Single parent, two kids. Am i crazy? can I do it?

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

Am I stupid to even consider this?

I just realized, how am I going to do the rides with the kids? Will the kids ride together and I follow alone behind?

It will be me and my two kids, who will be 6.5 and almost 9 when we go a year from now.

anyone know of any threads that give advice for someone braving to travel alone with 2 kids? been a while since i was on here. thanks!

(last time, it was me and the kids...and my mum, brother, and another adult! so lots of opportunity to have noone ride alone...)

should also add:
there will be some attractions that my dd will want to go on, but not my ds (the older one)

ie space mountain....3 of us line up, dd and i go on, where does ds go???? is he able to wait near the exit????

 

[birdie4902]

Not only are you brave but would be ridiculous not to be a little concerned. I am doing this for the first time January 19-21. I am scared to death but have learned that the three of us travel really well together, and we have gone skiing together, and to a three day road trip to Hersheys -
Me, DS 6 and DS 3.
I have reviewed special rules for Disney and since we have never done, Disney with only me as the Adult, I cannot offer any advice - except that I have read the Disboards religiously and am relying on a sprinkle of Disney magic to get us through!!

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

awww!!! good luck!!! your trip is just around the corner! think of me, and post me an update with any single parent tips you may have.

have a wonderful fantastic remember it forever time!

Not only are you brave but would be ridiculous not to be a little concerned. I am doing this for the first time January 19-21. I am scared to death but have learned that the three of us travel really well together, and we have gone skiing together, and to a three day road trip to Hersheys -
Me, DS 6 and DS 3.
I have reviewed special rules for Disney and since we have never done, Disney with only me as the Adult, I cannot offer any advice - except that I have read the Disboards religiously and am relying on a sprinkle of Disney magic to get us through!!

 

[BellyBaby]

There are alot of rides that 3 can fit on. Does DS not want to ride space mtn. b/c it's boring, or too scary? b/c if it's too boring, then I'd say too bad, you're coming! then I'd use the "quality family time" line. My son went on Small World with his little sister, and we still joke about how bored he was and start singing the song to get groans out of him. But we all make small sacrifices, and he would have to wait for us anyways!

If he's scared...that's a hard one. Those rides can take a long time to go through. I was a single mom for many years, I fit the bill of paranoid wacko mom, he was never out of my sight. Depends how mature your child is, and if you prep him well. If you can spot a family waiting doing their baby swap, I'd plunk him next to them. Then when they leave, he needs to stay close to a CM.

Good luck, and yes, you can do this. they're old enough to follow ground rules and have a blast.

 

[ty&brenmom]

I took my sons on our first "family" trip, at least the first trip when it was just the three of us, back in March of 2007. They were 10 and 5 at the time. I was a little worried about how the three of us would fit on some rides, and what if one wanted to go on a ride and the other didn't, how i would go to the bathroom, would they be okay waiting outside the bathroom (there was no way I was going to get my oldest near the girls bathroom ). I even worried how we would get through the airports and stuff. In the end I worried for nothing. I explained to my sons that there were rides that my youngest would be to small to ride on they were both understanding. There were some rides that the three of us wouldn't fit on together and my oldest sat by himself, at first I offered to sit by myself and they could sit together, but he LOVED to ride the rides by himself. I also explained that as long as a ride wasn't to scary that we would all have to do something that we really don't want to do, becuase that's what you do when you are family. (Like fireworks and It's a Small World, because mommy loves them). We did lots of planning before hand and watched the planning guide and I read up all that I could on this site and the disney website.
I feared for nothing. The trip was great. We did have a few meltdowns but nothing crazy. The CM's at Disney helped me if I needed help carrying trays, if we were lost, or had a question.
This year we are going back and I have allowed each of them to plan their own day and we are extremely excited.
Sorry this is so long I just had a wonderful experience and want to encourage all single parents to go and enjoy Disneyworld- you will have a great time

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

Thanks so much for the great feedback!!!!! I am going to enjoy planning out our trip. :O)

 

[cmaee]

I am not a single parent, but am considering taking a trip with just myself and kids. My DH is a principal, so he cannot take off time during the school year for vacation. My DD and I share the same birthdate, so I am considering going for 2 days so we can take advantage of the free birthday promotion and DD will be turning 3, so this will would be a great way to celebrate her/my birthday. I coudn't go and not bring my other two children. They are tall enough to ride most of the rides, but DD will not be, so I was wondering how I would let them ride the ride by themselves and then DD and I would wait at the exit for them. The only rides I was concerned about were Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Soarin, and Test Track. Do you think they would let me and my DD walk all the way up the que line and then when they got on, DD and I would bypass the ride and wait on the other side for their return?

