We recently came back from Disneyland Park in Anaheim — the first trip to the magical kingdom for our girls! One is two and a half, and the other is just three months old, so as you can imagine, it was quite a trip and took a lot of planning. A Disneyland trip with a toddler and baby is so much fun, but it can also feel like A LOT, especially with multiple little ones! In this post, I’ll share exactly how we planned our trip with little kids, what worked for us, and everything we did to help make the experience as smooth and stress-free as possible.
Planning Before You Go
Booking Your Visit
The first step is deciding when to go and for how many days. We spent two full days at Disneyland Park and it was just the right amount. I can’t imagine going for longer than that with a toddler and baby as we were all so exhausted by nighttime each day. We decided to skip California Adventures (DCA) because there weren’t as many characters there that our toddler would recognize, and fewer rides that are truly toddler-friendly.
If you do decide to go to Disneyland for more than one day, one hack we found (thanks to dedicated parents on Reddit!) is that buying two one-day passes is cheaper than one two-day pass. We bought two one-day passes, both for Disneyland Park (not California Adventures), and a parking pass for each day and it worked out well.
Before buying tickets, check their reservation availability on their calendar. You can book the tickets online and once you do, the system will also automatically create a park reservation for you for the specific days you chose. You’ll need both the tickets and reservation to get in. This part confused me when I was booking as I didn’t realize they automatically create the reservation for you after booking.
If you download the Disneyland app (HIGHLY recommend) and log into your account, your tickets will appear there which makes them easier to view and scan when you arrive at the park.
When to Go
If you’re able to, try going in the off-season months like February through April because the crowd level makes a huge difference in the wait times for rides, food, and character meet and greets. Also look for their low ticket price days. You can find this on the Disneyland ticket calendar (different from the reservation calendar linked earlier).
We went in the first week of March on low price days and the lines were so short. For instance, we waited only about 15 minutes to ride Small World when normally it would take at least 50 minutes. Same with all the other popular rides, especially those in Fantasyland, the most toddler-friendly section of the park. The weather can vary a lot in the spring but luckily it was beautiful, sunny, and not too hot when we went.
If there’s one thing from this whole post that I think would make Disneyland with a toddler or baby 10x more enjoyable, it’s going during the off-season (which I understand isn’t possible for everyone). During busy seasons, be prepared for long wait times, crowded walkways, and potentially wrangling an overheated toddler or baby. You also won’t be able to go on as many rides, since wait times can easily double or more.It doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy it, just go with realistic expectations in mind!
We stayed at an Airbnb in Bellflower, which is about 20-25 minutes away from the park. Not super close, but it was a good price for a nicely furnished place with multiple rooms. If you’re traveling with a baby and/or toddler, I recommend a place with at least one room (two rooms if you’re bringing more than one child) and a good kitchen. You’ll need the kitchen for prepping snacks, washing milk bottles, storing breast milk in the fridge, etc.
I’ve heard that staying at one of the Disneyland hotels can be worth the higher price, especially for convenience and proximity to the park. I think it’s a good option if your child isn’t into stroller naps. Our toddler was able to nap in her stroller (although it took a lot of convincing to even get her to stay in there!) and our newborn slept peacefully while I baby carried her.
What to Bring
Based on how comfortable our girls were throughout the trip, I’d say we packed well! Here’s what we brought:
- a stroller for each child. Disneyland involves a ton of walking so a stroller for each kid is truly a must! We brought the Stokke Yoyo for our newborn and the Nuna Triv for our toddler. The Nuna has a ton of storage space on the bottom, super convenient. We fit a big diaper backpack, full shopper tote, and a bag of souvenirs down there.
- Tula Explorer baby carrier. I highly recommend bringing a carrier if you’re visiting Disneyland with a baby under one. It allows you to go on rides with no height requirement while keeping your baby close. I used the Tula Explorer Baby Carrier for many hours both days and loved it—it was breathable, supportive, and didn’t hurt my back or hips.
- LOTS of snacks. Seriously, don’t skimp on the snacks. You’ll need them to distract the kids while waiting in line and keep them from getting hangry as you find a place to actually eat. In fact you’ll probably need the snacks to avoid getting hangry yourself! We brought tangerines, sweet potato sticks, dried persimmons, crackers, and healthy granola and finished them all during our visit.
