what if ......?

[tigger53]

as i sit here excitedly waiting for our best adventure at disney to begin i've begun to have pre-trip worries. like i've been reading these boards faithfully for almost a year and enjoyed all the information and friendliness which added all the more to the anticipation of our upcoming trip, each night i couldn't wait to go on the boards and learn new things and share my thoughts from previous visits. so now , what if because this is our last family trip together as my son and daughter go off into religious vocations and i loose my very dear traveling companions and disney buffs that i end up not wanting to come back to these boards because i'll be in disney withdrawal with no future trips planed. we have been vacationing together in disney for 15 years through good and bad times.disney is home to us and now i feel like i'll be having two empty nests to deal with. i know i must sound a bit off, guess all the excitement has turned my mood a bit melencoly, sorry, i guess i just needed to let it out somewhere. i know this trip will have great memories to look back on and we have been very fortunate to have shared so many together. thanks for all the great tips everyone. i hope to be doing a nice trip report when we get back.

 

[Naisy68]

Please have a safe & VERY magical journey. Take it all one day at a time and enjoy yourself. Do yourself a favor and don't think of it as your last Disney trip together because you never know, right?
I hope that you will report back when you feel up to it. We can wait, we're always here.
God Bless, Renee

 

[swilphil]

Who knows if this will really be your last Disney trip, maybe for a while, but you never know what the future will bring. There are plenty of people who make trips to Disney without kids, so there's that possibility. And you'll definitely have to make several posts upon your return to let us know how your trip was and to lend us your expertise. I think after my last trip I read the boards and posted for several months even though there was no trip on the horizon. And now I'm going back in a week and a half. Enjoy your very special trip.

 

[PrincessofQuiteAlot]

Sherry, if your kids won't/can't go with you, please feel free to call me and I will be happy to plan trips with you and meet you in the World - my family (ok, this is a secret and i'm not sure if i'm even allowed to put this on here) does not like Disney... and I live close by, in Sarasota, and my husband is happy to send me away on trips alone anytime, so, what i'm trying to say is, JUST CALL ME, MY BAGS ARE PACKED AT ALL TIMES FOR THE WORLD!!!

 

[ADisneygirl]

I understand how final it seems now that your kids have plans for their future away from home. I felt like our cruise and Disney trip two summers ago was "my last" with my daughter along, because she was off to college and the dorms, life on her own. I remember feeling so sad and dwelling on the "last" this and the "last" that.

Well, times have changed, its true. But, she still wants to go on vacation with us, she still wants to talk to us frequently, she still looks to us for advice/friendship. And.... she gets VERY upset if we think of going to a WDW vacation during her school time or part time job time! She wants us to plan around her schedule so she can still come!

So, what I am trying to say is that yes, things change, kids grow up in spite of us, but that doesn't mean the "end". It is merely a new kind of beginning and that is how you should think of it.

 

[sue1013]

I remember feeling the same way when my DD was getting ready for college and the "last" trip. All through college she didn't go with us but that was ok I knew she needed to live her own life. 3 yrs ago she got married and we're now planning the 2nd trip with her & her husband. The memories and good times don't leave them forever. Now I'm in the same situation with DS just have to hope its a short break.

 

[MontyMontyMOnty]

I just wanted to add another perspective:
My parents began taking my younger sister and I to WDW (well, just the MK, really in 1977 (I was 7, baby sis was 2). We went together every year until 1993, staying in progressively better/nicer resorts, etc (i.e. from the days in inthe 70's to the poly in the 80s and 90s.). BY 93, we wer "too grownup " to go.

In 1996, I went to WDW for the first time in 3 years, for my honeymoon. I chose it because of all of the wonderful times I had there with my family. I wanted to share our "special" place with dh. This September, we will take our second child there for the first time (I have 2 girls under the age of 2, DD#1 has been twice already)), again, to share this place with them. While dh and I are ap holders, and go 3-4 times a year, our favorite trip is the one we take each year with my parents, sister, and her family.
I just want to say that the trips I took as a child with my parents are so special to me, and are why I am so hooked on wdw now. It is incredible to be able to share that experience with my own kids, and my parents.
Just know that even though your kids might be "too old" or "too cool" to go right now, you have built wonderful memories with them, and I am quite sure you will experience the World" with them in a whole different way as they get older.
HTH, and, as a side note, the world on your own is a blast, I highly reccomend at least one solor trip, or solo day for everyone!

Samantha