1st trip as a single mom of 5 kiddos (posted in single parent forum, no responses)

[Mollygirl21]

Thank you everyone for your helpful replies. I decided to spend the extra money and stay at the cabins. I am absolutely bringing a double stroller for my crazy twins, and my older kiddos will have their phones on them. I cant wait to start making ADRS!

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[michbaron]

Definitely agree that the stroller is so helpful so smart move there! I’m not 100% sure but does Disney have family bathrooms, I can’t remember? My oldest son is 9 and I’m not sending him into a bathroom alone most places so I usually wait for family bathrooms when we’re out. I have 3 kids, 9 (who also has ADHD), 5, and 1. When we do pools just me and them they have to understand we can’t go in the deep end or go crazy and have to stay nearby and together etc or the older one can go do the water slide and then come back to check in with me etc and I know what you mean about the older kids feeling like helpers. When I’m out with my kids alone I do default to my 9 year old being my helper but to make up for it I get him an extra souvenir or treat or let him pick what we’re doing next etc I think it’s a good deal to make with your older kids that if they can be super helpful they’ll be rewarded for it

 

[meohmy]

Use the disabled toilets, I would be wary letting my eleven year old in the men's room alone and if you children have concerns, this would be the best solution.
Definitely get a DAS pass, you need to call Disney 30 days before your trip, we used this pass on our last Disney trip, our eldest has ADHD and it was a great help, just too many trips on Pirates of the Caribbean!
Have a wonderful trip.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Use the disabled toilets, I would be wary letting my eleven year old in the men's room alone and if you children have concerns, this would be the best solution.
Definitely get a DAS pass, you need to call Disney 30 days before your trip, we used this pass on our last Disney trip, our eldest has ADHD and it was a great help, just too many trips on Pirates of the Caribbean!
Have a wonderful trip.

but do not wait until it is a have to go as if someone ahead of you can need longer to finish up for you to get in

 

[accm]

I think you can have a really enjoyable trip, as long as you have realistic expectations. I would probably cap what everyone wants to do to max 1 thing per park. I would also try to take things slow vs trying to ride every ride. An easier way to make everyone happy would be to ask where they'd like to eat, either for a meal or a snack. It's something that you have more control over.

I would also recommend trying to not take too much with you to the parks if you're planning on taking the bus. Everyone always comments how great it is to have a stroller to carry everything, but don't forget you need to fold your stroller up to ride the bus. I would aim to only have whatever can fit into one backpack that you can manage.

Also, don't forget to have fun yourself. It's easy to get so caught up on your kids and making sure everyone is getting what they want and forget about yourself. But this is your trip too, so do what you want to do as well!

 

[PollyannaMom]

To alleviate your fear of someone getting lost:

Have a family crafting party and make bracelets with your cell phone number for the kids who don't have their own phone (and even for the ones who do if they're likely to lose it and wouldn't know your number by heart).

Then teach everyone how to find a cast member and give them that number if they get separated from you. (If your kids don't like the feel of bracelets, they can wear them on their ankle or you can even put the same kind of beads right on their shoelaces.)

 

[Lilsia]

Use the disabled toilets, I would be wary letting my eleven year old in the men's room alone and if you children have concerns, this would be the best solution.
Definitely get a DAS pass, you need to call Disney 30 days before your trip, we used this pass on our last Disney trip, our eldest has ADHD and it was a great help, just too many trips on Pirates of the Caribbean!
Have a wonderful trip.

Disney bathrooms are safe. There are so many Dads that are in and out of there. This is one of those things that we over worry about.

 

[kimmylaj]

Hi, chiming in a little late I totally think you can do this and have a great time. I am a preschool teacher and spend a lot of time wrangling little kids although not in theme parks lol. The most important thing is setting clear expectations ahead of time, even for things like when you take the two littlest ones in the bathroom. I am bringing your sisters in the bathroom. You will sit on this bench. It might be a while if the line is long. Even if you see something interesting I need you to sit right here and wait for me. Here are two things I thought of...
1. when my kids were little I went to the machine that makes dog tags and put our cell numbers on it and put it through the front of their shoelaces, no way they could take it off. As a bonus they had disney themed tags.
2. check out which bathrooms have 2 exits. Sometimes there is an exit into 2 different lands. Lost my hubby and son for quite sometime in one of these a long time ago.
here's a link https://www.disboards.com/threads/restrooms-with-multiple-entrances-exits.2001252/
Have a great time

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I give you so much credit! I can’t imagine trying to get 5 kids through WDW on my own, and adding special needs to the mix makes it so much harder.

Hopefully you can get DAS access, but if not Genie+ and ILLs will go a long way to smoothing out the day if you can afford them. That way you can still ride rides but instead of waiting in the queues you can wait somewhere quieter.

 

[RogueX]

For my daughter's first trip at 4 years old, she was incredibly shy and a recommendation her preschool teacher gave us was a bracelet with her name and our cell phone number in case we got separated. We always took a picture of what she was wearing in the morning, went over what to do if she got separated from us, etc.

 

[AuntieL]

I'm late but since you haven't left yet here are some other tips from my parenting groups,
1. If they get separated teach them to find a cast member or a mom with kids
2. I bought temporary tattoos off etsy that have my cell on it - some people just use sharpie
3. You could get tiles or apple air tags and loop through their tennis shoes, wear it as a necklace, I think there are bracelets too - I've heard they are pretty accurate and would be helpful if they are not in the immediate area

 

[patm95]

Good for you for doing this. I have two kids and would never dream of trying this myself.