Have you ever gone to Disney without your kids?

[Howgreat]

And how did you feel while you were there?

I would love to go to Disney in January for our anniversary, but DH thinks we would be miserable without the boys (4 and 21 months right now). I think I would feel a little bit guilty at first, but I've always dreamed of some alone Disney time!

What say you?

 

[kimbe21]

My husband and I went to WDW by ourselves when I was pregnant with our second child. The oldest was 18 months and had already been there twice. I did miss him but we had a great time. It's always great to get away from the kiddos for awhile. You will feel guilty but if you have the opportunity take advantage of it. It's such a different experience being there with just adults. Enjoy!

 

[Samar]

Just went last month for a day at MK and a 3 night cruise on the Dream without kids and it was AMAZING! Did I miss my babies? ABSOLUTELY. But did I regret it? NOT AT ALL!

Disney is a totally different experience without kids (even my Mom who lives in Orlando turned into a Lover of Disney once we did our sans kids outing) and it is so nice to be spontaneous without the kids needing potty breaks, water RIGHT NOW and not so magical tantrums. lol

With that being said, go for it

 

[MommaBerd]

My DH and I just went in May for a late anniversary trip. It was FABULOUS!!! We did things together that 1) we would never be able to afford for our whole family; 2) we would (personally) never bring our kids with us to do; and 3) would never be accomplished with our kids! Some examples are that we actually stayed on property - with a family of 6, staying on property is just not a financially feasible option for us. We were able to have a very nice dinner at Jiko (highly recommend, would never do with our kids). We loved *leisurely* touring Epcot World Showcase, and were there from OPEN to CLOSE, which would be difficult to do with our kids, or at least do without lots of complaining. We also did the Wishes Dessert Party together. The desserts are good, but more importantly, it was so relaxing to be able to enjoy the fireworks without the crowds!

But THE very best thing was being able to do what WE wanted to do WHEN we wanted to do it. I just asked my DH what he liked best about our trip to Disney, and he said "Going to Disney with NO KIDS!" And, unlike PPs, did I miss our kids? NOPE!! I love my kids dearly, but I loved getting to spend time alone with my DH at such a fun place! I hope we get to do it again sometime, because there are so many other things there we'd love to do together.

So, if you are both fans of WDW, I think you will find plenty of fun things to do together as adults.

 

[dwfanatic]

Our 20th anniversary is next year, so we decided to go to wdw for 4 days by ourselves. I never thought we would do it, (our kids are 10 and 17) but we wanted to go SOMEWHERE and going to wdw just felt right Our 10 yr old was ok with it (17 yr old didn't care) but we aren't going to go to any our our family favorite restaurants because THAT just doesn't seem right. We are going to have a great time, but I do know that we are going to miss them a little!

 

[kam1011]

We went for 27 hours for my DH's 30th birthday. Flew down one morning and flew home the next. MK was open til 2am that day, so we spent the whole day at MK, went to The Wave for dinner and then back to MK. Slept a few hours at Wilderness Lodge, got up, flew home!

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

YES and you should do it too !

DH & I went last Sept as a belated 10 yr anniversary trip.

Yes, we missed the kids a bit, but not overly worried at all.

They went to school during the day, so that helped keep their schedule on the same pace as normal. We did face-time as much as possible, which was really nice.

Two days before our trip, I sent them each a post card in the mail, so they would get it the day after we left. Then the first day we were there, we went and got one of those coco-nuts and mailed it home.

We really really truly enjoyed ourselves.

We did activities we would never be able to do with our kids. Parasailing, massages, etc. We got to eat in resturants that are a heck of a lot easier w/o our kids. Cali Grill, le cellier, etc.

That and the biggest gift of all was SLEEP ! There were 2 days we slept in until almost 11am, but also stayed up until 2am.

What really helped us be able to really relax was knowing that us going on the trip alone wasn't going to be the last time going to Disney. We knew that there would be another vacation in the future with the family just like regular.

In fact, we went on a suprise family vacation on Christmas, and then DH suprised us all with a spring break trip. And we're going again in 3 weeks.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

We go very frequently without the kids. They have gotten to go on 2 ten day vacations in the last 2 years but in between Dh and I go without them. The trips with the kids are fun because I know the kids are having a good time but the trips without the kids are fantastic and relaxing.

You don't have to worry about keeping 5 ppl fed and happy. Just the 2 of us at a leisurely pace. We like to take afternoon breaks and go back and do things in the evenings. We do things different when we have the kids.

It is of course much much cheaper for just the 2 of us to go than the 5 of us.

I would highly recommend doing an adults only trip.

