first time by myself with two kids!

[kates904]

I decided to get out of town with my babies. It will be my first time at disney with my kids but not out of town with them. We are going through a bad divorce and felt they need a getaway(me too!) We are staying at Coronado Springs.I cna't wait but hear it is big! They are 9 and 7 but the seven year old is Autistic. I'm definitely a little nervous! Any advice!? Like how do you ride the rides?

 

[luvmy2babies]

I’m sure others will be along to comment. Mine are almost 9 and 2 and for the most part we all are able to ride together due to the size of the younger one. On rides where we couldn’t, I put my older child in front so I could see her. We rode together on Buzz Light year but it was a bit tight for us, so your 9 year-old might be better off in the car in front of you. We have not been on Toy Story yet, but I imagine it would be the same as Buzz. We don’t do the bigger rides since my son is little, so I can’t comment on those.

Then there’s the standard stuff. We had endless talks about staying together and communicating if she saw something she wanted to stop and look at rather than just stopping. We talked about who to go to if we got separated and I made sure she had all the information she needed to be able to tell someone how to contact me if we got separated. She had a card in her pocket to pull out in case she got too flustered. On our first trip she was 7 and my cell phone was new (including the number), but we never got separated. This time I ordered wristbands. I was getting one for my two year-old and figured I’d just get one for dd too even though she’s older, she’s got some challenges that require me to have back up to her being able to remember the number. I got these since they’re water proof.

http://www.vitalids.com/Child-Safety-Identification-Wristbands-childid.htm

http://www.vitalids.com/KIDS-SAFE-CLUB-Safety-ID-Bracelets-for-Children-kidssafeclub.htm

 

[DisneyMomma81]

When my kids were 9 & 6 we made several just the 3 of us trips to DLR. Some rides the 3 of us rode in the same vehicle, Big Thunder, Haunted Mansion, sometimes my 2 kids would ride together & I right behind them, sometimes DD & I *DS is the older kid, DS would have been right in front of us.

 

[kim929]

I would tell the 9 yr old what to expect as far as which rides you are going to be going on, and go at a nice slow pace.

Do you think the 9 yr old could ride by himself? If so you can wait in line with him when he boards the ride, go to the exit and wait for him.

Since your going through a nasty divorce, make sure the father doesn't prohibit you from taking the children out of state.
My ex knew my plans to take the children for months. The week before I was to leave he took me to court to stop me from taking them. I was able to take them, but I wasn't able to take them again for a few years until they were older. So becareful.

 

[kates904]

I live in Florida with them. Yeah he did that at Christmas taking them out of state to my mothers. SO technically not crossing state lines. I have told the older dd I need her to be a litle independent. I may get ds a stroller and def taking his earplugs I've never had issues with them running off from me but always giving the talk to if they get lost. Luckily both know my name and I will make a sticker of my cell number for their pocket

 

[msmama]

I did a trip with just my son and I in March and honestly, the hardest part for me was having to be the one to carry everything!! Hopefully yours are old enough to take some of the burden (and hopefully you can take a bit less - with my 4 year old I took extra clothes every day "just in case").

A backpack on my shoulders and pushing a stroller, I got the worst back aches every night!! That was definitely the hardest part of traveling with no other adult!

I only have one but I would say go at the pace of the slowest person. Have a great time!

 

[SmallWorld71]

As a family of 5, we have had to split up on the following rides:
Goofy's Barnstormer (now The Great Goofini) - only 2 per seat were allowed
Expedition Everest - only 2 seats per row
Astro Orbiter - I have seen one adult with two young children, but when I went on with an 11 and 7 year old we had to split up. And, rightly so; we would have been uncomfortable. My 11 year old had his own rocket; your 9 year old could do the same if the comfort level is there.
Dumbo - same as Astro Orbiter
Aladdin and Triceratop spin (in the same vehicle, just not the same seat), not sure if this is always the case or because the 11 year old was willing to sit by himself
Speedway - I am guessing that your 9 year old would be tall enough to ride alone. Mine loved when they were big enough to go on this one by themselves.


