Adult only to having kids

[margot31]

So my husband and I for the last few trips were adult only trip. Got to ride what we wanted and stay up as late as we wanted (as long as our legs and feet weren't killing us)

So next Oct I would love to take our kids who will be 3 and 1. (second one arrives this oct)

For those that did adult to parent trips how was the transition? Did you go as a big family so you could still have the ability to do things you wanted to do or only you and the kids?

Knowing my husband and I we will want to do certain rides together and we won't be able to if its just the two of us or do we just have to say next time.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

On our first trip as a family we traveled with extended family. So we had 2A, 3C, and they were 5 adults. It was a HUGE help! My youngest was 18 mos old and my older children were 4 & 7. We were able to do so much more with the older children because we had somebody to keep the baby occupied. At no point did my husband and I go off together alone because the trip was for the kids not for us. We realized that we would have had a really great time being able to go off on our own so as soon as we came home we booked a trip for just the two of us two months later.

Every trip after that has just been us with our family of 5 - we haven't traveled with anybody else. The older my youngest gets the easier it gets for all of us. H & I still take one "adult only" trip per year, too, usually during Food and Wine.

 

[monorailsilver]

Our first trip with our oldest I still planned to ride rides like we did in the pre kid era. I figured we do the kiddie swap.

Then we got there, I watched my now 15 yo have a blast with the characters and never thought of space, splash, big thunder, etc.... I knew we'd be back again and I knew I had riden them in the past.

Then next time she was 4, our ds was 2 and I was pregnant so again no rides. My dh rode test track with my dad. The next trip I took my oldest on space mountain (she was 7) while my dh hung out/got fast passes as it was our first ride of the day. We swapped out our 2 year old for test track. Dh took both kids while I got 4 fast passes then I took our oldest and he took our son. A few rides one of the kids didn't want to ride so we took turns sitting out. The next trip they were 12, 9 & 7 so we rode mostly everything. The next time will be in 2 years from August and they will be 17, 14 & 12 so we shall see what they want to do.

 

[jennygirlmt]

I think you'll be amazed at how your focus is on them. You won't think
About how you want to ride something with Hubby bc watching the light in their eyes as they see the castle, ride dumbo, hug Mickey, will be all the magic you need.

That said we usually travel with grandparents bc they want to be a part of it and that helps with the disparity in children's heights and rides and potty breaks... We'll be going alone on my three year old's wish trip in January and I'm already worried about how my husband will be able to ride coasters with the (then) 4 and 6 year old while I stay with the 2 year old.

 

[margot31]

I think you'll be amazed at how your focus is on them. You won't think
About how you want to ride something with Hubby bc watching the light in their eyes as they see the castle, ride dumbo, hug Mickey, will be all the magic you need.

That said we usually travel with grandparents bc they want to be a part of it and that helps with the disparity in children's heights and rides and potty breaks... We'll be going alone on my three year old's wish trip in January and I'm already worried about how my husband will be able to ride coasters with the (then) 4 and 6 year old while I stay with the 2 year old.

I was thinking of taking people too. I want to go next fall and have suggested having my husbands mom come with us since it looks like she will miss the birth (won't literally be in the room but was planning on flying to us when little one arrives) won't be able to make it out due to another back surgery. She has always wanted to go and granted I have wanted to do a big family trip when my oldest turns 5 but I think her going with us and not my whole family will be a little better for her first time.

 

[Mousemommy1]

DH and I took lots of adults only trips before kids. We used to go to Disney for spring break for college, before we were married. We even had our honeymoon at Disney.

We took a break to start a family and then decided to head back when our girls were 3 and 5. Our annual trips with our girls have been awesome. Watching them grow up in Disney has been a dream come true. We did it ourselves, not a huge family group and we've learned a valuable lesson each and every trip.

That being said, our girls are 12 and 9 now, and we also have a son now too who is 17 months (he has already been on 3 trips). We love traveling with our kids and look forward to many years to come. But, we also look forward to the day when it's just a him and I trip too. We've got a long way to go before that.

