First Park Trip with A Child (4 Year Old)

[LindseyShea3]

Hello Everyone-

So I've always been a huge Disney fan and grew up visiting the parks about every 2 years. I used to be an avid reader of this board, but I had to take a long break because I knew I wasn't going to be making any trips in the near future so I wanted to not tease myself, haha! (So apologies for repeating questions you may see often). Basically, life has been busy with having 2 kids over the last 4 years and it's now been SIX WHOLE YEARS since I've been to Disneyland!!! But finally, my husband and I will be taking our 4 year old to Disneyland at the beginning of December for his birthday for 3.5 days.

So I'll get to the point - I feel like I know a lot about navigating the parks and planning for a trip, but it's a whole different game with a child involved. My husband and I are normally park openers and park closers with lots of rides and little breaks in between. It will be a very different trip with our son, but I'm hoping that seeing his face light up will allow me to accept the changes.

I have a bunch of questions that I will list below, but any you can help with would be much appreciated. Basically, I'm just looking for advice for my first trip with a child in-tow:

• Is it worth it to make dining reservations? I want to book a character breakfast for sure, but I'm not sure about others. I wonder if sometimes it's easier to just go with the flow rather than have to be at a certain restaurant at a certain time.
• I think we will need to bring a stroller because my son will get tired at times (especially walking back to the hotel at night), but I don't want to use it a ton in the park. Would it be bad to park it somewhere in the park and leave it for several hours at a time?
• Is the Disneyland Express the best option for transportation from LAX? I worry about missing the bus and having to wait another hour, but if we choose another option I imagine we would have to pack a carseat or booster seat?
• I have a good handle on the rides, but what experiences, shows, restaurants, etc. are must-dos for a 4-year old?
• Any other tips or tricks for first time traveling with a child?

Thank you so much for all of your help!

 

[smartlabelprint]

1. Ours didn’t do great with times reservations. I too would stick to a character breakfast.

2. Yes absolutely being and park stroller as needed.

3. No. Uber. Just bring a car seat. Our 4 yo does best I’m a harness on the plane. We bring it!

5. Stay in walking distance. Take a large afternoon pool or rest break. We ended up being in the parks about 5 hours a day. For 4 days. It was perfect. We tried doing a 5th day and we were miserable.

Stay in a suite if possible. We enjoyed homewood suites. It was a longer walk but we could relax in the living area.

Keep to your kids usual meal and nap times if possible.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

My son is almost 4 and we are local annual passholders so we go a lot, usually for just the day. We also occasionally stay a few days at a hotel and do multiple days.

First, bring that stroller and use it! I wouldn’t dream of going to the parks without my stroller. We use it to travel between lands or when park hopping, and usually park it somewhere when we get to a land that we plan on staying in for a while.

Second, stay within walking distance so you don’t have to deal with the hassle of parking and getting to the parks from the parking lot.

I always use my car seat on planes. If you don’t bring yours and Uber, you will have to either use the Disneyland Express or hire a car service that has cars seats. Lansky is mentioned on here frequently although I’ve not personally used them.

We don’t do a lot of dining reservations except for special things like a Fantasmic dining package (highly recommend if you are interesting in seeing Fantasmic) or character breakfast. With a little one I find counter service much easier and there are so many great options. We have done two character breakfasts (Surf’s Up at Paradise Pier when it was Mickey and Friends... now it’s Donald... and Minnie’s breakfast at the Plaza Inn). I liked both. I hate wasting that prime morning time in the parks (on breakfast though. I did Surfs Up on departure day and that was a great way to wrap up the trip. We did a late reservation for Minnie’s (10:40) and it worked out great.

My son has actually a park commando since he was about 2 years old. We’ve done many 10-12 hours days with no issue and no nap, but I wouldn’t attempt that on a multi-day trip. In that case we either hit the parks for rope drop, stay through lunch and then go back to the hotel for a 3-4 hours rest and go back in the early evening OR we hit the parks for rope drop, stay until dinner and then go home for an early bedtime. My son rarely naps anymore no matter what so we don’t generally do night entertainment, but we do it on occasion (we’ve done fireworks twice, Fantasmic twice and Paint the Night once).

As far as what to do, it really depends on your kid. What Disney movies does he like and is he adventureous? My son loves all the rides he can go on (he’s 40 inches) but my 5 year old niece will only ride the baby rides. My son is a huge Star Wars fan so the meet and greets in Tomorrowland are big for him as well as Jedi Training (only watching for now, but as soon as he turns 4 we are signing up to participate). He also likes meeting other characters, riding the train, Tarzan’s Treehouse and Tom Sawyer’s Island, all the shows, you name it... my son just loves Disneyland, ha ha.

