We are going to California for Christmas and thinking about taking our kids for a day. Can anyone make recommendations?

Our kids are 2, almost a year and 4.5 years old.

We are going to drive down in the morning (about 2. 5 hours), then go to the park, spend the night and go home. Is this too much time? Too little? Etc

also, what hotels can you recommend?

I think 5 hours driving and walking around Disneyland is too much to do in one day. So spending the night is a good idea.

I don't know whether a two year old gets much from Disneyland, but the 4.5 year old should like it.

The Candy Cane Inn and the Holiday Inn get good recommendations. The good neighbor hotels on Harbor Blvd are within walking distance of the park. Check the Disney website for maps and links.

If you're coming this time of year, it's not necessarily pool weather, so I wouldn't worry about that feature.

thanks. I am looking at the double tree as it is a suite and we can definitly utilize the 2 rooms.

There are some other suite hotels on Harbor, closer to the park than the Doubletree. North of Katella is more convenient. Somewhere in the vicinity of the Park Vue is the closest point to the entrance.

Hopefully this map link works. You can search the Disney hotel website for suite hotels.

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disn...apOverviewPage

thanks for the map. It will be helpful.

Here is a very important tip: Mr Toad's Wild Ride is scary for little kids! Do not take your children on it first thing because then they will refuse to go on any other rides that are inside, like It's a Small World and Pooh's Heffalump Ride. Yeah, I might have done that and ruined what could have been a fun day with my three year old!

I've stayed at the Howard Johnson's and it was great...within walking distance of the entrance.

Jill in CO

We have stayed at the Howard Johnson's. Very convenient. But if you are driving down for one day you won't need a hotel.

boyney, the OP said they would stay overnight before going home.

we are going to stay over night. It is too much to do drive there in one day and go to the parks, then come home. It is 2. 5 hours one way.

Be aware that Disnneyland is very crowded at Christmas time but I just love the decorations and Christmas atmosphere. Just plan accordingly and realize you may spend a lot of time in lines. You will be glad to have a hotel room to go back to in the afternoon for a rest. Since this is a very busy time, I'd get reservations ASAP. Have a good time at one of my favorite places.

Since your kids are young, just concentrate on Disneyland, Don't consider trying to do California Adventure area.
Hopefully your kids will sleep in the car on the way there and be ready to roll upon arrival. Try to be there when the park opens. The first couple of hours are the lightest.
Some of the rides are not crowded while the parades are happening, but if you do the rides then you miss the parades. The parades are definately a great thing to see.
I would go ahead and get tickets now. It is possible for them to reach their peak and they stop any further tickets sales until people start exiting the park.

you do know that that is the busiest time of the year ?

and that the best advice is to get their at rope drop (when they open) ?

I, personally, would drive down the day before, enjoy a calm ride, fun dinner, early bedtime, be up and ready to go. Be waiting for them to open.

go to www.disboards.com and read through on theme park strategies. there are very specific recommendations about how to minimize wait times in line. With kids that age, trust me, it WILL make a difference.

have lots of 'line activities' - snacks, mini-magna doodles, favorite matchbox cars, etc.

I would never EVER drive 2.5 hours to DL and then tour it on the same day -- AT Christmas time - w/ toddlers no less!! That is nutty IMO. The park will be insanely crowded by the time you get there.

Drive in the night before and get a good night's sleep and go over to DL before it is open to get a good start.

Janisj makes a good point. Then the kids will probably sleep on the way home.

Don't know how much you want to spend but I did just notice that the Disney website has special rates on rooms through Dec 19th. Staying in a Disney hotel gets you in early on the days it is offered.
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disn...?name=HomePage

You wouldn't know from my response that I did read the original post twice. Thank God it wasn't an SAT question lol.

But the HoJo's was a nice hotel and in a convenient location. We could see the fireworks at night. Mousesavers.com usually has a great discount code.

The closer to Christmas Day you get, the more crowded it will be. I would say that anytime between the 20th and up until New Year's the crowds will be crazy.

However, if you plan to do this sometime within the next week or so, the crowds should be more manageable, as most kids are not out yet for their Christmas break. I read that generally early December is a great time to visit the parks - you get to experience the holiday decorations without the massive amounts of people.

I was looking into traveling to Disney this Christmas to see the decorations and did a lot of reading on disboards.com about crowd levels. Since we couldn't go until my daughter was out of school, I decided the crowds would be too much.

Plan to do about half of what you think you'll be able to do. The crowds at Christmas time are daunting. We once went on the day after Christmas, when the electrical parade was still there (now at California Adventure). It was an awful experience. People started lining up 1 1/2 hours before the parade, and it was cold. Can't imagine doing that with small kids.