being said, I have the expectation that we will have to go back to the hotel at least once during the day for naps. I would like to do nighttime shows and seated dining, but I am not sure how realistic this is. Oogie Boogie Bash is a huge wild card. We will be relaxing the day we get there and will not attend the parks. We're staying at the DLH so we were planning on just visiting the pool and lounging.
Please share your experiences on taking a little little to Disneyland, in general, and especially around Halloweentime.
P. S. We will have plenty of adults with us to be able to enjoy doing rider swap so we will always have a partner to ride with.

 

[Kerr84]

Definitely take a stroller that reclines and a baby carrier if you use one. My 6 month old fell asleep for nap about an hour before she usually does so I had to hold her for like 2 1/2 hours. My arms were absolutely killing me! Expect to go much slower than usual. Toddlers love to just stop and look at things or run around in some open spaces. Every child is different, but my daughter loves things like Disney Junior Dance Party, Tiki Room, etc. Bring your child's usual snacks. There is a ton of food in the parks, but my daughter always wanted her usual snacks. Seated dining shouldn't be a problem. I always bring coloring books or something to keep her busy while we wait. I always have plans to do nighttime entertainment and then we don't always make it that late, especially with the time change.

Have fun!

 

[UnpokemonMom]

Bring lots of (healthy) snacks and fluids. Bring a blanket so you can cover the stroller and sit in shade while she takes a nap. Bring a small washcloth so you can "refresh" her when she gets hot and sticky. Bring a battery operated fan that you can clip to the stroller (away from fingers!)

If you park your stroller to take her to a ride or attraction, DO NOT LEAVE ANY VALUABLES in your stroller. And, don't bring an expensive stroller - it's Disneyland but people will steal things (even strollers).

 

[Littlebitofsunshine]

I think it really depends on your child’s temperament. My first child was really easy going. I did a trip with him trip for 5 days by myself when he was 3. He would sleep in the stroller, went with the flow, didn’t get over stimulated. My other son (also 3 now) won’t be going until he’s probably 6 . He’s a handful. I think it helps to give them plenty of ‘ground time’ - like to walk around and be out of the stroller. Maybe in less noisy areas.

 

[blabbermouth]

We took our daughter when she was ten months and yes, we took afternoon breaks, although she had trouble napping at the hotel. She also had one stroller nap, but we actually preferred being back at the hotel so we could rest too. We never made it for night time events, mostly because we were too tired! She was fine at sit down restaurants, but we had done them frequently at home too and we scheduled them on the early side so she wouldn't be over tired or over hungry. We made sure to bring regular snacks and slow ones, like cheerios Also would bring out a toy just at dinner time.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Hydration is a big deal - try to get the toddler to drink water between every attraction, and make ample use of the baby care centers for rests, changes, and feedings if they need a quieter place to eat. Some toddlers struggle with noise and some are unphased - if you have a chance, try to do a short trip to somewhere local that is 'Disney-like' in terms of noise to get a sense of how she will react; a sporting event, a fair, even the zoo can be a good indication.

Love the stroller and carrier advice above and second that! Bring both, and worst case you don't use the carrier, but it sure beats holding the kiddo in your arms for hours at a time!

 

[CodeGoddess]

Did a trip with my son for his second birthday and then a couple weeks ago (he's a young four now).

Stroller naps are key. I have a super portable stroller that folds up into a backpack. He doesn't care about reclining so it was perfect and easy to move around with.

Bring snacks your child enjoys from home. My son always tries things at the parks but then he will ask for his go-tos like apple sauce or fruit snacks.

Bring whatever is lovey is into the park - my son's is his blankets. When he would get grumpy he usually grabbed it and took a nap.

Plan to go slow. Some of the best memories we have are not about rides but of meet and greets, meals and random interactions with things around the park. I still watch the video of my son fanboying out over Pooh at breakfast.

Bring a portable battery charger for your phone and a pair for cheap over the ear headphones. My little one gets over stimulated sometimes and we decompresses with games or Disney cartoons. At two we used just Disney or PBS shows.

 

[katyringo]

Do you baby wear? The Tula was the best thing we brought when we took my daughter at 14months. She could be on my back and look around and everything but not running away lol. And she slept in it a few times while we waiting in lines. We also did a stroller which allowed us to keep going while she slept. Lots of snacks and drinks!

