Vacation other than Disney

[krysenchips]

The Virginia Beach/Williamsburg VA area is a great low cost trip! Between the gorgeous beach, the Busch Gardens amusement park, and the Historical Triangle locations you can go to, it is well worth a trip in my mind. I have an annual pass to both Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens Williamsburg (as well as Water Country USA) and it cost me the same as a 2 day parkhopper for WDW. Hotels average about $150 a night, but there is a very large range in pricing and a large variety of hotels in the area.

There's also a Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg if you want to do a hotel with kids programs and an included 'water park'.

 

[TwoMisfits]

If you were to do Williamsburg, your child would qualify for the Preschool Pass for all theme parks, which is a great money saver over most theme parks for parents with kids aged 3-5...https://buschgardens.com/williamsburg/tickets/preschool-free-admission/

This offer has been around every year I've looked, you just have to look for it...

PS - 5 and unders are also free in all the historic sites, so it's the cheapest "awesome" vacation for parents with 3-5s (once they age into paying Disney prices)...

 

[mmbrad02]

So this is where my whole "it's almost as expensive as Disney" comes into play. I was pricing Pensacola since I have been a bazillion times growing up and it's a drive I am comfortable with. I kept pricing various condos so we could cook meals but they were all $2000ish for the week and that's if I go late spring or late summer when rates are lower. Factor in a rental car, a few dinners out, gas and it's the same amount we would spend at Disney. Maybe Gulf Shores has some better prices, I didn't check into that yet.

We went to Panama City Beach in September and got a 1 bedroom oceanfront condo (bunk beds in the hall) for $850 for Sunday-Friday. When we went to Gulf Shores, it was was the first full week of October and it was $1100 for a two bedroom ocean front, plus bunks in hall - we split this one with my parents. At $2k for a condo, I would definitely want to go to Disney! I don't know if the fall dates are an option for you but it's still plenty warm in September and October and might give you better rates. We also drive, so I can't chime in on a car rental or anything that goes along with that. Could you go in halves with any other family? When we split the condo with my parents, we settled on taking their van because it accommodated us better, but my husband did all the driving and we spit the fuel. The downside, we only had one car to share all week, but the plus side was it was much cheaper.

 

[bluehen]

Another great resort is Massanutten in Virginia. We love it there for the Mountain biking. You can find cheap rentals there as it is a very overbuilt resort. We just got back from a week that cost me and my wife a little over 300. 149 for a 1 bedroom condo as a last minute deal from DAE (timeshare exchange company). 100 for entertainment and going out for dinner once. About 60 on gas and tolls. I do not count food we buy and prepare as I would do that at home and tend to bring it from home. We also love the outdoors, and a good steak off the grill is easier than going out. The resort is big with lots of things to do that can run up if you try to do everything. There is a waterpark, ski area with tubing, and a lot of various activities. One caveat is to absolutely not take their timeshare tour. It will be long, painful, and potentially expensive.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I am going to check out gulf shores, thanks. Any recommended accommodations I can check into?

We have stayed at several different places. We always book through vrbo.com. Accommodations there are reasonable in my opinion. You should be able to get a really nice gulf front condo for around $1000-$1200 for a week.

 

[Iya]

What about Holiday World in Santa Claus, IN?

 

[Minnesota!]

I have never been, but it is on my list - Indiana Dunes on Lake Michigan.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

We went to Panama City Beach in September and got a 1 bedroom oceanfront condo (bunk beds in the hall) for $850 for Sunday-Friday. When we went to Gulf Shores, it was was the first full week of October and it was $1100 for a two bedroom ocean front, plus bunks in hall - we split this one with my parents. At $2k for a condo, I would definitely want to go to Disney! I don't know if the fall dates are an option for you but it's still plenty warm in September and October and might give you better rates. We also drive, so I can't chime in on a car rental or anything that goes along with that. Could you go in halves with any other family? When we split the condo with my parents, we settled on taking their van because it accommodated us better, but my husband did all the driving and we spit the fuel. The downside, we only had one car to share all week, but the plus side was it was much cheaper.

Fall isn't ruled out but I've been to the panhandle in the fall and the water was too cold to swim in. I would prefer early or late summer just to have a guarantee of good water temp. We don't need to work around a school schedule so I've been pricing the last weeks of cheaper spring rates and the first week of "fall" rates. Unfortunatley no family to split this trip with.

 

[Farro]

We went to Dollywood for 4 nights - stayed at her resort- The DreamMore. It's a beautiful resort! Great pool too if you go in the warm months. We went in October.
Dollywood was having a Fall Harvest Festival. Oh my goodness, that park is BEAUTIFUL. Felt so peaceful there too. We spent two days at the park.
We didn't care much for Pigeon Forge itself, but going we did go to the mountain trails for a day which was great fun!

