Over the summer, my husband and I started talking about where we wanted to go for a September vacation. We didn’t have a specific destination in mind at first, but with a 2-year-old, Disneyland quickly came up as an option. We had taken our daughter to Disneyland the previous September when she was just over a year old, and even though she had so much fun, we knew this trip would feel completely different.
At 2 years old, she is at such a fun age. She’s starting to recognize characters, gets genuinely excited about things she loves, and is able to understand and participate in experiences so much more than she could a year ago. We remembered how much fun our first trip was and thought, why not do it again? We had a feeling she was going to love it even more this time—and we were right.
This trip was also a little different because it was just the three of us. Last year, we went with my parents and my brother and sister-in-law, which made for such a fun family vacation. This time, it was just me, my husband and our daughter, and I really loved getting to experience Disneyland as our own little family.
We made a whole week out of it, heading down on a Monday and coming home on Friday, with two full days at the parks. We also stayed at the Disneyland Hotel again, which made the trip feel extra special and familiar.
More than anything, I was just excited to experience the Disney magic with her all over again. There’s something about experiencing Disneyland through your child’s eyes that makes you see it differently yourself. And this time, she was old enough to really take it all in. I couldn’t wait to see her reactions, watch her get excited about the characters and rides, dress her in all the cute Disney outfits I had planned, and make a whole new set of memories together. Of course, I also knew there would probably be some toddler chaos mixed in with the magic—but honestly, that’s part of the fun!
Disneyland Hotel
We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel for the first time on our trip last year, and it was love at first sight. You can truly feel the Disney magic the moment you walk through the doors. So when we started planning this trip, staying there again was an easy decision. This time, we stayed in a 1 Bedroom Family Suite in the Frontier Tower (same as last year), but this time on the 12th floor, and it was even better than I remembered! Our room had an incredible view of Downtown Disney, Disneyland and California Adventure!
I’ve said this before, but I have become a huge fan of suites when traveling with a toddler. Being able to put our daughter to bed in the bedroom while my husband and I can still hang out in the living room is such a luxury compared to sitting quietly in the dark in a standard hotel room.
The hotel itself is filled with little Disney touches that make the stay feel like part of the vacation. One of my favorite details is the headboard, which lights up while playing a Disney lullaby. There’s just something so fun about being surrounded by that little bit of magic even when you’re back at the hotel. And with a toddler, I especially loved how close the hotel is to the parks. The easy walk to the park entrance made getting back and forth with a stroller so convenient.
Overall, the Disneyland Hotel was 100% worth the extra cost for us. Between the location, the spacious room, the pool, the views and all of the little Disney details, it made the entire trip feel more special. After staying there twice now, I have a feeling it may become our new go-to hotel whenever we visit Disneyland.
Day 1 - Arrival
We departed on an early flight Monday morning. The flight time from Nor Cal to So Cal is so quick, so it wasn’t too bad with a toddler. We did purchase a few new toys for her, including multiple sticker books and I highly recommend! She LOVES stickers so much and it entertained her for quite some time.
Hotel Check In
We landed in Southern California late morning and we were able to grab our rental car pretty quickly. Our daughter fell asleep on the way to the hotel, so we changed plans and decided to swing by the grocery store and grab lunch so we could let her continue sleeping in the car. She eventually woke up and we continued on our way to the Disneyland Hotel; however, unfortunately, we were not able to check in early and we ended up having to wait ~3 hours for our room to be ready.
It was an oversight by me, thinking we would be able to check into our room early on a Monday (a lot of families visit the parks over the weekends and were checking out on Monday morning). Again, we changed plans and decided to explore the hotel, and also grab some lunch for our daughter (since she was asleep when my husband and I ate). Thankfully the Disneyland Hotel has a little TV area that shows some Disney classics, and that helped entertain our daughter.
Then around 3:00pm, Disney characters started doing meet and greets in the hotel lobby, and that really peaked our daughter’s interest. While our daughter still refuses to interact with the characters (I get it, they’re kind of creepy, especially after being used to seeing them on a screen vs in real life), she did want to be within feet of them so she could look at them. She got to see a lot of characters including Goofy, Pluto, and Chip & Dale!
Around 4:00pm we were finally able to check into our room and relax a bit before dinner. Again, the room we stayed in was incredible with the view—so it was worth the wait!
