We are going to Disney World next week for our annual family vacation...to Disney World. It's the same family vacation we did last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, and the decade before that...you get the picture.
Let me premise this by saying we are a Disney family, but we aren't A Disney Family. We do not wear matching shirts or buy yearly ears (no disrespect to those who do) ; my house isn't adorned with anything Disney- except for some round plastic coasters and chip bag holders (And I took the chip bag holders from my parents' house when they downsized. I'm pretty sure I had purchased them as a thank you for dog and cat sitting one year when we went to Disney. It all comes around doesn't it?) I have a fake diamond Mickey necklace (It cost around $35.00 when I bought it five years ago and it has never turned. My belief is that it is actually real gold and real diamods and a mistake was made, leaving me to get the deal of the century!)- I wear this necklace religiously, so maybe I am, personally, a bit of A Disney Family.
We brown bag it in with a cooler backback. Turkey and Cheese sandwiches, a different chip, pretzel, or cheeze puff (always a surprise what it will be each day) from the local Dollar Tree. We take the free ice water offered at the quick stop restaurants and then stop at Speedway for a 99 cent soda on the way out. The kids get one snack at the park each night; sometimes my husband partakes of a rice krispee treat, while I usually forgo and wait for someone to offer me a "taste." It's all I need.
So if we aren't eating at the sitdown restaurants, buying the souvenirs, staying on site or attending the Dessert Fireworks Gala, then why keep going back?
The long and short of it is, we love being together there as a family. Our kids are 20 and 18 and they sstill love being there with us. We've never separated from them to "meet you at such and such a time." In all the years we've chosen Disney as our family vacation destination, they have never once asked to go anywhere else. We aren't beach people and we aren't the hikey, pack a tent, and camp it kind of people. I need to be moving (fast-- I'm usually about 5 paces ahead of everyone because of my stride) and seeing things. Kids learn what they are taught, so they are good with the non-stop pace. My husband is a saint and simply accepts this fact about us.
Family vacations flying overseas to tour European cities (yes, that would TOP Disney World any day) are way beyond this family's budget, and down time, to me, is when familys go their separate ways, seclude themselves in their rooms, on their phones. You can do that at home.
Disney World is a whirlwind. Up and out by 8 in the morning, back by 10 or 11 at night. It's family 24/7, and I love it. We love it.
I know the day will come when my kids' lives won't factor in a family vacation with Mom and Dad. Until that happens, I will take every one I can walking down Main Street, through the castle, and flying over London with Peter Pan, boating through It's a Small World, Splashing down the Mountain, singing with the Bears, caving with Tom and (my favorites), watching the Carousel take me through the decades and riding above it all on the People Mover. With my family.
I smile now just thinking about it.