Do you go anywhere else?

[miksilver]

As much as I love Disney, I couldn't imagine not going to other places as well like Vegas, New Orleans, England (must visit the in-laws), Europe and cruises. Our family loves cruising just as much as we love Disney. I'm always looking for a good travel deal and making plans.

We also bought DVC last year and have used it twice so far with another trip this May. Disney is just a different type of vacation for us. It's more relaxed with lots of stuff to do all the time. And now that we own DVC we travel at a much more relaxed pace in the World that my DH really likes. Disney is just an "easier" vacation all around now.

I guess one way to put it is that Disney is our "vacation" spot, but we still love to travel.

 

[want2bamommy]

We love Caribbean cruises! They are Hubby's favorite vacation but when it comes down to it I prefer Disney, lol. So we compromise and alternate so we both get what we want. That being said he definitely enjoys Disney but not to the extent that I do, lol.

 

[MouseEarsJenny]

We like beaches and Disney right now. We're hoping to travel to other places some day, but our youngest (and his mama to some extent) are afraid to fly, so we prefer the trips where we can drive at the moment.

For beaches, we like Chincoteague/Assateague, the Outer Banks, and Honeymoon Island/Clearwater.

We also take hundreds of day trips in our area. We live smack in the middle between New York and Philadelphia, so if it's in that region, chances are we've daytripped there.

Some places that are definitely on our must do list for the next 5-6 years are Ireland, Wisconsin (because it's where I grew up and ds and I are nuts about the Packers), San Diego/Disneyland, some tropical island or another, and Seattle (where my sister lives). The six year time frame is due to the fact that my daughter will graduate high school at the end of that time.

That list is one of the primary reasons we don't think DVC will ever work for us.

 

[cdnKari]

We only go on a Disney vacation every 3-5 years on average due to the cost (I am in Canada and have to fly). With the cost of all the admissions to the various parks, etc. it is a very expensive vacation for us. We like to do a driving vacation each summer to check out different places. Last summer we drove to Minnesota and down through South Dakotas to Rapid City and Mount Rushmore, etc. and had a great vacation. We want to manage theme park vacations with showing the kids scenery (badlands) and historical things (like Mount Rushmore, Jewel Cave), etc.

 

[Hardy]

We go other places...DH and I are leaving on sat to go to WDW but are taking the kids to busch gardens europe during spring break for a couple of days....WDW does not have the major thrill rides that many other parks do, but they also don't have the disney magic! We also have cruised alone (non-disney) and don't know if we'll do that with the kids quite yet. We enjoy camping and other trips, but mostly our big trips are planned as WDW, we may throw some other orlando attractions in next time though since they are getting older and enjoy thrill rides.

 

[earthfaries]

The only other option I would consider doing for my major vacation is 1. Disneyland ♥ and 2. a Cruise

I've done all of them and they are all just as wonderful!!!

 

[LovinPooh]

ahhh... now Disneyland would be cool. DH brought that up. I asked him if he was nuts wanting to drive from NH to CA I guess you would see quite a bit. If only he would fly.

 

[gila]

we took our nephews in a few years ago and we're taking them for their first trip to WDW this year (they are now 9 & 5). our first "family" vacation was to jellystone park in luray, virginia (they were 7 & 3), and last summer we went to lake george, ny. i like WDW a lot and hope they do too, but i want to spread it around some. i'm considering ireland next summer. air fares won't be fun, but you can get some nice, big self-accommodation rentals for a very good price--cheaper than disney i appreciate hearing the other ideas out there. i was wondering about niagara falls, or maine, or maybe a dude ranch somewhere....has anybody ever done that?

 

[bavaria]

Going to Spain and Portugal in May, went to Jamica for Christmas.

I love Disney, but it's good to see the REAL world too LOL!

Exactly. These threads frighten me. There is a whole world to see and knowledge that you can gain through travel.

Disney is 'easy' and a nice diversion, but it cannot replace reality. Then again, I also encounter a lot of people who simply don't want to experience anything new. They are afraid to challenge themselves or are afraid of the unknown. When they do travel they only want to wrap themselves in what they know and refuse to open their eyes to see the world. See my signature for how I feel about those people.

