Is Disney REALLY a vacation?????

[tlbwriter]

I firmly believe that if you don't enjoy WDW it's your own fault!

My DD (5 at the time) had the time of her life. And one of her favorite memories is the time we spent hanging out at the GF beach. Some people love the non-stop "parking" and would feel antsy hanging out doing nothing. Some people need down time. The key is to know what kind of vacationer you (and your family) are and to act accordingly. And it helps to marry someone who feels the same way.

 

[Tissa]

If I wanted to relax, I wouldn't take 4 kids on vacation.

ITA! If I wanted a relaxing vacation I'd have to leave my boys at home. Disneyworld isn't a vacation it's an experience.

 

[sara74]

I think the 'let the kids guide you' advice is the best. However, heeding this advice gave our family a little laugh once...

My first trip to WDW - I was 12 and so excited. I have always been a morning person. Even got up at 7 as a teenager. So imagine my shock when I awoke on our first day at WDW to find it was 10 AM! I have only slept that late a handful of times in the 2 decades since then! I was so mad at my mom for 'ruining' my vacation by letting me sleep in! I was raised with a 'you can rest when you are dead' mentality that won't mix well with taking 2 little ones on vacation!

Hopefully I will be able to let the rest of the family sleep in a little. At least I can get my coffee in before they get up. And maybe make a little noise in the room...then if they get up it's up to them

 

[LoriMistress]

Yes, after a vacation you need a break from being on "let's see everything; let's run to place to place mod." Plus all the traveling gets you worn out.

 

[Flyerfan]

I think a WDW vacation can be as relaxing or as hectic as one wants it to be. Many people love being on the run all day long, and plan their days down to the hour by hour activities. Others are content to simply wake up and decide what to see and do on the spur of the moment. What works for one family may sound terribly dull to another. The trick is to find out what your crew likes and try to do things at a pace that everyone is comfortable with. Vacations aren't much fun if everyone feels rushed and tired all of the time.

Yes, I agree. It all depends on what you consider vacation. For me, it's being away from work, not having to answer the phone or cook or clean. I love to be on the go. Sitting around by a pool is fine for about an hour or two, but then I'm ready to go somewhere and do something. Strangely, I find that relaxing.

That said, can't wait for January!!

 

[metsfan11]

i think disney is a vacation if you sit back and dont become obbsessive over getting to EVERY LITTLE THING. see, with me, we have to see everything, be on time for everything, ect. if you treat it like that, its still a vacation, but just a harder one. i couldnt just sit at the resort by the pool when there is just SO MUCH to do!

 

[disneymom2one]

Just got back for our trip of what we called planes, trains and automobiles. We did have fun, but does anyone feel like they need a vacation from that vacation? I feel bad for my two children, all we did was rush and hearded from place to place. Do you really think kids like all that craziness? I seen LOTS of unhappy and tired kids at the world! Parents (even us) get obsessed on "what to do" I think the kids would be just as happy sitting at the pool or watching a movie! My 4 year old was tired of lines, did not know what to expect on each ride (dark? scary? fast?). I really think that it is more fun for the adults or older kids. How relaxing can it be? By the 5th day, I had enough "going" and had walked more than ever (and I am an active person!) Does anyone else feel the same way, or is it just me!?!?

That's precisely why we take much longer trips now. We don't get obsessed. We take lots of time just sitting back "enjoying the view". My absolute favorite time at Disney is early mornings on my DVC balcony watching the "world" wake up. DVC (as many people mentioned) really does teach you how to relax and just enjoy the vacation.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

We always have a short list of things each of us (family of four) "must" do. We get those things in; anything else we take as it comes. I find that a well-placed ice cream break helps reset the mood for the day if someone is getting grumpy.

 

[beebles]

I think the thing we found the most tiring is so much transporting from here to there. Thank God we stayed on the monorail, and that helped, but what a pain to be bussed everywhere! Or wait for the boat! I don't know how y'all do it when you have to be bussed! Don't get me wrong, Disney gave us no problems with the transportation, it was smooth, but so time consuming and tiring!

 

[lucincia]

I think the thing we found the most tiring is so much transporting from here to there. Thank God we stayed on the monorail, and that helped, but what a pain to be bussed everywhere! Or wait for the boat! I don't know how y'all do it when you have to be bussed! Don't get me wrong, Disney gave us no problems with the transportation, it was smooth, but so time consuming and tiring!

Tiring? I classify the waiting time for transportation at WDW as resting time before we go psycho in the park once we get there! DD7 took power naps on the bus couple times and when we get to the park, she's ready to go again!

 

[CheshireVal]

To me, Disney is always a vacation because it's a totally immersive experience. There are no traces of yucky reality at Disney for me. It's a happy, carefree place. I don't even worry about all the money I'm spending while I'm there (and it takes a *lot* for me to not worry about money!)

