Trip In Sept 2019 with 2 year old, advice wanted

kittyklawz

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 17, 2017
We want to plan a trip for our 1 year anniversary in sept (15-22nd maybe) and we will be bringing our 2 year old.

Will they be doing MNSSHP during that time?

Advice for going with a toddler age 2?

Hotels within walking distance that are your favorite and why?

Favorite restaurants, character m&g, and rides for 2 year old?

They have rider swap so we can still go on space mountain etc without having to wait in line again right?

I haven’t been in 10 years and I didn’t plan anything and just enjoyed it and I know a lot of stuff has changed since then lol. I never saw any shows I just went on rides.
 
We want to plan a trip for our 1 year anniversary in sept (15-22nd maybe) and we will be bringing our 2 year old.

Will they be doing MNSSHP during that time?

Advice for going with a toddler age 2?

Hotels within walking distance that are your favorite and why?

Favorite restaurants, character m&g, and rides for 2 year old?

They have rider swap so we can still go on space mountain etc without having to wait in line again right?

I haven’t been in 10 years and I didn’t plan anything and just enjoyed it and I know a lot of stuff has changed since then lol. I never saw any shows I just went on rides.

-Someone else will confirm, but should have Halloween parties starting Wed Sept 18th.
-we went last may with our DD who was 20 months- bring lots of snacks, stay at a close hotel, we brought Grandma who was very content to be at the hotel while we went back to the parks at night :)
-We loved loved being right across the street for nap times, bedtime, grabbing something we forgot...
-We didn't do any restaurants really as our littles don't didn't sit well enough at the time to make it worthwhile, but her fav rides were IASW, Dumbo, and especially the tea cups. She wasn't into characters yet.
-Yes, when you go to the entrance (or FP line if using a FP) you ask for rider swap and they load it onto the non-riding parent
Our littles (my sister and her family had their 20 month old there too) loved the day parade, we didn't try to keep them up for night entertainment as we had Grandma
 


Will they be doing MNSSHP during that time?
DLR has Mickey's Halloween Party (MHP), which is like MNSSHP, but with a few differences. The parties have typically started around mid-to-late September (the first parties for the last few years: 9/23/16, 9/20/17, 9/19/18). They usually announce the dates sometime in late Spring/early Summer. So you might be in luck and the first parties will happen while you're there. Just note that almost all of the MHP sell out in advance and some will sell out weeks to months in advance.

Hotels within walking distance that are your favorite and why?
Are you looking for a hotel or a motel? For a hotel, I did really like the Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance (but it's on the pricey side). The rooms were nice and the beds comfortable. Otherwise, with a little one and the possibility of having to go back to take naps, I would vote for something as close as possible. We usually stay at the Best Western Park Place Inn. It's a motel and nothing fancy, but it's about as close as you can get. The BW Anaheim Inn is a little further, but it's also fine, as is the Del Sol (although, avoid the ground floor because it's very noisy).

Favorite restaurants, character m&g, and rides for 2 year old?
I would not plan on a character meal early in the trip. Some kids love characters, others seem to be freaked out by them. There isn't much point in spending the money on a character meal if the child spends most of it crying. We wanted to do one character breakfast, so we planned it for the middle of the trip. On the first day, we went to see Mickey and a few other characters to see how well the kids did. One loved the characters, the other was much more hesitant, but no crying. So we went to the breakfast on the third day. The one that liked characters had a great meal, the other one spent most of it trying to avoid looking at any of the characters that came over. I think we had only had the younger one, we would have forgone the meal because it wouldn't have been worth the cost.

When they were little, the kids liked most of the outdoor rides in Fantasyland (the dark rides scared them, but they liked the Carousel, Dumbo, Casey Jr, Storybook Canal Boats), IaSW, Jungle Cruise, Tiki Birds, Winnie the Pooh, Little Mermaid, the Train, the monorail, and the Main Street vehicles.

They have rider swap so we can still go on space mountain etc without having to wait in line again right?
Plan on taking your little one with you to the entrance of the attraction to get the rider swap. It was a bit hit-or-miss when we were using it (several years ago), but it seems like they're making sure to check that you do qualify for rider swap nowadays (especially at the popular attractions, like Space and RSR). When we did rider swap for RSR, the CM at the entrance asked to see the little one before giving us the card (back then, it was a physical ticket, but now it's digital).
 
A lot depends on how old your two-year-old is (barely 2? almost 3? fair difference) and what he/she likes. We took my almost 3 year old son back in 2011 and had a blast.

I like the Best Western Park Place Inn right across the street - The distance doesn't get much better and I've never had a bad room there. We used to bring a portable crib for my DS and it worked really well. There's a complimentary breakfast buffet across the way at Captain Kidd's (upstairs) so that you can get some food easily in the morning.

There are lots of great rides for the kids, and as a parent a lot of the joy is watching the little ones light up in wonder. Again, depending on what your little one likes, all the rides in Fantasyland (minus the Matterhorn), Jungle Cruise, trains and vehicles, boats like the Mark Twain, exploring over on Tom Sawyer island, and depending on tolerance to some drops and darkness and noise Pirates and Haunted Mansion.

