My family (2 adults and a 5 and 2 year old) is planning a 5 day trip to Disneyland in April and I was wondering what it's like to go while pregnant. I was thinking about whether this trip will be any fun at all since there will be so many rides I can't go on and I'll be so tired. Also, my 5 year old is tall enough to ride some of the big rides and I'm going to miss going on some of these rides for her first time. Any tips on how to make this trip fun?

Thanks!

Get out a piece of paper. First, write down the rides you know you can't go on.

Now start writing down the rides you CAN go on.

1- see which one is longer.
2- don't stop writing just because your hand hurts ;)

"So many" is subjective - and a small percentage. I'll be back later with tips - gotta do the school run and errands thing. But I had to just throw this out there. ;)

Adrienne

Just think of the solidarity you'll feel with your 2 year old! Instead of being the kid that gets "swapped," you guys can bond over the shops, characters and other rides. My friend went when she was 5 months pregnant and had a great time with her 18 month old. They actually got a lot of really great pictures of the "pop-up" characters that her other daughter missed.

Another option is to max out your Digital Camera! Make your 2 year old the model of the day or do a scavenger hunt for Mickey's (doesn't have to be hidden even) and keep track of how many you can get pictures with your daughter.

First, how far along will you be, that's going to be the determinant for how tired you're going to be. Honestly I was there ON MY DUE DATE with #3 and wasn't at all tired. My older two were 4.5 and almost 2 then and we had tons of fun!

I was so afraid of missing out on those special moments with first rides and all that, but my family was really supportive and we simply waited it out. I explained to my son that I wanted to be there with him the first time he rode StarTours and the Matterhorn and he was okay with that. (We've decided to wait for Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain and he's still not tall enough for Indy.)

There really is so much to do at DL, I know that there's so much focus on the rides, but even in all the trips we've taken, I still don't have many pics of the kids with characters and we've only seen some of the shows maybe once. I really enjoyed DL while pregnant, and would do it again if I could (we are soooo done)! Take this as a chance to slow down and take it easy. Trust me things are only going to get exponentially busier from here!

And stop at the restroom every time you see one, even if you just went or you don't think you need to!

Elizabeth

Get out a piece of paper. First, write down the rides you know you can't go on.

Now start writing down the rides you CAN go on.

1- see which one is longer.
2- don't stop writing just because your hand hurts ;)

"So many" is subjective - and a small percentage. I'll be back later with tips - gotta do the school run and errands thing. But I had to just throw this out there. ;)

Adrienne

And then compare that to how much fun it would be to be there, versus being at home staring at the walls!


FWIW, I went on Star Tours with my son before DH even got on the plane to join us. DS loved it, then woudln't go on it again. DH was sad, but knows that he'll get to go on it with him when DS gets his "brave" back, and he wouldn't have wanted DS to skip Star Tours just b/c he coudln't go on it.

And I missed DS's first ride on Buzz b/c they went off to do the Astro Orbiters (which I didn't want to go on) but got in the wrong line. It was a bit weird to find out later that they went on Buzz without me, but I'm glad they got their fun time together.

So even though it might feel like it would be impossible to miss that "first", at least to me and DH, it hasn't felt as bad as we thought it would have.

Also, if you wait until after this baby to go on the big rides with your biggest kid, ONE of you is going to have to skip it anyway, right? Unless you bring a friend to watch the middle one and the baby while the three of you go?

I was so afraid of missing out on those special moments with first rides and all that, but my family was really supportive and we simply waited it out. I explained to my son that I wanted to be there with him the first time he rode StarTours and the Matterhorn and he was okay with that. (We've decided to wait for Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain and he's still not tall enough for Indy.)

Not everyone can get to DLR as frequently as we can. I wanted to do a lot of the first roller coaster stuff with my son, too, but someone had to watch the other kid(s) so unless we had friends with us, it wasn't always possible. Many of the height restriction rides have cameras - and, frankly, just because they're tall enough doesn't mean they'll want to ride all the new big rides. :eek: ;) I think this strategy works for a frequent visitor but for a less frequent visitor, I think that might be a lot to ask a little kid to wait. (And I'm absolutely all about being patient and not rushing kids or trying to make them taller than they are to get on a ride, etc.)

