Going to Disneyland with two kids under age of 5

We went on a day trip to Disneyland Park. This was my kids’ first time, and my 4-year-old was so excited. We watched videos about Disneyland together so she would know what to expect. I wanted everything well-planned so the trip would go smoothly.

We went on a weekday and decided one park would be plenty for the first trip. We chose Disneyland Park over California Adventure because they love Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh!

My husband had a great idea to get matching bright-colored, inexpensive t-shirts for all of us. We could easily spot our family from a distance. There were so many other groups in matching white, blue, black, or grey t-shirts. Think of a bright visible, uncommon color to wear, to stand out from the rest.

Also, keep the weather in mind. We got very lucky with June Gloom weather, it wasn’t too cold or too hot. If you are going to Disneyland in cold weather and plan to put on a hoodie or jacket over your matching t-shirt, the matching t-shirts probably won’t be visible. That’s what I did early in the morning and late at night when it was chilly.

Backpacks

There’s a list of not permitted items on Disney’s website, and it was very helpful when I was planning. We brought High Sierra hiking backpacks with us (like this).

Disneyland backpack restrictions are:

No ‘suitcases, backpacks or similar bags with wheels [or]…larger than 24” long x 15” wide x 18” high (61 cm x 38 cm x 46 cm).’

Between 2 backpacks we packed:

diapers
baby wipes
hand sanitizing wipes
baby carrier
change of clothes for two kids
sun hats
snacks
backup batteries with cables for our phones
sunscreen
water bottles
Band-Aids
but no kitchen sink.

We packed food and jackets in the basket under the stroller.

I was glad I packed extra diapers! We were standing in line for 40 minutes, and then when we were at the front of the line, 20 seconds before boarding the ride, my child suddenly realized she needed to use the bathroom. Right away. Desperately. I wasn’t ready to stand in line for another 40 min, so an extra diaper came in handy.

I wished I’d packed ear protection for my 2-year-old. “It’s A Small World” and “Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway” rides were fun, but a little bit too loud for her at times.

Some people recommend a leash for smaller children to keep them safe in crowds. We brought one, but our youngest hated it, and it was just easier to carry her in our arms or in the baby carrier while waiting in line.

A couple of rides had 45-min long wait times, and it was hard to keep kids entertained, especially while sandwiched in Disneyland’s famously crowded lines: you’ll be amazed how many can be squeezed into a line, especially on Jungle Cruise and Storybook Land Canal boat rides. Snacks, stories, Grandparents, cartoons on our phones, etc. kept the kids occupied. Maybe I will bring a Disney coloring book or sticker book next time.

We weren’t sure if our children were NASA astronaut material and would be able to handle all the spinning and shaking without getting motion sickness, so we kept a change of clothes and shoes for me and my husband in the car, in case the children threw up on us.

You can Google “What to pack for Disneyland” and there is no lack of ideas. Also, Disney’s website has packing tips. The list of things to pack can go on and on and on…Just remember, whatever you pack you’ll have to:

Show at the security checkpoint before entering Downtown Disney
Carry in your backpack or push in a stroller for 8.5 miles (in our case) or squeeze it in a rental locker (see more about lockers in the Food section below).

Stroller

To bring or not to bring a stroller depends on what works for you and your children. There will be a lot of walking. I had tracked 20K steps by the time we got to the car at the end of the day. I have a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old, and I knew I would need to bring a double stroller. The one you can rent at Disneyland is made of plastic and doesn’t recline. It could probably work for older kids who may only need short stroller rides between theme lands. In our case, we needed a soft reclining stroller where my 2-year-old could comfortably fall asleep.

I had the option to choose between two types of double strollers: side-by-side and tandem. The tandem stroller was much more convenient to get through the crowds in the park, as well as finding a stroller parking spot.

You won’t be able to use your regular baby stroller in lines for the rides as some of the lines are super narrow. Disneyland has designated stroller parking areas.

