Help!! Not sure where to start!

[Stitch35]

Hello! I'm a mom of 2 boys ages 9 and 6. We are "Disney crazy", but my hubby is not. We are from the Pacific Northwest and have visited Disneyland 2-3 times a year over the past 6 years. We have decided that during my 2 week vacation in August, our boys and I (sans hubby) are going to go to BOTH WDW and DL! (Can't miss the 60th celebration)! We have been to WDW once in 2009 during the first week of December. It was a disaster. Thankfully the boys don't remember it. I need a lot of help with the WDW side of things.

Last time we went we stayed for 4 days, did one park per day, and tried to park hop with a 1 and 4 year old. I thought I did enough research and could wing it like we do at DL :-o

So if you're still with me I have a few questions to start:
We stayed at the movies resort last time. We LOVED the theming but the buses were a nightmare! Are moderate resorts transit faster and worth the $ and lack of Disney theming? Or should we rent a car?

Is the resort hotels still safe for single parent families?

How many days should we go to not feel rushed? We can do up to 7 in the parks plus an evening.

My boys aren't strong swimmers, should we skip the water parks since we can't have a parent at the top and bottom of the slides?

Which week in August would you go? I can take my 2 weeks between August 1-23.

That's my questions to start. Thank you for helping! I'm really feeling overwhelmed!

 

[MSSANDRA]

Good questions. I would plan to stay a full week, and I would chose the last week in August that you can go because some schools in the South go back early to mid August and the crowds decrease some. We are not huge fans of the values but we found POP buses to be a whole lot better than All Stars. We find the buses at CSR to be great but sometimes I think its just the luck of the draw. I would not spend money to rent a car. August will be so hot and getting on a cool bus will be so much nicer that getting in a really hot car. I would do 6-7 day hoppers. I would plan to be at the rope drop each morning, stay until it gets too crowded or hot, and then head back to the resort for pool time and head back out later in the evening to a park, maybe a different park. I would just spend time in your pool rather than doing water parks alone with two less than strong swimmers. The moderates and deluxe have slides, but if they are not used to getting a lot of pool time, they may be just as happy at a value pool. Good luck and have fun planning.

 

[msmama]

I've never had bus issues so I can't speak to that.

I'm a single mom traveling with one child and I've never had any issues. The deluxe resorts are the only ones with indoor hallways (others open directly outside). While I have never felt unsafe anywhere and often stay at a value, I do like the indoor hallways a bit more.

We are not big fans of water parks and find the pools to be just fine.

I'd also say stay as long as you can, BUT will you or your kids get sick of each other after 2 weeks? I admit that I start to get antsy after awhile with only a child for companionship (which is weird since I'm a single mom everywhere, lol).

 

[lizard1]

So if you're still with me I have a few questions to start:
We stayed at the movies resort last time. We LOVED the theming but the buses were a nightmare! Are moderate resorts transit faster and worth the $ and lack of Disney theming? Or should we rent a car?

Is the resort hotels still safe for single parent families?

How many days should we go to not feel rushed? We can do up to 7 in the parks plus an evening.

My boys aren't strong swimmers, should we skip the water parks since we can't have a parent at the top and bottom of the slides?

Which week in August would you go? I can take my 2 weeks between August 1-23.

That's my questions to start. Thank you for helping! I'm really feeling overwhelmed!

We stayed at All Star Music this summer and didn't find the transportation to be an issue at all. We also stayed at All Star Movies in October of last year and didn't have an issue with the buses either. I know the buses can be bad, especially at peak times, but did your perception of the buses last time have anything to do with your situation (were you there alone with the 2 younger boys and had to wrangle them and the stroller on a bus, because even a slightly crowded bus would have been daunting then)? With the boys being a bit older, they would be more capable of standing if a bus is crowded and you most likely won't have as much gear and maybe not a stroller even. Just something to think about before discounting the values based only on the buses. Buses can be hit or miss depending on when you ride them or the stop you get picked up at (if there are multiple stops). The worst buses I
have ridden were in 2012 from AKL....they seemed to be standing room only every time I rode them, whereas every time I have stayed at a value resort, I have gotten a seat on the bus.

If you can do up to 7 days, I would take all of them. 7 days would still not be enough for me to feel like I have done all I want to do!

As for safety, I feel plenty safe. I did not travel as a single parent, though. However, I don't think I would have felt unsafe travelling alone to Disney.

 

[Stitch35]

Thank you all! As to my boys and I getting sick if each other, it doesn't happen lol. Our last DL trip without DH was 12 days and we had no issues. The bus situation for us had to do with waiting an hour with excited kids in the morning or tired kids at night to be able to get on the bus. It was so frustrating seeing our bus come only to be full and have to wait for the next one. And yes, wrangling the double stroller was an issue, but I had DH and my dad there to help out.

Any idea what the bus wait times would be like in late August? We are very much rope drop to close commando types.

I'm leaning towards going August 15-23 with the 15 and 23rd being travel days. I'm teetering between POP, Movies again, either Port Orleans Resorts or Shades of Green. Any opinions?

I think you're right on not doing the water parks. It would be a lot of stress on my part for sure.

Again, thank you all!

 

[DopeyDame]

.

We stayed at the movies resort last time. We LOVED the theming but the buses were a nightmare! Are moderate resorts transit faster and worth the $ and lack of Disney theming? Or should we rent a car?
I don't think the moderates have inherently better transportation. Sometimes it's just luck of the draw, and in general waiting for buses can stink. We always stay on site and don't rent a car, so I can't speak to that. Definitely don't go with moderates for the sole idea of improved transportation, though.

Is the resort hotels still safe for single parent families?
As safe as anywhere in public can be. I wouldn't worry about this at all.

How many days should we go to not feel rushed? We can do up to 7 in the parks plus an evening.
I would say at least 5 or 6.

My boys aren't strong swimmers, should we skip the water parks since we can't have a parent at the top and bottom of the slides?
Yeah, that would concern me. But water/swimming is my one area of parental paranoia.

Which week in August would you go? I can take my 2 weeks between August 1-23.
I think crowd-wise, the later the better as people start heading back to school.

That's my questions to start. Thank you for helping! I'm really feeling overwhelmed!

 

[worm761]

Thank you all! As to my boys and I getting sick if each other, it doesn't happen lol. Our last DL trip without DH was 12 days and we had no issues. The bus situation for us had to do with waiting an hour with excited kids in the morning or tired kids at night to be able to get on the bus. It was so frustrating seeing our bus come only to be full and have to wait for the next one. And yes, wrangling the double stroller was an issue, but I had DH and my dad there to help out.

Any idea what the bus wait times would be like in late August? We are very much rope drop to close commando types.

I'm leaning towards going August 15-23 with the 15 and 23rd being travel days. I'm teetering between POP, Movies again, either Port Orleans Resorts or Shades of Green. Any opinions?

I think you're right on not doing the water parks. It would be a lot of stress on my part for sure.

Again, thank you all!

Busing at close will always be crowded. No resort is immune to that. So if you are planning to close out the parks, be prepared to wait for a bus and seeing multiples go by before you get one. It happens when tons of people are all trying to leave the parks at once.

I don't suggest a park hopper. It will cost the same whether you add it when you buy tickets or when you decide to hop.

As for the resorts, Pop is okay. We like it well enough. Shades of Green is all military and we have never stayed there. Coronado Springs is our favorite moderate resort. But go for the theme you like best.