Anonymous
Post 01/07/2015 19:08     Subject: Why do people look down at Disney?
Bottom line: you can take a baby and toddler to disney, but you can't take them zip-lining in Belize. You can obviously drag them through museums in Europe, but that's not a toddler's idea of fun.

So do disney when your kids are young enough to enjoy the magic, do Belize or a dude ranch when your kids are older, and do Europe when the grandparents are willing to pay for the family trip ;0)
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2015 18:16     Subject: Re:Why do people look down at Disney?

I don't think that is true. My son just doesn't love rides all that much, and gets tense in crowds. We went and it was ok, but by no means one of the greatest vacations of our lives. We had just as much fun renting a condo at the beach the following year.


You are the exception, not the norm.


According to whom? Have you done a statistical study of families and their enjoyment of various vacation venues?
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2015 18:06     Subject: Why do people look down at Disney?
Going to Disney World - and liking it - does not preclude a stay at and enjoyment of a jungle lodge in Belize. And if the PP who posted about conversing with other Belize-visiting parents managed to have a conversation with them about amusement parks, I can only imagine they were engaged in festival of self-congratulations over their superior vacationing choices. "Aren't we wonderful for traveling to Belize instead of going to Disney World? Thank goodness we came here, to real culture, instead of going there, to corporate falsehood."
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2015 14:20     Subject: Re:Why do people look down at Disney?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I personally can't stand Disney. It's okay once in a lifetime, but not more. We took my older child there because my DH had a business trip nearby. It's the most artificial, cheesey, phoney place and they just want your money. Most of the places were just selling souvenirs and there wasn't really anything of interest to see. The music gets so old and annoying. It takes all day, you're stuck in the heat, have to wait in lines, there's nowhere to breastfeed. We rode on some ride and at the end it acted like "it's a baby gorilla!". Well, who wants to see a stupid fake baby gorilla. For the amount of money we paid, they should have a real gorilla. And then there were all these people taking pictures so I get my camera ready to take a picture too, and it's like a huge stupid fake tree. I put my camera away. I'd rather see a huge real tree. The sad thing is when you see a lone grown ass man wearing Mickey ears who probably has no friends and can't get laid. For kids it's okay because they can use their imaginations and it seems all magical and crap, but I can't get over that it's all phoney. They start the marketing by putting Disney characters on diapers so your kids are hooked. The Disney princesses are over sexualized and getting more and more cartoony and unrealistic. I'd rather go to a National Park or another country and see the real world, not pay good money to see a fictitious sh!t factory. I'm dreading going back but will probably have to make the trip for our second child because the ILs live nearby and would pay us to go.


What you really want to say is that you can't afford Disney.


No, I can afford it. What I'm saying is that someone would have to pay me to go back to Disney.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2015 13:24     Subject: Why do people look down at Disney?
Anonymous wrote:Disney does not have to be super expensive. We booked flights for $168 a person, and hotel and tickets through Costco. It is less than a week at the beach and is nowhere near as expensive as a trip to Europe.


Sure is! I priced it out and to stay in any of the decent hotels it is very expensive. Plus park tickets, food, etc. There are ways to do it cheaper (off property, pack lunches, etc.) and there are ways to do Europe cheaper too.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2015 13:22     Subject: Why do people look down at Disney?
Anonymous wrote:Disney is designed for kids, so it makes perfect sense to take family vacations there when the kids are young. Disney has the whole experience down to a science and everything is easy and family oriented. We've gone 3 or 4 times and the kids still talk about those trips. When they are older, we'll go on more adventurous vacations that will have more adult appeal. I personally don't see the appeal in dragging little kids all over Europe or a fancy resort or some big city. Trying to keep little kids entertained on those adult-centric vacations sucks the life and fun right out of everything.


You can have a kid-centric vacation anywhere.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2015 12:37     Subject: Why do people look down at Disney?
Disney does not have to be super expensive. We booked flights for $168 a person, and hotel and tickets through Costco. It is less than a week at the beach and is nowhere near as expensive as a trip to Europe.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2015 12:08     Subject: Why do people look down at Disney?
Disney is designed for kids, so it makes perfect sense to take family vacations there when the kids are young. Disney has the whole experience down to a science and everything is easy and family oriented. We've gone 3 or 4 times and the kids still talk about those trips. When they are older, we'll go on more adventurous vacations that will have more adult appeal. I personally don't see the appeal in dragging little kids all over Europe or a fancy resort or some big city. Trying to keep little kids entertained on those adult-centric vacations sucks the life and fun right out of everything.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2015 12:02     Subject: Re:Why do people look down at Disney?
Having travelled all over the world, I can say this for Disney. It is a direct flight from DC. It is safe. there is a lot for children to look at in one place. A European vacation is more expensive on the airline tickets, more hassle on the travel to the castle, more safety issues, longer flight, more transfers. Altogether, it will cost you much more for the same level of stars. Just more of everything. For families with kids, you just walk out the door and you are there. Yes, it is over priced, but there are 5 parks and something for all ages. To me the crowding is a pain, but without the crowds, it would be a fine vacation with smaller kids. it does lack status to some people, however.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2015 10:55     Subject: Why do people look down at Disney?
I don't look down on people who like Disney, I've just concluded that our family really just isn't all that into Disney. On a visit to California, we took our then 5- and 7-year-old DDs to Disneyland. It was nice enough -- Disney definitely knows how to treat its guests -- but it was also hot, crowded and my younger daughter was afraid of about half of the rides.

