Great non-Disney trips

[TXTransplant]

I know we all love all things Disney, and of course, Disney vacations offer a lot of advantages for single parents. But, where else have some of you single moms and dads been with your kids? In addition to three WDW vacations, one Disney cruise, and an Adventures by Disney trip to Germany, I've taken my son to Arizona/the Grand Canyon, made the Harry Potter Pilgrimage to Universal, done a trip to the San Antonio area that included Sea World and Schlitterbahn, and taken a trip to the beaches of the Florida panhandle. We are currently booked on another ABD trip to Italy that will include several pre-days on our own in Rome. I'm curious about the itineraries others have planned...anyone want to share?

 

[momofboyz3]

I truly admire single parents who can travel like this!!!!!!
That sounds like amazing experiences you are giving your kids! We do mostly a few big things a year. Blue Man Group..Movies...local theme parks, a sox game. That's about it. Let me tell you 3 teen boys at a movie & dinner = $200!

 

[TXTransplant]

Well, it's taken me a while to work up to this...LOL! And my sister has been my traveling companion on several trips (although, she leaves all of the planning to me!). But now that my son is older, I really want to do more with him, especially since I enjoy traveling so much, too. I'm fortunate in that I only have one, as traveling is a true luxury after you factor in the expenses of every day life. Because of the time, effort, and money involved, I want to make sure we make the most of every vacation, so I am always looking for ideas!

 

[MommyMeNDisney]

Only Disney for us so far. Not because I'm a Disney fanatic (I'm not). I like Disney, I'm just not a die hard, Disney or nothing at all kind of person. Disney just caters to DS's current age group better.

When he's 3, we will start taking ski trips together. He should be ready for ski/snowboard lessons by then. We'll also start going camping when he's 3. At 3, he can go to the kids clubs on other cruise lines. So, we will start cruising the newer NCL ships. NCL is so much more affordable for me. This will allow me to afford more vacations a year with DS.

OP - those are some great trips you've taken! That sounds like my life pre-DS. I'm looking forward to taking DS around the world as he gets older.

 

[Jasesmom]

Jase and I have been traveling since he was 9 months old... Nothing extravagant but we've been to Chicago, Gatlinburg, TN, Dallas/Ft Worth, and Florida pan handle. We often revisit these places due to being familiar with the area! I see this Disney vacation opening the door to a whole different kind of vacationing

 

[luvmy2babies]

Here in NC we are fortunate to have both beaches and mountains and my children and I love both. They especially love seeing the mountains in the fall with all of the colors. We also have a Great Wolf Lodge (the hotel in the Disney Channel commercials with the indoor water park) in our state we have visited when I can find a discount.

We do day outings like going to sporting events, especially at my alma mater. I have classmates I was close to and our children, with the exception of my son are all around the same age so it makes for a fun day to meet up there and attend a football game.

We've also done some traveling with the women's basketball team-little overnights to away games and some in the post season. Other than that, it's just been Disney and a small amount of travel for my daughter's choir activities. There is more I want us to do for sure.

We did a cruise on Royal Caribbean when my daughter was 4. This was prior to my husband's death; but she and I spent a lot of time alone the two of us. I have always wanted to go on another one, especially in the time since my son mastered toilet training; but it hasn't happened. I'd love to get into this because I think it is a great way to see the islands. Husband and I went to Hawaii in 2002 before we had dd; but I'd rather try cruising than spend 12 hours on a plane even though I loved the place.

Europe is a bucket list item as is driving across this country.

It's all expensive, even a 3 day weekend in the mountains. One of the things I love most about doing Disney vacations is how I can book the package and take time paying for it. Another reason why cruising is attractive. Ds starts school in the fall and even though there will be aftercare and school lunches I hope to take advantage of a budget without daycare tuition.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

DD and I tend to end up in Orlando more frequently than anywhere else. In the past few years, we have been to Orlando on a Universal/MVMCP trip, Texas for a resort with a water park, Disney cruise from Miami, and a 2nd Universal trip. We also did Disney recently, but exH joined us, so that doesn't count. We also frequently visit family.

Coming up, we have a pretty definite Universal trip for Halloween Horror Nights for DD's 13th birthday, and we are considering Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge at Thanksgiving and a cruise for Spring Break. I'm guessing only one of those two will work out. This is my year for those two breaks - the following school year, I have to work around summer and Christmas.

 

[Carie Baker]

We do all kinds of things that aren't Disney... Busch Gardens, Historic Williamsburg, VA, Hershey PA, Great Wolf Lodge, Hot Springs AR, San Antonio, TX, Tampa/ST Pete FL, Panama City FL, Day trips from our home, DC of course since we are so close. We have some bucket list too... Niagara Falls, Colorado -Mesa Verde and the Great Sand Dunes, Four corners USA, and many more. Hawaii too but we want to stay at Disney's resort. I think our best trip though was when we went to an Emerald Mine in NC. Being a gemologist and my son being a rock hound this was so fun for us. We dug out several buckets from the mine and then went back up to the sleuths and washed away the dirt and came away with some beautiful natural gemstone rocks... Emeralds, Aquamarines, Amethyst, Citrine, Ruby, Sapphires, and many more. We have a lot of them displayed around the house.

