Single Parent in US Advice

[SwirlyGirly]

I'm not an actual full time single parent, but bc of my husband's job, the kids and I tend to do some trips without him. My 8yr old is dying to go to TWWoHP, but my 5yo is a total chicken. Should I even attempt this trip? TIA

 

[universalfan]

Yes do it. I have been taking my daughter alone since she was seven and we have some of our best memories from our vacations at Universal. I like to stay onsite and use a towncar service. That way when we arrive in Orlando we have a lovely person waiting for us who then takes us to Publix to stock up on snacks and then whisks us straight to the hotel. Once at the hotel we can take the paths to the park, or if we are tired, we can take the water taxi or a pedicab (I tip 10 dollars for the pedicab). We feel perfectly safe. Also your five-year-old will love the characters and many of the rides and the play areas.

 

[mjohnson96]

I'm not an actual full time single parent, but bc of my husband's job, the kids and I tend to do some trips without him. My 8yr old is dying to go to TWWoHP, but my 5yo is a total chicken. Should I even attempt this trip? TIA

I found that it is easier to do this without DH, becuase he is not a big theme park fan and I am

It is nice to be able to take the time and spend it with DD (7) and see all the fun things to do. Last year when DH went he would go back to the hotel to relax and I would keep DD with me in the park, and I was 5 months pregnant.

 

[SwirlyGirly]

Super! Thanks!

 

[momblanch]

I am also traveling w/o DH this trip. Really looking forward to spending some fun, relaxing time w/the kids. However, my DS 17 wants to ride everything of course and DD12 is a chicken! So I see some compromising in my future. (We told her she can opt out of 2-3 rides per park, but we offer no flexibility for WWoHP and FJ. LOL )

You will have a great time, there is plenty to do for all ages and fear levels.

 

[Metro West]

You will have a great time, there is plenty to do for all ages and fear levels.

 

[christophfam]

I've been traveling alone to the parks with my kids (DD11 and DS14) for years. Now I've never been one to just let the kids go off on a ride alone, so we have had to make a few compromises along the way. When one child wants to ride and the other doesn't, we will walk all the way through the queue and then I watch her (it's usually my daughter) get on and off the ride. This works for me since it is only a minute or two I can't see her and she's strapped into a ride the whole time. My child who doesn't want to ride knows this is what we do when he doesn't want to ride. He still has to wait in line with us and I don't usually care if I ride or not since we're usually only talking the big coasters here.

I've never had any times where we've felt unsafe. Either at Disney or Universal, but I do always stay onsite. I think staying onsite makes it all a lot easier by myself. Universal is actually the easier of the two by myself since you don't have to deal with buses and the rooms are just a short water taxi away.

Have fun and enjoy the time alone with the kids. I wouldn't hesitate to do it and have been doing so since the kids were little. My husband like others just isn't into the parks like me.

Oh and if you need a little Mommy time, I usually find it at the RPR pool. The kids can entertain themselves for hours there. I find my beach chair, order a pina colada and we're set. We end up eating dinner by the pool a few nights too. The kids just pop up out of the water when it is time to eat and then go straight back in after they polish off their chicken fingers. Works like a charm.

 

[SwirlyGirly]

Again, thank you so much for the advice! However, I just recruited grandma and grandpa to join in. I booked today at HRH with the HP package. woo hoo!