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I really never understood Disney and it seemed overrated to me. Nope. We went last month and my five year old LOVED every second of it. Even my 2 year old who couldn't ride most things was just in awe. We will go again when my 2 year old is 5/6 so he can have the same magical experience that my 5 year old had on this trip. So I don't think it's something people do just because everyone else does. I think it's something people do because it's truly magical for children and as a parent it's pretty damn awesome to see your kids that happy!

Having said that, we will never be one of those families that goes to Disney every year or every other year. There are just too many other places in the world that I want to show my children and have them experience for us to spend vacation after vacation at Disney.

ETA: I agree with Adira. If you will be negative and unhappy the whole time, it most certainly won't be magical for your son, in which case, you should skip it.

I'm not going anytime soon. I've been there as a teen and it seems a little too fast-paced and overwhelming for small kids. We may go when the kids are older, if they even think it's interesting.

Right now we prefer the kind of vacation where we can be outside all day doing whatever we feel like, especially sports and hiking, and where we do NOT have to travel from place to place. And later on... I don't know, personally I'd pick visiting another country over Disney any day, but I don't know how the kids will feel about that.

@irene: Has your son expressed an interest in going?

I didn't go to Disney until I was 16, and that was only because my older sister was on the college internship there and got us huge discounts. Growing up with a single income family with 3 kids we didn't go on big vacations, it wasn't expected. I loved it when I went, and have been multiple times since then, but I don't think you're taking away a major childhood milestone by not going to Disney. Don't go if you don't want to, do the cruise again if you would enjoy it again, go somewhere that you will enjoy! Vacations always end up with someone miserable at some point, and that's even when everyone wants to be there; I can't imagine what it would be like to be somewhere you didn't want to be from the start even in the best scenario and then something goes wrong (which inevitably does).

ETA: We plan on taking our son, but not for at least 5 more years. He's only 2, and I want him to be able to remember and enjoy it. We might even wait until he's old enough to ride all the rides.

We caved and went with my entire family last year and stayed off site. We quickly decided Disney isn't for us, but my 4 year old LOVED it. I do see taking him back in the future for one day at a park, but doing the entire "Disney experience" with both kids in the future? Nope. Too many other fun things to do for us as a family.

If you enjoy the Disney cruise, sounds like a good option to me!

We live close to Disneyland and have gone multiple times with our kids (and have passes this year). That being said, I personally love Disneyland so going is fun for me and bringing the kids is that much more magical! Thankfully DH also likes it or we probably wouldn’t go often at all because it’s a lot of work even living close by! We go on trips for us though so if we weren’t into it, I doubt I could force myself to spend money on it!

I think you know my sentiment on this but I will say that my Dh when we married was straight up against disney. He said he would go once for our future kids and that would be It.

Once we took dd for her first time he fell in love with it and now totally looks forward to each trip. He even had us look into Disney vacation club membership, but we are thinking once are girls are older ( 10+ ) we won’t visit disney as often and do more adventure-type travel so it’s not a forever thing for us.

If you really don’t want to go, don’t go. Lots of other travel destinations will be happy to take your money

My husband and I have two boys that are almost 2 and almost 5. I feel like we should at least go once in their lives, although I’m not in a hurry since there are so many other cool vacations to take as a family and we tend to prefer outdoor/natural activities. My parents have a timeshare in Orlando and offered to take out family so perhaps we’ll go one year. If I don’t have to spend too much of my own money I’m more willing to go. As fun as it would be, I think it’s just a trap to spend $$$. I’ve heard at the end of every ride there are shops luring kids. It kind of makes my soul sick and it’s just so capialistic. Yuck.

I grew up going multiple times mostly because one set of my grandparents lived in FL so we would visit them every 2 years or so and spend a couple days at Disney or one of the parks there. I wouldn’t at all call myself a Disney lover, although I thought it was always fun.

My husband only went once in his life around the age of 12 and he wasn’t too thrilled. He would prefer not to ever go at all.

You must not live in a very economically diverse area? Disney is not mandatory for a great childhood, and if you don't want to go, don't. I would feel no guilt about that decision.

@shabang: ditto

We went once when we were kids and I don't remember it being ridiculously magical. It's not really on my list of "must-do's" and I'm pretty sure it would take some major convincing to get DH to agree to dropping that much money on a theme park vacation.

We just went and it was fun. We did one day at magic kingdom. We definitely didn't do a week long Disney spree. Our kids are only 4 and 20 months. They did 10 rides and had a blast and ask to go back.

We will probably go again when they are a bit older... it was fun but it's not cheap and there's other places in the world I want to see.. we typically take 2-3 vacations a year and I don't want to go back to Disney every or every other year.
Next time we will probably just get a condo near the beach and drive to magic kingdom for one day or maybe 2.

ETA: we went mid march which is also a super busy time. We had fast passes and just got the app so went to short wait times. The longest wait was 30 mins and the rest were quite short.