Storytellers Cafe
One of the highlights of our trip was dinner at Storytellers Cafe (located in Grand Californian Hotel). Storytellers Cafe offers seasonal celebrations depending on the time you visit — our reservation was for Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner, which featured Clarabelle herself, along with her friends Goofy, Daisy, Donald and Pluto. It was our first time experiencing this particular character dinner, so we were excited to see what our daughter would think.
Our daughter’s first experience with character dining was last year when we had breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen. At the time, she was pretty terrified whenever the characters got too close to her. While she still hasn’t completely warmed up to characters, she’s definitely much more interested in them now and loves watching them from a comfortable distance. During dinner, she especially loved when the characters would dance and interact throughout the restaurant, but she was still not a fan when they tried to make their way over to our table. I did, however, manage to get a picture with Pluto—so I’ll count that as a win!
As for the food, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and variety. I would definitely rank this as one of our better character dining experiences when it comes to the food itself. There was a great selection, from multiple salads and sides to sliced roast turkey with mashed potatoes and lobster spinach ravioli. I tried a little bit of everything and was genuinely impressed with how good everything tasted. Character dining at Disneyland certainly isn’t cheap, and this is one of the more expensive options, but based on our experience, I felt like the food and overall experience were worth the price.
Packing for the Parks
See below for what I packed in my Disneyland Diaper Bag:
- Portable changing pad
- Wipes (from all purpose wipes to sanitizing wipes, all came in handy)
- 1 extra outfit (since we were staying at the Disneyland Hotel, I didn’t feel like we needed more than 1 extra outfit, as we could restock if needed during our mid-day break)
- Wet bag (these are always important to have in a diaper bag in case of any wet accidents)
- Snacks (pack those easy non-perishable foods that you know your baby likes — I put some snacks in my purse backpack as well so our daughter could snack in line)
- Sunscreen, sunglasses, hat (to protect our daughter’s skin and eyes from the sun)
- Jacket (we used in the morning and late evening when it was a bit chillier)
- Purse backpack (to pack the essentials to take on the ride, including phone, wallet, Emma’s water bottle and snacks, hand sanitizer, and Kleenex)
We left our diaper bag in the stroller while we rode rides, and I took my purse backpack on the rides with us. The purse backpack fit perfectly by my feet on the rides.
Day 2 - Disneyland
Our goal for the first morning was to get to Disneyland just a few minutes before rope drop. Since we were staying at the Disneyland Hotel, we had the luxury of being just a short walk away. We woke up around 6:45 a.m. and left our room around 7:15–7:30 a.m., giving us plenty of time to make our way through Downtown Disney security and, of course, stop at Starbucks for coffee and pastries. Priorities!
Morning Strategy
For Day 1, we had a single-park ticket and planned to spend the entire day at Disneyland. We made it to the ropes with about five minutes to spare—which felt like a pretty good accomplishment considering we were definitely not the first people there! Our first stop was Fantasyland. Our daughter’s very first Disney ride was Dumbo on our trip last year, and this time we were hoping to make Peter Pan’s Flight our first ride. Unfortunately, it was temporarily closed when we arrived, so we headed over to Dumbo instead. As luck would have it, Peter Pan reopened just a few minutes later, so we quickly switched plans and jumped into the Peter Pan line.
Our daughter was initially a little nervous once the rides got dark and immediately buried her head into our shoulders. But her curiosity eventually won out, and she kept peeking up to see what was happening. My husband and I held her close and reassured her that we were right there and that she was safe. By the end of the ride, we asked her if she had fun—and got a very enthusiastic “yes!”
We spent the rest of the morning exploring Fantasyland, riding the carousel—which is officially our daughter’s favorite—along with Casey Jr. Circus Train (a first for me!), Alice in Wonderland and “it’s a small world.” After grabbing some lunch, we wandered through the Fantasyland shops, where our daughter immediately made a beeline for all things Rex. Around 12:30 p.m., we decided it was time to head back to the hotel so she could nap around 1:00. And honestly, the adults were just as ready for a break. We put our toddler down for her nap and then happily snuck in a nap of our own. Even at Disneyland, sometimes Mom and Dad need a little midday recharge!
Afternoon Strategy
After nap time, we headed back to Disneyland feeling refreshed and ready for round two! We started with some photos at the front of the park and then made our way over to the Walt Disney and Mickey statue near the castle. Of course, no afternoon at Disneyland would be complete without a stop at the Tiki Juice Bar for a refreshing Dole Whip. Once we finished our treat, we headed into Adventureland for Pirates of the Caribbean.
