What now?

[BLAMBKY]

We can not do WDW every year- not enough $$$- although I would love too! My question is: How do you begin to find a place for the vacation that follows WDW? Nothing excites me. Beach trip sounds nice but kids like to keep busy and DH doesn't enjoy the beach for more than a couple days. We use our timeshare to cut down on lodging expenses, so we can not hop around areas. Any thoughts/ideas?

 

[Mom loves Disney]

I know the feeling. We have tried several things for the between trips. We have a hard time not being disappointed. We did Kentucky Kingdom in Aug. and we were so disappointed. I refused to say anything for fear my husband would say I was comparing the two. (WDW and Kentucky Kingdom) We bought 2 day tickets and stayed at the new Holiday Inn and my husband said the first day this was a mistake. LOL (I did not have to say anything, he did)
I hope somone can give some suggestions.

 

[Mom loves Disney]

I forgot to add we do like the beach too. But I also like something besides just going to sit at the beach for more than a few days.

 

[MaryKLady]

We can not do WDW every year- not enough $$$- although I would love too! My question is: How do you begin to find a place for the vacation that follows WDW? Nothing excites me. Beach trip sounds nice but kids like to keep busy and DH doesn't enjoy the beach for more than a couple days. We use our timeshare to cut down on lodging expenses, so we can not hop around areas. Any thoughts/ideas?

Beach is good. I understand, I loose interest after a day or so. My Mom has a condo at the beach and people think I'm nuts becauae we'll go to the beach maybee three times in ten days....I don't like to be hot

We're a timeshare family, so my vote is always timeshare. Where is your timeshare? Can you trade it for somewhere else? How about renting it and taking the $ and using it for your vacation.

You always could wait until Disney does free dining in the fall, book a value resort and drive there...just a thought.

 

[Miss LD]

We can't afford WDW every year either.
Our family really loves going to Vermont. It seems kind of opposite to Disney (except the Ben & Jerry's factory!) but I think it's fun because it is so opposite and so quiet and we can relax. I think it's hard to go another place that is an amusement park because we'd end up comparing.
we've found lots of great deals around the Stowe area and also lots of free/cheap stuff.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We love WDW, but we've only been there twice. There are just so many other places we want to visit with our vacation time and $$$. In the past several years, we have taken the family to WDW (once), cruised to Alaska, cruised to Mexico (Disney cruise w/Disneyland first), visited DH's family in Denver (twice), Lake Tahoe (once a year - parent's cabin is free!), Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Portland (all for DH's conventions), Northern Calif., Southern Calif. (Disneyland and other places many times), New Orleans, Carribean cruise and the list could go on. Next summer, we're off to Anaheim again for a convention/Disneyland visit. We can do Disneyland often because we can drive and it's relatively inexpensive. The summer of 2010, we're planning an east coast trip to New York, Philidelphia and Washington DC so the kids can experience some historic places. We would love to take more cruises.

We don't want to limit our vacations to Disney when there's a whole world to explore! There must be some places in your region that would be fun and easy to visit. And we try not to compare every theme park to Disney. Nothing will measure up and every place has it's own unique atmosphere and merits.

 

[Polkastria]

Hi,
I live here in Las Vegas and they have quite a few time shares that you maybe able to trade for or whatever...Don't have a time share so I don't know how they work.

Anyway, thanks to the hit that Vegas has taken due to the economy they are offering some really good discounts to get folks out here. And then you can have a few Cirque shows to choose from if you like them at DW and plenty of food and shopping.

It's best if you have older kids but I see a lot of folks with younger kids out here all the time. It's hard to be bored here, unless you live here of course, but the roller coasters are pretty expensive...I haven't even been on them and I love roller coasters. Found out they wanted me to pay $12 dollars for one ride and said I don't think so.

If you get a rental car you can see Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon or Head out to Area 51 if that's more your thing.

And we have quite a few of the Disney restaurants Rainforest Cafe...Wolfgang Puck....

Anyway, it isn't a place people think about for family trips like Disney World but you may be able to get a really good deal right now.

 

[HeatherC]

How about a cruise? You can find some awesome deals on cruises. The food is usually very good, the activities are so many that you can't possibly do them all. Entertainment is included. Kids would have a ball.


Here are some sites to look at for pricing: www.cheapertravel.com,
www.travelzoo.com.

Have fun planning your next getaway!

 

[jellybeans0607]

We love Great Wolf Lodge. We try to go there once a year and disney once every other year.
In june of 2009 it will be an off year for disney. We are talking about going to Cedar point and staying at a Great wolf Lodge.

 

[BLAMBKY]

Thanks for all the responses.
Ky Kingdom?! Worked there many years- not even close but I know there is NOTHING that will compare. I am more interested in keeping the kids from asking, What are going to do now? We live a very NON BUSY life. We enjoy staying VERY BUSY during vacation. WDW fits nicely. We have done AZ and stayed busy. We also spent MORE than doing WDW.

Vegas I have been there. People can say whay they want but it is NOT a place that I would ever take my children. I know that some think that you can just avoid certain areas but what about just getting from point A to point B? I was given (and tried to be given MULTIPLE times after that first time) the cards for certain kind of clubs. Thanks but NO. They were just x rated business cards.

Cruises are fun but it is hard to pass up $120 exchange for a week in a NICE condo.

Vermont? Interesting, will check into it for sure! What is the weather like in first part of October? We take our vacation during Fall school break. We could wait until Spring break but then we would be 1 1/2 year from last vacation.

