Is it worth it to take a toddler to Disneyland? Is there enough for preschool-age kids to do at Disneyland Resort? What is it like taking a toddler to Disneyland? We see plenty of questions like this. While we have lots of advice for visiting Disneyland with young children, we also wanted to share our experiences with toddlers at the Disney parks. This post is a candid look at our Disneyland trips with toddlers and whether we think it is worth it.
Toddlers are Free Until Three at Disneyland
We are going to start by answering the “Is it worth it?” question in a literal way. We made a point of visiting Disneyland when our children were toddlers because it was free to bring them! Kids under three years old do not need a ticket to enter Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park. Disney calls them “Guests of Mickey.” Not only can they get into the parks for free, but they can also eat off an adult’s plate at a buffet meal and accompany adults through a Lightning Lane at no extra cost. All those experiences for free: we think that is totally worth it! We have brought kids to the Disneyland parks at all stages of toddlerhood, but there is some extra magic in those years when they can get in without a ticket!
Now, the flip side is that these “Guests of Mickey” need to be accompanied by an adult. So while our toddlers are getting some incredible experiences for $0, we are paying an adult price for a toddler-sized trip. Meaning, us as a paying adults might be having a different visit than we would without a toddler-in-tow. For us, this means less overall time in the parks and less time on E-ticket attractions compared to adult-only visits. It also means more little breaks throughout the day to have a mood-saving snack or follow some ducks around.
You Can Never Do It All
Basically, we have to adjust our expectations and set our visit speed to “toddler.” If you have toddlers, you are probably used to these kinds of adjustments from other areas of your life. For us, eating-out is a different experience than it was before we had kids, our days start and end at different times and get interrupted by naps… this all might sound familiar to you. Like other activities, our visits to Disneyland are tweaked to fit a toddler lifestyle. Could we probably push for a more adult-speed trip? Yes, but when we do this, we find that everyone (adults included) get pushed beyond their limits. When we do too much in the name of fun, we just try to fruitlessly convince ourselves we are having fun even as morale collapses.
We try to avoid these situations. Instead, we remind ourselves that is impossible to “do it all” at Disneyland. No matter how many rides we do in one day, and no matter how many hours we spend in the parks, there is always something more to do. When we come to terms with this reality and stop thinking of our Disneyland visits as some kind of checklist, we all have a better visit.
We focus on having a good experience rather than how much we can do. If a one-year-old wants to follow some ducks (who not named Daisy or Donald) around CenTOONial Park, we focus on delighting in their delight in the Happiest Place on Earth. There is so much to admire in any area, that we try to be present together as a family and just enjoy the incredible atmosphere of Disneyland. (No one does atmosphere better than Imagineers.)
What We Do With Toddlers in Disneyland
Because our kiddos are all early-risers, we always get to the parks at rope-drop without much trouble, but we rarely make it to park close with the whole family. Usually, one adult has to leave earlier with the youngest kids. We know some families take midday breaks with their toddlers and then return for a later end to their days. This seems to work really well for some folks, and we thought it was worth a try. Unfortunately, we have had trouble getting our kids to switch into rest mode and back again. If we do take a hotel break in the middle of the day, our kids bounce on the beds and talk about what they are going to do when we get back to Disneyland.
If you have a toddler who is a good napper, a hotel break might be right for you. For our family, it never works the way we want it to work. Instead our kids fall asleep in a stroller before we make it to the hotel or they skip their naps. So, we usually start early and stay at the parks through the afternoon and early evening. Then, some of us call it a day as the night falls. While we are at the parks, we make a point of taking little moments to check-in with one another, have a snack and rest somewhere comfortable. (Incidentally, here are 5 Best Places to Relax in Disneyland Park and 5 Best Places to Relax in Disney California Adventure Park.)
Another thing we do is take breaks in-between park days rather than during park days. Meaning, we try not to do two days at the Disneyland parks in a row. We make a case for that here: Maximize Value: Take a Rest Day at Disneyland
Stroller Retreats and Disneyland
We use those techniques to recharge and check everyone’s moods. Along with all of that, we find that strollers make an extremely effective place for little ones to get a little peace during a busy day.
Yes, we know many people bemoan the number of strollers clogging walkways in the parks at Disneyland. Honestly, we think it is better than the alternative: young kids sitting in walkways, getting separated from their families or just melting-down. For us, strollers provide a little refuge for our toddlers even in the midst of crowds. They hop-in, we pull a canopy over them and let them have a little personal space and time.
