ATTN: Empty nesters, has disney lost its magic?

[IsThatYouTigger]

I am on the opposite end of the spectrum. My husband and I have been going to Disney together since high school. Now 10 years later we recently got married, took our honeymoon to Disney, and since both of our parents live down there still visit a couple times a year. We keep going back and each time say well let's enjoy this now because eventually (hopefully) it won't be just the two of us. Haha we won't be able to enjoy the F&W festival quite the same!

 

[North of Mouse]

Empty nesters and soon to be empty nesters,

Has disney lost its magic since the kids are now out of the house and gone. Has your strategy to approaching disney dramatically changed? Have you taken trips to wdw or dl without your children? If so, do you feel sad?

No, it has not lost it's magic although we are pretty ticked off at Disney right now because of so many changes they have made the last 6 months in 'everything'.

We have gone more times in the last 10 years since being 'empty nesters' than we did with our children because of scheduling conflicts. Now we just go when we want.

But, we haven't been this year and have 'no' plans to do so anytime soon. We are going on different vacations to other destinations because we are not happy with decisions that have taken away some of our spontaneity. We are not rigid planners. We are more 'relax and go with the flow' people.

We still 'love' Disney and the magic is still there and we plan to go sometime in the future, but right now we are not happy with them!

We have been getting AP's and going 3 times in an 'AP year', so they have lost several vacations from us, not that I expect them to care! LOL

 

[PeterPanic]

Magic comes in many forms. Yes, it is quite different from when we traveled with young children, it was great then, but, it is a different type of great now.

If the place didn't transport me back to MY youth I would no longer go. Notice that I didn't say anything about transporting me back to when my kids were children, I'm talking about me here. Since I first entered the grounds when I was 35 years old, until today (66 in a couple of months) I have always been transported back. Differently every time, but it's still there.

 

[natfrac]

We love visiting WDW alone, but we also love it when our adult kids join us for vacation. It's more relaxed and slower paced with just the two of us.

 

[CouchTater]

We have actually been more and have a better time than we did when the kids were young. My kids were never into the magic like I was. We are hopefully going to be relocating in the next few months so the grand kids can come down and visit and we can introduce them to a little pixie dust.

 

[PrincessPaczki]

Hi. I have 2 sons that are in college, but commute from home. We go to Disney every year, and they go with us. We go in October and the Halloween parties are so much fun with them. My DH and I went a few years ago alone and had a fantastic time together! Its like seeing the parks in a whole different way. Everything is so different from dining, strolling the parks and the resort itself. We stayed at the G.F. RP and it was so special. I can't wait to do it again.

 

[catne]

Uh, no.

My "baby" graduated high school in 2007 and went away to college...the older 3 kids were already gone. And if you look at my signature, we have been to Disney many times since the kids all left.

Hubby and I have gone on many trips over there without kids of any age. We're planning one over Labor Day weekend right now. We went last December to see all the Christmas stuff (Candlelight Processional, Osborn Lights, MVMCP...that was just us, 50-something couple.)

But...our adult kids love going to Disney, too. They are no 25, 31, 33, and 35 years. The running joke in the family is the kids bring their significant others to Disney on a family trip and see if they "pass" the Disney test. So far they all have

 

[Jennasis]

Our nest has never been full LOL. We have enjoyed our trips immensely over the years, just DH and I. In fact, we just bought DVC!

 

[HMANSION LOVER]

We are soon-to-be empty nesters (DD in college, DS a senior next yr), and we are taking our first trip without them over Labor Day weekend. I cannot wait--as fun as the trips were with the kids, this will be completely different. I'm planning much less commando must-meet-this-character-and -ride-this-ride and a whole lot more cocktails!

cocktails In all the trips with the kids very rarely got a chance to just sit relax and enjoy a cocktail and people watch (NO COMPLAINTS). When we go, usually 8 to 10 days, we spend about a half a day in WS. Can't wait to go without the kids to spend a day enjoying WS to just eat and drink until we can't take it anymore and stagger back to the BC

 

[kathy884]

Well I still have a 18 year old at home, but he graduates from HS a week from tomorrow. I have to say too, that I enjoy the parks with DS 18 even more than I liked going to them with him when he was little or going to them when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s (I've been going since 71 when WDW opened). We had so much fun last October on a mini weekend get-a-way, that I'm doing another mini trip with him after his college finals next December, as we can go before Christmas week and my mom and dad will meet us down there too. And we'll be back home before the big Christmas crowds roll in. // I love it that DS wants to go again (asked when we could do another trip down there) and is thrilled that his grandparents are coming too. He's so close to my mom and dad, and our mini generational group will have a blast. As kids get older as they should they have their own social lives and you don't see them as much, and that for me makes the times you do spend with them even more special.

I have to say, though, that it's not so much the parks for me, but it's the great time that I have with my practically grown up kid there that makes the magic for me.

I don't see WDW ever being a get-a-way for me and DH. DH hates Florida and theme parks, so trips I do now with DS are without him. If it's just the two of us, the most perfect vacation destination that I can think of is somewhere like Puerto Vallarta. Somewhere like that is a good family vacation destination too, and for our main vacation each year we pick something everybody likes which means Orlando or anything theme park based is out.

I think vacations for me are more about doing something frivolous and fun with people I love, and the destination is more the back drop than the point. A theme park backdrop is perfect with DS, but wouldn't work at all with DH.

