Task #20 Disney Fun

This entry is part 22 of 22 in the series Tackling Tasks

Taking Toddlers to Disney's Halloween Party

We had one big goal for today: Have fun at Disneyland for Mickey’s Halloween Party!  This goal became a task to tackle because we had some extremely fussy children for most of the day!  So I am going to give you a recap of our trip in the form of tips.  Hopefully I will remember these for next year and our trip will go much smoother.

Make sure you have all your baby’s comforts with you.

We brought blankets and toys, but as we were on our way out of town (in the car), remembered our W’s George (her snuggly).  She was fussy for most of the day and I think she would have been more comforted by the presence of her best cuddly friend.

Eat before you get into the party!

We ate before we headed out to the park (except for my husband), but we had a long drive to get there.  By the time we got there, we ALL needed something to eat and it took quite a lot of time to get everybody something to eat.  I think next year we will have a mini-picnic outside the park before we go in, so everybody is happy and well-fed (read: ready for junk food you can walk with!) We did take some snacks with us, but we needed something a bit more substantial by the time we got inside the park.

Change diapers and go to the restroom before you hit the line to get into the park.

The queue for simply getting in the park to get to the party is VERY long!  There are at least two bathrooms that I would recommend stopping at before you get in the line: the restrooms at the bottom of the Mickey and Friends parking structure and the restrooms located outside the front gate on the Disneyland side (closest to Downtown Disney).

Make sure to see one of the parades. 

We have not shown a lot of Disney movies and cartoons to our oldest yet, but she does know many of the characters.  This was an awesome opportunity for her to see all of the characters in one place.  She enjoyed waving and clapping along to the music.  She also LOVED all the dancers that walk/dance between the floats.  We opted to watch the parade close to the entrance of Mickey’s Toon Town so we could be close to the biggest event for our day.

Trick or Treat early at Mickey’s Toon Town.

Mickey’s Toon Town is closed on party days at 4 PM, but it opens for party-goers (you need to show your wrist band) from 5 PM – 7PM for early trick or treating.  Our goal was not to get candy, but to visit Mickey and Minnie’s houses.  BUT they have trick or treat locations inside their houses, so we were able to get all the candy we could want and see what we really wanted to see.  If we go again, Mickey’s Toon Town is where we will spend the bulk of our time.

Wait to visit the attractions in Fantasyland until after the party starts.

If trick or treating is not your goal for the party, wait to visit the attractions in Fantasyland with your young ones until after the party officially starts.  The lines are very, very short at this time.  We could have gone on any number of these rides very quickly.  The longest line was Dumbo the Flying Elephant which was 20 minutes when we got in line at the beginning of the party.

Slow down

To really enjoy the day, let your little ones direct your activities and movements around the park.  One of my favorite things for the day was when our little one saw a leaf on the ground and was so excited, she picked it up and carried it with her for quite some time, talking about it all the way through the park (can you tell we don’t see a lot of leaves where we live in the desert?).  Don’t be afraid to take a detour from your expected plan.  Your little ones will have more fun with the most basic things of the day.

Take the opportunity to teach patience and proper line etiquette.

This was one of our first experiences with line waiting.  We talked about giving people space (not crowding them), being patient, and not playing with the chain barriers.  There are not many parents who are teaching children proper manners for waiting in line lately.  I think I ran into a couple of them last night (one kid spit on my hand – yes!).

Have you been to Mickey’s Halloween Party with young ones?  What are your tips for making the day memorable?

Taking Toddlers to Mickey's Halloween Party


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