Anonymous wrote:As they age you had better take their preferences into account, or your trip will be miserable.

They are not luggage.

Hmm. Interesting. As toddlers, they were perfectly happy to ride on our backs while we hiked.

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like you just have one kid? I plan kid-friendly trips because its more enjoyable to me if everyone is having fun. 16 month olds don't have a lot of opinions, but 16 year olds do.

There are lots of vacations that would be miserable with a 16 month old. Fine dining. Late nights (sans childcare). Trips with lots of carrying bags from place to place. Etc.

Anonymous wrote:We try to take trips that everyone can enjoy. So yes, we take the kids' feelings into consideration.

I'm assuming you have a toddler? Once they're bigger you'll realize that family vacations are miserable unless the kids are having fun too.

They're middle and high school now. We did Disney once, and they thought it was just ok. They never complain no matter where we go.

We did it twice; we went to Disney both times. I hated that place and never wanted to go, but I knew my kids would love it. And they did. I have no regrets.

As they age you had better take their preferences into account, or your trip will be miserable.

They are not luggage.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess you haven’t heard of amusement parks or Disney Cruises?

For a toddler? No. I have to say something like that never crossed my mind.

PP didn't ask whether it had "crossed your mind." They asked you whether you have heard of these things. Unless you live under a rock, you are familiar with such places.

No, I actually hadn't heard of people taking toddlers there. I thought Disney was for older kids who would remember the experience.

We try to take trips that everyone can enjoy. So yes, we take the kids' feelings into consideration.

I'm assuming you have a toddler? Once they're bigger you'll realize that family vacations are miserable unless the kids are having fun too.

Anonymous wrote:Ha. Yes it’s a thing. My dad took me to Disney land when I was 8 and it is one of my favorite memories to this day. It’s not weird and tbh your post is giving the impression that you think you’re special for doing otherwise, which is not the case.

No, it's just I never went to Disney until my mid-40's. We never "vacationed" as kids, so it didn't occur to me to take toddlers (not elementary kids) on a kid vacation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess you haven’t heard of amusement parks or Disney Cruises?

For a toddler? No. I have to say something like that never crossed my mind.

PP didn't ask whether it had "crossed your mind." They asked you whether you have heard of these things. Unless you live under a rock, you are familiar with such places.

It sounds like you just have one kid? I plan kid-friendly trips because its more enjoyable to me if everyone is having fun. 16 month olds don't have a lot of opinions, but 16 year olds do.

Aren't all toddlers portable?

Anonymous wrote:I guess you haven’t heard of amusement parks or Disney Cruises?

For a toddler? No. I have to say something like that never crossed my mind.

Ha. Yes it’s a thing. My dad took me to Disney land when I was 8 and it is one of my favorite memories to this day. It’s not weird and tbh your post is giving the impression that you think you’re special for doing otherwise, which is not the case.

I guess you haven’t heard of amusement parks or Disney Cruises?

It never occurred to us to plan trips around our kids - we always just went where we wanted, and took the kids along. I guess it helped that we were never into hardcore third world adventuring or luxury no-children-allowed resorts, but some of our friends act shocked that we took a portable toddler to, say, Joshua Tree in February instead of - well, I'm not sure what kind of vacation a 16-month-old would prefer. Is this kind of thing really that out there?