For those who go to Disney WORLD (advice needed)...

[I.Dup.]

I love Disney World and want to make it a tradition for our family. I feel strongly about Disney World vs. Disney Land because I lived in Orlando for 10 years, and Epcot is my favorite park. :001_smile: We also have family out there in FL.

 

The problem is, we live all the way out in WA state, aaaand we have 6 kids. :lol:

 

We took the whole family to Disney in 2011 and went there with my in-laws. We had a BLAST. Then I took my daughter and the baby (5 months at the time) to Disney again for her birthday in Jan. 2012. We had a BLAST again.

 

Now, if we were to take the whole family, we'd have 2 more plane tickets to pay for than we did in 2011, and if we wait any longer, it will get more and more expensive because the kids will get older and we'd need to pay for more plane tickets and more park tickets. Plus, we might still have more babies. Ahem.

 

For those who do go to Disney with your families, do you think it's unrealistic for me to try to make this a tradition for our family? Because of our insanely large family size? :tongue_smilie: There's obviously no way we can drive there. I'm trying to convince dh to get a job out there, but he has a really good job here and the market just doesn't look all that great out there.

 

My questions:

 

1. If you had 6+ children, would you still go to Disney as regularly?

 

2. How often would you try to go? We could probably afford once a year but it would take a MAJOR ordeal to scrimp and save for it. I would probably have to work more hours, too (I work from home). Is it worth that kind of sacrifice or is that just selfish?

 

3. Do you think it's selfish to once in awhile just go with dh and leave the kids with family, or just take a couple kids for their birthday one year? Or would you make sure you took the whole family?

 

I don't know. I guess I'm just trying to figure out if this is a dream I need to just give up on.

[Susan C.]

I don't know if I would go EVERY year..... it is fun though. We live a 4-5 hr. drive away and don't go every year. We stay in a condo off property (but close) and like the condo much better. More bathrooms, and a kitchen with full sized fridge. In the summer it is crowded and hot. We look at weather reports, when there is a break in the heat, we literally get in the car, lol.

[JenneinCA]

My answers:

 

1. No, we have three kids and we made the decision to go every 5 years. The money just doesn't work any other way.

 

2. See number one. We go every five years. The parks seem very different when that much time has passed. And there are other cool places to see and things to do closer to home that we thought were important.

 

3. We all go. I couldn't imagine leaving my kids at home and going to Disney. I suppose if we went often it would be different, but given the time frame we are looking at... everyone goes.

[sbgrace]

I don't know how to answer because it seems like such a personal thing.

 

If it's important to you and doable (financially and logistically) I think I'd try it.

 

1 and 2. We love Disney World and have been twice with the boys who are 8 now. However, for me even with just two kids, a yearly visit wouldn't be the way I'd spend the money. We do a vacation every year and the boys look forward to it but it's to various places and none of them are as expensive as Disney. Are you thinking this would be the only vacation spot for the foreseeable future? I would feel we missed many other great memories ourselves. For you, however, it might be worth it. Is your husband on board with the idea? It seems you could always stop if it weren't working or didn't seem worth it.

 

3. Selfish-no? However, my boys would not handle it well if a yearly vacation of any sort involved just one of them. But every family is different.

Edited June 22, 2012 by sbgrace

[Ellie]

We do Disneyland, have never been to Disney World, but yes, Disney is a traditon for us. Mr. Ellie grew up in San Diego, and went to Disneyland with his family the first year it opened, and frequently after that. I was 16yo the first time I went, having grown up in Virginia long before Disney World was invented. Mr. Ellie and I went there on our honeymoon. We took each dd there on her fifth birthday. After we moved to Texas in 2004, we took both dds there for their birthdays (one was in San Jose, one was in Seattle; both were over 25yo). In all, we've averaged over 30 visits to Disneyland since 1974.

 

However, *I* would not make an east coast visit to Disney World an annual tradition, not with that many children. I'd learn to love Disneyland, which is every bit as awesome as the Magic Kingdom (the first weekend in December is our favorite time of year), and save Disney World for a bigger vacation every few years.

[Mandylubug]

While I love family traditions, I can't imagine going every year. That would just take the magic out of it for our family. Why not making family vacations themselves a tradition?

 

Every summer growing up, we took family vacations to places we have never explored, seen. I remember those times and cherish them. We did go to Disney and other places such as amusement parks, etc. but I would have missed out on so many cool and marvelous sights if we hadn't explored as we did.

 

On the financial aspect of it all, we have four kids and could never afford yearly and wouldn't feel it worth scrimping yearly. Not when there are so many natural wonders my kids haven't seen yet.

[Just Beachy]

Have you considered buying points in Disney Vacation Club? You can look for a resell. In the long run, it may come out cheaper than having to rent 2 rooms. Also, as DVC members, you get discounts on tickets, etc. Also, on the years you don't go, you could rent out your points to help cover the annual maintainence fees, etc.