My biggest tip for kids at Disney is pack lots of snacks (healthy ones if you can) and try not to go crazy on the sugar. I let me son have treats in moderation but if he wants those he needs to eat mostly “real food” the rest of the day, real meals and snacks. I find that too much sugar and junk and not enough real food leads to major meltdowns (for us at least).

 

[theluckyrabbit]

If having a travel booster will help give you more transportation options (i.e. allow for Uber/Lyft), look into Bubblebum and Mifold (available on Amazon.com). People give those good reviews here.
Know where First Aid is located in both parks (DL: on Main Street, at the end of the cul de sac across from Plaza Inn and the Little Red Wagon; DCA: next to Chamber of Commerce). It just helps to know that, in an emergency or sort of emergency, you'll know right where to go without having to be flustered.
Let your 4 yo set the pace. Sometimes grown ups forget how wonderful it can be to stop and smell all the roses, so to speak. Study the maps to have a basic idea of where the restrooms are before emergencies strike. Bring lots of snacks (protein really helps!) and water.
Does your son have any favorite characters? That can help decide which character breakfast will work best or which shows mght be hits.
Know the height limits (check the DLR website) before you go. No use in tempting your son with a ride he can't go on. And teach him how to be measured -- some kids are frightened and shy away from the measuring stick. Flat feet, head straight -- look straight ahead, don't jut your chin up or down, don't try to bump the stick, no tip toes.
You can preview rides on YouTube (look for ride throughs, making sure you're viewing DLR, not WDW). There are many good videos of complete ride throughs so your son can get used to things. This will help you determine what might be too scary or too intense. And what will be a big hit!

 

[Candycane83]

Welcome back to the boards I’m taking my son who is 4 too in December.

For dining, if you’re interested in the Christmas parade, there is the plaza inn dining package which gives you reserved seating for the parade.

For must dos, I think it does depend on what your son likes... my son has been to other Disney parks and loves the small rides like dumbo, the carousel, teacups, small world. His favourite was Tomorrowland Speedway at MK. I think Carsland would be something he would absolutely love. I’ve heard the frozen show is really good but might not be interesting to your son. I love nighttime shows so we’re aiming for Fantasmic and the fireworks on separate nights.

for car seat, I looked into mifold which luckyrabbit has mentioned. I think it’s awesome and so small compared to regular car seats. If not, the Disneyland express is $90 round trip when I look online for 2 adults and 1 child. Lansky quoted $240 for round trip from LaX which is pretty pricey compared to other options.

 

[Sunclytie]

We just got back from Disneyland with our almost-4 year old. Here's what worked really well for us:
- I'd planned a bunch of dining reservations and cancelled them all except for the Fantasmic package and a character breakfast at Storytellers' Cafe. We loved the character breakfast because we got to meet Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Chip and Dale - plus the food was really good (not that my daughter cared). We did breakfast right before going to the airport for our departing flight and it was a nice way to end the trip.
-We flew into SNA and used Lansky to get to the parks. It was expensive, but the cars were in great shape, drivers were super nice, really accommodating, and already had the car seat set up. I'd read so many bad reviews of the Disneyland Express it was worth the extra money for peace of mind.
-We rented a stroller so we could take it to and from our hotel and it was no problem to park it in stroller parking for hours inside the park. It had a name tag on it so we could identify it easily.
-Our daughter really liked Paint the Night and Mickey and the Magical Map (she particularly liked the streamers falling from the ceiling). She was meh on the daytime parade and was captivated by Fantasmic (but found it really, really loud - I did too!) An experience she really loved was just hanging out in ToonTown playing in Goofy's Playhouse, Donald's Boat, and playing with all the interactive features found there.

 

[Jperiod]

Everything takes longer with a kid than when you were just a couple. Be mentally prepared that you will not get nearly as much done in a day as you think you are. That being said, if you TRY to get as much done as you previously did, you will probably end up with a cranky child and miserable parents. So do yourself a favor, and plan breaks, or naps, or a regular bedtime...whatever your child needs at home to feel and act their best is going to be even more true at Disneyland.

That being said...

Absolutely bring the stroller and use it. Not only is it great for holding all the extra things you need as a parent, but the extra breaks and "sensory barrier" it can provide your child can really add up to extra time and/or better time in the parks.

