Single mom trip ... tips or advice?

[drmrchk]

Hello amazing DIS-ers! I love you guys even though I've never posted here in the DL world before. I'm sort of a WDW gal Lovin' all the tips though!!

Here's my dilemma. I am taking my two girls, ages 4 and 6, to Disneyland in January. I am recently divorced and still getting a handle on this whole single mom thing. It's going to be just us 3....and I'm wondering if anyone has any good DL tips for being alone with the two girls? The 6yo is big enough to ride some big rides like Splash Mountain....and she is going to be so sad that she can't ride it (she loved it when we were in WDW this past February). But the little one isn't going to meet height restrictions for anything....so I don't know what I can do with her. The 6yo is too young to go by herself....and I can't leave a 4yo in ride swap by herself. So I spose we'll just have to stick to family rides like Peter Pan and Small world. Here's my question though -- will they let us sit all 3 of us on a bench made for 2? I'm thinking...Haunted Mansion and Buzz Lightyear....I don't think my 6yo will sit by herself and I'm not comfortable not being with my 4yo...and they are both small for their ages.

And any other general ideas you might have. Must sees? We are going to do Ariel's dinner. I plan on spending 3 days in the park and taking our time....since there's no big rides or big people to deal with we can slow down, take time for the play areas and the shows and the character meets.

What about food? I'm roughly planning $100/day for food...lunch and dinner and a treat maybe. I will bring breakfast and snacks for the room. I can't decide if I should get them kids meals or have them split an adult meal? Sometimes splitting an adult meal is way more food than a kids meal for about the same price...they are really good at sharing, even a drink....would that be better financially?

Another question -- strollers. I have a great double stroller that I love. However, we have plenty of time for our connecting flight and we don't have to go far, so I don't think we'll need it in the airport. But you can't rent a double one in DL. So I'm wondering....do I take the double and deal with the extra bulk? It can be a pain when the girls aren't riding in it, but I do get cupholders and the basket to keep snacks and the day bag and extra clothes and water. But maybe I should just rent a stroller and they can take turns riding in it? I'm mildly concerned about the walk back to the hotel at the end of the day? We are tentatively going to stay at the DLH. I wouldn't be able to take the stroller to the hotel and couldn't carry both girls. Thoughts?

Hmm, I think that's it ...for now ;P Not only is it my first real DL trip (went once before ages ago before all the renovations and such) but my first time traveling with them alone. I'm not entirely sure how to handle all that....and balance their need. Thankfully they aren't further apart in age!

 

[goldies 5]

I would definetely take the double. That way you won't have to worry. By the end of the day it could very well be your best friend. Think of it as your security blanket.

 

[Escape2Disney]

I used to travel alone with my girls at that age, though sometimes would bring a babysitter along for the reasons you listed. The babysitter was nice to have, but I found we actually enjoyed the trips better when we were alone.

That being said, I think you're smart to plan on younger rides for this trip. There are plenty of things they wouldn't have seen at WDW, so there will still be a 'wow' factor. There are so many little shows, dark rides, etc. that you're sure to have a good time.

In our family it went best when I talked about these things with my older child before we got to the parks. I let her know that for 'this trip' it's all about doing things we can all do as a family.

You'll save quite a bit by eating breakfast in the room. I'd also suggest buying water bottles somewhere else. We usually have groceries delivered from Vons. If you think that your snacks, water, and breakfast foods would be $50 or more, this is a money-saving option. If you are a little short of $50, you might want to consider ordering lunch-making items and save even more by packing lunches or coming back to the room for lunch and a nap.

I know that GCH has a childcare service, but I'm not sure about DLH. Maybe someone can pipe in to let you know if they do or if you can use the one at GCH. If this is available to you, maybe you could take a few hours just with your older child so she can ride her favorites.

My kids are 18 and 21, so it's been a while since I've had to use strollers. Hopefully someone else will post about that.

Have a great time!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

You will have plenty of room all riding Buzz, Mansion, and Peter Pan together. If your 4 year old is tall enough and brave enough, you should all fit fine together on a Big Thunder bench as well. If you plan on going to DCA, the three of you together can squeeze into the same row on Monster's Inc. and all share an Ariel car. I would definitely prepare the 6 year old for what to expect but emphasize what fun the three of you will have together. A child needs to be at least 7 years old to ride alone, and a child under age 7 needs to be accompanied by someone age 14 or older, so you are planning correctly to ride things together. A 6 year old is likely not going to be allowed to ride Buzz alone even if she is comfortable with the idea.