I never went as a child and do not plan on taking my kids. We loved Disney movies as much as any other kids, but my parents said no way. It was too expensive (4 kid family), and they just thought their money could be better spent on trips that involved more quality time for what you pay. We did a lot of camping and ski trips, a trip to D.C., and a trip to Norway.

I actually went to a work conference at Disney (Grand Floridian hotel) a few years ago, pre-kids, and DH came with. We had an evening event at Epcot, and as we were wandering the park, we both looked at each other and basically said "Hell to the No". But we are from ND, so we're more outdoorsy people that generally hate crowds and traffic anyway, so it just isn't our idea of a fun time. And in our area, I'd say only about 30-40% of people go to Disney at all, and typically only once or twice ever if they do go. So there isn't that pressure.

I agree about negative self fulfilling prophesy thing. I live in GA too so I went as a child once or twice, actually went for school trips (like my middle school band went and played at Epcot), and it was memorable but I’m not obsessed with Disney magic.

We also took our kids twice and my daughter loved it. Disney can be super stressful with trying to over plan if you’re into that sort of thing. But we went with super low expectations, did what we wanted, and had a great time.

If you do go, just enjoy it and think of it as one of many vacations your kids will have. Bc if you go with negative connotations, there is something easily to complain about (long lines, the heat, the prices). If you go and enjoy it, then it becomes worth it. And I think it’s the same for any vacation, not just Disney

@irene: I really think it depends on the kid's personality (and your's).

I grew up 15 minutes from Disneyland and all the theme parks in the LA area were within an easy drive. We went to all of them multiple times growing up and it just wasn't this magical experience for me. But I'm introverted. I don't like being hot. I don't like waiting in lines forever. I want to be able to rest and relax. And I don't like crowds.

The fun of those trips was mostly the novelty of it, seeing people that I normally wouldn't spend time with, having something be "different" or "new" - but I had just as much fun camping by the ocean, or going to the mountains, or going to sleep away camp, or whatever. I saw all the great Disney movies growing up, but none of that really made me want to see Disneyland. And if your kid doesn't watch that much TV, I feel like its even less of a thing.

I think if you take your child to Disney, they will have fun. But I think it will be fun because its a special trip meant for him and his friend to have fun and have an adventure. So I feel like it could be anything and not just Disney.

FWIW, my family still lives near Disney and I feel like eventually we will go, but I'd really rather have an annual pass or something so that we can visit casually here and there for an hour or two at a time instead of feeling like we have to cram in ALL THE THINGS in 2-3 days or whatever, because my oldest child at least is like me and introverted and gets easily overwhelmed. DH and I are totally fine with not doing Disney and feel no pressure to provide a trip for some "childhood checklist" reason.

Like you, I have zero interest in going to a Disney Park. There is no way I would ever volunteer to do it without being asked. In a vacuum, I do not feel that I am depriving my children of a critical childhood experience by skipping it.

But my kids might feel differently at some point. If one of my kids advocates hard for it, then I will probably plan a family vacation in California, where there are other family-friendly vacation activities that actually interest me. We can spend a day or two at Disneyland without devoting an entire vacation to it.

I am generally not that interested in vacationing in FL anyway. It is way too humid. CA is further for us to travel -- we are in the NYC area -- but it would be worth it to me.

This model will also allow me to avoid Disney hotels, restaurants, etc. I don't want to spend that kind of cash on the mouse franchise.

I generally avoid introducing Disney stuff at home. There are a few exceptions like Mary Poppins and Cars (the movie). I am expecting twin girls now and will avoid princesses as much as possible. I think the Prince Charming fantasy sets a bad example for girls. But I recognize that they might be exposed to that stuff at school. And if they do, then it's not a hill to die on for me. I want my kids to feel like they fit in socially -- within reason -- too.

I have no interest in taking the kids to Disney. I only went as a teenager on a field trip, DH has never been. I hate lines, they hate lines and are generally impatient, its expensive and hot, they aren't into characters or anything... I want to take them to Dutch Wonderland since I've heard its great for kids but that + six flags or something when they're a bit older will be it for me!

If you dont want to go, don't go!

My mom tells me her favorite memory of my childhood was taking me on the Small World ride when I was like 2 or 3 because I was just so in awe of it. The crazy thing is that I remember going on it and just loving it. As much as I hate the thought of Disney now, it is truly magical for kids so we will do it if and when we can afford to.

I have absolutely no interest in ever taking my family to Disney. Its not the type of experience I look for in a vacation. My 5 year old hasn't watched a Disney movie yet (obviously she will eventually). I never went to Disney as a kid and never cared.
Its just not for us. I'm also okay with my kid being disappointed- it doesn't mean I spend thousands of dollars to take her on a vacation. I think there are far more valuable experiences to be had camping, exploring new places, or visiting friends/family.

That said, we aren't really big "vacation" people. Its not what we prioritize in our spending/saving.