Hellobee

After writing my other two Disneyland posts. Mrs. Bee asked me to write about some of our favorite rides and what is good for toddlers and infants.  I started off writing about each of the rides and our experience and I quickly realized that I could write an entire book, not just a short blog post.  So I decided to rework my post and group some of the rides together.  I hope my grouping makes sense but feel free to ask questions about any ride.

Disney has its own classification system for their rides.  The labels they use are: big drops, small drops, thrill rides, slow rides, water rides, spinning, dark, loud, and scary.  These classifications are all to help guests decide which rides are appropriate for their party.  Online they also have indications for handicap accessibility for the rides if that is a concern.  For each land I will list the rides with their classifications that Disneyland has assigned them.  Unfortunately some of them can still be hard to tell and you don’t necessarily know how a child will react until they are on the ride.  Also their reactions can vary from trip to trip.  I will let you know about the lines as well, but when I say that some lines are not that long it would not necessarily include Saturdays in the summer.  Let’s face it — there is no short line in Disneyland during those peak times.

Fantasyland and Mickey’s Toontown were the best areas for infants and toddlers. We did take our kids while they were very young on to other rides but we spent the majority of our time in these two areas.  Both areas can get very crowded so we would usually go first thing in the morning.  We could ride every ride in Fantasyland in the first hour or two and then move on the Toontown.  I love Toontown.  It’s so fun and colorful.  It makes for great pictures and really shows off Disney’s attention to details. There is so much to interact with, the kids absolutely love it.   Now with slightly older kids we don’t go back there as often, but it was great when they were younger.

F A N T A S Y L A N D

– It’s a Small World (no height requirements, slow, and water, indoor) – The line is usually not too long.  It is one of our family favorites.  Lilly (20 months) claps and laughs the whole time while James (4.5 years) sings loudly the entire time. It is indoor but not considered one of the “dark rides” because it is bright throughout most of the ride.  It is one of my personal favorites and watching my kids fall in love with the ride as well is so fantastic, it gives me goose bumps to think about it.

One of my favorite pictures of my baby girl and my dad just enjoying It’s a Small World.

– Alice in Wonderland (no height requirements, slow, and dark) The line can get long but moves fairly quickly. My kids have never reacted poorly on this ride.  It is often on our “must do list.”  For a dark ride it is not as loud and scary as some of the others.

– Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride (no height requirement, slow, spinning, dark loud and scary), Peter Pan’s Flight (no height requirements, small drops, slow ride, dark), Pinocchio’s Daring Journey (no height requirement, slow ride, dark, scary), Snow White’s Scary Adventures (no height requirements, slow ride, spinning, dark, scary) – I lumped these four together because these are the ones that tend to scare young kids.  The rides are dark, a bit bumpy and have scary content.  I think I had the most trouble between about 2-3 years old.  Now with 4 and almost 5 year olds, they like these rides and request to go on them.  Peter Pan gets a very long line. Mr. Toad can be fairly long but Pinocchio and Snow white seem to always be short.

– Casey Jr. Circus Train (no height Requirement, slow ride), Storybookland Canal Boats (no height requirements, water rides, slow).  Both of these rides go through the miniature villages from the original Disney movies.  My kids like to get in the cage car on the train so they can pretend to be monkeys.  Both lines are very slow moving so if it looks a little long we skip them.  My kids just aren’t the greatest with slow moving lines.

– Dumbo the Flying Elephant (no height requirements, slow, and spinning), King Arthur Carrousel (no height requirement, slow and Spinning), Mad Tea Party or “The Tea Cups” (no height requirement, spinning) – All three of these rides are outdoor and spinning.  Dumbo allows the riders to control the height of the elephant.  The tea cups let you spin a wheel in the center if you want to spin faster.  Mr. Train thinks it’s hilarious to spin the boys as fast as he can while I look away hoping I won’t have a sick family at the end of the ride.  Of course my boys prove me wrong with laughter and giggles the entire time. My boys love all of these rides and we usually go on them each visit.  Lilly on the other hand hates the Carrousel.  I am not sure why because she smiles and laughs on the tea cups but screams like a banshee if I put her anywhere near a horse on the carrousel.  Like I said before it’s hard to tell what necessarily sets a child off on a ride.  Dumbo is a slow moving line and can get long.  I usually never have to wait more than one rotation of the Carousel to get on and the tea cups are usually pretty short.

A family favorite from a very early age

– Matterhorn Bobsleds (must be 42 inches to ride, Small Drops, thrill ride, water ride, dark, loud and scary) – This is the only thrill ride in Fantasyland.  James is just shy of 42 inches so we have not been on this one since having kids.  I have been on it with my nephews and it is a fairly easy roller coaster.  There are not huge drops and it’s a smooth ride.  There is an abominable snowman that growls at you when you go past, which I think is what gives it its scary classification.  As it is one of their thrill rides, it tends to get a long line.

– Character interactions: Fantasy Faire guarantees interacting with three princesses. Each one has a Disney photopass employee that will take pictures for you.  Meet Merida is over by It’s a Small World.  Merida will be there and will show the kids her bow and arrow.  She also interacts with her three little brothers as bears. Meet Rapunzel is right next to the Pinocchio ride.  She is sometimes accompanied by Flynn Rider but it’s not guaranteed when he will be there.  Meet Tinker Bell in Pixie Hollow.  This is located to the side of the castle near the Matterhorn.  Tinker Bell is usually there (but also not guaranteed) with one of her other fairy friends.  I have to say that if there is a character that your kid want to see, finding them in these areas can be the best way to go about it.  And let me tell you — princesses are not just for little girls.  My twins love going and talking to the Princesses.  All of these lines can get really long.  I try to plan one early in the morning, but if we don’t do them early in the day we usually just skip them.

M I C K E Y ‘ S  T O O N T O W N

– Gadget’s Go Coaster (35 inch height requirement, small drops, thrill ride), Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin (any height, slow, spinning, loud) –  The small roller coaster is a great way to test the “thrill ride” experience with your little ones. If they like this one, you can move up the list to some of the bigger faster rides.  Roger Rabbit can be scary since it’s dark and loud, but my kids like to spin the wheel to make it spin faster so they hardly pay attention to the actual ride.

– Chip ‘n Dale Treehouse, Donald’s Boat, Goofy’s Playhouse are all interactive houses that the kids can run around and play with different elements.  Outside of Goofy’s house there is a garden playground with a small slide and some crawling tunnels.  It’s a great place for the new walkers and toddlers to explore and get some of their wiggles out.  Even my 4 years olds still enjoy going through the houses.

– Mickey’s House and Meet Mickey, Minnie’s House and Meet Minnie –  These are both interactive houses that also serve as a line to meet the characters.  The houses are really fun to walk through and it makes the line easier to stand in if your kids really want to meet Mickey or Minnie.

Doing the Dishes in Minnie’s House

Next time I will go over the remaining areas that are a little better suited for slightly older kids.