How to wean your disney addictive 18 yr old

[WDWMom]

Ok fellow DVC'ers I helped create the monster how do I deal with it.

My DD 18 will be going off to college next year. We are about to embark on her 17th trip to WDW in the past 15 years. She is starting to understand that this will be the last time she will be going on our annual Spring Break trip as a family. After this she will be included only if circumstances allow, but she will not be allowed to miss a week of classes once she is at school to go with us to Disney. This is going to crush her the first time we go without her. Not to mention that we are dealing with the fact that are baby girl is growing up. We will miss her unbridled enthusiasm for all things Disney more than she knows.

So how have other DVC families dealt with this right of passage. Surely the benefits of DVC have played havoc with other peoples growing families. What were your experiences and how did you cope?

 

[jbrowna]

Why wean her? Have her check out her college to see when the Disney College Program folks come around. If working for the Mouse won't cure a Disney addiction, then there's nothing anyone can do!

Both of my DD's were in the College Program -- one of them is now a merchandise manager at WDW, and the other still works there seasonally, although she's now about to enter nursing school.

 

[Dano1182]

Hope that her college will have spring vaction at the same time as your vacations are

 

[bobbiwoz]

I work at a college and there will be recruiters next week with information about the PAID intern program! Maybe you'll be lucky and have a CM in your family in the future!

Bobbi

 

[Dano1182]

My DN attend Univ of tampa several of her classmates work at disney not sure if the are interns or parttimers

 

[mecllap]

So for the breaks she's not able to join you -- figure out how much you're saving in not paying for her tix/food, etc. and put that into a fund for her Disney wedding! (if that's extra beyond her college funding). (I've been working on "training" my DGS into considering a Disney wedding since he was 6 (maybe 5)! (or Grand Cayman -- I fully expect him to find a fiancee who also enjoys WDW and the Caribbean as much as he does).

 

[stopher1]

If working for the Mouse won't cure a Disney addiction, then there's nothing anyone can do!

As a former CM at DL during my high school and college years, I can vouch for this personally... it actually grows with time. 20 years later and it's tripled or quadrupled since then, if not more.

 

[ACCREEL]

You can always hope that she will be blessed like I was... being a young adult who met their Disney loving equal in college(at band camp Im afraid to say)... married, bought pts at Akv, and now we take our parents to Disney!!

 

[twinklebug]

I can tell you from experience that the kids cure the addiction on their own. For example: My broke, college, disney addict of a son seems to have found himself a GF who's family has an overstock of DVC points. Doesn't hurt that she's a beautiful, smart girl either. Where oh where did I go wrong?

 

[Buckeye Fan]

I can tell you from experience that the kids cure the addiction on their own. For example: My broke, college, disney addict of a son seems to have found himself a GF who's family has an overstock of DVC points. Doesn't hurt that she's a beautiful, smart girl either. Where oh where did I go wrong?

Oh my gosh did that give me a good laugh!

To the OP, my BIL/SIL have three grown kids (all in their 20s). They still plan family vacations. Most of them revolve around the baby, as she's in college and they vacation on her spring break. However, now that their all adults and not tied to the traditional public school schedule, they can go down during less crowded times. They went the 2nd week of December this year, and had a great time!

I long for those days...unfortunately for our travel plans, DH is a teacher, so we'll always be tied to the traditional school schedule!

 

[kikiq]

hmmm, well actually, our original plan was to bank 2009 points and have another extended family vacation in 2010 along with a cruise. BUT our youngest DD has just been accepted to the WDW college program and WE will be going to see her in August. She and her BFF are Disneynatics and planned this all by themselves. 6 months working for the Mouse.

A true disney addict will find a way

 

[bumbershoot]

"She is starting to understand that this will be the last time she will be going on our annual Spring Break trip as a family. After this she will be included only if circumstances allow, but she will not be allowed to miss a week of classes once she is at school to go with us to Disney. This is going to crush her the first time we go without her. Not to mention that we are dealing with the fact that are baby girl is growing up. We will miss her unbridled enthusiasm for all things Disney more than she knows."

Then why do that to her? Why aren't you including her anymore? I don't understand.

My mom got remarried and her husband belonged to RCI...I was a freshman in college...my mom asked me if I wanted to spend Fall Break with them (newlyweds) or at my dad's, and I chose my dad's...she didn't tell me they were going to the Bahamas and would have a *separate* place for me and my brother to stay... That STILL rankles, the lack of info, and it was ages ago. Now, as of today, she's been gone 9 years, and I surely do wish she had communicated with me just what sort of vacation I was saying "no" to, so I could have had that extra set of memories with her.

Why keep her out of your vacations? I just don't understand.

My guy's only 4, and we're only considering buying into DVC, but I could imagine handing some points over to him when he becomes an adult, if our schedules didn't mesh at all with his, but if they did mesh he'd always be invited.

