Disneyland!

[JesseVader08]

Out of the blue, my family may be going to Disneyland - definitely a "last minute" decision, because we would be going August 27 to September 1, less than 3 weeks away.       My wife, nearly 4 year old daughter and mother-in-law would be going, but I'm still scrambling to see if I can get the time off work.

I've a 29 year old big kid that's never been to Disneyland, so does anyone have any "must sees" for a fairly quick visit (only 4 days)?

[Ryan]

Indiana Jones and Star tours. Don't miss them. Your daughter, may not be a fan of Indy though, it can be a bit fast. But I'm sure you'd love it. And Star Tours is family friendly, and it is Star Wars of course. I really like the Madahorn (sp?) It is some mountain ride with a Yetti. And Splash Mountain is a lot of fun, you don't find to many log rides anymore. There is anotther ride, I don't remember the name, it was right by star Tours, it is a monorail like track with little black cars, it is a lot of fun. There is one more, I can't remember the name but it isd  an indoor space roller coater, again might not be the best for the little one, but I'm guessing you'll like it. I hope you can get work off, it is well worth it.

[JediMAC]

As an avid completist, I feel you need to go on every ride in the park (actually, both parks), in order for your visit to be considered a success.

Good luck.

[jedipurge]

dress for very warm weather but bring a jacket for your daughter.  i'm a season pass holder and go all the time.  go to california adventure for lunch in  ariel's grotto your daughter will love it try to sit by the water it can be relaxing.  also go to the Alladin play, it's cool even for adults but don't sit to close as there is a giant snake jafar that comes out of the stage, my daughter got scared out of her mind.  besides some stuff at the bugs land for kids that's about it.  ca advent kinda sucks.  anyway for d-land if your going to be there for four days now is the time with the 50th bday thing going on you can't miss the fireworks show in front of the castle is where you'll want to see them but they also have something going on over at a small world.  try to see Fantasmic it's very cool.  it's a good time just remember bring/drink lots of water because standing in those lines in this heat is killer especially with kids.  definatley try to go during the week if you can avoid going on Sat. at all cost unless that's the day you go to California Adven.  rides to go on: indy jones, star tours, matterhorn, alice n wonderland, snow white can be scary for kids, small world, pretty much all the rides you go on are going to be good.  check out www.miceage.com for a good d-land website.  my 2 cents.

[Morgbug]

Get the Insider's guide to Disney or whatever the proper title is.  My sister has it and it's got all manner of tips for finding out of the way things like characters for pics.  I'm sure your daughter would love a pic with a Princess.

[Diddly]

It sounds like you'll have to do a mix of kiddy and regular rides if you have a 4 year old. I'd say that you should definately ride Star Tours (duh ), Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, and Splash Mountain. The last three may be too scary for your daughter, unless she likes dark/tall roller coasters. I'd also do that Runaway Mine Train ride, it's a lot of fun, as is Pirates of the Caribbean.

There's also a train ride that tours around the park, and stops at each section. It's really neat, and there's a lot of cool stuff to see. There's also a Tom Sawyer ferry ride that's neat, as you get to see a lot of old 1800s wilderness stuff.

Also, on rides, USE FASTPASS! I cannot stress how great it is. You get a ticket and come back to the ride within the time listed on your ticket. When you arrive at said time, you get to cut like 75% of the line! It's great. Get Fastpasses for popular rides like Splash Mountain when you first get there, then go wait in line for another ride, then go back. That's what my family did, and it works out well.

That being said, hope you have a good time!

EDIT: Oh, and bring money too.

[Ook]

Dude, don't miss Pirates or the Mansion. And since it's the 50th, be sure and check out the fireworks show!

[JesseVader08]

Wow, some great ideas already!

Actually, when it comes to rides, I'm more of a concern - I can't handle roller costers or wild rides like that.     My daughter would probably tolerate them better than me!

Also, on rides, USE FASTPASS!

Thanks, that should save us a lot of time standing in line.   

Get the Insider's guide to Disney or whatever the proper title is.

Any idea how I get my hands on this?  I searched Disneyland's website, but I can't find it.

Indiana Jones and Star tours. Don't miss them.

You know I'll be on those rides. 

go to california adventure for lunch in  ariel's grotto your daughter will love it try to sit by the water it can be relaxing.  also go to the Alladin play, it's cool even for adults but don't sit to close as there is a giant snake jafar that comes out of the stage, my daughter got scared out of her mind.

Very crucial info, thanks!

[Paul]

All of this is excellent advice...