 

[DopeyDame]

Like others have said, I promise that you won't be longing for the old days of adults-only trips when you're there with your little kids. You'll be so focused on how awesome it is to be there with the kids, that a babyswap for Space Mountain may not even cross your mind.

Our first trip with DS was just the three of us. It was important to us to have an immediate-family-only trip before we went with extended family. (My sis lives in Florida, so that was a big of an issue, but we held our ground). We wanted to just be able to focus on the three of us, on DS and his interests and experiences. And wow, was it even better than I'd expected. You're about to start visiting a whole new Walt Disney World as a parent - enjoy it!

 

[Canooknic]

As the others have said, you probably won't even think about what you want!!

Hubby and I had a few trips before our boys arrived (they were a 'souvenir' from our 2007 trip ).
Our trips with them have been even more magical, just seeing the sheer joy on their faces all day every day is more than we could ever have hoped for!
I still get my BOG meal, and hubby still gets to ride one of the big coasters at Universal, but other than that we go with the boy's schedule....we rode Buzz 5 times in a row on our last trip and the boys were giddy with excitement!

It really is a very different pace to before, but the memories are soooo worth it!!
Have a great time !!!!!

 

[aretha30]

We have done Disney since way before thinking about kids and marriage. We honeymooned at Disney. Once we had our oldest (13) it did change the way we toured the parks (he was 2 months the first time we went to Disney with him) but it was better. Over the years it became about what they wanted to do and see and not about us. Last year our boys wanted to spend more time in the pool so this year we added the WP's to our passes. Our boys are Disney fanatics just like we are, they just like to tour differently. We go with the flow, we know that as they get older they will want to ride the big rides (our 13 yr old loves them, our 8 yr old not so much!) these vacations after all are about family time. The memories we have are priceless.

 

[Aliceacc]

Being in WDW with kids makes it an entirely different type of trip. You see the whole vacation through their eyes.

I teach in a Catholic high school that runs and annual Senior Trip to WDW. IT's a BIG deal; close to 600 kids go, so they need quite a few chaperones. And our kids are GOOD, so chaperoning is a breeze.

My own kids keep urging me to put in for the Senior Trip, just as my husband (who teaches in a similar school) does-- he goes and has a wonderful time.

And I keep telling them: What I love most about a trip to WDW is being there with my own kids, and experiencing it with them. The trips I took before kids simply don't compare to the joy I get from being in WDW with my own 3 kids. Sure, it's absolutely different. But I'm not looking forward to the days down the road when we'll be going to WDW without our kids.

 

[lennyd]

I think you will have a better time with you kids, you will see the magic in there faces (watch the look on there faces when they meet the characters)make sure you have that on video.

 

[1983disneykid]

I will honestly say that there are times I long for a trip with just the two of us--like nap time or deciding whether to push through and watch the fireworks or head home to sleep or when I could just go with some sunscreen and a bottle of water and be happy. But nothing compares to watching my girls experience Disney. They just light up when they notice something new, squeal when they see Daisy, or are overjoyed when it's Mickey bar time.

That being said, we almost always travel with my parents. There was one trip when my daughter was turning one when we were on own for two days before my parents got there. It was still wonderful. I would give up Space Mountain just to watch them dance with the Incredibles any day. (Although I also can't wait until they are big enough to ride it with me too!). I just recently did a trip with my HS friends, and while I had a blast, something was truly lacking and it's the ability to watch my kids love my favorite place on earth.

And the great thing about kids? Strollers--they can hold everything so you don't have to carry anything around

 

[happymommy]

I never took extended family when our kids were young. It would be too much work to coordinate what the others would want to do, and we enjoy vacations as time for our own together time.

My in-laws and parents don't really enjoy Disney anyway!

Disney is a trip that we found was easy with young kids. We took our time stopped to "smell the flowers" so to speak. Brought a good double stroller so they could nap in it.

We didn't stay out late or watch fireworks when they were young. We'd be pretty tired at the end of the day, so after bath time, we'd enjoy winding down and get them to bed at their normal time. That way we'd be fresh in the morning.