Best Disneyland Park for Toddlers

Are you looking for the best Disneyland Park for toddlers? In this guide we will compare Disneyland vs California Adventure for Toddlers to help you make the decision on which park is right for your family.

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Table of Contents

Best Disneyland Park for toddlers

Disneyland in California has two parks:

Disneyland – the original and most traditional of the two parks and
Disney’s California Adventure

Now I think both parks have something on offer for toddlers and are both worth a visit. In fact, toddlers are one of my favourites ages to visit Disneyland. However if you only have one day to visit Disneyland and are wondering which park to visit I will compare the parks in terms of toddler rides, meet and greets, theming and more to help you make the best decision for your family.

But before we get into comparing the parks be sure to check out our other toddler guides that cover both California Disney parks:

Disneyland vs California Adventure Rides for Toddlers

Both the Disneyland and California Adventure parks have rides for toddlers. Both of the parks have plenty of rides that do not have a height restriction that are great for toddlers, or even babies to ride on.

At Disneyland there are several rides that toddlers can go on. The rides in this park are the more classic Disneyland rides such as:

Disneyland with toddlers tips

It’s a Small World
The Mad Tea Party
Dumbo the flying Elephant
King Arthur’s Carousel
Storybook Canals
Casey Junior Circus Train
Mr Toad’s Wild Ride
Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
Peter Pan’s Flight
Snow WHite’s Enchanted Wish
Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
Buzz Lightyear’s Astroblast
Astro orbitor
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes
Autopia
Mark Twain Riverboat
Jungle Cruise
Haunted Mansion
Pirates of the Caribbean

Therefore depending on how scary your toddler finds ride, they could ride up to 20 rides in Disneyland. For a full Disneyland itinerary for toddlers that covers the above rides check out this post.

In California Adventure on the other hand the following rides have no or low height restrictions.

Best California Adventure Rides for Toddlers / Best Disneyland Park for Toddlers

Jessie’s Critter Carousel
Toy Story Midway Mania
Pixar’s Pal-A-Round
Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind
Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
Golden Zephyr
Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree
Luigi’s Rollickin Rollsters
Monsters Inc Mike and Sulley to the Rescue
Webslingers

Therefore if you are looking for which park has the most rides for toddlers it is easy to see that there are more toddler friendly rides at Disneyland.

Having said that however, my kids loved the rides in Car’s Land and the Little Mermaid ride. I would say that their favorite rides were all in California Adventure.

Therefore although Disneyland has more toddler friendly rides you may find the theming of some of the California Adventure Rides may appeal to your kids more.

Overall I would say there are enough rides for one day in each park to keep your toddler happy and amused no problem.

Disneyland and California Adventure Meet and Greets

One of the great things about Disneyland and California Adventure is that there are plenty of character meet and greets in both parks.

You can meet classic characters such as Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Daisy and Pluto in both parks. The main difference is that in Disneyland some of these queues will be indoors whereas in California Adventure they are outdoors which can get hot in the California summer heat.

Best Alternatives to Disney Autograph Books

And the other difference is in the clothing. At Disneyland you will meet the characters in their classic and traditional attire. Whereas in California Adventure they wear their Hollywood glam outfits.

And while there will always be queues to meet the classic characters we found the queues to be shorter in California Adventure than in Disneyland.

But what about other characters? Who else can you meet in the parks?

Well in Disneyland, you will find all of the classic characters such as:

Best questions to ask disney characters – best poses with disney characters

Mary Poppins and Bert,
Alice and the Mad Hatter
Peter Pan, Wendy and Hook
Pinocchio

And of course, Disneyland has more of the Disney princesses as it has the Princess Meet and Greet at the Royal Hall.

Questions to ask Disney princesses – questions to ask snow white

as well as roaming around at the front after the turnstiles.

If you plan to do lots of character meet and greets check out our best questions to ask Disney Princesses and best questions to ask disney characters to get the best interactions.

California Adventure on the other hand doesn’t have that many princesses to meet. In fact every time that we have been in California Adventure over the years the only princesses we have ever met are Princess Anna and Elsa from Frozen.

Questions to Ask Disney Princesses – Questions to ask Anna

However what is lacks for in Princess Meet and Greets, California Adventure has all of the Pixar characters including but not limited to:

Where to Meet characters at California Adventure with toddlers

Toy Story characters such as Buzz, Woody and Bo peep
The Incredibles
Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde.
CArs Characters

Therefore if your toddler wants to meet princesses then you should head to Disneyland. However if your little person loves Pixar then you would be better heading to California Adventure.

California Adventure vs Disneyland Theming

What to bring to Disneyland with toddlers

So know you have looked at the characters and rides, perhaps it is best to turn our attention to the theming in the parks for toddlers.

Both parks have amazing theming. Disneyland being the original park, is very magical to walk around to see the castle and is very special for toddlers.

Other than the castle in Fantasyland however the best then in Disneyland has to be in the Star War’s Galaxy’s Edge theming. This world is amazing and completely immersive however is unlikely to be something your toddler is familiar with.

In California Adventure on the other hand, the best and most immersive lands has to be Cars Land. My son is Cars mad and therefore he was happy to keep strolling radiator springs.

Therefore I don’t think theming can be the deciding factor in which park is better as it depends so much on the toddler. When my daughter was a toddler the Disneyland theming is what she adored, but my son much preferred CarsLand.

Therefore I would say think about what your toddler’s favorite Disneyland films are and pick the park that aligns most with this.

World of Color Vs Disneyland Parade

Instagram captions for Disneyland

Now I love World of Color, as did my 6 year old. It is a truly breathtaking show. However it comes on late and can be hard for toddlers to see. I’ll be honest, my son fell asleep before it started.

The parade on the other hand, you can grab your dinner and pick a nice spot and wait. And as the characters are walking you get interactions and a much better view for toddlers.

Therefore I think with toddlers the Disneyland Parade is a better experience than the World of Color show.

Overall What is the Best Disneyland Park for Toddlers?

What to pack for Disneyland with toddlers

If you have only one day at Disneyland with toddlers, I would recommend trying to grab a park hopper ticket so you can experience both parks as they both have something great and different to offer toddlers.

However if the park hopper ticket is out of your Disneyland budget or you would prefer to base yourself out of one park I would say:

if you want the most rides pick Disneyland over California Adventure
if you have a princess fan pick Disneyland over California Adventure
if you have a Pixar fan pick California Adventure over Disneyland
if you want a classic Disney experience pick Disneyland over California Adventure
if you want the best toddler friendly theme pick California Adventure

However whichever park you pick I think you will have an amazing day with your toddler at the Disney parks.

But before we get into comparing the parks be sure to check out our other toddler guides that cover both California Disney parks:

And why not let us know in the comments below which of the Disneyland Parks you prefer for toddlers