With Kids or Without??

[supersuperwendy]

OMG...no brainer! Go alone! We took our kids this month...and have planned a trip for the two of us in November! My kids understand that we need some mommy and daddy time alone for our anniversary! They also know I'm the Disney nut in our house, so they have no problem with us going without them! They hardly ever get to see my mother in law so they are excited that she is coming to stay with them. She always shows them the best time! I can't wait to wake up in my hubby's arms in our AB room at POR without the kids jumping up to turn on the disney channel or throwing open the drapes to blind us...or fighting over who's using the potty first!!!!

 

[honey11dog]

Go alone! I would have said take the kids, if you hadn't just taken them last year. Don't feel guilty, you had a nice trip with them last time. My husband and I went to Disney on our honeymoon. Since then we have had three beautiful children. They come with us to Disney now. It is wonderful to see Disney through their eyes. But we miss the things that we did at Disney before kids too. We loved eating at all the fancy Epcot restuarants in peace. And we loved a night to DTD. And we especially miss going to the parks at our own pace and riding the things that we really want to ride. One day I hope to have the opportunity to go to Disney minus children. But for now, we don't get to go that often, so I couldn't leave my kids. This is your opportunity, so take it!

 

[Neelloc]

You know what my vote is!!!! (Since I've already stated my case elsewhere! ) Note my kidless trip this September!

 

[sammieJ]

take grandparents to babysit, and go off and do things alone too ??

 

[juligrl]

Since you were just there last year you wouldn't want to spoil the kids by taking them there again !

Seriously, take the time for a get away for just you and DH - it sounds like you both work hard and could use the time to reconnect. If your kids want to hit an amusement park this summer pop on over to Ohio and take them to Kings Island or Cedar Point for a weekend - definately not Disney but cheaper and if they like coasters there's no shortage of those.

 

[DisneyLaura]

Hubby and I have gone without kids 3 times. Each has been wonderful! Yes, we missed the kids but we loved the time we had together. We've also done lots of trips with the kids. I say go on your own and bring the kids next time.

Congrats on the pregnancy

 

[mb168]

We go once a year with the entire family, 7 of us, but DW and I do several mini-trips either alone or with DD3 while the older 3 are at their other parent's house for a weekend.

 

[lunapnp]

I love my kids dearly. But a friend shared her "motto" (in regards to vacations) with me a few years ago and I can't help but agree: When you go with the kids it's a CHANGE OF LOCATION, without kids a VACATION!

 

[DisneyLaura]

Sorry if this gets long!


We have a trip planned for Sept 16-Sept 22, for free dining with 2 rooms at Pop. The kids do not know about the trip yet. It began as a joke about leaving our 4 kids behind and just going alone. We've started an email pro/con list back and forth and are still undecided. We've asked friends and family, and are getting mixed reviews, so I thought I would ask here.

DH and I work opposite shifts, and he works every other weekend, so one of us is always home with the kids, but we never see each other, hence the reason for maybe going minus kids. We've only been on a rare weekend trip alone here and there since we got married, but never a big vacation alone. We were just at Disney last October for 9 days and realize how much we missed by having the kids with us. We were on their schedule, the trip revolved completely around them (as is should have) we ate at restaurants catering to them, we didn't get to enjoy Epcot at all, and we didn't get to ride any rides together. We also spent a lot of time apart, DH with our older 2 boys on rides, me at kiddie shows and tamer rides with the younger 2. Not to mention, we'd have to pull DS14 out of high school for a week. (DS11 is homeschooled)

However, we had a beautiful time with our family. I didn't get any family vacations when growing up, so it's important for me to take our family places, even if it is budget trips. (if we do go alone, we'll plan a shorter, cheaper trip someplace close to home with kids) Our oldest is 14, so who knows how many more times he'll want to go to Disney (hopefully forever!) This is the last time our youngest will be free. Our ADR's are already made for the 6 of us (but could be tweaked for 2). It's a little hard to convince grandparents to watch the kids while we're gone (although they'll do it) We asked the kids if they minded if we went on vacation alone, and the 11 year old said "as long as you don't go to Disney without us!" Financially, we can't afford a trip to WDW with the kids, and then a smaller trip somewhere for just DH & I, but if we leave the kids behind, the money we would save would allow us the trip to WDW, and a smaller trip (or even 2) someplace closer to home.


