Finding myself in a predicament...

[TwoMisfits]

Yeah, I have been thinking of some alternate trips if WDW really doesn't pan out... Most of my ideas involve some sort of road trip, which my kids are also not too fond of... sigh... We'll figure it out.

I have a few thoughts, all probably cheaper b/c they are west coast!...how about either an Alaskan or Hawaiian cruise? A trip to Vancouver/Seattle? A trip to the Grand Canyon? A trip to Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington TX (other than undrinkable tap water, this area is pretty awesome - of course, my spouse didn't have issues like I did, but he says I'm a super picky water drinker!? None are road trips or Disney, but all have very kid friendly attractions and adult friendly sites (so you are also enjoying the trip!)...

 

[4Hawks]

How about a trip to Aulani?

 

[DLgal]

How about Tokyo Disneyland? It is so much better than Hong Kong and Shanghai. And Tokyo is a great city to visit with kids. I imagine airfare is much cheaper too.

 

[brockash]

We've been planning our Summer 2018 WDW trip for a couple of years already. Nobody in my family has ever been there before. This is definitely a bucket list trip for me, something I've wanted to do since I was a kid. When we first started talking about it, both of my older kids were totally onboard and excited. Now that a couple years have passed, their interest is waning. My husband is not really a Disney or theme park type of guy, so having him agree to this trip was a huge deal for me. We still have a year and a half to go and my older kids don't really care about going anymore. My younger two kids are too young to really care one way or the other. My hubby could take it or leave it. If I'm the only one who really wants to go, should I just forget about it for now? Why spend all that money when nobody else really cares? I mean, if we went to California instead of Florida, we would automatically save around $2k just on air fare, and that is very attractive especially to my husband. But it really pulls at my heart to have to give up my WDW dream....

Thoughts?

If they've never been, they don't know what they're missing. I'd def. stick with the original plan so they can at least experience it. If everyone hates it (I doubt), then you'll know it's not really worth taking them in the future, but you really don't know until you go.

 

[happymommy]

I see your situation now; my suggestion to go solo was not really something that sounds like it's a good idea for you really.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope it's fun.

 

[kreckl]

Are you talking about it a lot? I wouldn't mention a word for 6 months, and privately would have a back-up plan. But I may also do an occasional "Huh!"'s or "whoa!"'s while on my computer, only to have someone say "what??" to which I might reply "oh nothing, just reading about these fireworks at midnight" or "nothing- just watching the video of this crazy water park slide..."
Good luck!

 

[BJ7644]

Thank you all for your input. You've given me a lot to think about it. As a little background, we have been living in Hong Kong for awhile, and there is a Disneyland here. It is quite small, and we have gone a LOT over the years. My older two kids have grown bored with the park here, which is probably a big part of why they aren't too excited about WDW anymore. They are currently 9 & 13. (Will be 11 & 15 at the time of the WDW trip). My younger two kids (4 year old twins) have only been a couple of times and have absolutely LOVED it, but we don't go very often because the older two don't want to go anymore. (And because they keep jacking up the prices.....). As far as the planning for the trip goes, I've done pretty much all of it, but I do ask their opinions on certain things. I think that the poster who said it's hard to maintain excitement for that long is probably right. Maybe they feel like it's never really going to happen. We have gone to Disneyland and California Adventure a couple of times when we've gone back to the USA for a visit, the last time was 2 years ago. (My profile pic). We only went for 2 days, which was definitely not long enough. I do like the idea of maybe only taking my youngest two with me, but I think my older two would end up feeling left out and sad, unless my dh took them to Universal Studios/Harry Potter World instead.

As far as my hubby goes, he just doesn't like spending a lot of money. It's already going to be an expensive trip for us, with flying from HK, and then spending a few weeks visiting with our families. To add another several thousand dollars for the WDW trip is just about doing him in, even though we can afford it. I guess we'll just see how it goes. But if we are going to do WDW, I know I'll have to start thinking about our hotel reservations etc in about 6-8 months from now. I guess until then I can cool my jets with the research and planning for a bit. Maybe they're tired of hearing about it. lol.

Again, thank you all for your input. It is very much appreciated!

(Edited to add: Yes, I have suggested Shanghai Disneyland to my hubby several times, and even as a compromise to save money, but he has resisted. He does not enjoy traveling in China.)

I agree, think it's more to do with the planning length than the actual trip.

I started planning our first trip in early 2015. We took the trip end of Nov 2016, which ended up being six months later than originally intended but stuff happens.

The planning, while enjoyable, seemed to go on forever. And there were a few times I went a couple of weeks avoiding coming on here or doing other trip planning. Then something new came up and I jumped back in.

