Thinking about a Disney vacation, but you are going as a single parent? Don’t worry! There are several tips and tricks that will make your Disney World vacation as a single parent a breeze!
- Schedule table service dining
Anytime I take my children to Disney by myself, I make sure to reserve table service meals for us while in the parks. This prevents me from needing to get up from our table for napkins, condiments, drink refills, etc. I make sure to use our quick service credits from our dining plan for breakfast at our resort or a later dinner and make lunch our largest meal while in the parks. You also might want to avoid buffets if you have young children so you don’t have to leave the table at all. Your Me and The Mouse Travel Specialist can help you choose the best table service choices for your particular needs!
- Know the age requirements for riding alone
If you have a child or children who would like to ride alone, be aware that no child under the age of 7 may ride unaccompanied. Children under age 7 may ride with someone over the age of 14. Children under 14 may not enter any park alone.
- Use the Companion Restrooms and Baby Care Centers when needed.
If traveling with little ones who cannot go into restroom stalls on their own, don’t hesitate to use the companion restrooms located throughout the parks. These restrooms are generally larger and similar to a “family restroom” that you might see at your local mall or airport. And the Baby Care Centers in each park are a great resource as well! Not only do they have a nursing mothers’ room, changing tables and sell baby essentials, but they also have their own restroom inside. I used these much smaller restrooms with stalls when my children were very young. They were much less overwhelmed by the smaller bathrooms and stalls in the Baby Care Center than the larger restrooms in the rest of the park.
- Use Disney’s complementary package delivery service
When you stay in a Disney resort, you can have your souvenirs purchased in the parks delivered right to your room! Just ask at any retail location for this service and you will have your packages delivered the next day. If your little ones prefer to have those souvenirs that evening, you can also have your purchases sent to Guest Services at the front of the park where you can pick them up as you exit! This saves you from having to carry around multiple bags or fragile/expensive items with you all day.
- Stay in close proximity to the parks
Staying in a resort that has easy access to the parks saves me so much time and hassle when traveling alone with my children! I love staying on the Magic Kingdom monorail line at the Grand Floridian, Contemporary, or Polynesian resorts! Staying at one of these resorts allows me to easily board the monorail to the Magic Kingdom- I can even push a stroller on board without needing to fold it up! And with just one transfer to Epcot, the ease of accessing that park is also a huge perk! Other resorts offer easy transportation via the Disney Skyliner (gondola) system to select parks. Others offer water taxi transportation. All resorts do offer direct bus transportation to each of the Disney parks. Consult your Me and The Mouse Travel Specialist for tips on which resort would be the best fit for your family!
- Know which rides can seat three together or more
Several rides can fit more than one small child in the same row as a parent. When I have taken my two young children to Disney by myself, I made sure we always rode attractions that could seat all three of us together. Here is a list of the seating arrangement for attractions in each park:
Magic Kingdom
- Mad Tea Party-Seats 3 adults or 1 adult, 3 small children per teacup
- Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor- Theater seating
- It's a Small World-Seats 4 adults per row
- Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh-Seats two adults, 1 child per row with two rows per car
- Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid-Seats 3 per clamshell
- Enchanted Tales with Bell-Open theater seating
- Haunted Mansion-Seats 2-3 per Doombuggy
- The Jungle Cruise-Multiple seats per boat
- Magic Carpets of Aladdin-Seats 3 adults, 1 child per row with two rows per seat
- Dumbo-Seats 2 adults or 1 adult, 2 small children per elephant
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train-Seats 2 per row, multiple rows per vehicle
- The Barnstormer-Seats 2 per row, multiple rows per vehicle
- Splash Mountain-Seats 2 adults per row or 1 adult, 2 small children per row. Four rows per vehicle
- Astro Orbiter-Seats 2-3 per rocket
- People Mover-Seats 4 per car-seats face each other
- Big Thunder Mountain- Seats 2 adults or 1 adult, 2 small children per row, multiple rows per vehicle
- Space Mountain-Seats 3 per car, multiple per vehicle. Seats are individual, one in front of the other
- Buzz Lightyear: Space Ranger Spin-Seats 2-3 per vehicle, but only 2 "blasters" per car
- Country Bears Jamboree-Theater Seating
- Enchanted Tiki Room-Theater Seating
- Hall of Presidents-Theater Seating
Animal Kindom
- Kilimanjaro Safaris-Seats 4-5 per row
- Triceratops Spin-Seats two adults, 1 child per row with two rows per car
- Primeval Whirl-Seats 4 total per car
- Dinosaur-Seats 4 per row
- Avatar: Flight of Passage-Multiple seats per row
- Na'vi River Journey- Seats 4-5 per row
- Kali River Rapids-Seats 12 per raft
- Expedition Everest-Seats 2 per row, multiple rows per vehicle
Hollywood Studios
- Alien Swirling Saucers-Seats 2-3 per vehicle
- Rock 'n' Rollercoaster-Seats 2 per row, multiple per vehicle
- Star Tours-Seats multiple adults and children per row
- Millenium Falcon-Smuggler's Run-Seats 6 per vehicle
- Toy Story Midway Mania-Seats 2-3 side-to-side per row, but only 2 "blasters" per row. 2 rows per vehicle, but rows are back-to-back
- Tower of Terror-Multiple seats per row
Epcot
- Spaceship Earth-Seats two per row, 2 rows per car
- Test Track-Seats 3 per row, 2 rows per car
- Soarin'-Seats multiple adults and children per row
- Frozen Ever After-Seats 4 per row, multiple rows per boat
- Gran Fiesta Tour-Seats 4 per row, multiple rows per boat
- Mission: Space-Seats 4 per row
- Living with the Land-Seats 4-5 per row, multiple rows per boat
- Journey into Imagination with Figment-Seats 2-3 per row, 2 rows per ride vehicle
As always, make sure to consult your Me and The Mouse Travel Specialist with specific questions about rides that might work best for your party.
Beth Foster
Travel Specialist