I'm surprised by how much we enjoyed that vacation. So much so we are thinking of going back next year.

 

[motherof5]

Ok we are toying around the idea of a big WDW trip combined with our first Disney cruise in 2020 when our son is in preschool (last chance to pull out for a full week with no guilt) and my mom turns 60. Since this will be a big hit on our vacation budget I am trying to decide what to do in 2019 since we have no 2018 vacation plans and we want to plan something.

I keep pricing out a beach trip, a lake trip etc. and they all seem just slightly less expensive than Disney. Our son will be 3 in 2019 so city trips probably won't have much appeal. Does anyone else have this problem? The why go somewhere else when I can go to Disney for just a little more syndrome?

Maybe we should just do a resort only trip to Disney that year and save on park tickets. Maybe stay at Animal Kingdom lodge or something. Has anyone done this?

I am planning a few trips this year to WDW so next Feb am planning a trip to Orlando no Disney. There is so much to do. Disney Springs and play at the lego store, campfire at Wilderness Lodge and see Chip and Dale. Movies under the stars. And you could do a day trip to Gatorland, Legoland, etc.. I too priced going to the beach for a week versus flying to FL and for the little extra it made sense to get away from the cold even if only for a week and having a great time. But where do you live? Do they have amusement parks Six Flags etc.., museums instead of doing a week trip you could do weekend trips over the summer. Good Luck

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

Does anyone else have this problem? The why go somewhere else when I can go to Disney for just a little more syndrome?

Yes!! I keep going back and forth and even though Disney seems so expensive, any thing else I come up with is almost as expensive. My problem is that I live smack dab in the middle of the country, so all the good stuff requires a plane ticket, because I'm not driving a couple of days to get somewhere cool. We go to Branson/Silver Dollar City with some frequency, but I don't consider that a real vacation. I'd love to take my daughter to Ocean City, New Jersey. That's where my mother always visited the shore and where I went to visit the shore. I'd love to extend that to the next generation, but hotels can be $200 a night, easily. When I compare that to my favorite Pop Century stay, I stall out and say, "Maybe one more Disney trip".

 

[Ashleybritton]

We love Disney, but some of our favorite vacations have been city vacations with young kids. We always do a few things that are kid centered like the zoo and children’s museum, but otherwise we do what we’re interested in. I think it’s good for them and my kids have never complained. We loved San Francisco and New York with little kids!

 

[monorailsilver]

We have done staycations and a few over nights with our kids. They were fairly budget friendly too, minus the hotel!

Kiddie gambling at the casino (arcade)
Hikes-not so easy with a little one but if you take an easy trail/path won’t be so bad
Kayaking
Sub base in Groton, CT-free
Mystic Seaport (had free passes)
Beach-free passes...yes in ct you have to pay to swim in brown water!
Local amusement park
Walking around Salem/Boston
Local aquarium
Vermont...ok too many things-bromley summer time, Vermont country store, scenery, etc...
Yankee candle...ok I know you live in KY but just giving ideas, maybe there are things near you like that and you can basically window shop.

Our week staycations even with a few overnights are far cheaper then a Disney trip.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I guess I don't see how anyone can say other destinations are "almost as expensive" as Disney. We're close enough to drive, so let's leave aside transportation costs--some people would have to fly anywhere to get away, we don't, so it's not a fair comparison. We're renting a 2BR condo in Myrtle Beach for $230/night. That's Oceanfront, at a resort with many amenities (minigolf, several pools, lazy river, whirlpools, waterslides, etc.). Even renting points, I don't see WDW coming anywhere close to that, and that's not including costs for park tickets. Plus, food is likely to be much cheaper in Myrtle Beach, because there are tons of restaurants and a lot more competition. And a lot of restaurants and activities take coupons.

Now, that doesn't make Disney a bad choice, by any means, but it IS a pricey choice.

 

[kidshop]

So tell me about Myrtle beach. I am trying to plan a getaway somewhere warm and that is about a 6 hour drive. I need a nice pool and a kitchen with room for 5 (everyone in their own bed).

 

[kydisneyfans]

We are also in KY and find Disney trips to be in the same price range as many others.

Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge is obviously close, but a dinner show followed by a round of mini golf and a couple of times around the track in a go cart could have paid for a Disney ticket for a day.

The Williamsburg/Norfolk/Va Beach has quite a bit to do, but beachfront at Va Beach for a few nights will pay for a week's worth of Disney tickets. Inland is much cheaper.

We are finding condos in the upper teens for early June at PCB. Add in the drive and food, and it's in the same ballpark as Disney.