Adrienne

Not everyone can get to DLR as frequently as we can. I wanted to do a lot of the first roller coaster stuff with my son, too, but someone had to watch the other kid(s) so unless we had friends with us, it wasn't always possible. Many of the height restriction rides have cameras - and, frankly, just because they're tall enough doesn't mean they'll want to ride all the new big rides. :eek: ;) I think this strategy works for a frequent visitor but for a less frequent visitor, I think that might be a lot to ask a little kid to wait. (And I'm absolutely all about being patient and not rushing kids or trying to make them taller than they are to get on a ride, etc.)

Adrienne

We're waiting out the "thrill" rides more for our comfort than convenience. I recently rode Space Mountain because I only rode it once five years prior and DS was begging to ride it. He is tall enough, it's the fave ride of his good friend, and there are other adults I trust who are willing to take him (I am not a roller coaster person at all) but after riding it I will not let him ride it. I know my son and on top of not liking them, I have a real fear of him falling out of the car. So my suggestion is to think about which rides your 5yo will really want to ride to begin with.

Elizabeth

It's all about perspective and you've totally changed mine! Thank you so much for your great advice. We live in Hawaii and only make it to the mainland once a year. Even then, we only have enough time and money to visit family. Since this trip is a special surprise for my kids, it was so easy to get caught up in what I can't do that I couldn't focus on all I can do and there is a ton (thanks for the list idea!). I would much rather be at Disneyland enjoying my family than staring at walls! That comment made me LOL. I'll be around 4 1/2 - 5 months along by April so hopefully the morning queasiness/sickness will be gone and I'll have that second trimester surge of energy. It will be a good experience to spend time with my 2 year old. He certainly will need some good mommy time since it won't happen once this baby comes. My 5 year old is daredevil when is comes to thrill rides and she will love going on thrill rides with her daddy, but we'll also have to wait and see what she is up to. I certainly don't want to force her onto any ride she might be scared of because that just ruins all the fun. In the end if she decides to go an a big ride, then she can tell me all about it when she's finished. Since I'm such a Disney nut, I know we'll be back and then she and I can have all kinds of fun on the bigger rides. It's a good thing Disneyland isn't going away any time soon! Thanks again! You are just awesome!

It's all about perspective and you've totally changed mine! Thank you so much for your great advice. We live in Hawaii and only make it to the mainland once a year. Even then, we only have enough time and money to visit family.

snip to

It's a good thing Disneyland isn't going away any time soon! Thanks again! You are just awesome!

Oh yeah! What a great attitude! You're going to have a blast. You'll be at DISNEYLAND with your KIDS. :) Have a great time and drink lots of water!

Adrienne

...and stop and rest when you need to. I'm about 4 1/2 months along now. Although I do have a renewed second trimester energy, my hips still get a little loose and my body a little tired after a few walks around the park. There are plenty of places to just sit and people watch and take in all that Disneyland, however. To me, half the experience is just being there with all the happiness, even if you can't ride all the rides!

Mrs. Bassett

I went when I was 7 mos preggers with my daughter. I, too, thought I would not be able to do much, and I was sad. It was the first trip to DL I took with kids (my son was 1). Well, I had so much fun!

First, having kids that young (and being pregnant), made me slow down and look for hidden Mickey moments. I call them Mickey moments because, literally, the first day, I was on Main Street with my son. He wanted to walk up and down on the curbs - and my brother and husband went off and went on a roller coaster. I was sad. All of a sudden, Mickey Mouse and the Disney Marching Band came out of a side door and started walking up Main Street!!! I had never seen them before! My son was delighted and danced through the whole mini-parade. If I hadn't had him there or been pregnant, I would have missed the Mickey Moment.