Thanks again!

 

[jellybeans0607]

Vermont? Interesting, will check into it for sure! What is the weather like in first part of October? We take our vacation during Fall school break. We could wait until Spring break but then we would be 1 1/2 year from last vacation.

Thanks again!

The weather is very cool. But you would get to see some great foliage. If you wait till Nov you could ski.

 

[BLAMBKY]

Timeshare is in Orlando . We have used it only once- we like trying new resorts. I do not think that we can rent it. (I'll have to double check for sure.) Not sure if we could handle sharing a regualr hotel room w/kids . We are so used to having 2bed/2 bathrooms and plenty of room to spread out. Staying in hotel to/from WDW made me consider this aspect.

Beach is good. I understand, I loose interest after a day or so. My Mom has a condo at the beach and people think I'm nuts becauae we'll go to the beach maybee three times in ten days....I don't like to be hot

We're a timeshare family, so my vote is always timeshare. Where is your timeshare? Can you trade it for somewhere else? How about renting it and taking the $ and using it for your vacation.

You always could wait until Disney does free dining in the fall, book a value resort and drive there...just a thought.

 

[worm761]

What about Nashville? There is tons to do there. Washington DC but I think that is more expensive than disney. We are planning a trip to Arkansas to the Diamond mines to dig for diamonds. They also have a water park that is all of $5 to get into. Not huge but fun for the kids. Another trip we have planned is North Carolina. We are going to do the state zoo because I loved it as a child. Then we are going to go to Gem Mountain to find some rocks and possible a trip to sliding rock. How old are your kids? That might help us give you suggestions. My DS is 12. He likes rocks which is why we are planning the rock finding trips. Herkimer NY you can walk and find herkimer diamonds (not real diamonds) and there is a ton to do all over the state of New York.

 

[tzolkin]

We love Great Wolf Lodge. We try to go there once a year and disney once every other year.
In june of 2009 it will be an off year for disney. We are talking about going to Cedar point and staying at a Great wolf Lodge.

I was going to suggest this as well. It's not like a Disney trip, but we really enjoyed it. We went for one night last September and have booked a night in November. If you have a smaller family than we do, you can get a room for about $199 which includes two days in the water park.

We went to Disney in May and that was our first real family vacation (DH & I never went on vacations when we were kids, so it was literally our first). We just do a few day trips here and there, visit family, a very occasional over night somewhere. Of course, now that we've been to Disney we all really want to go back. We are planning a trip for next fall.

I don't mean to seem rude, but if someone can't afford a trip to Disney (where they seem to really want to go) why would they spend their money on a vacation somewhere else (like Grand Canyon or a Cruise)? Those trips would be nice (I hope to do both one day with my family), but I think those trips would actually be more expensive than a Disney trip (which OP can't afford this year). Personally, we wouldn't go on another vacation in between so that we could save our money for the next Disney trip. Maybe a few inexpensive things like camping or day trips would be fun family time while saving up for the Disney trip we really want.

 

[mickeygaga]

I feel the same as the op. We have done Disney for the last 8 years. I tell myself that there is so much more to see and we should try to experience other parts of the country. We have been to Branson, Wisconsin dells, Arizona, skiing and staying at the Great Wolf lodge in Michigan, Cedar Point in Ohio as well as Put-in-bay, Downtown Chicago weekends, Macinaw Island, and many other waterparks, but I can honestly say that I never feel the same on these vacations as I do at Disney. I tease my husband when he says we should try to see other places-I tell him to go to Epcot.

 

[HeatherC]

Williamsburg? There are tons of timeshares there and plenty to keep everyone busy. Beautiful area too.

 

[MaryKLady]

Timeshare is in Orlando . We have used it only once- we like trying new resorts. I do not think that we can rent it. (I'll have to double check for sure.) Not sure if we could handle sharing a regualr hotel room w/kids . We are so used to having 2bed/2 bathrooms and plenty of room to spread out. Staying in hotel to/from WDW made me consider this aspect.

We've never actually used our timeshare . It's in the Berkshires in MA, lots of outdoor stuff to do. We've traded to Williamsburg, VA; McGaynesville, VA; Orlando, FL; a couple of others I can't think of and will be going to HI in Feb. All the places were nice.

Massanutten in McGaynesville, VA was great. They have a waterpark that blows Great Wolf out of the water! It's not nearly as expensive either. Tons of pools, indoor and outdoor, playgrounds, tennis and lots of scheduled activities. My DD5 LOVED the candy bar bingo. I would look into going there. We trade with RCI and you can only go there every 4 years. We liked it so much we almost bought there. But one can only take so much time off work . Anywho, here's the link... http://www.massresort.com/

 

[marcyinPA]

We did a cruise this year. When I was planning it, I kept thinking "This won't be like Disney" but once on the cruise, we had a blast!! We went with friends of ours, and that made it more fun. We did NCL to the Bahamas. I'd do a cruise again in a heartbeat (after we do Disney again, of course!)

 

[BLAMBKY]

Thanks for the great ideas everyone and for your input.
We are leaning towards Virginia Beach or Myrtle Beach. DH is not wild about the beach during the day but (I'm hoping) that he will enjoy it early a.m. or during sunsets.
We have done Williamsburg. It was a great trip!!! It is right up there w/AZ. Still in my heart nothing does compare to Disney. I am going to just be very patient and eagerly look forward to going back for my 40th birthday.