Disneyland - Good Ages and Cheapest Prices

We went in march and my kids were 10, 7, and 4. I personally am glad we waited. It is difficult to see the characters and stuff and you have to wait in line to see the princesses (this is actually the longest line we stood in) many of the rides require you to be 41" tall and my newly 4 y/o was just tall enough. We didn't see that many shows, but we rode everything. It might be okay if you planned on going twice, but I am glad we waited. We plan on doing Disney world when they get a little older. I think the magic is still there even for older kids (and us adults) we had never been and had so much fun!

My feeling has always been that when the youngest is 7 it is time to go. The 4 year old will not remember. Neither will the baby. Most
kids will remember swimming in the hotel pool!!! The chances are after
a few hours at Disney all they will want to do is go back to the pool. Certainly if money is not an issue, have a blast. However, if it is an issue I would wait until I knew that they would just enjoy every moment. Nothing is worse than spending all that money and everyone ends up, hot and cranky.
Although, now that I think about it Disneyland is so much smaller than Disney World so that changes my feelings a bit. Again it boils down to money. If you are going to do it this once and not be able to afford it again,
I would not spend the money now. I would wait. If you know you will be able to afford it when they can really enjoy it, go for it!! Have a blast now and when you go back!!

I live in socal and have only been one time for my daughters 4th bday and she LOVED it. Spring is good for the weather but I'd try to not go when most kids are out for break.I did the park hopper in July but I found it difficult to "hop" and get everything in. Calif Adventure imo is kind of neat for your kids ages b/c they have great little areas like Bug's Life which is just kiddy rides. I also like Calif Adventure b/c its not as busy as Disneyland. I think those ages are good, of course the older ones will enjoy it more. If I was to go again and do park hopper, I'd do one park one day and the other park the next, or else you'll be walking around all day and not get enough time to actually enjoy the attractions. I will add though that I know alot of people who live in socal that get season passes and have taken their kids since they were babies! I don't remember the exact prices, but it was expensive. We did the breakfast w/Mickey at one of the hotels and that was totally worth it!!

If you can go in spring or any other time off-season, do it! July, August and Xmas are times go avoid.

Alaska Airlines does Disney specials... 'kids fly free" packages and such.

Last time I got a hotel for Disneyland we stayed at the Alpine Inn. Under $100 per night, clean, not fancy but within walking distance of the entrance. Being close allowed us to take a break midday to rest, then go back in. Parking is expensive and you have to still take the tram to the entrance from the parking structure. There are a number of hotels in all price ranges, just outside the park entrance.

Other places to try: mousesavers.com

Check AAA and Costco for discount tickets. Sometimes the prices are better at the AAA and Costco in SoCal.

My advice...don't waste your money...unless you have a lot of it to burn! Your kids are WAY too young to spend that kind of money and they won't even enjoy it. I took my (three years ago) 8, 6, and 3 years old and it was such a waste of time! The lines were long so they got hot & cranky. Some rides they can't ride because they're too short. Some rides they're too scared to ride eventhough they're allowed. We spent $70/each ticket and they enjoyed a total about 4-6 ride/attractions.

On another note...my sister took her two kids to Lego Land for the past three years (they're 9 and 6 now) and they LOVE it. She also took them to Disneyland but said it was a waste of time as they hardly did anything...too young. They got a choice between Disney & Legoland and picked LegoLand when they went several months ago.

I also had a friend who took her 8 and 4 years old last year and she also said it was a waste of money...

We just did a trip that included Disneyland and my daughter is 4.5 (turning 5 in August) and she did great. She really enjoyed most of the rides and there were only a few that she either could not or would not get on. She liked getting pics and autographs with the characters too. However, at those ages, you might find trying to keep everyone happy to be quite the challenge. Heck, it will be a challenge at any age, but honestly, unless you plan to visit Disneyland every 2 or 3 years, I would wait until the youngest is around 3 or 4, then the others are 5/6 and almost 7/8. When they are 9 and under, you pay kids' admission prices - after that, they are charged the same as adults.

Well, we are planning a trip this Fall. My kids will be 6, almost 5, and almost 3. Yikes! I have the attitude that this is all about them and seeing the "magic" through their eyes. I really like the site Mousesavers.com. I got a lot of good advice. We got a really good rate through the Entertainment books "retro" rate, across the street from Disneyland at Howard Johnsons (who has an awesome pool park for the kiddos). We purchased our park hopper tix from Ares travel for a discounted rate and we used our Alaska air miles to get out tickets. Anyway, I think with good planning and a postitive attitude it can be a wonderful trip. Take lots of pics to keep the memories alive. My first time was 7 and I have very detailed memories of that trip. I also recall my preschool field trips so I think young ones WILL indeed remember things that make an impression. How can Disneyland not make an impression? ;-)

I say 7 is ideal youngest age but I'm sure you will be fine. I took a 4 year old in the middle of summer and I was miserable. She couldn't hack the heat (me neither) and I had to carry her back to the hotel (on the monorail, on the hotel shuttle and up to the room) for a mid day nap every day.

