Disneyland - Abilene,TX

Go to the Disney site online, so many things, so much info & you can join her in the Disney games, etc.. The list of places & things to 'click' on is practically endless. Fun for 'kidz' of ALL ages, including me...59yr old GreatGranma!

Hi there!! Ive been to Disneyland 18 times this year (we have annual passes) with my 11,5,2,1 yr olds and yes california adventure is more for pre-teen + in my opinion. I would suggest you..... get there as early as possible + freeze some water bottles at night, wrap them in aluminum and take them with you (water can run you $3.75/bottle in the park),. If you plan on watching the parade (i reccomend it!!) find your spot atleast 1 hr before( they run at 2:30 from the back of the park to the front and at 5:30 from the front of the park to the back) because you will NOT find any space if you wait too long, maybe u can have somesone sit at ur spot while u jump in some more lines. If i went today with my 5 yr old these are the rides I would jump on and in this order...... (tomorrowland) astro orbiter, buzzlightyear, finding nemo( 1hr + lane that u may wanna skip)from there go to fantacy land (through the castle) go to casey jr circus train, carousel, dumbo(HUGE lines!! if u can skip it do b/c the line is crazy), mr toad's adventure, snow white, pichochio, peter pan (long line also if u can skip it will save u at least 1hr!) tea cups and alice in wonderland. By then you might be ready for lunch and i reccomend Pinochios restaurant (across from casey jr train) they have macaroni n cheese with apples and milk for kids and hamburgers for parents (the 6 of us eat there for about $32!) From fantasy land i would go to mickeys toon town, there's not many rides there only about 3 i think but its nice to walk through the character's homes,( mickey,minnie,goofy and donald i believe) when you come out of toon town to your right there is kinda a hidden spot where you can take pics with 3 princesses, and i would leave frontier land for last because there's not much for her age, only tarzan's tree house,winnie the pooh and the enchanted tiki room, she might like pirates of the carribian but there's a mederate drop to consider, ......any who i know that if i follow that order i am able to get on ALOT of rides. a trick we just learned not too long ago if you watch the 1st parade, then halfways into the second parade get in line for its a small worlds and u will practically walk right up vs 1hr+ line and stay in the right hand line, it moes faster then the left b/c the left shares with wheelchairs and their families. Good luck!!!!!

The best advice I can give is take a break in the middle of the day to rest. Seriously, you will all be so much happier to go back to the hotel and rest for awhile, then return to the park. You'll avoid some major meltdowns and the park is most crowded in the early afternoon anyway.

If you're only going for one day, I would only do Disneyland and skip CA Adventure. My son is 4.5 and we like the rides at Disneyland so much more. Plus, it just has a better atmosphere and feels more magical. But, if you have at least two days or more to be in the parks, I'd recommend buying a park hopper ticket so you can check out both parks. You can easily spend half a day at CA Adv and do everything that is worth doing. So, plan to spend day 1 at just Disneyland, day 2 spend the morning at CA Adv and the afternoon/evening at Disneyland again.

Bring snacks because a hungry kid is a cranky kid and snacks at the park are expensive.

Try to arrive at the park as close to when it opens as possible, since it doesn't get crowded till mid morning. Peter Pan, Dumbo, and Alice in Wonderland usually have the longest lines in Fantasyland. There is rarely a wait longer than a few minutes for the teacups or Pinocchio and you can also get onto Small World fairly quickly most of the time. Outside of Fantasyland, make sure to check out Autopia, Jungle Cruise, and the Buzz Lightyear ride. Winnie the Pooh is cute too, and it never has a line at all, but it's far away from everything else. If you want to try a roller coaster, there is a small one in Toon Town (though otherwise, I don't think Toon Town is worth visiting).

You can walk through Sleeping Beauty's castle (entrance on the backside), which I've actually never done but would like to try someday. Take time just to enjoy the park, without being worried about getting on every ride. You'll enjoy things if you just go with the flow. Have a great trip! I love Disneyland. : )

My name is N. Cox and I am a Travel Consultant and a Disney Specialist. I am a Mom of 7 and Grand Mother of 13. I have a lot of knowledge of the Disney's. When are you going? That makes a big difference in price and experience. With any pre school or younger than 8 it can be exhausting so stay close where you can take a break.
I will be happy to book your vacation and there is no cost to have me help you. Please feel free to call me ###-###-####.
Thanks,
N. Cox
We All Need Vacations

We took our boys when they were 5 & 7. We actually liked California Adventure BETTER than the actual Disneyland AND there were even rides that my boys were close to being too old for in that area. That's not to say we didn't like Disneyland, we did, but with the Bug's Life area and the cool parade with Pixar characters, my boys liked the California Adventure side better.

We did the parks over 3 days, which is great. I agree with the other poster in that don't try to do it all in one day, but disagree in that you need to see one or two of the night shows. We were lucky in that our hotel was right on the grounds so we would do a park, come back and swim relax, eat and then out back out in late afternoon for favorite rides and a show or two. If you try to push too much into one day they kids get crancky!

Y'all will have a blast!

Definitely do California Adventure. That book is incorrect. There is a great Bug's Life area for preschoolers and there's also a fun park/play area. There are a number of other rides she would likely enjoy, including a new Ariel one (get there early for that), Toy Story and Monsters Inc. We went last summer when our daughter just turned five and she had fun at C.A.

Don't feel you MUST stay there or go back for nighttime shows and activities. We ended up going back to the hotel late afternoon, played in the pool and got dinner later. Settling in to a normal nighttime routine worked great for our kids and they never complained about missing anything. They were then recharged and ready to go the next morning.

