Moms, do you take your kids to Disney by yourself?

[mh1973]

if so, how old are they, how long do you stay? Do you fly or drive, and if drive how far is it for you?

I am considering do this in January, we usually go to Disney every year and my husband use to love it but he has just gotten no fun! He doesn't like to stay and watch the fireworks or parades. He always wants to leave the parks early. Would love to hear your stories of venturing to Disney on your own.

[PoohsFan1]

I don't have an adventure yet, but I do plan on doing this someday. My girls are 8 and 6 right now, therefore I plan on waiting about 5 or 6 more years before I venture off alone. My DH enjoys going with us too much still, but he does know that I do plan on having an all girls trip sometime. When we do go I will be flying, and will probably stay at a moderate somewhere....however, I would like to stay at GF someday and I know my DH does not, so that may be a perfect opportunity to do so....depending on our financial situation then.

[Withacy]

I'm not a mom, but I'm an aunt & a godmother. I've taken nieces when they were 10 and 11. I took my goddaughter for her 9th birthday, and I'm taking her brother - my godson - who's 7 - in December.

But each of these trips I've been one on one with the child.

None of them have ever been homesick. In fact, I used to call my friend (my goddaughter's mother) every night to report in, and DGD would roll her eyes when I'd pull her away from whatever she was doing to talk to her mom.

We'll see what happens with the 7 year old.

I flew with the goddaughter, but with the others (including the upcoming one) I drove. Just a personal preference thing - it's easier to just throw stuff in the trunk if you buy too much (which I always do) and not worry about stuffing everything in bags, and airport security and flight schedules and stuff. But I don't mind driving, so that's the difference.

[wdwmom0f3]

We just went last month and a friend of mine and her two kids, 6 & 11, went too without her husband and they had a great time. I would do it in a heartbeat too. My DH does not love Disney the way that my kids and I love it, and we had to put up with a lot of crap from him this past time. There were times that he complained about the crowds, heat and rude people, where the kids and I just deal with it and are just happy to be there. I know that he would always want to go with us, but if there ever came a time that he didn't, I would go, no problem.

[Princess Disney Mom]

Well I did go once without hubby but sister and her kids were with us so not totally alone. We flew and took ME. Kids were 10 and 12.

[MattDisney]

I'm taking my DS (8) next month alone for the first time. We will be flying and I expect it will be a little harder than with the whole family in some respects but easier in others. I can let you know how it went after the trip.

[Born 2B a Princess]

I took my girls (ages 10 and 15) by myself earlier this month and we had a great time. I was most nervous about driving down to WDW and back (about a 5 hour drive) since I am very directionally challenged and get lost even with a GPS (sure enough, I somehow got off-track once we got to Orlando and leaving to come back home!).

We were there for Columbus Day weekend (drove down Friday, came home Monday afternoon) and had a great time. We went to MNSSHP and rode all the rides we wanted, went trick or treating, enjoyed the parade and fireworks (DH doesn't really enjoy either of those), and just had a great time. We had so much fun planning our costumes -- DH hates to dress up and do stuff like that. We also went to both water parks and DTD and shopped as much as we wanted...DH doesn't like shopping at all.

We loved it so much that we're planning another mother/daughters trip to MNSSHP next year! We had a great time!

I've thought about how much fun it would be to take the girls down one at a time on a special mother/daughter weekend trip that was one-on-one. We'll see if that ever happens.

[Manda]

I've traveled alone with my son when he was 4 and 5. I like to go more than once a year and DH whines about taking too many vacations, so we just leave him at home and go alone. We fly down. I was nervous the first trip, but it turns out it's actually a billion times easier to travel without DH. DS and I just flit around the parks at our leisure and do whatever we want and eat whatever we want. It's great! The first trip was supposed to be Sunday through Thursday at the end of January (I think?), but we got to the airport to fly home and Chicago Midway was closed due to a snowstorm, so we couldn't go home. So we got back on DME and went back to Disney for two more nights. So that trip ended up being Sunday through Saturday. The next trip was Saturday to Saturday.

