Hi - another single mom here to a son. He will be 5 in September. I have been a single mom since he was 18 months old. Thankfully, my ex-husband signed over Sole Custody to me during the divorce so we are free to travel.
We did our first trip to
Disneyland 2 years ago (June 2008) - alone - I originally was going with one of my best friends and her son but she ended having a difficult pregnancy with her daughter so had to cancel at the last minute. So my son and I went by ourselves - what an amazing time, it was the first time that I was not the sole focus of my son's attention and I could just enjoy hanging out with him and having fun - it was such a great deal because his Disney tickets were free because he was under 3 and his flight was free as Alaska Air had a kids fly free promotion on. Total trip cost was $1,200.
For his 3rd birthday (Sept 2008), we invited my mom to join us at Disneyworld which we stayed at a timeshare and it was so much fun. This trip was more expensive because I paid for my mom - it cost about $1,700.
Then in February 2009, Alaska Air had the kids fly free promotion on again so we took advantage and went back to California. This trip was $1,300.
In July 2008, I had been randomly looking at timeshare resales and I came across one for Grand Beach Resort - 3 bed, 3 bath for $500 for every 2nd year use. So I bought the timeshare from a wonderful woman and was able to book and invite my brother and his family to join us in August 2009 - we were able to get our Disney tickets through a rewards program and found a great deal on flights. It was a wonderful vacation and so awesome to be the little sister and a single mom and be able to invite my big brother and his family along. For them - having the accomodation covered meant they could do the trip. It was a great vacation and so much fun. This trip cost $1,200.
Then this past April 2010, I used my timeshare to book a 3 bed/3 bath condo in Kissimee so I invited another single mom from work to join me. Her daughter and my son got along so good and we had an awesome vacation. My friends ex had taken their daughter to Disneyland the year before so it was nice for her to have a trip that was so affordable and be able to take her daughter to the World. This trip cost $1,350.
We are heading back to Disney this November 2010 with my mom again. We are treating mom again but I got our flights for $345 each - I expect this trip to cost $1,600.
I am very fortunate to have a good paying job so even though my ex does not pay child support very often or much - we are okay and doing well. He is supposed to pay $300 per month - he gave me $50 in September 2009 and $100 this past week. He owes over $9,000 in back child support. The last couple of months, he has been wanting to spend more time with my son and be a good dad to him. I am glad for this because my son loves his daddy. He actually shocked me this past Saturday because he called and said that he had a little bit of money to give for our son because he realizes that he has a responsibility to provide for Dom.
I have to say that it does feel really good as a single mom to be able to take my son to Disney. Disney is a vacation for me because I can just hang out and have so much fun with my son. It will be funny when my son is in school and comes to realize that not every kid has been to Disney, let alone how many trips he has been. I don't think that very many people realize how truly affordable Disney can be and how great of family time it truly is.
I look forward to hearing other single parent stories and what their Disney experience is.
love: ) and we haven't seen or heard from her dad since she was 14 months old ( 
). I agree with one of the previous posters that you never know when you could meet someone, I just haven't been looking either 
Great to have this little group to chat with!
