Single mom with 9 yo ds seeks tips

[AlabamaGal]

Hi all,

I am a single mom with a 9 yo son. We are both Disney veterans but this would be our first trip alone. We would drive from AL to WDW.

Any tips? Ideas?

I am considering staying at the Holiday Inn West Gate as the buy one get one coupon is very attractive. Any recent stays there?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[Planogirl]

I've been often with just my son since my husband is not a Disney fan like we are. We all recently visited Disneyland but my husband decided not to go to the parks with us at least half the time. I did drive alone with my son from Dallas to Orlando last year. It was hard but we did some serious money!

I find that a 9 year old is easy to please and easy to travel with as long as you don't sit for too long. My son enjoys just about everything and wants to see it all. He isn't much into coasters but enjoys almost everything else and even likes to browse in a few of the themed shops. He likes the character meals just fine but unfortunately they're not a necessity for him any more.
We visited DisneyQuest for the first time last year and he really loved that!

The only activity he balked at was seeing the daytime parades and the fireworks proclaiming them a big waste of time. He'll go along and see them but I think that he makes a good point sometimes.

I don't know much about the hotel you mentioned but I have generally liked Holiday Inns wherever we are EXCEPT the Sunspree. I'm wondering where the West Gate location is? We generally have good luck if we stay in Kissimmee or around Buena Vista but we avoid International Drive area for sure due to the heavy traffic.

 

[disneyjunkie]

My son was 9 when we took our first trip last year. My major concern before the trip was the bathroom issue. This turned out not to be a problem at all. I would stand outside the door when he went in. If it took to long, I would call out to him ( he hates this) to be sure everything was ok.

We had a great trip and are looking forward to doing it again during Easter break.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

disneyjunkie sounds just like ME. While we did not travel aone, DS (9) and I did spend some time apart from DH in the parks. The bathroom issue was also a concern for me but it turned out fine. What I do is ask a "daddy looking guy" comming out if there are any other exits to the bathroom. This is my biggest concern as even as an adult I get confused sometimes!!! We tried to avoid bathrooms that have more than one way out. When I had to go i just parked him right outside the door and told him not to move and I hurried.

We enjoyed our time together in the parks for many reasons. Our likes are more alike that DH's and we can move faster and get more done. That time together is so precious!!

As for the hotel, I am a big fan of staying on site. With just the two of you one of the AS resorts would be perfect. The bus service is great. You would not have to deal wtih driving to the parks. We never move our car the whole trip. Depending on when you go the price may not be any more or even less. We stayed at ASMo this year and are staying at ASSp next year.

Have a blast,9 is a great age to enjoy everything.

Jordan's mom

 

[bobcat]

Since you are a DW vet you should do fine. My only suggestion is to stay onsite. I'm a single mom too and have done both onsite and off and onsite was more relaxing for me. I drive from Ohio and really don't want to drive once I reach Orlando.

 

[AlabamaGal]

Great ideas all and thank you!

Does anyone recall which bathrooms have more than one exit?

 

[travelitis]

I have 2 ds, so they always do the buddy system for restrooms. Since you can't do that, why not carry walkie talkies? That way, should you accidentally get separated, you can contact each other easily.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

There are also family bathrooms, they are listed on the map, even if you do not go in together they are much smaller and only have one exit. My son just turned 10 they are at a great age, so much fun to be with and easy to travel with too. Have fun.

 

[texmom]

We bought a set of the walkie-talkies for our Disney trip last year, and we used them often. Even though it's just you and your son and you are not planning on splitting up, they would give you peace of mind in case you get accidentally separated from your son, as well as the restroom situation. We use ours at home also, I give one to my son when he goes bike riding with his friends so that he can be in touch, just makes us feel safer!

I was glad to hear that I'm not the only mom who worries about my 9 year old DS in the restroom! LOL My DH always tells me that I worry too much but I think it's a mom thing.

Have an awesome trip! My Dh and I took DS by himself when he was younger and our two others were very little (we left them home with Grandma) and it was so much fun! Now our other two are 5 and 6 so we would feel guilty leaving them home, but we still try to get a little solo time with each child while at Disney. It totally changes the dynamics and is so much fun to have one on one time with the kids!

 

[undertheradar]

I'm just wondering if you checked the DTD hotels. These hotels have some great prices and you have the benefit of some nice bus transportation.