 

Timeshares are not ideal for many people, but it just may work for you.

 

I don't know about such a big, cross country trip every year. I don't think I, personally, would enjoy going to the same place every year, but I know many people who do just that and LOVE it.

[Jennifer in MI]

I LOVE WDW!!!! I think if you want to go every year and you can afford it, you should do it! I found WDW a wonderful place for families because there was something for everyone and they were really good with ds' food allergies. So, we do go nearly every year. But, we can drive.

 

I think the idea of taking one or two for birthdays is really nice! But, if you do it for one, you'd have to make sure you do it for them all.

 

These are fun decisions to make!

[I.Dup.]

Thank you all for the advice :)

 

We do Disneyland, have never been to Disney World, but yes, Disney is a traditon for us. Mr. Ellie grew up in San Diego, and went to Disneyland with his family the first year it opened, and frequently after that. I was 16yo the first time I went, having grown up in Virginia long before Disney World was invented. Mr. Ellie and I went there on our honeymoon. We took each dd there on her fifth birthday. After we moved to Texas in 2004, we took both dds there for their birthdays (one was in San Jose, one was in Seattle; both were over 25yo). In all, we've averaged over 30 visits to Disneyland since 1974.

 

However, *I* would not make an east coast visit to Disney World an annual tradition, not with that many children. I'd learn to love Disneyland, which is every bit as awesome as the Magic Kingdom (the first weekend in December is our favorite time of year), and save Disney World for a bigger vacation every few years.

 

Ahhh, but you just don't know what you're missing at the World!! :D

 

I LOVE WDW!!!! I think if you want to go every year and you can afford it, you should do it! I found WDW a wonderful place for families because there was something for everyone and they were really good with ds' food allergies. So, we do go nearly every year. But, we can drive.

 

I think the idea of taking one or two for birthdays is really nice! But, if you do it for one, you'd have to make sure you do it for them all.

 

These are fun decisions to make!

 

Oh good, you understand me!

 

Yes, it's the entire experience at Disney that gets me. We have food allergies, too, and it's just like a different world there. Sooooo nice and easy. This last time we did the free dining and that was awesome. AWESOME. So that makes it even harder because now I want to stay on-site to get the free dining.

 

AFA taking one of my children, my dd is the only one who feels the same way about Disney that I do. The boys could take it or leave it, at this point anyway. If they were all crazy about Disney, I may feel differently. But yes, if we did the individual trips, I would def. take each one, if that's the route we decided to go.

[Melinda in VT]

My questions:

 

1. If you had 6+ children, would you still go to Disney as regularly?

 

2. How often would you try to go? We could probably afford once a year but it would take a MAJOR ordeal to scrimp and save for it. I would probably have to work more hours, too (I work from home). Is it worth that kind of sacrifice or is that just selfish?

 

3. Do you think it's selfish to once in awhile just go with dh and leave the kids with family, or just take a couple kids for their birthday one year? Or would you make sure you took the whole family?

 

I don't know. I guess I'm just trying to figure out if this is a dream I need to just give up on.

 

1. This one is hard for me to answer. I don't think it's number of children so much as amount of money, but I haven't personally walked through Disney with more than four kids per two adults.

 

2. I would not go every year if it were a major sacrifice to afford it. I also wouldn't go so often that Disney was the only family vacation. Travel has so much more to offer than Disney.

 

3. I think couple vacations are healthy and good for the family. We have also gone on trips with one parent and some of the kids, but I don't know that I would make Disney the destination. It's too easy to imagine scenarios in which you could no longer afford them for the younger kids. Life isn't always fair, and that's an important lesson, but we try to avoid major inequality within the family when we can avoid it.

[I.Dup.]

Have you considered buying points in Disney Vacation Club? You can look for a resell. In the long run, it may come out cheaper than having to rent 2 rooms. Also, as DVC members, you get discounts on tickets, etc. Also, on the years you don't go, you could rent out your points to help cover the annual maintainence fees, etc.

 

Timeshares are not ideal for many people, but it just may work for you.

 

I don't know about such a big, cross country trip every year. I don't think I, personally, would enjoy going to the same place every year, but I know many people who do just that and LOVE it.

 

Yes, I did look into that. I will still have to research it more. The cost didn't seem to even out re: the number of points we'd need to stay with to get a place big enough to fit all of us, and I don't think we're eligible for the dining plans if we do DVC. The dining plans are really the only reason I care about staying on site :)

[Jennifer in MI]

Yes, I did look into that. I will still have to research it more. The cost didn't seem to even out re: the number of points we'd need to stay with to get a place big enough to fit all of us, and I don't think we're eligible for the dining plans if we do DVC. The dining plans are really the only reason I care about staying on site :)

 

You really do get me!!!! I love the dining plan! Love it! It makes it a true vacation. No cooking! No dishes! We have stayed in a condo and done Disney, but it really is a different vacation!