Even if I'm running myself ragged commando style around the parks..... it's still a vacation.

 

[donac]

It all depends on how you do it. When we went in AUg my friend had her kids runnning in circles. After the first day with her we said we can't do this. we like to take it easy and enjoy ourselves. She kept her kids at an unbelievable pace because she felt it was her last trip to disney since her husband doesn't like crowds. We relaxed the rest of the trip because we knew we would be back. They came home exhausted and we came back rested.

 

[DisneyMim]

I think this is very common for first time and not frequent visitors. These boards haven't helped much either. People read so much into every little thread and absolutely HAVE to see and do everything. The first thing to know is that you can't do everything in one trip. We've been going to Disney forever, became DVC members before it even opened and have never done "commando" style. For us, yes it a very relaxing vacation. We do what we want when we want. It's really a "second" home for us and we are very lucky to go often so we don't have to do everything every time. That being said, I get sad when I see parents yelling at their kids telling them they NEED to do this or that. WHY? Part of the magic of Disney is the details and the spur of the moment stuff, none of which you get if you are rushing from one thing to another. I do understand that for some it's a once in a lifetime trip and they really want to do it all, but the best thing I can tell people is to read up and then pick what you REALLY want to do. For some kids it might just be the pool at the resort. Whatever it is for you, go with a relaxing attitude and you can make it a relaxing vacation.

 

[debloco]

Is Disney REALLY a vacation?

Well, it depends on how you define "vacation".

If you mean in the traditional sense of sleeping in, lazy days of reading and/or sunning on a beach, long meals out at quiet restaurants...then no. WDW is not really a vacation. Although you can do those things (somewhat) at WDW. Although I would say it's not really what WDW was created/designed around.

If you mean in another sense of escaping (most of) reality and having lots of fun things to do in a great atmosphere/environment...then yes.

It also depends on what you want out of your "vacation". Some people want quiet time in a cabin in the woods, others want to lay on a beach. Some want to tour historic sites, some like to hike in National Parks and camp.

For me, I would never define camping as a vacation. But lots of people love it and find it very relaxing.

So really, I think it depends on the person/family and what they think of as a vacation and what they want out of their vacation.

 

[CindyT]

Disney can be stressful. It is expensive and sometimes you feel like you have to get your "money's worth". But, how much fun are you having if you rush from here to there and are exhausted all of the time? I used to "do Disney" like a commando and run my family ragged, until we were able to go 2 years in a row. The second year, because we had just been there the previous year, was very laid back. We didn't feel like we had to do everything... so we just did our favorites, relaxed more, stopped to watch the shows. We had so much fun!!! It took a while for me to learn my lesson. Now when we go, we just do what we enjoy and don't worry about missing things. Much better.

 

[bopper]

Just got back for our trip of what we called planes, trains and automobiles. ... By the 5th day, I had enough "going" and had walked more than ever (and I am an active person!) Does anyone else feel the same way, or is it just me!?!?

After a few trip to WDW, I have learned that we can keep up a pace of two days at the park and one day off. On the off day you sleep in, go to the pool, and generally don't go at a commando pace. More than two full park days in a row tires us out.

 

[DVC Jen]

Disney can be an awesome vacation.... IF you let it be and have the right frame of mind.

No one can do it all in one trip and still call it a vacation.

 

[pezpam]

We've been a few times over the past few years. However, the first time I took DD, I really thought that was our one and only chance to visit WDW while she was a kid. While I did the research and had a lot of stuff that I wanted to do, I wound up deciding to follow her schedule and figured that she'd have the time of her life even if we didn't see and do everything. BOY was I glad of that when I got there! I quickly realized that we just couldn't see and do everything, even if we wanted to.

We've now been 3 times and we still haven't seen any fireworks and we haven't made it to Early Magic Hours. DD just doesn't stay awake late or get up early happily. I'd rather that we both have a good time instead of trying to keep/get her up and winding up A - having to carry her back to the hotel (she's way too big for that now!) and B - having her cranky the next day so that neither of us really has a good time. I deal with her need for lots of sleep and she deals with my bad knee and somehow we've had a ball anyway.

We both have amazing memories of the good times we spent together at WDW, even if they don't include *everything* WDW has to offer. If you and your kids like the commando-vacation, more power to you! The point is that if you want a relaxing vacation at WDW, it's possible. You just have to let go of the illusion that you can (or HAVE TO) do it all and the idea that you'll ruin your kids' WDW memories if they don't have every single Disney experience out there.........

 

[PrincessKitty1]

DH and I find Disney to be a very relaxing, stress-free vacation. It's all in how you approach it. We don't rush through anything. We take our time and never feel we have to see or do anything. Of course, this is not a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us, since we go to Disney 6,8,10 times a year or so. We know that if we miss something, there will always be another time. Makes for a very laid-back vacation.

 

[jtlover]

No Disney is Heaven!