Disney, It's Not Just For Kids Anymore
As parents of three we feel it important to protect and preserve our collective sanity. Now I must admit that this is an area where we often drop the ball. But when the soundtrack of your life often sounds like the intro in Mickey Mouse Club House you have to expect it. This is why a couple of years ago Tiffany and I decided that every other year we would take a trip just the two of us and enjoy an adult vacation. We look forward to this time and have fun planning our next adventure. This is a trip that involves a fair amount of relax time. For the most part we choose a cruise. It is usually the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure and a perfect time to reconnect. When we first started throwing the idea around I have to admit that I felt a bit guilty about leaving the kids at home and going somewhere by ourselves but eventually warmed up to the idea. With that said we fast forward to a couple of years ago on one of our family Disney trips. I asked the kids what they wanted to do next. “Big Thunder Mountain!!!” “No! No! Teacups!!!” “No, Big Thunder Mountain!” “No I said TEACUPS!!!” This went on for a while and to this day I can’t remember who won. All I know is I lost because no one yelled “let’s sit on a bench for 15 minutes!!!” That is also when the wheels started turning in my head and I got to thinking of how different of a place Disney would be to come without kids. Now I know how this sounds. A good majority of you are thinking that I am a horrible person for even suggesting this. Some of you are even looking for the number for Child Social Services right now so you can save these children from such a monster. I mean who would even think of going to Disney and leaving their kids behind. Trust me it was a struggle just to say the words out loud to my wife. I gasped as I let them out and even prepared to duck to avoid whatever she was going to throw at me for suggesting such foolery because again who would ever actually go to Disney World without their kids. Well after a couple of months of deliberating we found the answer to that question. We decided to give it a try. This was not a decision that came with ease. In fact we tried numerous times to talk ourselves out of it but ultimately decided to go. We knew we would have plenty of family Disney trips in the future and the kids would have plenty more opportunities to experience the magic. This was our time, although I could never bring myself to tell the kids where we were going. We told them we were going scuba diving in Florida so they wouldn’t try to hide our keys or latch on to our legs as we tried to board the airplane.
We managed to keep the secret and when the time came we gave them hugs and kisses and snuck off to be kids ourselves. I’m pretty sure people on prison transport busses didn’t feel as guilty as I did on that airplane. But at this point we were 30,000 feet above and really didn’t have the capability nor skill to turn the plane around, so we kinda just had to go with it. So after landing we board Disney’s Magical Express to the Boardwalk, called and checked in with the kids, continued our lie, then hopped a bus over to the park. Now the first thing I noticed about not having the kids (besides the silent and the absence of 45 potty breaks) was the ease of the transportation system without two kids and a stroller. I always envied those who could just get on and off the buss without having to man handle a stretch limo stroller. Next to getting my training wheels off as a kid this may have been the most freeing experience of my life. I mean once we got to the Magic Kingdom we just simply stepped off the bus and were on our way. This was a bit strange but I knew I could get used to it.
Once in the park we immediately decided to take our time and not rush. We were not in a hurry for anything and wanted this to be a relaxing vacation. After a few attractions we found ourselves just browsing some of the shops. This was something we found difficult to do with the kids but always wanted to do. We usually would go in and quickly realize that it was a bad idea to attempt with two kids and a 40ft double stroller. (Admission: the stroller may have not been quite that long but anyone who has ever had to push one of these things knows what I am talking about) it was nice to just be able to look around at all the intricate details of the park and all it had to offer. We wound up walking into shop that contained a lot of glassware. As a parent shops like this are a huge red flag. The words “you break it you buy it” would just constantly flash through my head. But without small fries we were free to browse. This particular store has a guy in the back that at actually makes the hand blown glass right in front of you. This is something we would have never been able to sit and watch with kid kids with us. With two kids under 6 in a glass shop your wallets survival chances drops drastically after 35 seconds. It was a very interesting process to watch and get to see the final product. It is something I doubt a great deal of people ever get to take the time to do. Taking this grown up trip afforded us many opportunities that we would have otherwise never had on a Disney trip. For instance on this particular trip we were able to take full advantage of the ongoing Food & Wine Festival in Epcot. This is something that I have only been able to partially enjoy on other trips. The same could be said about the World Showcase in Epcot. Personally it is one of my favorite places in Disney. We both enjoy walking through the different countries. This is something that we usually go through a bit faster than we would like when the kids are with us. Don’t get me wrong our kids are great and very easy going, but I remember what it is like to be a kid and I know this is not something that they really enjoy. It’s cool for a while as long as we are waiting for Snow White or Belle but eventually we all have our limits. The great thing about this trip is that we had no limits. We took our time when we wanted to and even got to have our adventure. Remember when I said we told our kids we were going to Florida to go scuba diving? Well that wasn’t a complete lie. In fact on this trip we did indeed go diving. We got to do something that the majority of Disney guest do not get to do or even know about. Disney’s DiveQuest is a very cool experience (and will be the topic of my next blog. Stay tuned). We were able to dive in The Seas, Disney’s massive aquarium that includes The Coral Reef restaurant as well as the Finding Nemo ride. It may not sound like much and is for sure not as good as diving in open water, but all in all it was a great experience that I will share more about later and would definitely do again. And for those of you still hung up on the fact that we sort of lied to our children about this, you will find comfort that we were flat busted the next day while face timing with the kids. Apparently Disney has some distinctive bushes. They were not too upset but told us that we couldn’t have too much fun. So we had to lie again for the sake of the trip. Don’t worry even though the rest of our trip was amazing we got them some pretty good souvenirs, and we got some pretty awesome memories. I would recommend an adult Disney trip to anyone. Regardless if you are newlyweds on your honeymoon, busy parents look to escape the madness for just one week, or a couple about to celebrate your 50th wedding anniversary, Walt Disney World had something to offer you. From the resorts to the parks there is plenty to see and do and for once you can do it your way.
Nick Poche’
Avid Disney fan, husband to Tiffany, father of three, Brock, Bailey, and Brennan. Lover of travel and blogger for the We Dream of Disney and Beyond Blog.