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I know two adult people whose idea of travel "fun" is Disneyland and that's it. I admit to finding it very macabre.
But what I don't understand, with the ridiculous high costs to go there, is why parents get in a hurry and take 2 & 3-year-olds. I waited until mine was 9 so that she could appreciate and remember it more.
I know two adult people whose idea of travel "fun" is Disneyland and that's it. I admit to finding it very macabre.
But what I don't understand, with the ridiculous high costs to go there, is why parents get in a hurry and take 2 & 3-year-olds. I waited until mine was 9 so that she could appreciate and remember it more.
If you think that's macabre, I have friends whose favorite destination is the catacombs of Paris!
I agree that 2 & 3 is pushing it, but a reasonably active child 4-5 years old can hold their own at Disney as long as you don't do it commando style. And how well they remember it 20 years later is irrelevant. Your baby won't CONSCIOUSLY remember the countless hours you spent playing 'peek-a-boo' or 'got-your-nose', or just cuddling, but those experiences help to make them into the person that you would like them to be.
The staff was really wonderful! Especially in the rain, they were just scarce. We did plan, not to the extent we should have. Fast pass for the magic kingdom only allows you to preselect three rides. After that it's up in the air. We picked our rides, never thought the wait times would be that long for the rest.
However the lines had great displays and interactive games which was very cool. When we got on the rides we loved them. (Except space mountain breaking down all day).
Again, it's the ROI for me. Personally I would rather do a trip to Europe. It was astonishing how much you have to pay.
Disney is definitely not for those who devalue its intangible qualities that can't be put on a spreadsheet. What's the ROI for having a baby?
Good on you that you live somewhere that you can do a trip to 'Europe' for less than Disney.
Fun fact - Did you know that there is only one place in the entire continent of Europe that you can get even ONE fast pass? That's right, it's Disneyland Paris!
Have you ever stood outside in line for hours for the attractions in Rome, or Venice, or Paris? Once you get inside, what do your children think of the ROI to stand 20 feet away from some painting or fresco they don't care about with 500 strangers blocking their view? Have you bought a $10 shot of espresso in St. Marks Square? Looked for a public restroom strolling the streets of Rome? Found it to be a 'squat' toilet?
Europe is great for history loving adults, for many kids it's as boring as staying at Auntie Josephine's condo in Duluth.
Last edited by rugrats2001; 06-14-2015 at 08:09 AM..
Good on you that you live somewhere that you can do a trip to 'Europe' for less than Disney.
Fun fact - Did you know that there is only one place in the entire continent of Europe that you can get even ONE fast pass? That's right, it's Disneyland Paris!
Have you ever stood outside in line for hours for the attractions in Rome, or Venice, or Paris? One you get inside, what do your children think of the ROI to stand 20 feet away from some painting or fresco they don't care about with 500 strangers blocking their view? Have you bought a $10 shot of espresso in St. Marks Square? Looked for a public restroom strolling the streets of Rome? Found it to be a 'squat' toilet?
Europe is great for history loving adults, for many kids it's as boring as staying at Auntie Josephine's condo in Duluth.
Haven't done Europe yet. We did Mexico last year. Our flights, hotel, food and attractions were one quarter the cost of Disney. The ROI is the happiness of my child. Disney? They enjoyed it. Mexico? They loved.
If you think that's macabre, I have friends whose favorite destination is the catacombs of Paris!
I agree that 2 & 3 is pushing it, but a reasonably active child 4-5 years old can hold their own at Disney as long as you don't do it commando style. And how well they remember it 20 years later is irrelevant. Your baby won't CONSCIOUSLY remember the countless hours you spent playing 'peek-a-boo' or 'got-your-nose', or just cuddling, but those experiences help to make them into the person that you would like them to be.
I agree that 4-6 is a GREAT age to take kids. They're old enough to interact and understand, and young enough to still believe that the characters they're meeting are real.
Haven't done Europe yet. We did Mexico last year. Our flights, hotel, food and attractions were one quarter the cost of Disney. The ROI is the happiness of my child. Disney? They enjoyed it. Mexico? They loved.
Mexico can be amazing, for sure. A beautiful land.
Hilarious to read people defend the Disney experience. So silly. You aren't inferior if you don't buy into the Disney experience and you definitely aren't superior if you buy into the Disney experience. Everybody has different tastes. If you love it -- good for you but if you don't, there's nothing wrong with that.
Just because a child isn't in love with the Disney experience doesn't mean they are 'locked' into the digital world, blah, blah.. My family would much prefer to take a trip to a new geographical experience than to Disney to meet Mickey. That's okay -- you can go and enjoy and have fun, but to suggest someone that doesn't love the very expensive Disney trip is somehow inferior is kind of childish.
Hilarious to read people defend the Disney experience. So silly. You aren't inferior if you don't buy into the Disney experience and you definitely aren't superior if you buy into the Disney experience. Everybody has different tastes. If you love it -- good for you but if you don't, there's nothing wrong with that.
Just because a child isn't in love with the Disney experience doesn't mean they are 'locked' into the digital world, blah, blah.. My family would much prefer to take a trip to a new geographical experience than to Disney to meet Mickey. That's okay -- you can go and enjoy and have fun, but to suggest someone that doesn't love the very expensive Disney trip is somehow inferior is kind of childish.
Thanks, I was just about to put something similar to this! Everyone has their different opinions of fun. Nothing wrong with loving Disney, nothing wrong with preferring to do something else.
I am not bitching about it and apologize if it is coming off that way. I am genuinely curios. We enjoyed parts, but the cost to me is insane. We chartered a fishing boat during vacation, less expensive and to us, 10 times more fun.
I definitely don't think we got the best experience because of the rain. Putting that aside, if the weather was beautiful it would have been more crowded. I am asking for people to explain why they enjoy it. One poster mentioned the characters was why their family enjoyed it.
you don't have to like it and you don't have to explain yourself to people.
I personally hate Disneyland and anything Disney- I hate how its culture has too much influence over children, I hate that it is expensive, I hate waiting in line for so long for a few measly rides.
I go on a lot of trips. I do do my research ahead of time. And even the best planned out trip I can still get overwhelmed once I get to a place.
If I was going to Disney (and I have a couple of times many years ago) I am not sure how much "planning" I would do ahead of time. It is a Park. It shouldn't be that complicated to do a Park (and yes now that I have read this thread Disney is really complicated to do efficiently--I had never thought about it before).
The fast past seems like a rip off. Yes, I get the planning part to be sure you get to do a lot of the Park--but geez that takes fun out of an adventure having an itinerary for a Park.
Several years ago we were in California and decided to fit in Universal Studios. It was disappointing since we only got to do about four things because the lines were insanely long.
MANY those "Parks" should lower the limit of people for each day to be fair to people who purchase the high price tickets. It is not good Customer Service to make people stand in line for hours.
apexgds, you want to blame the OP but in reality it is the Park's greed that is the problem. No one should ever have to wait in line for over 30 minutes. --what do they care? They are making gobs of money every day. They have a gimmick that is working for them. Kind of sad now that I think about it, how they really are ripping people off.
One should not have to "plan in advance" for a Park that oversells its tickets. Greed at its best.
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