Just curious if any other parents felt the same way as me...

I grew up 20mins from Disneyland and held an annual pass for many years. All told i think i may have grown up there at the happiest place on earth. Well i moved away for college and still live 1500 miles away but now i have a daughter (7yrs). She has been to disneyland twice now and just loves it to death! We play name that Disneyland ride where i give her three hints and she can normally guess it.

So my question... i went out to California over xmas to visit my grandmother who is not doing to well. As it turns out my sister and parents still have their annual passes and invited me to a day at disneyland. My trip there was ok, i had a nice time but it was just not as fun as when i had my daughter.

Have any other partents out there who have children ever experienced disneyland without the kids and just felt the magic of disneyland was not there without the kids?

I have to agree that it is different. DH and I have been a couple of times without the kids and, while I enjoy it, there are some things that I miss. I don't miss having to share treats :p, having someone who doesn't want to go on a ride and having to do baby swap, meltdowns and fighting, or pushing the stroller. I do miss having the stroller to put stuff in ;), seeing their faces light up when they see their favorite character, going on rides in FL with them (they just aren't the same w/o kids), and just watching them believe in all the magic. They just don't see how things work, it is all real to them.

My very good friend won't take her kids until they are 7 y.o. She says that they won't enjoy it enough and they shouldn't go if they can't ride all the rides. I think she's missing out on so many fun experiences that you don't necessarily have with an older child. She even worked at WDW and still feels that way :(.

My kids are grown, but still like going to Disneyland. There is just something extra about taking a little one and seeing things thru their eyes, whether its plotting the day (http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q133/Malcon10t/Plotting.jpg) or having their first Dole Whip (http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q133/Malcon10t/DoleWhip.jpg) its just a little more special with kids.

After going with my DH to DL and WDW several times before first our daughter was born and then our son, I could never now imagine going without them! And I would disagree with a child having to be 7 year old to truly appreciate DL or WDW. DD's first trip was to WDW at 18 months and DS's first trip was at 3 months. Since my DD's first trip she has been to WDW twice and DL six times and for the 7th time next week for a girls only trip (btw she will be six in March.) She loves DL and I love being with her and my DS (now 15 months) at DL. There is nothing more magical than your son taking some of his first steps (right before Christmas) to Mickey Mouse and capturing the moment on video.

BTW on our trip before Christmas we did not go with the intention of riding the big rides. We did it at our children's pace and the pace of the crowds. If you are dead set on riding Space Mtn., Matterhorn, etc. then you need to wait until the kids are old enough or go alone. But, for me, I no longer love DL for those rides (lets admit it, there are better rides at Magic Mountain or amusement parks closer to home.) I love it for the joy in my children's faces when they see Mickey Mouse or Donald or want to ride on Dumbo for the
12th time! :D

I just went to Disneyland this past weekend without my kids (ages 5 & 15). There were certainly times when I missed them, but I also enjoyed being an adult with no one to worry about except myself. It is so much easier moving from place to place, browsing and enjoying shows/rides that my kids aren't into. Also with the age difference between my kids, it often feels like I am split in two different directions because of their varied ride preferences. Although if I hadn't just take a family trip to DL in October, it would have been a lot harder to enjoy myself.

I went this weekend without my 3 year old. He had a "boy party" with DH and they stayed up late, watched movies, played "light sabers" and swords and had a grand time.

All while I was playing at DLR and having a GRAND, very magical (especially meeting CM Maynard), and terrific.

I did miss DS, but he actually specifically did NOT want to go, nor did DH, but I was yearning for it. On the plane trip home from our family trip in December, DS drew a lovely picture of me...grim, frowning, mean-looking face...the face of a woman who just wanted to PLAY and instead was having to wrangle a tired 3 year old.

So I took this trip to get MY time in, because I haven't been separated from him since he arrived (we have a family bed so we're all even close in sleep), and I had a wonderful fabulous fantastic time...so for our future family trips I don't have to have a need to go-go-go.


So...I missed him, but I definitely felt even more magical than when I've gone with DS.

