Disney with 1 adult and 3 kids

[VetMom]

Hi guys, I'm brand new here!

I'm doing Disney World in late June. It'll be just me and my three kids ages 8, 7, and 4. I know very well that tackling Disney with three kids and no other adults is not ideal, but I have no one else in my life. I'll already be in Florida for a wedding and for school for a month so I'm making the DW leap while we're there.

That said, we are seasoned Disneyland goers. My kids have been many times, and we usually go for 5 days at a time with no breaks. We typically stay all day each day, and the younger ones historically napped in the stroller without an issue.

Any advice on must do attractions, shows, food, etc? What things can we all do together? My older two may ride bigger rides by themselves since I have no one to do Rider swap with, or should they not?

Any help is appreciated!

 

[lostprincess_danie]

Hi. I have not been to Disney World with a little one (will be doing that this year) but I can answer a few of your questions.

If your children are at least 40" tall they will be able to ride most of the height restricted rides. The trouble comes in with Disney's rule that any child under 7 years old must be accompanied by someone over 14. So your kids would not be allowed to ride together without you. You would have to do rider switch. HOWEVER there are numerous rides at all the Disney World parks that can accommodate your entire party. If you do a quick google search for Disney World ride vehicle sizes that might help you compile a great list.

I have been to Disneyland after two trips to Disney World and my husband and I were practically giddy with how easy it was to run from ride to ride. This will not be the case in Disney World. Walking 6-7 miles in one day is pretty standard. Almost all guide books/websites recommend down time each day or take one day completely park free. But you know your kids best and you know how much stamina they have to make it through.

Don't freak yourself out about being alone in Disney World. On our last trip we rode the monorail with a momma visiting Magic Kingdom alone with her newborn in a front carrier and her toddler strapped to her back in another carrier. You're doing something awesome for your kids, focus on the good times you'll have ahead of you.

I can answer more questions about ride suggestions if you like. I've done a lot of research to prepare for our trip this year with our toddler.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Hi. I have not been to Disney World with a little one (will be doing that this year) but I can answer a few of your questions.

If your children are at least 40" tall they will be able to ride most of the height restricted rides. The trouble comes in with Disney's rule that any child under 7 years old must be accompanied by someone over 14. So your kids would not be allowed to ride together without you. You would have to do rider switch. HOWEVER there are numerous rides at all the Disney World parks that can accommodate your entire party. If you do a quick google search for Disney World ride vehicle sizes that might help you compile a great list.

I have been to Disneyland after two trips to Disney World and my husband and I were practically giddy with how easy it was to run from ride to ride. This will not be the case in Disney World. Walking 6-7 miles in one day is pretty standard. Almost all guide books/websites recommend down time each day or take one day completely park free. But you know your kids best and you know how much stamina they have to make it through.

Don't freak yourself out about being alone in Disney World. On our last trip we rode the monorail with a momma visiting Magic Kingdom alone with her newborn in a front carrier and her toddler strapped to her back in another carrier. You're doing something awesome for your kids, focus on the good times you'll have ahead of you.

I can answer more questions about ride suggestions if you like. I've done a lot of research to prepare for our trip this year with our toddler.

OP's older children are 8 and 7 years old, so they are allowed to ride on their own. OP, if the 7 and 8 year old would like to ride the bigger rides that the 4 year old can't ride, it also means they have to stand in the line without you as you would not be able to enter any ride line that has a height restriction that your 4 year old doesn't meet. If you are ok with them waiting in line and going on the ride without you, it is allowed. There are a TON of rides you will be able to do together, however. I would recommend looking through the Birnbaum's guide or even simply going to the WDW website for each theme park and start looking at the rides and the height restrictions to get a sense of what you'd like to ride and see and which rides you can do together. In terms of must-do's, I would probably consider at least one character meal and one nighttime show. In terms of navigating crowds with three small kids at a nighttime show, I would probably opt for the EP show, Fantasmic or Rivers of Light. If you want to do Star Wars or HEA, I would seriously consider doing one of the dessert parties for better views for smaller people and less crowds.

