My kids took the "Magic" out of the MK and all the other parks, too!

[kangaroodle]

Just got back on Saturday from 10 days at WDW. We only did the 4 major parks on 4 days plus MNSSHP one evening. We went to Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, too. My kids re DD9 and DS6. The were awful! They fought over EVERYTHING all week long....most of it really STUPID stuff like who gets to pull a certain suitcase. They would hit each other and really made our magical trip less than magical. There would be good moments then bad ones all week long. We even had magical things happen to us like being chosen as Grand Marshalls of the Halloween Parade and also being chosen to ride Dinosaur as special guests and then a little behind the scenes tour of it. They tended to focus on what we DIDN'T do!

The last day I broke down in tears, telling my kids are how horrible they were and that they ruined my vacation. I told them they are great individullay but together they are awful. I told them I put alot of work into this vacation and no one even cares how hard I worked at our plans. I told them that I do have feelings even if I'm a "mom". I also said I don't know if we'll ever come back to WDW, if we do they may not be with us, because I can't subject myself to the disappointment I felt all week! (And we are DVC owners!)

What would any of you done? Anyone have similar problems? I need to know I'm not alone!!!!

 

[PrincessLindy]

That is one reason that when people tell me to wait until my dd is older to go I laugh. I always tell them the majic is better when they are younger. Pop them in the stroller with a pacifier and they get quite. Actually I am not that bad. Seriously I hear people complain about babies crying. I see more tantrums from older kids and I would rather hear a baby cry. We only have one child and even though I want more, there are times now that dd is six that it seems easaier to stay at one.

I don't know what you could have done. Maybe one day they will appreciate it but I know that won't help the bad memories. I guess do your best to try and remember the good times. I am sure there are at least a couple things that can make you smile. If you concentrate on those maybe the bad memories will be forgotten. My brother is divorced and saved for years to take his daughters on a vacation to Key West. They were in high school and spent the whole vacation watching Beverly Hills 90210 reruns. He said he should have saved money and watched TV at home.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I don't know your kids ages but our are 17,15 and 13. We went in april and are going again in nov/dec. This time my dh will be at a conference for alot of the time so its me and them, I am prepared. I usually ask them where they want to eat, go over the schedule etc. Last time ds 17 gets in his usual moods and disappears. He showed up in the room like 11 pm. This time since we are staying at the swan instead of the poly he cant charge stuff to the room like food which I already told him about. I told them they must stay with us for meals, I have scheduled alone time for them at disney quest etc. But who knows what mood will throw ds into some tizzy. He also gets upset that I cant walk fast enough like them. The little one is more understanding. They will go on alot of rides themselves because there is alot I cant do because of my back problems. DH and I left them in the room while we went out to dinner last time. Gheesh, when we came back the mattress was off the bed etc. Looks like they had one giant heck of a pillow fight. They heard it from me after that. Mostly about their behavior, immaturity, what was expected out of them etc. This time I will control the money, so if they dont want to starve they better behave themselves!! But generally they are well behaved.

 

[kilee]

It happens. My DS has been grumpy and ruined a few vacation days. I cannot say he's ruined an entire vacation. Only you know just how bad it was and they were. If it was that bad that it made an entire vacation miserable. Well, I'd be dealing w/ that now to make sure they think twice next time.

 

[TwingleMum]

Isn't it hard when our dreams don't equal reality? The only thing I could suggest is when they ask about going to WDW again tell them they will not be going to WDW again. When they ask why tell them going to WDW is a special treat and many boys and girls never have the chance to go and that their behavior was unacceptable so they will not be going back. Make sure DH backs you up or they'll play one against the other. WDW is a special treat and requires their best behavior and cooperation. I would rent my points for a while and stick to my guns or they won't learn anything. Tell them you will give them the opportunity to earn the privledge of going to WDW in the future. Then I would do short vacations and tell them that these are tests for WDW. If they behave during a few vacations maybe they can earn the right to go again. I would remember the bad times when your weakening and ask yourself has their behavior improved?? If it has then try a short trip with midday breaks. If that goes well then add days. I'm sorry your trip wasn't that magical but I'm sure very soon with a little work the next trip will be very magical. Pixie Dust to you.

