What your parents did wrong that you now do right?

[Tonyz]

My parents were pretty good when it came to Disney vacations (they introduced me to the Adventurer's Club so I'm forever grateful) but there was one major thing I'd say they did "wrong":

SLOW DOWN!

We were always rushing around the parks. Get there before rope drop, run to Space Mountain, then run to Buzz, then run to Big Thunder...

This was fine the first couple times we went since we wanted to do everything we could, but after that it started getting quite annoying. In fact, that's what started my "slump" during my late teens of wanting nothing to really do with Disney. Only when I realized that there was more to this place than just rides did I get my love for it back (and actually, I love it more now then I ever did as a kid). And it's not like my parents didn't have good intentions. They were there for the attractions, they didn't care too much about the history or the details. They were seasoned guests who did their research, but it was research on how to maximize your time in the parks, not to appreciate them fully.

Now my trips are sloooow. Walking down Main Street and taking in all the little details, trying to find all the names on the windows. Spending 10 minutes trying to fine the Hidden Oswald in New Fantasyland. Relaxing in Gaston's Tavern. Letting people skip in front of me in line for Everest because I'm too busy checking out the Yeti museum. Yes the attractions are still important and great, but for me there is now so much more to a Disney vacation.

 

[NeuroCindy]

Wow, I know it's Sunday but I didn't expect to hear this much preaching.

OP, I can't really think of anything my parents did that I wouldn't do. I'll have to ponder it a bit more.

 

[Kindermouse]

My mom must have done a lot of things right about our trips to Disneyland when I was a kid since I dont remember anything bad about them. We only got to go maybe 4-5 times as kids so it was a very big deal and we were so very thrilled. she always wanted it to be a prefect experience so we did all the must do's like getting mickey ear hats with our names on them and riding all the fantasyland ride and getting pictures with characters. To hear her talk now she really doesnt like going to Disney she just liked giving us kids an experience that we liked and she went all out to do it.

She may have made one mistake-one year we brought my grandma with us and while I loved having my grandma there and I cherish the pictures I have now of all of us there together I think it probably stressed my mom out. I remember my grandma having a lot of opinions about the way to do things and my mom trying to civilly disagree. Actually as much as I love my mom that is probably the reason why I don't invite her to go with us on our trips. I bring all the kids, mine and my sisters, by myself and I have great time. Its easier to me to manage a bunch of kids than a bunch of opinionated adults.

 

[fla4fun]

The only thing I wish my parents had done differently was we stayed offsite, usually at the Days Inn near Old Town in Kissimmee. When I got my first job, I treated Mom, Dad and sister to our first on property stay. Dad groused about the expense before we went, but was the first one to ask "When are we coming back?" when it was time to leave. There was one parent trip where we got to go to WDW twice (it was just MK back then) but the second trip we drove over from the Gulf coast, so we didn't stay as late because of the drive back. I was just happy to be going to Disney!

 

[NJlauren]

My parents loved Disney so took us often. Which is part of the reason I love it now. My whole extend family went off as a kid.

My only complaint is the time they took me out of 9th grade for a week, I wish they never did that. I was good student but had a learning disability and had enough difficulty with out missing time. This had me playing catch up for much of the year. So I don't plan on taking my kids out for more then a day or two.

 

[Dakota731]

We could have never afforded to take us to WDW. We just camped in a tent so you were very lucky. Just wait till your kids are grown and post on a message board what you did wrong as a parent lol

 

[holden]

My parents did everything right. My first trip was in 1979. We stayed for a week at the Poly. MK was the only park there. We did MK and relaxed at the volcano pool. It was perfect.

The next trip was just a few years later when EP opened. Again we stayed at the Poly. I felt so special to be able to visit WDW as a kid. None of my friends went there. I loved how simple WDW was back then.

 

[Mopedmom1]

Look folks, the point was an attention-grabbing thread title. As I said, I love my parents and it was a great trip.

It most certainly was an attention-grabbing thread title. You achieved your objective.

I generally ascribe to the "say nothing, if you have nothing good to say." Especially on the Internet, where it is very difficult to discern what the tone of the conversation is. However......

This post touched me in two ways:

1. Sadness, because I never really got fun vacations as a child. Every other year we went to visit family.

2. Sadness again, because as a parent I tried to provide vacations for my children as best I could and I would be very disappointed if my adult children nit-picked my choices.

I am sorry your "attention-grabbing title" didn't elicit the responses you had hoped for.

 

[Kindermouse]

I wouldn't say they did it wrong. But I grew up during a time before digital photography. So we took a few trips to Disney in the mid to late 80's and I have very few photos of those trips. My aunt had a few I could scan. But I wish I had more photos.

