Disneyland - Anchorage,AK

if you're going at such a low crowd time, you can do all you need to do in 2 days - we did it in 2 days in may 2009 with a newborn, a 3 year old, and a 6 year old. just went back last week and spent 3 days, but it was really crowded. i think with neither of your kids being super little, 2 days would be sufficient, 3 days at the most. i'd also consider switching the order of your trip if possible, do DL first, then relax on the cruise :) have fun!

We did 3 days back in April for DD's birthday, and it wasn't enough time. I think 4-5 days would be perfect. It's easier to spread it out & take your time when you have younger kids. We didn't get to see any of the nighttime events because we were so beat from trying to pack so much into one day.

Oh, and you can bring snacks, sammies, water bottles, etc. in a backpack. Bring your own food as much as possible, because their food is overpriced & not that great.

With children that young, I'd say 4 or 5 days. (With teens/preteens, you can just go-go-go and they don't crash - although the adults might!).

My "thing" now that I no longer live down there:

- Disneland Hotel (or one of the other "in the park" hotels) because you just hop on the monorail (it stops at the different hotels that are in park) and go back and forth to the park as often as you like.

- Alternate Park & Swimming... Breakfast in the room / Park for 2-3 Fast Passes (1-2 hours) and however many 'regular' rides can be done in between fast passes (which are 1 per hour) / back to the hotel for a swim & snack / park for 2 fast passes (1 hour) / back to the hotel for lunch and a movie / park for a couple fast passes / hotel for swimming and snack / park / Dinner & Swim / EITHER bedtime or back to the park.

Alternating between the pool and the park keeps us refreshed. When there's a "napper" along, you just trade who stays in the room with the napper during the 1-2 hours back in the park. Most of our food we ate in our room (ask for a fridge) which saved a ton. We do 1 character breakfast (towards the end, so the kids aren't asking for/ expecting it every morning) and 1 park dinner (we like the Blue Bayou in Pirates of the Caribbean, but there's tons of options), and we usually do 1 Disney Food (burgers, etc.) lunch in the park.

I think three or four days will be sufficient. At that age they will have so much fun. It will be thrilling for them.

To cut expenses, we went to BK or McD and ordered off their 99 cent menus (hold the mayonnaise) and took the hamburgers the next day to the park for lunch. If you take a one quart bottle for water or koolaid, you will do fine. An apple supplies fiber and make you feel full for a longer time.

I hope you have a wonderful time. Good luck to you and yours.

I would defiantly go to Disneyland first and then the cruise. You need a little time to recuporate after Disneyland (a lot of walking). We just got back from Disneyland a couple of weeks ago with our 6 month old, 2 year old, and 4 year old. We stayed at the Anna Bella and walked to the entrance. It is about a 15 minute walk. They also have the shuttle stop right outside, but with 3 kids in strollers we just walked. If you can afford Disney's Grand Hotel, it will save you some walking. It was $400 more a night than where we stayed though, so not worth it.

We did most everything we wanted to at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure in 2 days. My husband was really Disneyed out by then, but if your family can handle more Disney I think 3 days would be best. Defiantly pack your own food to bring with you in Disneyland. I was afraid they would get mad about all the snacks/drinks I brought in, but they didn't say anything. Disney's food is expensive and not all that wonderful. Husband's favorite was Pirates of the Caribean and kid's favorite was Dumbo. The best time to do rides is early in the morning (short lines), everything gets busier as the day goes on. I would suggest you use strollers, if your kids will ride in them. We went to Disney when it opened in the morning, rode some rides, then either went to Disney California or back to the hotel when it started getting really busy. Went back in the evening to ride more rides. We saw the fireworks, but hubby and kids weren't really into waiting around for shows. If you want to have a plan for best time to ride rides and things you can download RideMax for Disneyland/Disney California Adventure and make an itenary. It is like $15 and kind of nice for planning out when to do what. We didn't follow it completely, but it helped to have a list of the rides we wanted to do, what area they are in, and around what time is the shortest lines.

just got back from a trip with my 3 yr, old and only spent 1 day there. i'm sure you could do both parks (disneyland & california adventure) in 3 days - no problem.