 

[Ravenne]

I m not an empty nester, so I'm not sure why I clicked on this thread. . However, I can speak for the "other side": I am 39 and my bro is 31 and we still vacation with my mom at Disney every year. It's just a tradition that we don't want to let go of. My first trip was in 1975 and I've been every year since!

I think my mom enjoys it just as much as ever because now we can really relax and spend time at lounges if we want instead of trying to hit all the rides every minute of the day. Neither my brother nor I have kids, so it's an adult - only trip and we have a terrific time!

I'm kind of in the same boat. I'm a long way from being an empty nester, but I can still see myself continuing to go to WDW for a long time to come. We honeymooned at WDW, before having kids. If anything, we use the kids as an excuse to go so it cuts down on the, "you're going to Disney AGAIN?" questions and comments. I'd love to continue to make it a one big family affair one day if my kids still want to but their leaving the nest won't stop me from wanting to go.

 

[disneyerin]

I hope I will be able to go again and have fun without my daughter (now 20). She, my DH and I have had 5 wonderful trips to the World together (my DH and I had gone 3 times before she was born and grew up around Disneyland) and I just can't get excited about going again without her..... I guess I'm still in the "grieving" stage about her leaving home.....

 

[JimmyV]

We will be empty nesters in a few years and I have a pretty good idea what vacations and getaways will be like and I doubt they will involve too many trips to WDW. It's not that WDW has lost any magic. Rather, when I think about the new, more adult-oriented style of Disney vacation that would entail, I realize that there are other things I'd rather do. Instead of having cocktails around World Showcase and dinner at Victoria & Albert's, we'd rather visit tasting rooms in Sonoma and have dinner at the French Laundry. Instead of the Food and Wine festival at Epcot, we'd rather go to the Food and Wine festival in Aspen. Instead of riding Kilimanjaro Safari at AK, we'd rather go to South Africa and a game reserve. Instead of dinner at Chefs de France, we'd rather have dinner in Paris.

We love WDW and went as a couple before we were parents and I look forward to going as an active grandparent if that day ever comes. But when it is just my wife and I, we will most likely branch out and see more of the world. An unpopular view here for sure, but I am just being honest.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

The Disney magic is for every age group and just doesn't fade.

THIS IS one of the many reason no other resorts come close to the *Disney Experience*.

Best Regards..................AKK

 

[dkrauss]

The experiences (with/without the kids) are different...........the magic never changes. My sweetie and I both visited with our children in another life LOL! It was awesome for us both..........now with our children grown Disney is a different experience but no-less enjoyable. We're both big kids anyway so we still enjoy Character meals and rides like Dumbo and the Jungle Cruise........ Its all perspective......we've always looked at has a turning of the page of a great book...........you never know what's going to happen but you know it will be memorable!!!

Doug

 

[rapunzels]

Far from being an empty nester.. but we have done Disney once without the kids... We felt like it did lose a bit of magic... but I will say I think part of that was our fault. Our biggest mistake was to approach the week the same way we did when we tour with the kids... what's wrong with that right? that's how we fell in love with Disney... but it was definitely lacking. While at a bit slower pace, we still rode all the same rides, ate at some of the same places, did F & W but are non drinkers, did a MVMCP..... It was still an ok week, but in hindsight, we should have scheduled some tours, explored some of the hotels we have not been to yet, maybe eaten at some of those harder to get to locations, ect.. It wasn't until the end of our stay that we realized we were touring kid friendly, without having the kids along. Next time we will plan differently.

 

[csmith041177]

We aren't empty nesters, but are going on our first adults only trip this fall. I have to admit, I am worried about being sad the kids aren't there!

 

[Kimi313]

I hope I will be able to go again and have fun without my daughter (now 20). She, my DH and I have had 5 wonderful trips to the World together (my DH and I had gone 3 times before she was born and grew up around Disneyland) and I just can't get excited about going again without her..... I guess I'm still in the "grieving" stage about her leaving home.....

My daughter is 23 and when she first went off to college and I couldn't imagine going without her and it was really depressing thinking about it. Well spring of her freshmen year she brought home a boyfriend who had only been to DW 1 time so we talked and decided on a trip that summer which was fantastic and now he is a DW fan. Since then she is still dating him and we will be going on our 6th trip together in 3 weeks and even though they have graduated and working they tell us that we better not go without them! Sometimes things work out different than you fear.

 

[CapeCodMouse]

My husband and I took an anniversary trip this past September - it was soooo different without my DS (now 13). We took it slow, enjoyed the F&W festival, didn't have to worry about eating at a certain time or riding specific rides or cramming in a certain amount of the "magic".
I am hoping to go again in November with a friend of mine without hubby or the kids. I find that I can go at that relaxed snails pace, less worries, more time to stop and notice things, like details in the scenery, and people watching. Personally, I love Disney as an adult.

 

[Missymouse18]

Oh this is a very sweet thread - thanks OP, for starting it! We are empty nesters and we have now been to WDW 2 years with no children. This year, we are taking DN14. In October, I will be having a Mommy son trip with my DH25 and cannot wait to regale all of our past experiences when he was a youngster!

We still do the parks as we would if we had kids with us - we do M&G's, we swim, we play putt-putt golf, we see the shows, and we never go back to the room for a nap. We are in pretty good shape for empty nesters, so we are still commando in the parks. As DH always says, "From rope drop till closing, we are wide open." WDW is my never grow up place