What would you do? Would you go alone, or take the kids with you?

have you decided yet?

 

[Chelley00]

have you decided yet?

Can you believe we haven't yet?? Part of it being DH has been working OT and we haven't seen each other to really talk about it. Maybe that should be our sign we need a vacation alone

 

[LisaBi]

We need more choices in the poll. Take kids - sure, I love to take DS. I also like to go alone (but wouldn't want to do it too much - my favorite thing about WDW is seeing DS have the time of his life!) But go as a FAMILY???? No way! At least not for my household. DH is a party pooper at WDW.

 

[8 Ears]

I have only read the first page.... but GO WITHOUT THE KIDS!
DH and myself went last month alone. It was wonderful!!
Did we miss the kids?, yup, did they miss us?, well as much as teenagers do was it worth it for each of us? YUP!

Yes you only have X amount of years with the kids but you have the rest of your life to spend with your spouse. We do not want the youngest to move out and look at each other like we have never met.....

GO WITHOUT THE KIDS!

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Sorry, but I would never go to WDW without my children. If I lived closer perhaps and can go there often. There are getaways for adults that the kids wouldn't feel left out. I feel that we had children to be a "family". We never ever took a vacation without the kids until their senior year (twins) and that was just because it was our 25th anniversary.

 

[pixie dust 112]

We have taken weekends for just DH and I several times. Just would never consider it for a disney trip. For us that is one of our family places to go as long as the kids are still kids! For our 25th anniversary we're hoping to go on a disney cruise. Everyone assumes it will be just Dh and I, but nope, cn't even imagine our going without our daughters!

 

[snyderla]

I like wildvipers suggestion...did you try that? What about making it a shorter trip without the kids, and take the kids to WDW next year, or somewhere less expensive later this year? I also like the idea of bringing a helper/sitter if you bring the kids, so you can spend some alone time while there. DH & I have been many times without the kids, but my kids are 20 & 24, 24 yr old has her own family! DS was 14 when we took our first trip alone. He could have come, but didn't want to. When I was 15 my parents took a trip to WDW without us kids. I was resentful, but that was because I had only been to WDW once and it was 8 years earlier. And they took trips alone frequently. Very different situation.

It's a tough choice, I like the idea of you and DH going alone for time to be a couple. But to me, it would be hard to be away from the kids for 7 days. But I wouldn't trade DH & my trips alone as a couple for anything! And if you know you would be going with the kids again in the not too distant future, with the trip this year being shorter, go with just you and hubby!

 

[kileybeth]

just skimmed most of the replys but I have to say

GO ALONE

kids benefit more from a good marriage than from the best family vacation.

that said, I just booked a 4 night stay at POR for free dining with my DH alone just 2 weeks before we take the kids!

sometimes when you have four kiddos being together on a vacation means everyone is together except Mom and Dad. We've been often and I rarely get to ride with DH on any ride anymore but we still do have a good time.

I did read the comment about you and DH would have plenty of time after kids are grown and gone so go with them now, uumm. maybe not. more Americans are passing on shortly after retirement than ever before, the golden years are not always so and health is also an issue as you age.

my take on that is you have already grown up and you are allowed to have some special things that the kiddos might need to wait for, after all, they are the ones who have "the rest of their lives" to experience them, your life is already more spent. I do know it is always a balance but you sound like you've already got that figured out!

perhaps I speak from the other side of the fence as I am an older parent now and have also been the younger parent in years past. time does just slip away and we have to grab it while we can I think.

Enjoy your trip, let that 2nd room go and bump up to a moderate resort is my vote!!

 

[mb168]

We leave out TOMORROW for a week at Disney with DD3, DD8, DS10, DD11, MIL, and DW and I. We go every year this week in June and 2 of the last four years we've gone back within a month without kids or at best with DD3 to see the things that we didn't gte to see while herding the pack around for a week.

GO ALONE.