[frankiegirl]

I finally talked my husband into going to Disneyland with our 3yr old daughter. I am looking for any information anyone may have about going with a toddler. Where is a good place to stay, info on how to get great deals, great website or forums to look at?
Any ideas on a great time to go and how long we would need to stay? Also does anyone have any info on DisneyCalifornia? Are there anything for my 3yr old to do or should we visit that park when she is older?
Thank you all for the information!

[HappyTwinsMom]

We took our girls when they were 23 months and then again at 3 1/2. Disney's California Adventure is geared more toward older kids, teens and adults. There are some little kid things, but not enough (IMO). At your daughter's age, I would suggest focusing just on Disneyland itself. There's SO much for the little ones there.

On both "kid" trips, we stayed at the Fairfield Inn across from Disneyland's main entrance. Very convenient, decent hotel that's not too expensive.

If you go to Disneyland.com, there are functions that help you plan your visit with kids of various ages (toddler, young child, etc.). I found that to be really helpful.

We're going back again this year (our girls will be 8) and we're REALLY looking forward to being able to do most all the rides because they're now big enough. Hubby and I have been many times and have missed "our" stuff on the last two visits.

Have a great time!!!!

[mommytoEli]

omg.....we were in love with disneyland until we moved out of CA this past summer....sometimes we went every weekend. California adventures is neat. there are some things for a 3 year old- mostly the disney playhouse stage show, the bug land--which has maybe 3 rides, and the toy story parade is to die for! if you go for that....eat at the italian restaurant before hte parade begins and you'll have a great seat...plus the food is super great! our favorite ride is the toy story mania . it is so much fun...even our 3 year old LOVES it! other than that, our kids don't much care for it. so...if it is lots of extra money, you can skip it without feeling too guilty.

we like to stay on the property. all of the disney hotels are fabulous....but the one across the street, paradise pier, which is usually the cheapest is pretty nice, and still within walking distance from the hotel.

with a 3 year old-- don't forget the stroller. bring snacks and waters....but not too much, they have gotten kind of weird about food coming into the park...a few months ago they weren't going to allow my friend to bring her sandwiches into the park until she agreed to assemble them before they went in. lol....she had packed all the items seperately to keep them nice so she had like a bag of lettuce, a bag of tomatoes....lol..i guess they didn't like that. lol. you can rent strollers there....but in ALL my years of going, i have always found it more convenient to have my own. but that is just me. how many days to stay? gosh, i wouldn't stay more than 3. and please go before school lets out. summers are crowded and HOT. whenever you go, go early, go back to your hotel after lunch time and take a break, and then go back again for the evening. Sunday mornings were ALWAYS our favorite time to go....we found it was at it's emptiest then.....probably because everyone was at some kind of house of worship. if you don't plan to be, it is a good time to take advantage of the smaller crowd. lots of times we went sunday mornings, and we would only stay 2 hours and because we got on SO many rides, we'd just go home after that. lol.

have fun i am so jealous. everytime we drive past a parking structure my 3 year old cheers and says, "yeah, we are going to disneyland!" not quite eli, not quite.

[frankiegirl]

Thanks for the wonderful info. We are looking at going in Oct. I here that is a really good time to go. Does anyone know what the weather is like?

[mommytoEli]

perfect warm in the day- 70's, chilly at night- 50's. perfect. i love october and april in anaheim.

[frankiegirl]

Awesome! I live in WA so that is great weather for us. We will be very comfortable. I just have to get some good prices for hotels.

[zxczxcasdasd]

October is perfect. The park will have shorter hours; open later and close earlier, but with little ones that should be okay. It's less crowded and should be nice and relaxed. Sometimes we get heatwaves in Oct, so do also come prepared with clothes for hot weather just in case.

Personally, I love the CA Adventure park. The kiddie rides are not quite as good as the ones at D-land and it doesn't quite equal the magical feeling of the main park, but there are some other nice features for kids, and we love the new Toy Story ride. Also, the old Electrical Parade is at CA Adventure which we love. We love taking the Mission Tortilla factory tour- it takes only 5-10 minutes and you get a fresh hot tortilla! Same with the Boudin bakery tour.

mommytoEli gave you a lot of great info!

One more tip for toddlers. When in CA Adventure, spend some time in the Disney Animation building in the Hollywood backlot. It's great for the little ones and you get to spend some time not in line or baking in the sun. There are a few different veins to explore and definitely do all of them! You get to record your voice into a Disney scene, find out which character you are, several interactive things which little ones can enjoy as well as you.

[avoel]

Check out getawaytoday.com I used them to book our Disneyland package for this summer and I think I got pretty good rates. In researching I have found that the main difference between Disneyland and Disneyworld seems to be the lodging. At DW it is a big deal to stay on site and use Disney transportation etc. At Disneyland, onsite is not such a big deal...the biggest thing is to be close enough to walk into the parks! There are lots of "Good Neighbor" hotels that fit the bill for that. The Early Entry into the parks is included in the ticket prices, not associated with staying on site as well.

We got 3 day parkhoppers because some of the things we like best (Toy story, Soarin, Playhouse Disney) are in California Adventure, but I am sure we will be spending most of our time in Disneyland itself. We are sooo excited!

If you go to the disboards.com there is a disneyland section that has lots of helpful info as well.

[frankiegirl]

So do you all think 2days in Disneyland and 1 day at DisneyCalifornia would be plenty?