Other potential issues:
Buzz/ Toy Story - fit 3 but only 2 guns.
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster is only 2 across.
Space Mountain is everyone sitting by themselves (one if front of another).

A few that 3 fit fine on that you might not expect:
Splash Mountain, BTMRR, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion

If your 9 year old wants to ride any of the thrill rides, but the 7 year old doesn't, you could always go through the line together and then meet your oldest at the exit to the ride. Almost all of them dump into gift shops. Just be sure to be very clear about what he should do if he doesn't see you. It can be helpful to check out the exit first.

You may want to think about what the best way to do meals is. Buffets may be too much of a challenge, I don't know.

You mentioned a stroller for the 7 year old which may be a good idea. That way you don't have to worry about an escapee and you and your 9 year old won't become pack mules which can wear on you.

While I did not have the added challenge of traveling with an autistic child, I have traveled to Disney alone with the kids and in some ways it was easier than I expected. Without anyone else along, we could just go at our own pace and didn't have to take others' opinions into consideration. I've traveled with large groups to Disney as well, and while that is great in it's own way, when you are the only chief you've got nobody to debate with over the decisions.

 

[kates904]

Thanks GUys! I am lucky they tend to like the same rides. My son is a picky eater but daughter has been able to do her own buffet line thing for a while. It's only a two night trip so I packed a small bag for them and a small bag for me.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I took my 2 sons by myself two years ago when they were 4 and 7, for 5 nights. We managed just fine. I knew that WDW was the only place I'd consider taking them on vacation by myself since we go often and know it well.

I told my oldest ahead of time that we would be sitting out the rides his younger brother was not tall enough for: Space Mtn, Everest, Mission Space. He was OK with that and understood. On the attractions with 2 seats only, either my oldest rode alone or my two boys rode together and I sat behind them. We used the QSDP and probably getting meals was the hardest thing, because I didn't really want them in line with me, and it was hard to find tables that I could keep an eye on while I waited. The only TS meal we did was Garden Grill (which I was fortunate to get a very last-minute ADR for) - it is served family-style so I didn't have to worry about managing three of us at the buffet line. I really enjoyed that meal!

My husband had bought each boy one of the "dog tags" at the Disney engraving machines on a previous trip, so I took those and made labels with my first name and my cell number and stuck that to the tags, and made the boys wear them every day so they'd have my number if they got lost. For restroom visits, I let my oldest go alone to the men's room with strict instructions on where to wait for me outside, while I took my youngest with me.

We had a great time on that trip. I let the boys dictate more of the schedule than usual - we spent more time at the resort, went swimming, even went over to AK just to ride Kali River Rapids one afternoon. I tried to be more leniant than usual; one night we'd gone to get mug refills at the food court and walked right by the old Goofy Splash Jets at Pop on our way back to our room. The boys wanted to play in the water and I started to say no, it was time to get ready for bed, but decided to loosen the rules a bit and had them take off their shoes and run and play in their clothes. They needed baths anyway! They had a blast, and it was totally not a typical "mom" thing to do.

Oh, and we have stayed at CSR 4 times and love it. The pool is awesome, so make sure you take time for a swim!

 

[ssommerville]

I'm a single mom of four and with the exception of one trip it's always just me and the kids. I had my 6wk old with us on our trip in March and prior to that is was me and the three older kids. My two girls are ride buddies and the boys ride with me. Our trips are usually in cooler months, so each of the older kids has a backpack to carry their jackets, ponchos, and whatever souviners they end up with during the day. I make sure to remind them what to do if we get separated, but they're really good about staying together and keeping an eye out for each other. Know how much the kids can handle and be prepared to take it slow if you need to. Our trips before the baby were always very fast paced and busy- we were out of the room by 7 every morning and usually not back before midnight, we went all day everyday and had a great time. The first trip with the baby in March we had to make drastic changes to keep everyone happy- there were days we went to the park just for a lunch reservation and then went back to the resort and hung out by the pool the rest of the day- it was a completely different trip experience. Just be prepared to do what you need to to be sure that everyone has fun and don't feel like you have to do everything at once.