The Tarzan Treehouse and Redwood Creek Challenge Trail were favorites of my little guy back in those days too...a chance to get out of the stroller and move/explore.

And little ones love the various places in ToonTown since they are colorful and fun to climb about on.

When my DD was 3 (way back in 2004) we went and she had an irrational fear of "furry" characters. She LOVED meeting the princesses, though. Again, just be prepared to roll with the punches.

Rider Swap is great, make full use of it. September crowds shouldn't be too horrible, but even so the crowd levels seem higher than they were 10 years ago. A little planning goes a long way, along with a little flexibilty.

Of course, bring a stroller, or be prepared to rent one. If you have a cheap stroller that isn't suitable for a day in the park, you can use it to get from the hotel to the park, then rent the park stroller and check your stroller.

If World of Color is back (it should be by then) I know my little one enjoyed that immensely.

And, of course, the afternoon nap is a necessity. Make good use of the nearby hotel so that everyone is refreshed for whatever the evening holds!
 


This thread has very good information on choosing a hotel:www.disboards.com/threads/choosing-the-right-hotel-for-you.3656512/.
Another classic thread with very good information: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets.
As a pp pointed out, DLR has Mickey's Halloween Party (MHP). WDW has MNSSHP. This is an important difference because sometimes people get the wrong tickets to MHP and try to enter with MNSSHP tickets. Also, it can be frustrating to do a search for MHP information here when entering the wrong party name in the search field! You have lots of time to read reviews about the 2018 parties (do a search for the 2018 Halloween Time Superthread) to see if MHP will be a good fit for your family. There is a rumor that the party may move to DCA this year -- no official word on that yet.
 
We did Disneyland when DD was just over 2 (25 months). We had already done WDW so we had some idea wht to expect.

For the characters we did the breakfast at Paradise Pier, it was great. DD was a bit freaked out even thought she had met characters before. However we told chip and dale, and they played peekaboo with her. She was obsessed. I’m not sure she actual remember it, but she talks about it like she does and when we met them a year later she asked them to play peekaboo with her again!

We met Sofia and doc in California adventure which she loved, assuming they are still there. We did the plaza breakfast the last day of the trip and it was a big hit! She was scared of Captain Hook but loved Pooh, so it was stillhit or miss but we thought it was worth it.

I wanted to eat at blue bayou so we did, it wasn’t a complete disaster but it wasn’t a huge success either.

We eat out a fair amount at home and the rule is if they get fussy or disruptive we all leave or one of us with the child ruining the mealfor others. We apply this wherever we are even Disney. So for me, I book what I want and plan to miss it if my kid isn’t being cooperative.

Eta we stay at the Disneyland hotel, which Iwe loved. However walking by the LEGO store 4 times a day proved to be a bit difficult when I wanted to go someplace. Next time we would stay in the Blvd or grand Californian.
 
We have 4 kids (7, 5, 3, 4 months) and have gone 1-2x a year since #1 was 2 years old. PP have covered most everything, but I'm going to throw out there that MHP might be a struggle/not worth your time and money. We love going, but especially after a full day at the parks it is LATE. To get a decent parade seat you have to be sitting 2 hours ahead of time (which is the only part of the party kids might even be awake for.) Character lines are way too long for a toddler if you're interested in that. The trick or treating/candy is underwhelming. We finally have kids that are old enough to just barely be awake for the parade and fireworks (I do believe 7 and 5 made it through half of the fireworks last time before falling asleep standing up.) I mean, if you're going for you and he/she won't be 3 yet, sure. But if you have to buy him/her a ticket, it's going to be $100 totally wasted.

I'll also add my #1 is a girl, and the rest are boys. at that age, my boys have only been interested in cars and really could not have cared less about disneyland. my girl was into princesses, so it worked for her. Just something to think about - you didn't mention if you had a boy or girl/what interests were.

we brought my parents for the first time when I had 5, 3, 1yos...and I swore after that I would never come back without extra adults because it is SO MUCH BETTER. going on rides alone all the time sucks. haha.
 
He will have just turned 2 in August, so I believe he is still free even for the Halloween party. I wasn’t aware the party at a different name at each park hah, thanks for the info! If we go to the Halloween party I was not planning to go to the park at all during the day, and my son stays up pretty late (9/10pm mountain time, sometimes later!) so it will be an hour earlier there. I am going to invite the in laws along for the trip so if they come I am assuming they would watch him so we could go and have a night alone as well. But yeah the Halloween party is mostly for me I don’t know if I will take him on it’s a small world, I HATE that ride lol. I don’t care where we stay as long as it has comfortable beds, is walking distance, and has room for all of us. I would stay on property if it was in budget but we will have to do a good neighbor resort. Thanks for all the advice so far!
 
Just a heads up there is a good chance that MHP will be in DCA this year instead of DL since SWGE will be open before Halloween time starts.
 
