We have all heard the thing about waiting until your children are truly “old enough” to enjoy a Disneyland Vacation before taking them. The fear that all that money will be wasted if they’re too young, and that little ones won’t remember it anyway are somewhat valid. However, I’m a big fan of taking kids when they’re little. The magic is so very real for them, I even wrote a post about taking your child to Disneyland before Age 5 and why the Disneyland attractions are so important.
Don’t miss these rides and attractions: (This is by no means an exhaustive list, just my go-to favourites by age group. Visit this article where I recommend the 6 best resources to read/view before you go.)
Age 1 – 4 years
Disneyland
- King Arthur Carrousel
- Dumbo The Flying Elephant
- Casey Jr. Circus Train
- Mad Tea Party
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- It’s a Small World
- Jungle Cruise
- The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh
- Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island
- Disney Princess Fantasy Faire
- Mickey’s House and Meet Mickey
- Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
- Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
- Pixie Hollow
- Autopia (pictured above)
California Adventure
- Luigi’s Flying Tires (32″ height to ride) (Cars Land)
- Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree (32″ height to ride) (Cars Land)
- The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure (Paradise Pier)
- King Triton’s Carousel (Pardise Pier)
- Golden Zephyr (Paradise Pier)
- Toy Story (Paradise Pier)
- Flik’s Fun Fair (Bugs Land)
- Francis Ladybug Boogie (Bugs Land)
Shows
- Parade (Disneyland. Not to be missed! Pictured above)
- Disney Junior (California Adventure Park)
Age 4-7 years
Everything listed above plus:
Disneyland
- The Haunted Mansion
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Splash Mountain (if you’re prepared to get wet) (40″ Height to ride)
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (40″ Height to ride)
- Alice in Wonderland
- Matterhorn Bobsleds (42″ Height to ride)
- Gadget’s Go Coaster (35″ Height to ride)
- Space Mountain (40″ Height to ride)
- Star Tours (40″ Height to ride)
California Adventure
- Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue
- Goofy’s Sky School (42″ Height to ride)
- Silly Symphony Swings (40″ Height to ride tandem; 48″ Height to ride alone)
- Radiator Springs Racers (NOT to be missed!) (Cars Land) (40″ Height to ride)
- Grizzly River Run (IF you want to get wet) (42″ Height to ride)
- Soarin’ Over California (40″ Height to rie)
Age 8 years+
All of the above plus:
- California Screamin’ (48″ Height to ride)
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (40″ Height to ride) (Note: I didn’t put this ride in the 4-7yrs category because although my youngest was tall enough to ride, I felt it would be too frightening for her to ride.)
I’ve omitted nighttime shows (World of Color, Fireworks and Fantasmic!) because with little ones up early every day, we don’t do after-dark in the parks. I’m sure they’re beautiful and amazing but we’re waiting to do these attractions until the girls are a bit older.
