Do people tell you "You are going there, AGAIN?"

[Disney Dreams]

I use to be one of those people until I went with my own kids. My husbands cousins use to go at least 2 times a year and we live in Northern California. I never understood it. Then we took our kids for the first time when they were 2 and 4 and we have gone every year since. My husband and I get to travel a bit and this year we have done Kauai and Mexico kid free and my husband even said to me that he knows I'm looking forward to Disneyland the most. I am! Something about that family time in the parks is just amazing to me. I dont expect people with out kids to get it yet.

Aww, you missed out. Disney without kids - just two fun-going adults - is the best!

DH and I have no children. We LOVE our Disney vacations.

- Dreams

 

[larina]

We get this a lot. People are shocked: 1. That we keep returning, 2. That we go for Christmas, 3. That we stay on-site. I/we don't care any more. My aunt and uncle who smoke like chimneys asked my mom how we can afford that (they weren't very nice about it either) and my mom told them, "easy, we don't smoke." Usually we are nicer about, explaining it is just our thing and what we do, but if you're judging us about my Disney/Mickey Mouse addiction, we're not interested in your opinion. Life's too short...

 

[wenrob]

I used to try and play it down and explain myself but as I've gotten older I realize I don't owe anyone any kind of justification for what I do or why. It's an extremely rude and judgmental question so I finally got rude back with, "why does it matter to you where I go on vacation?" Nothing like seeing them sputter and backpedal into silence. I don't get asked anymore.

 

[WestMom2two]

Aww, you missed out. Disney without kids - just two fun-going adults - is the best!

DH and I have no children. We LOVE our Disney vacations.

- Dreams

I would LOVE to do Disney without kids! Someday. I would have to much mommy guilt right now. We tend to go towards the end of the year so someday I'm hopping to do an impromptu trip around February or March with my husband only and then still take the kids later in the year! I bet kid free park days are just amazing!

 

[tanyaegangibson]

Yup. I don't care what people think.

We live in the Bay Area, and we are not locals. We've lived here for going on 8 years now, and we have done so much stuff and still have long lists left we are working on going through. But so many of the people we have worked with haven't done much of anything. I can't tell you how many don't even go into the city on the weekends with their families. We are busy every weekend! This past weekend, we went cherry picking, went to the city for the Carnaval festival, and to the beach. It was like a real vacation, but we didn't leave our home area. When I was asked what we did, so many people hadn't even heard of any of those activities or places, and they didn't do anything or go anywhere. So, it's pretty hard for me to take these same people seriously when they say, "Disneyland again??"

We also believe Disney is great when the kids are so young. We went to Hawaii last year, which was amazing, and we have Guatemala planned for this Spring. As the kids get older, we will branch out more with vacations to different destinations, but DLR and/or WDW will probably always be squeezed in somewhere. They are just fun, amazing places!!!

I don't try to justify or talk people into going. We all like our own things, and besides, I am not looking to increase the crowds!!

Right there with you. We live in Marin, where there is so much to do and sea outdoors--and we're a half hour from the city--yet a lot of families we know seem surprised that I've taken the kids hiking, to Point Reyes to see elephant seals, to Tomales Bay (where we saw little bat rays "waving" at us just yards from shore), to Stinson beach just to sea the ocean and grab a hot dog and soft-serve ice cream. We get a lot of mileage out of our memberships to the Academy of Sciences, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Gilroy Gardens, and even Six Flags. (Yeah, it's no substitute for Disneyland, but it's only 35 mins away.)

What astounds me about people's reactions to our doing these things (plus going to Disneyland once or twice a year), is that folks say things like, "Wow, that's so nice of you. You're such a good mom." To which I say, truthfully, "That's a very sweet to say, but to be honest, a big part of why I do it is it's FUN FOR ME." (Why wouldn't it be fun to go do things with your kids? It--and they-- are a blessing!)

 

[MichaelaF]

We get it a lot too, but we also find it makes people more interested. "I didn't think you guys were the 'Disney types'!" It gives us a chance to talk about why we enjoy it.

I'm happy to talk Disney anytime!

 

[SultanPprShkr]

i used to get this a lot. now i've replaced all my friends with friends that go more often than me, so it's all good.

 

[Annadesu]

I say things like "Yes, we are! We love it, and there's always something new. Plus Florida's weather is SO much nicer". We're from New Hampshire, the land of ice and snow, so you can remove that last part if it doesn't apply to you.

 

[sharona]

We don't go to Disney enough to elicit those type of questions but we've been several times and have some friends who go yearly. To me, I have the opposite experience.

I can't believe the number of families with children that we know that have never been to Disney! My daughter's bff11 and bff's brother13 have never been and there are several other families in our circle that have never been. All with at least 1 child over 10. Whenever the subject comes up (usually from one of the kids) the parents always comment that they'd like to go but it's so expensive! We live in a solidly middle income community and most of these families have very nice houses, new cars, pricey memberships to the local country club and every electronic device you can think of. Although I'm shocked that they haven't given their children the wonderful Disney memories that we will always cherish, I would never in a million years call them out on it and presume to comment on how they spend their money.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

We don't have kids and I get it

Us too! :yes:

 

[Xenorye]

I like the "Some people have ski trips, we have Disney trips" response. Mine is typically "Yep. It's my jam."

 

[tarheelalum]

I use to hear it a lot at work. I told them where they could shove their opinions and I stopped hearing it.