My daughter is lucky that with I always have a camera on me. And I print her some to actually hold. Which is also important. If they stay locked up on your phone or computer, what good are they?

And in this era of digital photography tech every where you learn I take...very few photos. I dont bring my phone into the parks so that I dont have any distractions from being 100% in the now with Disney and the kids. I guess thats something my mom did right that I am getting wrong. We have a ton of picture cataloging my childhood.

 

[Lilylogan]

My parents were very go, go, go on Disney trips- get there before opening and stay til close. Rush from ride to ride- no time for parades and fireworks because they meant shorter lines. No time for sit down restaurants. My parents loved going out to eat and money wasn't an issue so I always wonder why they didn't want to do any table service restaurants ever.

When I've gone with my mom or mom and stepdad now as an adult with kids- I had them do TS restaurants and they love them. For our trip next month my mom handed me a check and said "take the kids to the restaurant where you sit in a car"

 

[EdmondD]

For those of you who think my parents were amazing, maybe I should add that despite my clear preference for a RED BMW for my 16th birthday, I got a TAN one. Further, they'd pay my allowance in $100 bills, which are hard to break!

 

[srwarden1928]

My parents took me to Disney several times as a child. We also vacationed other places. I have NO complaints about what they did as long as they did. In the first fifteen years of my life, we went on one major trip and a couple of minor ones. Then NOTHING. They just stopped. They traveled a little after I was grown. I traveled as much as I could afford to after I was grown. But we never had a chance to travel together again. I miss my parents, but I also missed the chance to travel with them for 20-25 years. It would have been fun.

 

[Bonnie151]

My parents never took me! We have more than made up for it - started on our honeymoon at the Wilderness Lodge- and are DVC owners.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I grew up in Southern California, so I went to Disneyland at least once a year on school trips, family excursions or when they had Federal Employees Day (my dad's job). Federal Employees Days were the BEST because we had the park all to ourselves and back in the era of ticket books with limited E tickets, we had special passes that gave us unlimited rides on everything! Pure bliss!!!! When I was really little, we lived an hour and a half away from DL. By middle school we'd moved and only lived 35 minutes away. Since we lived so close, all these were day trips. We never stayed at the Disneyland Hotel.

During the middle of high school, my dad was transferred to the East Coast. Epcot opened right after we moved back East, so my parents loaded up the station wagon with the 4 kids, attached the travel trailer and took us. We split the week between Orlando and the beach at St Augustine. My dad bought 2 day tickets. We spent one day at MK and one day at Epcot. We had an early dinner in Epcot at what is now Teppan Edo. We stayed at a KOA campground near the park because Ft. Wilderness was too expensive. I remember hearing about Ft. Wilderness, River Country, the onsite resorts and seeing the high prices of the multi day tickets and feeling really grateful that we got to be there at all. It truly was a wonderful vacation!

So I would say my parents did everything right! They took us on great family trips, and made awesome memories with us all while staying within a budget they could afford.

 

[HarperLeigh]

What did my mother do right? She put a roof over our head and some food on the table instead of taking us to disney. I didn't go until I was a married mother. Count your blessings and be grateful, even if you erroneously believed they did it wrong.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

For those of you who think my parents were amazing, maybe I should add that despite my clear preference for a RED BMW for my 16th birthday, I got a TAN one. Further, they'd pay my allowance in $100 bills, which are hard to break!

Hahaha! Don’t worry the lectures aren’t over yet. I saw the fun in the topic you were trying to make.

 

[MrsDuck]

My parents stayed off site mostly until they bought DVC. They did it so we could afford to go to Disney (and I totally get that!) but I so so so prefer the experience of on site resorts!

 

[TheHulamuffins]

You will love it, slpeters. I had my first trip to Disneyland at 41 and my first WDW trip at 45.

 

[NYCgrrl]

My <insert massive case of sniffles emoticon here> my parents never took us to DL/DW at all?!
And and when my mother could afford to buy a TV when I was 12ish it was B/W soooo I couldn't see the Sunday Disney show in colour?!

The horrors of my childhood still scar me.

 

[wannabee]

I get what the Op is saying. its fun to compare how our parents did Disney to how we did. Disney was only the Magic Kingdom when my parents took us. My parents took us on 3 trips to Disney as kids, starting in 1972. I really don't remember much about those trips as it was so long ago. So I can't say what I would do different. I used to wish that we could have stayed at the Poly like my cousins did but loved staying at the Contemporary and the Golf resort ( now Shades of green). What I do remember most about childhood vacations is long car trips. We drove everywhere. Louisiana to Canada-- not a problem, lets drive. My dad could be very grouchy/difficult/stressed in regular life but vacations brought out the best in him.