My hubby wants to skip this year!

[Taratink]

We have gone to WDW for the last three years. My Hubby wants to go to the carribean instead. I know that we need to relax but I am afraid that we will be bored. WDW is so much fun that I am afraid that I am ruined for all other vacations. My kids are 5 and 7 and we use a timeshare thru Intervale International. What are your thoughts and suggestions?
Tara

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

why not try a Disney cruise? He will get the Caribbean and you and the kids will still get the excitement of a Disney themed vacation. Be sure to book as far in advance as possible though. We booked our 7day Eastern on the Magic for Feb. 2007 way back in Oct of 2005 and it's gone up over $ 1800 since then!

 

[HeatherC]

Or you can do what I did last year and totally spoil yourselves!!!

We took a week long cruise on Royal Caribbean's Navigator Of The Seas to the Eastern Caribbean and then rented a car in Miami and went to Disney World for the second week. The kids LOVED the cruise and could not get enough of their Adventure Ocean Club. My dh and I relaxed while the kids had a ball. I would have loved to do a Disney Cruise, but the cost was almost double what we paid on Royal Caribbean for that week. And...the Royal Caribbean ships are really amazing. So this way I got do to both the caribbean and Disney.

Since we are not big drinkers, we really didn't spend much on the ship (all meals are included pretty much). We didn't feel like spending tons of money on excursions, so we took a cab and spent time on the beautiful beaches in St. Maarten and St. Thomas. We did this in February and it was just wonderful escaping the worst part of winter here in Massachusetts.

I will admit that this is certainly not a budget vacation. But I booked a timeshare resort in Orlando for about $100 a night so we didn't go crazy there. We also had our Disney passes from a previous trip. And because I really wanted to do both, it was amazing how many things I found I could live without to have it all paid before we went. I think it also helps that I really don't buy much in the way of souvenirs. (I actually cleared my house of a lot beforehand by doing EBAY which helped with spending money.)

Happy planning!
Heather C

 

[Taratink]

I love cruises but my husband will not go on one. Are there any Islands that are kid friendly? We were thinking Aruba.
Tara

 

[HeatherC]

My brother and his wife took their 3 kids to Aruba for the last couple February's now. They love it!!! They stayed at the Marriot Ocean Club Resort and said it was fabulous. But...this will definitely not be a cheap trip. Not sure what your budget is, but when we looked to go the airfare was around $600 a person. Since there are 5 of us, that would be $3000 to just get there.

I'd suggest looking into packages. Or how about an all-inclusive in Mexico or the Dominican Republic. I've heard very good things about them. But you have to pick carefully from what I hear since some places the food is really lousy.

HeatherC

 

[mecllap]

Going to the Caribbean is certainly different than WDW, but also a wonderful vacation. We went to Grand Cayman in March (had gone to WDW at the holidays just before, so it was fresh in our minds). At one point early on, my DGS, age 6 said it was better than WDW and he wanted to move there. Of course that quickly blended in to wanting to combine the two experiences and have the best of both.

There aren't the thrill rides and overstimulation -- but most islands have some tourist activities as well as enjoying the natural ones. If you like sun, sand, swimming (beach and pool), experiencing new things, etc. you will have a lovely time. I guess you could end up bored if you spend the whole time comparing it to WDW, or if the kids just want to play computer games.

We were in a timeshare that we really enjoyed and we like animal experiences -- seeing the turtles, iguanas, and especially the sting rays, and snorkeling to see fish.

I'd say give it a try -- it's always good to have some different experiences (and maybe next time you go to WDW, there will be some new things there for you to enjoy as well as your favorites).

 

[spiceycat]

tell him how much the plane tickets alone will be.....

see if that doesn't change his mind.

also most of the timeshares only have a 1-bedroom or studio. 2-bedrooms are not easy to get.

 

[Taratink]

We put in for 3 different timeshares 4 months ago in Aruba thru II for Jan, Feb. and March and there are no openings. My husband suggested that I add more resorts to the list but I want to stay at a the three places that I researched. The resorts are Marriott Ocean and the Surf Club and the Costa Linda. If anyone else knows of any great timeshares please share.
Thanks,
Tara

 

[QT Pooh]

Too bad he won't do a cruise...that would have been ideal. Jamaica is a nice island to take the kids. We also had great fun on the Riviera Maya in Mexico...we stayed outside of Cancun. We rented a house through vrbo.com, and swam with the dolphins and did lots of snorkeling/swimming, visiting the Mayan ruins, but most of all relaxing!

Also remember that if you don't have them already, passports for everyone (including kids) will be required for air/sea travel outside of the US after the end of the year (which could be ANOTHER expense!).

 

[jeff968]

Use the money arguement. We have been fortunate enough to travel to Florida every February for the past 8 years and we are all set for next year. One of the ways I can do this is because my vacation dollar goes farther in Orlando (notice I said Orlando, not Disney), then anyplace else. I can take my family of 5 for 9 days and usually do the entire trip, flights, car, timeshare rental, food, 1 day at Disney, for $3000. I think that is a great value.

 

[paslea_pooh]

We went to Cancun this summer. We ALL got horribly sick. It was either the food or the water. We don't know. We stayed at the Allegro Occidental in Playacar (about 40 minutes south of Cancun). The airfare alone was $600 per person !! We all had to get passports. So that was another $130 per person.

The whole week everyone was saying "We should have gone to Disney instead !!!" Which felt like vindication for me b/c they all wanted to go somewhere different before that.

My two youngest 9 and 5 were bored. Islands are not really good for kids unless you have them signed up at the Kids Club and busy with activities. At least it wasn't good for my two youngest. They hated just laying around on the beach and they preferred the Pool to the beautiful beach and ocean water !! I think if we ever decide to do an island again we will wait until our youngest two are much older. My teenagers 18 and 15 enjoyed it. Not the getting sick part. But beach and just lounging around.