DKids don't want to go to WDW if I have a commando plan!

[anabelle]

The first year that we went to WDW we went through a travel agent to book the trip. We spent big bucks and really didn't get to do a lot. We had the mixed up notion that you swim in the morning and then go to the parks in the afternoon. I have since become a a Disboard follower and understand the proper use of a Itinerary. My kids say that they see more but have less fun because I push them through the parks. They said that they only want to go to MGM and I must let them ride what they want. Have I ruined my kids? I love the other parks. What is a good compromise. I joined DVC so I want to take advantage of the resorts. Do we go to WDW and not go to MK? I am kind of lost.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

What are the ages of your children?

Our DD is almost 10, and she prefers MGM now to MK.

(I love MK!)

 

[Barbday62]

When I took my teens back in 1998 I had to let them go and do things for themselves. I set up one meal or place a day they were required to meet up and do with mom and dad. Otherwise we went about our own way. Interesting enough they chose to do a little more with us than I had planned.

My rules were simple. They had to always stay together no matter what,. ANd the meeting spot had a one hour window to meet up so they didnt have to get out of a line to make it if they were near the front of something. (sometimes we met at a restaurant and sometimes at the hotel room) What was so funny is most of the time they beat us to the meet spot. Now a days I have cell phones but back then I didnt . It would have made things better if we would have had cell phones.


I also gave them charging priveldges on the room key so they could charge food and drinks through out the day when we were apart.

This worked well for us. My daughters were 14 and 17 back then and both are very responsible. They prefered MK most of the time or a water park. (I did have the family go to the same water park when we went) My husband and I prefer Epcot and MGM.

 

[mmeb144]

You might try asking the kids what their favorite attractions are at each of the parks. Then just focus on them. This works really well with my 2 dkids, 12 and 10.

Marie

 

[kilee]

Depending on the ages of the kids-- will depend on splitting up. However, bargain. Give them one day to plan at MGM-- then you plan a day at MK. You do their day and they do your's. If they are old enough to help plan. Also, don't overplan, as so many people don't enjoy that. I personally would love to have everything planned out in 15 min increments-- DH he wouldn't go if I did that. So we compromise. I plan out "chunks" of the day and he goes along w/ that.

 

[bjakmom]

Now that you own DVC just remember - there will always be another trip ! I have learned this the hard way when my kids have wanted to have some control (and divert me from my plan ) - what I have decided is that what's really important is that they are having FUN - if they don't mind waiting in lines because they did not want to follow my plan, criss/crossing the park the way we did when they were little (and I was still in control ), then I wait with them and try to enjoy myself - (ok, I 'pretend' to enjoy myself).

The good news is, now that I'm a DVC owner also and my kids are older and don't always vacation with me anymore (believe me, the day will come when you will miss the heck out of their complaining!!), I have discovered the fun of taking my little nephew and granddaughter - they still listen to me and don't mind getting up at the crack of dawn and criss/crossing the park !!! My point is - it was worth it to me to let the kids have more input and feel more in control of their vacations when they wanted to - of course we're talking compulsive planner here, so I'm not all the way there yet, but I get better with every family trip!- I'm OK as long as I remember that there are many trips to come !

 

[TwingleMum]

I don't blame your kids. Commando plans suck the joy out of the moment. Your not even done with one attraction and your already racing to the next, Thats fun????? If feasible why not give each person a day to plan - park,rides, meals. You just might discover a whole new wdw through someone else's eyes.(you'll also show your kids you respect their opinion and value their ideas) Enjoy.

 

[dixiegirl]

DH and I have done the commando plans and although I did enjoy them at the time, we have since revised our trips to not try to do quite so much. Try to find a compromise for all of you. Have everyone give a little feedback on the most important attractions to them and then take it from there.
If the kids are old enough, maybe they can have a little time for themselves to do their own thing together.

 

[Northwoods]

We are going Dec 18-25 and I'm trying to control myself - to not get in commando mode. We are using some old park hoppers - that have 3 days left and spending 2 days at Universal.

I've told my DH that we are going to take more time to enjoy the details - WDW secrets while we are there. The kids will pick a couple favorites at each park and try to limit it to that. We also have DVC so we know we will be back.

We have 1 free - non-park day, and I'm already thinking we should buy new park hopper tickets so we can go in that day. It's a trade off in my mind - it's nice to have a day off - but if we went into the parks that day - for and easy day - we would have more time to enjoy and do our top picks spread out over 4 park days.

We all love MK (DD13 & DS9) - so we want to be able to go there twice during our stay. We find that we do everything we want in MGM within a couple hours. Which is: RRC, TT, Star Tours
And since we are going to Universal we will get our thrill rides there.

 

[DisneyMim]

We have never done commando sytle, always felt that if we wanted to do more we would go again (and again and again LOL). We joined DVC when it first started because we knew we were Disney fanatics and wanted to go a lot. Our kids are now older, but love Disney as much as we do. I really believe it's because we never pushed them. We take our time and basically do whatever we want. We are now at the point that our family never gets up early and stays out late. This makes the kids happy and hubby and I are happy. I realize that soon they will not be with us every trip (sigh) but I've wanted to make it as magical as possible for them so they would WANT to be with us. My kids really don't like AK. For example this past 2 plus week stay we only went there one day. Did everything we wanted and didn't go again. My DD doesn't much care for MGM either, but she comes with us. I am so happy that both my kids are hugh MK fans because this is my fav park. We all like Epcot too. We've found different things to do also. We relax a lot, enjoy very relaxing breakfasts in our "home", kids love DQ, we swim when we want, etc. etc. In other words, we stop and smell the roses. There is much more to Disney than being dragged non-stop around the parks. I realize that for some people they have to do it that way because they don't have much time, but if you do, WOW Disney can really be like a second home, where the important thing is spending time as a family and, oh yeah, there just happens to be 4 amazing theme parks right in your backyard.

Just my little ole 2 cents. Enjoy and remember with DVC there will always be another trip, and another and another.....

 

[ChuckGA]

This applies to everything, not just Disney.

When are you doing something right, you believe it can be done better but when you do something wrong, you KNOW it.

I suggest you take their suggestions and try this trip differently. One of two this will happen.

1. You find that you have been there enough that you find a new touring style (non-commando) is better.
2. Everyone else in the family now understands why commando has been the "right" way to tour the parks and you should go back to it.

We commando'd the parks until the 3rd trip where we tried the park hopping and afternoon breaks as so many people on these boards suggest. We discovered why commando is the "right" way for us.

Chuck

 

[anabelle]

Thanks for the reples! I will try to make a plan that incorporates their favorites.