Mom traveling with 2

[dramaticmissy]

I am going to the world in November for a week with my 2 daughters 4 and turning 7 while we are there. Any suggestions to help. I will be traveling alone with them. I already made dining ressies for LLT, Hollywood and Vine, Garden Grill, 1900 park Fare, Whispering Canyon, yak and yeti's, I know I will be navagating 2 buffets with them. But my question is okay DD& loves the rock and roller coaster but DD4 is not tall enough and I do not want DS7 to ride alone. I have taken the kids 2 other times but we were with grandparents or their dad. But now recently divorced I am treking by myself. Kind of starting to freak out a little. they are well behaved for the most part, all kids have their moments.

 

[bopper]

Consider getting a double stroller. I am sure you think the oldest is too old for a stroller, but they get tired with all that walking. That will probably help their attitude later in the day.

I don't know what to say to do about the rides that the little one can't go on. One way to handle it is to get a guidebook or map ahead of time and show the older one all the rides that you can all go on, and say for THIS TRIP, we can only go on rides that all of us can go on because there is nobody to sit with DD4. Tell her when DD4 gets older or when you can bring somebody else that you will let her pick the rides she wants to go on. That way when you get there, there will be less whining as she already knows the deal.

 

[Drivercan]

First of all, good for you for taking your daughters alone. You are a great mother!

I agree you need a double stroller. My children were in a stroller until they were 8 years old. It was so much easier to navigate the park and not worry where they were because they are in the stroller in front of you all the time!
The stroller is especially helpful during busy times - at the end of parades etc when everyone is rushing to get "home".

Have a great time!

 

[tjmw2727]

I have been going as the solo adult with my dd's since they were about 2 and 4 and we have a blast. Your going to really enjoy doing wdw solo with your kids.

First off you can ride anything the 4yo can ride as a threesome so don't worry about that. This includes barnstormer, BTMR, Splash etc - I can't think of anything we couldn't ride together until the kids were much older than 7. If you do have to separate you can just sit in back of them for rides like Snow White, Winnie the Pooh etc.

I would say the 48" rides are going to be a no-go for your 7yo although technically by WDW rules she is allowed to ride without an adult. You can't walk through the line with her unfortunately because they won't allow anyone in line who dosen't meet the height restriction. So she will be without you for quite a long period of time, not to mention how she would handle a ride breakdown etc. Personally I wouldn't let a 7 yo ride alone.

Our rule for our "girls only" vacations when my dd's were younger was everyone rides or nobody rides and they knew that up front. Concentrate on the 99% of things you can do together and forget about the 2 or 3 rides your 7yo will have to skip.

Have fun,

TJ

 

[dramaticmissy]

These are great ideas! And glad to to know I am not alone!

 

[MJAJmom]

I will be travelling with DH with my 2 boys, ages 3 and 6, in 2 weeks for a 5 day trip. I was nervous at first, now I'm so excited about going. I have several character meals planned, most are buffets. They'll have to walk with me thru all the buffets and CS lines (may not be fun, but we'll have a little talk about behavior/expectations each day). I'm taking a side/side double stroller, will be a must have at nights when they are tired. Most rides we can sit 3 across, but others I might put the boys ahead of me and I'll sit solo behind them. We might have to miss a ride or 2 that my 6yo could ride, but we'll just manage around it. Mostly, it's me who needs to adjust MY expectations of how this trip will go (slower pace, more potty breaks, more confusion), if mommy can stay focused and happy, our overall trip will be much more fun for all of us!!!

