Visiting Disneyland California With Babies and Toddlers is exciting, overwhelming, and nerve-racking all at the same time! Taking babies and toddlers to Disneyland is also controversial these days as people love to criticize others parents claiming it’s a “waste of money” or that they “won’t remember” or simply just tell you that “they would never” and “that sounds like a nightmare”…. I’ve heard it all! As for me…. I say start em’ young! Even if they don’t remember, you will! Let me help you make your trip as MAGICAL AS POSSIBLE with these tips all about taking a one year old to Disneyland California.
Visiting Disneyland California with babies and toddlers takes a lot of work, knowledge and planning… my hope is to lighten the load for you =)
The Best Time To Go To Disneyland California With Babies and Toddlers
The first decision you need to make for your trip is to decide when you will go. As the years go on and more and more people are hopping on the Disney bandwagon the so called “off-season” is sort of beginning to vanish. That being said, there are definitely BETTER times to go during the year, especially when we’re talking about planning a trip with young children!
The two main things that you want to consider when timing your trip are:
- The weather
- Any holidays or special events that may be happening
For example, it can be so fun to visit Disneyland California during peak times like Halloween, Christmas or in the summertime..however my advice would be to hold off on going during these times of year until your children are older and can handle standing in longer lines, deal with heavier crowds, and are more resistant to extreme heat (cuz it gets HOT in the summer!).
My best advice would be to go either in the late winter/early spring or in the fall time! We went the last week of March and it wasn’t too bad, (although I do think we caught the first wave of spring breakers) had we gone earlier in March it probably would’ve been, less crowded! Avoid April for this reason but January, February and early March are all great choices! As for fall, you want to avoid the Halloween celebration, the crowds are crazy! But have no fear, you can go in September and still see all of the Halloween decorations (they go up early) with way less of a crowd!
The Best Places to Stay When Visiting Disneyland California With Babies and Toddlers
When traveling to Disneyland, California with young children, the best advice I can possibly give you is stay as close as humanly possible! At Disneyland by far the most important thing is proximity to the park, it by far out weighs having a fancy room or anything of the sort.
When we took our one year-old to Disneyland California, we stayed at the Anaheim Majestic Garden Hotel. Although it was a great hotel and we liked it for many reasons, it required getting on a shuttle bus to and from the park. The bus was very timely, convenient and ran very frequently however, this still made it really difficult with a young child. Walking distance from the front gate of the park to the hotel is about 15 to 20 minutes… Much much too long when you’re returning to your room mid-day for nap time with babies and toddlers. Staying at the Majestic Inn was more budget friendly and I would highly recommend it if you are going with older children that don’t need to return to the hotel midday and if you are trying to save a little bit of money.
YES…you will spend a little bit more money to stay walking distance from the park, but it is very much so worth it. You will save your time and sanity!
NO… you do not need to stay at the Grand Californian (CRAZY expensive) or even at the Disneyland hotel (which is also crazy expensive!).
I would highly recommend staying at one of the “good neighborhood hotels” that partner with Disneyland that are within walking distance from the park. Ideally, you will stay at one that is DIRECTLY across the street, as there are NUMEROUS options that will get you there by foot in less than 5 minutes.
For our next trip we chose the Camelot Inn and Suites…. It’s literally closer to the entrance of the park than the Disneyland Hotel (which is actually on the property!) .. I know crazy, and for a fraction of the price!
The final piece of advice that I will give about where to stay when visiting Disneyland California is that if you ARE planning to stay at one of the “across the street hotels”, definitely plan to book early! These are some of the most sought after accommodations and they book out VERY quickly!
How Long Should You Stay When Visiting Disneyland California with Babies and Toddlers?
How long you should stay really depends on your priorities and non-negotiables while in the park; as well as how far away you live from Disneyland and if you plan on returning anytime soon.
If you live reasonably close in proximity to Disneyland and you know that you’re going to be bringing your child back time and time again… Then I would say you can get away with two, maybe three days.
However.. if you live far away or you know this is going to be a one time thing and you really want to see all there is to see I would recommend staying a minimum of four, preferably five days.