We would always take a mid day break of a couple hours and come back for dinner and the shows. We did a trip when she was 14months and 2.5... luckily my kids sleep in strollers so we enjoyed the nighttime shows while she slept.

If you are going to do night time shows I would also reccomend some headphones/ noise canceling. Fantasmic about sent my daughter over the edge but luckily she was on my chest in the carrier trying to sleep and I used some blankets to muffle how loud it was..

 

[halcyean]

I was one of an extra adults on my nephews (4 years old and 8 month old) trip to Disneyland last Christmas with my sister and BIL. Rider swap was great for Incredicoaster. I didn't mind skipping some rides and took the baby in a stroller, we sat and enjoed the atmosphere. Grab a seat when you can!

 

[Epicnemesis]

It’s been so long since I haven’t had a kid with me at the parks that it’s hard to have a point of reference. I find that Disneyland is really good at having quiet pockets where a baby can nap in the park. That is the main trick, is making sure they get enough nap time in. They probably need more than you are used to because there is so much stimulus.

We’ve never done a night show with a baby so good luck with that. We might attempt one in the fall so our 6 year old can see world of color, I might have to bring my shooting range ear protection for our baby if we do that, and I suggest the same for you if your son is usually asleep by then. (obviously can be any over the ear protection that you already have lying around.)

 

[smartlabelprint]

My 2 yo couldn’t handle the night shows. Thankfully dh doesn’t like them so he stayed home.

My 6 yo fell asleep during fireworks.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

The night shows are a maybe depending on your child. But I wouldn’t personally book OBB because you can’t cancel it. Could be rough if your baby is not having the late night.

I never did table service at that age for flexibility purposes but if your baby is good in restaurants it could be fine.

Baby Care Centers are the best for changing diapers, nursing, pumping, warming bottles, etc. One in DL on Main Street and one in DCA behind Ghirardelli.

 

[Caseheidi]

We took DD at 18 months. She was a fairly new walker ( about 4 months) and want the chance to walk around some. We had one of those back packs with a leash, and she loved it. You can get some people who make comments about kids on leashes, but it allowed her to move around without getting separated from us. We had several parents ask us where they could find one, but unfortunately it was not in the parks. We found that we discovered how much we had missed in the parks by not looking down. It was amazing to discover the parks from a toddlers perspective, and the amount of detail the parks have,

We also had success taking our own stroller. DD has always been an anxious child, and it gave her a familiar place. When the parks became overwhelming, she would pull the top down, lay back and shut out the chaos. We were lucky and she napped in her stroller. We took that opportunity to ride the rides that she couldn’t go on as single riders.

I also found it advisable to take 2-3 changes of clothes each day. I would pack outfits in gallon ziplock bags and throw them in the diaper bag. Some changes were due to ice cream melting, and some to to water features she found to play in. Because we had the ziplock bags, we had the mess contained. One day we even blew through all three changes and ended with her in a diaper and a quickly purchased tee shirt from the park. Oh the memories!

We did find it a much slower trip, but we went with the flow, and looked for opportunities to make things work. However, it was just the three of us on the trip, and no pressures from other family members to keep things to how everyone expects them to be. I think the way to make it a successful trip is to know your child and what they can tolerate, be flexible and as prepared as you can be, and look for ways to have a new kind of fun and make memories.

 

[Kerr84]

The last post reminded me that you should pack an outfit change for yourself too. I definitely got peed on during show. When she was younger, she had a blowout that got on my shirt a little too.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

I took my son to DLR when he was 14 months and it was a great trip, but definitely different than with older kids/adults. It was much slower paced, with lots of breaks for diaper changes, clothing changes, naps, etc. It was really hard to keep him on his usual schedule, so we got used to just letting him nap whenever and wherever he could. I used a Moby Wrap with him facing out in front of me and that worked great when we were waiting in lines. We stayed right across Harbor Blvd and I often had to dash back there with him to get more diapers, change clothes again, get more snacks, etc. but it was so close that it was easy to go back and forth. He definitely got tired of being held, carried, strapped in a stroller, etc. and really wanted space to crawl around (he wasn't walking yet), and that was very hard to find in the parks. The building with Turtle Talk over at CA was great - it was a little safer for him to crawl around, the animation clips were entertaining, and the dimmer lights were calming for him.
My favorite "hack" was using clothespins to clip a blanket over his stroller for naps/blocking the sun. We used the clothespins for all kinds of things - holding snack bags closed, clipping tiny socks together so they didn't get lost, holding the curtains in the room together to block light, etc.

