1 Day in DL with a 2.75 Year Old

[lmr1101]

Hi Everyone,
DH and I just booked a 1 day trip to DL with younger dd. We'll be driving up from San Diego in the morning - planning to be there when it opens at 9am. We didn't get park hopper tickets - so we'll just be at DL.

Am I crazy to even consider taking her on Pirates or what about the haunted mansion? It's been decades since I've been on these rides so in my head I'm thinking if she gets scared she can just snuggle in - but am I insane???

Also, I've never been to DL during the fast pass era... how do I begin? (Is that what they are even called anymore?)
I'm not too worried about meeting princesses/characters. We booked Goofy's Kitchen for the day after DL (we are staying one night and then driving home after character breakfast). Plus dd2 isn't in the princess stage yet so we don't have to seek those out!

One other note. Dh will take dd2 back to the hotel to nap around 2pm. I'll have about 2 hours on my own in DL!!! Anything I should plan for during that time?
Thanks

[123LuckyMom]

My then 4 year old who is scared of NOTHING really wanted to leave after the stretching room of the Haunted Mansion at DW. We basically forced him to stay, and he was fine for the rest of the ride. The 11 month old was totally fine. I think an almost three year old might be terrified, but it depends on how attuned she is to scary stuff. I would think Pirates would be okay. I've only been to DL once. I'm a DW girl, so I don't remember how different the rides are.

[lmr1101]

I totally forgot about the stretching room -- I think that would freak her out! I just kept thinking about the ride itself and not the part leading up to it. I'll probably check that one off my list

[SnuggleBuggles]

At 5yo, ds2 hated PoC. Hated it. Crouched at the bottom of the boat w ears covered. Then the ride broke down and we were stuck there 15 minutes. Ugh. He also hated Peter Pan- too dark b

[TwinFoxes]

Definitely not Haunted Mansion. Our DDs were chickens, we did not take them on POC until last year at 5. They actually enjoyed it. How brave is your DD? A lot of the dark rides are scary for tots. DDs loved Peter Pan though. Skip Snow White's Scary Adventures (see the word "scary"!) There are so many rides that won't scare the bejeebus out of her. The sailboats through Storyland, Casey Jr. Circus Train. Dumbo, it's a small world, Toon Town, many more. Have fun!!

[123LuckyMom]

Definitely not Haunted Mansion. Our DDs were chickens, we did not take them on POC until last year at 5. They actually enjoyed it. How brave is your DD? A lot of the dark rides are scary for tots. DDs loved Peter Pan though. Skip Snow White's Scary Adventures (see the word "scary"!) There are so many rides that won't scare the bejeebus out of her. The sailboats through Storyland, Casey Jr. Circus Train. Dumbo, it's a small world, Toon Town, many more. Have fun!!

You know, you're only there for one day. Just skip the scary rides! You'll be back again, right? Just do the rides you know she'll love.

[twowhat?]

It'll depend completely on your kid but I think you're right to strike Haunted. Our DDs are EXTREME chickens. They didn't even like Peter Pan the first time we rode it (they were 4) because of Captain Hook. Not because he's really scary, but just because he's THERE. The dark rides can be completely overwhelming for sensitive kids. They are LOUD (even the ones that aren't scary), and not being able to see what you're doing/what's coming up next bothered our kids a whole heck of a lot. This included stuff you wouldn't think is scary, even Winnie the Pooh. Anyway like I said, VERY dependent on your child's personality. I think ours are on the extreme end of the spectrum when it comes to rides.

Outside rides are key if you have a super sensitive kid. Dumbo, Carousel, Casey Jr, Storyland, the train that goes around the park, teacups. I also count the monorail as a ride - my kids love it.

We didn't do a lot of shows but you might want to add one into your day so that you don't feel like you're just doing mild rides. Also be sure to take time for mickey ice cream bars, frozen lemonade, Meeting Mickey and Minnie, etc!!

[lmr1101]

I think all of you are right. Older dd is the VERY sensitive one and since she isn't coming on this trip with us (don't worry - she's on her own vacation with my parents) I thought I'd be able to do more. DD2 is braver than dd1, but I think she probably is at the age where she can't do a bunch of these rides. We took her last year, for dd1's birthday and she ended up going on more rides than dd1. She was ok with Peter Pan and Snow White - I guess I was just being selfish thinking we'd be ok putting her on some of those rides.
I'll probably stick with the outside rides for her and try to fit in one of two of the older rides when she is napping.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

late to this thread, but i agree with the others..definitely skip Haunted Mansion!! my DD is newly 3 and is braver in many ways that DS but i think many parts of it would have freaked her out. I think the wait is also pretty long for it. I found that at this age, the max they can typically wait is 15-20 minutes.

My 3yo DD really liked Astro Orbiter (the rockets in Tomorrowland) in Disneyland (she did them twice). They are great bc the line is short (15-20 mins or less). DD also really loved the carousels in both Disneyland and DCA....and those typically have very short wait or no wait so i would definitely recommend those if you will just be there for a day. Winnie the Pooh had no wait at all when we went. The dumbo ride was also a hit with her, but typically those have a long wait (50 mins) so we did that first thing in the morning.

Also, both my 3yo and 4yo loved the parade!! It is a great way to see a bunch of characters at once. And it was nice bc i did not think the music was too loud (they are both sensitive to sound) , and the kids could SIT while waiting (standing in line is a lot harder, at least for them at this age!)

Oh and both kiddos loved Casey Jr train ride as well as the main Disneyland train ride. My kids are train lovers though!

re: the fast-pass..i think PP have mentioned it, but at this age a lot of the things that FastPass is for, my DD was too young to ride (she is less than 40"). I think the only one that had an FP was the Roger Rabbit ride in ToonTown (looked like fun, but we ended up not going on it). So i probably wouldn't worry about fastpasses for this trip. We only did FPs for Big Thunder Mountain, Star Tours, and Radiator Springs Racers (in CA adventure), all of which require 40" height (so we just went with my DS).