Hershey is another option, we've done that but hotels are insane in the summer, making that in the same ballpark as Disney.

We looked out west for a week in Seattle/Vancouver, then realized it was actually cheaper to visit Scotland for a week, so we are doing that instead.

We have visited Myrtle and it was unanimous that our family did not like it(we love Panama City though). It's like having a giant shopping mall along a beach with a football game sized crowd on the beach. Just way too commercial, too many people for us. Cost wise it is much cheaper than Panama or Va Beach though, if you don't do all of the extras.

With a 3 year old, if it's not Disney, keep it close and keep it cheap.

 

[madge]

The Children's museum in Indy is awesome ... also lots to do in Chattanooga ... both doable from central KY. Probably not a week's worth at either locale, though, if that's the goal. There's quite a bit to do in Cincinnati if you go to Great Wolf, Kings Island, Newport Aquarium, etc.

We also do the beach, 9 hrs for me. If the traffic on I-65 wasn't such a nightmare, we'd probably go for spring break just to get away from this snow and cold. it's the middle of March.

 

[WeLoveToyStory]

Ok we are toying around the idea of a big WDW trip combined with our first Disney cruise in 2020 when our son is in preschool (last chance to pull out for a full week with no guilt) and my mom turns 60. Since this will be a big hit on our vacation budget I am trying to decide what to do in 2019 since we have no 2018 vacation plans and we want to plan something.

I keep pricing out a beach trip, a lake trip etc. and they all seem just slightly less expensive than Disney. Our son will be 3 in 2019 so city trips probably won't have much appeal. Does anyone else have this problem? The why go somewhere else when I can go to Disney for just a little more syndrome?

Maybe we should just do a resort only trip to Disney that year and save on park tickets. Maybe stay at Animal Kingdom lodge or something. Has anyone done this?

We live in NKY. We love Disney and have had multiple trips. We typically do at least one weekend trip to Pigeon Forge area every year. There are lots of lodging options there-cabins, condos, hotels, camping (as of late we’ve enjoyed using the camping cabins at the KOA). We’ve been to the area so often that we don’t spend a lot, but it could get pricey if you do a lot of activities (mini golf, Dollywood, shows, misc. attractions), but there are multiple free things (hiking, nature drives, playing in the streams, etc). We try to just enjoy a nice, family weekend when we are there without the hustle and bustle of Disney trips. We do think the aquarium in Gatlinburg is better than Newport’s. But if you’re in the market for the Cincinnati area there are lots of activities-zoo, Kings Island, childrens museum, nice parks, etc. I would never choose it as a week long destination though.

I saw someone suggest Indianapolis Children’s museum. It’s an awesome museum! We’ve done a couple overnight trips for our son. We would totally buy a season pass if it wasn’t a couple hour drive each way.

We’ve been to multiple beaches. Our favorite is Hilton Head. We’ve found the drive isn’t too bad. If you go during spring/fall there are decent priced condos. We’ve never paid over $600. Weve found the water still warm in early Oct as well. We’ve done Gulf Shores as well on a fall break and we’ve never vacationed somewhere before with so many other people from KY in the same place. Lol. Definitely an easy drive for those in western KY. We did Myrtle Beach once and we were not fans.

Happy planning!

 

[QueenIsabella]

So tell me about Myrtle beach. I am trying to plan a getaway somewhere warm and that is about a 6 hour drive. I need a nice pool and a kitchen with room for 5 (everyone in their own bed).

Google Condo World (not sure if I can post the link here). They have 1-4BR condos at a wide selection of resorts in Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach. It's true that Myrtle Beach proper, around the boardwalk, is very touristy. If that's not to your taste, North Myrtle Beach is quieter, and still an easy drive if you want to shop or go to a specific restaurant. The hotels have outdoor heated pools at a minimum--some have indoor pools and other water features, such as lazy rivers, slides, and kiddie areas.

Offsite activities are too numerous to list--from helicopter rides and parasailing to more minigolf courses than you can count. Then there's stuff like Wonderworks (fancy sciencey type place), Ripley's Believe it or Not, Madame Tussaud's, a shooting range, deep-sea fishing, escape rooms, and shopping galore.

For restaurants, most hotels and resorts have several onsite. In addition, there are a ton of pizza places and seafood buffets, in addition to your standard fast food chains and plenty of other choices. On the boardwalk, there's more "fair food" on offer, if that makes sense--salt water taffy, funnel cake, fudge, etc.

 

[ellie05]

I will never do a resort only trip. You can better resort for more reasonable prices anywhere else. We won’t be going back to WDW in a long long time can’t say I am missing it. There are sooooo many vacations that are just more worth your while for the prices Disney charges.