Do you go anywhere else?

[JoanneNC]

Until our kids get a little older - we are sticking to some sure bets

Disney
Williamsburg
Myrtle Beach
Carolina Beach
Weekends Camping/Boating

BUT
DH and I look forward to returning to the Ski trips, Scuba trips, back to Europe, etc. But we want to do them when the kids are old enough to enjoy

 

[AprilJ26]

We've never been to WDW before, so this will be our first trip there. Since I was little, my family has always vacationed in the Smoky Mtns. Simple trip, but we always have a blast. My dad has never been much on crowds... he prefers to rent a cabin and relax. DH, DS and I go with my parents every year. This year we're going to WDW in March (just DH, DS, and I), then in May we're going with my parents to the Smokies. I'm way more excited about Disney! I hope to be able to start going there at least every other year! Maybe start a new tradition

 

[yrdlyprincess]

We go on 2 vacations- on down to the Jersey shore --and every other year to Disney (takes me that long to save up!!) I would to love while I'm down there to go to Cocoa Beach-wow what a difference fromt the Jersey shore!! and I would love to go to Sea World- don't really have an interest in Universal (sorry) but my heart belongs to Disney--so to answer your question, I would have to go to Disney for vacation--at least a few days to get my mouse fix!

 

[shellybaxter]

Until our kids get a little older - we are sticking to some sure bets

Disney
Williamsburg
Myrtle Beach
Carolina Beach
Weekends Camping/Boating

BUT
DH and I look forward to returning to the Ski trips, Scuba trips, back to Europe, etc. But we want to do them when the kids are old enough to enjoy

Tell me more about Williamsburg. We don't have children but it sounds like a fun place to go. How much time can you spend their and still be interested? How much walking is involved? What are the best hotels and restaurants?

 

[summermac]

Ooh love the Smokies & Niagara too!

 

[CampbellScot]

I just had this conversation with my husband the other day. I was a little worried that he was doing Disney every year just for me, b/c I'm such a Disney nut. So I asked him if there was anywhere else he wanted to go. His response was:

"Not really. When I'm at Disney I can truly escape the real world. I am immersed in another reality for a little while. There is always somewhere to go, something fun to do, interesting things to see. I don't have to worry about driving in an unfamiliar town and getting lost...or being stuck in a hotel room in the evening watching bad cable b/c it's not so easy to sight see in the dark. I am bored out of my MIND on a beach after about 20 minutes. So really...Disney works for me on every level."



I knew there was a reason I was so drawn to this man!!

I think there are people who see Disney as little more than an amusement park. Those people are over it after a visit or two. They don't get people who make an annual trip or two trips a year. They say things like "Geez, there is a WHOLE WORLD out there to see! Why go to the same park year after year? Don't you get bored?"

Then there are the people that see Disney as an experience. It's a piece of their heart. It's attached to fond childhood memories...or it's a place you never experienced as a child and it's fun to be a kid again when you are there. It's a time to reminisce as you walk through the familiar places, visiting spots you especially love each time and saying things like "Remember the year that...". Maybe each year you visit you try out new places and experiences that perhaps you didn't have time for on the last trip. You see Disney through the eyes of your children and get to experience the World in a whole new light.

Those are the people that come to Disney year after year...

I'm a sap. I know. But I love Disney World. I've been all over the "real world". I've lived all over the United States. I lived in Ireland and traveled all over from there. They were great experiences.

But never EVER had nearly as much fun in any of those places than I have each year at Disney World.

 

[goofyernmost]

Tell me more about Williamsburg. We don't have children but it sounds like a fun place to go. How much time can you spend their and still be interested? How much walking is involved? What are the best hotels and restaurants?

This is just my opinion and I know that a lot of people feel that Williamsburg is great, but I think it is the biggest ripoff in the nation. First they charge you (considerable) to get into the site. That would be great if it were a walled or fenced area but you can walk in for free from non-historical Williamsburg. It is nothing more than just another part of "regular" Williamsburg. Then on top of that to see anything that you cannot see from the free entrance they charge you extra. Most of the buildings are closed to tourists because they are privately owned homes and the owners live there and don't want a mob of tourist wandering through their house. When you do pay extra to see allegedly "historic" buildings you find out that they are actually reproductions and they are not even sure just how exact a replica they are. Sure you can watch a couple of period things like candle making or blacksmithing but other than that you walk away with sore feet, a considerably lighter wallet and very little additional knowledge other than what the outside of period, recreated, buildings look like.

Not a big fan!

 

[Redbudlover]

Lately I have been going to Disney twice a year - once with my granddaughter for 5 nites and once on an adult trip with a friend or relative for a week. In addition I usually go on one international trip - usually to viist my son. This year he is finally returning to the States to live and so I am thinking about going to Paris for a week with an extrra 3 or 4 days at Paris Disney... Priced some packages and can get flights and a nice hotel near the Louvre for a week for about $2500 - less than it would cost me for a deluxe hotel and flight at WDW. Am worried about the economy this year, but boy paris beckons!

 

[PlainJane]

Yes, we go other places. Our trips in the past five years include New Orleans, New York City, Williamsburg, the Outer Banks, and of course Disney.