At Disneyland California there are two parks; Disneyland and California Adventure. California Adventure doesn’t have nearly as many attractions (especially for the little ones) but it definitely deserves a whole day on its own. If you have a Pixar, Cars loving kid then you might want to consider two full days at California Adventure and 2 full days at Disneyland…. If not and you decided hitting all of the classics over on the Disneyland side is more important then maybe think about 1 day California Adventure and 3 in Disneyland. For me personally I think 1 Day at California Adventure is plenty for young children!
✨Related Post: How To Make Childhood Magical For Your Children
But wait…What Rides Can Babies and Toddlers Go On At Disneyland California?
Disneyland is a family park! It was designed for the whole family so there are very few attractions that your babies and toddlers can’t go on.
There are almost 50 rides in the Disneyland park and only 11 of them have any height requirement at all!
The California Adventure side is more geared toward older kids I would say. There are a couple awesome ones for your littles, like The Little Mermaid ride and the Monsters Inc Ride, but overall . most of the rides have height requirements. (This is why I recommend only one day in California Adventure if you are visiting with babies and toddlers)
Here is a list of all of the rides in BOTH parks that have height requirements and are NOT suitable for babies and toddlers:
🐭Disneyland:
32″ (81 cm) or taller and accompanied by another rider 54″ or taller
35″ (89 cm) or taller
38″ (97 cm) or taller
40″ (102 cm) or taller
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Space Mountain
- Splash Mountain
- Star Tours
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
42″ (107 cm) or taller
46″ (117 cm) or taller
54″ (137 cm) or taller to ride alone
🎡California Adventure:
32″ (81 cm) or taller
40″ (102 cm) or taller
- Jumpin’ Jellyfish
- Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!
- Radiator Springs Racers
- Silly Symphony Swings (tandem swings only)
- Soarin’ Around The World
42″ (107 cm) or taller
- Goofy’s Sky School
- Grizzly River Run
- Redwood Creek Challenge Trail (rock wall and zip line only)
48″ (122 cm) or taller
- Incredicoaster
- Silly Symphony Swings (ride in single swing)
This is the OFFICIAL list of rides they CANNOT go on… but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should or will want to take them on all of the others. The height requirements are strickley for safety purposes due to how the ride moves (jerky, drops etc.) it does not account for “scary-ness”, darkness or loud noises.
If you look on the Disneyland App (which you 100% need for your trip.. i’ll get into that in a moment) it will warn you of which rides are dark, loud etc… but it does not prohibit young babies and young children from riding so it is up to you to do your research.
In my opinion as a mom of two young girls, almost ALL of the rides they are able to ride are perfectly fine…. with the exception of being loud… which honestly you can’t really avoid too much at Disneyland. If your child has a sensitivity to loud noises… or they are just really young and you aren’t sure how they will react I HIGHLY RECOMMEND these sound canceling headphones for babies and toddlers! These come in great handy not only on loud rides, but for fireworks, parades or just if they fall asleep for a stroller nap and you want them to stay asleep longer!
The ONE AND ONLY ride I will warm you about is Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway ……
This ride has no height requirements and seems totally babies/toddler friendly from the looks of it, but in my opinion, and in the opinion of many other moms i’ve read posts from on Facebook…. IT IS WAY TOO JERKY FOR A BABY.. EVEN A YOUNG TODDLER.
We were not expecting this at all… this is the only ride my toddler almost cried on the entire trip!
Don’t get me wrong I personally LOVE this ride, its adorable… but I literally had to hold my toddlers head so it wouldn’t whip around. I was honestly shocked there was no height requirement…
Anyway.. the point here is just to do your research and you will be fine…you know your kid best!
**PRO TIP** Search videos of the rides on Youtube, you can check them out ahead of time so there are no surprises!
Some of my absolute favorite Disneyland Youtube vloggers are:
What Should I Pack When Visiting Disneyland California With Young Children?
Packing for Disneyland California with babies and toddlers is no light task.. am I right moms?! We have lists for what we need for the hotel, the stroller, the car… for sleeping, eating etc etc the list goes on and on and on!