 

[katie111]

I just went with my DD6 and DS5. DH had to work so I left him home with DS1. The trip was a lot of fun but also a lot of work. There were definitely a lot of meltdowns over what rides we were or were not going to go on. Luckily both were 40 inches but DS is more daring than DD so there were rides he wanted to go on & she refused. Often this occurred after she said she would go on the ride and then as the time approached to ride, she would change her mind. I literally dragged her on TOT. It was so embarassing, but knew DS would have a meltdown for the rest of the day if he did not get to ride. As it turned out, she loved it & wanted to ride again. DS didn't like it so that was it for that ride. Basically, the rule was that they both had to try a ride & then if one person didn't like it we wouldn't go on it again. DS didn't want to go on Thunder Mountain, but then loved it and we ended up going on about 10 times. Bottom line is that even if you prep them in advance, there will be some meltdowns in the moment. For the 1st 2 days, I tried having them each take turns picking what ride we would go on next but that didn't work very well, I felt like someone was always upset. By the 3rd day, I just said that I would make the decisions on what we would do & when and after that we had a much better time.

I agree with the double stroller. I brought a single & thought they could switch off but they ended up fighting over it. Finally on day 2, I rented a double stroller and it was great. Hard to push and tiring for me, but it eliminated a lot of whining.

I did 2 buffets as well and they were a bit of a pain. I actually asked a family next to me to watch the kids one time as I was going up for about the 5th time to get the kids something else they wanted. I just couldn't deal with bringing them both up again. I think my point is to not be afraid to ask for help.

When using the bathroom I would make them go in the stalls on either side of me so I could see their feet and no one was allowed out until I was out of my stall. Since my kids are different sexes they both like their privacy.

I struck up lots of conversations in line with other people as I just needed some adult interaction every once in awhile and it definitely helped me keep my sanity!

Since you're the only adult you can make all the decisions which I loved. My kids stayed up later than they ever have (DH is pretty rigid with bedtimes). We had some TS meals which I cancelled at the last minute because we were having too good a time doing something else. We snuck in pool time whenever we could, even if we only had a half hour, it was always great to take a quick dip. We stayed at WL which we loved & probably will never be able to stay at again because we're a family of 5. Overall, we just kind of went with the flow, if we wanted to do someting we had planned we would do it but if I wanted to change plans at the last minute I could and did. There were some trying times, and some times when I said "why did I bother bringing them here?" but now looking back only a week later, I really only mostly remember all the fun we had. Just relax, you will have a great time!!!

 

[shane&jakesmom]

Congratulations on your weight loss, way to go. I wish I had that kind of motivaton I think it is wonderful that you are going alone with your kids it will be a special trip for you all have a terrific time and don't worry about anything, everything will be fine and have a blast

 

[dramaticmissy]

I just went with my DD6 and DS5. DH had to work so I left him home with DS1. The trip was a lot of fun but also a lot of work. There were definitely a lot of meltdowns over what rides we were or were not going to go on. Luckily both were 40 inches but DS is more daring than DD so there were rides he wanted to go on & she refused. Often this occurred after she said she would go on the ride and then as the time approached to ride, she would change her mind. I literally dragged her on TOT. It was so embarassing, but knew DS would have a meltdown for the rest of the day if he did not get to ride. As it turned out, she loved it & wanted to ride again. DS didn't like it so that was it for that ride. Basically, the rule was that they both had to try a ride & then if one person didn't like it we wouldn't go on it again. DS didn't want to go on Thunder Mountain, but then loved it and we ended up going on about 10 times. Bottom line is that even if you prep them in advance, there will be some meltdowns in the moment. For the 1st 2 days, I tried having them each take turns picking what ride we would go on next but that didn't work very well, I felt like someone was always upset. By the 3rd day, I just said that I would make the decisions on what we would do & when and after that we had a much better time.

I agree with the double stroller. I brought a single & thought they could switch off but they ended up fighting over it. Finally on day 2, I rented a double stroller and it was great. Hard to push and tiring for me, but it eliminated a lot of whining.

I did 2 buffets as well and they were a bit of a pain. I actually asked a family next to me to watch the kids one time as I was going up for about the 5th time to get the kids something else they wanted. I just couldn't deal with bringing them both up again. I think my point is to not be afraid to ask for help.

When using the bathroom I would make them go in the stalls on either side of me so I could see their feet and no one was allowed out until I was out of my stall. Since my kids are different sexes they both like their privacy.