Edited to add: if you choose to do a character meal, I would consider doing one of the "family-style" options as I find doing buffets alone with even one small child can be challenging. Consider 'Ohana and/or Trattoria al Forno breakfast or any meal at Cinderella Royal Table, Akershus and/or Garden Grill. I would also consider doing more table service meals as opposed to counter service as, again, balancing trays, trying to get utensils and condiments and then trying to find a table at QS can be very difficult with small children in tow and no help.

 

[Calee]

7 and 8 year old can totally ride together without you. Get FP for those rides to decrease their wait time without you. Even if you dont get a FP in advance for those rides, getting one for just 2 as a 4th might not be too hard. If the 4 year old is tall enough, but simply does not want to ride, you 2 can wait in line with the older 2 and then exit without riding.

We love character meals at those ages. Use FP to your advantage. We love shows.. I dont know what they have in Disneyland, but we love Lion King and Nemo at AK, frozen, Indiana jones and beauty and the beast at HS, and the mid day parade at MK.

 

[CaLuCa]

I used to do disney by myself when kiddos were 11, 4, 4, and 2. We had AP and lived about 7 hours away. We went several times over the course of that year. If you are a seasoned DL goers, you will already have experience with being in a park with kids. Granted, DW is bigger and there's 4 parks not 2. My favorite piece of advice that worked the best for us was to book one table service meal a day. I found after making sure everyone was happy and doing well, it was a nice treat to have some one bring me a drink (not even alcoholic...just a drink!) And NOT a buffet. It's too hard to help all the littles get food and then yourself, and I didn't want to send them up by themselves to make a mess or contaminate the serving area.

Like others have said, your 7 and 8 year old can ride together. The 4 year old will need to be with you. I, personally, would not feel comfortable sending my 7 or 8 year old through the line themselves when it was a ride that we all can't ride. So we sat out some things. My oldest only likes shows and characters and smoother rides. You'll need to check the 40 inch rule for the 4 year old. We focused on things we could do together.

Now we live here and I take them still, but they are older 16, 8, 8, and 6 so it's way easier. Ditching the stroller was the best, but it was hard! I lost my water bottle holder and my oldest had to learn to carry a back pack.

Have fun!

 

[michelepa]

You people are crazy if you are recommending to the poster that the 7 and 8 year can stand in WDW lines by themselves without her supervision in June. Lines will be very long and it will be very hot.

If I saw them in line without a parent I would go to the nearest cast member and report this situation.

That is completely irresponsible. It doesn’t matter what the rules say or don’t say it should not be done.

Also I have been on many a ride that has broken down for brief and long periods of time thankfully never had to be evacuated from a ride but I do know others who have. You should be in the lines and on the rides with your children for their safety.

 

[lostprincess_danie]

I must have misunderstood the way it's worded on the Disney website about the ages to ride alone. Didn't mean to cause any confusion.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

You people are crazy if you are recommending to the poster that the 7 and 8 year can stand in WDW lines by themselves without her supervision in June. Lines will be very long and it will be very hot.

If I saw them in line without a parent I would go to the nearest cast member and report this situation.

That is completely irresponsible. It doesn’t matter what the rules say or don’t say it should not be done.

Also I have been on many a ride that has broken down for brief and long periods of time thankfully never had to be evacuated from a ride but I do know others who have. You should be in the lines and on the rides with your children for their safety.

I didn’t see anyone “recommending” OP doing this. PP’s have simply pointed out WDW’s rules that children 7 and older can ride alone. Why would you waste your time reporting something that is well within WDW rules? If you aren’t the parent or guardian, it’s not your decision to make.