To help get you organized and make it a bit easier to ensure we don’t forget any of the essentials, I created this free downloadable DISNEYLAND PACKING LIST FOR BABIES AND TODDLERS !
Just as a quick overview, I have my packing broken down into 4 main sections (and I suggest you create your own “sections” that work for you):
- Hotel
- Stroller
- Adults
- Kids
Some of the items on this list might double up or overlap on multiple sections, but I like to include them everywhere I will need them so I can be sure that I have the right items at the right time! I know it might seem excessive, but traveling with babies and toddlers can feel like a circus act.. so this is my attempt at maintaining control lol !
Tips & Tricks For Your Day At the Disneyland Park
- Download the Disneyland App. This is basically a necessity these days with the tickets being digital instead of paper like they used to be! Besides the basic (and important task) of getting into the park.. the Disneyland app will provide you with a ton of info that will make your day easier. Gone are the days when you could just show up at the gates with no plan and do everything on your to-do list with no problem. On the app you can find an interactive map of the whole park, you can view show times for parades, fireworks etc, you can order food for fast service or book dinning reservations (don’t wait til the last minute to do this one) and book Lightning Lane rides… if you opted to purchase Genie+ that is!
- Consider purchasing Genie+. Genie+ is an upgrade service that allows you access to Lighting Lane. Lightning Lane allows you to “book” a time for specific rides (basically come back later and skip the majority of the line). Purchasing this upgrade also gives you access to photo pass, which allows you to download pictures straight from the Disneyland app! There are cast members stationed in various locations around the park waiting to take your picture for you.. this is sooo worth it in my opinion because you most likely want to get as many good pics as possible on those first couple of trips with your babies 🙂 ahhhhh the memories <3 The price of the Genie + service keeps changing and I believe it also fluctuates based on day/ time of year…. Usually this will run you anywhere from about $20- $30 extra per day, per person.
- Take advantage of the baby center. The Baby Care Center is a resource that every parent of young children needs to know about when visiting Disneyland. You can find everything from clean and well kept changing tables, to quiet comfortable chairs for nursing, microwaves (and bottle warmers) to heat bottles and food, small toilets for potty training toddlers, a feeding area with highchairs and even a vending machine stocked with diapers, wipes , formula and any other essentials you can think of… just in case you forget something! Of course there are changing tables in all of the bathrooms but they often have long lines and are nowhere near as comfortable and clean as the Baby Care Center (which has a staff onsite just to clean and restock). The baby care center is located on Main Street in Disneyland and in Fisherman’s Warf in California Adventure.
- Break your day up. When visiting the parks with little ones it is best to get there EARLY (rope drop if possible)! The park opens at 8am and if you want to take advantage of shorter wait times and more mild temperatures I would plan to be there right when they open. This will allow you to maximize your time, especially in Fantasyland and Toon Town where you will most likely be spending a lot of time if you have babies and toddlers. Usually, we go for a few hours, have some lunch, then make our way back to the hotel (this is why it’s super important to stay right across the street!) for nap/rest time around 1pm. We have a good rest then make our way back to the park around 4pm for a few more hours of fun! Don’t try to skip it if your kids are use to a nap… they (and you) won’t have hardly as good of a time if they are sleep deprived and cranky.. so try to keep their sleeping schedule as normal as possible.
Final Advice For Visiting Disneyland California With Babies and Toddlers
My final advice to you for your trip to Disneyland California with babies and toddlers is simply just “go with the flow”. You will have years ahead of you where you can have long park days and go on all the roller coasters and skip the daytime nap… but these years you have in front of you right now are some of the MOST SPECIAL… so embrace it! See the characters, watch the parades, go to the shows… take your time and let them wonder, explore and really experience the magic of Disney. At this age the magic is 100% real for them.. slow down, take picture and videos and really take the time to watch their eyes light up at all the sights. <3
I truly hope you enjoyed this post all about visiting Disneyland California with babies and toddlers! Links in this post may generate me a small commission at no additional charge to you, thank you for supporting my small business <3
xoxo Grace