Plan your dream adult-only trip...

[thewesterberg]

If you were to go to WDW with your spouse, leaving the kids at home, what would be your must-dos around the parks? What special things would you want to see and do? Plan a kid-free dream vacation! May you've already done this - offer your suggestions too!

My DH just sent me a text that he would really like to go to WDW next year, just the two of us. I've taken our DS on a couple of Mom/Son trips, and I've been able to go to WDW once with a friend for the Expedition Everest 5K and I've been to DLR 3 times during a work conference with friends. I think a trip for just the two of us is overdue! It would be perfect as we're celebrating a milestone anniversary this next year. Yes, DS may be disappointed, but he's had extra trips that DH wasn't able to go on.

 

[PrincessJo]

DH and I have always wanted to be able to get all dressed up and go out for a fancy steak dinner and then walk around EPCOT all gussied up....

We actually planned it for this coming September for my birthday...

Just got off of the phone with the CPA who does our taxes and well... it's NOT good news...

Vacation cancelled... oh well... someday.

I hope everyone else gets to go and have a great time!!

 

[sethschroeder]

As a note there is an Adult and Solo's section of this message board which can help.

First and foremost I would get a room at an epcot resort if possible. (Swan and Dolphin or rent DVC points to make it a little cheaper)
I would plan on a sit-down dinner most nights (little more romantic trip and gives you a break from other peoples kids)
Don't worry about rope drop as there are reasons to stay up late (no need to go into R-rated stuff)
Look at doing things your kids normally wouldn't like (food, rides, experiences...)
I would look to Victoria and Alberts as your really nice dinner
If you stay at the Boardwalk go to the secluded pool in the evening if you happen to come back for a little rest(when we were there it would be empty just the two of us)
Don't go commando on the parks, have plans to get to a couple rides but just go with the flow (allows you to be more relaxed and not so worried about getting form A to B to C to D to E to F to....)

In the end remember the trip is meant to be relaxing to pull the two of you together.

 

[disneyfantotheend]

We are considering doing this. My daughter is 17, and we have never done Disney without her. My DS is 19. He skipped the last trip, because he isn't a big fan anymore. It will kill me to leave my DD behind, but my DH really wants to. I figure we can always take her another time. Thing is we are not as fortunate as some on these boards that go yearly or even more, so that could be quite a ways off.

My dream would be to really stop and smell the roses. See some of the shows and really take in more of the small things in World Showcase. Things that the kids didn't want to do, because they were more into riding. I don't really think we would do fancier meals, because that isn't my thing, but I think we would be a lot more leisurely and relaxed about the time we take to eat.

Can't wait to read others suggestions.

 

[jimandami]

DH and I are going on our 4th adults only trip in 3 weeks! We really just take the time to relax and wander around. We go to a few nice dinners, but otherwise just wing it! Last year we did a monorail crawl, we have seen La Nouba, gone to one of the dine-in movies, and just toured most of the resorts at various times. For this trip, I do have a few FP+ experiences book, but last trip, we were there 7 nights and I think we rode less than 10 rides! One of our favorite things is to go to DTD in the afternoon, and have a drink at the Hole in the Wall bar outside Raglan Road. They have happy hour with cheaper beer and wine, and we just sit and hang out. We have met so many interesting people in that bar!

ETA: Totally agree with renting points for a studio at either BWV or BCV, which is usually about the same price as a moderate. It is so nice to just be able to walk over to Epcot for dinner, or just a stroll around the WS with a drink and a snack.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

In 24 more days, my husband and I will be at WDW for another alone trip, and we can't wait!!! Honestly, it's so nice without the kids, and mine are 22, 18, 14 and 14. We took them last July and stayed at AoA in a Nemo suite for 5 nights.
We try to do an alone trip every once in awhile, because we can take Disney at a much slower pace. We will be staying at the romantic POFQ and are going to be on deluxe dining. We plan on sleeping in every morning (except 1), and planned all of our FP+ for the afternoons. We are going to do a monorail pub crawl, and enjoy 7 days alone with each other at one of the most magical places on earth.
29 trips to Disney World and counting...next stop POFQ March 2014

