I am closing in on perhaps the most harebrained I have ever had. You see my son and I finish school (I as a teacher, he as a pre-K student) on December 19th and DH doesn't have much vacation time from work so I am considering taking DS (age 5) with me, just the two of us, on a quick trip to The World.

First a little background. My students say I have a "Disney Problem" I think of it more as enthusiasm. DH and I had our first annual passes years before DS was on the scene and DS has been to Disney 10 times in his 5 years of life. He loves The World almost as much as I do.

So, here's what I'm thinking and I would love comments and advice from any and all who have tried this.

We would fly (direct flight) down leaving in the evening of the 19th and get DME to All-Star Movies and check into a preferred location room. He might very well fall asleep on the bus, so I hope to pack in such a way that I can carry him and all the stuff, but that may be tricky.

We would get the magic your way package with dining and 3 days of park hoppers. I haven't done the dining plan before, but I think sit down meals are going to be important for the single parent. DS is a restaurant pro so I think that will work well. I have begun to read up on the DDP, but would love any hints!

I plan to make a reservation for him at one of the kid's clubs for one evening to give myself a break. We haven't done that before, but he has enjoyed similar facilities on other trips. Any advice on which one? I won't have a car so I'm trying to think what makes the most sense in terms of transportation after.

We would "do" the parks Thursday, Friday, Saturday and then fly home (again direct) mid-morning on Sunday.

So am I crazy to try this alone? Any thoughts, hints, advice would be great!

Welcome to MP!

Are you crazy? No. It sounds like it would be a great trip. :)
However, you may have some logistics issues to deal with...

- Crowds on those days are going to start getting heavier due to the holidays.
- That also means that room availability may be limited.
- Same goes for getting ADR's for dining.
- Same thing for flight options. (Cost and / or schedule.)

Not to be a downer but your trip is somewhat last minute and while that in of itself is not really the problem, the fact that you are bumping up against the Christmas crowds is going to complicate things.

I am not saying that it cant be done. Im saying that you might have some roadblocks in front of you. If you are destined to make this work, you might have to be flexible in regards to your lodging and dining plans. In fact, speaking of dining, if you cannot call and get the ADR's you want now, then I would not add the DDP to your package from the get-go.

Let us know how it all works out. I hope you can make this work.

I don't think your crazy, just ambitious! Your idea to use the kids club one evening is a good one! I would recommend the Sandcastle club at the Beach Club if you are interested in dining/shopping at Epcot or Boardwalk area, or Neverland club at the Poly. Both are convenient to transportation options and parks/other resorts. The Neverland is more visually interesting, but both are nice with a lot of fun things to do, and dinner for your little guy is included with the price.

I'm with GusMan. I just (for grins only) tried to see about a weekend in Early December, and for the days I was looking at, the only rooms available were Boardwalk or Old Key West 2 Bedroom (like a solo traveler needs a 2 bedroom :rolleyes:)

So I would check availability on line for the room you're interested in (but don't book online), check flight availability and prices, and if those look promising, make your ADRs before you commit to the dining plan. I would make all the ADRs and then book your room/package in the same phone call - but in that order. With a 5 year old you're really going to want 'normal' meal times, and that may be limited at this late date.

But if the finances/availability work - GO FOR IT!

I echo what others have said above - your idea is far from crazy, but you may find everything booked up. I'd go ahead and call Disney at 407-WDISNEY and see what rooms are available. If none, then that kinda stops things right there, doesn't it? If you can get a room, proceed IMMEDIATELY to dining (they can transfer you, or call 407-WDW-DINE). You might as well give up the idea of eating at prime times at the nicer restaurants - they will have been booked for months (dang the dining plan!). It actually may not be worth it for you to do the dining plan if you can't get into any restaurants. I'm skeptical that you'll find any dining options that will work for you, so you may have to resign yourself to fast food for this trip.

Sorry to be a downer, but you're booking very late at a very busy time of year. Good luck, and let us know how it all comes out!

Yes, check for ADR's, but it may not be as bad as you think. I had decent success yesterday booking ADR's for a family of 3 going to the World for New Year's week. Sure, some locations were booked solid, but with a party of two and creative dining times you should do OK with most dining locations except the really popular ones.

A party of two is frequently easier to find space for. Aim for a late lunch or early dinner, lunch slots are most often open for last minute package bookings. Also, be a little creative in you choice of restaurants. While character meals and in park locations might be full, some resort or off park locations always seem to be off people's immediate radar and have openings, like Spoodles on the Boardwalk or Maya Grill at Coronado Springs amoung others.

A last minute Disney World trip is such a treat!

I took my son to Disney when he was 5 by myself for 12 days. We stayed at the WL and had a blast! I adopted my son as a single mom, and have since married and had a baby, we just returned from ASMu on Sunday. I put him in the cubby lounge i think it was called at the WL and ate at Artist Point for the best meal I have ever had! He loved his special night and I loved the great meal, service and peace and quiet. The trip is definitely do able with a sense of humor and flexibility. Sounds like your only obstacles will be the reservations and availabilities. Sometimes winging it works out the best!

You all got me worried! I knew there were room, and reasonable air (I checked all that before even seriously considering), but I got to worrying about ADR. So, I plotted out a plan while my students were taking a quiz and just made the call during my "planning period" (this is planning, right?) Here's what I got:

Thursday
Breakfast as Crystal Palace
Dinner at Prime Time

Friday
Lunch at Rose and Crown
Evening at Neverland Club

Saturday
Breakfast at Hollywood and Vine

Basically everything I wanted! Guess party of 2 is the way to go! By the way I had a great person on the phone, she was very good at giving me all the options!

I guess I'm hooked now :)

Hints, tips, and what's the best use of my "free" time on Friday night?

Hints, tips, and what's the best use of my "free" time on Friday night?

Sounds like you did great! I'm glad we were overly cautious (better than being overly optimistic in this case!)

I'd be very tempted to try to do the Osborne Lights and Candlelight Processional during your free time. The Osborne Lights you probably don't want to miss with your 5 year old, but if he's getting antsy at all, you might not get to spend as much time as YOU want there. And if you're at all inclined towards large choirs and the biblical Christmas Story, Candlelight is great, but I don't see a 5 year old doing that, particularly standby. (Though I'm not sure how easy it's going to be getting into that on the last Friday before Christmas.)

Don't miss out on visiting at least a couple of the storytellers in the countries with your son, either. I think my favorite, BY FAR was in Norway! Though I was really only 'disappointed' in one (I think he was just tired, though). Maybe if you ancestors from one of the countries represented, that would be a good second choice.