Disney with a 3 year old by myself. Any advice?

[KT0191]

Hello all!
Anyone take their toddler to Disney alone? Right now, my son and I (he will be 3 when we go) are booked on the BB offer for 9/10/16 -9/17/16 at CBR. I'm thinking I may cut it down one night and move to a value.
Just wanting to hear some experiences and advice some of you may have!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

My DS was 3 when we took our first solo trip together. I tried staying at a value solo with him once and it was very hard. Trying to get him, a folded up stroller and all of our stuff on and off the buses was difficult. One day he fell asleep on the bus and when we got to the resort, thank goodness, a kind man took my stroller and opened it up for me on the sidewalk so I could put DS in.

What made it is easier for me was staying in deluxe resorts - the monorail or being able to walk from the EP resorts made the trips a whole lot easier.

 

[jacknsally19]

I did it shortly before my dd turned three. I stayed at club level for the first time and found out how useful it is to have easy access to food. So my suggestion would be to either bring food or order food to have on hand. It's not like you can easily run to the food court and grab milk or snacks when your are on your own. The other thing is we spent a lot more down time and the resort, which was great. I would suggest staying at CBR and enjoying the pool and activities. I think it will be a bit quieter and less stressful than the value. It's exhausting being with 3 yr old in the parks!

 

[Bitsmommy]

My son and I went alone when he was three. It was a blast. We had the best time ever. I recommend at least a moderate resort due to ease of the bus stops, ect. You will love it!!

 

[msmama]

I did a value alone for the first time when my son was 4. I don't remember having any major issues, but by 4 he was a pretty good listener so if I said stay put, he would stay put. 3 year olds aren't as predictable.

That said, I always go at his pace. Often (now that he is 7) I have ONE thing that I want to accomplish (for instance, last trip it was 7d) but otherwise I pretty much leave the schedule up to him. I do make fp+'s for rides that he'll like, but I often end up changing them while in line (which is good about no mountains - it makes fp+ so much easier). We usually do rope drop (or close) to about 3-4 in the afternoon. I can push him through dinner in a park if necessary (same when he was a toddler).

The big thing for us has always been that once we get back to the room, we are back in the room for the night. He often doesn't want to swim or go to dinner or anything so I have to make sure that we don't need anything once we're in the room.

Since we usually would get to a park just after RD and leave mid afternoon, we never had any bus issues with overcrowding or anything. If we did, I could sit with the stroller between my legs and him on my lap so we took up maybe a seat and a half (sorry for whoever had to sit next to us). Or he'd stand and hold onto me, if necessary. A easy open stroller was super helpful.

The biggest surprise to me though with our solo trip was how tired I was at the end of the day. Being the only one to push the stroller and carry the back pack and shoulder seat or hip to sit on, my back HURT by the time I got home!

I'm a single mom everywhere so it's even better to be one at WDW!

 

[tjmw2727]

I have done trips with each of my dd's alone as 2 and 3 year olds and then several with both of them when one or both were toddler/preschoolers. It is so much fun really - you can just relax and have fun with them with no cleaning, cooking etc. You do have to go at their pace and plan ahead!

I used a nice but easy to fold stroller that stood on its own when folded and a light backpack I could wear. The stroller had a handle and my kids could board the bus and find a seat and wait for me. We did not board standing room only buses - if that was the option we stepped aside and waited to board first on the next bus.

We did value resorts and a couple moderates - I found the value easier as there was only one bus stop and I could move through the gift shop/sundries shop on the way to/from the park if I needed something for the room. Our stay at CBR was actually our worst due to the layout and many bus stops, of the moderates for us the best was POFQ.

I used a grocery delivery service to have breakfast, fruits and healthy snack options available in the room that I knew my kids would eat. I did buy treats and drinks at the parks as it was just to heavy to carry but I did bring along lots of snacks and a favorite sippy cup for water so that saved a bit of $ and time in line.

Counter service meals were an issue so I did breakfast in the room, late lunch table service in the park and dinner at the resort food court or in the room depending on the day. Late day table service was great as they were usually ready for a break from the sun, ready to eat and the lunch prices were good for some nice meals. A few nights if we had a nice afternoon pool break/nap we toured the world showcase watching the live entertainment and snacking around the world for dinner while they chilled in the stroller and they actually really liked that (and I enjoyed my Margarita from Mexico!)

Oh but parades were a pain as one or both would have to go - forcing us to leave a good spot for a bathroom break despite having just done that. ... so be prepared to watch from the back or xx fingers ! A few times kind neighbors held our spots and a few times we found a different good spot but if not we just went about our day and did something else.

Honestly I would say GO - play it by ear and just enjoy what you can do together and don't stress about what you may miss

 

[loves to dive]

I'm a single mom, DS is all grown up now but we started going to WDW when he was 3. We stayed at the MK deluxes, only because at the time they were the only hotels that existed, GF hadn't been built yet. We stayed at what is now Shades of Green but back then was just a Disney hotel so we had to take the bus. I didn't take a stroller, little guy liked to walk most of the time but I'd rent one of the Disney strollers, and put him in it when he got too tired. He was one of those kids that feel asleep as soon as he got in a moving vehicle, worried me to death when he started driving. Soon as we got on the bus or monorail, he was in my lap and out like a light. Since I didn't have a stroller to deal with, I would either carry him or wake him up for him to walk. I didn't take a huge bag, just an over the shoulder tote type bag with a pack of wipes for dirty face and hands, ponchos and my wallet. No MBs back then, I don't even think you could charge back to the hotel. We really didn't need to lug around a bunch of stuff, no toys he was at WDW for goodness sake, he could run and climb and play there. We usually went back to the room for awhile for him to swim, and maybe rest but he wouldn't nap (Mommy may have). We didn't normally stay too late, he and I would be dog tired by around 8 and back to the room, since FP hadn't been invented you stood in line, sometimes for a hour, he was pretty good about it and would occupy himself talking to me, watching people, chatting with other people in the line or trying to pick up girls (he was a little romeo). It's not hard to do, just don't try to do too much, take your time and don't push. If he wants to ride the carosel 10 times ride it 10 times. If he wants to only eat french fries for lunch, go with it. If he's tired go back to the room and rest.

 

[KT0191]

Thank you all so so much for your advice! It truly helped a lot.
Everything will definitely be done by his schedule. We did that this last trip and everything worked out perfectly. We did rope drops, long breaks through the day and went back at night. I am already planning on having lots of down time during the day again and a complete day off to do whatever. I made the decision to move from CBR to a preferred room at POP. I do love CBR and once my husband wants to go back or once my son is older to really appreciate it more, we will definitely go back there. And I would also love to stay at a deluxe but unfortunately, that is out of my budget. I haven't done Pop before though so this is exciting for me. I also shaved off one day. So we will be doing 6 nights and I have a 5 day park hopper with free QS dining. By moving resorts and taking off a night, I saved almost $700! So I am happy about that lol! I haven't ever paid to stay in a preferred location because I don't mind walking but I feel that me being alone with my son, it will make it a lot easier on me.
Once again, thank you!

 

[mandis77]

I would do it in a heartbeat! Just think of the wonderful memories you will share just you two. We stayed at POP before and loved it. If I remember right the preferred rooms are in the 60's location around the main pool. It's a really short walk to the main building and the buses. Enjoy your trip!