 

[jimandami]

In 24 more days, my husband and I will be at WDW for another alone trip, and we can't wait!!! Honestly, it's so nice without the kids, and mine are 22, 18, 14 and 14. We took them last July and stayed at AoA in a Nemo suite for 5 nights.
We try to do an alone trip every once in awhile, because we can take Disney at a much slower pace. We will be staying at the romantic POFQ and are going to be on deluxe dining. We plan on sleeping in every morning (except 1), and planned all of our FP+ for the afternoons. We are going to do a monorail pub crawl, and enjoy 7 days alone with each other at one of the most magical places on earth.
29 trips to Disney World and counting...next stop POFQ March 2014

We will be there March 9-16th for our adults only trip!! Just a note on the monorail crawl...it will be down from 11-7 (I think that's right) during the week so you may want to plan accordingly. We had a blast doing this last year!

 

[flicx]

My response to this is a little different than most. I mean no offense ,and I am just offering a little friendly advice. Take your son with you as long as you can. One day he will be too old or may not want to go anymore. Cherish the time in Disney with him while you can. The time is far to short when you see your childs eyes light up at the wonder of the parks. There probably will be plenty of adult trips later! Again I mean no offense!

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Dh and I have been blessed to go twice with just the two of us, the first time for our 10yr anniversary which was before kids and again for our 20yr leaving the kids at home. We are currently planning our 25th which is this November -- cannot wait!

An adults only trip is an absolute BLAST and sooo romantic! It's the perfect chance to play and have fun without any compromises or having to worry if the little ones are happy. I recommend staying at CR as the mood lighting in the rooms is very romantic and so is lounging in the loungers down on the beach by the lake.

Going on all the rides at all the parks, just the two of us was such a special treat. We also went to Blizzard Beach and lounged the whole day and sipped on adult beverages -- LOVED it!

EPCOT WS is awesome for an adult trip. We loved sipping champagne and sharing a cheese plate on a bistro table in France then staying to watch Illuminations.

We also rented a mouse boat one afternoon and went all over in that little boat. It was sooo much fun! On our 10th anniversary we did the Dolphins In Depth program at the Living Seas then ate lunch at Coral Reef -- pretty special to sit there lunching then watch the dolphins swim by -- the same dolphins we had just interacted with all morning.

On our next trip I would like to do a Segway tour, but DH not so much. We'll see about that. Since it is our milestone anniversary and we'll be there on the actual day, we plan on dining at Victoria and Albert's.

Another idea is to order private dining. We did that at GF, we had our own butler waiter and it was very memorable.

The bottom line is this: You will have so much fun reconnecting in your magical surroundings. It's such a treat to be together and not have the interruptions -- just being able to focus on each other and do exactly what the two of you want to do. Some people look at me like I have three heads when I say we spend our milestone anniversaries at DW. LOL! Little do they know what an amazing experience it is!

Have fun planning!

 

[momto3pirates]

My DH and I do an adults only trip each year, but only Disney once. Trips away from the kids help us focus on us. Don't get me wrong, I love traveling with my kids but sometimes I need to be selfish and eat a meal without cutting up anyone elses food.
We had planned on last year at food and wine but ended up with a new baby so that got scrapped. Our ideal trip would be to stay in one of the Epcot resorts and snack our way through food and wine festival booths.
Alas, maybe next year!!

 

[Mrsjvb]

If you were to go to WDW with your spouse, leaving the kids at home, what would be your must-dos around the parks? What special things would you want to see and do? Plan a kid-free dream vacation! May you've already done this - offer your suggestions too!

