Solo adult with young kids

[beachteachlv]

Hi there!

I did my first mother/daughter trip with our 5.5 year old last month and it was pure magic!! I got so many helpful tips on these boards.

Next, I’m looking at taking both our kids when hubby is on a boys trip the week after Thanksgiving. My kids will be almost 6, and newly 3. Oldest rides quite a bit, rode BTMR for the first time last month and loved it. For the most part, we rode a lot more at DCA than DL. I think I would do two day park hoppers.. rope drop DCA one day and DL the next. Mid day break to keep us all pleasant haha.

That being said.. am I going to be pretty limited with rides, since the 3 year old can’t do as much as older sis? He’s tall for his age, should be nearly 40” by then.

I’ve never done DL/DCA without the intent to ride as many rides as we can. So what could our days look like if rides are more limited? What experiences might we have been overlooking that could be fun for these ages?

Or.. is this a waste of a trip and wait until I can have another adult with me?

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

If he is not definitively 40" tall or taller, then obviously you won't be able to ride anything with a height limit requirement of 40" or taller, so eliminate those rides from consideration. Even if you are comfortable with it, your 6 year old will not be able to ride any attraction alone since a child must be 7 or older to ride on their own. So you will need to decide if you and your 6 year old will be satisfied with the ride experiences that remain.

As for what to do without access to those extra rides...I have always felt that there are plenty of non-ride activities to entertain people of all ages. With younger children, I would simply plan to intersperse activity choices so they get neither too tired of the go, go, go of ride after ride or the slower pace of stopping for other activities. Examples of non-ride activities you may enjoy during your trip include various musical performances throughout Disneyland, the storytelling show near the Princess Fantasy Fair (they alternate live retellings of Beauty and the Beast and Tangled), the Christmas parade, character meet and greets, and viewing the Christmas decorations throughout the park. Kids that age I expect would enjoy Toontown quite a bit, and there is Tom Sawyer's island as well. With fewer rides to do, you can spare the time to let them explore those areas longer than you might otherwise. DCA has the Redwood Creek challenge trail for kids to run around in. DCA has Turtle Talk with Crush which both kids would probably enjoy and a learn to draw activity that you and the 6 year old might like if the 3 year old doesn't mind sitting through it. Avengers Campus in DCA has small shows plus lots of superhero meet and greets throughout the day that might engage the kids' interest. DCA will also be decorated for the holidays and have additional musical performances and limited time foods throughout the park.

So I would say if those kinds of activities sound enjoyable to you and your kids, then go for it, and go back for the big rides on a future trip.

 

[Helene_C]

When I went solo with my (then) 7 and 2.5 yo, I hired a babysitter for one morning who stayed with my youngest so I could take my oldest on bigger rides. They went to shows or smaller rides near us. The babysitter agency I used connected me to someone with an AP so I didn’t need to pay for an extra ticket.

 

[buzzandzurg]

40 inches is really the magic number. Hard to go without the youngest being that tall.

 

[beachteachlv]

40 inches is really the magic number. Hard to go without the youngest being that tall.

Yeah I think if he isn’t 40” by then, we would wait. Definitely a lot to do if he makes that height!

 

[chezcurrie]

Whenever people ask me what the best age for disney is I say: Now! ALL ages are great times to go. There is so much to do without the thrill rides, the important thing would be managing your 6 year old’s expectations. Maybe give him a few choices that don’t involve big thunder, for example.

I love my non-ride centric days with my 7 year old. While he loves Space and Thunder he is just as pleased to spend time in Animation Academy, wait for the parade while eating a dole whip, take the Mark Twain and Columbia, explore Tom Sawyer’s island, do the Tiki Room, etc. etc. etc. There are plenty of non-thrill rides to fill a day, not to mention character meets and the play areas. I had to PRY him away from the Redwood Creek challenge trail and the Toon Town slides our last visit. We are, however, semi local so can go whenever we want. It’s up to you whether the cost would be “worth it” if you couldn’t go on any of the big rides.

Also remember when your youngest hits 40” it doesn’t necessarily mean the ride is appropriate/safe for his age. Some kids will hit that height when they are still too young. My eldest was very tall at 3 but I would not have taken him on big thunder for example, as the jostling wouldn’t be good for his neck/head, not to mention that lap bar that unless you are the same size as your child will have them sliding all over creation. Now my older two love that effect but my little guy I still wrap my arms around him for dear life. LOL Hope that makes sense.

