From: hough@seismo.gps.caltech.edu (Susan Hough)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Disneyland Hints
Date: 6 Nov 1992 00:14:48 GMT
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
NNTP-Posting-Host: earth.gps.caltech.edu
Summary: ok, here's mine

In article <1992Nov05.030023.2220417@locus.com> judy@locus.com (Judy Leedom Tyrer) writes:
>In article <1992Nov3.224157.11739@pmafire.inel.gov> geoff@pmafire.inel.gov (Geoff Allen) writes:
>>
>>Get strollers!  As a minimum, you'll want strollers for the 9-month-old
>>and the 3-year-old.  We'll assume the 5-year-old's endurance is enough
>>to make it through the days.
>
>I recommend bringing your own.  The Disneyland strollers aren't that
>comfortable and they don't fold up so you can't use them to reserve

They also don't recline for good naps

>>>What rides should we hit first?  What rides should we avoid? 
>>
>>On the ``approved'' list:
>>
>>	It's a Small World
>
>This is closed due to construction of "Toon Town".  So is Videopolis.

I seem to remember hearing that Small World would re-open at the
end of November (we were there last Sunday).
 
>>	Star Tours (doing a ``baby swap'' for the one(s) who are too
>>		small, see below if you don't know what that is; the
>>		line is still worth it for the little ones)
>
>There is no height limit so the 3 YO can go on this one.

You're right, there is just an age limit (3 yrs), but I would not
take a 3-4 yr old on this ride.  For the uninitiated, you sit in a
seat on a big platform & they simulate a ride through space.  It
sounds like it couldn't possibly be much to handle, but it is
_intense_.

>>	Pirates of the Carribbean (dark; Pirates shoot at you; two short
>>		drops)
>
>No problem with my kids.  

My 2 yr old screamed his way through this ride, and Peter Pan.

>>	Mad Tea Party
>The secret here is not to teach your children about spinning the tea cups.
>Just sit and enjoy.

Enjoy?   If you have a low tolerance for being
spun in circles, this one and Space Mountain are To Be Avoided. 
 
>>I understand Von's has had something with the purchase of $50 or more in
>>groceries.  Don't know if it's still going on or not.  (I live in
>>Idaho.)  Check with a local Von's market.
>
>That ended Nov. 1 and you're lucky it did.  The park was way too crowded
>during October.

Nope!  It was extended through 11/15.  But we went on 11/1 and it wasn't
all that bad.

But in general, it is always best to get to Disneyland a bit before it
opens.  If you want to go on any of the following rides on a weekend
without a 30-45 min wait, you have to go in the first 1-1 1/2 hrs 
that the park is open: Dumbo, Peter Pan, Splash Mtn, Space Mtn, Star Tours,
the Matterhorn.  It is best to save things like Country Bears and
the Disneyland railroad for the peak crowd hours, about noon-4 pm.  

My experience is that a lot of what Disney considers kiddie
rides can still be intense for the under-3 crowd.  Our kids, as toddlers,
have liked the following:  Small World, Country Bear Jamboree, Tom Sawyer's
Island, the petting zoo (yes! there is a petting zoo!), and the
Tiki Room (for those of you who think that Small World is saccharin).
They also like the costumed characters, who in the winter are out only
on weekends; good places to look for them include the front of Main Street, or
in Tomarrow Land, or near Splash Mtn.

Hi-ho,

Sue