For us, going to Disney every year became habit and it was too easy to forget that our travel dollars might be better spent going other places too. It didn't help that DH's mom lived with us since DD was 4 after is dad passed away. She almost always wanted to travel with us and it was hard to say no most of the time so Disney was an easy place to accommodate her. Her last trip was to Disney just months before she had a major stroke and then passed away 9 years ago. DD and DSIL do travel domestically with us when they have the money. I'm afraid more exotic destinations will have to wait for them until finances are a bit better but certainly something we'll do when the time comes.
I'm an older parent - married 17 years before having kids, and now they are almost 7 and 2.5. Many of my friends and peers are empty nesters. If there's one thing I've learned as I've gotten older - it's to live life without regrets. During the time DH and I were DINKs traveling the world without kids, our friends were dealing with toddlers and taking low stress vacations to Disney World or low key family friendly resorts, and never leaving the resort itself. Now, the hiking boot is on the other foot. And when you start incorporating the grandparental generation into travel plans, well, it makes sense that Disney was an easy and fun place to go for many years. And, over time, it becomes its own happy place for your family.*
I will say--Europe is easier with older children. On our tour, the youngest child was 8 (it was geared towards families). The 8yo was a trooper, but she still had some issues due to her age. It was just a LOT of walking and a LOT of culture. The rest of the children were 12+, and had an easier time of things. I wasn't so worried about my girls--both had been to Europe before--but it was interesting to see DS12 mature, right before our eyes. It really expanded his horizons and his palate, and I was impressed with how much he appreciated the cultural aspects of the trip.
My dh and our two kids DS7 and DS11 are currently touring England and Scotland and are having a blast. I’ve been to England 3 times before but the others haven’t been. The key has been to plan a trip with enough variety to appeal to everyone. My attitude has been that you won’t like every place but you will like most places.
We’ve also been flexible and have listened to our kids. For example, in Dundee our stopover hotel had an inflatable obstacle course on the water across the street. Even though we wanted to get back on the road first thing in the morning we made time for our kids to do it. Instead of driving straight through for 4 hours we stopped at a beach so the kids could play and see the ocean. Yes I’d love to visit more castles and shop more and my dh would like to tour some whiskey distilleries but we’ve made some amazing memories that are worth it.
I will say though that I’m not sure that DS7 could have handled the trip any younger. I’ve seen multiple toddlers and preschoolers in full meltdown mode at castles and other tourist stops. A lot of England and Scotland are the opposite of handicapped accessible which means that a lot of places you’d want to visit aren’t stroller friendly. Imagine being faced with a big flight of old stone steps when your child is having a tantrum and refusing to walk or be carried in a safe manner. My kids have been much more accommodating but we’ve slowed down the pace and stopped often for ice cream at the ice cream stands that seem to be everywhere.
We just got back from a trip to Paris with the little ones. Totally self-catered - we rented an apartment, lived somewhat like locals except we went out to dinner every night. We had been to Paris many times without kids, but wow ... Our trip to the Louvre was broken up into 3 days of a few hours each - one day was just to buy the Museum Pass so we wouldn't have to stand in line for hours for security. Another day I was meeting DH and the kids, and I spent most of the time waiting in a restroom line in the Richelieu wing, leaving that wing to meet up with the kids and DH, and then sitting under the pyramid helping my hungry kid eat sandwiches before trying to go back to the Denon wing, only to find they were closing the entry line because the museum was closing in 30 minutes. Also: no interactive or paper map can adequately convey how stroller UNfriendly the Louvre is. Also we got ice cream every day, and we have a series of photos with the 2.5 yo eating a chocolate ice cream cone, wearing a different outfit each day. We ate okay food, but a lot of it ended up being dictated by where we happened to be and whether our kids were overtired or hangry.
I say this all the time. I traveled the world in my twenties and when the kids were babies (they are free and portable!), but now that I’m older, I’m looking to vacation more. We have dvc and I always say that it’s our lake house. Disney is a guaranteed good time, it’s relaxing, but I still get to be busy when I want to. We still head to other places occasionally, but with our family of five Disney is actually our affordable destination. Just a place to get away to relax.
This. We live in NYC, so my kids get to be tourists at home every day. Visiting another city or cultural location is not all that different from what we do on most weekends. Our kids, especially our older one, has been all over the world but doesn't remember it. (This recent trip was her second time to Paris.) We are now at a point in our careers where we can afford to pay a little more for things that make our trip easier (we literally used that 2 day museum pass for the Louvre, and that's it). All direct flights to Paris are overnight, and the 2.5yo would only sleep after screaming in my arms for a while, which meant I got to apologize to everyone else on the plane trying to sleep, and I got to stay up for almost 24 hours straight while everyone else in my family slept. When we landed, the taxi I had pre-booked with booster and car seats failed to show up, and no one was answering their allegedly 24-hour emergency number. During that flight and right after, I really appreciated the 2 hour flight to WDW in the same time zone and the ease of DME.
I was a little concerned about DS12--he's not wildly mature, tends to be a complainer and picky eater, etc. But, he wanted SO BADLY to prove that taking him wasn't a mistake! He did great--no complaining at all, he tried new foods every day (and liked most of them!). But the real "bring Mom to tears" moment was when he told me what his favorite thing on the entire trip was--the Sistine Chapel! I had visited it the year before (and left him home), and I so wanted to bring him there to see the glorious artwork. And to know that he truly appreciated the masterpiece made the entire trip worthwhile.
This brings ME to tears, and I'm not even his mom! My almost 7yo loved the food in Paris, and visiting the museums. Even so, when I asked her today whether there were new cities or countries she'd like to visit, she first said "Hawaii and Walt Disney World" before asking if the resorts in Greece had waterslides.
*I grew up taking family road trips to WDW in the 70s and 80s. I have so many fond memories of trips with my parents. My mom was diagnosed with dementia in 2011, and in 2013 and 2016 we took a 3-generation family reunion trip to WDW. 2016 was (and will be) her last trip to WDW, and I am so happy we were able to do that. She remembered it, she was there with all her grandkids, and WDW works very well for people who are disabled. We could not have done that family reunion anywhere else.
. I want to give my children experiences.