Have a great trip regardless of when you visit!

 

[MilitaryMouse]

Ooo I love this thread b/c I’ll be in the exact situation next month! I’m wondering how many of the rides (if any) without height limits can fit 3 ppl. It’ll be me, my 5yo and 3yo. Like could we ride Dumbo? I’m guessing my 5yo can’t ride alone so that maybe wouldn’t work for us? But for Alice, she could sit in the front row with me and the little one in the back row, right? TIA!

 

[beachteachlv]

Ooo I love this thread b/c I’ll be in the exact situation next month! I’m wondering how many of the rides (if any) without height limits can fit 3 ppl. It’ll be me, my 5yo and 3yo. Like could we ride Dumbo? I’m guessing my 5yo can’t ride alone so that maybe wouldn’t work for us? But for Alice, she could sit in the front row with me and the little one in the back row, right? TIA!

Yes!! Wondering the same thing. Which ones can we all sit together…

 

[beachteachlv]

Whenever people ask me what the best age for disney is I say: Now! ALL ages are great times to go. There is so much to do without the thrill rides, the important thing would be managing your 6 year old’s expectations. Maybe give him a few choices that don’t involve big thunder, for example.

I love my non-ride centric days with my 7 year old. While he loves Space and Thunder he is just as pleased to spend time in Animation Academy, wait for the parade while eating a dole whip, take the Mark Twain and Columbia, explore Tom Sawyer’s island, do the Tiki Room, etc. etc. etc. There are plenty of non-thrill rides to fill a day, not to mention character meets and the play areas. I had to PRY him away from the Redwood Creek challenge trail and the Toon Town slides our last visit. We are, however, semi local so can go whenever we want. It’s up to you whether the cost would be “worth it” if you couldn’t go on any of the big rides.

Also remember when your youngest hits 40” it doesn’t necessarily mean the ride is appropriate/safe for his age. Some kids will hit that height when they are still too young. My eldest was very tall at 3 but I would not have taken him on big thunder for example, as the jostling wouldn’t be good for his neck/head, not to mention that lap bar that unless you are the same size as your child will have them sliding all over creation. Now my older two love that effect but my little guy I still wrap my arms around him for dear life. LOL Hope that makes sense.

Have a great trip regardless of when you visit!

Oh yes!! I looked and was shocked 40” was the height for big thunder definitely would NOT take him on that

Do you happen to have an idea of which rides 3 people can sit together on, vs which rides have rows in the same vehicle, vs which ones would be a no - even if he meets height - because of the seating? I know rides like pirates, haunted mansion, small world, little mermaid, RSR, etc. but what ones might I be overlooking?

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Oh yes!! I looked and was shocked 40” was the height for big thunder definitely would NOT take him on that

Do you happen to have an idea of which rides 3 people can sit together on, vs which rides have rows in the same vehicle, vs which ones would be a no - even if he meets height - because of the seating? I know rides like pirates, haunted mansion, small world, little mermaid, RSR, etc. but what ones might I be overlooking?

You should be fine sitting three all together on the Fantasyland dark rides: Peter Pan, Snow White, Pinocchio, Mr. Toad, Casey Jr., Storybook Canal boats. I do not believe you could split seats on Alice, but all three should fit in the back row of Alice. Monsters Inc cars always feel narrow to me, but I'm guessing one adult and two small children could fit in the same row. Same goes for Dumbo and Astroorbiter. Three can fit in the Buzz and Toy Story cars though of course there are only two guns.

 

[Jobelle]

You should be fine sitting three all together on the Fantasyland dark rides: Peter Pan, Snow White, Pinocchio, Mr. Toad, Casey Jr., Storybook Canal boats. I do not believe you could split seats on Alice, but all three should fit in the back row of Alice. Monsters Inc cars always feel narrow to me, but I'm guessing one adult and two small children could fit in the same row. Same goes for Dumbo and Astroorbiter. Three can fit in the Buzz and Toy Story cars though of course there are only two guns.

We're a family of five with littles so when we were there in June we usually split up 3/2. I can't think of any toddler friendly rides where we weren't able to do that ... dumbo, Monsters Inc, Buzz, TSMM all let us do an adult plus 2 kids (my youngest is 2.5). And yes, the back row of Alice fit 3.

