Is Disney your "vacation spot"?

[JCMHutch]

WDW is a yearly thing for me now. I started my trips after college. DH came on his first Disney trip in 2004 with me (before he was DH). He started joining me in 2008 (the year he became DH) and now looks forward to the trips more than I do. We have even started a DVC fund and hope to buy in next year because it now makes sense for us.

We have also travelled elsewhere. We took a Carnival cruise in 08 & 09 and this year I am hoping to schedule a surprise midweek trip to NYC for DH's 40th b-day.

 

[sritter78]

While our kids are young, WDW is the place to be. Once they are older and will get something out of other places, we will be heading to Boston, D.C., etc. We are not beach lovers, so that will be something we never do. I also don't foresee us ever going on a cruise.

2004-DH & me (offsite)
2006-DH, DD, & me (offsite)
2008-DH, DD, & me (AK & Poly)
2009-DH, DD, DS, GM, GP, myself (Contemporary)
2010-DH, DD, DS, & me (?????)

 

[MidgeD79]

The ages of kids/grandkids that go with me are 14,12,7. WDW is a great cross-age place to visit, although my 16 year-old ds disagrees. My 29 year-old dd always asks if she can take his place! lol I am concerned that the 7 year-old won't be as enthused as the rest of us in DC.

 

[mommymeg]

Intersting thread...I seem to be in the minority of responders, but there is no way we could afford a "BIG VACATION" every year. In the past we have tried to get to Disney about every 3-4 years. This keeps it special for us and our kids and each time they get to experience something new as they grow. Our last trip was 2009, not even a year ago, but I am itching to return... We will probably go again in 2011 or 2012. Our other vacations are weekend excursions "down the shore" or day trips to an amusement park. If we could afford a "big vacation" every year I think we'd mix it up at least a little bit. I'd love to take my kids to see the Grand Canyon, west coast, Carribean, and ultimately Europe...but that's dreaming big... Disney will always be a special place for us though and I cannot wait to return!

 

[Jennifer in MI]

We go often because it's a great vacation for our entire family. We also vacation in big cities - DC, Boston, San Fran, Phoenix, etc - but those are more stressful and someone is always bored. With our wide ranges of ages, Disney is perfect.

We did branch out to the cruise line last year and LOVE that. Even better than the parks for our family.

But, we're currently saving for our "European Adventure!" Next year, we'll be spending a week in Rome, a week in Paris, and a few days in Barcelona before boarding the Magic for a Transatlantic cruise back home. So, no WDW for us for a while!!

So, that's the long-winded way of saying that, while Disney is a GREAT vacation for our family, it's not our "spot."

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

We go often because it's a great vacation for our entire family. We also vacation in big cities - DC, Boston, San Fran, Phoenix, etc - but those are more stressful and someone is always bored. With our wide ranges of ages, Disney is perfect.

We did branch out to the cruise line last year and LOVE that. Even better than the parks for our family.

But, we're currently saving for our "European Adventure!" Next year, we'll be spending a week in Rome, a week in Paris, and a few days in Barcelona before boarding the Magic for a Transatlantic cruise back home. So, no WDW for us for a while!!

So, that's the long-winded way of saying that, while Disney is a GREAT vacation for our family, it's not our "spot."

i want to go on your trip next year!

 

[nunzia]

We do Disney at least once a year..maybe 2. My DH likes AI in Mexico so we are doing that this year again..we also do some other things..Couple years ago we went to DC for a DH conference, we visit with friends sometimes in various places (it was Wisconsin a few years ago), we go to Denver to see son and family. This year we're going with DD and kids to Sea World and Lego Land, it's been a long time since we've been to Vegas (used to live there) so want to plan a trip there, want to go to Carlsbad Caverns with some kids and grandkids, and I really want to take a cruise but haven't yet. Mainly though, we are DLR people. I put a very high priority on travel. We are getting older and know far too many people who were always waiting to take a trip and then something happened and they never did. I work 2 jobs, do Ebay, etc., to be able to pull it all off.

 

[gracie1]

i want to go on your trip next year!

I was thinking the same thing!! It's interesting to see what everyone does for vacations (which is why I started this thread) to see if everyone only went to disney or also other spots.

My dream vacation is to go to Paris and Rome!

 

[blanq]

We have traveled to WDW (10x) and Palm Springs CA (10x) more times than any other vacations spot, so I would have to say those two places rise to the top for us. My parents winter in Palm Springs, so it is our March spring break destination each year, and it's an inexpensive trip for us. But, we travel to other places too. We have been on a number of cruises. We have been to a dude ranch, which was a total blast. We like to travel to more local vacation spots (by that I mean driving trips) like Door County WI, the North Shore of MN including the Boundary Waters, and the Black Hills of SD.

Most years we go on 2-4 vacations (lasting at least a week each). This year we have done two trips so far (Cruise in Feb and Palm Springs in March). We may go to a pre-season Packer game in Green Bay in Aug, with a side trip to Door County; or a WDW trip in Oct. We have not decided. We are planning a 2-3 week trip to Hawaii next June.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

For the most part, yes, Disney is "our spot" for now. We have kids under 10 and we live in Florida, so Disney is an affordable vacation for us. It is something we all enjoy. We went to Atlanta recently for a long weekend and although we kept busy (baseball game, natural history museum, zoo, aquarium, World of Coke) my youngest was out of sorts a lot more than he ever is at WDW because there was so much "looking" and not enough "doing." Later this year we're going to visit my brother's family in Oregon and that will be our big vacation. We should be back in the World next year!