We only do similar restaurants we know our kids would enjoy outside of disney (so no long, drawn out, sit down dinners). If your kid is gonna be into meeting characters, the character meals are a fabulous way to get a bunch checked off in one swoop without standing in multiple lines around the park.

Do all the shows. Not only will your kid thoroughly enjoy them all, but it's a nice little built in break while you're waiting for it to start and will help extend your park time. If you have an option for early evening vs. late shows, choose the early. I can't tell you how many times I had a sleeping kid in a stroller by time a late parade or show or fireworks rolled around. On the flip side, sometimes we took the opportunity to stay and watch the fireworks/show anyway because our kid was quietly fast asleep.

Rides: watch youtube videos so your child knows what to expect before you go.

 

[Becca1007]

Is your 4yo, average size or bigger? You might look at buying the RiderSafe Travel Vest. It is a replacement for a carseat that you can use in any car with tether anchors. If you are going to be traveling often with him for a while it might be worth the extra cost for the convenience. We are just waiting for our 3yo to be big enough to be able to use it. Note that you cannot use it on the airplane as it is not FAA approved.
Having been in your situation recently I would say definitely take your stroller during the day if you are staying offsite. We stayed at ParkVue and it was invaluable to have the stroller even with the short walk. During the day we would park it in a central spot in the land and then do a bunch of rides then move the stroller to the next land. However, if you are staying onsite then you could get away without it. We found that a stroller in the evening was a huge hindrance as the crowds got larger it was difficult to navigate. So what we did was bring the ergo carrier we have (as long as your toddler is still inside of the weight limits). It meant on the way out of the park or when standing in crowds we could put him up on my back and he could see things and it wasn't as difficult as me trying to carry him on my hip or piggyback style.

 

[figment_jii]

I don't think it's bad to leave the stroller in a location for an extended period of time. We did that; we would stroller the kiddo (he was closer to 5) when we were walking to and from the hotel, between parks, to DTD, etc. However, inside the park, he mostly walked. We would find the stroller parking for that area (e.g., the parking area by Jungle Cruise for Adventureland) and leave the stroller there. Then when we were ready to head to different area, we would get the stroller and move it with us (sometimes he rode, sometimes not, depending on how far we were going). Just note that sometimes CM will move strollers to parking areas and they will re-arrange the parking areas, so it's likely that your stroller will move at some point if you leave it there for a really long period of time.

In terms of the shows, experiences, and restaurants, it depends on what your child is interested in. When I've gone with little ones, they've like Mickey and Magical Map, the parades, and the dance party with DJ in Carsland. There is also the Tangled or Beauty and the Beast comic re-telling at the Royal Theater (Fantasy Faire); the ones that liked those movies liked the show (the one that wasn't into those movies was not too interested).

In terms of dining, we mostly did CS because it was generally faster. That being said, we did do one character meal and it was both a hit and a "disaster". One child loved characters and had a great time at the meal. The other child was scared of the characters and refused to look at them or go near them. So it really depends on how your little one responds. I would tentative plan (i.e., make the reservation) the character meal towards the end of the trip so that you can cancel (without penalty) if it turns out your little one is in the "no characters" camp.

 

[mummabear]

My kids are now almost 9, just 7, and 4.5. We have taken them ever year.

We always do character meals and the kids have lots of fun, besides Blue Bayou, at Disneyland there isnt anything else that is particularly fun or special for kids (WDW has some really fun non character meals) so I would just go with quick service.

Absolutely bring a stroller. I am still likely to take one on February for our DD who will turn 5 during the trip, she likely wont need it a lot, and like you are planning we will just park it somewhere and grab when needed.

We have always rented a car, for 5 of us it seems to be the best value and also allows us to do Walmart runs etc

Disney Junior live on stage has been a hit for all of them (and its newer version forgot the name but the concept is the same), The journey of the little mermaid probably has the highest rude cou t for us-purely because it was one we could always all ride, and is high capacity so never a long wait.

As far as going open to close, we dont always go at open because of our time difference they are sleeping until 9amish but we always close, I could count on one hand the number of times we leave for a break and we do 10 day tickets. The kids have the stroller to have a nap in if they need it.

 

[Jinka]

Thanks for everyone that posted such helpful advice in this thread. We will be heading to Disneyland with a 4 year old in early December and these tips are very much appreciated!

 

[LindseyShea3]

Thank you so so much for everyone’s help! This is all so helpful! I appreciate everyone taking the time to respond. Looks like I have a few more things to look into .