Regrets taking too many Disney trips

[QueenIsabella]

Short story We have been going to WDW regularly as it's our favorite vacation destination. A few years back I was lucky to be sent to DL for a conference, so DW and I decided to enjoy DL and then take 9 days to drive up the coast of California. Saw a lot of interesting places and DW and I thought they will be amazed when we went up to see the giant redwoods. At first yes, but then when we would be driving and would say "look at that" we got, "ugh, are we still in the forest" I can definitely say that our DDs would be totally bored in Europe etc. after just a few days and even faster if they spoke a foreign language. We will be doing a trip to DC, because on one trip we stopped there for the night and they said they would like to go back

Really? Bored with the entire continent? I just got back from a trip to Europe with my DS12, and he had the time of his life. His two favorite things were watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night, and the Sistine Chapel. Now, to be fair, I left him home from last year's trip to Italy, and I told him it was because I didn't think he'd be open-minded and mature enough on the trip. So, on this year's Europe trip, he made an extra effort to try new foods and new experiences. It really worked well. And the language barrier was much less than you might think--most people speak at least some English. Now, I wouldn't be in a rush to take a 7yo--on our tour, there was an 8yo, and she was a trooper, but she did have some trouble with all the walking. Still, she and her family had a lot of fun.

 

[disny_luvr]

I don’t regret our trips to Disney, but I agree that there are so many other places in the country (and world) to visit.

My boys just took their 7th trip to Disney and have been on three Disney cruises. While I know many people - kids included - (especially here on the DIS) have visited Disney many more times than my boys, I do feel like it is time to explore other places. Don’t get me wrong, my boys have been to many other places - NYC, Chicago, DC, Philly, Boston, and several beaches to name a few, but they are at the age now where I feel we should really be spreading our wings and seeing what the rest of the country has to offer. Last summer we took a family vacation to Ogunquit, ME and Acadia National Park. I was actually nervous for that trip because I thought my boys would be bored - there would be no rides to ride, cities to explore, beaches to visit (with water temps above 60 degrees) - and they absolutely loved it. In fact, they both ask me all the time when we are going to go back to Maine. It took that trip to open my eyes and realize there is more in the world than Disney and we can make great family memories at places other than Disney.

Next year we are planning a trip out West to visit some of the national parks. We are really excited for this trip as it is something new for all of us.

I love Disney so much and am sad to not be visiting next year, but am looking forward to seeing some new places. We are going to go back to Disney in 2020 so I do have that to look forward to.

 

[MommaBerd]

I posted up thread, but I had (to me) an “a-ha!” moment. I think there is a difference between vacation and travel. Vacation *could* involve traveling to other places, but I generally view vacation as something relaxing and a way to get away from everything, or disengage from the world for a while (e.g. beach, mountain, Disney). Whereas travel involves more learning experiences - new food, new culture, new language, history, art. It is much more cerebral and involves engaging with the world.

Rarely do we criticize people for going to the beach or lake or mountains, or even cruises, every year. Disney parks fall into that same category to me. Disney parks *may* be a more expensive trip, but it still serves the same purpose. So, if we ask ourselves if we have regrets over too many Disney trips, we should ask if our friends who have been to the beach every year for the past 20 years regret those trips?

 

[quandrea]

I posted up thread, but I had (to me) an “a-ha!” moment. I think there is a difference between vacation and travel. Vacation *could* involve traveling to other places, but I generally view vacation as something relaxing and a way to get away from everything, or disengage from the world for a while (e.g. beach, mountain, Disney). Whereas travel involves more learning experiences - new food, new culture, new language, history, art. It is much more cerebral and involves engaging with the world.

Rarely do we criticize people for going to the beach or lake or mountains, or even cruises, every year. Disney parks fall into that same category to me. Disney parks *may* be a more expensive trip, but it still serves the same purpose. So, if we ask ourselves if we have regrets over too many Disney trips, we should ask if our friends who have been to the beach every year for the past 20 years regret those trips?

I say this all the time. I traveled the world in my twenties and when the kids were babies (they are free and portable!), but now that I’m older, I’m looking to vacation more. We have dvc and I always say that it’s our lake house. Disney is a guaranteed good time, it’s relaxing, but I still get to be busy when I want to. We still head to other places occasionally, but with our family of five Disney is actually our affordable destination. Just a place to get away to relax.

