Toddlers in Disneyland

[Melaniee]

Great Rides to hit, ones to skip?

We took our son when he was 2 1/4 (LOL) and:
-Characters scared the daylights out of him
-He loved Casey Jr. Train
-Liked Small World
-LOVED Autopia
-The DL Train was the first thing we did (soon after the character scare) so he was just taking it all in. Didn't seem to lvoe it, didn't hate it. Bad Mommy forgot about the dinosaurs and darkness, but he did okay.
-Thought Toon Town would be great, it wasn't. Guess what, there are TOONs there. LOL. He loved the fire engine and things to do, but we had to keep avoiding the toons. The trolley we thought he'd like, but it was no where to be found.
-Jungle Cruise was okay...didn't love it...didn't plead "go home...go home..." like when he saw the characters


We're certain Pirates & HM would have frightened him. I think he would have liked the carosel, the storybook ride, tom sawyer's island & the monorail but we missed them.

He will be just about three next time...so I'm looking for some recommendations! Anyone?

TIA!

ETA - is it true that the Pooh ride is actually pretty scarey?

[rentayenta]

It so depends on the child. All three of my kids loved the characters even when they were babies/young toddlers.

My son took his first ride on Gadget's Go Coaster when he was 2 and loved it.

The only attraction that all of them didn't like when they were under 3 was the Haunted Mansion.

Pirates is all of their favorite. Theya are 3 ,5, and 7 y/o.

They all like the Matterhorn.

My kids all like Pooh, even the 2 y/o on our last trip.

Snow White might be a little scary for your son.

Again, it really depends on the child.

[adriennek]

I agree: they hate characters.

Generally, I think "Dark" rides aren't a good idea at that age, but Pooh is not scary, IMO. My boys LOVE LOVE LOVE it and I can't say that about any other dark ride.

Tea cups: very fun, don't spin.
Dumbo & Astro Orbitor- Fun, go high. (for them anyway)
Carrousel
Tom Sawyer's Island
MarK Twain River Boat
Main Street Vehicles
Monorail!
Storybook Canal Boats

also avoid: Tiki Room, IMO.

Off the top of my head.
Adrienne

[Hakuna Makarla]

my boy loved the dumbo ride, astro orbitors, pooh, tea cups, carousel,splash ( some what) pirates was his favorite,and he absolutly loved bugs land in DCA. I could not get him to leave there. he rode all the rides there over and over.

[AdrienneQW]

I strongly agree that each child is different, and you just have to play it by ear. If it helps any, my guy is two-and-a-half and here is his list of do's and don'ts:

Favorites:
Dumbo
Casey Jr. Circus Train
Carousel
Teacups
Alice in Wonderland
Storybook boats
Autopia
Winnie The Pooh
Gadget's Go Coaster
Monorail
Grand Railroad
Mark Twain
It's A Small World (very, VERY favorite)

He's neutral about Pinocchio and Mr. Toad; will go on them anytime I suggest it but never asks to do so. He's suddenly not wanting to go on Peter Pan - he'd always seemed to enjoy it before, although it wasn't a big time favorite, but when we went last week he had a screaming *fit* when it was our turn to go. (As a sidebar, I was highly annoyed that the CM pushed the bar down and tried to get me to take him on the ride anyway, saying "Oh he'll be fine, he'll be fine, it's not scary"... Ummm, lady? This is my kid and I'm NOT taking him on this ride, even if he's been 20 times before, if something is obviously upsetting him this much. Now raise the bar and let us be on our way, thankyouverymuch.)

He whimpered a bit on Pirates (very first ride the very first time we took him to Disneyland) so I haven't tried again, although he loved the drops and the singing. We might try that again soon since it's been several months. He was neutral about Haunted Mansion the one time we went... didn't seem to be particularly loving or hating it during the ride, but didn't ask to go "AGAIN, Mommy!" at the end, so we haven't gone again.

He *adores* characters, especially "his" Alice (the same gal portrays Alice every Wednesday, and she has learned his name and is always especially nice to him). He has learned Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Chip, Dale, Alice, the Mad Hatter, and the Queen of Hearts. All princesses are known only by their dress color - for Belle it's "Hello Yellow Princess!!" and so on. LOL When it comes to characters he doesn't give a whit about photos or autographs, but he is obsessed with getting/giving hugs! Once when Tigger knelt to give him a hug, he ran full-force into the character and knocked him down! LOL Never underestimate the enthusiasm of a two-year-old, I say. ;)

It will be interesting to see what your guy thinks of things now that he's several months older... keep us posted on how he does!

[mumeee99]

I can't wait to get there with my 2 year old and see what he's into. I don't think any of the "dark" rides will scare him but who knows I've been wrong before. We're going to start with Small World and go from there. Hopefully he has fun!

[Melaniee]

So we went yesterday. The opportunity came up to be in OC, so I talked Dh into an afternoon visit. It was a tad hot. LOL. Yes, lots of things closed that I would have liked, but plenty to do with a toddler. There were NO bathroom lines, so no problem. I took him preventatively just in case we'd get in line and he'd have to go. Twice I took him to the little potties at the baby care center and he loved those: "A Potty for KIDS!"

So first thing, we see Chip N Dale by the babycare center. I wisked Ds in so he wouldn't see them. However they were still there when we got out so we decided to point them out to him to see what he thought. He was interested and even let them shake his hand. He liked them! Of course, we didn't see a SINGLE character the rest of the day! LOL. I don't blame them, it was really hot to be wearing those things. I just thought it funny that a weekday in February the place was crawling with characters to avoid, but a weekend in September (now that Ds was interested) we saw none.

