Where do you go non WDW years??

[Gretchen]

Hands down, California. That state has EVERYTHING! I'd pick San Diego, take a couple of day trips, then go up north and finish in San Fran, with a side trip to the wine country. Or if you are into camping, hit Yosemite. Very cool place to see. If you want big trees, not as bit as Yosemite, you can see them in Muir woods north of San Fran. If you want wine country, but can't make the northern Cali visit, do San Diego with a side trip to Temecula. The mountains east of San Diego are/were beautiful with a lot to see and do, but since the fire, I don't know.
California is it, shopping, beach, Disney, camping, wine, antiques,history...hey you can even gamble, go to Tahoe, with a side trip to Reno, or just hit one of the Indian casinos in SD county. There's even a Hershey Plant in California...
Have fun!
Gretchen, Native San Diegan

 

[torismom]

We have enjoyed San Diego, San fransico, San Clemente and Hollywood, Ca.

The Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge Tn area is a fav.

The Grand Canyon is amazing.

St.Augustine is gorgoeus and we love it there. Panama Cityis also fun.


Jamaica was wonderful and we cannot wait to go back there.

I have a list a mile long of where I want to vacation.

 

[jdm]

One of the greatest vacations we took was when we flew to San Diego and spent about 4 days and then drove to Vegas for 3 or 4 days. You can do as little or as much as you want. In SD you can do the parks or just lounge at the beach. We like the Mission Bay area. Great beach, restaurants, parks. Coronado is also beautiful. We took one day and went to Tijuana (spell?) Mexcio which was a great experience. Then drive through death valley, incredible scenery if you're from East coast. Arrived in Vegas and had a ball.
Good Luck!
Jenn

 

[FloraFauna]

Since we've had children, we go to WDW every other year. I'd go every year if it was up to me, but my husband wants to travel other places. One place we had a really good time in was San Antonio, Texas. You have all the beautiful missions there to see, museums, The Alamo, Riverwalk, shopping and also Sea World and Fiesta Texas.

 

[AJA55]

We go to Disney every two to three years. I LOVE it there but…..there’s a big wide world to explore. My top 5 non-Disney vacations: San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas, Washington CD and London. Please note that I live on the west cost so have tended to vacation close to home.

 

[WeirdEyes]

We love to cruise! Two years ago we went to the Southern Caribbean on the Carnival Destiny. This year, we went to WDW. In May, we are sailing on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas to the Eastern Caribbean. We are also going to Orlando and doing Universal & IOA and then to Tampa to Busch Gardens. The following summer, I plan on going to England and Scotland. We also take long weekend trips to Gatlinburg, TN to the Great Smoky Mountains. It is awesome there also!

My parents just got back from a trip up the Eastern Coast...Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New York, and Maine. They LOVED it. Both Mom and Dad loved Chocolate World in Hershey.

 

[kilee]

I'm in the same situation as the OP. 2004 is going to be a non-disney year. We just did 2 trips this year-- and DH wants a break . I live within an hr of Niagara Falls-- to me if you pick that destination go to the Canadian Side. The American side lacks a lot. However, we do have a Casino now too.

My top pick after Disney would be NYC. I love the atmosphere of this place. I can't get enough. For us this is a quick weekend trip though (40 min flight tops). However, you could definetly fill an entire week or better worth of things to do.

Next pick, on a budget would be D.C.-- great since most everything is free.

Great little hidden away treasure--- Hocking Hills Ohio. We like to rent cabins there. Nice if you want to get back to nature. Lots of craft shops, hiking, things along that line.

Lake Placid NY-- Great for camping. Close to Vermont and Canada for day trips.