I struck up lots of conversations in line with other people as I just needed some adult interaction every once in awhile and it definitely helped me keep my sanity!

Since you're the only adult you can make all the decisions which I loved. My kids stayed up later than they ever have (DH is pretty rigid with bedtimes). We had some TS meals which I cancelled at the last minute because we were having too good a time doing something else. We snuck in pool time whenever we could, even if we only had a half hour, it was always great to take a quick dip. We stayed at WL which we loved & probably will never be able to stay at again because we're a family of 5. Overall, we just kind of went with the flow, if we wanted to do someting we had planned we would do it but if I wanted to change plans at the last minute I could and did. There were some trying times, and some times when I said "why did I bother bringing them here?" but now looking back only a week later, I really only mostly remember all the fun we had. Just relax, you will have a great time!!!

Oh my, Thank you Thank You, you made me smile! I was thinking about the bathroom thing.I know this is gonna be a great trip! I am just gonna take things slow, and try to be flexible.

 

[bopper]

I have to concur in general with the "parent makes the decisions"...I find generally if I think I am being nice and letting them take turns deciding something that it turns into much bickering. If you just say "this is what is happening" (maybe ask them what is their "Can't Miss Ride), then there is less sibling rivalry.

Also think about all those Table Service meals...one or two character meals are probably great for the kids. They won't know its "special"...but if they have to leave what they are doing to go to dinner, that might annoy them! So be flexible on that. Also, don't promise things in advance. For example, don't say "We will go to the fireworks tonight!" because what if you are tired or they are tired and then you don't go? They won't know what they are missing if you never tell them.

 

[dramaticmissy]

good ideas about mom being in charge! I have the dining plan so I kind of have to do the table service unless they offer the counter service switch, because some people did get the free dining when we are going.

 

[brockash]

How tall is your DD-4? I'm thinking the only ride that my DS (an older 4 at the time) wasn't able to ride was rock n rollercoaster. I think the only thing you can do in that situation is explain ahead of time to your DD-7 that for this particular trip "we" aren't going to be able to ride it, but let her know in the future you all will be able to. I would just prepare as best as you can. I agree that I'd take/rent a double stroller or something that you can have them both in (especially for crowded times and at closing.) Sounds like you guys are going to have a wonderful trip.

 

[katie111]

One other tip that I thought of was to bring as little as possible into the parks. Keeping track of a stroller & 2 kids was enough. By day 3, all I brought into the parks was a Vera Bradley wristlet with my camera attached to it on a clip. Just usually bought the kids a water bottle and they drank that all day. Wristlet had my passes, ID, credit cards, chapstick, and phone in it. I know some people bring lots of stuff into the parks but there was really nothing else that I needed. I just brought ponchos for Kali River Rapids so we wouldn't need a change of clothes.

One last thing I just thought of, I pointed out CM's to them in the morning at each park just in case they ever got lost. Of course, it never happened, but it made me feel better knowing they would know what to do.

 

[BellyBaby]

Hi all,

I was lucky to have traveled with most of my family and do lots of baby swapping for rides. Whenever we left for a nap or at the end of the day, we sometimes had a stack of fast-passes we weren't going to use. So....

I handed them out to a family - who barely thanked me. Whatever, but still after that I decided to find someone who would at least appreciate it. I know it was just a fastpass, but still, by afternoon, lines can be long!

I spotted a single mom with her daughter who was going on winnie-the-pooh. I gave her my passes and she was estatic and offered me hers in return. I explained we were leaving, have fun. She was so happy, and thanked me again. Ok, I am biased b/c I was a single mom for about 6 years, and it's hard, and it's rough on kids. Helping mom squeeze in an extra ride while she's doing it all - flight, tickets, meals, lines, potty breaks, etc. hopefully helps.

I wish more people got fastpasses before they leave to give single moms a break!

 

[dramaticmissy]

Hi all,


I wish more people got fastpasses before they leave to give single moms a break!

me too!