I do look forward to taking my boys to Washington DC, but I want to wait until they can appreciate it and understand the history they are seeing. I'd also love to take them West to the Grand Canyon and other natural wonders. Again, I want them to remember it and be able to appreciate it. I think WDW will be our vacation of choice for another 4-5 years.

 

[2TxAgs]

Looking back, we've done a good job of mixing it up. Would love to be going to WDW again this year (I have 4 GAD tickets), but not sure if we'll make it.

Since 2000 (when kids were 6,6 and 2) we've taken them to WDW 4 times, Yellowstone NP, San Diego, west coast of Washington, cabins in Arkansas 2x, Colorado to visit friends/family 2x, they've been to Carlsbad Caverns on our yearly jaunts out to west Texas, and they've skied for a day in New Mexico. I think we've done a good job getting them out and about.

My oldest DD will be traveling with her soccer team this year - probably to Disney between Christmas and NY, also to Virginia and possibly to Vegas. Mom might have
to tag along on a couple of those!

Also, I told the kids I would take them each somewhere when they were 15, so my DS and I are hopefully going to make an East Coast trip this summer - start in Fla, head up the coast to North Carolina, hopefully visit DC and then fly home.

Hubby and I have also managed to take a SHORT cruise from Seattle up to the southern tip of Alaska, and another year we spent 4 days in San Francisco.

While I sometimes wish we could get away more together (all 3 kids play soccer year round, so it's a challenge), making this list does make me feel like we've done pretty well.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

We do trips with our 11 year olds. They get to pick. It is a nice chance to solidify before the teens, and talk about any boy/girl stuff that we have missed. 15 would be a nice age to do this too. Have a great trip with your 15 year olds.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

YES!!! Disney will always be our home away from home. Most people around here always go to either Pigeon Forge or Myrtle Beach. But Disney is ours.

 

[Jennifer in MI]

i want to go on your trip next year!

I was thinking the same thing!! It's interesting to see what everyone does for vacations (which is why I started this thread) to see if everyone only went to disney or also other spots.

My dream vacation is to go to Paris and Rome!

We've been saving for this trip since our first child was born nearly 14 years ago! It's been a dream of mine to travel a LOT with my kids. We've done a lot in the US and I wanted to take them to Europe. It's finally that time!!

Check out the WBTA! Join us!!! It was cheap for a 14 day trip for our family!!

 

[czycropper]

As much fun as WDW is and as much of a fan that I am - my DH & I made a decision that we wanted to see the world and the US with our children. Don't get me wrong I would love to go there (& other Orlando attractions) every year but there is a real world out there with history & cultures.

So far we have gone to:

Caribbean (PR, Tortolla, St. Martin)
Mexico
Canada
and the BIG ONE - Ecuador & Galapagos - we just got back

The states we've travelled to:
Vermont
Mass
Pennsylvania
Alabama
Florida (the Gulf Coast)
Georgia
Tennessee
Colorado
Virginia
Delaware
Connecticut
New York
North Carolina
South Carolina

Our next big trip that we're planning in a couple of years is England, Spain, Denmark & Finland with St. Petersburg thrown in for a couple of days - this will be a month long trip. We're lucky that my DH gets wonderful bonuses which we immediately put into savings and we also put any tax refunds we get into savings so that enables us to travel without having to charge our vacations.

But each family is different but that's our mentality

 

[gracie1]

As much fun as WDW is and as much of a fan that I am - my DH & I made a decision that we wanted to see the world and the US with our children. Don't get me wrong I would love to go there (& other Orlando attractions) every year but there is a real world out there with history & cultures.

So far we have gone to:

Caribbean (PR, Tortolla, St. Martin)
Mexico
Canada
and the BIG ONE - Ecuador & Galapagos - we just got back

The states we've travelled to:
Vermont
Mass
Pennsylvania
Alabama
Florida (the Gulf Coast)
Georgia
Tennessee
Colorado
Virginia
Delaware
Connecticut
New York
North Carolina
South Carolina

Our next big trip that we're planning in a couple of years is England, Spain, Denmark & Finland with St. Petersburg thrown in for a couple of days - this will be a month long trip. We're lucky that my DH gets wonderful bonuses which we immediately put into savings and we also put any tax refunds we get into savings so that enables us to travel without having to charge our vacations.

But each family is different but that's our mentality

Those are some great trips!! I agree, there is a lot of the world to see.

 

[tinkmom2]

For the last 6 years we have done DCL and WDW. My youngest still believes in the magic and my oldest will tolerate it lol! We live in cold weather and pick a time when it's horrible here to go. Now we aren't going again til 2011 so we probably will venture to Wisconsin Dells over the summer. When the kids are older I would love to go to DC and the Smithsonian or to the National Parks. We've been to WDW 5 times and there is so much we haven't done.
My neighbors on the other hand have been to Spain, France, and just got back from China. Their kids are around 8-9. I say if you have the money go for it but for us personally I can't see my kids on a 8-12 plus flight. I would feel sorry for the other passengers.

 

[Kimberly Hill]

Yes, it's our spot! I grew up near Disneyland so Disney has always been my go-to place, now it's just on the other coast. We live in Myrtle Beach so no need for beach vacations and we cruise a couple of times a year as well. When the little one gets older, we'll do more off-continent trips but for now, WDW is home.

 

[ricktib]

For me, definitely. I've seen a lot of places with the military and my airline job, and there's nowhere I'd rather be on vacation than WDW.

DW, on the other hand, wants to "see the world", so we usually mix it up, although we always spend at least a weekend at the F&W Festival.

 

[gillenkl]

We try and do disney every other year - we do this so that it's paid in full before the trip. On our "off" year we do something else (less expensive) which involves camping. We also do several weekend camping getaways every year.