 

[tinkerjo]

It really all depends on the maturity of the kids and what mom is comfortable with. Really, there are only a few rides that can’t be done together as a family unless 4yo is really short and most of those my 8-7yo kids would not have rode anyway. OP make sure you do these rides as they will be new for you
Epcot- frozen ever after, and explore the seas and all the countries!! There is a lot of little things in Epcot to love. Test track will be hugely disappointing after cars land and Soarin is exactly the same.
MK- basically the same but take in the carousel of progress, the people mover, Mike’s laugh floor, buzz light year space ranger spin ( couldn’t remember if this was at DL too), 7 dwarfs mine train, HM (different) small world (different) philharmagic
HS- everything!!!most will be new to you, especially the shows. Of course you have TSL and Jedi training academy
AK- have to do the safari!! Kali river is fun but not near as nice as the DL water ride. (Grizzly river run) See FOTLK, and go to pandora. This is the ride, if you can get the kids a fast pass for FOP, that I would let them go on alone. It is like Soarin on steroids. Not scary, just awesome but doubt your lo would be big enough.
It’s your decision as a parent. Only you know your children and as long as it is within Disney policy your good. Have a great time and be prepared for a lot more walking and know park hopping is way harder than DL.

 

[michelepa]

I didn’t see anyone “recommending” OP doing this. PP’s have simply pointed out WDW’s rules that children 7 and older can ride alone. Why would you waste your time reporting something that is well within WDW rules? If you aren’t the parent or guardian, it’s not your decision to make.

Like I said you people are crazy to even consider leaving children at 7 and 8 to be basically unsupervised at Disneyworld in lines or in rides.

There is an expectation that parents will be supervising young children. It’s of no moment if it’s in the Disney rules or not

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Like I said you people are crazy to even consider leaving children at 7 and 8 to be basically unsupervised at Disneyworld in lines or in rides.

There is an expectation that parents will be supervising young children. It’s of no moment if it’s in the Disney rules or not

it is a call the parent has to make if 4 yo is too short to ride as that child would not be allowed in line even if planning to use chicken exit. plus if it is a ride that the older ones really want to ride and they have spent the day riding what little one can ride they could easily turn rest of day ugly by pouting that only little gets to ride what s/he wants. been there and done it

 

[tinkerjo]

I totally agree it is the parent’s decision. I know I have seen kids that old in a stroller at WDW( I know that’s a loaded topic on these forums, to each their own) even in my family, my DS11 is very mature and independent (also 5’7”) while my DN10 still watches bubble guppies and sits in a car seat. facts are that every parent raises their child differently and there are different maturity levels. Not that either is wrong or bad, just different. I don’t think anyone was suggesting the children do anything other than stand in line alone (together) to ride a ride that mom is unable to ride d/t a younger child. Hopefully they would have a phone and be in contact with mom. Heck, they could FaceTime while in line and mom could wait at the exit. For me it would be a tough call and would depend on the ride (RNR would be a hard no). It sounds like the kids are DL veterans so they are aware how everything works and may have even done rides on their own before. As long as Disney allows it I try not to judge

 

[sponica]

I'd focus on rides/experiences you can't get at DL, unless you REALLY love something.

If your older two can handle being in line by themselves on rides that the younger one can't go on, I don't see what the big deal is. I'm too busy dealing with my own business to really care what other people do that's within the rules. Just hang out by the exit.

 

[VetMom]

Thanks, everyone!

I trust my older two to do a ride alone if they really want. We probably won't be back to DW for many years after this trip so I'd rather not remove experiences if I don't have to. Obviously if I get there and I don't feel comfortable, I won't.

They will have a phone for emergencies. We are from Arizona so the heat doesn't phase us, but the humidity might. Again, we'll gauge that when we're there.

Thank you for the tips for those that have gone with younger kids alone! I think we'll do some of our favorites that we know from DL but focus on new things for sure.

My youngest is 38 inches and might not be tall enough for a lot, which is another reason I'd like my older two to be able to ride alone. Under 40 inches eliminates a lot of rides.

I like the idea of dining in each day. I'd Iove recommendations for best restaurants with kids. Particularly some character meals.

 

[sponica]

@VetMom Garden Grill breakfast in Epcot is super fun. It's all you care to eat served family style, which is makes life with kiddos easier in my opinion. It's Chip and Dale, Pluto and Mickey in farm attire. The one disadvantage is that the bathroom is outside of the restaurant. Not sure if that's a dealbreaker for you.