 

[mandynee22]

LOL. I just posted on the airplane thread about me going alone with my two
(Different ages, they were 8 and 18 months)
We went on all the stuff together though. She doesn't like scary rides and niether do I... DS doesn't know the difference.
I think that at nine, he can wait at the exit.
Good luck! And it can be totally fun with just one adult

 

[sueh]

Am I stupid to even consider this?

I just realized, how am I going to do the rides with the kids? Will the kids ride together and I follow alone behind?

It will be me and my two kids, who will be 6.5 and almost 9 when we go a year from now.

anyone know of any threads that give advice for someone braving to travel alone with 2 kids? been a while since i was on here. thanks!

(last time, it was me and the kids...and my mum, brother, and another adult! so lots of opportunity to have noone ride alone...)

should also add:
there will be some attractions that my dd will want to go on, but not my ds (the older one)

ie space mountain....3 of us line up, dd and i go on, where does ds go???? is he able to wait near the exit????

You are not stupid and you are not alone.
I a single mom and I will be taking my girls ( 9 & 7) in December. I too worry about the same things. We did go in July for the 1st time but there were also 3 other adults with me so I really didn't have any issues.
I too am concerned with the rides and such. I too asked in the theme park section regarding this. I was told that there only a few rides that 3 people (depending on sizes) that you couldn't do. My dd2 is on the shorter side so there are somethings that we can't ride. Also my kids are not real thrill seekers anyway. We did splash mountain and they hated it. Said that they would never do that again. Probably when they get a little older.
When it gets closer we will talk about logistics. I am thinking that maybe my 2 girls can ride together and I can sit by myself. We will have to wait and see.
My last trip I worried so much that I ended up in the hospital for an overnight stay a week before my trip. I did learn alot on my last trip and I know that in my heart that I can do this and you can too.

I hope that you have a great trip and please come back and share your trip with us. The good and the bad.

Have a magical trip!

 

[sk8jdgca]

Hi I've done it twice. My kids are now 10 and 6. We have also done chicago trips too! Most things work-My oldest had gone on rides by herself and me and the son wait for her. After a few problems we made some rules. If someone is riding wihout me, we all meet at the photo TV section. For ToT we walked through the line with her. Then took the nice elevator down, however the first time, there was a delay for me and she got done the ride (she was 8) before we got down. Instead of finding a cast member she stayed with the adult that she rode with-turned out fine but I was concerned as they went looking for me.-now we have a set meeting place. This time she did the single rider line of the RnR and we met her at the end with no problem. I wouldn;t leave my youngest alone though so I could ride something however.-If you ahve any other questions you can PM me or post here

 

[LittleMissMagic]

Oh, that is tough. However, I wouldn't shy away from a WDW vacation. You can do it!

There are a lot of rides that you can fit three on (especially with two being kids), such as BTMRR, Splash Mountain, Dumbo and similar, Peter Pan's flight, etc. If there was a ride where one person was left out of the seating arrangement, I'd probably put the kids in front and follow behind (it's really difficult for a lot of kids to have to sit with a stranger - and this way you can keep an eye on them). As for Space Mountain, if you can trust your son and Disney, you might choose to leave him at the child swap area while you and DD ride. However, on any outdoor attraction that he didn't want to ride (such as Expedition Everest), I'd go through the line with DD and put her on the ride while waiting with DS at the exit. I say this because the exit is right at the gift shop, which is open to the park. Stick DD on a ride, and you know where she is. Leave DS at the exit, and he might get distracted and wander into the gift shop or (hate to think about this) get lured away (or, quite frankly, kidnapped) by a stranger. Whatever the ride, I suggest the three of you walk through the queue together.

It might be difficult at times, but you can do it. You're at WDW - you're going to have fun!

 

[StitchFanZ]

I've gone with just my two kids and absolutely loved it! If its just the three of you, the kids can set the pace which makes it a different experience. In a way, I find it a lot more fun to be with just them. As they get older, they really enjoy planning out everything!

For my sanity, I make sure that I have tickets, directions, etc. in a small bag in the order I will need them. I put a duplicate copies in my suitcase.

