can you do it?

[cmassey]

every year, we see people freaking out, yelling at their kids, and acting unhappy. what's up with this? we usually have some problem where someone is mad at someone else, too, so i know it happens; and we're a really happy family in our real life.

my question is: is it possible to go a whole week on vacation (even at WDW) without some kind of breakdown? have you ever done it?

 

[disneyfan581]

It's very possible. We go every August for 2 weeks and everything is fine. This may also be because we know Disney so well and we know how to plan things. So yes, it is very possible for this not to happen.

 

[NMAmy]

I have a teenage dd and WDW is one place that we rarely argue. Last visit, we had one short breakdown at Indiana Jones. Not too bad for a 2 week trip!

 

[tjmouse]

Most of the time I think it's because people have no clue what they are getting into when taking a Disney vacation. They don't plan, they don't research, they just go and expect everything to go their way. After a few times of "sorry, we're booked solid" at the table service places and "the wait is 90 minutes for Soarin'" because they don't get to the park until noon, I am sure they get a little frustrated. It's sad.

Of course, my ex-dh was not a big Disney fan (thus the "ex") and my vacation in Nov/Dec was sooooo much nicer with just me and dd because I didn't have anyone to get on my nerves!!

 

[**pixiedust**]

I think the key to avoiding frustration and arguments is making sure that your trip is well planned out. WDW is such an overwhelming place that I can see where emotions can start to run very high if you don't have a plan and wander around not really knowing what to do or where to go, especially if you have kids. We always make sure we have a well thought out itinerary and I think it makes things alot less stressful on us and the kids.

 

[jjk]

I think its almost possible if you relax and enjoy what ever your doing go at a sensible pace and not worry about what you havent done yet.

 

[joshsmom]

Out of all the vacations we've taken to Disney, I can only think of one time when DS REALLY melted down and I reacted to it (which I shouldn't have done). I didn't yell, scream, or act like a crazy person, but I was angry with him. Instead of recognizing that he was tired and not feeling well (no, he didn't TELL me any of that--it would have been helpful information though!!!), I just thought he was being a brat. I don't do brat. That's BRAT, not brat--the sausage!!! Anyway, after about 1/2 an hour, I figured it out and we took a nice long break. No problem after. Man, if they just came with instruction manuals!!!

 

[loafskier]

I think there are two great ways to increase your "magic" on your vacation: 1) set expectations and 2) don't run the kids ragged. Okay, the third was already mentioned - plan ahead to avoid long waits for rides and meals.

1) As far as expectations, I started a month ahead of time explaining about the lines at Disney, how they may have to wait in lines, that sometimes when they want to do something we may not be able to do it right away because the line is long and we can do it later or the next visit when the line is short, etc. etc. etc. This worked really well, kids (mine are 5 and 7) really listen and understand when these things are explained throroughly and calmly ahead of time. If they are already begging to go on a ride right next to them it's too late to rationalize. I even spent time explaining the airport, security lines, airplane ride, ME, etc - any situation where they could be in line or waiting, I prepared them ahead of time.

2) We would hit the parks early and hard and get in alot of great rides, but as soon as the kids got tired and wanted to go to the hotel pool, we went. Kids need unstructured, fun time where they can just be kids. They were exhausted by 7pm, and although dh and I wanted to return to the parks at least one night for one of the shows, we just skipped it. Getting lots of sleep kept the kids in a better mood all day.

Hope this helps.