If you don't have a hibachi style restaurant near you, Teppan Edo might be worth going to.

If your crew has adventurous palates, I think heading over to animal kingdom lodge and going to Sanaa might be cool.

 

[stephk1981]

Do what you are comfortable with. Personally, I would recommend hiring Kids night out for a day or two so that they can help with child watch for the 4 year old while you ride with the older two on larger attractions. Or the in park sitter will accompany the older two on the ride while you wait with the 4 year old. Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

 

[tinkerjo]

We really enjoy the Hoop de do review(at fort wilderness). So much fun for all ages and all you can eat (beer and wine too for you)!!! It is a must for us every trip. As far as character breakfast we like Ohana. It is family style all you can eat and my kids love the juice and Hawaiian bread!!! It s Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, LILO and Stitch. Those are our 2 big meals we do. The rest is usually QS or make it ourselves. We love Yak and Yeti too but it’s not exciting for the kids

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Like I said you people are crazy to even consider leaving children at 7 and 8 to be basically unsupervised at Disneyworld in lines or in rides.

There is an expectation that parents will be supervising young children. It’s of no moment if it’s in the Disney rules or not

I never said I was considering leaving a child at 7 or 8 to be unsupervised at WDW. I've simply stated WDW's rules in regard to children riding alone. Simply stating facts. WDW's expectation (and rule) is that someone under the age of 14 must enter a WDW theme park with someone 14 or older. You may disagree with it, but that's the rule. So, quite literally, OP's 7 and 8 year old kids could enter the park with a 14 year old and ride whatever they wanted to their heart's content. WDW won't bat an eye. Please stop calling people on these boards crazy. I've never stated I would do this, but if other parents choose to, it's their prerogative and within WDW's rules. If that doesn't work with your style of parenting, so be it. It certainly doesn't work with my style nor would it work for my family, but I'm not going to try to dictate or be outraged by what others do if they are abiding by WDW's rules. If you have such a problem with it, perhaps contact WDW and state your case?

 

[DisneyOma]

You people are crazy if you are recommending to the poster that the 7 and 8 year can stand in WDW lines by themselves without her supervision in June. Lines will be very long and it will be very hot.

If I saw them in line without a parent I would go to the nearest cast member and report this situation.

That is completely irresponsible. It doesn’t matter what the rules say or don’t say it should not be done.

Also I have been on many a ride that has broken down for brief and long periods of time thankfully never had to be evacuated from a ride but I do know others who have. You should be in the lines and on the rides with your children for their safety.

At age 8, my daughter was very capable of taking care of herself for 15 minutes in a FP queue. She could have handled her 5 year old sister for that short period of time as well (noting that this is not allowed, but I would have been fine with it). When there is a need for evacuation, multiple CMs guide yguests off the attraction. There are some adults I'd worry about more not being able to handle this sort of thing than my kids.

Like I said you people are crazy to even consider leaving children at 7 and 8 to be basically unsupervised at Disneyworld in lines or in rides.

There is an expectation that parents will be supervising young children. It’s of no moment if it’s in the Disney rules or not

Do you have a 7 and/or 8 year old? Do they go to school? Do they ride to school on a bus, go on a field trip, scouting, after school activity, sports? Do you go everywhere with them? When do you expect them to learn any independence?

 

[Tiggerlover91]

You people are crazy if you are recommending to the poster that the 7 and 8 year can stand in WDW lines by themselves without her supervision in June. Lines will be very long and it will be very hot.

If I saw them in line without a parent I would go to the nearest cast member and report this situation.

That is completely irresponsible. It doesn’t matter what the rules say or don’t say it should not be done.

Also I have been on many a ride that has broken down for brief and long periods of time thankfully never had to be evacuated from a ride but I do know others who have. You should be in the lines and on the rides with your children for their safety.

Like I said you people are crazy to even consider leaving children at 7 and 8 to be basically unsupervised at Disneyworld in lines or in rides.

There is an expectation that parents will be supervising young children. It’s of no moment if it’s in the Disney rules or not

Just....wow.....