Do you think you force your kids to like Disney?

[Darcy03231]

My kids are all getting older now and the two oldest don't live at home anymore. We were lucky enough to be able to do a big vacation every year while they were growing up. We didn't do a big/expensive Christmas in lieu of going on vacation. Every year we would give the kids a vacation budget and let them plan a family trip. On Christmas day after presents were opened they would each make a presentation on their choice. After all the presentations we'd vote, as a family, on where we were going that year, with Mom and Dad having the final say (I will say every child had their trip chosen at least once). It was really a lot of fun. After dinner we'd drag out the photo albums/vidoes of previous years trips and "re-live" them.

As a result we really branched out and saw a lot of different places and had some pretty neat experiences. We did do WDW (multiple times) when they were younger as that was the favored destination. As they got older we did cruises, all inclusive resorts, a Florida vacation that included US/IOA, Seaworld, Busch Gardens, Kennedy Space Center and beaches at both coasts.

 

[Schmeck]

(Disclaimer) I'm not trying to tell people how to spend their money or what to do with their families.

I read a lot more of t he boards than I comment. I find it interesting that people will empty bank accounts or save for a year to go on the same vacation again. Why not save and take your kids to England or China or Paris. There are Disney's there too. It's like an obsession! We love traveling to the point that we have our own ideas for the next few years. I know there is tons to do in Disney and there are so many different age appropriate things but if you have a kid that wants to go say Europe why not go?

There's a Legoland in Windsor, UK, but no Disney. One reason people do repeat WDW vacations is that you can't really do it all in one trip, unless you stay for over 10 days. Others go back when the kids are tall enough to ride more of the thrill attractions. WDW is also good at adding new attractions every few years, so that's another incentive to return.

We've traveled across the United States, been to Canada, England, and Norway. WDW is still my favorite vacation spot, as there's so much to do, a great variety of resorts to stay at, but still in the comfort zone of being in the United States. Overseas travel is getting too expensive, the dollar has been pretty weak, and the world isn't all that friendly - especially to US citizens. I can go to WDW for 9 days for under $3000, including flights, park tickets, resort, and food. That's a family of 4.

To travel to Norway, to visit family there, would cost over $5000, and that's if we stay with them and eat their food. We try to pay for as much as they will let us, so it would probably cost us another $700-$800 for food/gas/entertainment.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Also, you can't MAKE anyone like anything. lol, there have been a few things I have tried that I wanted to like but still hated.

 

[jennyleettu]

I'm hoping my kiddos don't ever get tired of Disney but I don't know that we could go every year. Right now we are looking at every other year and we take a "big" trip every year. So it will likely be alternated with another trip somewhere.

 

[kkmcan]

Well, I do think my love of Disney has become an obsession. I find myself thinking of rides, shows etc in the middle of the day for no reason whatsoever.

But my kids love Disney so much too! I just found my dd listening to ride and parade music and then she switched to watching youtube videos of fireworks and ride. They ask constantly when we are going on our next Disney trip or Disney cruise.

But we've done our fair share of going other places for vacation. Only our Disney ones are listed in my sig, if I had listed all the other places we've been it would look like this:

Wash DC (3 times)
Williamsburg
Branson
Oklahoma City
Las Vegas
San Diego, Oceanside (more times than we can count)
San Carlos, Mexico
Sedona, Flagstaff and Northern Arizona (every July for camping)
Grand Canyon

San Francisco this October.

My kids have been more places than any other kids that I know. Each vacation we go on is the best vacation they've ever had! At least that's what they claim.

I don't think I force my kids to love Disney, they just do because of all the fun times we've had at Disney. I can't say that we've ever had a bad Disney trip or even a not so good one. They've all been fabulous and that's why we keep going back.

We'd love to go to Europe, Hawaii and Alaska in the near future. But we've got 2 Disney cruises on the back burner right now. Then we'll be done with cruising for a while and can do Hawaii then.