Here are my rules:
- Everyone has fun.
- Noone is allowed to get stressed (this is for me and my DD likes to remind me of this one!)
- We all take turns picking things.
- The oldest gets an extra cell phone in the pocket.
- We stick together. i.e. Anytime its crowded, we hold hands.

Most kids will rise to the occasion as far as rides and travel are concerned. My DS hates to sit next to strangers and my DD went out of her way so either she or myself sat with him. Last time she even gave up her turn for the coveted window seat on the airplane which sets a great tone for a vacation.

 

[lntsmom]

you're a single mom you know that anything that gets done for your family gets done BY YOU! Disney is no different!

I've done 3 Disney trips as a single parent. Trip 1: Me and a 4 year old. Trip 2: Me and a 4 year old and 9 year old. Trip 3: Me and a 7 year old and a 12 year old.

The answers to your questions: Castmembers are happy to let one kiddo wait in line with you, then exit and wait for you at the end of the ride. This is NEVER a problem!

My kids know going that refusing to ride a ride because it is a "baby ride" is not acceptable. I lay down the law when I book the trip: stepping out of line because the ride scares you is one thing, being a little snot and refusing to ride is not! I've never had a problem with this. Matter of fact, on the kiddie rides I ride in one car and have the two kids ride the car ahead of me. We did this for everything from Dumbo to Nemo.

My advice: get either a tracphone or a walkie-talkie for your older child. That way, if he/she wants to go to the bathroom, get a drink, whatever, you are still in contact at all times. Never let the younger one out of your sight.

Make frequent potty breaks so there's no reason to have to leave a line to take someone to the bathroom.

Buy each kiddo a fanny pack. In it, put a disposable camera, a couple of snacks, an info card with your name, cell phone, and resort, and an empty plastic drink box. I found fanny packs that had net pouches outside for the water. It was really nice to not have to listen to them whine about being thirsty when we were in line or at a show.

If you think your kids might balk at a ride, look it up on YouTube and have them watch it a couple of times before you go. Yes, it takes away the newness. If you have a sensitive kid, that is a good thing!

Let your kids help plan. There are planning books for kids. The more involved they are, the better.

There are so many things in life that are much more difficult for single parents than vacations. Don't stress...you can do it!

 

[MJAJmom]

Yes, you should absolutely go and you will have a great time!!!

My DH couldn't come with us for our Oct trip with DS3 and DS6. I freaked out and panicked for 2 weeks, wondering if I should go or reschedule. After calming down, you realize you can do this, but you'll have to make a few adjustments.

You explain to the boys about how a ride will work if only 2 people can sit together (either you don't ride it, they ride together and you sit behind them, or one boy rides alone). They'll rise to the occasion to figure it out. Everyone came in the women's bathroom with me for potty breaks, and we all travelled to the buffet line together.

I ended up being a great trip for us. Very special. Bring snacks and take more snack breaks. Bring glowsticks for night parades/shows. Bring boy toys for the hotel. Get them pin trading or getting autographs and put them in charge. So many fun things to do.

Honestly, my biggest concern was if I could handle being alone with them and not go crazy and not yell my head off. It was all about readjusting my attitude and my expectations. Then all went well. I wrote my first trip report about our Oct trip (see my siggie) just me and my 2 boys. Now I look forward to any future trips with DH, and am not worried at all about being able to handle it.

 

[MiniGirl]

Go and have a great time. I take my girls to WDW all the time. My dh is not a fan and travels a lot for business. When he's out of town, we head for Disney. They are 6 and 9 now, but we've been at for about 3 years now. Anyway, when they were younger, they understood that either will all went on the ride or no one did. That meant my oldest didn't always get to go on Splash Mountain because my youngest was scared of it, and my youngest didn't get to do Stitch because my oldest didn't like it. Now though my oldest will ride by herself. We walk through the line with her and take the chicken exit and wait for her as she gets off the ride.

Really, you will be fine. It isn't difficult at all.

 

[carj]

We went this summer, our kids were 4 and 7. My DH was at a conference for 4 and a half of the 7 days. The rides were no problem at all. I rode with the 4 year old unless we were all able to go together. (Many rides we were able to do this in Fantasyland in MK.
If there was something that we couldn't ride together, I put the 7 year old in the car behind us, so that I would exit first.
Really it wasn't an issue on the rides.

I would advise you to not over-do it. Don't try to do too much in a single day. You may be full of energy in the park, but you still have to make it back to the room with two kids.