 

[dynamite100]

After just returning from our WDW vacation, I am so ready to plan next years. Maybe try a moderate resort, and some new places to eat. And hit those attractions that we didnt see. Try Typhoon Lagoon. Maybe a different time of year. But DH keeps saying, 'why dont we go somewhere else'. I cant think of anywhre else to go! I love walking down Main St looking at that castle. And always doing Frontierland first. Who doesnt? lol Is there anywhere else you guys go for vacation? Or does your heart lie with these Disney parks like mine?

Orlando is our favorite place on earth, but sure, we go loads of other places too. In the last 3 years, we've also done Vegas, Prague, Spain, Paris, Finland... There's a whole wonderful world out there

 

[earthfaries]

ahhh... now Disneyland would be cool. DH brought that up. I asked him if he was nuts wanting to drive from NH to CA I guess you would see quite a bit. If only he would fly.

Disneyland will always have a special place in my heart, as I grew up going there

We made a nice vacation of it in 2000 ~ 3 weeks and 2000 miles in a rented mini-van.
We flew from NC to Salt Lake City, UT, got the van, drove to Vegas, through Death Valley, to Disneyland, up the coast through Big Sur, out to San Jose then San Francisco then up and over through Nevada, then back to Salt Lake to catch the plane home.
What experiences ~~ we will never, ever forget the vacation

 

[JWolverineXII]

I feel the same way. We went to Disney World the first time in August of 07... when I mentioned going again my gf was kind of like "Lets go somewhere else." Well we went again in August of 08... and now she's hooked and cant wait to go back this august!

For me its a combination of things, the magic is one, but I feel like its a Vacation where I can be there for 10 days, and ALWAYS have something to do. If I were to go to Jamaica for 10 days I know I'd get real bored. I LOVE all the parks, they are just so much fun!

 

[cltk78]

I've been to Chicago, Boston, Washington DC, Williamsburg/VA Beach, Myrtle Beach, Daytona Beach, and Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. I know that DH has been to Australia. DH and I have been to WDW and Savannah and live in Charleston. With DS#1, we've been to San Francisco and Tokyo, lived in Tampa and southern California, and drove cross-country when we moved from CA to NC. Our trip in December will be our first trip to WDW with our sons. When the boys are older, we plan to go back to Tokyo and go to Australia, Europe, and maybe on a Disney Cruise, in addition to trips to WDW.

 

[Mo-Yo]

This March is our last trip to Central Florida for a long, long time. We have two days left on park hoppers we bought 4 years ago and we are trying out Universal this year and a spring training trip for the Phillies in Clearwater.

We talked with our kiddos, ds12, dd10 and dd8, about all the fun we've had at Disney (4 trips in 6 years), but we all agree there is so much more in the world we want to see.

We live at the Jersey Shore and we take frequent short vacations to visit friends or check out sights in places like NYC, DC, Vermont, Saratoga Springs, NY; Ashville, NC: Blue Ridge Parkway, Philadelphia and various camping trips, but until now all our big plans and big money have been spent in Florida.

After this year, that all changes.

We are taking a month long cross country trip this summer and talking about where else we'd like to go after that. My biggest goal is Costa Rica.

We've truly enjoyed and appreciated Disney magic, but we are looking forward to making some magic of our own in the real world.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

We take other vacations yearly and do WDW usually every other year but sometimes I get two in a row. We are lucky we can take a few vacations each year. Our favorite places to go besides WDW: Punta Cana, Cozumel, Riviera Maya, Antigua, and also taking cruises throughout the caribbean is awesome too. We also do a yearly long weekend with friends in Ocean City, MD.
I am a Disney fanatic and will go back every chance I get because even after 7 trips, the magic is still there. But there is a lot of other wonderful vacations we like to go on too.

 

[JLTraveling]

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!

So instead you go to AK to see the stunningly authentic Baob trees and ostrich eggs on the Safari, or MK to see the breathtakingly lifelike 5 foot tall mouse?