 

[ainmama2001]

If you love it there, then don't let the kids ruin it. I had my whole family saying that our last vacation to WDW was for my dd4. Um, No?! It was our FAMILY vacation. We did a lot of things geared for her, but if we didn't like it there too, we wouldn't go. My suggestion? Let them help you plan the next trip and lay some ground rules out ahead of time based on how they acted THIS time. Maybe get Disney dollars and only give it to them as rewards if they acted in a decent way the day before. If they help you plan, then when you don't do things, they can't really complain very much! I did the Disney Dollar thing with my dd, and even at FOUR it worked. I also told her that Tinkerbell watches her all the time and tells Mickey if she's misbehaving. That kept her in almost tip top shape for the entire 8 days we were there.

 

[ainmama2001]

BTW - We stayed at OKW (rented points) and it's BEAUTIFUL! You're very lucky!

 

[Noelle]

Don't give up....They go through phases. Some trips my one daughter is an angel while the other one drives us nuts. Then the next trip, they reverse. We have had one trip where they were both just terrible. I solved it by taking a short "Mommy & Daddy" only long weekend. We went and did stuff that reminded us of our honeymoon at WDW. Special dinners, fast rides, waking up late, etc. It refreshed us and our kids realized that WDW is a treat for all of us as a family and if they can't join in the "team fun" then that team member just might sit out the next trip.

 

[rigsby25]

I booked a special trip for our family for and on our daughter's 18th birthday. You should have seen the look of disappointment on her face. She wanted to spend her 18th birthday with her boyfriend. She talked to him on the cell phone constantly. In line for the rides, at the pool, in the room. My cell phone bill was 180.00 that month instead of the usual 90.00. She says she had a good time, but my fun was completely ruined. That was about the same time my 15 year old son decided he no longer wanted to go to the pool. My husband and I just got back from a small trip for just the two of us. We really enjoyed ourselves!

 

[WeLuvDiznee]

It has happened to me PLENTY of times, and I wish I could say it get's better, but it doesn't. My DD's are 8 and 6,and fight about stupid things as well.I tell how lucky they are to go to Disney as often as we do,they still complain about what they get to buy,or see or ride.We even had the guts to take them to Europe,and it was horrible!!! The only time they behaved was when they were sleeping! I know one day will get better,I hope for you too!!

 

[vatmark]

I feel your pain and can totally relate. My DD is 9 and my DS is 7. They do the same stuff as your two. Hitting and fighting over the most ridiculous things. We will be setting ground rules when we go to Disney. It may even mean sitting on a bench and not going on rides or even having to return to the room. After all the money we will be spending and all the time I have put into planning I will not have the nonsense.

What you described is what I fear will happen when we go at the end of Oct. There are times when they get along so well and it is such a joy to see. Then there's other times where I just want to smack them both.

Annie

 

[maxaroni]

We've had our moments, it happens. DS12, was cranky this past august because he hates It's Tough to Be a Bug and went in with us, because we wanted to see it. He came out cranky and we parked ourselves on a bench and waited it out. We said we'd go back to the hotel and Typhoon Lagoon would not happen the next day, if he didn't get into a better mood. He finally did but we sat for about a 1/2 hr. That was the worst out of the week but we had a few other annoyances and it's hard because we know how much time we put into planning the trip, how much money (our hard-earned dollars) it costs. In general, kids are spoiled and everything becomes expected, rather than a treat.

One thing that I read, when my son was a toddler, was a vacation report from a mom. She said that her expectations of her vacation were ruined by the kids. It then went on to say that kids still fight on vacation, spouses get in grumpy moods etc. It happens at home but we think the vacation should be perfect and when it doesn't live up to that, we feel very sad.

My one friend says it's a vacation with just the spouse, a trip is with the kids.

 

[juliegirl]

My DD (6 at the time) ruined a day at Cape Cod, I was in tears at lunch. I lost it and and basically told her I wasn't putting up with any more of her treating me like ****.

It was the first time she'd heard me swear and while I am not proud of it, and would not recommend this method to others, she shaped right up.

She tried to make things miserable at WDW April 04, I let her know that her behaviour would NOT be tolerated and that I would be just as happy buying a novel to read in the hotel if that is where she would rather be. That worked too.

 

[annie1995]

Just got back on Saturday from 10 days at WDW. We only did the 4 major parks on 4 days plus MNSSHP one evening. We went to Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, too. My kids re DD9 and DS6. The were awful! They fought over EVERYTHING all week long....most of it really STUPID stuff like who gets to pull a certain suitcase. They would hit each other and really made our magical trip less than magical. There would be good moments then bad ones all week long. We even had magical things happen to us like being chosen as Grand Marshalls of the Halloween Parade and also being chosen to ride Dinosaur as special guests and then a little behind the scenes tour of it. They tended to focus on what we DIDN'T do!