 

[monkeypat83]

One ride that has no height requirement that you will not be able to ride with 2 young kids and only 1 adult is Golden Zypher because each person has to be in their own seatbelt. Another one you won't be able to ride (has a 35 inch height requirement but you meet that) is the little Chip n' Dale Coaster in Toontown because again only 2 lap bars and 5 year old can't sit in a row without you.

There are actually 2 40 inch rides that you cannot do alone with two kids either: Jumpin' Jellyfish (2 lap bars) and Silly Symphony Swings (over 40 but under 48 have to ride a tandem so unless you have a very tall 48 inch 5 year old).

If your 3 year old is tall enough you can make the choice to ride the roller coasters or not but I do recommend Souin' Around the World. My 3.5 year old hit 40 inches this year and loved that one! Also depending on your 3 year old's comfort level with sitting not directly next to you in a little bit of darkness the Millennium Falcon ride has a height requirement of 38 inches and my 3.5 year old loved being a pilot and pushing buttons etc.

Have fun! I am taking will be just weeks shy of 4 year old in the fall and we are bringing her will be just shy of 2 year old brother with us for the first time though the grandparents are coming too on this trip so she will technically be able to ride all the 40 inch rides even though brother won't be able to but not sure if she will ride them or not this trip (other than Sourn' and Silly Symphony Swing and Jumpin' Jellyfish) because I will be about 15 weeks pregnant on our trip so won't be able to go on most of them with her. We will see if she feels comfortable going on the with a grandparent or decides to just skip them this trip!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

My kids are four years apart in age and my biggest challenge right now when I go alone with both of them is the fact that my older one is so upset he can’t go on his favorite rides (Space Mountain, Big Thunder, Star Tours, Millennium Falcon). Even though my youngest is well over 40 inches, he refuses to ride many rides because he’s afraid. He won’t even get in Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. It causes a lot of whining and even tears at times.

I would talk to your older child and assess her feelings about going to Disney but not being able to ride favorite rides.

 

[chezcurrie]

One thing you may want to do is avoid the Radiator Springs Racers area of CarsLand - I went recently with my 3 year old (tiny) nephew and he LOVES cars. If he saw those he would have likely flipped out not being able to ride them. It was easy to avoid as it is tucked away but I usually use the cut through from Avengers Campus so again just be mindful for your 6 year old. You should be able to ride Mater’s 3 in a row (if you are comfortable as it is kinda jerky) and I’m not sure about Luigi’s for 3 in a row.

 

[beachteachlv]

Thanks everyone for your replies!!

We decided to push this visit until my husband can come with because our oldest admitted she would be upset not to ride her new favorites (like BTMR), and we want to make sure our youngest is 40” because he LOVES Cars so we want to be able to get the most out of our visit. So instead of November, we are aiming for a dual birthday trip for my daughter and I in January! I’ll miss the Christmas decor, but it’s the better choice for us

 

[chezcurrie]

Thanks everyone for your replies!!

We decided to push this visit until my husband can come with because our oldest admitted she would be upset not to ride her new favorites (like BTMR), and we want to make sure our youngest is 40” because he LOVES Cars so we want to be able to get the most out of our visit. So instead of November, we are aiming for a dual birthday trip for my daughter and I in January! I’ll miss the Christmas decor, but it’s the better choice for us

Wanted to say good for you for discussing it with your daughter and making the best decision for all. Have a great January trip! Depending on your dates you may catch some lunar new year fun which depending on where you live could be a fun and unique experience. My youngest loved the processional and of course the food.

 

[Psymonds]

Thanks everyone for your replies!!

We decided to push this visit until my husband can come with because our oldest admitted she would be upset not to ride her new favorites (like BTMR), and we want to make sure our youngest is 40” because he LOVES Cars so we want to be able to get the most out of our visit. So instead of November, we are aiming for a dual birthday trip for my daughter and I in January! I’ll miss the Christmas decor, but it’s the better choice for us

yeah, when I did this for a day with a 4yo and 2yo, we were very limited. (park was only open 10-6 and it was raining) but I think we rode the monorail 3 or 4 times and pirates and small world. There is quite a bit in the park you can do, but there are so many things you'll have to bypass that the older ones will feel like you're missing out.