This week's topic - road trips and Disneyland with your toddler

By now I'm sure you are fully aware that my family loves Disney!  I mentioned earlier last week that I grew up going to Disneyland every summer and my husband's family went to Disney World often when he was a child.  Last week we left the ridiculous Arizona heat to spend some time in California.  We were there for almost an entire week.  The first two days of our trip were spent in San Diego.  We went to Sea World both days and had an awesome time.  My daughter loves feeding the sea lions and looking at the penguin exhibit!  Then we spent five days at Disneyland.  Yes, FIVE days!  We go to Disneyland a lot and as strange as it may sound to some of you, miss it the day we come home from each visit. 

Growing up near Disney World, my husband wasn't convinced that Disneyland would be any fun.  He was sure because of its small size (compared to Disney World) the park would be boring.  After dating for a couple of years, I finally convinced him to go for a weekend with me in July of 2004.  He was hooked!  By 2005 we had annual passes and were going on frequent road trips to California.  Each year it made financial sense for us to renew our passes because of the many weekends we spent at the park.  We didn't renew our annual passes the year I was pregnant with our daughter.  We honestly thought we would wait several years before taking her to Disneyland.  I remember a conversation in which we recalled all the miserable looking parents we had seen together over the years we had been visiting Disneyland.  We could probably write a book quoting all the funny things we've heard parents say to their children!  Before having children of our own we decided it didn't look like any fun to bring a baby or toddler to Disneyland.  That decision didn't last very long.  We talked ourselves into our daughter's first Disneyland experience when she was only nine months old.   

Fixing my daughter's hair for her first Disneyland visit

Our happy baby in Disneyland

The short trip definitely brought challenges but we had more good memories than bad from that weekend.    We bought our annual tickets again and going to Disneyland quickly turned back into a regular road trip for us.  By now, I definitely consider myself a professional at road tripping and going to Disneyland with a small child. 

I have a long list of friends that come to me with questions about our experiences at Disneyland.  Most are completely surprised when I list all the rides suitable for infants and toddlers.  Most are curious about where we stay, where we eat, and our favorite activities.  I really enjoy sharing our years of experience with friends.  I'm always excited to hear about their successful trips too.  With that in mind this week I'm going to share all my tips and information about how we survive six hours in the car to and from California with a two year old.  I'll go back to our family archive and think about how we did it when she was smaller too.  I'm also going to share everything we do that helps us have really fun and non stressful days at theme parks. 

Tomorrow's post will be up in the evening because I want to make sure I offer the chance for our readers to submit their questions.  You can send us a direct email or simply comment on this post if you have a question about this week's topic. 

I can't wait to share everything I've learned over the past couple of years taking our daughter to Disneyland!  Come back for some great information!