First time at Disneyland with a kid!

[missm]

Hi all! I just found out that my boyfriend and I are going to have his 7 year old niece with us for one day at Disneyland in a few weeks. I am excited yet nervous. We don't have any kids ourselves. I have a few questions for you all. I have read through the parenting in the parks and searched through forums and didn't really come up with much. Anyway.....

Goofy's Kitchen for dinner buffet or lunch buffet? We know it doesn't have the best reviews for food but we are mainly going for Anna and character interaction.

I have never stepped foot into Toon town!! Is it crazy? Any thing that is must see for a 7 year old?

What about rides like Indy? She is tall so she can ride anything at DL but for a seven year old? I just don't want her to freak out about a ride and have it ruin her whole day. I have read both the Ultimate Guide and Birnbaums kid section but I get so much more from all of you on MP. I know I had more questions but can't think of them now. Thanks.

[just beatla33]

mostly its up to the kid, my fiance and I had to bring my three young cusins by our self's before and it went flawless, and before that we took two seperate 2 year olds and its up to them what to do because one loved pirates, the other hated it. I say play by ear, this coming from experiance.

but rememeber DL is really built for the 7 year old

[mistofviolets]

I agree you'll have to play it by ear

Some kids are brave and want to try anything...others don't. My 8 y/o went on Indy, and was glad she went once...but didn't want to go again. You'll have to ask her what she's interested in

The tea cups will probably go over well, LOL. I'd avoid Honey I shrunk the audience and the Bugs Life experiences. My dd was terrified of HISTA. Just make sure to start with light rides...Peter Pan, Small World, that kind of thing so that they don't get scared of trying anything, KWIM?

[samsma]

I think Roger Rabbits Car Toon Spin in TT is fun, and you will ALL like it. You should be fine on Indy, My DD went for her first time at 7 and it was her favorite. At 7 she should pretty much know what she would or would not like, so I say just go with the flow. She can most likely ride everything in both parks, it's just gonna be what she feels comfortable with.HAVE FUN!

[A Big Fan]

We've taken our daughters several times since they were around 4 years old. Like everyone is saying each child is different, but ours loved EVERY ride that they were tall enough for. Since they were about 5 they ride Indy, Tower or Terror, Space Mt, etc. with no problems.

I agree that Roger Rabbit is the best part of Toon Town. If you have your own camera and want some good souvenier pictures Minnie's house is good. We've alway had quite a wait at Mickey's house, but you get good pictures there also, and there is a photographer there.

There's a bounce house in Toon Town (Goofy's Playhouse) that kids seem to love and hardly ever has a line.

[carolyn]

There's a bounce house in Toon Town (Goofy's Playhouse) that kids seem to love and hardly ever has a line.

Actually, the bounce house isn't there anymore.

Definitely let her decide if she's brave enough for a ride. My 7yo is aprehensive about any ride that is indoors (Indy, Space, even Fantasyland dark rides), but loves the outdoor rides.

[missm]

I think I am just nervous. Thanks for your help though. I just want her to have such a great time. I always overthink things. I'm excited to see DL through a childs eyes though. I always go with adults or my mom. That part will be the best. When her eyes light up when we enter. Thanks again.

[Malcon10t]

Goofy's is good. My kids (although adults) prefer breakfast there, but to be honest, I liked dinner better, and I thought we got better character interaction at dinner.

Another thing, Goofys is good to get several characters, but if she prefers the Princess thing, Ariels is a better choice.

[LostBoy02]

Youve never been to TT?! You should check it out even if you dont have a kid with you!

My fiance and I took her 9yro niece a year or two ago and she was all about the Pirates. I think we rode it 3 times before the end of the first day and twice the next. I think the biggest difference we noticed was the fact that she was a very picky eater. We had to work around her appetite and what she was feeling at the time. We also ended up scraping all our personal plans and favorite rides to make sure she had the best time possible.

However, DL is an incredible place to be with kids. You get to see all the magic through their eyes and it helps remind you why you love the place so much. It really brings things into perspective when you see a huge smile on their face and their heart racing right before the first dip in PotC.

[SportyTink]

I was in the same position as you this time last year when my (now) fiance and I took his 7 year old daughter to Disneyland for the first time. I was going through all the same feelings/emotions you are. I am going to preface the following with we did end up having a good time but I will tell you a couple of things....

~Prepare yourself for a LONG day. When you go with adults you are mostly around the adult crowd (think space, splash, matterhorn, nicer restaurants etc). When you have a child you are around the adults with kids crowd (think dark rides, toon town, quicker/cheaper restaurants). This being the case, to be fairly blunt, you end up being surrounded by parents who are stressed out & kids who are crying/whinning in a higher frequency than what you might be expecting. Especially once you get towards the middle/late afternoon when the younger kids are tired/hot/warn out etc. this becomes much more prevalent.

~Prepare yourself to be on high alert. I was amazed at how stressed out I was about knowing where my step-daughter was at all times especially when walking through the more crowded areas. There were a couple of times she was walking right behind me and I couldn't see her in my peripheal vision and my heart jumped.

