Something Really Sad Happened

[Cee]

Here's the thing, at least for our family, the kids grew out of it and then BACK INTO IT.

We just had a fantastic family vacation with all the kids who are now 24, 26 and 28. Periodically, my DS(26) will email me and say, "Hey Mom, I'm ready to go back to Disney whenever you are." And then I get to planning.....

 

[JasonDVC]

I guess I'm on the other end of the spectrum...We have our first child who is only 10 months old and we are going on our first trip with her in April. I still have those years of seeing WDW thorugh her eyes ahead of me.

 

[Disneypubgal]

When I bought in to DVC I did it for me and my wife. Sure the kids have gotten to come with us for the past few years. But I know that soon enough we will be going by oursleves and I look forward to that. There will be a period of time before the grand kids start showing up that the wife and I will be able to vacation more often because we will require a smaller unit that will be less points. Is it wrong to think like that.

NO WAY!! Bought my DVC while I was single and enjoyed then and after I married my husband... Daughter came along ... she is now 4... love going with her but missing visits with just me and the hubby... couples vacations are very different from family ones! Although both are enjoyable in there own way. HAVE A GREAT TIME!

 

[nickspace]

Here's the thing, at least for our family, the kids grew out of it and then BACK INTO IT.

We just had a fantastic family vacation with all the kids who are now 24, 26 and 28. Periodically, my DS(26) will email me and say, "Hey Mom, I'm ready to go back to Disney whenever you are." And then I get to planning.....

Thats encouraging. Thanks!!!

 

[skylynx]

DH and I have two sets of Disney experiences...the ones where we take the kids (now teenagers) and the ones where we go on our own. We also have gone on Disney cruises with and without the kids, and again, they are two separately wonderful experiences.

When we take the kids to WDW, we leverage DS 14 to be the fast pass "runner". At Epcot, we spend time in Innoventions. We go on Test Track over and over and over. We pin trade at DTD. We ride Space Mountain at MK during the parade. We watch Wishes from wherever we are at the time. We luxuriate in a one bedroom or even a Treehouse!

When we go without the kids, we get a studio, spend time in Epcot watching the fountain show, ride Test Track once, take a slow walk around World Showcase, drink a beer or two in Germany and the UK. At MK we let our inner children loose and ride everything. We watch the parades. We queue up in advance for a good spot to watch Wishes.

I feel the same way about the Disney Store...now my kids get similar thrills from Disney Quest and the stores at DTD that sell cool, off-beat Tshirts. They didn't have pin trading when they were little, so they do it now. Disney stuff transcends age...when Dumbo and Princess stuff start to lose their appeal, something else like Kingdom Hearts will take its place.

We love our trips with the kids, doing family stuff, and enjoying the teenagers shedding their teen coolness to dig in Dinoland. We also love our 7 day adult cruises, dressing up, drinking wine on our verandah.

Plus, as several people have commented, if there are grandkids, it starts all over again. And isn't that wonderful?

 

[Grumpygrandpa]

It all starts over when the DGC come! I have gotten 3 in the last 2.5 years and 1 of them, Lexi, LOVES our paintings done by Larry Dotson and she is 4 months old! OH YA we are very excited about her! Shawn

I think it is even better as a grandparent. You know how precious each Disney vacation moment is and you tend not stress about the unimportant things.

Of course you know why grandkids and grandparents have such close relationships.....They share a common enemy. JK

 

[disneyaggies]

It was really strange booking a Christmas trip and when they asked how many kids.....I said none! All 6 adults. But honestly I think it is going to be the best trip ever!

 

[LindaBabe]

Too Bad. the Disney store USED to be where I got my between trip disney fix, and I aways bought tons there including clothes. Now, It's not worth the bother of going in. WDW on the other hand was made for kids like ME and my spouse YOU may miss your kids, but the world will be wonderful anyway, just different.

 

[nickspace]

Too Bad. the Disney store USED to be where I got my between trip disney fix, and I aways bought tons there including clothes. Now, It's not worth the bother of going in. WDW on the other hand was made for kids like ME and my spouse YOU may miss your kids, but the world will be wonderful anyway, just different.

Your right! The Disney Store just doesn't do it for me either. I wonder why it lost its magic?

 

[jelliott04]

We are DVC owners and are going on our first trip as a couple in May and are wondering if we are going to have the same feeling when we walk through the Magic kingdom without them.

Our kids are 4 and 9 and we went a couple years ago for a few days kid-free. It was two sided for us. There was definitely something missing...some sparkle that the kids bring that we just could not conjure by ourselves. BUT it was nice being there without kids too. No cranky kids (not counting DH), no cutting someone else's food while mine gets cold...no extra trips to the bathroom when we didn't have to go etc. Plus we were able to ride the rides together which we hadn't done since the now 4 year old was born.

Definitely something missing without the kids though.