You will be surprised how many strollers could be in one place. And most of them are black which you’ll want to keep in mind. You obviously won’t want to spend a lot of time looking for your stroller. At one point we parked in an area not specifically designated for stroller parking (eventually I think they will come up with “NO STROLLER PARKING” signs) and our stroller was “towed,” so we spent some time looking for it. Also, Disney cast members frequently organize strollers in the parking lots to fill empty spots, which makes it a little bit harder to find your stroller. If you have an Air Tag (or similar Bluetooth tracker) you could attach it to your stroller, or you could attach a bright visible object to identify your stroller. I had an initial idea to attach a helium balloon to our stroller but Disneyland’s list of restricted items says: “No Mylar balloons made from shiny, foil-like plastic.” There is no restriction on balloons purchased at Disneyland though.

Check the dimensions of your stroller and stroller type before loading it into the car. The Disneyland website has the following restrictions:

no strollers larger than 31″ (79 cm) x 52″ (132 cm) and stroller wagons (as of 2023). Also restricted is “any trailer-like object that is pushed or towed by an ECV, wheelchair or stroller. Note: Guests are not permitted to pull items behind them. Any item that requires a Guest to pull it behind him or her, including a stroller, is not permitted into the theme parks.”

Sometimes it is easier to park the stroller in the central stroller parking lot of the theme land you are going to and then walk to the nearby rides.

If you plan to go on “Disneyland Railroad” there are the following options:

You will need to take your stuff out of the stroller, fold the stroller and load it on the train. This will allow you to get off at any train station in the park.
You can leave your stroller at the nearby stroller parking lot, make a full circle on the train and come back to the same stop and pick up your stroller.

Keep in mind that to go on rides you will frequently have to park your packed stroller, leaving it behind, and simply rely on your faith in humanity until you return.

Here are some more ideas and thoughts about bringing a stroller to Disneyland:

Top 10 Tips for Using a Stroller at Disneyland

Baby carrier

We woke up early to beat Los Angeles traffic and I knew that at some point my 2-year-old would be cranky and tired. I brought a baby carrier just in case she would refuse to nap in the stroller. It actually came in very handy in a line to one of the rides, when she didn’t want me to hold her anymore, but didn’t mind snuggling in the baby carrier. She almost fell asleep in line but when we finally got on the ride, she was wide awake. Who wants to sleep when all this fun stuff is going on?

If you plan to go on Autopia, keep in mind that you cannot bring your child in a baby carrier. The child should meet the ride height requirements and sit next to you (not on your lap) during the ride.

Rides

I would recommend downloading the Disneyland app as soon as you can. You can check what rides will be closed for refurbishment on the date you are visiting Disneyland. It can help you see the wait time for the rides, make restaurant reservations, and it has many other useful features.

I am a big Excel fan so I added a list of all the rides in Disneyland Park to a spreadsheet. I excluded rides closed for refurbishment on the day of our visit. I measured how tall my kids were. Then I added height requirements to the list of the rides and filtered out rides that they couldn’t go to. Next, I watched YouTube videos of those I thought they might be too scared to ride and eliminated those too.

This took me to a preliminary list of rides that were considered for our Disneyland trip. I divided the remaining list of rides into three following categories:

Really want to go – Usually long wait time
Really want to go – Small wait time
Maybe will go – if we have time

We went on a weekday, so for a couple of weekdays, I was checking the Disneyland app during different times of the day. This helped me to learn about wait time information for the rides we wanted to go on. There are also a few websites with statistical data and graphs about the wait times for rides.

Keep in mind that the FASTPASS system was replaced by Genie Plus. Check the list of rides covered by Genie Plus to see if you are planning on going to any of these rides. Also, some rides have Individual Lightning Lane for which you need to pay separately.

Disneyland officially opens at 8 am. From 8 am to 9 am, it is considered a Golden hour and lines are shorter than usual. Our wait for “Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run Ride” was 5 minutes. I would not recommend doing rides on opposite sides of the park in this Golden hour. We lost some time during this Golden hour on walking from one theme land to another.

You can also get in the park 30 min early if you are staying in a Disneyland Resort hotels. There is a list of rides you can go on during early admission.

Wait times are somewhat shorter before and during parades and fireworks. Tons of people go early to save good spots to watch parades at 3:30 pm and 6:30 pm, as well as the fireworks at night.

Some rides like “Disneyland Monorail,” “Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage” and “Disneyland Railroad” are significantly longer and will give your feet much-needed rest. You might want to plan these rides when you think you would need a little bit of a break from walking and standing in lines.

