My family and I enjoy
Disney vacations as much as the next person -- but I think we would be fooling ourselves if we thought we were getting the best experience by only going to Disney World or truly believed that a magical family vacation can only be found at Disney. With the same sort of careful planning and budgetting that many of us put into our Disney vacations, it is possible to travel to many other places in the world with the same sort of ease, economy and enjoyment we seek from our Disney vacations.
DW and I took DD (then 4.5) to England and France last September. Advance planning ensured a special meal for her on British Airways and special treatment from the flight attendants, hotel staff and wait staff all the way. My research showed that British Airways was very child-friendly, showed Disney movies for children and served the child's meal ahead of the parent's meal (so your child is done eating by the time your supper comes along and your meal doesn't go cold while you help your child to eat.)
All the while she saw the Crown Jewels of England at the Tower of London; the art treasures of France in the Louvre and the history of Europe throughout. She was welcomed into English pubs older than Canada or the United States (a pint of bitter for Dad and a bottle of Orangina for the little one) and learned to order a "pain du chocolat" at the boulangerie each morning in Paris.
Magical moments were realized in the Royal Mews in London when one of Her Majesty's staff members told DD that if she waited just a little bit she would get to see the coach departing to pick up the mail for Buckingham Palace. She watched the horses getting their harnesses on and was quite excited to watch the coach depart into the traffic of downtown London to pick up Her Majesty's mail. She watched the Guard prepare for the Changing of the Guard and was invited to wear a Guardsman's uniform in the museum -- she was the only child there. She received a personalized tour of the largest cathedral in England from her great-uncle -- including the discovery of a hidden Mickey. (a tiny church mouse carved into the memorial of the church's architect who believed that every church should have a mouse somewhere.) She fell in love with her aunts and uncles and cousins and charmed them with more than pixie dust. DD left England knowing more about who she was and where she came from.
The memories of a trip spent wandering through cathedrals and museums, discovering works of art and eating and living as a Parisian, a Londoner, or a Scouser would will never fade. They will live alongside memories of a wonderful January trip to Disney World -- but they certainly can never be usurped by anything Disney and the magic of those three weeks of reality will never be matched by the make-believe of Disney.
