Honey! We are leaving them at home!

[DVCBELLE]

Fair enough. Lesson learned on my part I guess.


I appreciate the feedback.

I hated to say it because I could tell from your previous post that had not been your intention.

I agree its a personal decision...and each family needs to do what they think it best for them.

When I read the thread I thought you were going to leave your kids at home and that seemed like it would be really tempting

 

[jgh]

I wouldn't leave my phone behind for two reasons:
1) my family and I sometimes seperate into groups to go ride/do different things...and I need a way to communicate with them to get back together
2) it acts as my vacation camera

I don't use the phone for anything but these two things while I'm in the park. The one person that I actually text (my fiance) is almost always with me on my trips...so there's no need to use it.

 

[North of Mouse]

Nope, our phones are always with us, we control our phones - they don't control us

I, too, hate to see family members together, but all doing something separately electronically.

 

[Team Trystan]

I love how passionate you are about this topic! Don't miss a second of this precious time with your family. We'll be experiencing the Magic that Disney here very soon and I have decided the same. You go Dad! I wish you all an amazing trip!!!!

 

[Team Trystan]

It's great that you lay down those ground rules and its great that you allow your children to have their phones because you never know when an emergency should arise!

 

[North of Mouse]

i let my kids bring phones..but have same rules at disney as it is at home ....no using phones during eating times. homework ..and at disney.. limited use...its family time..no need for a phone..and since i work at home and use it frequently.. I refuse to bring mine..Im on vacation dont need it.keep me away from work!!..FP+ will be done before i go, so no worries there...I personally get tired of hearing conversations on phones everywhere i go...especially at disney... theatres.. restaurants..etc.. I never make or answer calls in restaurants or theatres..if its an actual emergency.. i will pick it up and leave the area and not ruin it for others who dont care about my conversation...ok im done venting.

Wow, I agree 100% Boy, the conversations I've heard when I'm stuck, and can't get away from loud mouthed phone conversations. Actually, in some places you can hear (totally not trying or wanting to) clear across the room. Sheesh, people, keep your conversations private!

 

[Sheaboys]

We took our phones for our August 2012 trip. We have a 14, 12, 10, 6 and 3 yr old. I am the only one with a smart phone, which was great for line times and fast pass information. I have a few very important calls to take while on vacation. I am a realtor and had a closing the week I was gone, so just a few follow ups had to be taken care of.

Having a phone worked great when Dh would take the little kids while I rode thrill rides with the older 3 or vice versa, or dh and I would go with 2 little guys, while the old 3 rode a ride. Never going off on their own, with the exception for a ride split up, one at a time. This way we could all meet up immediately following the ride. We never took phones out during meal time, line waiting, or any where else that I would not want to hear people talking on the phone.

I think it is great that you can do it, but knowing I could save valuable line waiting with 5 kids proved to be invaluable to me. I loved finding out where to go first upon entering the park and have a plan. It made for happy parents and happy kids.

 

[katt789]

It's a great idea!!

Coming from Canada, the first 3 trips down to the world, my phone was in my suitcase the entire time, turned off, don't even want to think about the roaming charges.

Since then, and with the wifi in the parks, I do try and tweet (with pictures) as much as I can, and I take notes for my trip reports in my phone, but I save it for moments when we're waiting in lines for things.

Nothing irks me more than when you got out with friends or family for dinner and everyone's on their phones not talking. Who wants to do that when you're in such a magical place?!

 

[stindall]

I'll be taking my phone with me but only because I'm going solo. When we go other places like Kings Island, Cedar Point etc we leave our phones in the car or hotel. We also take a few days a week when we get to spend more time together and shut off most of the tech in our home and just enjoy each others company. I love my phone but I think it's amazing how people are so obsessed with them! My mom, brother, and I went to see Wreck it Ralph and my Mom could not get off of her phone! My brother obsessively uses his when he's hanging out with us. It's gross really.

 

[vcgirl925]

I think it's GREAT!

We wouldn't do it though. Mainly because we need to split up a lot due to ages of the kids. This makes it easier to catch up to one another after attractions. Also, we can take pictures of what the other one is doing when we're not together and text it! I guess we are just one of those electronically connected families.