Also, we found that the bathrooms in both parks tend to be hidden and spaced out quite a bit. So, if you see one, take a potty break right then to help avoid a potty dash later on.

Have fun!

We go to Disneyland all the time because we have annual passes. My kids are 4 1/2 and almost 2.

CA adventure has a lot of stuff for a 4 year old, we enjoy it a lot (Bugs Land, Ariel ride, monster's inc, shows). But it is really inconvenient in there right now, a lot of fences are up because they are constructing something in the center and also building Cars Land, or "Radiator Springs" I suppose. I have been skipping it lately because it seems annoying to be diverted 1/2 way around the park to get where you wanna go. I would say that for a 4 year old, you probably would only spend about 1/2 a day in CA adventure, to do everything you wanted to do. One thing I LOVE in CA adventure, next door to the Disney Jr Show, there is another building where they have a few things, like Turtle talk with Crush (a cute little show where the turtle from Finding nemo interacts with the audience) and it is a huge room with nice lighting playing Disney songs from all the movies and big screens showing the scenes... we like to go in there to rest.

Other advice- bring lots of food for your daughter, disneyland food is expensive (though tasty!) and it passes the time in line to be able to have a string cheese, gogurt, or sandwich or whatever (for mom and dad too sometimes!) We bring lots of snacks and eat them all throughout the day. We wear a "camelback" backpack so we can sip on water all day too. Not quite enough drinking fountains around and you can spend a fortune on bottled water on a sunny spring day.

Take your time and enjoy, it doesn't have to be all about the rides. My 4 y/o really enjoys the characters (doesn't mind waiting in line to see them) and non-ridey things like the tiki room and the parades and princess shows.

If she wants to see the princesses at Disneyland, go right when they open (1/2 hour after the park opens) it is always a short line, later the line is like 1.5 hours long, not worth it. Line to see Tangled/Rapunzel by herself... moves really slow, not worth it, skip.

Parades, we never sit and wait for them. We'll go about 5 minutes before and duck in under the ropes to watch. We always squeeze in somewhere. I guess that lady who said to wait one hour probably has to do that because she has a large family, but hubby and I just squeeze in the back and hold the kids up. Or jump in somewhere up front by the entrance on Main street or all the way back by Small World, seems to be more room there.

Have fun!

my daugher was 2 3/4 when we went. she LOVED the bug's life. we ate breakfast at Ariel's Grotto, which was very neat, you get to see and take pictures with about 5 princesses (they all stop at every table), and the breakfast was great. for 2 adults and the kid, it was $97 but worth it if your daughter loves the princesses. i would recommend the breakfast, as it's prob easier to get into, and i am guessing cheaper than dinner or lunch! make reservations early for this.

just be sure to be realistic, and keep in mind how much your daughter can handle. even if she doesn't nap, all the busy time and excitment will wear her out, so plan your day accordingly. do not plan to do entire days at the park. do more 1/2 days.

have fun!

We went to Disneyland this past summer and my youngest was 4 1/2 at the time; my other children were 12 and 16. We all had a fabulous time! We spent 3 days at the 2 parks and felt that was the perfect amount of time. And California Adventure definitely has things for the younger kids so don't blow it off. There is a whole Bug's Life themed section with rides for younger kids, there's the Ariel's Undersea Adventure and a Monster's Inc. ride (my daughter loved these!), there's the Boardwalk section, and then there is the wonderful World of Color water/laser light show! Plus, California Adventure is where we found, and got our picture taken with, Mickey Mouse. And the Princess character lunch is held at one of the restaurants in California Adventure -- if you're daughter loves the princesses, then the lunch is a MUST! My little one was thrilled -- we saw Ariel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty (her favorite!), Cinderella and Belle. You have to make reservations and you should do that at least 2 months before your trip. And of course the Disneyland Park was great -- my daughter loved It's a Small World and the parade. My suggestion is to use a travel agent . . . it doesn't cost you anything and the ones who specialize in Disney will know all the in's and out's. Also . . . not sure what you're budget is like but you may want to consider staying at an offsite property. We stayed at a Staybridge Suites that was about 5 minutes away and definitely feel we got more bang for our buck (big room, free breakfast, etc.).

My family (I have a 2yr old and a 4yr old) went to Disneyland for Christmas. I would say that it is a better choice than California Adventure because there are more age appropriate activities/rides in Disneyland for that age/height.
Definitely bring your own stroller, but plan on only using it to tote your daughter from ride to ride because you have to park the stroller when you are in line.
My kids really enjoyed Universal Studios too when we were out there for Christmas. The lines seemed to be shorter and there was still plenty of stuff for us to fill our day with at the park (but not as much as Disneyland has obviously).
Be prepared to wait in lines to get pictures with the characters. We waited in line over an hour to take pics with the Disney princesses. However there was a corination ceremony while we were in line, so I took my girls to see that while my husband held our spot. My girls really enjoyed that.
Don't bother doing fast passes either. They really only apply to bigger kids/adult rides.
We stayed at the Hilton and it was close enough to walk to, but they have a shuttle you can pay to take to the park too.
FYI when buying stuff: clothing is expensive there, but the toys are about what you'd pay in a Disney Store (when it isn't on sale).

I like California Adventure as well as Disneyland (I was just there on Friday). I wanted to point out California Adventure is under a lot of construction right now and will be until summer of 2012. You may care but I go all the time so I notice the difference. There are some cute things there for your daughter: Bug's life, Toy Story ride, Monster's Inc., Soaring Over California, lots of other stuff (my daughter is 18).

Take advantage of the Fast Passes and know that you only have to wait a certain amount of time before you get another (says on the ticket), not when you actually use it.