My DH just sent me a text that he would really like to go to WDW next year, just the two of us. I've taken our DS on a couple of Mom/Son trips, and I've been able to go to WDW once with a friend for the Expedition Everest 5K and I've been to DLR 3 times during a work conference with friends. I think a trip for just the two of us is overdue! It would be perfect as we're celebrating a milestone anniversary this next year. Yes, DS may be disappointed, but he's had extra trips that DH wasn't able to go on.

paying it off now.. trip is in September.

AKL, Club level. full advantage of all the special safari's that only CL get. Deluxe DP., lots of Signature meals( although we don't do character dining any more) we are taking advantage of the Salute to Heroes tickets for a ten day trip( we will each use 2 tickets giving us 8 park days with 2 down days.. probably at least one will be DTD)

as a result we won't be spending 14 hours a day in each park, so we can take our time and just go with the flow.

 

[PSUGuy]

Our first 10 WDW trips were with all three children and their girl/boy friends, the last 5 or 6, just us. With the kids etc we stayed at All Star twice, POR once, the rest at either Swan or Dolphin. I drove the crew 'Commando Style', they didn't resist much, we all enjoyed ropedrop, did all the E Ticket rides, hit the pool and all of us loved the Adventurer;s Club and Comedy Warehouse when the kids were in their late teens.

The offspring are waiting until the grandkids are old enough to enjoy Disney before we all go again. Since we've been on our own we still do ropedrop, still enjoy the thrill rides but we're not really Commando anymore. We switched from the first week in March when the kids and I had Spring Break from college to Oct to do Food & Wine. We Drink Around the World more, people watch from the balcony of the Belle Vue Lounge but that's the only difference. Also, we've stayed at BoardWalk exclusively since ditching the wallet vacuums.

Bill From PA

 

[JanaDee]

I loved going on trips to WDW with just DH and I. We got to concentrate on each other instead of making sure our kids weren't racing off in two different directions.

We spent a lot of our time in World Showcase, exploring every nook and cranny, watching the entertainment, sitting with a drink holding hands and just enjoying being together.

We ate late at nice restaurants (not all that easy with kids) and were able to do what *we* wanted, not what the little people wanted.

You'll have so much fun!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

We will be there March 9-16th for our adults only trip!! Just a note on the monorail crawl...it will be down from 11-7 (I think that's right) during the week so you may want to plan accordingly. We had a blast doing this last year!

We will be doing the bar crawl in the evening after a 7pm dining ressie.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

It's just such a different experience. You can go where you want, when you want, no crying kids, no hearing "I don't want to do that" or "I want that." It's our turn to laugh at the families with screaming, crabby children.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

First, let me preface this by saying as long as our kids are of and age where they love Disney, I could not imagine taking such a trip. Aside from the guilt factor, time alone with my wife is just far too precious to spend in a place filled with thousands of other people's children.

But, IF we did, first and foremost we would attempt to eat our way through Epcot. We would probably spend very little time in MK. We would get much more enjoyment from the shows at DHS. And we'd probably tour AK much the same as we did with the kids (which was pretty much the same as we did before kids). We'd certainly spend time in the water parks just as we do with the kids, but maybe skip some of the things only they enjoy.

 

[GeneralTso]

We've done this several times and it is AWESOME!!!

We've got Disney kids through and through. They are 19-26. All have been to Disneyland and WDW more times than they can count. They still love to go and will join us often.

It is such a different experience going without kids. Different is good.
Other people's kids don't bug you. It's different if you know it's not YOUR kid that needs attention/help/something. You take your time, stroll around, eat what you want when you want, etc.

It's a grand idea. Jump on that and really enjoy yourselves. We cherish our Disney trips that are just the two of us. Soooo romantic.

 

[wiigirl]

We will be doing the bar crawl in the evening after a 7pm dining ressie.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

right back at ya!

 

[jimandami]

We will be doing the bar crawl in the evening after a 7pm dining ressie.

Awesome! Mizner's at GF is great!