Paris then Disneyland with 2 dc on my own. Help!!!!! Am I crazy

[addictedtolatte]

My 5 year old ds keeps begging to go to euro disney so am thinking of surrendering to him. I have a 2 year old dd as well. Was planning on staying in Paris (cos am selfish and want some time away from Mickey and Minnie lol) then traveling to Disneyland on public transport. Has anyone tried this? I admire people who travel alone and want to be one of them people. I just lack confidence sometimes :-(

When are you thinking of going? Maybe I'll meet you there with mine! (6 and 4). (I'm not a hairy knuckled truck driver btw; hope you're not either). Was looking to go with single with kids or similar but they don't seem to have any trips there planned and I don't really want to go on my 'own'.

Oh I would LOVE to do this
I've been on beach hiolidays on my own with the kids. Loved it, do it!!!!

If you were going alone then I would say it be wise to stay in one if the Disney Hotels. Travelling from Paris if you lack confidence is one thing but with two kids, one being a two year old, on your own. Sorry you must be mad to even think it. It is exhausting too, all the walking around, no adult interaction really. I would wait until you had done nice folk to go with, it's not just about the kids.

Would second what Bella says. They'll be a lot of walking at the site and your 5 year old may find the journey back from the park very tiring at the end of the day. If I went again, I'll def go for a Disney affiliated hotel for the days you are there (they are not in the park site but have regular shuttle buses to and from the park) - once you've paid the train fares, I don't think it works out much cheaper to stay in Paris and travel in. Also, unless you're planning to go again, you might want to h

Hold off a couple of years until youngest can remember and enjoy more of it as well.

Sooty about all the typos - fudge finger in the iPhone!

Not sure. Only because a lot of the rides only take two and as an adult you have to ride with them. Leaving the other in the long queue. You can't take the buggy in the queue either. Someone might come along with a solution to this, but it is something I have wondered about myself.

I take my dc to Disney and the parks in Florida on my own. First time when eldest was 12 and pregnant with youngest. Going again this year with 3 of my 4 dc as eldest will be 17 and decided to not come. They will be 12, 8 & 4

Organisation and packing light is the key. Really cut down on amount of bags. Make sure your bag is on wheels and easily steerable. Any buggies need to be lightweight easy to fold or even think about backpack for them instead of a buggy.

Yes if you meet up with well that would solve your problem. You can hire a buggy for the actual park as well.

I do all outings alone with my dc. Personally I would wait a couple of years, the problem being there will be rides your oldest can go on but only accompanied so who will look after your youngest. Mine are older and I take them to Chessington and Legoland all the time (merlin passes). We went to Disney, Florida last year with their Aunt but I will definitely take them again alone but only when dd is old enough to go on all the big rides too.

You will struggle with going on rides. Most rides only have 2 seats so you won't be able to go on them as you can't leave the other child in attended, and even if the car has 2 rows of seats so you can go in one car, even your oldest might not be able to be in a different row due to height or age will still need to be accompanied. Does that make sense

Without another adult,it will be difficult ATM because there will be some rides that won't be suitable for a2 year old which the 5 year old might want to go on and you won't be able to leave the 2 year old, so you'll be restricted.

Thanks everyone for replies it's been very helpful. Doh!!!!!!! I didn't think about the ride situation it's a good thing I have the wise mums on mumsnet to guide me :-)

Wellthatsdoneit I was thinking of going around Easter time. Ps am not a hairy trucker lol is single with kids a holiday site?

I went to Disneyland paris on my own with 3 and 5 year old and it was amazing! A few rides dc 5 went at the front, but most rides are 3-5 seating wide. Obviously I couldn't go on the adult rides, but this week was about my dc.
Travel light and take a buggy. I would wait a year or until youngest was around 90cms tall though. But it's completely doable.
I'd also stay at disney and travel out a few days to Paris, easier and safer. The train is right inside Disneyland.

I did this on my own with 5 kids including 3 year old twins. I drove from Hague (where we living at time) to one of the camping sites of Disney World. I think it was Davey Crocket or something - just wooden huts - it looked like Chernobyl. kids actively remember loving it. remember wondering what to do with the twin stroller when going on rides but it never got nicked. The worst was driving there and back remember phoning my husband during a meeting (he didnt come) not even being able to work out what country I was in due to different Flemish spellings once we crossed border. i remember crying and driving at same time. Apart from that - great!

