Traveling with Young Children? No Problem!

Happy Monday Afternoon!

Disneyland is the Happiest Place on Earth for all ages!

As you may know, my specialty is helping plan family vacations for people of all ages! My brother and I were 2 & 5 on our first trip to Disneyland, and our youngest brother was only 4 months old on his first trip, so we know first hand that traveling with little ones is totally do-able, especially at Disney! So, without further ado, here are some helpful tips for Disney with little kids!

2000 - Our family's first trip!

The first thing you will want to pin down if you are traveling with toddlers and babies is the location of the Baby Care Centers! There is one in each park. Disneyland's is at the end of Main Street, U.S.A. on the east side next to the Photo center. California Adventure's is in the Pacific Wharf area next to the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop. The Baby Care Center offers a variety of amenities such as feeding rooms, high chairs, a sitting area with a little TV, changing tables, and a little store for needed items such as diapers, wipes, sunscreen, baby food, etc. 

If you are looking for a quiet place to rest and let the little ones run around, but don't want to go sit in the Baby Care Center, there are several places you can find around the park to relax. You can read my post about the Quiet Places of Disneyland here!

2009 - Jack's first trip!

One thing that may bring you some relief is that while there are several rides with height restrictions, there are actually more without. A lot more. Walt created Disneyland so that families could have fun TOGETHER! They know that families are bringing everything from babies to teens and they have designed ways to make it work. This means that little kids (even infants) can actually ride just about everything at Disneyland! California Adventure is slightly more restrictive, but there are still several things for them to do. Something that Disney has done to make things easier on parents is instituting the "rider swap pass". This pass allows one parent and other party members that meet the height requirements to wait in the normal line and ride while the other parent stays off the ride with the smaller children. Then, once the group gets off the ride, the parent who waited then gets to take one or two other guests with them (depending on the ride) through the fastpass line or exit if the ride does not have a fastpass option. This way everyone gets to enjoy the ride without waiting in a long line twice!

2001 - Opening year of California Adventure

Another fun thing for kids is character meet and greets. You can purchase (or make!) autograph books and go meet your kids' favorite characters! We loved the autograph books that doubled as photo books so we could stick pictures of us meeting them right above their signature. Be warned however, characters in real life may scare some little kids. My brother and I loved it, but the youngest DID NOT. He was about 4 or 5 before he was OK with characters coming near him. He was the kind of kid that liked to wave at them from afar. (Pros and Cons, he didn't get pictures with characters, but we didn't have to wait in the long lines!) 

An alternative to waiting in line after line for characters is scheduling a character breakfast. There are several options in Disneyland (and even more in Disney World) to choose from. Our favorite is the Minnie and Friends breakfast at the Plaza Inn on Main Street, U.S.A. We have tried a couple of other character breakfasts and haven't been as impressed by the food or the offering of characters. We have found that the Minnie and Friends breakfast has more "comfort" breakfast food (Mickey waffles, french toast, sausage, bacon & eggs, biscuits, cereal, etc.) as well as a bigger variety of well-known characters such as Minnie, Pluto, Geppetto, the Fairy Godmother, Captain Hook, Winnie the Pooh, Rafiki, Piglet, Eyeore, Tigger, Chip & Dale, etc. Character breakfasts can be pricey, but they are always all-you-can-eat! Dig in!

Meeting Mickey and Minnie Mouse! (Around 2004)

What tips have you found helpful when traveling with little kids? Leave us a comment below!

If you are interested in buying a copy of my Disneyland Guide, feel free to contact me at any time at enchantedpumpkinblog@gmail.com. I sell my guide for $10, or you can request a personalized one for $15 that I will customize entirely to your family’s needs!

As always, if you have any tips, tricks or questions you would like to submit to our blog feel free to send us an email at enchantedpumpkinblog@gmail.com! And don't forget to hit that blue follow button in the drop down menu at the top of the page! 

-Lindsay Prout