When it's just Mom, Dad, and the kids?

[brobrosmom]

Our last two trips to Disney have been with the kids and we've always had other adults with us. So when one group would ride the other group stayed with the kids and then we switched. It worked out because everyone got to ride and no one rode alone.

We are in the process of planning our next trip and it looks like it will be just mom, dad, and the kids this time. So my question is for other families traveling like this: did the adults ride the bigger rides and if so, how was it riding alone? Or did you just skip the big rides and only do the ones where you could ride as a family?

 

[dzneelvr]

Without knowing the ages of your children...are they in strollers or simply younger? We've never gone with other adults, so when our DS and DD were young, we'd go on the rides they wanted and didn't miss the other ones, since we knew there would be plenty of opportunity on future trips as they grew. DH can't ride an motion rides, so it would only be the 3 of us on those anyway. If either you or DH need to ride some things, try to schedule a show/parade for the rest of the family and then get FPs so you can ride while they are busy. There's no reason you can't split up and do the rides you want, even alone. Personally I wouldn't like that as much as staying with the family, but to each his own.

 

[tanyaandallie]

We are the same as pp. We have always gone with just the kids (now 4 and 5 and just returned from trip number 4). This year both kids were finally 40 inches so we rode all rides they could ride. The big ones (RNR, Everest,, Mission Space) we skipped. DH is not interested, I rode RNR and Everest on the last trip so was fine not riding it.

 

[tinkerbell3747]

We are a family of 4 and I LOVE all the big rides. My daughter was 3 on our last trip and just made 40" my son was 7.

We rode Splash, Thunder etc....together. Things like RnR, Everst my hubby is not into so he stayed with the kids in the shape having Mickey Ears ice cream or a much need break from the heat in a shop or store while I rode those....What we did do was PLAN...I always had a fast pass for anything I wanted to ride. When my daughter did not want to do test trak we did the family/parent swap and my son was able to ride twice!

So with a little planning it is possible for all to be happy. Good luck

 

[bumbershoot]

did the adults ride the bigger rides and if so, how was it riding alone? Or did you just skip the big rides and only do the ones where you could ride as a family?

When we go (to DLR so far), if someone wants to ride something, they ride it. So if hubby wants to go on Space Mountain but I don't and DS hasn't wanted to yet (though he's been the 40" required at Disneyland since he was 3), DS and I do something else while hubby goes. If I want to go on CA Screamin', I use the Single Rider line and go while hubby and son ride the carousel.

The only one that's been tricky was one ride that son was just a touch too short for, but he was yearning to do it...we had to find someplace spectacular for him to play in while the adults switched out for that...

Mainly we ride everything together, but we have absolutely no problems riding something solo if it needs to happen.

I've even taken solo trips there. Love it! I get to look at the ride queue scenery without having to deal with hubby and son (and I know they are having a grand time doing something else...they have so much fun when I'm not around!), I already don't really derive pleasure from someone else (especially an adult) having fun so I don't need a ride partner to enjoy a ride, and so on. People also think it's amazing when you're alone in a line, and especially alone on a trip, and will get into conversations with you like they won't if you're distracted with family.

So I don't mind riding solo at all, neither does hubby, so it works out really well to split up for a ride or two every so often throughout our trips!

 

[PrincessParty]

I usually ride alone as my 2 DD ride together and I sit behind them with a stranger. We usually just say "hi" and that is it. It isn't bad. DH does wait in all of the lines with us and then takes the "chicken exit" as we board. Have fun! For Hollywood Studios, I usually take the girls to the RNR and TOT while he fastpasses Toy Story Mania. It works out well for us. (DH had back surgery and is super-cautious, but doesn't let it interfere with our love of the exciting rides.)

 

[jessica52877]

If DS doesn't want to ride something then we just skip it. The case more often then not is that he wasn't big enough (now he is thank goodness) to ride it and he would really want to. We also skipped it then. My husband and I didn't want to ride if he couldn't and really wanted to. We go enough that we can ride the other rides so it is not a big deal for us.

 

[Diz Kids]

We have taken our last few trips with just Mom, Dad and the kids, all under 40". We end up sticking mostly to the rides that we can all go on, but will occasionally do the other rides too. When doing the bigger rides we have used the rider swap (one person waits in the regular line, then the second person is given a fast pass), and just sometimes had one of us go on one ride while the other waits with the kids. It all really depends on how long the wait is. In Epcot you can go to the FunStops, where the kids can color while you wait. It isn't bad going alone, especially on the rides that have single rider lines - it goes much faster.

That said, our oldest should hit 40" by our next trip in October, and we are already talking about who gets to go on what ride with him, while the other one is with the smaller two!

 

[mom2meiko]

we typically stay with rides that dd can enjoy. every once in a while there might be something that dh wanted to do so i'd sit and rest with dd when that happened but it wasn't very often and usually we timed it with her naps so we were having some downtime anyway. we go back at least every 2 years - if not more often - so we don't worry too much about missing things.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

We are going to Disney in 2 days This will be our first time. It's me, dh and our 4 kids ranging in age from 5-12! My dd5 is at 39 and a half inches, so hopefully she'll be able to get on those 40 inch rides. We plan on doing mostly everything together, but if there are some rides that my ds12 and dd9 really want to go on, dh will stay off with the younger 2 while I take them on. Dh is not that big on thrill rides, so he'll go on when we're all going on them, but when the older 2 just want to then he'll gladly stay behind. Don't stress it, it will work!

I know this because this past summer we went to an amusement park, and we go to this park every summer with a lot of family and friends. Well... everyone backed out, some last minute, and we were in a panic. "How are we going to do this?" We almost didn't even go. Well, haflway through our day, we both said to eachother that this was the best day we've spent together in a very long time. Dh and I both went on rides we may not have if someone else was there to do it with the kids. Dh is a ride chicken but loved the experience of doing new things.
YOU GUYS WILL HAVE A BLAST JUST LIKE WE ARE GOING TO HAVE IN A FEW DAYS!!!!!!!!
HAPPY TRAVELS

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

We just do what seems right at the time. We have 4 kids, with an 11-year spread, so we're very comfortable with splitting up. When they were little (and we just had 2 kids), DH and I would sometimes go back into the parks at night, alone, to do our "must do" rides. These days, we'd be more inclined to have some of us go one way, some the other way, and meet up again afterwards. Truth be told, though, there are very few things that I feel I absolutely MUST do. So, I'm more inclined to just go with the flow, enjoy it from the little guys' perspective while they're in the parks.

The other thing we do is, Dh and I take turns taking the little ones back for a rest/nap (they'll be 6 and 3 this next trip). The other parent will remain in the park with DD14 and DS12, doing the more adult things (thrill rides, shopping World Showcase--you know, the important stuff!). We find that this keeps everyone happy, Interestingly, because the older kids know that they get "big people time", they are much more tolerant of kiddie rides than I ever thought they would be. They genuinely love the pure joy on their younger siblings faces when they ride Barnstormer or Peter Pan. Now, would Dh and I like more adult time? Yeah, sure--I'd like a clean, quiet house, too. Someday I'll have these things, and then I'll be sad...