 

[MommaBerd]

I say this all the time. I traveled the world in my twenties and when the kids were babies (they are free and portable!), but now that I’m older, I’m looking to vacation more. We have dvc and I always say that it’s our lake house. Disney is a guaranteed good time, it’s relaxing, but I still get to be busy when I want to. We still head to other places occasionally, but with our family of five Disney is actually our affordable destination. Just a place to get away to relax.

Yes to the bolded! A great vacation home and guaranteed good time, even if we don’t go to the parks!

 

[katyjeka]

We have no regrets but have taken several breaks away from WDW in the last ten years. I will admit I was a little surprised when our kids picked their favorite vacations and Disney was not on the list. As a matter of fact their favorite to date was a trip to Southern New Mexico to White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns. This trip was very inexpensive and very low key.. They enjoy WDW and we will continue to visit but will make sure we do other things. Our three week road trip to California was awesome(although friends thought we were crazy to drive so far)and this trip started our love for National Parks. I don't believe in regrets and am thankful for every trip regardless of the destination. Disney is very expensive but we will continue to visit although a lot of our trips are now split to allow time to go other places.

 

[entirelysplendid]

I posted up thread, but I had (to me) an “a-ha!” moment. I think there is a difference between vacation and travel. Vacation *could* involve traveling to other places, but I generally view vacation as something relaxing and a way to get away from everything, or disengage from the world for a while (e.g. beach, mountain, Disney). Whereas travel involves more learning experiences - new food, new culture, new language, history, art. It is much more cerebral and involves engaging with the world.

Rarely do we criticize people for going to the beach or lake or mountains, or even cruises, every year. Disney parks fall into that same category to me. Disney parks *may* be a more expensive trip, but it still serves the same purpose. So, if we ask ourselves if we have regrets over too many Disney trips, we should ask if our friends who have been to the beach every year for the past 20 years regret those trips?

Yes! I was trying to explain this exact view to someone a few weeks ago --- you said it so well.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

My first trip to Europe was when I was 13 and had I gone any earlier I doubt I would have appreciated it much, but that was just me. We’re taking the boys to Barcelona and London this Fall, and DCL to Alaska next Summer. It’s important to me that they experience new places but the way they experience them will be different than when I was backpacking in my 20s. More natural history museums, zoos and aquariums, less art galleries and old churches. I think if you take your kids ages and personalities into consideration almost any destination can be a great success. On the bucket list for the next few years: Arizona Nat’l parks, Iceland, and Tanzanian safari. And WDW again in 2020!

 

[paisleys]

Like many of you, we spent years going to Disney every year, usually for a week or so. We stayed offsite in our early years, moved to moderate later on and mostly deluxe or Swan in recent years. Most of these years we also spent a low cost week in Maine that was very relaxing. DD, now all grown and married, loved these trips and many of these included grandparents, all of whom she adored.

Now that we are empty nesters, we are traveling abroad and the fact hasn't escaped us that some of our past Disney trips cost as much as our trips to London and Paris. Our DD would have loved to have seen these places but we always assumed Europe was out of reach. We also got into a Disney rut and didn't take her other places in the U.S. until she was in high school. In retrospect, we should have gone to Disney less and explored other places while DD was growing up.

Here's my question. Does anyone else regret taking too many Disney trips and wish they had gone other places with their kids?

I regret taking too many Disney trips BEFORE kids! We had a lot of fun and great memories but probably should have gone to Europe while we had the chance. DVC and FL resident passes just made it too enticing after just buying our first home and finishing school. I don't regret taking our girls often since they were 3 weeks old (thank you, Hurricane Wilma--WDW was a great place to 'evacuate' to, even with infants). We spent a lot of those early trips not going on many rides but enjoying the beautiful grounds. It's definitely our happy place, there is a lot of variety of things to do. I grew up going with my family for two weeks each year and it was pretty much the only time we got to spend time with our father, who was always working. I have my happiest memories of him from those vacations.
We vacation in NYC each year too. I feel less crowded and stressed in NYC than WDW these days. We are taking a break from WDW for awhile though and hoping to take the kids to Europe over the next few years before they leave for college. Even with passes and DVC we usually spend a fortune on these little WDW jaunts!

