We spent some time at Disneyland this weekend! We had a great time, but let me just start by saying that 17 months is probably not the ideal age for a Disney trip, especially if you're shelling out
hundreds of dollars to get in. We were fortunate enough to be able to get into the park for free thanks to Brian's company event, so for us it was a great opportunity to have some family time. But I'm not sure we'll be going back on our own accord for a while... I'd say probably not until Kyle can stand in a 20+ minute line without having a meltdown.
Long-line meltdowns aside, we did have tons of fun. But the thing about Disneyland with a kid Kyle's age is that there aren't many places where they can get out, run around and release some energy. We don't feel comfortable yet having him hold our hand and walk in a big crowd, so we spent the day either holding him, or getting him in and out of the stroller. Most of the time he was pretty cooperative, but there were some times when he really just wanted to run around and explore and we had to coerce him back into the straps when we needed to give our arms a rest.
We met Brian at the park around 4 p.m. when he got out of his conference session for the day, and since we didn't want to stay out too late past Kyle's bed time we had a good 5 hours to enjoy. We decided to introduce Kyle to some classic rides:
- Carousel near the castle: a fun staple for little ones with a quick line. Kyle had sunscreen in is eyes at this point, so he didn't really have as much fun as I think he would have if his eyes didn't feel like they were on fire. Poor guy.
- Casey Jr. Circus Train: he loved this one! A mellow train ride perfect for little ones with stuff to look at. Goes just fast enough for a little thrill, but he wasn't scared at all.
- Dumbo: this line was a little too long for Kyle's liking (around 20 minutes), so he was pretty restless by the time we boarded our elephant. But once he got on he was thrilled to play with the joystick and look out at the crowds while we flew in circles.
- Toon Town: we spent a good amount of time walking around Toon Town just looking at the buildings, and found a playground for toddlers. This was Kyle's favorite thing because he was finally able to run around on his own! Brian and I were ready to leave this area after about 10 minutes (I mean, we can go down a crappy slide every day at the park! It's Disneyland!), but Kyle would have stayed in here all night if we let him. We finally peeled him away after about 40 minutes.
- It's a Small World: I think this was Kyle's favorite. He was so excited to go through the tunnels and watch all the kids dance, and kept pointing at everything. Although he was totally ready to get out by the time it was over, because this ride is pretty darn long.
- Jungle Cruise: This ride may be a little scary for kiddos (there's some dead animals, head shrinkers, witch doctor and cannibals, after all), but Kyle was perfectly cool with it. It was dark and he was pretty tired at this point, but he sat between me and Brian on the bench soaking it all in and making appropriate animal noises :)
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| high-5 for Donald! |
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| Dumbo! |
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| Picked out a Donald toy. So excited. |
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| It's a Small World. |
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| Tired boy waiting for Jungle Cruise. |
The next night, Kyle's grandma babysat for us so we were able to attend Brian's work dinner inside California Adventure and enjoy some hub & wife alone time. It was so awesome to have time in the park with the 3 of us, and then be able to have some adult fun, too. We're so lucky that Kyle has family to take care of him so we can remember what it's like to enjoy each other's company from time to time.
PS - The World of Color show is so, so good. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend checking it out if you have the chance!
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