 

[disneyerin]

Oops....

 

[disneyerin]

My husband and I took our daughter to DL when she was 18 months also. We had a wonderful time but it was all about her so the pace was really slow and the rides were not important to us. We were just there for the day. (It was the beginning of many many Disney trips ) If we were going to be there for longer we would have tried a few rides like The Mark Twain Riverboat, The Storybook Canal Boats, and Small World. What she loved the most were the animals: Rabbits, ducks and (this really dates me) the swans in the moat. We had a stroller and after 3 hours she conked out and went to sleep. That time was so wonderful too.

There were low crowds (it was a weekday in the 90"s.....boy I miss those days) and it was a beautiful day. So my husband and I walked leisurely around the park soaking in the atmosphere. If one of us wanted to get on a ride we just went single rider. It is one of the happiest memories I have.

In regards to having a leash, I know people can have strong feelings about it and I understand. But once we stopped caring what the adults thought, and just focused on our daughters enjoyment of the experience and her safety we were fine with it. And I totally agree with Caseheidi. When our daughter was hooked up to the "leash" and set down her face lit up and she became fascinated with everything around her. She became very aware of her freedom (not having to hold her mom and dad's hand) and attempted to bolt from us often in order to explore further. But we never needed to worry and I can't tell you how much that meant to us as parents. As Caseheidi said, we didn't need to look down and watch her every single second (which we would have). We still watched her often but it wasn't because we wanted to make sure she stayed with us, it was because we couldn't get enough of her being delighted by everything. Of course she became angry with the boundary at times, but learned soon enough that it was either that or get back in the stroller. Holding her hand was too iffy for us. A couple of times in the past she had bolted the second we loosened our grip. So to us, the leash (I HATE calling it that....no wonder people get upset about it) allowed us (and her) to experience the magic the whole time.

The next Disney trip with my daughter was to WDW when she was 5. OMG, what a magical time to go!
Now my daughter is grown ((obviously) and she and I are planning a Halloween trip to DLR Oct 16-21. Can't wait!!

It never gets less magical.

 

[pineapplepalms]

We’ve been taking our kids since they were each around 1, although we took our youngest for the first time when he was 8 months. Our most recent trip was last month with 1.5, 3.5, and 6 year olds. It’s a lot of fun but we definitely take a lot of breaks for bathroom/diaper changes and snacks. We pack lots of snacks and insulated water bottles, and also like to bring some whole milk for the 1yo. It can be hard to find whole milk in the park; if we don’t bring it with us, we find it at places that make coffee drinks like Starbucks or a coffee cart. We do the nighttime shows because we shift our whole schedule a bit later when we’re on vacation, so we sleep in and don’t do rope drop.

The 1yo will usually fall asleep in the stroller while the older kids still want to do some rides. We also have a mesh sun cover for the stroller so he can nap during the day. When we only had our oldest, we would often make it back to the room for a nap, but now with 2 older ones we just take breaks in the park, and the youngest naps in the stroller. Lots of great spots for breaks.. some of our favorites are Tropical Hideaway, Ronto Roasters, seating area by Edelweiss Snacks (can watch the monorail and ducks), seating area by Hyperion Theater, patio area of Flo’s where you can watch RSS, and seating area by Boardwalk Pizza. They also like roaming around the bridge/waterfall area of Grizzly River Run.

Our kids love Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and it’s a great place for the 1yo to burn off some energy and explore. We do some seated dining since they often have better kids meal options (our kids all loved the salmon at WCT). It’s a great age for parades/shows, especially for kids that love characters.

 

[princess_jamie]

Thanks everyone for sharing your tips and experiences. We are taking our daughter around her first birthday this September and have been trying to hear from people who've done it. I think having no expectations and going with the flow is key. I really hope my husband and I can sneak in world of color or the fireworks together if they are early enough while our girl snoozes, but we'll see how it goes.