 

[mco65]

No regrets! We have consistently gone to Disney on an annual basis since the kids were born and we went more than once a year when they were just toddlers. Since they have gotten older, my wife has taken them to California, NY and Mexico plus overseas to Greece and Italy. We will take a Disney trip every year but wife also takes the kids on a cruise, international trip and a domestic trip every year as well. I think we are fortunate to have gone to Disney as many times as we have and blessed that Disney is not our only destination.

 

[kcp1377]

No regrets here at all! We do a fair bit of traveling around thanks to our RV, but air travel is just too expensive right now so we're sticking with places we can drive to. We have a pretty long bucket list going and while I would love to go abroad, there will be a time for that as the kids get older. Right now we're just doing things as a family as much as we can and Disney is a great place for us to relax and get away. The other places we go to are more travel destinations with new foods, places to see, museums, etc... (we typically do 3 longer week-long+ vacations a year plus long weekends throughout). Disney is the one place we go to that we don't have to think about - it's just easy. Kids love it, we love it, what's to regret?

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

My parents used to take us to Disney every year around Christmas as a day trip while visiting my grandparents who lived in Florida. Unfortunately, it was always during the busiest times and this was before the invention of fast pass. We ended up getting sick of Disney and asking to skip it by the time we were in middle school. My parents' budget for Christmas gifts improved a lot once we stopped going to the parks. I took my own kids last Sept and we will be there again this Dec, but then we're going to wait 2.5 years and come back for the 50th anniversary. After that I think Disney will be in a 3 year rotation.

 

[Ashley Marie]

My youngest is only 3, and we have considered having one more child, so I’d prefer to wait to travel abroad as a family. Not because we couldn’t handle babies/toddlers somewhere other than Disney, but because I’d like the whole family to be at stages where they can really take in those trips — since it’s unlikely we would repeat them often as we do with Disney vacations. So I have no regrets (yet).

But also, yeah, going to Disney with little ones is second nature to us at this point. We know the hotels and parks so well. It’s easy to plan. There’s no wondering whether they’ll have fun. There’s no guilt if we need to take it easy and miss things because we know we will be back.

In this season of our lives, it just makes sense. For now, our travel includes Disney and road trips going to visit Grandma out of state (and doing local fun things there).

 

[Hope Soda]

Hubby won't fly unless he has to for work (he's mad at both TSA and crappy airlines), so we're stuck visiting places to which we can drive. That generally means we go to Disney or a beach. We love hiking in the mountains, but the kids do not care for it so much. If we could fly overseas, there's a long list of places we'd want to go. However, I don't plan to take the kids out of the country by myself, so we'll stick to Disney for now since we all enjoy those trips. My husband and I are less keen on beaches than are the kids, but we try to take them at least once a year, frequently combined with a Disney trip since the gulf coast is nice.

 

[RLGNC]

I think there are pros and cons to either style, and both are totally fine, it's a matter of preference. My parents hate change - even positive change. They still stay in the same (now rather run-down) beach condo that we started renting thirty years ago, and they have never missed a year, they have never so much as changed the week in the summer that they go! We've begged them to just find a nicer, newer, place but even that small tradition they just can't break. So our holiday traditions, vacations, and general schedule ran like absolute clockwork when I was a kid (Disney was every three years.)


I don't regret that at all - I've never looked back on my childhood and thought "If only we'd gone abroad!". It made it that much more special for me when I was able to earn my own money and experience that kind of thing on my own. I sometimes miss the feeling I had in my 20s and early 30s, because in a way, my exposure to the larger world had been rather limited, so it made every new thing seem absolutely just magical, like discovering a whole new world. It may well have been just as magical if I'd experienced it when I was younger, but I also think the deep sense of predictability and routine in our traditions were special in their own way. My siblings and I really, really got to know the places that we went, we created our own traditions, and we anticipated every step of the routine every year because, well, it never changed!


I think it's sort of like deciding how many toys you want kids to have. There is value in them having a few cherished things and learning to find creative new ways to play with them; there is value in them having a wider variety of toys that they can explore and learn from. I think whatever you choose, there will be those moments when the grass looks greener on the road not taken, but they both have their own special magic.