 

[edk35]

We sound like two peas in a pod. My daughter is also 18 and going off to college. Her 16th trip is coming up in July. I feel your pain. It is sad isn't it?? We have been 3 times to WDW each of the past two years and we realzed this year that we would NO longer be able to go during the school year anymore. Even though the kids only missed 1 or maybe 2 days per trip.....it still made it hard for them once in high school. We have pretty much decided that we will be taking summer vacations to Disney from now on at least for a while. We have gone the past two summers and loved those trips. Can you maybe go in the summer from now on?? I mean I still realize that there is still a great possibility that she might not make those trips either with work or summer college programs. I think as the kids get older....other times during the year might come open for trips to WDW. The college kids have some pretty long winter breaks ....maybe a mid Jan. trip???? We have been in late Jan. 4 times and love that time down there. I also see a trip or two in our future with only ds 10. It will be hard but I have a feeling once these kids are at school...it won't bother them as much if at all....as it will us being at WDW without them.

I think it will all work out for you. There are 365 days in a year and I bet you will all figure out a great time that works for you. Maybe she can only join you for part of a trip but that is better than nothing. Also, there might come a day that she is so busy with college life that she won't miss a trip to Disney. Time will tell for all of us with college bound kids.

My 9th grader has declared he doesn't want to go in July with us. Never thought I would hear those words from him. He has always loved Disney too...but soccer is his life and he wants to spend the summer doing that because he will have tryouts in early Aug. and he has been so much lately that he is actually burned out on Disney right now. SO ....life happens and we Disney moms/dads...just have to learn to roll with the punches. I am sure if the kids miss a trip or two....they will eventually go again. Good Luck.....this too shall pass.

 

[edk35]

hmmm, well actually, our original plan was to bank 2009 points and have another extended family vacation in 2010 along with a cruise. BUT our youngest DD has just been accepted to the WDW college program and WE will be going to see her in August. She and her BFF are Disneynatics and planned this all by themselves. 6 months working for the Mouse.

A true disney addict will find a way

MY dd is looking into this college program too. We actually got an email from this this week and she watched the 45 min. presentation on the computer. Congrats on your dd getting in.

 

[edk35]

Oh and let me add.....I am positive that the future will hold trips for my dd that WON'T INCLUDE US EITHER. I see her taking a trip down there some years too with friends, future bf or hubby. I think it all works out when you look at it that way. That is what is so nice about DVC..................we have years and years of vacations ahead of us.

 

[Disneypirate85]

When my DD was graduating from HS I showed her the CP on the Disney website her and 2 of her friends watched the video. We explained it too her and told her we would take care of what was needed from our side of it and she declined to go, Now she is almost 21 and a Mom to be and has found out how much she truelly loves and miss's those trips that Dad was paying for. BUT lucky for her hubby is a Disney fan so it'll all work out for them now if she haves twins, will know in a week or so but looks like it, we'll have 2 more FANatics in the family

 

[tea pot]

WDWMom I whish I had your problem My 3 DD's are in their 20's One is at home in grad school , one is out on her own working and the 3rd lives in Fl only an hour away from Disney. and do you believe that I have to just about drag and beg them to go.. How did this happen???

 

[bwvBound]

Oldest child checking in ... an only daughter with 8-12 year gaps between herself and following siblings. While our family destination wasn't WDW -- my folks dragged us everywhere: annual summer cottage rental on the Jersey Shore; church camp at Schroon Lake, NY; frequent visits to Washington, DC (business travel for Dad); roadtrips between NJ and New Orleans (family roots); camping/RV trips across the country; one big trip to Europe; a short visit to Oahu (younger brother marching in band/parade event); and my "last" official family trip to UK.

I was almost 16 during the big Europe trip (3 weeks using only "carry on" luggage, my first "perm" to avoid needing a blowdryer ) ... and somewhere early college for the UK. I do remember the odd significance of the UK trip ("last family trip") and the pains of missing out on a later visit to Europe.

I did quite a bit of work-related travel in my early career and enjoyed racking up frequent flyer miles and car/hotel "club" privileges. My parents had done an excellent job in teaching me to travel! Once married, my husband and I enjoyed "alone time" travel for a few years (I had to teach him how to travel) ... then, thanks to cruises and timeshare, we returned to traveling with family.

It has been our joy to share vacations with various family members. Granted, my folks are our favorite "travel buddies" (almost a given considering the years they invested training me) -- but we are quite fortunate to have a long list of vacations shared with my husband's family: Big Bear, CA; Oceanside, CA; Big Island, HI; Branson, MO; Grand Lake, OK; Palm Springs, CA; Warner Springs, CA; an Alaska cruise; etc. I surprised even myself last year sharing a 1BR unit with my MIL in Anaheim last year -- we survived!

So ... for those of you facing this "weaning" process with your daughters, take comfort knowing you've raised them well. Enjoy watching them discover travel on their own terms for while and look forward to larger family adventures in the future.

 

[tea pot]

bwvBound
Thanks I needed that.. We also did a lot of traveling as a family. They can't believe that we keep going back and they just want to see the rest of the word.. The real world I shoud say..

 

[CharacterFan]

If you have extra points maybe let her go with a few friends your do a mother-daughter trip during her spring break. Or fall break, or sometime when she's off from school.