Disneyland Age

The first time we took the kids to Disneyland we only had our first 2 children. They were 1 1/2 and 3 1/2. They LOVED it! When we added our third child we took her when she was 17 days old.Albiet, only fora couple hours, we only did one ride and took the kids to Build A Bear for their special "big brother" bears. It was a special gathering day of a huge group of friends planned before we were pregnant so we went to quickly say hi and ride Small World. We have had annual passes since that very first trip and they love going. They are now 9 (he'll be 10 in Feb), 6 (he'll be 7 in 17 days!) and 18 months.
Best tips I have. Use those fast passes! Most people don't know that you can still use them after the end time. So long as the beginning time has arrived you can use them any time up until closing. You can get a new one after the start time of the other one I believe the system is so you can have multiple valid ones on you at the same time. Lines shorten for the big rides during fireworks, shows and parades, some to just walk on. Obviously you'll want to see those on your trip but staggering them between days and not watching them every day gives you the opportunity to take advantage of that. On the flip side, right after the fireworks people litterally run to get into line at Space Mountain. Lines shorten at meal times, if you can stagger your meal time to be off from the masses (don't eat dinner right at 6 for example) you can avoid the lines at the restaurants and the rides. Crowds at the holidays are crazy busy, be prepared. Get places early for a good spot to watch shows etc.
I love, Love, LOVE Disneyland at the holidays! I take the crowds in stride and go with the flow. We're going in a bit here ;)

I remember going to Disneyland at 10 and being able to go on all the rides. Plan on staying all day there. Your daughter is not going to want to leave. You probably won't either. Plus you won't want to miss the Christmas Electric Light Parade.

Sounds like a fun thing to do over the winter break.

We go an average of twice a year to Disneyland. We started this trend when my oldest (who is now 11) was 18 months.

Your ten year old will love it! (And when you can get yourselves to Disney World she will love that too!)

I have lived close enough to Disneyland to hear the fireworks every night, for at least 1/2 my life... that said, I took my one year old there fore several hours when we got free tickets, we went only to the toon area and small child friendly areas and we were there for about 5-6 hours. Disneyland is really a whole day (or two, if you want to hit EVERY ride) you can spend one good 14 hour day there and be satisfied you got your monies worth (but you will be tired) - my suggestion is spending at least two 8-10 hour days at the park.

10 is a great age because the child will create memories and appreicate the vacation even more (then a younger child) but he/she is not too old to partake in the Disney magic.

Enjoy your trip!

We took my daughter (3.5 yrs old at the time) there this last summer, we actually went twice. The first time we spent 3 days but it sucked cause she got the flu the day we arrived. She still enjoyed the little of the park we saw but totally not herself there. The second time (about 2 months later) she had a blast,we spent 2 days and she saw all of th epark. We spent the 1st day at Disneyland and 2nd day at California Adventure. Best advice is if they can stay up late, hit up fatansy land right after firework shows, totally dead there and lines are nothing.

We have been taking our kids to Disneyland since they were babies. My oldest went for the first time when she was a month old, but we were only there for a few hours. She is now 13. We only live an hour away and did have annual passes until my husband became unemployed so we may be different than most people. I know most of my friends started going to Disneyland when there kids were 3/4 years old, since they enjoy the characters and all much more than older kids. If you can it takes a good day for Disneyland, if it is not crowded, and 6/7 hours at California Adventure. I know there is much more there now ( haven't been in 3 years) so it may take more time now. Enjoy when you do go.

When they could pay for it themselves. LOL. I had four kids in 3 1/2 yrs
and was married to a nyc cop. Never had the money to take them.
10 yo is great especially since you can drive there. Have fun!

Being local and having access to the parks we took our 2 kids when they were each 2 weeks old. We have not stopped going sence. We were there friday night. It was a zoo. But we lower our expectations of what we want to do when it is crowded and we had a nice time. Yes it is nice around christams but it really is crowded. This week during the week will be nice and even the beginning of next week will be ok but if you wait for christmas break it will be very busy and you will not get to do much.

For disneyworld our first went when she was 18 months and we went this last feb when our girls were 4 and 2 1/2. We had a great time there as well. If you have any specific questions about the park either land or world I'd be happy to help.

We went to Disneyland when my girls were 9 and the age was perfect....old enough to handle the walking, waiting, and long hours, but young enough to still enjoy the characters, etc. I think we were there for 3 whole days, but I can't remember. Maybe it was 4. The key thing is that we went in February (they missed some school) and the lines were very short, so we were able to accomplish lots due to the shorter lines.