He will have just turned 2 in August, so I believe he is still free even for the Halloween party. I wasn’t aware the party at a different name at each park hah, thanks for the info! If we go to the Halloween party I was not planning to go to the park at all during the day, and my son stays up pretty late (9/10pm mountain time, sometimes later!) so it will be an hour earlier there. I am going to invite the in laws along for the trip so if they come I am assuming they would watch him so we could go and have a night alone as well. But yeah the Halloween party is mostly for me I don’t know if I will take him on it’s a small world, I HATE that ride lol. I don’t care where we stay as long as it has comfortable beds, is walking distance, and has room for all of us. I would stay on property if it was in budget but we will have to do a good neighbor resort. Thanks for all the advice so far!

He might find the costumes and crowds overwhelming in a Halloween party, and honestly trying to get a stroller through wouldn't be my idea of fun lol Hopefully your inlaws will want to come, having grandparents along is the best!
We stayed at the Desert Inn and suites across the street from the main location- 3 reasons- it was right across the street and so handy for popping back and forth, it was cheap, and the largest available rooms actually have 3 separate rooms- this allowed us to put babies down to sleep and we had a room to be in- you may want to consider this if you bring the inlaws, so if they are staying in with your little guy at night, they have a separate room to be in
 
Since he is just going to be two, if he is on the smaller to average size, you might consider a backpack carrier for some of the time versus the stroller. We found that at night it was nice to have my little one up on my back as he could see all the things around him and was less likely to get smashed into by the bigger crowds and it was much easier to navigate through the park without the stroller. So we would take the stroller in for the morning do tons of rides and characters then back to the hotel for a nap after lunch. Then on the way back to the park in the afternoon we let him walk around a bit or put him in the ergo.
Rider swap is a must and we loved max pass because we could spend all of naptime stacking up fastpasses for later.
 
Wherever you stay, try to book the hotel now but with a refundable rate. Booking directly with the hotel tends to be more flexible than with someone like expedia. The closer you get the higher the cost. Weekends rates tend to be higher for area hotels than weekdays. But the park has much longer operating hours on the weekends and all shows and fireworks. Desert Inn and Suites is popular with many but I've never been. The Hotel Indigo is pretty nice and within walking distance. You can get rates there for less than 200 right now for September. Howard Johnson is also popular and within walking distance. They also have a great pool. Many other places within walking distance also. But you should try to avoid places that are north of Disneyland along Ball road. It is within walking distance but the walk is over the 5 freeway and that can be kind of creepy at night for some and in general I would avoid it.
 
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We recently started staying at the Park Vue Inn right across the street when we go. It's just makes it so easy to go back and forth. Before that we mostly stayed at the Hojo. It's a little further out but if you go in warmer months they have a water play area my kids always loved when they were little. We've also stayed at the Candy Cane Inn. I don't know if I'd call them very walkable with a 2 y/o, but they have their own shuttle so we took that when the kids were little.
 
We want to plan a trip for our 1 year anniversary in sept (15-22nd maybe) and we will be bringing our 2 year old.

Will they be doing MNSSHP during that time?

Advice for going with a toddler age 2?

Hotels within walking distance that are your favorite and why?

Favorite restaurants, character m&g, and rides for 2 year old?

They have rider swap so we can still go on space mountain etc without having to wait in line again right?

I haven’t been in 10 years and I didn’t plan anything and just enjoyed it and I know a lot of stuff has changed since then lol. I never saw any shows I just went on rides.


Plan your days around your child's schedule. If your child naps every day from 10 to 1, then do that. Make sure you bring plenty of sunscreen and water. September is a hot month in Southern California.
 
Through my husbands work we can get a pretty good deal at the castle inn, anyone stay there? I’m not worried about him being scared of crowds or costumes, we took him trunk or treating this year and he did fine and wasn’t afraid. We have done 2 road trips with him already to California and back. I am from Northern California originally. In laws can’t decide what th budget is so I may just book a smaller room and they can find their own accommodations lol
 
Through my husbands work we can get a pretty good deal at the castle inn, anyone stay there? I’m not worried about him being scared of crowds or costumes, we took him trunk or treating this year and he did fine and wasn’t afraid. We have done 2 road trips with him already to California and back. I am from Northern California originally. In laws can’t decide what th budget is so I may just book a smaller room and they can find their own accommodations lol

I haven't stayed at the castle inn, but I would make sure wherever you stay has at least a mini fridge - you're going to want to bring a ton of snacks/milk/etc for a toddler. We always do grocery delivery to bring things like string cheese, milk, bottled water, etc.
 
He drinks mostly water, and likes those pouches you don’t have to refrigerate, so that’s a huge plus. I was going to get some sandwich stuff & string cheese and crackers etc. he also likes bananas. I am pretty sure they have a fridge and microwave at all the places I looked at but I will double check for sure. I don’t stay anywhere without one lol. I know there is a target near by to shop at are there any other cheap grocery stores near by?
 

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