I had many more Mickey Moments that trip - finding just the right things for the nursery in the stores, talking to cast members; etc. I enjoyed a more simpler Disney vacation. And I really enjoyed it.

One thing I did which helped me was I rented an ECV every day. I could keep up with my family and I didn't tire too easily. I was embarassed at first, so I did not do it the first day. By the end of the first day, my back was in so much pain, I cried almost all night. I really enjoyed the next day with the ECV. It was fun, too, to be able to zoom all over the park and take photos or go get a corn dog (or find a restroom...) when they were on a ride I could not go on.

Take care of yourself and enjoy those last, quiet, Mickey Moments. When that baby comes, you won't be having too many moments where you can sit quietly on Main Street with a snack!

Thanks for all the replies. It has really helped me refocus and realize just how much fun this trip is going to be. As for Mickey Moments, I remember taking my now 2 year old son when he was just 6 months old. I wanted to give him some time out of his stroller and found a nice quiet empty place by one of the restaurants. Just before we left, Alice, Tweedledee and Tweedledum come up to us and spent a good 10 minutes just talking and playing with him. He grinned from ear to ear! I would have missed that moment had we not had some down time then. It will for sure be a different trip, but I'm getting really excited!

Thank you!

Thanks for all the replies. It has really helped me refocus and realize just how much fun this trip is going to be. As for Mickey Moments, I remember taking my now 2 year old son when he was just 6 months old. I wanted to give him some time out of his stroller and found a nice quiet empty place by one of the restaurants. Just before we left, Alice, Tweedledee and Tweedledum come up to us and spent a good 10 minutes just talking and playing with him. He grinned from ear to ear! I would have missed that moment had we not had some down time then. It will for sure be a different trip, but I'm getting really excited!

Thank you!


That's exactly what I found, too. I find now that I love going to Disneyland as a whole experience. Because I am no longer focused on all the rides I can go on, I am excited the moment I step in the gates! I pretty much know I am going to meet interesting people, have a good meal, see some exciting shows, and go on some rides. I find almost every moment relaxing.

We went to Disneyland on Thanksgiving Day with our 2 1/2 year old, and I was 6 months pregnant. I had a fantastic time! We were there much longer than we expected, from early morning until after dinner.

Disneyland itself has loads of rides you can do while pregnant. California Adventure, by contrast, is kind of lame during pregnancy.

Because of that, I kind of wonder if 5 days at Disneyland might be overkill. Maybe take a couple of days and drive south to see Legoland and the Wild Animal Park?

When we went in Sept '06 I was 4 months along. Even though I couldn't ride many rides (I was pretty conservative) I had a blast. You'll have a great time!

I just wanted to say focus on the experience, and not what you can or can't do.

Our first trip, my youngest wouldn't get on half the rides. Seriously. Even Peter Pan. And Casey Jr. And Jungle Cruise. And the carousel. We'd wait in line, she'd shake her head vigorously and claw my neck, the CM would smile and point out the escape route.

But, we had a blast meeting characters. We used color wonder paper to get autographs, and it really made for some magical interactions. A lot of the characters had never seen it before. But, it can't get wet, and you'll want to photocopy all autographs when you get home!

In DCA, there are some nice play areas that you can relax at while others do the intense stuff. Go to Engine Ears and see how many cool potato head parts you can stuff into a box for $18. :) (Tip...grab Disney themed parts first, make sure you get pairs of arms, not all one sided, and fill in empty spaces with ears and eyes)

In Disneyland, wander Toontown and visit the princess fantasy fair and Jedi Training for your down times. We didn't make it to Pirate's Lair, but I bet that has some good run around fun, too. They make decent places to sit while dc has fun and the older ones ride the big rides. Explore the lesser visited attractions, animation studio and innoventions.

Nap in the middle of the day and go back at night. We did Storybook canal boats after dark last visit, and it was amazing :) Definitely worth being at the park late for.


And don't forget the shows. A lot of people don't think about them as attractions, but they are so worth seeing. Aladdin at DCA is supposedly worth the entrance fee, alone.