Single Dad & toddler son

[disneydaft]

Hi Guys,

It's been a while since I've been on here as a lot has changed over the past 10 months or so.

My partner and I split up and are sharing custody of our wee guy. Well as I work I don't see him nearly as much as I want.



Anyway, I'm taking him to Orlando in Sep from the 1st - 15th staying at Old Key West.

He will be 2 and 9 months

This will be his third time in Florida, we went in Sep 2010 to Saratoga Springs and again in Jan 2011 staying on Idrive and didn't do Disney.

Obviously just the two of us will be a lot different, I did look at going to Spain or somewhere but I know he loves all the characters and the atmosphere. We will have early starts (he's good at them lol) with some character breakfasts and loads of relaxing time at the pool.

I've done all the big rides a hundred times so that won't bother me, and there is loads Alex can do.


There are a few issues that I need to think about.

The first one is immigration especially as we have different surnames, he actually has the surname that is on my birth certificate. My mum remarried when I was young and we took my step dads name which has been on my passport for about 25 years. When Alex was born I wanted him to have my real dads surname.

Now I'm going to get a signed document from my lawyer anyway stating that I have his mums permission to take him out of the country, I am also going to take a photocopy of her passport. On the document I will have the circumstances of the different names noted as well.
Also as I have travelled to the USA twice already with him they will have that on record.

Does that sound alright?



Next issue is probably just me being paranoid, but what If I take not well? This would be an issue anywhere we go though. I guess all single parents have this fear?



Are they any other things I need to be aware of? Any tips for travelling alone with a toddler?


Thanks

Billy

A week today and we can make adrs

 

[Rach78]

Hi Billy,
Firstly Sorry to hear about you and your partner splitting up. Second I think it's great that you are taking your wee one to Disney, I am sure you will have a brilliant time.
I would perhaps check with the Embassy that you have all the paperwork you need but it sounds like you have covered most angles.
Don't worry about getting unwell, I have been a single parent and there is not many illnesses that would make you so unwell that you can't manage and carry on. Yes it sucks not being well and not having a chance to lie in bed and feel sorry for yourself but you wouldn't want to do that at Disney anyway! I am sure the magic would see you through!!
Hope u have a fantastic time!
Rach x

 

[dixonsontour]

Sounds like a great adventure for the two of you.

I took DD to DLRP for a few days when she was 3 and have great memories of that trip with just the two of us.

If you take your son's birth certificate aswell it will confirm you have parental responsibilty for him (by being named on his birth certificate you have parental responsibility)

Toddler tips - I found a small coolbag filled with snacks like raisins, goldfish crackers etc to work well. DD tended to eat little and often whereas we would skip lunch after a big breakfast. It also passed the time whilst waiting for parades - let her choose and eat a snack.

Tie something onto your buggy handles so it is easy to spot.

For the plane take kids headphones, stickers, comfort blanket/cuddly toy he sleeps with plus a change of clothes for you both.

Have a great trip

 

[disneydaft]

Thanks for the replies

The embassy and taking his birth certificate things are good ideas just to set my mind at rest otherwise I will be on the plane worrying the whole way.

Like I said I know I'm just being a wee bit paranoid, I've been ill when I've had him before and like you say Rachel you always manage to soldier on.

The toddler tips are great, he loves the goldfish crackers and pretty much snacked on them all the time when we were there before.

He was great on the plane as well, sat watching the tv and played with a couple of other kids.

I'll need to see if there are any meets on while we are there for a bit of adult conversation for me and some playmates for Alex.

I can't wait to see his wee face with everything going on especially as he is old enough now to start to appreciate it.

Also as he is talking now we will Skype his mum every morning so he can see her and tell her all about it. That is another one of my fears that he will miss her too much.

This is something I want to do every year with him, not necessarily Florida though. It will give us some proper bonding time as opposed to a few nights every week.

Billy

 

[disneyholic family]

he is so adorable!!!! what a total cutie!!!!

i don't think you'll have any problem at the border - you'll have on your entry form that you're going to the old key west resort at walt disney world.
you have a very logical destination and with all the documentation, you shouldn't have any problem at all.

as for getting sick, if worse comes to worse, you can ask the resort for a baby sitter.
They have phone numbers of baby sitters that you can call.
so that would help, if there is someone to watch him if you're really so horribly under the weather that you can't cope.
but as another posted noted, there aren't that many illnesses that will bring you that far down that you won't be able to cope.
and also remember there is a visiting doctor service that will come to your hotel room, if you need medical care.
The hotel operator has the phone number. You just tell her you need a doctor to come to the room and she'll have the number for you to call (it's centra care, but why remember it - the hotel has the number. Centra care has walk in places, but they also have a visiting doctor service. We've used them many times and they are very very good).

by the way, i went by myself one year, when my kids were quite young.
DH couldn't get away that summer.
the 3 of us had a wonderful time!!!!

 

[disneyholic family]

i just remembered that when i traveled with the kids on my own, when they were small, i had them wear a tag with all their emergency information on it in the event that something happened to me.
they had it all written on a piece of laminated paper inside a bum bag that they wore.
Your little one might be too small for a bum bag, but you could have it as a wrist band or something like that.

i should add, that i was very worried about something happening to me (it was the first time i was taking them overseas on my own after i had had a very difficult medical episode - so there was some logic in something bad happening to me).

so i had them wear that emergency information, 'just in case'.

it had their names, my name, DH's name and all emergency contact phone numbers. (the phone numbers for DH, my sister, and my parents).
and it also said where we were staying (the all star music resort).

thank god we never needed it, but it made me feel a lot better that if something were to happen, the authorities would know how to get in contact with DH and the rest of my family.

 

[dixonsontour]

I found the turtle pond pool at OKW to be great for finding friends for DD. Will be asking for the same loctation again. Pool was very young child friendly and there is a playpark right next to it.

There were alot of Brits and DVCer's chilling out every afternoon so you saw the same faces to say hello to.

 

[disneydaft]

Thanks again for all the advice.


He's staying with me tonite and did the cutest thing

I'll copy my FB status

Just asked Alex if he wanted to go see Mickey Mouse. He said yeah with a big smile. Said will we go on the big plane again.
Well he went hyper running and jumping about then wanted to phone and tell Auntie Tracy lol.

Been thinking about going all day and have got myself just a wee bit excited as well lol.

 

[disneyholic family]

Thanks again for all the advice.


He's staying with me tonite and did the cutest thing

I'll copy my FB status



Been thinking about going all day and have got myself just a wee bit excited as well lol.

i bet you wanted to run around all hyper right with him!!!

 

[disneydaft]

i bet you wanted to run around all hyper right with him!!!

I did actually, we were both pretending to be planes lol.