I took five year old twins on my own. We stayed in a disneyland hotel. It was all great. I think I'd avoid a Paris commute just because the day in Disneyland is quite tiring.

Did it with my two in the summer. Stayed at the Disney hotel so free bus 5 minutes down the road to the park. Beware of the massive expense of eating 'in the park' plus food quality crapl. Better to go to the disney village by the entrance and eat there for better choice, quality and price.

Only problem you will have doing it alone is if the older one wants to ride something the younger wont or cant. But there is loads to do for both their ages in both the disney park and studio. Do think about the hotel though. It is nice to be close when you are tired and want to get back to the hotel. The hotels are not all 'mickey madness' and the kids can meet other children to play with which is good. We met loads of english speaking families with same age children so it was nice to have a little chat with an adult when the kids could play!

Staff in the park are amazingly helpful. One of mine is special needs so we had a fast pass and didn't need to queue for the rides which was a life saver. The staff were kind, thoughtful and courteous. When we needed a quiet place due to health problems of one child they were amazing. Can't recommend it highly enough. A truly magical experience for the kids and they park really do take a lot of the stress away (apart from what they charge for food and drink!!)

I'm doing it on my own with my soon-to-be 3 year old in a few weeks! Also thinking about staying in Paris. I used to live there. I'm sure it's doable but there's quite a bit going on in the park at night (parades, Buffalo Bills etc) which is making me think one of the park hotels would be nice.

If you stay in some of the hotels you get earlier morning access to the park - which means you have a good shot of actually going on some of the rides (once the doors are open to all it's a scrum). if you are in paris you will miss this.
also - get to breakfast early - queues are ludicrous. nick food for lunch - don't eat in park (very expensive and cr*p). you will be tired - i would not have relished going to paris each evening.

My advice would be to wait a couple of years and use that time to save up to stay at the Disneyland Hotel which is right on the doorstep.
You can get into the parks early and it is easy to pop back for a rest if you get tired.

Its got a nice pool and a children's club too.

I have two dd's 7 & 2. Last year I took dd 1 and we are going again in March. Dd2 stays with my mum. I think it would be too hard with two dc. On some rides she had to be accompanied by an adult so there would be no one to watch dd2, either that or dd1 couldn't go on the rides. This year we are dining with the princesses and going to a show. We are flying there and staying in a Disney hotel and its cost less than £900. I will be taking dd2 in a couple of years. If you go in march I'll meet you!!

I travelled with my DC when I became a lone parent. It is scary and a big step, but once you have done it once you will feel very proud of yourself and the experience you have given your DC.
No specific disney advice - it is too far in the past now that I went to have any useful recommendations. The ride point is a big thing- I remember having issues with this, there were plenty of rides with three seats and shows etc though so I coped.
My DC are now 21+ and DD said to me at Christmas having been away a few times now with friends etc that she really appreciates the money I invested in holidays and how brave I was to go away as a single parent with two young children. She said how many memories she has of our holidays and how special they all are to her.
Have an amazing time!!!

I've been many times as a single adult with 2 DC (mine are now 7+8yo) and it is no problem at all. There are only a handful of rides with 2 seats and these are all the big rollercoaster types that unless your 5yo is exceptionally tall (and brave!) you won't be going on anyway.

I'd recommend staying somewhere midway between the parks and central Paris, on the RER train line. Hotels here will be cheaper (Paris is not much cheaper than the Disney hotels really) and the trains to both are frequent throughout the day until late at night. The only thing you miss is the extra hours in the morning, but we have annual passes which means we can go in anytime no matter where we stay. Currently you can get an adult+child annual pass for around €150 (your 2yo will be free) which is less than paying for 3 days tickets on the gate.

If you are thinking of going during the school Easter holidays, pick the first week rather than the second, as Paris schools will also be on holiday then. also avoid weekend days too if possible. I was hoping to go for a few days that week, but my current financial situation means its probably not going to be possible. Will be in the area for the second half of August though and possible sometime in June :)