Are you writing about your family or mine??!! My kids did the same stuff our entire trip. When they were not fighting with eachother, they were either sleeping, or we had seperated dad and one kids me and the other. Mine also liked kicking eachother in line because someone cutted, or I want to stand by mom, or be in line first. You name it they fought about it. Our kids are 6 and 10. If you want, drop me an email, it might prove interesting to talk. Who knows, we might learn something from one another!

 

[runner26.2]

I think all of us as parents have been there at one time or another. During our last visit to WDW in 2002 I clearly recall telling DW, "we're never going on a family vacation again." The only issue is how many times a day I said it.

On another holiday I can remember being at the end of my rope in a restaurant and another couple (older whose children would be adults) looked at me smiling and said something to cheer me up. Moments later my DD6 asked who the people were I was talking to and I told them they were her next parents. I explained to DD6 her DS9 and DB3 that when their Mother and I couldn't take it any more they would go live with their next parents. Needless to say eyes got as wide as saucers and attitudes improved ... for a short time.

Even with that we're headed to WDW in 3 weeks and we can't wait.

Someday your kids will appreciate your effort and thank you. You (as I will be) may be living in a padded room and eating all your food through a straw by then but then will thank you.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Phrank40]

We couldn't wait to take our daughter to WDW. I knew she probably needed to be a bit older but finally gave in and when she was around 5 took her on her first rrip. It was a real learning experience, primarily because you find out that your plans may not be her plans and problems arise. Probably the biggest shock was to discover every time we were on a ride she was looking around and asking what were we going to do next. Nothing like waiting an hour to get on Dumbo, the rides starts and she wants to know if we are doing whatever next. Just very frustrating for me that she didn't seem to enjoy what she was doing.

One story - when my daughter was round 8 or 9 we went to the Crystal Palace for dinner after a long day at the Magic Kingdom. I don't know how it is set up now but then I think you could go through a line and get meat and some veggies. Anyhow, everyone was a little tired and grumpy. We got our food and sat down. My daughter looked at her plate of food, looked up and said "My food is touching". My wife reached over, grabbed my daughter's plate, and with her hand pushed one of the veggies onto her plate and the other veggie onto my plate so there was only a chicken breast on my daughter's plate. Then she looks at my daughter and says, emphatically, "Well, they're not touching now". Family joke ever since is if you get a plate of food with things running together you say "My food is touching".

Phrank

 

[PrincessPatty]

Edited

 

[wuv tigger]

Just got back on Saturday from 10 days at WDW. We only did the 4 major parks on 4 days plus MNSSHP one evening.

We just got back from a 7 day trip which ended Sat. too.

My 2 dd's (almost 6 & almost 4) had some very tough days at the parks & at MNSSHP on the 11th! I attribute part of it to the high humidity and the high temps & their LACK of water intake!

I won't say it was horrible ~ OK, it was for part of the trip when the humidity was high! We gave the girls the chance to change attitudes or we left the park. I guess they thought that I was kidding but their sure were shocked when we headed to the "big white ball". I overheard them talking & they said: "Mom sure wasn't kidding, was she"!

I am sorry you had a rough time.

We have decided to take a break from WDW & Orlando. Our next vacation will be in Williamsburg, VA. We don't plan on getting park tickets for Busch Gardens as it will be Spring Break.

We will be getting Patriot Passes or whatever they are called now which will give us unlimited visits to Colonial W'burg. DH went to W'm & Mary. He is looking forward to going back there and showing his girls where he went to school.

Judy

 

[P-Dust]

We are going in Dec. and I am planning to have many bad moments during our 8 day trip. My DD4 already knows how to push my DD6's buttons. DH and I will keep the girls as separated as possible. I took 2 nephews in '94 and 2 nieces in '98. Both times the kids pushed and hit and slapped each other throughout WDW. All you can do is grin and book another trip!!

 

[scorpad99]

OMG you are discribing my family vacations, wait this is my whole life!!! My kids are 15 months apart (one boy one girl) they fight about everything, from what color cup they want, to where they sit in our van (it has 6 seats!) to who opens the door first. I think, (I pray) it gets a little easier and not so much fighting as they get older (8 & 9) We leave for our trip Nov 18th and I`m hoping for a miracle! wish me luck! Sorry your trip was ruined, maybe next time will be better.