 

[NicPie]

I haven't read the whole thread.. but no, I couldn't leave my phone at home. That doesn't mean I'll be wasting time with my family because I'm on it.. but I do use it for things like my camera and checking in at the airport. Plus DH and I will need them just in case we happened to get separated. (I'm visually impaired, so I have issues finding people in crowds.) There are also the apps that I want to use in the parks to help keep track of lines and show start times, etc. Then there are the times when we're back at the resort relaxing and I might want to send a pic of my daughter to her grandparents or something like that. I also have a puppy that will be babysat and I should have some way to be contacted about him just in case something should happen and he needs to go to the vet.

All sorts of reasons to take it. Just because you bring a phone doesn't mean you can't control yourself about when you use it. (Not being rude, just saying..) Phones are plenty more useful besides just for checking FB or Twitter.

 

[Kona65]

The minute we arrive at the resorts, the phones and computers are turned off, the TV is set only to the Disney resort information station, and no newspapers are opened. People know how to get a hold of me in a emergency. I'm on vacation. TDBIASWS..

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Interesting thread.
I can see both sides of the phone vs. no phone debate, and I can see how the no-phone option might be a particularly good idea if members of a family are addicted to their devices and never put them down. But we will be a family that takes our phones, ipod and ipad with us on holiday and will not be feeling guilty because of it.

We like our technology for many of the reasons already mentioned e.g emergency contact, keeping in touch with family, park apps, entertainment on long flights etc, but, more than that, they provide us with our down time.

As far as I'm concerned, while on Vacation, I'm spending 24hrs a day with my family. If I stop at the end of the day and relax in front of Facebook for an hour, it doesn't make our time together any less valuable. It just means that I'm unwinding and relaxing and will be happier the next day because of it.
If my DH hands his iPod to my son at a restaurant, it's because my DS has finished his meal, he's a bit overstimulated because he's on holiday, and is keen to get going. Meanwhile DH and I just want to sit and relax and enjoy our surroundings for a bit longer. The result is that everyone is now happy. We'll make up for that 15 minutes of missed conversation with our son when we leave the restaurant and continue enjoying the day's activities together.

 

[GreenCntryGirl]

Having your phone with you does not mean you lack in family values. Someone being rude to grandma with phone in hand would be rude to grandma without a phone too.

We take ours, there is no way I would go without them. As a larger group with only one non-teenager, we do split up at times. And having phones make it easier to hook back up. Yes you can designate a meeting place, but with a phone you don't have to. You can say 'I'm right by the Stitch ride walking towards the Castle". Easy.

If someone wants to leave their phones home, that is fine. Their choice. But it does not make your vacation somehow better or more family oriented than those of the people who have their phones. And this thread has a bunch of posts that smack of just that. Phoneless Vacation Superiority.

I so totally agree.

 

[Sunstar]

My husband and I did the exact same thing when we went on our honeymoon. It was wonderful!

Of course, now I wonder what will happen with the new FP+ system for non-phone people, since one of the things they're touting is the ability to change your plans using your smart phone.

 

[AshleeH]

I'm like several others - I admire those who can do it, but I'm not one of them. Although I'm not very attached to my phone (I'm a stay-at-home mom, so I don't have to worry about work calling), but the convenience and time-saving is wonderful.

My husband is very attached to his and I wish he would not take work calls on vacation, but it's a family business and he handles the digital area of it (which is most of it these days) so it's not an option for him to leave it.

I love the apps for lines and I keep all of our confirmation numbers listed for restaurants, but my favorite thing is being able to keep in touch with DH.

I'm 30, so I didn't get a cell phone until I was 18 (and that was a very basic phone) and got my first smart phone a couple of years ago. I clearly remember the time when I went to Disney or other theme parks and didn't have any way to tell my parents or friends that I wouldn't be able to meet at the meeting place at the right time, for whatever reason (broken down ride, stuck in line, had to stop at a restroom and the line was forever long, etc.), so I know it's possible to tour the parks without a phone, but it's worth every penny for me to be in Fantasyland with little DS and DH to be in Adventureland with older DS and constantly know where they are.

Many times we both left our respective "lands" and figured it out minutes later, but we were able to meet in the middle instead of backtracking all over the park. The time saved for us is so worth the slight inconvenience of a few calls!