mysterywriterv
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2019
I've been to Disney World twice with my boys (first trip at ages 2 and 4, recently in January at ages 4 and 6) and I've always had fun, but it's a stressful trip with young kids and I feel like I spend so much of the trip fussing at them, entertaining them in lines, having them steal my food and drinks, answering a million questions, and just generally not being able to fully relax.
After we got back from our most recent trip, the free dining promotion was running and my sisters and I decided to take a girl's vacation this summer. At the time, I felt really great about booking it, but now that the trip is approaching I'm feeling SO BAD for my kids that they don't get to come, especially since that trip impacts our ability to take a big summer vacation.
My husband is planning fun things while I'm gone (like a couple of nights at Great Wolf Lodge), and I have frequent conversations with the kids kind of downplaying the trip - about how Star Wars land won't even be open yet, it's probably going to rain every day, we're going to ride all the scary rides the kids don't even like, and it's going to be super hot, so they're pretty convinced it wouldn't be any fun for them anyway, but I'm still just feeling bad about it.
Any other parents taken a disney trip without the kids? Did you feel guilty about leaving the kids behind and how did you talk to them about the trip? I've been away from the kids before for work trips, but this is different. Thanks!
Me and my wife have both gone to Disney World without each other once and with each other once without our twin boys. They are 6 now. My wife was the first who went. She went with her friend for Flower and Garden. She had a blast. I think she was worried about the guilt, but honestly the kids were fine. They were 3 at that time, so they didn't care as much. I planned a lot of things for us to do together while she was away, so they didn't really think about it until she came home with souvenirs for them.
I went alone the next time, but that trip was a much more goal oriented trip, as I was going to pick up our much older daughter who was finishing up her Disney internship. It coincided with Food and Wine. So I got to spend only two days down there. One day at the parks. We did all four parks in one day. It was something that I never thought I would ever do. I don't ever recommend it. With that being said, it was a really exhausting but rewarding experience. So as far as the boys were concerned, they were 4 at the time, and they knew I was going to Disney without them, but I was bringing their sister back with me. So the end result was something they desired.
So me and my wife went to Disney World together last April for our anniversary. We had gotten annual passes the previous summer, because we were also planning on coming back the following summer. And since we had the annual passes, we decided to go without the boys for our anniversary. We didn't tell them where we had gone until after we got back, because at 5, they would have wondered where all the Disney merch had come from. They were fine with it. I felt incredibly guilty about this trip as well. So I understand what you're feeling. But honestly once we were there, that all washed away, because the experience without kids is so much different than the experience with the kids. Not better, not worse, just completely different. And to be able to experience Disney World like that was such a unique and wonderful experience. I won't enumerate the many ways it is different, because as a mother, you will know what they are.
So I will never feel guilty. It sounds like you give your children loads of wonderful experiences and they will continue to get wonderful experiences. So let the guilt fall away and just enjoy a trip that you so clearly deserve. I would love to hear how you felt while you were there, because obviously everyone's experiences are different. I hope you have a wonderful trip.