I'll give another thumbs up to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge TN as well. However, in my personal opinion you have to go into it not expecting it to be like Disney. Dollywood is Nice-- Disney is GREAT. There is a huge difference. The food in this area is great. We always rent the cabins. They come w/ hottubs, pool tables, fireplaces, washer/dryer, satelitte TV, more comforts than home!!! DH and I are actually planning a long weekend in January, while DS stays w/ the grandparents. We were just there in April and w/ DS and really enjoyed our stay. However, it cost us more than any DIsney trip. The cabins can be pricey.

Last, but not least, I'll give a vote for Mrytle Beach. However, it has to be during the "in" season.

 

[MinnieGi]

While we haven't had any non-Disney years in a while, we do also like to explore new places. Here are some highlights of spots we've been to:

Rocky Mountain National Park: Driving up Trail Ridge Road was amazing. They have many park and look out points that leave you breathless. And walking up into the tundra is awe-inspiring. Of course you need to do this vacation during the summer months as it snows quite early up there and Trail Ridge Road is shut down after that. We did this last summer and it was a fun trip seeing the park and the elk just walking though town.

Ski!: Have you taken a family ski vacation? They are alot of fun. DH and I used to take yearly ski vacations until DD was born. But now that she is three we are thinking of restarting these!!! We've been to Snowshoe, WV; Big Elk Mtn, Pa; most of the Pocono Mtn. areas and are looking at Mont Tremblant this year. Canada skiing offers excellent snow of course but also some great deals b/c of the $/canadian $ exchange rate.

Washington DC: Although we can make a day trip of DC, we've really enjoyed our overnight stays and one time we made a week of it. There are so many museums and galleries to see here and most are free! The National Zoo is also free and has pandas to see!

Toronto, Canada: We spent a week right in the heart of the city. We are big hockey fans so we had fun visiting the National Hockey Hall of Fame. We also took in a Maple Leafs game and ate at some of their terrific restaurants. We also visited the CN Tower and ate in their restaurant high, high above the city. Even in colder weather it was easy to walk around because the city has underground tunnels all over the place complete with stores and eating places so you don't have to brave the cold for very long!

Willimasburg, VA: The historic areas are neat to see and if you want theme park fun Bush Gardens is right there.

New York City, NY: Again we can make a day trip to the City, but its more fun if (at least I think) if you can spend a week there exploring all the sites, stores, shows, restaurants etc. etc.

Delaware Beaches: Any beach area is fun. We normally go to Lewes as my DH's family has a house there. Lots of fun swimming and boating and trying to catch some crabs. Yum!

We do though always look forward to coming "home" to Disney! Have fun on your non-Disney year!

 

[lsb312]

My personal favorites are the Grand Canyon and Sedona. Truly magical in a completely non disney way. Spectacular sites which are not man made.

 

[Okiamae]

'01 St. Louis 4th of July week - great parade (no need to be early to get a curb spot), fireworks at the Arch - which has a great museum, Historic characters at the old Courthouse w/free birthday cake & lemonade, nice zoo (you can take the train from downtown), also have a riverboat restuaraunt and 6Flags

'02 San Antonio - a real-life "themed" city, We stayed in the old part of the Menger hotel (former guest:Teddy Roosevelt, also said to have ghosts) next to the Alamo, ate in the revolving restruarant atop the Tower of the Americas (a spaceneedle), Riverwalk very cool and crowded at night, the Hispanic market, a bus tour of Missions, Seaworld, and nearby Schlitterbahn waterpark is fun(the Travel channel rates it as #1 but we like Typhoon Lagoon best!) also went on to Corpus Christi

'03 Washington D.C. - also 4th of July week, I think our least expensive vacation thanks to $160 round trip tickets and sticking to the many free sights, excepting Mt. Vernon by ferry from Old Alexandria which was worth the cost. Saw the fireworks from a hill near the Iwo Jima statue (walking distance from our hotel) were they burst over an near alignment of the Lincoln Monument, Washington Monument and Capitol dome

all were fun, especially San Antonio, but at the end of every trip at least one of us would wistfully say "that was fun, but Disney is still my favorite" we finally get to go back to WDW this summer