While my girls definitely knew about the princesses, they were never completely absorbed by them the way some kids are. As a result, the experience for them wasn't any better than their annual treks to Hershey Park.

For several years thereafter, I asked my girls if they wanted to go to Disney World since I thought that might be more fun than Disneyland. Neither of them were particularly enthusiastic about it and I have to say I didn't like my Disney experience enough to pull the trigger on such an expensive trip without them being completely on board.

It's OK to love Disney. It's also OK to take a pass on it.

Anonymous
Post 01/07/2015 10:43     Subject: Why do people look down at Disney?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why it's 1 or the other. It's like people think if you take your children to Disney a few times in their life, yearly or even once people assume you don't also take them to Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon or Europe. People can do all of those things. And Disney cruises to Europe are amazing. Yes they are spendy but truly worth it.


For many families, including mine, it's one or the other. We take a vacation maybe once every two years, and now one of those is being taken up by Disney. I'm the PP who is doing it because my DD has fallen in love with the magic of Disney princesses this year and so we're doing it, but I know our time and money is limited and I hate that we're spending some of it there instead of somewhere else in the US or world. I'm doing everything I can in terms of planning to make it magical for her so that it will be well-worth it for DH and me.


I'm a PP who doesn't love Disney and gets where you're coming from. I felt a bit like this before our trip.

BUT it really helped to change our thinking to focus on this particular trip as a vacation for the kids, and they had an absolute blast.

It also helps that I've done some of the other types of vacations, and know that my particular kids (4 & 7) just aren't quite there yet for them to be amazing for everyone. For instance I think a dude ranch vacation would be wonderful, but think we should wait on that until both kids are old enough to ride the horses. But I also spent some time fantasizing about those later vacations while we were planning, which helped remind me that there will be more opportunities for family adventure over the years.


Thank you, 10:40! I'm the PP and that helps a lot! I'm already telling myself that our next vacation WILL be someplace that my DH and I want to explore as well.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2015 10:40     Subject: Why do people look down at Disney?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why it's 1 or the other. It's like people think if you take your children to Disney a few times in their life, yearly or even once people assume you don't also take them to Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon or Europe. People can do all of those things. And Disney cruises to Europe are amazing. Yes they are spendy but truly worth it.


For many families, including mine, it's one or the other. We take a vacation maybe once every two years, and now one of those is being taken up by Disney. I'm the PP who is doing it because my DD has fallen in love with the magic of Disney princesses this year and so we're doing it, but I know our time and money is limited and I hate that we're spending some of it there instead of somewhere else in the US or world. I'm doing everything I can in terms of planning to make it magical for her so that it will be well-worth it for DH and me.


I'm a PP who doesn't love Disney and gets where you're coming from. I felt a bit like this before our trip.

BUT it really helped to change our thinking to focus on this particular trip as a vacation for the kids, and they had an absolute blast.

It also helps that I've done some of the other types of vacations, and know that my particular kids (4 & 7) just aren't quite there yet for them to be amazing for everyone. For instance I think a dude ranch vacation would be wonderful, but think we should wait on that until both kids are old enough to ride the horses. But I also spent some time fantasizing about those later vacations while we were planning, which helped remind me that there will be more opportunities for family adventure over the years.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2015 10:31     Subject: Why do people look down at Disney?
Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why it's 1 or the other. It's like people think if you take your children to Disney a few times in their life, yearly or even once people assume you don't also take them to Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon or Europe. People can do all of those things. And Disney cruises to Europe are amazing. Yes they are spendy but truly worth it.


For many families, including mine, it's one or the other. We take a vacation maybe once every two years, and now one of those is being taken up by Disney. I'm the PP who is doing it because my DD has fallen in love with the magic of Disney princesses this year and so we're doing it, but I know our time and money is limited and I hate that we're spending some of it there instead of somewhere else in the US or world. I'm doing everything I can in terms of planning to make it magical for her so that it will be well-worth it for DH and me.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2015 10:22     Subject: Why do people look down at Disney?
Anonymous wrote:Because people like to look down on things so that they can feel sophisticated and superior.

This.

--Someone who has never been to Disney but plans to go when DC is a bit older.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2015 10:20     Subject: Why do people look down at Disney?
I don't understand why it's 1 or the other. It's like people think if you take your children to Disney a few times in their life, yearly or even once people assume you don't also take them to Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon or Europe. People can do all of those things. And Disney cruises to Europe are amazing. Yes they are spendy but truly worth it.