Then again, since he started thinking about his trip at 2 (a few months after that trip he suddenly started talking about it!), he's called Mickey etc "characters"...so "magic" isn't really a big part of it for him. He just thinks it's fun. :p

My daughter experienced Disneyland at 4 and 6 years of age. Her first ride was the materhorn and she loved it! She rode everything except for Thunder Mountain and Space mountain at 4 but could not get enough of both at 6. I would tend to disagree with the statement your friend made about waiting until 7. There is so much of the park that a child under 7 can experience and SHOULD experience. I still get a kick out of her saying she loved the "choo choo train express" (i.e. Thunder Mountain) and that Space Mountain was the best ever! And also the time that she danced around with the jazz band at the French Market at dinner time.

Now that I look back on it, my times on the rides where fun. It was the time in between rides that i think not having my daughter there made the experience not as enjoyable. I guess disneyland to me is something that I will not go back to unless i have my daughter with me beacuse the real magic of disneyland is that of how the park brings out the fun and energy in them.

I have heard so much about CM Maynard!

Hopefully my daughter will be able to experience CM Maynard at the haunted Mansion or Jungle Crusie.



NEXT DISNEYLAND TRIP - SPRING/SUMMER OF 2009. If my company makes their FY2008 financial goals, i am taking my employees and their family out to California for a weeks worth of fun in the sun. Thinking about either 2 or 3 day park hopper passes.

Neither my dh nor I ever went to DLR as children. We went for the first time w/our 3 children in March 05. We've went every year since :)

I totally agree that waiting until a child is 7 yrs old is odd?? I don't think there's a "to young" for DL, it's just a diff experience at every age.

Now, this past Aug my dh & I snuck away to DLR for 3 days to celebrate out 15th wedding anniv. We told our kids we were going to Lake Tahoe... but no- lol. We had a wonderful time... not better than with our kids though, just different. There were things we took time to stop and enjoy, the bands at Tomorrowland Terrance for example that we wouldn't have with our kids... or a guided tour that we might not have done w/our kids quite yet... It isn't the same kind of magic as being with a child, but it was fun.

nvmom

My wife and I have taken our oldest daughter 5, 3 times since she was born, and enjoyed every trip. Last year, my wife let me go on a trip by myself, and I really enjoyed it. It was nice to stay until the park closed and do the attractions that I wanted to. Each trip, no matter if the kids were with or not, is a great experience.

I'm a local Disney fanatic/PAP/CM Alumni, I've been at least yearly since I was 3 years old, I now have young adults for children so I've now been thru each phase of attendence. (child,teen,adult no children,young mom,mom w/teens, mom no children) Each phase has something to offer, one isn't necessarily "better" than another they are just different. I love wandering by myself with DH or BFF down Main St. just like I love rushing from ride to ride with my kids. When I want to experience the park thru a childs eyes I'll borrow my BFF's daughter's son and we'll ride the classics and be silly. Someday I'll have grandchildren of my own and that I think will be the best.

I remember going with one of my baby cousins. He had so much fun, he refused to nap the whole time he was there, he was so excited, he wasn't grumpy either. He took some of his first steps right outside the castle, while waiting for fireworks.

But as a person whom does not have kids, sometimes when the kids in the family come (like the ones posted in Malcons10ts post, they are my cousins too) I need a break!!! They're loud and bouncy. I can't imagine not taking my dog to DL though.

Disneyland is not nearly as fun, for me, without my family.

However, when I am "down there by myself anyway" I try to find a way to go.

And I buy them a lot of souveniers!

I have heard so much about CM Maynard!

Hopefully my daughter will be able to experience CM Maynard at the haunted Mansion or Jungle Crusie.


If DS had been with me, I wouldn't have been able to stop for him. Or Maynard would have scared him. Or he would have tried to out-do Maynard.

It was an experience I could only have had on this solo trip. :)

It was funny, he was urging me to visit his website, though in Main Street sort of way (where the internet doesn't exist) by saying "I hear there something involving something called computers, and this website thing, and my first name is maynard and last name is smith and if you put them together"....something like that. :) Anyway, so I got home and went there, and he has a link to a fan site not run by him, and on THAT site I found out that I had the rarest meeting with him of all, because he was doing crowd control on Main Street pre-fireworks. I felt pretty special! :)

I just got back last night after 4 days at DL/CA without my 9 year old. I told him I was "investigating" for our June trip (and he bought it!). I felt so guilty. There were no waits in line, weather was fairly good & lots of characters out & about. I used my disney visa to get 2 free strollers for another family I didn't even know because I missed my little guy so much! On the plus side, I got to go to breakable shops, eat what I want and not hear about tired feet.