Anyway, what a difference 7 months makes! He rode Dumbo, Carousel, Casey Jr., Small World, Jungle Cruise, Autopia x2 & the Monorail (unfortunately no front riders due to the heat). He loved them all. He asked to go on the Teacups & Grand Railroad, but we ran out of time. Would you believe there was a long AP line in the middle of the afternoon? It took up almost an hour of our time. We ended up getting Ds his own even though he's not 3 until November. It seemed like it would be an annoyance to have his expire 2 months after ours AND wait in the line again. As we lamented what to do about Ds (yes, we still had not decided), the ticket woman hinted at not getting him one this year with, "Well...is he small for his age?" LOL. I appreciated that, but no, he's not and he'll be sure to tell them he's three if they were to ask. Right now he's very proud to show he's 2 1/2. Anyway, she had no answer to my question of why the children's are not a reduced price.

Can anyone give me the rundown on Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio and Peter Pan? I've been on Snow White and it would scare Ds. Are the other similar?

Next time I want to get to Tom Sawyer's Island. It seems like after having a lemonade it would have been a good place to work off some of his sugar-induced energy. Normally he eats no refined sugars, so when he gets a little, it's a lot!

Things that were on our to-do list that we'll try for next time:
Storybook Boats (they close so early!)
Grand Railroad
Monorail in the front
Tom Sawyer's Island

I was craving some french fries (which is really odd for me as I normally don't eat them). So I headed to the stand in Tomorrowland. I guess it is a Buzz lightyear theme now. Anyway, they were closed! They had a sweets side open and I got Apple Fries thinking it would curb the craving. No, it didn't but man are those things hot and sweet! LOL. I should have just bought funnel cake, but somehow having the word "apple" in the others made my mind think they were more suitable for the afternoon. hahaha.

[kadiehl]

He *adores* characters, especially "his" Alice (the same gal portrays Alice every Wednesday, and she has learned his name and is always especially nice to him). He has learned Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Chip, Dale, Alice, the Mad Hatter, and the Queen of Hearts. All princesses are known only by their dress color - for Belle it's "Hello Yellow Princess!!" and so on. LOL When it comes to characters he doesn't give a whit about photos or autographs, but he is obsessed with getting/giving hugs! Once when Tigger knelt to give him a hug, he ran full-force into the character and knocked him down! LOL Never underestimate the enthusiasm of a two-year-old, I say. ;)

I can not wait to see my daughters reaction when she sees the princesses. She will be fine, I am sure of it. If it had been my son at 2 1/2 yrs than I know he would of freaked :eek: . He was/is that sort of child. My daughter on the other hand, has no fears and makes you thank god for blue cross/blue shield with her "dare devilness" side. I continuously have to tell my son not to tell her to do things because she will do anything for a good laugh. My daughter is very advanced for her age right now anyways so socially she should be fine too. She can name every princess and most of the characters, at least the common ones! I CAN NOT wait to see her reaction when she sees Mickey. We keep watching the DVD WDW Planning video and she gets excited whenever she sees the characters. I am hoping that she realizes how big they are by seeing little kids with them on the DVD even though she is a "big girl". I am still looking forward to meeting Mary Poppins. That is one character we never got to see last time so we are on the autograph mission for that one :) My son could have gotten it last trip but he was too pooped out and enjoying his cheese pretzel ;)

[AliciasMom]

My 16 month old daughter and I went today. We went on Dumbo, Mr Toad's wild ride, Peter Pan, the Carusel, It's a Small World, POTC, Winnie the Pooh, and the huge Ferris Wheel at DCA. She loved them all. She also sat through the Aladdin show and she was cheering and applauding like a good audience member. She met Goofy, Minnie, Pluto, Chip & Dale. She was giving them hi-fives, waving high and bye, and blowing them kisses. I hope that she doesn't lose her "I love Disneyland" attitude. It's so easy going to the park with her since she loves everything about it and she has been that way since she was 9 months old.

[munchkinsmom0003]

Just as a PP mentioned, it really does depend on the child.

Here are the rides that our 3 year old DD and 19 month DS both enjoy:

It's a Small World
Dumbo
Casey Jr. Train
Disney Railroad
Monorail
Peter Pan
Carousel (both DL/DCA)
Jungle Cruise
Mark Twain Boat
That Heimlich Caterpillar ride @ DCA
Flik's Flyers @ DCA

My 3 year old likes the Winnie the Pooh, but my 19 month old hates it because it's a bit too loud and scary for him. My DD also likes the Autopia. She did the Roger Rabbit Car Spin Ride once, but didn't like it. Next time we go, my DH and I will have our DD try the Gadget Go Go Roller Coaster at Toontown and maybe the Astro Orbiter at Tomorrowland.

[MommyTo3Boys1Girl]

All kids are different. On our last trip my oldest was 2 and 8 months. He loved the characters that he was familiar with, Mickey, Pooh Goofy, etc. He loved ALL the rides. He cried because he was not tall enough for Splash Mountain. He rode Matterhorn and Gadget's Go Coaster. His favorite was Pinnochio, It's A Small World, Pirates and Pooh.
Have fun!

[Emma]

My oldest daughter loves the characters.... She could stand there and stare at Ariel or Snow White or Mickey for hours. (She's 4)