College funds vs Disney World?

[Lisa1970]

Sounds like a silly question doesn't it?

Basically, we saved up for Disney World vacation. My children have never asked to go to Disney World. They do not even seem to know it would be any different from the local 6 Flags. Now that it is time to book the trip, I can't help but not want to go. You see, everyone who goes comes back and tells me how miserable they are to not be there anymore. I don't get the idea of spending thousands of dollars to have a week of fun and then the next year of misery. Then my thoughts are maybe I should just take the money and split it up between the kids college funds. That might be more fun and last longer. Then just get 6 flags season passes. What do you think? Maybe even chose a less expensive vacation or something.

Am I being silly and we should just go?

[Honey693]

If the kids haven't brought it up at all I would probably go with the season passes to 6 Flags (that sounds awesome!) and split the rest between college funds. That way you still get fun out of the money, but you get something practical too.

[Super~Single~Mama]

I don't think you're being silly. But, I hated disneyland when we went when I was in 5th grade - it was the WORST trip ever, at least until we left to hike the Grand Canyon!

[gbailey]

If we were able to afford it, I'd go to Disney World every year. I just love it but it doesn't sound like it's the best trip for you based on your post. I would purchase the Six Flags passes and/or take a smaller trip maybe to another state that'snear you that has fun and interesting things to do.

[Ruthie's momma]

College fund!

[limabean]

Originally Posted by Lisa1970

You see, everyone who goes comes back and tells me how miserable they are to not be there anymore. I don't get the idea of spending thousands of dollars to have a week of fun and then the next year of misery.

I think it's fine to choose to do something else with the money, but this reasoning seems incredibly flawed. If people are going to be miserable for a year because they ... had fun on vacation... it seems like they've got bigger problems than deciding how to spend money. I mean, why do anything fun then, if all it will do is make you sad for an extended period of time because you're not doing the fun thing anymore?

[AnalogWife]

I would go, but it's true, it can get addictive. This is a great book for planning if you decide to go.

[jeteaa]

positive, FUN, adventurous family memories are VERY important for children, especially as when they are older. If you can afford it, I would spend the money on a vacation that everyone in your family will enjoy. My family would rather do an eco-tour in cost rica or beach vacation at Atlantis....

[TiredX2]

Can I vote "neither"?

It sounds like Disney World might not be the best choice, but you've saved up the money for a huge family vacation--- is there somewhere else that would be great? I don't know how old your kids are, maybe tuck it somewhere safe so when you do know where you'd all love to go you can go?

We've done Disneyland and it was WONDERFUL. The kids loved it and it would have been awesome to go back again and again. We went when DD was in 2nd grade and then when DS was in 2nd grade and I think part of the fun was looking forward to it and then looking back with fond memories. Sure, we'd love to go again but it's not ruining our lives to not go!

[philomom]

College fund.

I hate hype.... Disneyland is all about the hype.

[MusicianDad]

I vote "neither" too... but a different neither.

A season pass to six flags would be awesome, another family vacation would be neat. If I were to put the money in any sort of fund for the kids though, it wouldn't be something as specific as a college fund just because not everyone goes to college or is suitable for college. I would think a high interest savings account they can access at a certain age (like 18) would be a more reasonable choice.

[mamadebug]

For me, one day at Disneyland (I've never been to Disney World) is more than enough. So, if it was my family, and my kiddo had never brought it up, I would not spend the money that way. I think if I had a kiddo who really wanted to go, then I probably would. But, if you are feeling hesitant, maybe get the season passes closer to home and put the rest in their college funds. Or take a smaller vacation with some of the money and save the rest.

[happysmileylady]

I am going to suggest...

Go to Orlando and just make Disney a part of the trip. There is SO much more to do in Orlando than Disney and while Disney is fun, it's nice to do the other stuff too. You can make a day trip to Daytona beach and spend the day on the beach. You can swim with Dolpins and Discovery Cove. There's Universal of course.

And even if you do Disney, there are a lot of options and you don't have to make it all about the mouse. There's the water parks, which are nice on hot days. There's Animal Kingdom, which is like a zoo with rides.

I agree with the previous poster who said if someone comes back from Disney and spends a year being miserable just because they aren't still at Disney, they have bigger issues. But, I wouldn't use their issues to judge what your own experience will be.

[RiverSky]

Disney!!! We love Disneyworld and Disneyland and have been many times. I think it will be an awesome, dreamy experience for your children. If they already enjoy Six Flags, and so do you, then I don't think you will be the sorts who are miserable there or bored
after one day. Magic Kingdom takes at least
2 days to do, Epcot is fantastic if your children are a little older, Hollywood Studios is great fun and Animal
Kingdom is neat.