Been a long time since I used a stroller but I don't believe DL rents double strollers, so if having a double is important to you then you should bring your own. The trip back and forth between the hotel room and the parks tends to be the greater problem for the older child than the time in the park itself, and a rental won't help you with that anyway. We didn't use strollers at all for our kids beyond age 5, but every kid is different and I wasn't usually on my own with two kids but had my husband to help. Of course, even when DH was there to help, we tended to be more of the tough it out philosophy and made the boys walk rather than carry them. Success with this though varies depending on the temperament of the kid.

There are lots of good counter service options, and we often found it more economical to buy one adult meal and have the boys share. Alas, those days are over. DS13 ordered two entrees for himself when we took him out to Chinese for his birthday! A good thing to do is check out the portion size for the meal you are considering, and then decide whether to get an adult portion or two child portions. My kids were taught to drink water most of the time on trips, and that saves a lot of money. You can get free ice water in a cup at most of the dining locations. I would think $100 per day for food should be plenty.

 

[CamoMama]

My two teen aged girls and I have ridden together on Buzz and the Haunted Mansion, you'll be fine with your little ones on those rides.

I can't say anything about strollers, I don't have any experience with them. You'll have a great time, just remember to relax and enjoy yourself as well as making sure the kids are having fun.

 

[firefly87]

Another vote for bringing your stroller! As you know, with little ones comes all those extras that you need or might need. You don't want to lug around snacks/drinks, jackets, a blanket to sit on during a parade, etc. And like you mentioned, you can't take the park rentals outside of the gates. The walk back to the hotel is excruciating with a tired & cranky little one! Been there, done that!! In fact, when my boys were little, my youngest was young enought to,be in the stroller (prob 3 y/o?) and my oldest was 6y/o......after a day in the park, my oldest was fighting his brother to ride in the stroller (we made him get out!) and he even tried fitting into the basket underneath to catch a ride! (made him get out of that too!) I would bring it and am sure you will be glad you did.

As for food, I would think $100/day is more than plenty,esp if your girls share meals. There is a link somewhere to view meals & prices to give you an idea of what food is available and what the cost is. I think it's on allears.net? We always bring in lunch/snacks for the kids so our only purchases are food for the adults.

Have fun!!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

As for food, I would think $100/day is more than plenty,esp if your girls share meals. There is a link somewhere to view meals & prices to give you an idea of what food is available and what the cost is. I think it's on allears.net? We always bring in lunch/snacks for the kids so our only purchases are food for the adults.

Menus:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland/dining/menus.cfm

http://allears.net/dlr/din/menu/menus.htm

 

[drmrchk]

Thanks so much guys! I'm starting to get a little anxious as we near...but of course mostly about money The final deposit is due Dec. 27 and my buyout on the house from my ex-husband hasn't come through yet....agh! We'll make it work but it makes me anxious about everything! Even if just for the money reason I think I'll bring a stroller...I might borrow a single one and they can take turns....my double is awesome, but big and heavy.

I may look into packing lunches too....that might be a good route to go to cut down on my total.

Thanks so much!! I do feel less anxious about the riding situation now

 

[dizneekrazee]

Hello amazing DIS-ers! I love you guys even though I've never posted here in the DL world before. I'm sort of a WDW gal Lovin' all the tips though!!

Here's my dilemma. I am taking my two girls, ages 4 and 6, to Disneyland in January. I am recently divorced and still getting a handle on this whole single mom thing. It's going to be just us 3....and I'm wondering if anyone has any good DL tips for being alone with the two girls? The 6yo is big enough to ride some big rides like Splash Mountain....and she is going to be so sad that she can't ride it (she loved it when we were in WDW this past February). But the little one isn't going to meet height restrictions for anything....so I don't know what I can do with her. The 6yo is too young to go by herself....and I can't leave a 4yo in ride swap by herself. So I spose we'll just have to stick to family rides like Peter Pan and Small world. Here's my question though -- will they let us sit all 3 of us on a bench made for 2? I'm thinking...Haunted Mansion and Buzz Lightyear....I don't think my 6yo will sit by herself and I'm not comfortable not being with my 4yo...and they are both small for their ages.

And any other general ideas you might have. Must sees? We are going to do Ariel's dinner. I plan on spending 3 days in the park and taking our time....since there's no big rides or big people to deal with we can slow down, take time for the play areas and the shows and the character meets.

What about food? I'm roughly planning $100/day for food...lunch and dinner and a treat maybe. I will bring breakfast and snacks for the room. I can't decide if I should get them kids meals or have them split an adult meal? Sometimes splitting an adult meal is way more food than a kids meal for about the same price...they are really good at sharing, even a drink....would that be better financially?