Our daughter did surprisingly well waiting in the 20+ minute line for Pirates, which was a pleasant surprise. This ended up being the only ride of the day that brought her to tears. She got a little wet after the first drop and let out a small cry/whine before my husband cuddled her close and helped her settle back in. Once she got comfortable with the darkness and started taking in everything around her, she was fine. Since we were already nearby, we also hopped on Winnie the Pooh—which was about as bright and cheerful as you could imagine after the darkness of Pirates!
After exploring a few more shops, we headed over to Tomorrowland for dinner at Galactic Grill. By this point, we were all getting a little tired, but our daughter still had plenty of energy. After dinner, we made our way back toward Fantasyland because, naturally, she wanted to ride her favorite—the carousel—again. We thought that would be our final ride of the night, but on our way out she spotted Pinocchio and immediately decided she wanted to ride it. She has never even watched the movie Pinocchio, but that didn’t seem to matter! The line was short, so we went for it, and she ended up loving the ride. Before leaving the park, we made one final stop at Gibson Girl for some ice cream, because ending the night with ice cream just felt right.
Overall, we spent about 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Disneyland, with a three-hour break in the middle of the day for nap time. Twelve hours at Disneyland with a 2-year-old might sound ambitious, but the midday break made all the difference. Everyone made it through the day happy, tired and with plenty of good memories. I’d call Day 1 a definite success!
Day 3 - Disneyland and California Adventure
For Day 2, we had a Park Hopper ticket, which meant we could easily go between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure throughout the day. Since we hadn’t spent any time at California Adventure on this trip, we decided to start our morning there. We followed a similar routine to the day before—waking up around 6:45 a.m., leaving the hotel around 7:15–7:30 a.m., and making our obligatory Starbucks stop in Downtown Disney. Once again, we made it to rope drop with about five minutes to spare!
Morning Strategy
We started our morning over at Pixar Pier, with Toy Story Midway Mania as our first ride. Our daughter absolutely loves Toy Story, so this was an obvious choice, and it was an instant hit. Jessie’s Critter Carousel was right next door, so we hopped on that one as well. With the relatively short lines, we were able to get through both rides quickly before heading over to The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure and Monsters, Inc. These ended up being some of our daughter’s favorite rides of the trip, likely because they were brighter, had catchy music and plenty of familiar voices and characters.
While we were on Pixar Pier, we noticed that Jessie and Buzz Lightyear were doing character meet-and-greets that morning, so we headed back to get in line. Our daughter was still a little nervous about getting too close to the characters, but she loved watching them from a safe distance and happily smiled for our pictures. After our character meet-and-greets, we still had some time before lunch, so we decided to take advantage of our Park Hopper and cross back over to Disneyland for a ride on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.
By lunchtime, we had already packed a lot into our morning, so we headed back to the hotel for some downtime. Just like the day before, the midday nap and recharge was exactly what we needed to keep everyone happy and energized for the rest of the day.
Afternoon Strategy
After a nice two-hour nap for our daughter, we all woke up feeling refreshed and ready to head back to the parks. The temperature had climbed a bit during the afternoon, so we decided to start back at Disney California Adventure with Turtle Talk with Crush. My husband had never been inside the Animation building before and absolutely loved it—especially the air conditioning! I had never experienced Turtle Talk with Crush, and it ended up being such a cute, interactive experience for all the kids. It was a nice, low-key way to ease back into the afternoon.
Once we felt like we had checked everything off our California Adventure list, we headed back over to Disneyland to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening there. We had one Lightning Lane to use as a perk of staying at the Disneyland Hotel, so we decided to use it on the Haunted Mansion, which had a posted 60-minute wait. Haunted Mansion is one of my absolute favorite rides, so I was more than happy to use our Lightning Lane there! I especially love when they decorate the ride for Halloween and Christmas, and this trip made me even more excited to introduce our daughter to The Nightmare Before Christmas this year.
Somehow, we had made it through our entire Disney adventure without visiting Toontown, so we headed over there next to let our daughter run around and explore. She loved climbing on the logs and checking out some of the characters’ houses, and I have to say, Toontown is just so cute! There also seemed to be character meet-and-greets happening around every corner, which made it a fun area to explore even though we weren’t quite ready for our daughter to get up close with the characters.
