Single Parent at Disney

[blowinbubbles]

Ok, well I'm not exactly single, but will be on my next trip to Disney! My h is a Disney-hater, so I'm leavin' him home next trip-- -- And taking my 7 and 9 y/o boys with me!

I'm just wondering. . has anyone here taken their kids to WDW, without another adult around? I just booked a 7-day trip in October, and I"m starting to get a little worried! What am I going to do if one kid *wants* to ride a ride, but the other one doesn't. Nobody rides? Can't exactly leave on child alone while I ride with the other one. . .

Hmmm, and while I'm worrying, what if my older, more high-strung child has a meltdown, how to handle *that*. . . sheesh, did I make the right decision in booking this trip?????

Any expert advice on taking the kids to Disney, single-parent mode? Stock up on Margaritas, maybe???

Ann

 

[F1Julie]

I go alone with my DD4 and we have a great time. I find it easier to go with just the 2 of us than with others. 2 kids to 1 parent might be a different story though. I guess if I child really wanted to ride an attraction and the other didn't, I'd wait in line all together for the ride and let the child ride alone and you could stay with the other child. Or you could tell them that you all ride or no one rides. Brothers are used to compromise, right? Ha ha. Anyway, a trip to Disney is great no matter what. I'm sure all 3 of you will have a great time, no matter what your strategy turns out to be.

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

When it comes to Disney I am also a single parent. I have taken my oldest 2 kids alone twice. I taking the BIG adventure again very soon with THREE kids LOL.

Basically if one kid doesn't want to ride no one rides. We really haven't had this problem much. We go to lots of differenrt amusement parks and usually what one wants to ride they all want to ride.

Meltdowns = a quick trip back to the hotel to rest up. Disney will always be there. I would rather spend time at the hotel relaxing than drag around a melted kiddo.

You'll have an awesome time! And if your DH is anything like mine vacation is much less stressful when you leave him at home.

The last time we went was awhile ago but each evening on our way back to the resort I would stop at the food court and pick myself up a special snack. After baths & bedtime I would enjoy 15 minutes alone with my snack before I fell asleep. I'm sure Margaritas would calm you

 

[tjmw2727]

I take my girls alone 1-2x a year and we have a blast, they are also 7 and 9 now but we have been doing it since they were about 4 and 6. We all love it.

Typically if one can't or won't ride then no we don't ride except if its my 9yo and I can walk her through the line and wait at the exit. Primevil whirl was fine but RnRc was a no as my 7yo was not tall enough.

We do leave the park if someone is having a meltdown but since we discuss the consequences ahead of time it really dosen't happen much. I figure at this age if they are melting down then we are doing something wrong anyway. Usually a swim, or some downtime helps and we may return to a park later.

Make sure everyone is hydrated and fed and try to keep the snacks as healty as you can, this also helps. I also alternate later mornings with the later nights for fireworks etc.

The only downside of traveling as the solo adult is waiting on parades and shows and having one or the other need to leave for the restroom. Its happened a couple times despite trying to take care of things ahead of time. We just settle for another spot and try again another day.

We are going again in October although the girls don't know yet.

TJ

 

[Barb D]

I'm another one with a Been-There-Done-That DH. The kids and I have gone every year or so for a day or two, but he's missed the last 4 trips.

I took the two big kids alone when they were 5 and 7. It was doable, but not easy. We did the "everyone stands in line together and the older one rides alone" thing when he wanted to ride but she didn't. But it was all rides he'd been on on previous trips, so I knew he'd be OK.

On subsequent trips (all with their younger sister along) we took Grandma. Life is so much easier with another grownup along. Is there any chance you could find another relative (or maybe a single friend) who wants to go along?

 

[april riddle]

All I can say is bless you - I am not sure I would be up to the challenge - last time I went my kids were 7 and 9 - one loves all the adventurous rides and the other can't even take the mild ones. It would cause too much anxious moments for me. My DH is not a Disney Fan but I think he would rather do Disney than listen to me complain (he would also think that we might be having too much fun without him and I might spend too much money haha).

 

[NYMomof4]

It can be a great time! I went last year with my 2 oldest DS (8,10) and it was wonderful to have that alone time with them to spend just having fun all day long. I think they enjoyed "mom" being so laidback! Go with a plan- if you all agree on planning, it will go much smoother. We only did what we all agreed on, which turned out to be everything!LOL

The one thing that helped was knowing exactly what we were going to do each day-it eliminated arguing. Be open to spontaneous things too, though, I let the boys decide that we would ride Thunder Mt. 4 times in a row and we had a blast!

 

[bobcat]

I travel solo with my 9yo DS and 11 yo DD and rarely have a problem. One thing I did before our first trip that has been a blessing on every trip since is to set up the rules. They know what I expect out of them behavior wise and what the consequences are. One silly rule that I am suprised it works so well is no fighting on vacation. LOL I don't know why I ever thought that would work but now the kids say this as we are heading out of the driveway to start our trip and usually remind each other at least once on our trip. That has been wonderful since they can fight non stop at home! The kids were 4 and 6 on that vacation and have been back many times since. Wouldn't have happened if they weren't angels while we were there.

Many rides you can all ride togehter if you want. Others if one doesn't or can't ride we will either skip or my oldest can go on alone or wait in the exit area for us, depending on the ride set up.

Make sure you plan down time for you as well. The margarita idea is lovely! I usually take breaks during the day where the kids get pool time and I can either swim with them or just lounge watching them. Evenings at the pool are nice as well. If we all start to get grumpy I still insist on a nap for all of us. That may just mean me napping for 20 minutes and the kids quietly watching TV or reading. If they are truely too tired they will fall asleep too.

I also have each of the kids make a must do list. They know that we will do their favorites on that list so it makes it easier for them to wait. The kids also get time where they get to decide what we do. Usually it is towards the end of the trip and I give them a few hours where they decide what we do and where we go. They love this and plan for it all week. Suprisingly they will also take in to cosideration what the rest of us want to do as well.

I love the time I get to spend with my kids at WDW. My focus is on them and we are uninterupted by "real" life. We can dream and act silly and just be what we want without others expectations and pressures. That's hard to explain to the people who can't understand why we go back every year but to me its precious time that will be gone all too soon.

 

[blowinbubbles]

Well, y'all, thanks for the great ideas! I am looking forward to our trip, and am hoping things will work out. My youngest can be hard to communicate with. . it's hard to get him to understand "the plan" and why we're doing it this way.

I think the idea of getting the kids involved in planning is a great one. Hopefully if I get more input from them, especially my 7 y/o, things will go more smoothly.

Actually, I'm also thinking of taking them out of school a couple of days early, and extending the trip a couple of days. That way we can take our sweet time, spend some time at the parks, and the rest of the day at the pool! No rush, no stress no worries!

Thanks again. . .

 

[frstimer128]

I am a single mom with one DD but I frequently take her and my 3 nephews to our local carnivals on my own. Our rule is that if one of the kids does not want to go on a ride, they sit and wait for the others to go on. Once the others are done, the child who had to wait chooses the next ride. If the child waiting complains about having to wait, they lose the option to choose the next ride.