~Make sure you give yourselves some time to relax- you are going to need it. So for lunch and dinner maybe go to a sit down place (French Market or Cafe Orleans are great to be able to just kind of sit for a while and there are lots of things for her to see/hear in that area of the park to where she won't get bored), not just grab a quick snack or doing Pizza Port/Rancho Del Zocalo to where those are somewhat isolated without much to look at.

~Prepare your self for the anxiety the child might feel. My stepdaughter isn't the most brave person ever and we had to "talk her into" doing most of the rides. That being said, she did do Indy (after some coaxing) and while she didn't totally hate it she made it very clear that she didn't want to do it again.

As a AP holder I have been to the park close to a couple hundred times (to give you an idea of where I am coming from)...We have taken her 3 times over the past year and while it is fun it is a totally different experience and can more stressful than you might think. I know that I definitely wasn't prepared for the other side of things the first time we went.

You guys will have a great time and when all is said and done it is a day at Disneyland that I am sure none of you guys will forget. Have fun, just go into it being prepared!

HTH!

[missm]

Youve never been to TT?! You should check it out even if you dont have a kid with you!

I get that alot! I've been there a bunch since it opened I have just never been drawn to it.

Thanks so much for all the help. I am a little freaked out we will lose her but already planned on explaining that there are not police to find if she gets lost and show her what CMs look like.

[adriennek]

I think I am just nervous. Thanks for your help though. I just want her to have such a great time. I always overthink things. I'm excited to see DL through a childs eyes though. I always go with adults or my mom. That part will be the best. When her eyes light up when we enter. Thanks again.

Ok, I was going to cut down this quote but I can't. The answer is in your post here - Relax - It's Disneyland! Let Disney do the magic. Of course she'll have a great time!

We're APs but I think one of the greatest days I've ever had at DL with my kids was last Wednesday. Here's why I think it went well:

1- We used FastPass. If you don't know what FastPass is and how to use it, search the term in the Disneyland Forum and learn what you can before you go. We started the day collecting our FastPasses in the morning and in the afternoon, we hit several rides with little or no wait! Every time an FP window opened, even if we hadn't used it yet, we got another one!

2- We didn't push ourselves or the kids.

I think that the thing that overtires anyone - adults or kids - is the anxious need to "do everything." Let my disspell that myth for you right now: You WILL NOT be able to do everything. Sorry. It won't happen.

That's OK! There are SO many great things to do!! And I promise you, you will all have a better time if you don't TRY to do everything.

3- Don't let her take advantage you. Set appropriate limits and boundries. Don't say yes everytime you pass a churro or ice cream cart. Make sure you all regularly eat healthy foods. Don't let anyone get too hungry or thirsty. Make regular bathroom stops. Make sure the basic needs are MET. Sugar is not evil, but it's not your friend, either. My kids don't get sugar unless they've had some protein to balance it. Sugar crashes are ugly ugly things. When my kids get hungry, they get cranky and whiney. Kids like to know that they're safe.

She may be an angel or she may be an angel in disguise, like my boys are!! My boys will test by climbing on walls, etc. Show her that you care for her safety. She will appreciate knowing that you're watching her. She may pretend to be annoyed. She's testing you.

So here are my basic tips:

1- First thing, find out if there's anything on her list that she MUST DO. (MUST RIDE DUMBO.) If there's one ride that she can't live without riding (or two or three) plan your day around those rides. If any of those rides have a FastPass, get them. Take care of the must do's as early in the day as you can! This will reduce everyone's anxiety and stress levels.

This will also give you an idea for her tolerance - does she like roller coasters? Will dark rides scare her?

2- Look at the map and make a plan. Try not to backtrack to the outer corners of the park too much. If you're going to Pooh, or Toontown, for example, do everything out there that you can. In the middle, you can spend more time ride hopping and maximizing your FastPasses. If you know.

3- If you're concerned about 'scarier' rides - build up. Try Pirates before Haunted Mansion. Try Thunder Mountain before Matterhorn (Harold) or Space Mountain (Dark.)

As for my 8-y/o, I learned that the best thing to do is to NOT surprise him. If he knows something ahead of time, he's much better off. If I tell him about the snake in Indy, he's better off than if he sees it without warning - in this case, he doesn't trust me and is fearful of what "might" happen.

Also - ask her parents before you go, what they think you can expect.

Ok, I wrote a lot. I think my best opinion is what I started out with: The more expectations YOU have, the harder I think it will be, in my experience. The more you just sort of let go and let the day go as you go, the more relaxed you are, the less disappointed you might be if you get, say, stuck in a crowd or if something doesn't go exactly how you planned it.

It's Disneyland. She'll have a GREAT time. And, again, you nailed it on the head: If you go in, planning to find joy in HER joy, you'll have a great time. I promise.

Adrienne

[Leap for Joy]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned money yet! Have a plan for how to handle shopping, and if you're supplying money set a limit in advance.

Here's a recent discussion on the topic:
http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=60718