I'm sorry, I really don't mean that as a slam against you in any way, and you're certainly entitled to your opinion about Williamsburg. It just struck me as a tad ironic, since I hear so many non-Disney fans talking about how "plastic" and "unreal" it all is.

I personally love Williamsburg. To me, what you're paying for is the reenactment of Colonial life. I neither know nor care which buildings are original and which are replicas, nor how exact the replicas may be. I enjoy watching the "citizens" go about daily life. It's especially fun to relax in the Taverns, playing period games with reenactors.

My favorite time of year in Williamsburg is Christmas. There's so much to do, from a real Colonial Christmas dinner that looks nothing like the foods we eat today, to special musical performances, to decorations tours. One of my favorite memories was on Christmas Eve a few years ago. We went to the Governor's mansion for a period ball. Two of the "Governor's daughters" wanted to know where we were from. When we said "Florida," they got the most alarmed look on their faces, and wanted to know how it was possible to survive in the "native territories!" We ended up in a lengthy period-appropriate discussion, with them absolutely playing to the hilt the role of pampered Colonial-era young women talking with travelers from an exotic land. When we left that night, it had just started to snow, and everything was stunningly picturesque.

I'm surprised to hear that you didn't find more to do there. We generally stay for a week, and never feel we have enough time to do it all. I really want to go back over Halloween one year.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Yes, I love WDW but also love beach holidays so we normally do one of each a year. Last year we did Punta Cana in May and Disney in September, this year it's Mexico in May and back to Disney in September.

I love the caribbean and I want to visit some more of the islands, but DH likes to explore India and the like, so I think next year I may have to branch out and visit Thailand. I'd also like to see more of the USA, so I think a trip to Vegas will be on the cards in the near future.

 

[shellybaxter]

Exactly. These threads frighten me. There is a whole world to see and knowledge that you can gain through travel.

Disney is 'easy' and a nice diversion, but it cannot replace reality. Then again, I also encounter a lot of people who simply don't want to experience anything new. They are afraid to challenge themselves or are afraid of the unknown. When they do travel they only want to wrap themselves in what they know and refuse to open their eyes to see the world. See my signature for how I feel about those people.

There absolutely is a whole world to see and knowledge to be gained through travel, but its hard work. I loved my trip to Germany, but it was stressful. My hotel reservation wasn't valid - I didn't use the convertor correctly and melted off my bangs with a curling iron - I got sick from eating food I wasn't familiar with and because I couldn't find any water to drink.

I wouldn't have traded that trip for anything, but when I go on vacation its usually because I NEED a break. I have a stessful job and going to Disney allows me to escape into another world. Be fearful if you must, but Disney is safe, and easy, and what I need.

 

[karen l]

We usually go somewhere else in the summer. We've made several trips to coastal Maine, Penn Dutch & Hershey & Colonial Williamsburg & Busch Gardens VA. Love them all but WDW is our favorite.

 

[CandleontheWater]

If your family is complaining that they would like to vacation somewhere else, you could always just leave them in World Showcase!

But seriously, since we've been married DH and I have been on two Caribbean Cruises and to two all-inclusive resorts (one in Mexico and one in the Dominican Republic) in addition to our many Disney trips. All of those other trips were nice, but if it came down to choosing only one trip a year, Disney would hands down win out! Dh and I have travelled fairly extensively though, he is in the Navy and spends large portions of the year in different parts of the world, and I studied abroad my junior year in college as well as spending the summers of '98, '99 and '00 in Europe, so I have seen most of Europe along with Egypt and Turkey.

I also feel that there is a big difference between a vacation and travel, a vacation is what you do at Walt Disney World, where there is very little to worry about and you are in an insular environment where you leave all worldly troubles behind. Traveling is what you do when you leave your comfort zone and really broaden your horizons. Travel is real work, where you frequently have to negotiate different cultures, ideas, currencies, foods, and environments. Sometimes it is just easier to take a vacation, and it that instance Disney wins hands down in my book.