So, we think strollers are great for saving tired legs, keeping toddlers close and giving little ones a retreat from the intense crowds and sensory-stimulation of the Disney parks. Plus, they are a good place to keep all of the stuff that comes with toddlers like diapers, changes of clothes, etc. Some families do well without strollers and feel they can move more freely without them. We use them with little ones. If you need help figuring out what works best for you, we have Should I Bring a Stroller to Disneyland? If you do decide a stroller is right for you, we have Strollers at Disneyland Resort: Quick Tips and Strategies
Are Lightning Lanes Worth It With Toddlers?
We know some people opt to skip Lightning Lane passes when they are visiting with toddlers. They reason that little ones cannot do a lot of the headliner rides, so the passes are not worth the cost. We actually think Lightning Lanes are extra helpful for groups with toddlers.
Your Toddler Might Get Free Lightning Lane Access
First, remember that toddlers under three can enter a Lightning Lane without a Lightning Lane pass. Guests who do not need a ticket to get into the Disneyland parks (0-2 year old kids) also do not need a pass to use Lightning Lanes. They do need to be with an adult, so that adult would need a Lightning Lane pass, but that’s still basically a two-for-one kind of deal!
If your toddler is old enough to require a ticket—and therefore also needs a pass to access Lightning Lanes—but is not tall enough to ride some of the attractions, there may still be a benefit to your group as a whole. Unlike an admission ticket, Disney cast members do not care about the name on a Lightning Lane pass. If you have a toddler who is too short to use their Lightning Lane for Space Mountain, an older sibling can use that pass without a problem.
Lightning Lanes Leave Time for Play
Second, it is a truth universally acknowledged that toddlers are not so great at waiting. We think Lightning Lane passes are worth the price when it means our toddlers can spend less time waiting in line. They may still need to wait for our reservation window to arrive, but they can follow those ducks around or have a snack while they wait.
Ultimately, Disneyland tickets are expensive. Adding Lightning Lane passes makes them even more expensive. However, we think that extra cost actually gives us better value on that base ticket. When our toddlers spend less time in line, we all enjoy ourselves more. We can likely stay in the parks for longer and avoid some meltdowns. We think it is worth the extra cost. For a primer on Lightning Lines, check-out Disneyland Lightning Lanes: How to Super-Charge Your Visit
Rider Switch at Disneyland
Whether we use Lightning Lanes or not, we definitely make use of the Rider Switch service. With Rider Switch, we know that the older members of our groups will still be able to experience headliner attractions with height restrictions. We use the Rider Switch service extensively to make sure taller family members get to ride the “big” rides. The way the pass works also means that our older kids take turns getting repeat rides. Rider Switch can work in tandem with Lightning Lanes: ask a cast member for help with this.
For general advice on Rider Switch and visiting Disneyland with younger children, see our 5 Tremendous Tips for Visiting Disneyland Resort with Young Kids.
For suggestions on attractions that everyone can experience together, see 5 Wonderful Attractions for All-Ages at Disneyland Park and 5 Amazing All-Ages Attractions at Disney California Adventure Park
Toddlers Believe in Magic
Even with all of these tricks, we have certainly still experienced our share of tricky moments with toddlers at Disneyland. If you have. toddlers, you know that they like to… assert their independence. They also can struggle quite a bit when they are hungry, tired, cold or hot. This is the same whether you are at your neighborhood park or at Disneyland.
Of course, visiting Disneyland costs a lot more than the neighborhood park. If typical toddler struggles would ruin your Disney trip, maybe visiting with a toddler is not worth it for you. If a Disney vacation is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for you, you may want to wait until your kids are older and can better tolerate long days. You know what is best for your family.
Visiting Disneyland with toddlers is worth it for our family. Even though we might need to forgo some extra rides on our favorite thrilling attractions or leave the parks early, we treasure the experiences we get to share as a family.
For our toddlers, what they see in Disneyland is real: that is really Moana waving from her boat. They have actually flown with Dumbo and helped their pal Spidey snare Spiderbots. Getting to experience that magic with them is why we go to Disneyland. Some people argue that a toddler will not remember those moments, so a trip is not worth it. For us, the magic we share is something that remains, even if distinct memories do not. The magic remains.
Thank you for reading this article on what it is really like taking toddlers to Disneyland.
We hope this reflection on our experiences is helpful to you. For more advice on Disneyland with toddlers, be sure to check-out some of those articles we linked above like 5 Tremendous Tips for Visiting Disneyland Resort with Young Kids and Strollers at Disneyland Resort: Quick Tips and Strategies. For our favorite airport for traveling with little ones, see Long Beach Airport is Awesome for Flying with Kids. Finally, for overall Disneyland trip planning advice, check-out our free and complete Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep and subscribe to our newsletter below. Thanks again for reading!