I love this post. Especially the part about you and your siblings getting to know where you went and creating your own traditions. This is definitely the case for our annual beach trip...we call it our 2nd home. And Disney our 3rd home although we go much less frequently and probably won't be back for a while. We're toying with the idea of an international trip next.

And every minute we spend there is time we’re together and focused on having fun together, and that’s what’s important no matter where you spend your vacation.

Yes!!!

 

[rlk]

We started taking our two boys to Disney when the older one was five and the younger one was almost three. After our first three trips, we bought into DVC. I have never regretted our decision.

Once our kids were preteens, we started going to other destinations outside the USA. We waited until they were older and would appreciate learning about other cultures. Disney will always be on our radar too, just not every year or even every other year. Since we are DVC members, we know we will always go back.

 

[Marionnette]

Our Disney trips were never taken at the expense of other travel. The kids have had the opportunity to vacation in a number of U.S. and foreign cities with lots of exposure to local culture. I don't regret any of those trips, Disney or otherwise.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Like many of you, we spent years going to Disney every year, usually for a week or so. We stayed offsite in our early years, moved to moderate later on and mostly deluxe or Swan in recent years. Most of these years we also spent a low cost week in Maine that was very relaxing. DD, now all grown and married, loved these trips and many of these included grandparents, all of whom she adored.

Now that we are empty nesters, we are traveling abroad and the fact hasn't escaped us that some of our past Disney trips cost as much as our trips to London and Paris. Our DD would have loved to have seen these places but we always assumed Europe was out of reach. We also got into a Disney rut and didn't take her other places in the U.S. until she was in high school. In retrospect, we should have gone to Disney less and explored other places while DD was growing up.

Here's my question. Does anyone else regret taking too many Disney trips and wish they had gone other places with their kids?

Regret it, no - but that's because Disney is not our only reason for going to Florida. We have several family members there, and combine visits with them and trips to Disney or Universal (usually alternating years). Repeat Disney trips have been the right decision for our family for a long time.

But if we didn't have family there, I do think I would have spaced the trips out a little more and added in a few other destinations. - We still would have been big Disney fans, though! It was definitely not a "one and done" for us, and I do like the comfort of returning to a familiar place.

 

[Gwenfeli]

Right now we are in a streak where we go to Disney every year. We really enjoy it the last few years. At this time our annual trips to Disney are usually cheaper than it would cost to take them anywhere overseas or on cruises. We also often combine it to visit family and friends in Florida.

Since I am a teacher I am stuck at going during vacation time and stuck paying the higher prices. Our average for a one week Disney trip including absolutely everything on property is usually less than $3000 for a family of 4. Most of the time that is cheaper than any of the other trips I priced out.(I know there are many interesting places here in the US as well but I grew up in Europe and traveled a lot around the world and would love to share those things with my family as well)

When they were younger (and the airplane tickets were still cheaper) we took them to different places and a cruise. My older DD has been with us to the Bahamas, Italy and Germany. Both DDs have been to Canada and Mexico.
We also often get visitors from Europe and then do some small road trips with them and explore US cities. This year we went all around the Atlanta area for one and to South Carolina/Charleston for another.
We are planning to go back to Europe next year to visit probably Ireland (cheapest to fly into), France (yes, I am considering Euro Disney -I have been there but no one else from my family ), Germany and/or maybe Spain. Even with friends and family we can visit there, it will obviously cost more than $3000.

 

[DLgal]

I still haven't been to Europe. I do want to go, eventually, but feel no pressing need to take my kids there. They do NOT enjoy just sightseeing and being in new places. They also absolutely would NOT be able to handle the long flights. So no, no regrets. We have been to several states with them and visited major cities like NYC, Washington DC (lived there for a few years) and we live in CA so they have been to San Francisco, LA, San Diego, etc. We went to Hershey Park and Williamsburg, went to Boston, went on a cruise to the Bahamas (Disney).

As a family, we are creatures of habit and like to repeat things. We do what we find fun and desirable NOW and don't think too much about the future and what we might regret down the road. Everything has its time and place. We will get to other places when the time is right.