- stroller fan. We brought this but didn’t use it, although it almost got hot enough to need it. I’d recommend bringing one in March and onward because Anaheim can get to the low 80s even in the spring.
- bright ribbon/tag for strollers. There are designated stroller parking areas throughout the park (more on this later). These areas are essentially a sea of strollers so it’s often tough to spot your own. Tie a bright ribbon or tag onto your stroller handle to make it easier.
- airtags for the strollers and toddler, just for peace of mind in case you forget where you parked your stroller or your toddler decides to sprint off in the opposite direction (I’m sure you’ve been there)!
- pump, milk bottles, and insulated milk cooler because I was breastfeeding. For the cooler, I love the Momcozy large sized one. It’s so easy to use and keeps the milk cold for up to 24 hours. By the time we finished our 7-hour drive down to Anaheim and checked into the Airbnb, my stored milk was still icy old!
- Cover or muslin blanket for breastfeeding. Even if you’re not breastfeeding, having a blanket on hand is a good idea as it can get chilly at night, even on hot days. Disneyland does have a nice baby center for breastfeeding (more on that later) but there’s only one and it’s on Main Street. Chances are, you’ll need to breastfeed in other parts of the park too so the cover will come in handy.
- hand sanitizing wipes are a must, especially if your child wants to snack in line or on the go. We really like the ones from Honest (note: these sanitizing wipes have alcohol in them and are different from normal Honest baby wipes). Disneyland is full of kids which means it’s full of germs. We want to go home with cool souvenirs and not a bad cold!
- Disneyland app! Download ahead of time and make sure to sign in so your tickets and parking pass show up in there. The app is essential to save you time everywhere. Use it to easily mobile order food, check wait times for all the rides (although these aren’t the most accurate), and check times of popular events such as their Paint the Night parade.
Once You Get To Disneyland
Getting Into the Park
In a perfect world, we would have gotten to the Disneyland parking lot before 8am and beat all the crowds, skipped all the lines. With a toddler and baby though, let’s be real – that’s likely not happening! I reset my expectations the night before and told myself it’s fine if we get there a bit late. We’d rather not stress everyone out by rushing. We got to the parking lot around 8:40 the first day. It was not full but already filling up fast. There was a line to enter the lot but it didn’t take long to pass through.
Arriving around 8:30am is a pretty good balance between not getting stressed out and rushing the kids out the door vs. getting there too late and waiting in long lines. The second day we got there at 10am and it was a big difference. Lines were really long to enter the park and the popular areas (e.g. Fantasyland) were already very crowded. Based on this, I’d recommend arriving to the parking lot before 9am.
For parking, there are three lots: Mickey & Friends, Pixar Pals (these two are right next to each other), and Toy Story. Parking was $40/day and we booked the pass ahead of time for convenience. We parked at Mickey & Friends both days.
There’s a tram that can take you from the lot to the park entrance, but we felt that walking was easier because we had two strollers. To ride the tram, you’re required to fold up the strollers which was a hassle. Without the tram, it was a nice 15-20 minute walk to the park entrance. Nothing like some steady state cardio in the morning to get hyped for Disneyland! Our toddler actually enjoyed it in the morning (not so much walking back at night).
I was very impressed by how organized the parking situation was and HIGHLY recommend parking at one of the three Disney lots. They have lots of staff standing in the lots directing you where to go. You don’t need circle for a spot because they will direct you to your specific spot! Amazing timesaver.
Enjoying Disneyland with a Toddler and Baby
Best Rides and Play Areas
Once you’re finally at Disneyland, head straight to Fantasyland to beat the crowds. It’s one of the most popular areas in the park and only gets busier throughout the day. It’s great for toddlers and babies because many of the rides there have no height requirements. You can filter for “no height requirements” in the Disneyland app for the full list of rides, but the most popular ones are: Small World, Peter Pan’s Flight, Casey Jr. Circus Train, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Mad Tea Party (all of these are in Fantasyland), Autopia, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
The more toddler-friendly rides are the less dark and scary ones. The slower moving ones are great so they can really watch and enjoy the scenes as they’re passing by. Our toddler’s favorites were: Small World, Mad Tea Party, and Autopia. Autopia was a hit because it was all outdoors (less scary) and she was able to drive (with us sitting next to her of course).
