One of the best trips I ever took to Walt Disney World was with my 6 and 7 year old sons and me. Just me and the boys. And it was awesome!
But scary. Because I was it. The only adult. And a female adult with two boys….think “I’m too old to go with mom to the bathroom” tricky.
In most ways, it was the best trip ever. In other ways, it was trickiest trip ever. It was also the most educational trip ever for me as a parent.
Let me share my new Disney wisdom!
- There are family bathrooms everywhere! As long as you can anticipate your child’s needs – or do as I did and just make them try every time you pass a family bathroom – there are bathrooms where you can join your child and not have to sit outside the large, communal bathroom while you send your child in alone. For about 90% of the trip we all went to the bathroom together. The other 10%? Let’s just say I watch way too much Law & Order. But all fears were for naught. They were fine on their own.
2. On the very first day we went to the Fire Station at Magic Kingdom, on the left, just as you enter under the Train Station. There you can make personalized dog tags. My boys loved wearing them. They each chose their favorite character and we engraved my cell phone # on the other side. While they each knew my cell phone # by heart (I drilled it into their heads all the way during our 8 hour drive) it gave me piece of mind knowing they’d have it with them should they forget in a panic. Again, we never needed this little crutch but it put me at ease. There are also personalized tattoos you can order or, the cheaper route, grab a Sharpie and write on your little one’s arm.
3. We had frank discussions about what to do if we ever got separated. Cast Members are everywhere. I taught my children to look for them. During our first days at the parks, we even played a little game trying to spot the most Cast Members – winner (and losers!) got a Mickey Bar. By the second day I was confident that they knew exactly who to ask for help should they need it. If they couldn’t find a Cast Member, I told them to find a Mom. Any Mom. (Sorry Dads!) Moms are more likely to drop everything to help a lost child.
4. Matching t-shirts would have been a big help during this trip but I wasn’t that savvy yet. Instead, I took a picture with my phone each morning so I wouldn’t have to remember, under duress, what they were wearing.
5. With three of us, certain rides were impossible to enjoy all together. Think Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Expedition Everest and Toy Story Mania. Most of the time, I just had the boys sit together and I rode with a stranger behind them. But I was also traveling with a dare-devil and a reluctant-roller-coaster-rider. When my reluctant child wanted to ride with me, I panicked. I didn’t want my precious baby riding with a stranger. But Disney has that covered. Each time my little dare-devil had to ride by himself, a Disney Cast Member paired him with another single rider child. If there wasn’t one available, he rode on his own. And because he is such a little dare-devil, he was fine either way. As long as he got to ride!
