Single Mom w/ 3 boys

[momofboyz3]

Hi ~ this has been such a great help! Staying @ POR the end of May. It's myself, twin boys 13 & my 9 yr old. Been saving for this trip of a lifetime for awhile & want it to be something they remember forever. Most of my Res are made... Garden Grill, Ohana, Raglan Road, Floridian cafe (to escape the MK for lunch), Sci -fi and the HDDR! We are doing Typhoon & disney quest. Staying 8 days. Basically looking for any advice doing this as a single parent. My boys aren't little so I'm not toooool worried! Thanks in advance! And if I'm posting this in the wrong section, forgive me I'm new & on my commute home.

 

[gloria1016]

Hi and welcome! I, too, am a single Mom with 3 kids. Since my beloved DH's death in October 2010, I have taken my kids (DS13, DS11, and DD8) to WDW 3 times and DL 6 times. We leave for DL in two weeks and we will be cruising on the Fantasy this coming June.

The one very important thing I have learned since taking my kids to DL and WDW by myself is to take it easy. We don't rush around like we use to when my DH was with us. I don't stress out. I'm happier, the kids are happy and they will have these new memories of just us having fun at our favorite places in the world. When we take it slow, we have more of a chance to explore places that we normally would not because we were always rushing past.

You will have fun! Enjoy!

 

[momofboyz3]

Hi and welcome! I, too, am a single Mom with 3 kids. Since my beloved DH's death in October 2010, I have taken my kids (DS13, DS11, and DD8) to WDW 3 times and DL 6 times. We leave for DL in two weeks and we will be cruising on the Fantasy this coming June.

The one very important thing I have learned since taking my kids to DL and WDW by myself is to take it easy. We don't rush around like we use to when my DH was with us. I don't stress out. I'm happier, the kids are happy and they will have these new memories of just us having fun at our favorite places in the world. When we take it slow, we have more of a chance to explore places that we normally would not because we were always rushing past.

You will have fun! Enjoy!

Thanks "Gloria"! I did not get the park hopper for the exact reason that I don't want to run around & stress. Have a wonderful time on your upcoming DL trip & a fantastic cruise in June! Our children are about the same ages & I know it can be tough doing all this alone. Thanks again for your input.

 

[Metro West]

Welcome!

 

[angelabrezovsky]

I am too a single mom of two girls dd5 and dd7 and I will be taking them along with my sister who is 9 to disney world November 10- November 15. The last time we have went was 3 years ago. My oldest says she remembers and my youngest has no clue. I will be surprising them with this trip they have no idea. I made it big with baskets for the car tide shirts for each day that I made and all!

 

[NewCrew42]

Let your. 13 yr olds be fast pass runners! They will love the independence.

 

[serene56]

i suggest family meetings an dtalk about expectations. that way there is no hard feelings midweek.

do you expect them to'get'up'early
do they expect to sleepin

do you expect them to'stay together as a family
do they expect tomhave time to'explore'on their own

i fin dthat when we sit down and discuss all'our wants, etc it makes for an easier week.

 

[momofboyz3]

I am too a single mom of two girls dd5 and dd7 and I will be taking them along with my sister who is 9 to disney world November 10- November 15. The last time we have went was 3 years ago. My oldest says she remembers and my youngest has no clue. I will be surprising them with this trip they have no idea. I made it big with baskets for the car tide shirts for each day that I made and all!

That sounds awesome! Have a great time

 

[momofboyz3]

Let your. 13 yr olds be fast pass runners! They will love the independence.

Great idea!

 

[momofboyz3]

i suggest family meetings an dtalk about expectations. that way there is no hard feelings midweek.

do you expect them to'get'up'early
do they expect to sleepin

do you expect them to'stay together as a family
do they expect tomhave time to'explore'on their own

i fin dthat when we sit down and discuss all'our wants, etc it makes for an easier week.