[DianeW88]

I don't know if you've looked into it (and I haven't read the entire thread, so forgive me if this has been mentioned), but you can RENT DVC points from other DVC members at a fairly good discount. Go to www.disboards.com and check out the info on their DVC boards.

 

We go every year and we're a family of five, and we LOVE it! I can't imagine a year without my Mickey fix. :D

[meggie]

Well I certainly don't blame you on choosing Disney World over Disney Land. To me, the sacrifice to make it to DW is worth it; Disney Land? meh. I thought it was kind of lame when I went.

 

I don't know that I would go EVERY year though, probably every other or every three years. I would go as a family, that's part of the fun for me.

[mom2att]

Go every other year, or every third year, or every time your youngest is about to turn three and still squeezes in as free . . .

 

But every year, flying all the way from the west coast when there's so much to do out there? Nah. Enjoy smaller vacations locally, then save up for a huge two-week trip to Orlando. The more days you buy on a Disney ticket, the cheaper it is per day, you know.

 

Just my opinion. We live a couple of hours away from the World and get periodic annual passes. The longer we've waited between trips, the more we've enjoyed ourselves.

[besroma]

1. We don't go regularly, but we go when we can.

 

2. More like every three years.

 

3. I would miss my kids the entire time if we went without them. A weekend away, sure. But we wouldn't go to Disney without them.

[tabrizia]

1. Not really sure, since I never plan to have 6+ children. I would probably try to go as often as I plan to go no matter what the number though.

 

2. I don't like going yearly. I don't mind going 2 years in a row, but after that I am ready for something new and different. We currently try to go every 2 to 3 years, though it will be closer to 4 years between last time we go and our next planned vacation, due to unexpected finances. We may do 2 years in a row because of that, but then we'll take a year or two break. We like visiting lots of different places, so Disney World every few years and somewhere new the off years works for us.

 

3. It really depends on how often you go. We were seriously debating just taking DS for his 6th birthday. Actually I still am. Normally I would do big family vacations, but an occasional special trip for one child or an adult only vacation works for me as well.

[PeacefulChaos]

My questions:

 

1. If you had 6+ children, would you still go to Disney as regularly? Well, we don't go to DW regularly as it is - haven't been yet, it just hasn't been in the cards. Hopefully next year - I'm still shooting for Fall 2013, but it may have to be 2014. :( Anyway, I would say, no, I probably wouldn't. But that's just me. :)

 

2. How often would you try to go? We could probably afford once a year but it would take a MAJOR ordeal to scrimp and save for it. I would probably have to work more hours, too (I work from home). Is it worth that kind of sacrifice or is that just selfish? I don't think it's selfish, but I don't think it's worth the sacrifice either. I'm all for trying to go a couple of times while my kids are young (like I said, hopefully next year, and probably again in 5 years or so) and maybe DH and I will go when they get older or something, go with their families, whatever. :) But I'm one of those people who, while I do have a couple of 'favorites' that we may go to more than once, I like the idea of seeing a lot of things once, as opposed to the same thing repeatedly. Not that there is anything wrong with that... It's just what I've always done (grew up with grandparents and we took different vacations every year) and what I'd like to continue. :)

3. Do you think it's selfish to once in awhile just go with dh and leave the kids with family, or just take a couple kids for their birthday one year? Or would you make sure you took the whole family? Personally I would take the whole family. If we lived closer, etc, maybe we would do something different. But I'm also not one to go anywhere vacation-wise without my kids. :) I'm all for going wherever without them when they move out (I'll only be 44 when my youngest graduates high school), but while they are in the house I want to do as much with them as possible.

[nova147]

You can get the dining plan with DVC. My parents bought points to take my sister and I and our families on vacation. Yes, they are awesome like that.

 

We go every other year. I don't know exactly how many points they own, but it isn't enough for every year. But that's fine. A big trip every year is just really hard on me. Off years, we take a small vacation, just DH, the kids, and I. We've done short camping trips the past two times.

[whitestavern]

We went in '09 and even though we spent a week there we missed a lot, so we went back in '10. I could've probably gone back in '11, but we took a year off and went this year. I'm sated for a few now. For us every 3-4 years would probably be about right. As a PP said, there are new things to see when you wait longer between visits.

 

BTW, we've only stayed offsite because it's soooo much cheaper and you get sooooo much more space. This year we had our own home and pool--minutes away. We eat almost all our meals in the park, including a lot of signature restaurants for dinners, and still end up better off than staying onsite. With you needing extra space, I'd def stay offsite and pay OOP for meals.

 

As far as going w/o kids...I don't know as I'd enjoy it as much, so I'd gladly go away w/dh, but not to Disney. But I see no problem with you and dh going alone if you'd like that.