Your children might not even go to college, or they might get full scholarships or you might win the lottery before then, or you can just work a month or two and make up the vacation money once your kids are already off to college.
For now, surprise them with this dreamy trip!!! You can always rethink how you were
going to do it and do it on more of a budget, if you'd like.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Smokering]

What about a few days at Disneyland and save the rest?

Now bear in mind I've never been to either DW or DL, but we're planning to go to DL next year after I developed one of my Aspie interests, and I've been obsessively reading forums dedicated to Disney. From those I've gleaned a few facts:

-Disneyland can be a lot less stressful than Disneyworld, because there's much less walking/bussing - it's way more compact, the attractions are much closer together, and you don't have to drag kids across parking lots the size of small countries

-Disneyland has a kind of magic DW doesn't - it's the original, it has a kind of history and mythos to it (which, yes, they do play up for money, but still), and a lot of people find it really special. There are rides that have been there since 1955, and people can go on the same ride their grandparents went on. That's kind of cool. A lot of DL fans say that DW has a much more cynical, commercial vibe, and doesn't feel like a "labour of love" as much as a big business.

-Disneyland and DCA together actually have more rides/attractions than DW, I believe. They're much more closely-packed, but there are heaps of things to do. And a lot of fans really prefer the DL versions of some rides - specifically Pirates, It's a Small World, and a few others I can't remember.

-Admittedly this is from a Disney board, where people are obsessed, but the overwhelming consensus is that Disneyland is not REMOTELY like going to any other ride-based park like Six Flags. There's way more to the experience than the rides.

-Disneyland would likely be far cheaper than DW. Mostly because of the compactness issue - you spend so much less time travelling from park to park, or even walking from attraction to attraction, that could can get a LOT more done. So for a really leisurely, enjoy-every-single-attraction, don't-worry-too-much-about-fast-passes-and-efficiency trip, four or five days? Whereas people say you need, like, two weeks to really explore DW. And if you're not familiar with CA you could explore LA and San Diego for a few extra days, too.

[zinemama]

College fund. Thousands of dollars to go somewhere your kids have never expressed interest in doing? Why did you even save up for it, in that case? Just go to Six Flags.

[JamieCatheryn]

I agree about the hype. I don't like hype and glamor, I like real honest places not set up for tourists. I want vacations that are real. Nobody in your family REALLY wants to go there, why spend so much on it. But, do take a vacation you'll all like to do, and spend whatever % of the Disney budget you feel like on it.

[limabean]

Originally Posted by zinemama

College fund. Thousands of dollars to go somewhere your kids have never expressed interest in doing? Why did you even save up for it, in that case? Just go to Six Flags.

Regarding the bolded, I can understand that part. They may have started saving when their children were babies, assuming that the kids would be totally into it (since most kids are) -- doesn't seem like a stretch to me. It would take us a few years to save up for a big family vacation that involved flights and hotels -- it's not like we could get the idea and then just save for a few months for the trip.

[Drummer's Wife]

I would probably use some of the money for a trip to California and visit Disneyland a couple days - and the beach, etc., for the rest of your vacation. Disneyworld is nice and all, but Disneyland is almost identical to Magic Kingdom (the park my kids really enjoyed out of all the "world"). Then you won't feel so guilty spending a huge amount of money just for theme parks. Plus, California has nicer weather than Florida (IMO), and you can do more sightseeing while still getting the magic of Disney.

I don't think Disney (land or world) are a waste of money - the memories last a lifetime, but if it were between say, a trip every year vs. a decent college savings account, well, obviously I would choose saving for college. But a few trips over childhood is worth the $, IMO. My DH might argue a bit otherwise, but he'd have no problem spending twice as much for a week in Hawaii - it just depends on what your family finds fun.

[Lisa1970]

Originally Posted by JamieCatheryn

I agree about the hype. I don't like hype and glamor, I like real honest places not set up for tourists. I want vacations that are real. Nobody in your family REALLY wants to go there, why spend so much on it. But, do take a vacation you'll all like to do, and spend whatever % of the Disney budget you feel like on it.

My husband wants to go there. The kids say they will go whereever we take them, but have never asked for Disney. It is strictly DHs idea and that is it. He went there all the time growing up. I have been there one time, with my inlaws. They invited us out there when they were renting a place so we could stay there. We went, it was miserable. We got to go on 1 ride a day, that was it. My inlaws would get super angry if we tried to separate from them, but they had little interest in rides. They often wanted to sit and eat and only wanted to spend a couple hours at the park each day. One day, we went on two rides. One day we have a character breakfast. One day, dh and I went off alone with our children, but went to Epcot as that was the place we had not been. One day, I took care of all the children while DH went off with the other adults. We saw plays at MGM.

You know, I so don't want to go, I think I will just say no. I am more interested in this eco-trip someone mentioned here. I think I will go google eco-trip.