Another question -- strollers. I have a great double stroller that I love. However, we have plenty of time for our connecting flight and we don't have to go far, so I don't think we'll need it in the airport. But you can't rent a double one in DL. So I'm wondering....do I take the double and deal with the extra bulk? It can be a pain when the girls aren't riding in it, but I do get cupholders and the basket to keep snacks and the day bag and extra clothes and water. But maybe I should just rent a stroller and they can take turns riding in it? I'm mildly concerned about the walk back to the hotel at the end of the day? We are tentatively going to stay at the DLH. I wouldn't be able to take the stroller to the hotel and couldn't carry both girls. Thoughts?

Hmm, I think that's it ...for now ;P Not only is it my first real DL trip (went once before ages ago before all the renovations and such) but my first time traveling with them alone. I'm not entirely sure how to handle all that....and balance their need. Thankfully they aren't further apart in age!

My ex & I split 4 years ago, my boys were 3, 5, and 9. I did my 1st DLR single mom trip when they were 4.5, 6.5, and 11.

I loved having my own stroller in the parks (this is when my ex & I were still together). Never cared for the the strollers at DLR.

Once when my youngest was still too small to ride the "cool" rides, I was in the park alone with my older two. (My mom took the little one to the hotel). We were going on Space Mnt, and it was going to mbe my middle DS 1st time, which meant that my oldest DS was riding alone, for the 1st time, even though I was right behind him. My oldest didn't like that idea, and at last minute was not going to ride, a SM CM decided to ride with him

Fast forward to this past August. DBF & I don't really care for Matterhorn, but the kids wanted to ride it. I didn't know you had to be a certain age to ride alone, and my oldest could only take 1 kid. The girl in line behind them rode with my youngest (she was an off-duty CM).

If she really insists on riding Splash, find out if a CM will ride with her (if that is ok with you), and just do the line with her.

 

[DisneyMommy403]

Though your 6 year old may be bummed about missing out on the "big kid rides" there are still so many rides you can do as a family. The 3 of you should be fine on HM and Peter Pan... we just returned and my DH, Myself, and my 4 & 5 year old all fit in 1 ride vehicle on both of those rides. Buzz Lightyear though I believe they are kind of strict on 2 people only, but I think if you explain to the CM your situation, it wouldn't hurt to try it.

Grocery delivery, packing snacks, buying food offsite and sharing entrees are all a great way to save cash, and limit wasting food.

Also, for character meals... we found that breakfast with Minnie was waaaaay better than Ariel's Grotto. At Ariel's Grotto the character interaction was disappointing, quick, and we felt so rushed. At Minnie and Friends they stayed and played with our kids, and the food was amazing, and we were able to enjoy ourselves. Sometimes the characters would even visit twice to play more! I'd recommend Minnie and Friends over AG, and take your princesses to the Princess Fantasy Faire instead.

As far as your stroller is concerned... if you feel you won't need it at the airport, and it's just another hassle... do what I did. I rented a double and a single (I have 3 little ones) from City Stroller Rentals, and it was cheaper per day than renting a stroller at DL (and they don't rent doubles at DL) and I could take it off site (which you can't do at DL). They also delivered my stroller to my hotel and picked it up from my hotel. I would recommend them to anyone, their service was spectacular!

Hope this helps! I was a single mom until I met my Prince Charming, so I know how challenging it can be... just absorb all the precious moments and memories while you're there and don't fret about the small stresses! Wishing you a great trip!

 

[danlkrim]

I plan to bring my stroller for DS7 even though he has been out of the stroller for a couple of years. It really makes things easier in so many ways. In large crowds DS is safe in the stroller so we don't get separated from him in a big crowd. We will be staying off site but within walking distance so in the evening it will help when DS is tired. Plus it was very handy to leave the snack bag/drinks and jackets on the stroller while we enjoyed a show or ride. Check with your airline but usually you can gate check a stroller for free. I understand what a hassle it is at the airport when you are trying to manage children, luggage, car seats and a stroller, especially if you park and have to use a shuttle bus. If so, renting a double form a local company sounds like a good suggestion.

One word of caution as discussed on a recent thread is to be aware of stroller thieves in the parks. I won't leave my valuables (wallet, tickets, camera) unattended on the stroller. Those stay with me in a smaller, crossbody bag that I can take on the rides. I will probably bring some kind of bike lock that I can use to lock the wheels. That way a CM can move the stroller if they are rearranging the stroller parking.

Whatever you do it will be a special time for you and your daughters.