Before standing in line for a ride, park your stroller in one of the many designated stroller parking lots. They have these roped-off areas throughout the park and it’s easy to find space to park your stroller. This is where a bright ribbon or tag comes in handy so you can easily find your stroller later!
Toontown was another area that our toddler absolutely loved. In fact, this was her favorite area of the whole park because of all the free play and explore-it-yourself areas. She enjoyed walking through Mickey’s house, playing at the open areas, and going down the rainbow slides. She must have gone down those slides at least 20 times! There are also a ton of character meet and greets in Toontown. Our toddler got a high five with Goofy as he was leaving and a photo with Daisy Duck, although she was reluctant for the latter!
One note is that Toontown was extremely crowded when we got there in the late afternoon. If you can, I’d recommend going there earlier in the day. It’s tucked away in the back of the park so most people will work their way there in the later part of the day. It definitely gets more crowded then.
Our toddler took a stroller nap both days, although it took some convincing and bribing. While she did that, it was our chance to browse all the fun Disneyland shops in peace!
Both days, we ended by going to Downtown Disney for some food and fun shopping. They have the coolest shops and merch!
Parades: The only one we watched was the Paint the Night parade. We enjoyed it while both our little ones were sleeping in their strollers so they missed it! It was probably for the better, as the parade is very loud and would have scared them. If our toddler were just 1-2 years older I’m sure she would have loved it though. I loved the parade and thought it was one of the highlights of our Disneyland experience. It was so much fun — high energy, thousands of colorful flashing lights on giant moving floats, all the classic characters coming out to party, and lots of creative touches and surprises!
Baby Care at Disneyland
I’ve talked a lot about what our toddler did, but what about our baby? At 2.5 months old, she could not do much but she did enjoy all the contact naps while I baby carried her for most of the day!
Both days, I went to the amazing baby center at Main St. for most of the diaper changing and breastfeeding sessions. Both the breastfeeding chairs and changing stations in there are so comfortable and clean. The breastfeeding area is private and quiet, and it’s also great for pumping. It was really much less stressful than feeding and doing diaper changes out in public. I wish they had another center on the other side of the park, but it wasn’t too bad of a walk to go back to Main St. each time.
Where to Eat
When you are heading over to Small World, stop by Edelweiss Snacks in Fantasyland for delicious giant turkey legs and cheesy garlic pretzel bread! This was hands down our favorite food spot in the whole park. It has two of the best snacks in the whole park in our opinion, and you can mobile order to save time! Our toddler loved both these snacks too, and you know how hard it is for a toddler to warm up to new food! There are also some nice shady benches right by Edelweiss so you can catch a breath and sit while eating.
I highly recommend mobile ordering through the Disneyland app whenever you can to avoid long waits. When we mobile ordered for Edelweiss, we got our food almost immediately.
The giant turkey legs and cheesy bread was actually our lunch both days at the park, and we’d do it again! For dinner, we went to Downtown Disney the first night and Plaza Inn (inside the park on Main St) the second night.
Downtown Disney is always a great option for dining as the food is generally much better than inside the park and the waits might be shorter depending on when you go. They have a great variety of restaurants. We went to Black Tap and loved their gourmet burgers and crazy shakes! They have kids’ meals too, and our toddler enjoyed her chicken tenders and fries.
I had read that Plaza Inn is famous for its fried chicken, and it was good but I did feel it was a bit overhyped. It’s also cafeteria-style which I didn’t expect since the restaurant looks so nice inside. Loved the ambience and the food and portions were decent.
Disneyland Trip Recap
We all had a blast at Disneyland Park! It was such a memorable family Disneyland trip with a toddler and baby—even if they won’t remember it, we definitely will. We captured so many sweet photos, enjoyed some iconic Disneyland snacks (still craving that cheesy garlic pretzel bread!) , and most importantly, spent real quality time together.
That said, if I’m being honest, I probably wouldn’t rush back to Disneyland with kids this young again (they’re not quite at the age to fully enjoy the rides or character experiences yet). But at the same time, I’m so glad we went. If you’re on the fence about doing Disneyland with a baby or toddler, just know it’s absolutely doable—with the right expectations and a little planning, it can still be a really special trip.
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