Advice: Disney World Family’s 1st to Disneyland:)

[lorilclevelandrn]

My sister will meet us w/ her toddler one park day. For those of you with toddlers, how did you tackle park?

 

[MrJT]

My advice to anybody going to Disneyland for the first time is to be prepared to walk...A LOT. While it is convenient that everything is walking distance, and park hoppers are definitely worth it, it means that you walk everywhere, and your feet don't get to rest going from park to park, or park to Downtown Disney, or even any of those locations to any of the on site resorts, or even many of the nearby hotels.

 

[bcla]

My advice to anybody going to Disneyland for the first time is to be prepared to walk...A LOT. While it is convenient that everything is walking distance, and park hoppers are definitely worth it, it means that you walk everywhere, and your feet don't get to rest going from park to park, or park to Downtown Disney, or even any of those locations to any of the on site resorts, or even many of the nearby hotels.

Which is why sometimes it makes sense to take the Disneyland Railroad or perhaps the monorail. I liked taking the monorail just to get a break from being on my feet.

The other thing was on our last visit we did 4 total days at DL, but by the 2nd day at DL my feet were absolutely sore. We also went to Magic Mountain for a day. But I was sick and took a day off where we mostly stayed in the hotel room. The next day my feet were feeling great from just a day of staying mostly off of them.

 

[aymiewilson]

My advice to anybody going to Disneyland for the first time is to be prepared to walk...A LOT. While it is convenient that everything is walking distance, and park hoppers are definitely worth it, it means that you walk everywhere, and your feet don't get to rest going from park to park, or park to Downtown Disney, or even any of those locations to any of the on site resorts, or even many of the nearby hotels.

This is a good point. Aside from needing extra sleep, another reason I always take a mid day break back at my hotel is to rest my feet for a couple of hours. I usually go back to the hotel room, run a couple inches of cold water in the bath tub, and then sit there and soak my feet for about five minutes. Once I dry them off, I put on lotion, followed by fuzzy socks, and then take a nap for at least 45 mins. Not only is the nap refreshing.. but being horizontal for even that brief amount of time lets your circulatory system properly redistribute the blood in your body. If your feet have gotten swollen or sore, when you wake up from your nap, they won't be!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

My sister will meet us w/ her toddler one park day. For those of you with toddlers, how did you tackle park?

Great tips and advice found here: Tips for trip with a two year old?

And for dealing with all the walking and sore feet: How to not have sore feet?

 

[MrJT]

Which is why sometimes it makes sense to take the Disneyland Railroad or perhaps the monorail. I liked taking the monorail just to get a break from being on my feet.

I was last there in the Summer of 2016, so I never got the luxury of the Railroad. Which was unfortunate, because my son would have loved the dinosaurs.

 

[lorilclevelandrn]

Arrival Day:

Any recommendations on what to do on day of arrival particularly in afternoon? We land at John Wayne at 230. I’m estimating hotel arrival around 330.

DL Day 1: My thoughts are visiting Fantasyland and Toon Town since we will have my nieces, Ages 4 & 5, visiting on this day only. How much should I expect to accomplish? Also, considering Blue Bayou Fantasmic Pkg.

Again, thank U!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Arrival Day:

Any recommendations on what to do on day of arrival particularly in afternoon? We land at John Wayne at 230. I’m estimating hotel arrival around 330.

DL Day 1: My thoughts are visiting Fantasyland and Toon Town since we will have my nieces, Ages 4 & 5, visiting on this day only. How much should I expect to accomplish? Also, considering Blue Bayou Fantasmic Pkg.

Again, thank U!

Since you'll be arriving during Spring Break, I would be checking the DLR app for the days leading up to your arrival day just to get a feel for the crowd patterns and wait times (focus on your arrival time and the time you plan to be in the parks and on the rides you would want to go on). Then on your arrival day, be watching the app before you get to the parks to see how things are going. If FL and TT aren't super crowded, go for it! If they are busy, just be prepared and know which rides to target. BB F! Dining Package is one of our favorites. You can find the menu online to see if it will work for your family. You'll want an earlier time so that you'll get the first show -- that would probably work better for the little ones. After the first show, you'll be invited to stay in the viewing area to watch the fireworks (if they are showing) from the ROA. That is a great way to avoid the massive herd of people leaving the F! viewing area right after the show.
This recent thread has some BB F! Dining Package info: Fantasmic! Dining at the Blue Bayou..

 

[lorilclevelandrn]

Is there a trick to linking a reservation pkg. I’m trying to help my sister who went thru TA and its not recognizing her reservation:/

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Is there a trick to linking a reservation pkg. I’m trying to help my sister who went thru TA and its not recognizing her reservation:/

The DLR app doesn't work the same way as MDE, so linking reservations is different. You can do a search on this board (search bar is in the upper right corner) to see what comes up. You might need to call the hotel to ask.