Jen

 

[nickspace]

Our kids are 4 and 9 and we went a couple years ago for a few days kid-free. It was two sided for us. There was definitely something missing...some sparkle that the kids bring that we just could not conjure by ourselves. BUT it was nice being there without kids too. No cranky kids (not counting DH), no cutting someone else's food while mine gets cold...no extra trips to the bathroom when we didn't have to go etc. Plus we were able to ride the rides together which we hadn't done since the now 4 year old was born.

Definitely something missing without the kids though.

Jen

It will be nice to ride the rides with my wife again!

 

[nunzia]

Your right! The Disney Store just doesn't do it for me either. I wonder why it lost its magic?

Interesting on this...at the Expo we went to a presentation by the Disney Store president (and for some reason they booked him in the HUGE venue and stuck the Imagineers in a tiny venue..I think they learned a thing or two about the fans...I digress) and he explained the whole big 'change' for the stores as 'make it the best hour of a child's day'. OK. So basically he told us that they were gearing the stores to age 0-12 (you could actually hear the groans). They are essentially giving up on anything adult for the stores, but of course told us of all the great stuff online (and they do have some pretty cool stuff online). IMO this is really a huge mistake. If they had GOOD stuff, better quality and creativity in the stores then maybe they could compete with Walmart, but when you can get identical stuff there for cheaper, it's a losing battle. He explained that they just couldn't be all things to all people in such small stores and I see that, but I think the focus maybe should have been on the unique and trendy, not on the same stuff you can get at the Dollar Store or Walmart.
We all left very disappointed (and a little shocked at the $90.00 costumes in the fashion show that were, yes, a cut above Walmart and very pretty, but not worth the extra $60 compared to the Walmart style)

 

[pickles]

For as many stores Disney has at WDW , they certainly can have a store bettered geared for adults. They certainly could have the cheap stuff store and the quality stuff store etc..

They try and have some of these things, but they stick the same garbage in all of them, so it becomes "same stuff , different name store"

I get very frustrated trying to find sweatshirts without hoods and of a decent quality. Not all of us live in FL, some of us live with the cold and like to wear sweatshirts and dont need a hood when wearing one inside! The sweatshirts they have any more seem so flimsy and not worth the $35 price tag.

 

[sdemore]

We just returned from our first trip alone without kids. It was wonderful. Of course when you first get there you will have some sentimental memories at MK but that gets replaced with the wonderful feeling of being alone and doing exactly what you feel like-long leisurely dinners, have that extra glass of wine. You don't have to stake out places way in advance so the kids can see because you won't mind not having an ideal view, or even better you can skip things like the parades altogether like we did with the exception of Spectromagic and we were content with last minutes spots to see this. Then you can do things like Jungle Cruise and RARR in the dark with little or no wait! Take some glow stick items for any unhappy campers you see and be grateful that you don't need to take yours back to a hotel and stay some extra hours or leave early and go back to relax if that's what you feel like doing. Remember, we may be getting older but I can still be a and DH still wants to be a !

 

[babster462]

Our kids are older with our youngest now 15 and way too cool to vacation with his parents. We make 3 trips per year- 2 with just my husband and me and 1 with the whole family. Although our trip with the whole family is a lot of fun, it is also totally exhausting trying to keep up with them. When we go alone it is just such a wonderful relaxing trip. We get to sleep in, go to what park we want to see, eat where and when we want and if we want to come back to the resort and just lay by the pool, we can. We love our trips without the kids but we also look forward to the 1 trip per year where we go as a family too!! The bottom line is your love for Disney will prevail no matter what.

 

[jelliott04]

Interesting on this...at the Expo we went to a presentation by the Disney Store president (and for some reason they booked him in the HUGE venue and stuck the Imagineers in a tiny venue..I think they learned a thing or two about the fans...I digress) and he explained

What is the Expo?????

Jen

 

[btrim]

My DH and I are empty nesters and we are DVC owners. We love going by ourselves. The wonder when you walk into the MK or any of the parks is still there. Then we we take our kids and grandkids, we relax and help out with the little ones. It is just the best way to vacation. If you are like the two of us, the wonder will always be there just in a different way.

 

[Paticake]

We loved bringing our kids,We loved going by ourselves, we loved going with adult kids, we were there in July 2010 with our kids and the first trip for our 2 grandsons. We love all trips!!!!! We are going in May with grandson#2 (he's 16 months) and his mom and dad, also DVC members and again the week after Thanksgiving same cast again. Our DD, DSIL are both teachers so we go with them in July. Next trip with them 2011 with grandson # 1 who is 2 1/2 and granddaughter who is 6 days old. You'll love every trip for different reasons. Even before the grandchildren were born I would always go into the Disney store just to get my fix.

 

[nunzia]

What is the Expo?????

Jen

This was the D23 Expo last September in Anaheim..no news yet on if there will be one this year but it was amazing..not be missed..D23 is the first official Disney sanctioned fan club. The Expo was a huge convention they put on. They held nothing back..it was a terriffic experience (and not just because Johnny Depp was there in full Pirate regalia)

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Nick
Just think of all the things you and your wife can do together. Think of all the adult things you can do. You may not have the same spark/excitement as you did with the kids but it will be a different kind of feeling.