How do I make DH understand it's not weird to visit Disney/Universal without the kids?

[jerseygal]

Thanks, and I do know the temps in Naples, etc won't be any different. Was just thinking of different areas with eperiences he may miraculously be more interested in visiting. Thanks for the red tide tip. Ick.

West Coast of Florida certainly has beautiful beaches if you are beach people. There is additional info on the web with up to date information on Red Tide in different cities which could be useful if you are thinking of a vacation on West Coast.

 

[jesseybell]

Sorry you haven't convinced your DH to go down to Orlando without the kids. We are going down towards the end of F&W without our lovely cherubs. We are from the Northeast too and taking the very earliest flight so will be in Orlando by 9.

I didn't grow up going to Disney - went once when I was 30 and then once after we were married before having kids (but were only there for 1 night). We started going when the kids were 4 and 20 months and have gone every 2 years since then for varying amounts of time. They've been told we aren't going as a family again until Star Wars opens. They are completely understanding that we are going without them.

As much as I would like some pool time, I am not sure we will have time - since we don't usually go down for very long, we don't usually get a lot of pool time anyways.

The last full day DH is sleeping in and getting a massage and I am rope dropping MK - I am very excited about the whole trip, but there is part of me that is most excited about having some time in the park not only without kids, but completely by myself!

 

[dachsie]

Have you considered the Florida Keys? Should definitely be warm enough to swim down there

 

[b5sgqueen]

You keep mentioning the futility of traveling for 10 hours for 2 days(I agree, incidentally). I'm wondering if you've made this clear to him? I'm just thinking about my DH and how something like this seems very logical to me but it hasn't occurred to him so he doesn't understand why I'm so against it. He may either not think about the travel or assume that you can be away longer than you feel comfortable with(also something we've had to lay out for each other). Not saying you haven't done this, just what my experience can be.

Also, is warm weather a must? I have great luck with taking a 60-90 minute drive to a close city and getting a nice hotel. It ends up costing less, but can be done easily and you're also not so far away if you feel like you need to get back.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Background- I have been a lifelong Disney fan. We visited the parks just a couple times when I was a teen (and Disneyland for a day when I was 9), so it's really not something I grew up doing regularly. Because of that, it never occurred to me to travel there when I was single. But, I always loved the music and movies. I even owned the box set of the music of Disney. In 8th grade, I knew every word to every classic Disney song! My husband grew up with zero Disney influence and could care less about it, one way or the other.

We didn't start taking our kids there until 4 years ago, and we have gone once a year since. My husband, although indifferent to the Disney culture, actually really loves his time at the parks. He is usually the happiest person in our family when we are there! But, he constantly moans and groans when I inevitably mention vacationing there, yet again. Each time we go, he declares that we aren't going back for 3 more years, but he always caves. We do have plans to take the kids again in maybe late 2019 and he has agreed to that. Mainly, because the family has a 1 day pass that expires on 12/31/19 that we haven't used. We are undecided on when to go, but we will figure it out.

We are both turning 40 within two weeks of each other at end of November/early December 2018. He has mentioned possibly taking a trip away without the kids. This would be the first time away from them since my almost 10 year old was born. We have 5 kids. We went to Chicago for a weekend in 2012 when I was a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding, and that's it. It was a busy weekend and we barely saw each other. We do not have grandparents we can ask to babysit for more than an hour or two. In fact, my mother lives with me and I am her full time caretaker. This is why we never travel without the kids. Asking anyone to watch 5 kids is an enormous ask, and we just don't go there with family. But, this is a big birthday year for both of us and I know my amazing SIL would love to help us get away for a couple nights.

We want:

1. to go someplace warmer than here (we live in the Northeast and are not into winter sports so a ski weekend is out of the question).
2. Direct flight less than 3.5 hours
3. Be able to swim if the weather happens to cooperate.

He wants to go to a Caribbean island. Believe me- I would LOVE this. I love the beach. But- Airfare/hotel will be high, and we can't get to any island without less than a 10 hour travel day with layovers etc. Since my sister in law will likely be watching my kids, and my brother taking my mom, and my 3 year old (and sometimes also my 4 year old) still refuses to sleep through the night, we can't do more than 3 nights away. I would even be more comfortable with 2 nights, truthfully. I feel as though he is subconsciously suggesting an unattainable vacation because he knows it's logistically impossible. He won't get stuck with me saying he wasn't willing to do anything to celebrate our milestone birthdays . See where I am coming from? Spending thousands to get just 2 beach days and hours of long travel seems unreasonable to me. And since he is super smart, I know he has to see the flaw in this plan.

I suggested traveling to Orlando for 2 nights without the kids. We can take a 6am direct flight and be there by 9am. Stay 2 nights and fly home morning or mid-afternoon third day. I said we could even skip Disney and do a day at Universal. I am also HP obsessed and have never been because we felt some of our kids were not old enough on past trips to justify the expense of Universal. I would also really love to see Disney decorated for the holidays because I love Christmas!!!

He thinks the whole idea is madness. He can't imagine being there without our kids. He said the fun for him there is seeing how much they enjoy themselves. I think it would be really enjoyable, for both of us. But, I don't want to be selfish. It's his birthday too. But, Florida is really the only place we can fly that meets our above guidelines for a weekend away. I did say we could do Fort Lauderdale, but if the weather is cool, we won't be able to do too much besides go out to eat and relax at the hotel. Maybe not a bad thing, but he agreed he wouldn't want to be stuck there for a weekend in blah weather.

OK, lots of rambling here. Thanks in advance!

So I have a couple of comments/questions

1) I love WDW and Universal and haven't been with kids yet sooo it can be amazing lol as an adults only trip. That wouldn't be the reason to not go in my book

2) BUT why not branch out and take the opportunity to visit other places that both of you will enjoy.

3) Gently asking but is it realistic to go away when you'll get a weekend tops out of the place? I say this because of your situation with your children. You're talking 2 nights MAYBE 3. If you guys want a trip I'd look for something within very reasonable driving distance as a weekend getaway. Maybe do something that you'd be less inclined to bring the kids to so it feels less like your husband would be missing out on experiences with the kids.