After Toontown, we made our way back to Tomorrowland for dinner at Pizza Planet. As you can probably tell by now, our daughter loves Toy Story, so pretty much anything that ties into Toy Story is an instant hit with her. After dinner, we had just enough time to head back toward Fantasyland, where our daughter finally decided she was ready to ride Dumbo. The posted wait time was 20 minutes, but it ended up being closer to 30—which, we discovered, is apparently right around the limit of her toddler patience. We think 20 minutes, maybe 25, is about her maximum for a stationary line! Still, it felt like the perfect way to end our trip. Dumbo was the very first Disney ride she ever went on the year before, so ending this trip on the same ride felt like such a sweet full-circle moment.
Once again, we spent about 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the parks, with a three-hour break in the middle of the day. Somehow, we managed to pack so much into our two park days without ever feeling overly rushed or stressed. We were able to go at our own pace, take breaks when we needed them, enjoy the little details and still experience so many of the rides and attractions we wanted to do. More than anything, I loved that this trip felt less like trying to “do everything” and more like simply enjoying Disneyland together as a family. It was truly an amazing trip, and I already know we’ll be talking about it for a long time.
Disneyland With a 2-Year-Old: What It's Really Like
Taking a 2-year-old to Disneyland is definitely a different experience than going without kids, but honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by how well our daughter handled the trip. At 27 months, she was old enough to really participate and have opinions about what she wanted to do, but still young enough that we had to work around her needs and limits. Here’s what it was really like for us.
Nap Schedule
Our daughter has always been a good sleeper, and girl likes her sleep! So, similar to our trip the year before, we tried our best to stick to her normal nap schedule. She currently takes one nap a day for about two hours, usually sometime between 12:30 and 3:00 p.m. We knew we could be flexible if needed—if she had fallen asleep in the stroller before nap time, we would have just gone with it and let her take a stroller nap. But thankfully, she was perfectly happy to head back to the hotel each afternoon for a proper nap. And honestly, Mom and Dad were more than happy to take advantage of that break too!
Meals
Meals were probably one of the trickier parts of the trip. Disneyland has plenty of traditional kids’ meals, but our daughter doesn’t always eat the foods that typically come with them. I also felt like there weren’t quite as many healthy options as I would have liked, although admittedly, we probably could have looked a little harder. We packed plenty of snacks for each day, which definitely helped, but there’s no denying that her diet went a little downhill during our Disney vacation. Sometimes you just have to embrace the vacation food!
Walking & Stroller Use
After two full days at the parks, my husband’s and my feet were definitely sore, but surprisingly, the walking itself wasn’t too bad. We took plenty of breaks throughout the day, so I never felt like we were constantly on the move. I also bought a pair of HOKAs before the trip, and I definitely think they helped!
As for our daughter, the stroller was an absolute necessity. She walked plenty throughout the day, but having the stroller meant we could move more quickly when we needed to without having to carry her. And at this point, I definitely don’t have the arm strength to hold a 2-year-old for extended periods of time anymore! There was also stroller parking throughout the parks, so it was easy to leave the stroller behind when we went on rides or into certain areas. I never really felt worried about someone stealing our stroller—or even the diaper bag we sometimes left inside it.
Meltdowns
Thankfully, we didn’t have too many meltdowns! If anything, I think I stressed myself out more than I needed to about the possibility of them. Our daughter was honestly such a trooper throughout the trip. She loved exploring, taking everything in and moving from one new experience to the next. Of course, there were a few moments where she was tired, frustrated or simply ready to move on, but overall, she handled the trip incredibly well.
Waiting in Lines
We tried to avoid any rides with wait times longer than about 15–20 minutes whenever possible. There were only a couple of times when we waited longer than that, including Dumbo and Pirates of the Caribbean. Overall, our daughter did surprisingly well in lines. There was plenty for her to look at and people-watch, and we also kept snacks handy as an additional form of entertainment.
The biggest challenge was definitely the static lines. There were moments when she wanted to get up and walk around, and being stuck in one spot made things a little tougher. But for the most part, we managed. I think knowing our daughter’s limits and not trying to force her to wait in every long line made a big difference.
How Much Did She Actually Understand?
I feel like I underestimate my daughter sometimes because she really is so smart and observant. I don’t think she fully understood the overarching concept of what Disneyland or California Adventure actually are, but she absolutely understood that the rides were fun and that we were somewhere exciting.
She’s also incredibly curious, so she loved taking everything in. She was just as interested in exploring the stores, looking at all the decorations and watching what was happening around her as she was riding the attractions. At this age, I think so much of the magic comes from simply letting them explore and experience things at their own pace.