 

[luvmy2babies]

We do all kinds of things that aren't Disney... Busch Gardens, Historic Williamsburg, VA, Hershey PA, Great Wolf Lodge, Hot Springs AR, San Antonio, TX, Tampa/ST Pete FL, Panama City FL, Day trips from our home, DC of course since we are so close. We have some bucket list too... Niagara Falls, Colorado -Mesa Verde and the Great Sand Dunes, Four corners USA, and many more. Hawaii too but we want to stay at Disney's resort. I think our best trip though was when we went to an Emerald Mine in NC. Being a gemologist and my son being a rock hound this was so fun for us. We dug out several buckets from the mine and then went back up to the sleuths and washed away the dirt and came away with some beautiful natural gemstone rocks... Emeralds, Aquamarines, Amethyst, Citrine, Ruby, Sapphires, and many more. We have a lot of them displayed around the house.

Oh my was that Emerald Village? I really want to take my children there.

 

[Carie Baker]

Oh my was that Emerald Village? I really want to take my children there.

No...it was a mine in Hiddenite, nc

 

[luvmy2babies]

No...it was a mine in Hiddenite, nc

Thanks. That one looks fun too. I'm always looking for something different.

 

[Roxyfire]

We've mainly just done small trips to St. Louis or around the Chicago area. Cedar Point and the Wisconsin Dells are both on my to-do list for the coming year! Six Flags Great America is a yearly excursion.

 

[annacali]

We have done Disney of some sort since my girls were 3 and 5---WDW a few times, Disneyland once and our first Disney cruise on the Fantasy last month. We loved that so much we booked Royal to Alaska next summer. We have also done San Diego for Sea World/Zoo/ LEGOLAND a couple times, San Antonio once and we do a trip to Hilton Head, SC almost yearly. The girls love the activities there and we all love the beach! Have Universal on our bucket list for next 1-2 years, and I would love to do a Disney Cruise in Europe at some point too. Locally Branson, MO is a big hit with us too.

 

[MsMamaBear]

We have only been to the beach locally and Disney so far. She's only 4 and I JUST got comfortable with her traveling. LOL! I'm hoping to go to Puerto Rico or St. Thomas soon(a US territory). I wanted to do a Disney cruise next year but since my ex refused to sign the passport forms, we had to cancel.

 

[MsMamaBear]

Here in NC we are fortunate to have both beaches and mountains and my children and I love both. They especially love seeing the mountains in the fall with all of the colors. We also have a Great Wolf Lodge (the hotel in the Disney Channel commercials with the indoor water park) in our state we have visited when I can find a discount.

We do day outings like going to sporting events, especially at my alma mater. I have classmates I was close to and our children, with the exception of my son are all around the same age so it makes for a fun day to meet up there and attend a football game.

We've also done some traveling with the women's basketball team-little overnights to away games and some in the post season. Other than that, it's just been Disney and a small amount of travel for my daughter's choir activities. There is more I want us to do for sure.

We did a cruise on Royal Caribbean when my daughter was 4. This was prior to my husband's death; but she and I spent a lot of time alone the two of us. I have always wanted to go on another one, especially in the time since my son mastered toilet training; but it hasn't happened. I'd love to get into this because I think it is a great way to see the islands. Husband and I went to Hawaii in 2002 before we had dd; but I'd rather try cruising than spend 12 hours on a plane even though I loved the place.

Europe is a bucket list item as is driving across this country.

It's all expensive, even a 3 day weekend in the mountains. One of the things I love most about doing Disney vacations is how I can book the package and take time paying for it. Another reason why cruising is attractive. Ds starts school in the fall and even though there will be aftercare and school lunches I hope to take advantage of a budget without daycare tuition.

That's why I like Disney as well, taking the time to pay! Sometimes my mom will suggest going to the beach nearby and I'm like, it's not cheap. We can save it for Disney.LOL

 

[Tiffylv]

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[MsMamaBear]

Oh my. I has issues getting my son a passport too...the people told me my ex needed to sign forms even though he has terminated rights. Oh no haha. Do you know that if you are on a closed loop cruise (meaning starts and ends at the same port) you don't technically HAVE to have one? It depends on your comfort level...a lot of people like to have one in case you miss the boat, have to disembark for a medical emergency, etc. but it's not a requirement.


Not a whole lot of travel for us. My son is 7 and I wasn't comfortable on long vacations until earlier this year. We've been on a cruise and to WDW but besides that we've just done local or 1-2 nights. We live in central kentucky and about 1.5 hours from both Cincinnati and Louisville, so we've been to those lots. My son loves baseball so we will go to see the cincinnati reds fairly often. We've also been to Chicago. I am tossing around the idea of taking a long weekend trip to the beach later this month or beginning of next month. Possibly somewhere like Hilton head? Not sure.

Yeah, I'm just paranoid. I'm nervous because I have mine and what if we had to fly home in an emergency or the customs people ask questions because our last names are different. hindsight is 20/20.) I want to get up the nerve soon though. I know y'all enjoyed your cruise!

 

[jennasmommyinMS]

My daughter and I would love to take a cruise, but I'm just not comfortable with taking one without both of us having passports. I can't get one for her without her father's signature until she's 16, so we'll wait. We'd also like to take a trip to Germany, where I was born--my own passport will be a bit complicated to get as well.

 

[MommyMeNDisney]

We have done Disney of some sort since my girls were 3 and 5---WDW a few times, Disneyland once and our first Disney cruise on the Fantasy last month. We loved that so much we booked Royal to Alaska next summer. We have also done San Diego for Sea World/Zoo/ LEGOLAND a couple times, San Antonio once and we do a trip to Hilton Head, SC almost yearly. The girls love the activities there and we all love the beach! Have Universal on our bucket list for next 1-2 years, and I would love to do a Disney Cruise in Europe at some point too. Locally Branson, MO is a big hit with us too.

I love Branson! I went there for business and have wanted to go back for pleasure. The airport is so quaint...like a little log cabin. I've wanted to take the train through town.

 

[Tiffylv]

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