Disneyland with a 2-year-old
Disneyland: Is April a good time to visit?
From Katie b.
Posted December 9, 2010 at 1:32 PM
I'm taking my two year old daughter to disneyland in april and was wondering if that is a good time to go?
Sure, she should have a blast!
If you can, I would highly recommend a weekday in February. The park will be very empty, and you'll be able to do a lot of attractions with hardly any waits.
If you have to go during Spring Break season, it'll be much more crowded, so be sure to get to the park first thing when it opens.
A tip - look at the calendar on the Disneyland website, and try to go on a day when the hours are shorter. If the park is open until Midnight, that means Disney knows it will be a busy day!
Days when the park closes at 8 are PERFECT for taking a 2-year-old. The park won't be crowded, and a toddler's not going to stay up late anyway. The only disadvantage is that there may not be a parade.
April is spring break for many school districts in Southern California, so it wouldn't be my first choice as a spring month to visit the park. May would be better, actually. Many local schools don't get out until June. (This is changing after this year, so many Southern California students will have the shortest summer break ever - from late June until mid-August. Look for this to affect theme park attendance numbers for the SoCal parks in 2011.)
As for visiting with a two-year-old, I find that a tough age for visiting a theme park. The child likely won't remember much more than a image or two - the event is more for the parent or adult in the group. It can be fun, but you have to visit with no expectations whatsoever. A child might hate all the top attractions, but be absolutely enthralled watching a custodial cast member sweep up a sidewalk with a pan and broom - for 20 minutes. (That pretty well describes one Disneyland visit with my then-two-year-old son.)
That said, I have to recommend the most unique Disneyland attraction for a two-year-old. Go into the baby care center at the end of Main Street (behind the Corn Dog Wagon) and ask to use the potties. Back by the changing tables are a few porcelain toilets - scaled down to toddler size. Unlike other theme park toilets, not only are they potty-sized, they don't have automatic flush, either, so no on gets scared on them. My kids *loved* these when they were potty-training.
I went to WDW in April when I was 50 years old. I'd been a few times before, but always in the late fall. I discovered that the spring sun is brutal in Orlando! My face burned the very first day (I hadn't thought about bringing sunblock since I am black and had never burned like that before). Make sure you take a good tube for your 2 year old.
If you go near Easter or when the schools are on Spring Break, you can expect crowds. If that doesn't bother you and you still would like to go, I would go either on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Still crowded but not as crowded as the other days.
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