[dmonroe]

I took my youngest by himself (he was almost 5) last May for 5 days. It was actually very easy and fun. (I was a little worried because he's my "wild card" and you never know what he's going to do!) My only problem was the guilt over leaving the oldest at home. He really didn't need to miss school and the whole point of the trip was so that the youngest could experience Disney the way his older brother did for so many years. You know, being able to go at his pace, stand in as many character lines as he wanted, ride the Fantasyland rides umpteen times, etc. With a 5 year age span between them, they are rarely interested in the same things and we (as a family) were always splitting up or rushing from place to place trying to keep everyone happy. I don't know that I'll do it again, but I glad I did it once! (Oh, and I did take the oldest by himself when he was 4 too!)

[neonurse]

I did this in March last year. My boys were 9 and 13. We are flew from buffalo to orlando and then rented a car. We had a great time except I got the flu and was sick in bed for 3 days. We were there 8 days so we still had time to enjoy the parks. One thing to consider is if something like that happened are your kids old enough to help out. Could they go to the pool (life guarded of course) by themselves. I never would have normally let them go to the pool by themselves but I was sooo sick with fever and felt like pneumonia (short of breath)and I didn't want them just sitting in the hotel room (POP) while I was napping. My boys are great helpers and are more like companions then little kids any more. Once they get to that age I think you can do anything together without dh.

How old are your kids?

[DawnM]

I have before, yes.

I drove down from Charlotte, NC and stayed in a 2 bedroom condo.

I prefer it if DH goes because I don't care for the long drive.

[Darcy03231]

My children are all older now (25, 21, 18 & 16) but I traveled with them alone when they were younger. DH did the first WDW when the oldest was 4. That was it for him. After that I took them myself (all four of them).

We flew and at that time there was no magical express. We either hired a town car service or I rented a van for the week. When they were little we stayed on-site but as they got older and we needed more room we started renting vacation homes. Since I have twice as much vacation time as DH we also started taking longer trips and branching out and seeing other things in the area other than WDW (US, IOA, SW, BG, Kennedy Space Center, Daytona Beach, etc.).

Not only have I traveled with them alone to WDW, I've taken them out of the country by myself. Cruises and all inclusive resorts throughout the Carribean and Mexico. Luckily my kids are all great travelers.

[MichelleVW]

I became a single mom when my girls were 6 and 8, so when we went it was just the 3 of us. The first time we went they were 8 and 10 and we drove down from NC and stayed a week. Then I drove again when they were 10 and 12. I've been married for 5 years now and sometimes DH comes with us, sometimes not. Sometimes we would fly, and sometimes drive...it just depended on how much time we had and where we lived at the time.

Traveling alone with children really isn't a big deal, single parents do it all the time!

[redheadx3]

I have taken my kids twice alone and will again this summer.
The 1st trip was just with the oldest son, 8ys then. The little one stayed home with dad because he was just 1 yr old at the time.
The second trip, I took both boys 6 & 11 then.
This summer we will go again with out DH. He just doesn't like amusement parks much. He was considering going for a few days this summer but changed his mind this weekend after he and I went on a long weekend trip and he couldn't handle the standing and slow walking we did. It gave him a backache.
All of my trips with my boys are great. Now I wouldn't take 3 yrs/4yrs old by myself. The little kids just need too much attention, stuff to carry, and just get too tired.
Actually the first two trips, my DH wasn't invited to come because I knew he would complain. And now that he will not be going for the next trip, I won't have to worry about his back or other body parts giving out.

[momejay]

I don't have a choice. I am a single mom. My X got going when the going got tough & found a new honey. Yes, I have taken the kids myself several times. My parents have gone with me several times, but they slow me down. We always have a good time. Of course my children have been to WDW once a year since birth & know their way around. They stay with me & know it is OK to talk to CMs. They know to find one if they get lost. I guess I have eyes in the back of my head because I haven't lost one yet!
Their Dad came with us once, he wasn't much help. DD jumped into the pool with his cell phone at Blizzard Beach. He hasn't been back since.