I took my first trip to Disney this year, but it was to Disney World...

As a daddy with a 4 year old daughter as well....here is my recommendation...

A decent backpack that you can put all the essential ponchos, sanitizers, fruit snacks and bottled waters in.  I lugged an extra 15lbs around and it was worth it.

My other recommendation is get an Autograph book and some sharpies and bring a camera.  I put the sharpies and book in separate zip-locks but in the easy to access pocket.  My daughter enjoyed seeing the characters (not JUST the Princesses).   To her those were REALLY the characters, not just some college student from Brazil in a Pooh or Mickey suit.  I had more fun watching her and experiencing the magic with her than I did spending WAY too much money at Tatooine Traders...

As much as a whip as it may seem to take your Mother In Law (or stereotypically it would)....my parents went with us and it really was nice to have a third LAP or set of arms for my daughter.  It made it easier to get photos etc.

You'll have a great time, I've never had as good a time as I had at Disney.  They know how to treat EVERYBODY, not just the kids.

[Matt_Fury]

The Indiana Jones ride definitely!  Last time I was there we rode that thing like 10 times!

[Morgbug]

I'll call my sister and ask her the real title of the book Jesse.  Disney won't admit to any of the stuff in the book as they basically tell you how to avoid lines (lines don't happen), where to find characters you'd otherwise likely miss (our characters are all available all the time) and some other nifty information.  The book also stresses the importance of the fastpass as Diddly indicates. 

Something you won't be able to use out of the book is the timing for smaller crowds information.  Obviously your schedule is pretty well set and I think you're probably going at a fairly busy time.  Still, a ton of fun. 

Our next vacation was supposed to be to Disney (what my wife wanted) but we asked Sydney where she wanted to go, Hawaii or Disney and there was absolutely no hesitation: Hawaii.  So that's where we'll be going again, probably around February of 2006.

[MetalJedi]

Two words. Haunted Mansion. Too bad your not going during Christmas cause they deck it out in a Nightmare Before Christmas theme which is really cool(well to me it is).

Not sure how your daughter does on rides but the Tea Cups are fun. Also Toon Town is very cool for the kids.

[vegastrooper]

Visit the Star Trader and take a picture of your daughter standing next to the giant sized Clone Wars Yoda Maquette...

[JediMAC]

Hopefully you're still gonna be able to go, Jesse!  It'd suck if your days off right now with pneumonia prevented you from getting a few days off later this month...    But assuming you do still get out here, first and foremost, get together with my ass at some point.  Then, regarding the actual park, you'll definitely need to hit most of the aforementioned places:

Star Tours
Indiana Jones
Pirates of the Carribean
Haunted Mansion

Those have always been my 4 favorites anyway.  I guess if you don't like coasters, you can skip Space Mountain, Matterhorn, and Thunder Mountain then.  What about log rides with big drops?  If that's doable, then hit Splash Mountain.

For your girl, you'll have to hit Small World, without a doubt.  Then wander around the various rides in Fantasy Land (Snow White, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, etc.) and hit up "Toon Town" which has a LOT more kiddie stuff.  I hear that new fireworks show really kicks ass too, so I suggest scoping that out (it's kinda late though - 9:30pm, I think).  Your daughter will love the new parade too, so find a good spot (early) for that.

The book also stresses the importance of the fastpass as Diddly indicates.

Most definitely.  A highly intelligent person can virtually eliminate the lines completely (or at least any lines longer than 10-15 minutes) by using the FastPass tickets.  Whenever I go to DL, I basically just run around and collect hoarde those FP tix everywhere.  Just accumulate a whole bunch as the day goes on, and since they're good for the rest of the day (IIRC), you can go back to those rides/attractions anytime later on (after an hour) and just stand in the very short FastPass line.  The common misconception is that you can only have one FastPass ticket at a time.  Screw that.  Grab a ****load of 'em everywhere you go!  I'm always amazed at the stupid people standing in the monster lines for a good hour or two, when I can just walk up to all the same rides and hop in the 5-10 minute FastPass line.  Duh... 

Keep us posted on your travel plans, Jess!  Good luck on making it out here...

[Diddly]

Actually, I think there's a certain time limit on Fastpasses. You get one Fastpass per ticket, and once you get a Fastpass for one ride, you can't get another Fastpass for like 30 minutes to an hour, I believe.

Then again, it's been over a year since I've been to a Disney park, so they may have changed it if you're able to collect them, Matt. Unless you buy multiple tickets for yourself.