I am not a fan of Disney without my children. I have tried on a few occasions and it is just so much better when they are there. Seeing the magic through their eyes and sharing it with them is too great a gift and not nearly the same when they aren't present. My days of Disney sans kids are ovah! ;)

I am not a fan of Disney without my children. I have tried on a few occasions and it is just so much better when they are there. Seeing the magic through their eyes and sharing it with them is too great a gift and not nearly the same when they aren't present. My days of Disney sans kids are ovah! ;)

Could not have stated it better!!! :)

We live in San Diego and usually go about every other month, we have a 5 year old, and we run a group home for DD adults, we have 9 right now. Sometimes my Husband and I go alone, sometimes we take the whole gang and sometimes we go just the 3 of us.
Disneyland is full of magic for me and I experience it differently each time we go. When I go I enjoy it as it is, I love seeing it through the eyes of my child, and the people we care for, it is with a childlike wonder they experience the park. When my husband and I go, we bond as a couple and get to take a little more time to look at the art and details of the park.
If we lived further away and could only come once a year or so, I don't think I would not bring our son, but since we are lucky enough to have many trips per year, my conscious is clear. I just love being in the park, I think I could go for a day, plop down on a bench and just watch the people go by, I love watching other people enjoy themselves.

***Funny story: We were in the park last Saturday in the rain, there are flood lights on the roof of the Christmas shop, by the shooting gallery in Frontier Land. This Family walked by and the Lady says, "what is that supposed to be, snowflakes?" I started laughing, and said "I think you are a little too caught up in the magic, that's the rain!"***

Definately better with kids! I love taking my children and seeing the park through them. Totally different experiance. Oh and I love taking my babies. Many people don't think taking a baby is worthwhile since they don't "remember" it but watching them discover is AMAZING to me. Nothing better than 9-12 mo. on IASW!...and I love to cuddle my NB's while watching my other children coming off a ride with their father with that light in their eyes. LOVE IT!

Disclaimer:

We have had Annual Passes for over 12 years, since before we had children. And we live only 30 - to 40 minutes away from the park.


I don't mind going without the kids. :eek:

A couple of times I've gotten to DLR ahead of the friends I was meeting and jumped on Soarin' in the "Single Rider Line". I had the chance to just enjoy the attraction. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy it with my children, but I enjoyed the chance to have a moment without "missing" them.

My husband and I have the opportunity to go with our friends a couple of times a year or sometimes more. We love our kids but we also enjoy having a little "us" time, too. Many times we need a little break. :eek: And we don't "need" the kids with us to have fun at Disneyland. Sometimes I enjoy seeing someone else's happy kids at DLR, while being grateful for a little adult time at the same time as I watch them walk away with their parents. ;)

That has nothing to do with not enjoying or loving our kids, it's just how it works for us.

Adrienne

I don't mind going without the kids. :eek:

That has nothing to do with not enjoying or loving our kids, it's just how it works for us.



Completely agree with both of these statements. There are times when my wife and I just want to go so we can enjoy each others company and do what we want versus trying to please 2 young daughters. I love going with my kids but I certainly never feel guilty going without them. They've each been there 10+ times a year for the last 6-8 years so I don't have any issues with "adults only" nights at DL.

I have been to DLR several times without my kids. Three times last year and a few times before that. I honestly did miss them, but I had a great time, and enjoyed myself differently than I do when they are with me. It was a far more relaxed trip, I didn't have to worry about them, feeding them, entertaining them etc.

One of my best memories in the park is spending the afternoon in FL with my then 3 year-old son while mom took a nap with the baby in the hotel.

I just went to Disneyland this past weekend without my kids (ages 5 & 15). There were certainly times when I missed them, but I also enjoyed being an adult with no one to worry about except myself. It is so much easier moving from place to place, browsing and enjoying shows/rides that my kids aren't into. Also with the age difference between my kids, it often feels like I am split in two different directions because of their varied ride preferences. Although if I hadn't just take a family trip to DL in October, it would have been a lot harder to enjoy myself.

That could be my post -- to the letter!