Many times I doubted my husbands interest in it all. He would assure me he was excited but how could he be when he wasn't looking over the itineraries or looking at maps and strategizing? Turned out he was the first, within 20 minutes of leaving Disney World, to bring up going back.

We didn't tell our daughter until a few days before leaving. The trip was a kind of 5th birthday celebration for her (not a present cause it's not happening every year!!). We did start talking about The World with her much sooner in a "maybe one day" way and she kinda got tired of it.

Ultimately you know your family best, and there's a chance that another vacation option may be more satisfying for the family as a whole, but there's also a chance they just don't enjoy the planning and waiting part. Hope you enjoy whatever it is you decide to do

 

[glassslippergirl]

I'm a teacher in FL and overhear theme park conversations all the time because Orlando is a common weekend trip. At a certain age, WDW tends to excite them less and they prefer the high-intensity attractions at US. That said, my idea isn't going to save you money, but it could get your older ones more excited, especially if you back off talking about the trip for a while, then spring it on them. If you have a week or thereabouts at WDW, you could dedicate a day or two to US and the rest of the time at WDW. You'll pay more for tickets but may get more buy-in from the older children who will be just the right demographic for loving US. This isn't often a popular suggestion on these boards, but you may be able to get to placate your husband a little by staying off-site. It will cost significantly less and you will get significantly more. Try looking on the Orlando area forum here and checking out their suggestions for renting suites, even houses, right outside WDW property. You can also save money on food by preparing some meals in the full kitchen you'll have. It can't be cheap just feeding a family of 6 in a theme park.

 

[Hikergirl]

Your kids are young enough where they really have no choice and probably would end up loving WDW. Having said that, I wouldn't plan a WDW trip if they are truly not interested.

 

[Nancyg56]

Are you talking about it a lot? I wouldn't mention a word for 6 months, and privately would have a back-up plan. But I may also do an occasional "Huh!"'s or "whoa!"'s while on my computer, only to have someone say "what??" to which I might reply "oh nothing, just reading about these fireworks at midnight" or "nothing- just watching the video of this crazy water park slide..."
Good luck!

You have been plannig it too long. I agree that he best way tis to stop discussing it, plan the trip and tell them 6 months out. How can they get excited for something that has been on teh runner for a few years and they stil have 18 months to go.

 

[lelafuehrer]

My parents took us when I was 13, and my two older brothers were 16 and 18 for two weeks. We hit all the parks and went to Universal in addition to the water parks. We lost my dad in June of 2014 and to this day, we still talk about the memories from that trip over any of the others my parents took us on including trips to Hawaii, South America, etc. My husband was the same was about Disney but when we took our kids in December 2015, he had a blast, especially with all of the Star Wars stuff there now. Don't know how much it helped, just my two cents

 

[piccolopat]

Would your family consider meeting up with you at WDW so you can visit with them at the same time as fulfilling your longtime wish?

 

[kuhltiffany]

What about one of the European cruises? My kids got Disney overload a while ago so we stitched to cruises for a while. They are 11 and 12 and also prefer Universal right now as well...

 

[disneymouse16]

Thank you all for your input. You've given me a lot to think about it. As a little background, we have been living in Hong Kong for awhile, and there is a Disneyland here. It is quite small, and we have gone a LOT over the years. My older two kids have grown bored with the park here, which is probably a big part of why they aren't too excited about WDW anymore. They are currently 9 & 13. (Will be 11 & 15 at the time of the WDW trip). My younger two kids (4 year old twins) have only been a couple of times and have absolutely LOVED it, but we don't go very often because the older two don't want to go anymore. (And because they keep jacking up the prices.....). As far as the planning for the trip goes, I've done pretty much all of it, but I do ask their opinions on certain things...

I just wanted to throw out there that I have a sister who has visited Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, WDW and Disneyland. Her least favorite, by far, was Hong Kong. She said it was very disappointing compared to the others. Just because they aren't as excited about Hong Kong doesn't mean they won't like WDW! Totally different beast!

 

[mya1k9]

I didnt read all the replies but heres my take. When a vacation gets planned far in advance, it feels like forever to kids and they will lose interest. Mine were so excited about our trip but were kind of meh as it got closer just because it seemed so far away. My DH is exactly like yours, and after our trip( we did the dark side) is unfortunately still. Alot of money he wouldve rather went toward other things. That probably wont change. I vote for you and the 2 younger ones go but keep your options open, I bet when your older ones see how much fun your planning they will hop back on board. Its your dream, lifes to short not to fill it!!!