1st Trip to Disneyland -- 4th Birthday

Hello All,

I am taking my daughter to Disneyland for her 4th birthday. This is a trip her father has promised her since (literally) the day she was born.

I haven't been to DLR since Christmas 2000, and I know the park has undergone some changes since then. They were still in the process of building California Adventures at that point, so I am totally unfamiliar with that part of the resort. I've only visited the park with other adults; this is my first time with a child in tow.

I'm trying to plan out the best trip possible with a little one. DivaGirl is a whopping 42 inches tall, so getting on most rides won't be a problem; and we'll be staying for 3 days, so we have a little bit of breathing room, and don't have to cram everything in one day.

I've looked at some printed trip planning guides, but they're all a little out of date. We'll be at the park during the first week of November. Any and all advice is appreciated!

Thank You

[barfownz]

Originally Posted by merijenben

Hello All,

I am taking my daughter to Disneyland for her 4th birthday. This is a trip her father has promised her since (literally) the day she was born.

I haven't been to DLR since Christmas 2000, and I know the park has undergone some changes since then. They were still in the process of building California Adventures at that point, so I am totally unfamiliar with that part of the resort. I've only visited the park with other adults; this is my first time with a child in tow.

I'm trying to plan out the best trip possible with a little one. DivaGirl is a whopping 42 inches tall, so getting on most rides won't be a problem; and we'll be staying for 3 days, so we have a little bit of breathing room, and don't have to cram everything in one day.




I've looked at some printed trip planning guides, but they're all a little out of date. We'll be at the park during the first week of November. Any and all advice is appreciated!

Thank You

4 th birthday eh? ok here is my advice


1. make her as comfortable as possible
2. show her ride videos from this lovely site
3. if she doesn't want to go on a ride do not force her to like i said in #1
4. spoil her!
5. have fun!

[Liserbell]

Toon town is very hands on and kid friendly. Fantasyland is, of course, a great place for kids. Both have little rollercoster like rides that you can see if she will like anything more.

The more prepared she is for the rides the better it will be on you. The video section of VF will help a lot.

If at all possible leave for nap time! A little down time in the middle of the day will help.

Have fun!

[snoozy]

If you want to plan a special birthday celebration the resort can help you. Call 714-300-PLAN. They can help with everything you need for a party. If you are staying at one of the DLR hotels they can have balloons and a birthday cake delivered to your room or any of the restaurants. You might also want to plan a Character Breakfast with the Princesses at the Plaza Inn.

[Piglet]

We just took my 3 1/2 year old in June and this is what we did with him. We started off in fantasyland with this exact order: Dumbo, Casey Junior, Canal Boats, Peter Pan, Tea Cups, Alice, Pinocchio, then Snow White. Snow White ride scared him, so we didn't go on Mr. Toad. Now this list took us several hours to do and stopped for a snack and nap about midway through it. The next day, we hit Toon Town and Saw Mickey and Minnie, but didn't go on Roger Rabbit. He seemed to like Gadget okay. He was too small for Goofy's Bounce House. Later that day, we went on Buzz, skipped Star Tours, Went to the Tiki Room then Jungle Cruise, Winnie the Pooh, Tarzan's Tree House, then tried Pirates. This one scared him, so we didn't go on Haunter Mansion. The 3rd day, we went to California Adventure and spent most of our time in A Bug's Land. We didn't go to any 3-D movies, but did take him on Soarin--which he loved. He loved the Electrical Parade and Block Party Bash, too. The thing he loved most of all though was the Disneyland Railroad--we went on that about 4 times. We let him set the pace and it all went really well. He ahd a great time! Hope this helps you plan!

[Piglet]

I forgot--we took him on the carrousel right after Dumbo =)

[Retlaw]

Greetings,
We've had 3 daughters and 3 first times at Disneyland. Admittedlly, we are no experts, but here's our thoughts. Do as suggested by barfownz & Liserbell. The only additional item was the first ride. Their first ride was the Disneyland RR. They were in sensory overload when we went under the RR tracks & the ride gave them a chance to see everything without tiring them out with a long walk. It was also a good time to take photos of them absolutely wide eyed & smiling. All part of that first fun & hopefully lots of great memories for all. Have fun.
cheers,
Steve

[dreaming]

We took a 4 yr old at the end of June (along with 3 older teens), we started everyday (at opening) in Fantasyland, making sure the first hour or two were totally catered to the youngest child. It is worth being there when the park opens to take advantage of little to no lines in Fantasyland (there are no Fastpasses there). We also took advantage of Toontown Morning Madness that is offered thru certain travel packages. Toontown is a hands on place with lots of eye candy!! Keep in mind that Toontown opens one hour after the rest of the park, so spend the first hour in Fantasyland then hit Toontown first thing. Mickey & Minnie's house is really something to see & of course seeing Mickey at his house is special. Next suggestion is the character meals. We did a breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen *this is a must if you only do one character meal*, we did a Princess Breakfast at the Plaza Inn (but now the Princesses are at Ariel's Grotto for lunch & dinner) & we did dinner at Ariel's Grotto with Cap't Mickey (which now is Minnie & Friends at the Plaza Inn), but the expense of these meals is well worth every penny when you see your child's face light up. Over at DCA, the Bug's Life area has small rides for little ones & water play areas the kids love. Also at DCA is a play area Redwood Creek (I think thats the name) that kids can run around in. Make sure to take a break in the afternoons to refresh, swim, nap, etc & then go back in the evenings. This schedule seemed to work quite well & didn't leave our 4 yr old over tired & cranky. I hope this helps some & have a great time !!!

[BlueBayou]

My oldest is almost 5. Here is my advice:
1) If she likes princesses, have her wear a princess dress. My daughter wore hers every morning of our 5 day trip this past December. A huge magical moment was when we were entering town square on our first day. We heard somebody calling "little sleeping beauty, little sleeping beauty" several times. We finally realized it was prince Phillip and Sleeping Beauty calling to our daughter. They both came to her got down on there knees in front of her. We were right next to the Christmas tree. Very magical. Kids just get a little extra attention when they are dressed up.

2) You might want to watch video on this site of rides you think your daughter might be scared of. My daughter wanted to ride matterhorn first off in Dec. The dark bit right at the start freaked her out. She kept trying to turn around and climb off. Not a fun experience for me. I really had to struggle with her to keep her safe. After that she would not ride POTC (even though she had been on it several times before when she was younger). This summer we did a 1-day trip with friends her age. Somehow peer pressure made her want to go on Tower of Terror. I WAS NOT READY TO RIDE IT. She was so close to the height requirement that three people checked to make sure she was 40 inches. I figured she would chicken out. No we rode it. She loved it. She did Soaring too. However later in the day she would not ride Buzz because of "the anger inside."

3) Get there early and take breaks.

Have a great time,

Sher

[twinkletoes]

We were there for my daughter's 7th birthday, and she had a blast. One of the fun things we did was go to the Plaza Inn at the end of Main street and join in on the birthday party they have there. It costs only 10.00 a person, and with that you get to decorate a small mickey cake, Mr. Pat-E-Cake comes out and sings some songs and interacts with the group. At the end, a character or characters, come out and you can have her picture taken with them. Mickey and Minnie showed up for ours. It was a birthday party away from home, it lasts about 30-45 minutes, and you can make reservations that morning. The party was around 1:00. Anyway, have a wonderful time.


Oh yeah, she can also get a birthday sticker to wear so that during the day all the CM's will wish her a happy birthday. You can go to City Hall for those.

[Space Rangerlvl999]

Try to make sure she doesnt see the really cool expensive stuff, she might go on the frits if she doesnt get what she wants.