Fireworks were on my “Maybe list” and I was sure that the kids would be ready to go home around 6 pm. At 6 pm they were going strong. Ok, I thought maybe 8 pm and we are done. At 8 pm they were up and running, excited about every new ride. We ended up leaving Disneyland a little bit after 10 pm. There was something about Disney magic, plus great snacks, that kept them going all day long.

Keep in mind that approximately 30 min prior to fireworks and during the fireworks, for safety purposes, cast members close the rides in Fantasyland all the way from Sleeping Beauty’s Castle to King Arthur Carrousel (inclusive). After the fireworks, the wait time for the rides is shorter. If your kids are still going strong, then it is a perfect time to go on the rides you missed during the day.
I didn’t mention meeting Disney Characters. This was not on our list of priorities and that was my mistake. We randomly ran into Winnie the Pooh characters and it was the highlight of the trip. You can locate Disney Characters on the Disneyland app on the Characters tab. Apparently, you can bring Disney Autograph books where Disney characters can sign their name.
The Disneyland app has a map of the park and all the attractions, and even though I had a printed Excel spreadsheet, I had my moment when I wished I had printed the park map and circled out what rides we should go to first, second, third, etc.
And while you are at the park it is a good idea to check the Disneyland app for wait times and to avoid walking across the park only to find the ride temporarily closed. That’s where the backup phone batteries came in handy, as we were frequently checking our phones.
So, make a list of rides, plan your trip, and be ready for changes and corrections. Two of the rides we were planning on going on, were temporarily closed just after we got to them.

Food

The Disneyland app allows you to make restaurant reservations 60 days prior to the day of your trip. I learned that reservations fill up pretty quickly which makes it hard for somewhat large groups. Some websites recommend splitting the reservation for your group or walking in and see if there are any cancellations.

On the Disneyland website or app, you can see the locations and menus of places to eat. In some places, you can make a mobile order instead of waiting in line. In our group, we had some picky eaters and dietary restrictions, so I had to research menus for all the available places. Also, I wanted a healthy option for my kids. There is no restriction on bringing your own food to Disneyland.

Although there is a requirement that food and drink are “not in glass containers, do not require heating, reheating, processing or refrigeration and do not have pungent odors.” We packed: fruits, applesauce, small juice boxes, water, snacks, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch.

When packing food or snacks for your group, keep in mind the following restrictions from the Disneyland website:

“Coolers larger than 6-pack sized are not permitted into the theme parks. Note: Guests can store coolers up to 19″ wide x 24″ high x 31″ deep in rentable jumbo-sized lockers located outside the Disneyland Park Main Entrance. Lockers are not refrigerated and availability is limited. Guests who need to refrigerate medication may do so at First Aid. Exceptions may be made for special dietary or religious needs.
Loose or dry ice is not permitted and reusable ice packs are recommended.
No glass containers, with the exception of baby food containers, medicine or small perfume bottles (under 4 oz).”

We got dinner and dessert in Disneyland. Bengal Barbecue didn’t require reservations and had a pretty healthy menu. We were initially planning on doing a mobile order, but when we were about to place a mobile order, the pickup time showed about an hour. We left the parade early and walked to Bengal Barbecue to find that there was nobody in line, so we ordered and got our dinner in about 5 min.

There are drinking fountains throughout the park to refill your water bottle.

Baby care center

The baby care center is located between Plaza Inn and Plaza Point. It is right next to the First Aid. We didn’t visit it but it was my backup plan.

It could be a good spot to take a break with little children and recharge. There are the following amenities in the care center: a nursing room with chairs, changing room with tables, toddler-size toilets, a feeding area with highchairs, a kitchen with sink, bottle warmers, and microwave (select use only), a vending machine with formula, baby food, juice, diapers, wipes, sunscreen, pacifiers, and over-the-counter medication.

Parking

You can prepay for parking either when you are buying Disneyland tickets or on the Disneyland app. Here is more information about parking from the Disneyland website.

We parked in Pixar Pals Parking Structure and took a short walk over the pedestrian bridge to the Disney Park entrance. Another option was to take a tram but I just didn’t want to unload everything from the stroller.

Driving through the Parking structure was quite time-consuming, there were a lot of cars there before 8 am.