So we are planning a last minute vacation to Disneyland. Considering we living in NorCal, not a bad trip. 6 hr drive (minus traffic) so...mostly 8 hr drive. We are going to stay in a hotel using my hubby's points so we would get a reasonable price. And, we are going to go ahead and fork over the money for annual passes. All in all, our trip should cost less than $1000.00. And for a 4 day Disney vacation, that's darn near unheard of.

With all that said, this will be my munchkin's first amusement park experience. I've been combing over the blogs and vacation guides to Disneyland. Anyone got any advice? She's only 4 and I think our approach is to take it in two days. Start with Toonland, and work our way forward. Omitting certain rides...if she doesn't take to roller coasters. It's no way in hell, I'm going to get her on the Tower of Terror. And, I accept that, so I'm not even going to try. But, I will make her get on the Haunted Mansion ride. Sorry. It's just gonna happen.

My other question is has anyone had this experience with a disabled loved one? My mother in law is coming along on this trip and I can see her doing the first day via wheelchair, but I have a sense that after the first day, she's just going to want to chill in the hotel room. And, to be honest, I'm hoping that happens after the first half of the first day. But we shall see.

Give me your Disney with kids experience?

"We don't make mistakes, we just have happy little accidents" - Bob Ross

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>So we are planning a last minute vacation to Disneyland.
>Considering we living in NorCal, not a bad trip. 6 hr drive
>(minus traffic) so...mostly 8 hr drive. We are going to stay
>in a hotel using my hubby's points so we would get a
>reasonable price. And, we are going to go ahead and fork over
>the money for annual passes. All in all, our trip should cost
>less than $1000.00. And for a 4 day Disney vacation, that's
>darn near unheard of.
>
>With all that said, this will be my munchkin's first amusement
>park experience. I've been coming over the blogs and vacation
>guides to Disneyland. Anyone got any advice? She's only 4
>and I think our approach is to take it in two days. Start
>with Toonland, and work our way forward. Omitting certain
>rides...if she doesn't take to roller coasters. It's no way
>in hell, I'm going to get her on the Tower of Terror. And, I
>accept that, so I'm not even going to try. But, I will make
>her get on the Haunted Mansion ride. Sorry. It's just gonna
>happen.

if she is only 4 she might have a hard time getting on the rollercoasters. If my memory is correct the only rollercoaster my son was able to get on at that age was Thunder Mountain. I took him on it and regretted that decision. It was way to intense for him at that age. There is a fun kids rollercoaster in Toon Town though. I doubt she would even be tall enough for tower of terror. But then I am not sure on the height requirements. They have all of them online at their website. My son loved that Haunted Mansion at that age. The beginning freaked him out but once you get on the buggy he loved all the stuff going around. Same for Pirates of the Caribbean. The two drops at the beginning scared him after that he loved it. She might be able to do Star Tours and she will probably love it. Make sure you plan naps accordingly. At that age we would make sure to have him eat and take a nap right after. To ensure he could last the whole day. Also if you are taking a stroller put her in the stroller whenever you are not in a line. It is a lot of walking for those little legs and walking from attraction to attraction will definitely wear her out fast. By age 5 my son was able to do the park with out a stroller. But I think that is only because he plays hockey and all that skating definitely built up his endurance.

>
>My other question is has anyone had this experience with a
>disabled loved one? My mother in law is coming along on this
>trip and I can see her doing the first day via wheelchair, but
>I have a sense that after the first day, she's just going to
>want to chill in the hotel room. And, to be honest, I'm
>hoping that happens after the first half of the first day.
>But we shall see.
>
>Give me your Disney with kids experience?

no experience with disabled. But the main thing is let the kid rest when she needs it. We usually dont tell our son we are going and just put him in the car so he will nap on the way there. He usually figures out where we are going before we get off the freeway. Like I said above at that age stroller stroller stroller. If not she will be dead tired by 3 or 4pm and barely conscious for the night in the park. Which IMO is the best part. Take snacks. I usually take my backpack and throw in a 3 giant bottles of water. They let you take them inside as long as they are sealed. Also crackers, chips, gummies, etc. Things for the kid to snack on through out the day. Also stuff just to have for when they need something to eat and you are in the middle of an hour long line and dont want to leave to buy something. While waiting in line for character meets the wife and I would rotate. One would stand in line the other would sit with the kid in shade. Take 2 or 3 pairs of socks. Just in case they get wet. We can handle wet socks. Kids will meltdown and its painful. We learned the hard way. Also we used to bring a pair of pajamas for him to change into at night. Who isnt comfortable in pajamas? Plus once they fall asleep you dont have to worry about getting them out of their clothes and ready for bed. Almost forgot ear plugs!!!! The fireworks are loud as fuck for their little ears. My son was terrified up until our last visit because we didnt take plugs when he was like 2 and he had PTSD from the fireworks. Also some of the rides have loud noises like the cannon ball part of Pirates.

November 8th, 2005 The greatest night in the history of GD!

Bringing a disabled person might be clutch - i heard you get to cut lines if you got someone with a disability in your crew. Take advantage if you can. Most of the rides are pretty kid friendly, even some of the more exciting ones.

make sure you stick around at least one evening and watch the fireworks show and stuff.

I'd also recommend giving yourself a budget for food and souvenirs and shit. Disneyland is like a casino for kids in that everything is kind of pricey and it's designed to make your money not seem like real money, if that makes sense. Pack lunch or whatever. If you're staying in a hotel, maybe split up the day. Hit up rides in the morning/afternoon. Go back to the hotel for a chill, then come back for the shows.

Good luck, and hold on to your pocketbook.

In a generation of swine, the one-eyed pig is king.
-Hunter S. Thompson

Yes the MiL coming could allow you to bypass lines in many situations
Rent her a scooter from on of the local vendors. Don't use a wheel chair
Use the fast pass to avoid lines
Take midday naps to avoids kiddie meltdowns
A season pass should get you into the park during extra magic hours
Check into other pass perks like food discounts.

***let MiL sit one night and have some adult fun!!!

I enjoyed a sweet and healthy childhood, complete with love and attention, but plain in terms of material gifts and special activities. A combo of my folks living check to check, and having values focused on other areas of our lifestyle.

For my 9th birthday my folks surprised me with a trip to Disneyland, which was such an unexpected treat, I literally didn't believe it until we were physically on our way.

Man, what an indulgent highlight. I still all these years later kinda can't believe they did it.

I think we did 2 days at the park - I recall loving every moment of it.

I'm actually sitting here feeling a little giddy just remembering it.

Hope yall have a blast!

__

fairweather

it's an ungodly amount of money these days, but if you suck it up, it really is goddam magic to a kid.

In a generation of swine, the one-eyed pig is king.
-Hunter S. Thompson

It's a pain to whip out the card every time you want to use fastpass.

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A bad Samaritan averaging above average men (c) DOOM