What She Loved Most
Without a doubt, the carousel was her favorite ride. She asked to ride it multiple times and would have happily kept going! She also loved anything Toy Story-related, which made our time at Pixar Pier especially fun. Seeing her get genuinely excited about the things she already loved was one of my favorite parts of the entire trip.
And the Characters?
Characters were probably the one area where she was still a little hesitant. I wouldn’t say she ignored them—she was actually very interested in watching them—but she definitely did not want to get too close. She loved watching them dance and interact throughout the parks and restaurants, and she was happy to smile for pictures from a safe distance. But when it came time for a character to actually walk up to our table or stand right next to her, she wasn’t quite ready for that yet.
And honestly, that’s one of the things I loved most about this trip. At 2 years old, she had very clear opinions about what she liked, what she didn’t like and what she was ready for. We didn’t need her to experience Disneyland any particular way. We just followed her lead, gave her plenty of breaks and let her take it all in at her own pace. For us, that made the entire experience feel much more relaxed—and a lot more fun.
Day 4 - Pool Day & Relax
Morning Time
For our last full day at Disneyland, I intentionally planned for a slower start. After two pretty packed days at the parks, we were ready for a morning without a strict schedule. We started with breakfast at Craftsman Bar & Grill at the Grand Californian Hotel, which I chose specifically for one very important reason: the Mickey-shaped waffles! Naturally, we ordered them for our daughter. My husband went with the smoked salmon bagel sandwich, while I ordered the American breakfast. I was a little disappointed with my scrambled eggs, but luckily our daughter was generous enough to share her waffles with me.
The maple syrup must have given our little lady a serious sugar rush because she was running all over Downtown Disney after breakfast! We wandered through a handful of shops before heading back to the hotel for some downtime and leisure time. After a relaxing morning, we decided to grab lunch at Ballast Point Brewing in Downtown Disney, and it was delicious.
Honestly, it was exactly the kind of morning we needed. After spending the previous two days in full-on go-go-go mode at the parks, it was nice to slow down, wander around without an agenda and simply enjoy some time together as a family. Sometimes the unplanned, leisurely parts of a Disney trip end up being just as enjoyable as the park days themselves.
Afternoon Pool Time
One of our favorite parts of the trip was spending a day enjoying the pools at the Disneyland Hotel. We were lucky enough to have our daughter’s aunt and uncle join us, which made the pool day even more fun and gave us some extra family time.
We spent most of our time over by the Disneyland Hotel Villas at the Steamboat Willie splash pad, which our daughter absolutely loved. She had a blast running around and playing in the water—and got splashed directly in the face more times than I can count, without it slowing her down one bit! We also spent some time in the big pool, where she loved kicking, splashing and showing off her swimming skills.
Of course, no pool day would be complete without a stop at the Palm Breeze Bar for some drinks. We grabbed a few snacks, settled into the lounge chairs and enjoyed a much slower pace than our park days. It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon—letting our daughter play, relaxing by the pool and getting some quality time with family.
Evening Dinner Time
We capped off our final day with dinner at Centrico in Downtown Disney with my brother and sister-in-law. We enjoyed some delicious Mexican food and got in even more quality family time with Emma’s aunt and uncle. My husband and sister-in-law split a pitcher of margaritas—because apparently that was a much better deal than ordering them individually!
After dinner, we popped into Pelé Soccer, where my husband picked up a Chelsea FC jersey. Our daughter had a blast kicking the soccer ball around the store, which was a pretty perfect way to end the evening for both of them. We were way too full for dessert at Salt & Straw, so instead, we headed back to the hotel and spent another hour or two hanging out, chatting, catching up and simply enjoying that extra time together.
Eventually, it was time to put our daughter to bed, and as we settled in for the night, we couldn’t help but feel like we had just had the best family vacation ever. We definitely weren’t ready to leave the next morning—especially knowing we had an early wake-up call waiting for us—but we were so grateful for the memories we had made. Between the parks, the pool days, the rides, the toddler adventures and all the time spent with family, it was truly such a special trip. I only wish we could have stayed a few more days!
Cost Breakdown
Disneyland Hotel 1 Bedroom Family Suite (4 nights) $5,559
Disneyland Hotel Parking $180 ($45/night)
Disneyland Ticket $556 (for 1-Day Ticket with Admission to 1 Park (x2) + 1-Day Park Hopper Ticket (x2))
Disneyland Park Food and Drink $400
Disneyland Souvenirs $600
Rental Car $340
Total: $7,635