[CaribBeachNut]

My youngest will be going off to college next September.
Should I plan a WDW vacation before she leaves?
Or should I wait until she is at college and have a mom & dad vacation alone at WDW?
I don't know what to do, as it would be our first vacation alone in 23 years- or our first trip without the kids in 23 years and I may miss them and be miserable. What should I do?
(I originally put this under mouscellaneous, but it didn't show up on the homepage listings, so I copied it here.)

[rlander]

If you can afford to do both it would be great. How about a short trip with the all of you and then a week long trip with just you and your spouse. A long trip with just the two of you is like a reward for successfully raising your kids. It can be a great time to reconnect now that you have an empty nest.

[Dana]

Honestly, I would wait for and save the trip for just you and your DH. You can make it a second honeymoon of sorts being how you haven't been away alone in 23 years. Conisder it a pat on the back for a job well done with your kids. You two deserve some time alone. You will get over missing them as soon as you and your DH remember what it is to have "you" time. You can plan to take the whole family next time.

[llama]

I know exactly how you feel. I went through the same thing a couple of years ago. Since then we've been to WDW with and without our kids. Vastly different trips. How does your daughter feel about this? When mine was on her way to university she was so excited about her new life, she wasn't interested in going with us. I didn't push it, and my husband and I went alone. We had a wonderful time - it certainly felt different and at times I was lonely. But the next year, my daughter had had her taste of freedom and was anxious to come with us again. So - my advice would be to ask her how she feels about it. If it's super important that she goes with you - then plan a family vacation. If she's looking forward to her independance, then tell her your happy and excited for her new life, and have a second honeymoon.

[PrincessJill]

I'd say the same.. definitely talk to her about it. I just left for college and I would have loved to have one last family trip to remember as the good old days, haha. But I'm kinda weird and sentimental like that... I'm sure most kids look forward to being alone at college. So I guess you should talk it over together and see what both of you want to do.

[CaribBeachNut]

Thank you all for your replies. I will speak to my whole family and see if they want to come along or would rather spread their wings and be on their own while "we" go to WDW.

[CaribBeachNut]

We spoke to our son and his reply was very interesting. He wants to go on vacation with us. So I asked directly, what about other places like the Grand Canyon, et al. Don't you get tired of going to the same old place?
His reply: "The Grand Canyon is just a big hole!" Disneyworld!
Now I need to ask my daughter.

[jo-jo]

I may be out of the loop,but how much time can you spare for vacation? Last year, my husband and I went down for 9 nights and my daughter and son in law came down for 5 nights. We had some together time, all four of us, and while my son in law slept in on emh days, we spent time with our daughter, and still there were several days that we had to ourselves. Next year we are hoping (at least I'm hoping) to go down for 2 weeks and the kids with our first grandchild (should be about 9 months old by christmas )will come down for 5 or 6 days.

[llama]

Originally Posted by jo-jo

I may be out of the loop,but how much time can you spare for vacation? Last year, my husband and I went down for 9 nights and my daughter and son in law came down for 5 nights. We had some together time, all four of us, and while my son in law slept in on emh days, we spent time with our daughter, and still there were several days that we had to ourselves. Next year we are hoping (at least I'm hoping) to go down for 2 weeks and the kids with our first grandchild (should be about 9 months old by christmas )will come down for 5 or 6 days.

This is also a good solution if you have the time. Last January we had three weeks. Both daughters were with us for one week, one daughter was with us for two weeks and for the third week my husband and I took the cruise. It was the best holiday I ever had. And I was able to spend special time with each daughter, and also alone time with my DH.

[CaribBeachNut]

Yes, we have the time. We're planning on 12 days at WDW. I will speak to my daughter tonight. Thank you all for your help on this. I just didn't know what to do.

[painted_lady1]

Originally Posted by CaribBeachNut

My youngest will be going off to college next September.
Should I plan a WDW vacation before she leaves?
Or should I wait until she is at college and have a mom & dad vacation alone at WDW?
I don't know what to do, as it would be our first vacation alone in 23 years- or our first trip without the kids in 23 years and I may miss them and be miserable. What should I do?
(I originally put this under mouscellaneous, but it didn't show up on the homepage listings, so I copied it here.)

MISS THE KIDS? Dont ever talk that way again. You deserve to have a great time alone after 23 years. In 11 days I'll be there, no kids, just four of us women, what a time we are going to have........cant wait. Its about time we thought of ourselves before the money dries up........lol.....and this should be the best times of your lives, trust me life is very short, so enjoy while you can............have fun

[tinkerbell]

boy CaribBeachNut, I so understand where you are coming from on this ..we have so often talked of going with out the girls ..but then we wonder if we would miss them too much to really enjoy it. cant wait to hear the family decision :) I know it will turn out great one way or the other .. I also love jo-jo's suggestion too :)

[CaribBeachNut]

My DD was hoping we would go to WDW this summer. So we are all going as a family! Hooray! We are also planning a no kids weekend to see the Fall leaves. I get to do both! Thank you so much everyone for all of your help.

[Aggie_10]

I would go with the kids. You never know when they get a little older, have kids, a job, they may not be able to go with you, then. I would plan a shorter trip for you and DH in the future.

I think based on the fact that you even asked the question, you would feel guilty going with just you and DH now. I don't think you should feel guilty. You obviously deserve it but it seems to me like you would.

You should go later when you won't feel guilty, and you can completely enjoy yourself.

[CaribBeachNut]

Originally Posted by Aggie_10

I would go with the kids. You never know when they get a little older, have kids, a job, they may not be able to go with you, then. I would plan a shorter trip for you and DH in the future.

I think based on the fact that you even asked the question, you would feel guilty going with just you and DH now. I don't think you should feel guilty. You obviously deserve it but it seems to me like you would.

You should go later when you won't feel guilty, and you can completely enjoy yourself.

Thanks so much. I will try to relax when we go looking at the Fall leaves, but I am getting very nervous about that. I am looking forward to spending time with my family at WDW. Thank you all for your advice.