Thanks for the suggestions & I will do that! I think they will be so overwhelmed as this is our 1st vaca! I will def let the 13 yr olds hang out at the arcade alone or go for a swim in the pool while I maybe have a drink close by. They are excellent swimmers! ~Thanks everyone for the feedback

 

[wiigirl]

Welcome!

 

[alisha123]

I too am a single mom of 3 traveling to the world. Mine are all girls. 9 yr old twins and one 16 yr old. She will be our fpass runner. We are going at the end of June and I booked the luau and the Tomorrow land dessert party. Have a great time!! I know we will on this very special trip!!!!! Counting down the days!!

 

[rocknroll]

Hi, single dad with two boys (now 18 and 20). When they were both teenagers when we had difficulty trying to decide what to do they were allowed to "bid" one hour of time and $20/40/60 for each day. And our tie breakers were either rock-paper-scissors or flip a coin odd man out. I guess what I am saying is give them a chance to be part of the decision making.

They tell me now that the only part they didn't like about this way of planning or deciding was that they didn't get to argue as much as their other friends going on vacation. LOL.

Cheers!

 

[momofboyz3]

I too am a single mom of 3 traveling to the world. Mine are all girls. 9 yr old twins and one 16 yr old. She will be our fpass runner. We are going at the end of June and I booked the luau and the Tomorrow land dessert party. Have a great time!! I know we will on this very special trip!!!!! Counting down the days!!

Alisha!!!! Have a blast! Thanks for your comments. Single moms rock!

 

[momofboyz3]

Hi, single dad with two boys (now 18 and 20). When they were both teenagers when we had difficulty trying to decide what to do they were allowed to "bid" one hour of time and $20/40/60 for each day. And our tie breakers were either rock-paper-scissors or flip a coin odd man out. I guess what I am saying is give them a chance to be part of the decision making.

They tell me now that the only part they didn't like about this way of planning or deciding was that they didn't get to argue as much as their other friends going on vacation. LOL.

Cheers!

That's fantastic! Great idea. We are having a living room meeting next weekend to go over our plans & have them decide on things like Typhoon vs Blizzard etc and don't have to worry about a tie since I have 3 voters. Thanks for your reply!

 

[jennyf2]

Single mom here too ..... We are going June 25-July 2nd... Cant wait !!!!!

 

[alisha123]

Single mom's do rock!!

 

[MSmathmom]

Another (newly) single mom here! I'm taking my three girls on our first vacation without their dad in just 10 days. Like others I plan to communicate often about expectations, take it easier than I have on past trips, and will use Undercover Tourist for planning.

I've given each girl one special request experience each day and we have all agreed that if we get those three things done in a day, the day will be a win. So for our first Magic Kingdom day, one girl will dress as Belle and meet Gaston, one will dress as Merida to meet Merida, and the other will ride the tea cups. Add in some Dole Whip for me and it should be perfect day even if we don't get anything else accomplished.

We are also dressing alike as much as possible for safety. That may be going overboard, but it makes sense for us and we like making our own tees to wear to Disney.

 

[momofboyz3]

Single mom here too ..... We are going June 25-July 2nd... Cant wait !!!!!

Woop woop! That's awesome!!!! It's so exciting!

 

[momofboyz3]

Another (newly) single mom here! I'm taking my three girls on our first vacation without their dad in just 10 days. Like others I plan to communicate often about expectations, take it easier than I have on past trips, and will use Undercover Tourist for planning.

I've given each girl one special request experience each day and we have all agreed that if we get those three things done in a day, the day will be a win. So for our first Magic Kingdom day, one girl will dress as Belle and meet Gaston, one will dress as Merida to meet Merida, and the other will ride the tea cups. Add in some Dole Whip for me and it should be perfect day even if we don't get anything else accomplished.

We are also dressing alike as much as possible for safety. That may be going overboard, but it makes sense for us and we like making our own tees to wear to Disney.

That sounds great! You guys are going to have an awesome time & thanx for your reply!