It's just sooooo much money for kids that young. My 4 year old would have just as happy going to 6 flags or the beach somewhere. I remember dropping $800 on tickets alone (not including food, etc) at Magic Kingdom and she went on like 5 rides each day, lines too long to meet any characters. Wasn't worth it BUT the heat was a major factor. You're going in spring which should be better.

FYI=any of the concessions will give you a cup of water for free if you ask for it. They don't advertise this b/c they want you to buy the overpriced water bottles.

I went in High School and I can remember that I was facinated by all the characters, the decor and the rides. That said the lines were LONG. And I can't imagine that any little kid would sit still long enough. So I agree with you that waiting for the ride part is wise. There are plenty of shows, character displays, etc to take little kids to see and I also agree that it will make for a great trip while they are young.

The one thing I suggest is that you wait until the smallest is out of the stroller and done with diapers and naps. There is nothing worse than trying to push a stroller through busy crowds and having to worry about a cranky toddler when the family spends a lot of money on tickets. If you wait until your youngest is 4 then your older ones will be 7 and 8. Then ALL of your kids will remember and IMO a 7 and 8 year old will still be caught up in the "magic".

In the mean time, try a family cruise! We went on Carnival when my son was only 6 months old. We all had a great time because we were on vacation the moment we stepped onto the boat and we could easily do things on our own schedule. With out room so close to all the fun there was no pressure to see everything and do everything on a schedule. We got to spend a whole week enjoying ourselves. It was very relaxing for us. Your older kids would love the activities of a kids camp on board and can go swimming, etc. You could even check out a Disney Cruise that's geared toward kids. All the magic without the long lines and walking everywhere.

My little boys are 4 and 6 and we are going to Disney next year :o)

We just took our kids (3 and 6) to Disneyland over Thanksgiving break. They loved it. We stayed at a hotel not affiliated with Disney and saved TONS of money, but then again we weren't having to go back to the hotel for naps or anything like that. In addition, those "friends of Disney" hotels offer shuttles. We stayed in a hotel that was not affiliated with Disney in any way so it was cheaper. But we just parked in their lot and took their bus to the gate. It worked out perfect for us.

We got our tickets at a discount because my husbands brother works for the Navy in San Diego and they have discount tickets. Other than that, we didn't see any other deals on admission.

Also, we just did Fantasyland this past time, not Adventureland - our kids were too young for Adventureland this time. We spend 2 days is Fantasyland and we saw everything and our days were full.

Have fun!

I took my daughter just before she turned 2 for the first time and she absolutely loved it. She was able to do a lot at her size. It was a full day of fun. Meeting Mickey in his house, the carousel, the parade, It's a Small World, dumbo, the tea cups, autotopia, story book cruise...were among her favorites. We went with her older cousins (4 and 8 at the time) which made standing in long lines tolerable. I went again a couple of weeks ago with just my husband and it was less fun. He's not a fan of the wait times and crowds and we didn't have the benefit of other kids to distract and entertain her. She managed fine. Him...not so much. This time she liked walking through Sleeping Beauty's castle and watching a show about princesses in this big outdoor theater. Next time, I will be sure to go with more kids and treat her to the full princess package with dress up, hair, etc. She loves that!

The ages are all good. We are local and had season tickets the entire year my son was 2. We also had them again the year he was 4 and my daughter was 7 - 19 months. months. They love the rides and there is plenty to do with them. My daughter was a bit scared on a couple of rides the very last time she went (18 months) but mostly she was fine. They were all rides she had done and enjoyed before.

AAA sells discounted tickets and so do the local Costcos. Otherwise, you can try craigslist or ebay for people who are selling one or two days on a multi-day pass. be careful though, as some multi-day passes have a photo on them and you might not be able to use it. make sure you know exactly what you're buying and when it expires if you do something like that.

The baby will be free. The brand new Cars Land opens this week at CA Adventure, so the older two will probably love that.

you will have a great trip!

I would wait until they are all school age. The 5 year old might remember it, but the other 2 will have no memory of it.

As far as discounts, you can find deals on airfare & hotels, but their tickets are rarely discounted. Summer is high season, so deals are nowhere to be found. I wouldn't recommend going during Spring, either - we went during Spring break (week of April 18th, and I didn't realize it at the time since ours was in March) and it was madness. We still had a good time, though.

I have a Disney freak friend & she has said that February & September are the best months to go. Oh, and Superbowl Sunday is apparently a low attendance day, so next time we go, we will plan it around then.

We used getawaytoday.com for a ticket & hotel package and I thought we got a pretty good deal & the whole process was really easy.

Good luck with whatever you decide, and have fun!!