 

[awdsmama]

The funny thing is, if we were going to the same exact spot in Mexico for three years in a row, no one would bat an eye about it...

I hadn't thought of that before but you are SO right! It's like people think Disney is a one time trip "been there done that" type of thing but it's NOT - especially with so many yummy treats to try, you can't fit that all in in a week I've tried....heehee

 

[Nintfamily]

i used to get this a lot. now i've replaced all my friends with friends that go more often than me, so it's all good.

This made me !

 

[gerilyne]

My DH and I are going for our third year in a row this year plus planning our trip for next year during the 60th. We get this from both the people who just don't understand the Disney obsession, but also from those who say it out of jealousy because they wish they could.

but I don't worry about the nay-sayers too much. they just don't get it!!!!

 

[LoveDisneyMom]

The question that baffles me is "Well arent your kids too young to go to Disney? Why would you go now?"

When we went for our first trip two years ago, my son was almost three and we got asked that constantly and now that we are going again and our youngest will only be 14 months, we are getting it again.


Cmon people!!!! Hmmmm...we want to go on a family vacation..... yes what a crazy idea.... take our kids to Disneyland?!!! What strange people we are!!! lol

Everyone keeps talking also about how they wont remember it..... Well first of all, we plan on going lots throughout their lives, second of all, my last trip with my parents I was 13 and my memories are super sparse of it then so why not take them now. Third, my DH and I are making amazing memories of our family right now...its not just for the kids!

 

[meagus]

The question that baffles me is "Well arent your kids too young to go to Disney? Why would you go now?"

When we went for our first trip two years ago, my son was almost three and we got asked that constantly and now that we are going again and our youngest will only be 14 months, we are getting it again.

Cmon people!!!! Hmmmm...we want to go on a family vacation..... yes what a crazy idea.... take our kids to Disneyland?!!! What strange people we are!!! lol

Everyone keeps talking also about how they wont remember it..... Well first of all, we plan on going lots throughout their lives, second of all, my last trip with my parents I was 13 and my memories are super sparse of it then so why not take them now. Third, my DH and I are making amazing memories of our family right now...its not just for the kids!

Wow, I have heard the exact same comment from people about whether or not we should be going to Disneyland now with 2, 5 and 7 year olds. Seem people say we should wait til our youngest is old enough to remember.....but then I feel like I will miss the boat with my DD7 and her love for the Princesses!
We haven't told anyone yet, not even the kids, but we are heading to disneyland in October from Australia. 20 weeks to go and counting!

My thoughts exactly are that we are making family memories for all of us, including my husband and I. We will be sure to take lots of photos so that no one forgets our first family holiday to Disneyland.

 

[Dot2Vegas]

Why do people have an attitude about going to Disneyland a lot? What is your response when you tell someone you are going to DL and they say something like, "OMG, you are going there again? Why? You should go somewhere else for a change!" Grrrr. Ok, vent over.

We get this a lot. I usually just say "yes. This is our thing. Just like you have (fill in the blank) as your thing." That's usually enough for people. If they push then I respond with something along the lines of "when you start paying for our vacations you can chose". Or "I didn't realize that you were vacationing with us.". That always quiets them down!!

 

[Cheshirecatty]

i used to get this a lot. now i've replaced all my friends with friends that go more often than me, so it's all good.

Love, love, love this!!!!

Hillarious(and SOOOOOO tempting!!!)

 

[mybestieismickey]

We don't get this too often. Most people know us and they know this is what we like to do. Plus, we always squeeze in some family time when we visit SoCal so no one there seems to mind. Especially since many of my cousins who are locals have APs too.

The people we seem to get the most disapproval from are my mom and Father in Law. Mom is the queen of passive aggressive, so she would never come right out and say she thinks it is stupid, but she comes pretty close. My sisters were both considering coming with DH and I to DLR in December, but I think both are going to back out. One because flights from Pittsburgh are expensive and the other because my nephew may not reach the height requirement for RSR by then and it really would ruin his trip if he couldn't go on it. My mom has now started saying that is best because it is silly to take kids before they are four or five since they won't remember it anyway. The exact quote as she held my three month old in her lap was "Going before that is only for the parents anyway. Babies won't remember it!" Grr. My trip is still on. What really gets me is we took the same nephew to Sea World when he was two (she paid) and he still talks about it. And I know for a fact that she has a killer whale plush ready to mail to him in the next few days. After a lifetime of this, the best course of action for me is to just ignore it. I literally do not respond when my mother says stuff like this. Or I change the subject.

Father in Law just does not understand. I could be over simplifying, but the way I see it, if it isn't Yellowstone or Hebgen Lake, it isn't a proper vacation. I think I shocked them when I told them last year that I wasn't going this summer and neither was the baby. Does anyone think a week in a car with a six month old sounds like fun? DH is always trying to convince them to go with us. He always has fun when he comes, but getting him to come is the issue. Mother in Law is in, but she doesn't want to go without Father in Law and he is hard to get to go. Especially if Sister in Law isn't coming. So I let DH handle his family and I handle mine.

What it comes down to is choice. DH has to go on vacation a few times a year. He has a high stress job and needs the break. We like Disney because it is low key and there is plenty to entertain us. I can handle a day at the lake or the beach, but after that, I need entertainment. Disney provides us that for a fairly reasonable rate and far less planning than any other city visit would require.