There are always going to be ppl that say OH NO I could NEVER go to Disney without my kids I would miss them too much or I would feel guilty for going without them. But that is not me.

I took them on two amazing vacations so there is nothing for us to feel guilty about.

I especially would not hesitate to go without the kids if they were really young like babies or toddlers.

 

[mhoward223]

We have taken the kids every year for the past five and this year, my wife and I decided on taking a separate trip with just the two of us for a weekend. Sometimes, you are so busy running with the kidsm you miss things for the adults.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We did for our 10th anniversary, and I didn't feel bad about it, although we did miss them. We had gone twice as a family in the two years before it, we went alone for our anniversary in February, and went again as a family in May. Our alone trip was shorter than the family trip, but we had a lot of fun. We are hoping to do that again next year or the year after.

 

[lovin'fl]

We are going on Tuesday for our first WDW trip without our kids (just 3 nights) and I am SOOOOO looking forward to it...no guilt whatsoever. But my kids are 16, 14 and 14 and are starting to ba-humbug about our WDW trips and did not complain when we told them we were going without them. We did do a few cruises without them when they were younger and that was hard. It takes me a day or 2 to get into the trip and DH is into it right away but ready to go home after a day or 2 (so we are opposite and it makes for someone always missing home/kids). We have only ever done 1-4 nights away without the kids. I did a week long cruise with my mom in 2012 and that was the toughest as I not only felt guilty for leaving my kids, but leaving my DH too. I will probably cruise with my mom again but maybe just 4-5 nights...7 was a bit too long for me and I was soooo anxious to get back home.

So, OP, I say go for a short Anniversary trip and have fun. I look forward to a different (adult) perspective to doing WDW.

 

[LMN]

No, DH and I have never gone to Disney without the kids, but I would do it in a heartbeat! DH and I are both huge Disney fans and would both be up for a trip w/out the kids. One of these days it will happen!!

 

[luvmy2sams]

DH and I spent a week at Disney for our 10th anniversary. Our kids were almost 5 and 15 months at the time. We had taken a family trip a few months prior, so that took care of any big time guilty feelings for us. We had a wonderful time! Disney's a whole new world without the trappings that accompany little kids. We're almost nine years past that trip now, and we still haven't made it back alone. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

[DisneyRegulars]

Yes! We go every year for our anniversary. Just like we went every year or more before our son was born. It's so much fun, so rejuvenating, and so relaxing. It's so nice to tour Disney and not have to worry about nap time, bed time, making sure your kid doesn't get splashed in the face, not having to answer 8 million 'why' questions. I think about my son lots when we travel without him, but everything else is worth a little bit of kid missing.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Yes! We've been several times without our kids and it's totally different. The last time, we did the Premium Package and did tours and nice dinners... it was so fun. We don't generally have a relaxing time, though -- we wind up at the parks fairly early and close 'em down at night. And since we do take our kids every year or so (or even more than once a year) we don't feel guilty about it AT ALL. Do I miss them? Sure, but I enjoy getting to be ME instead of "MOM" for a few days.

 

[anjalee6]

We went for our 10th anniversary without the kids and although it was different, it was a lot of fun. I thought I would feel guilty, but they go on vacation with us all the time. Sometimes moms and dads need a vacation, even if it is Disney. I think the guilt is solely about going to a kid friendly place. If it was a bed and breakfast, I don't think anyone would feel as guilty. That's just my opinion. Go, have fun and enjoy.

 

[BigAlsGal]

Yes! It's great. You can do whatever you please! It's fantastic. I think my favorite part is DH and I can talk about our future dreams together. After kids grow up. Being in disney and talking about us just makes things better.

 

[Howgreat]

I'm glad to hear everyone say they thoroughly enjoyed it without the kids! We will have only been married for 7 years, but we had probably the worst honeymoon ever (we both came down with the stomach virus on our wedding night and spent 4 days in a B&B throwing up) and keep saying we're going to do a redo someday. If we can save the money by January, I would love to go!

 

[ElenaRN]

Wow - I am so surprised that all the responses so far are in favor of this. Usually this kind of thread draws such varying opinions.

Anyway, I am all for vacationing without the kids. Couples need alone time for sure.
We went to WDW all the time before DD was born. We went for the Leap Year Party a few years ago and left her with my parents. I didn't feel guilty at all.

 

[sweetlovin']

You mean, we were suppose to take the kids??



Yes, I have gone sans kids a few times and enjoyed it completely. It's Disney a different way. I love going with all my kids and I have taken all of them by myself. I've also taken them individually (which means a lot more Disney trips for me that year

If you and your spouse are both Disney fans you will have a fabulous time