 

[jblrn2b]

We do two main family trips a yr now - Disney and Cape Cod. The Cape we've been going to for 20+ yrs. We've been to a lot of the Carribean and to Niagara, all over the US. This summer we are traveling down south again d/t our DS#1's lacrosse tournaments and hoping to visit DC during one of these trips.

For our family, our most magical moments happen in two places - CC and WDW why change that. Maybe someday we'll get to Europe but honestly I don't really care to ever get there.

 

[Colleen27]

I'd like to say we go other places, but lately it doesn't feel that way... Since our first family Disney trip in '05, we've only taken two major vacations elsewhere. We still do a lot of weekends in the Great Lakes region and we still spend a lot of time up north, but Disney has definitely become our usual spot for the major trip of the year.

When the kids are older, I'm sure our habits will shift and Disney will be more for weekends and short trips while we take our big vacation elsewhere, but for right now I can't think of many places that appeal so well to all 3 of the kids (11, 7, and 7mo) and where traveling with a baby/toddler doesn't significantly hamper what we can do.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Let me say- I LOVE WDW!! However, I do like to experience other things too. We are lucky living in the Northheast that there is so much to do within driving distance ( which I define as 8 hours or less).

We have tons of family from NH to Philadelphia. We have taken several car trips to Pennsylvania, New York, Jersey Shore and New Hampshire. This past May we drove to D.C. for 4 days and it was awesome! There is so much to do and see.

I can't wait for our WDW trip this May- my family thinks I am obsessed. But next I would love to plan a trip to Southern California and Niagra Falls. When the kids are older we plan some National Parks and hopefully Europe. My husband would love to plan trips that bring us to a different ballpark to watch the Red Sox.

I think WDW will remain an every other year trip for us. I want my kids to experience the different cultures in this vast country of ours- I think we all live insular lives. I want to explore! But I also want to escape- that is where Disney fits in!

 

[tiggerpoohbounce]

my DD and me are always trying catch the stuff we missed and always talking about new ideas for DW like dining plans and such

 

[Colleen27]

Until our kids get a little older - we are sticking to some sure bets

Disney
Williamsburg
Myrtle Beach
Carolina Beach
Weekends Camping/Boating

BUT
DH and I look forward to returning to the Ski trips, Scuba trips, back to Europe, etc. But we want to do them when the kids are old enough to enjoy

That's our feeling too. We pretty much stick to Disney as our big trip, and then our smaller trips to VA Beach, D.C., northern Michigan, Chicago, Toronto/Niagara Falls, and various driving distance weekends. We're looking forward to getting back to Mexico, finally making it to Europe, Hawaii, Costa Rica, etc. but I don't want to take those trips with children too young to enjoy them and too young for me to enjoy the trip because I'm caring for them. The real world doesn't have baby swap!

 

[Disneymama09]

We always try to do things we have not experienced yet , with each trip...

 

[DWFan4Life]

I'll stay on Disney, nothing else more. I'm glad that my kids also loved it and even my friends.

 

[klmorg]

WDW is our biggest vacation. We go every other year, wish we could go more but the trip takes time and money, which we need to save. We do take about 2 little trips a year to different destinations. We like the smokey mountains. We have family in West Virginia that we visit. We have been to Williamsburg, explored along the Blue Ridge Parkway(to the top of The Peaks of Otter!), Mrytle Beach and Daytona Beach. I have traveled to Rio De Janiero and to Tel Aviv. I have lived all over the US from California to New York but have settled here in north central Florida. After all of that, WDW is still the family preferred vacation for us! I went to WDW about 20 or more times with my dad and sister when I was growing up. He was a pilot and would fly us up to Disney about 3 or 4 times a year for the weekend. Being at Disney now as an adult is sometimes emotionally overwhelming for me because I know I am giving my children the same gift my father gave to me....the magic. The ability to dream...to laugh...and to experience the 'World' over and over again. My kids LOVE Disney and the whole family gets excited about every trip.

 

[topmonkeygirl]

My hubby took his first Disney trip back in October, he's 44 can you belive it, and he says he's Disneyed out. Is he nuts? I've been I don't know how many times and I want to live there. He wants to take a relaxing vacation to the mountains or an extended camping trip. Yeah that's great for him he doesn't have to cook and clean, grocery shop, keep the cabin or camp site cleaned up. He says I want to relax, I tell him that's all you do at home, I want to go on vacation and have fun not cook and clean. His only jobs at home are mowing the yard and taking out the trash, he's got it tough.

I'm already planning a very extened vacation for Dec. 2010, 2-3 weeks in Disney. I'm going to sign him up for the driving experience, and some down time by the pool. Also I plan on visiting some of the other parks likes Sea World, and Universal. He will like that alot.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Yes, Disney is great, though not an end all; it is a big world out there.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Right now, yes, our primary vacation destination is WDW. We live at the beach, so going to another beach is not appealing to us. When our kids get older, we do want to go to Washington DC, Grand Canyon, and other places. We are not the type of people to go somewhere and sit. We can do that at home. We like to have things to do, places to see. And my idea of vacation does NOT involve cooking or cleaning!