How to deal with our trip empty nest style.

[Raven66]

Hi all,

Well, the day is finally here when our little girl has grown up and decided to move into an apartment with friends. She is 18 now and to soften the blow to me ( drugs would have worked well here too) my husband is taking me to Disney World in November. My question is to those of you who went with your children and then they had the nerve to grow up and out, how did you deal? Did it feel weird not having them there? Did you keep saying "oh so and so would have enjoyed this?" I want to go but I feel like I'm cheating on her. I know we are going to have a blast but it's just going to be odd. Thanks for letting me vent!!

 

[Berret]

Ah, Disney World and drugs, the great equalizers. Unfortunately I don't yet have experience with the empty nester bit(my stepson is 9), but I'm curious to see how others respond. I just couldn't resist commenting on the drugs bit, sorry.

 

[ljs1691]

Not empty nesters but we have taken three WDW trips and one DL trip without our kids over the last ten years. The kids range from 4 to 17 and yes it feels weird without them but it is so much fun. Just make sure you include some things that you would consider fun without your daughter. Walk the path between WL and FW campground just before sunset, have a late dinner during fireworks at California Grill, drink the world's most delicious margarita with chips and salsa at La Cava del Tequila in Epcot. Just explore and have fun.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Is there any reason not to still do family vacations together? I have a wife and a baby but we met up with my in-laws the last time we were at Disney and we'll be going to the mountains with my parents this summer.

 

[MickeyMomV]

Not empty nesters but we have taken three WDW trips and one DL trip without our kids over the last ten years. The kids range from 4 to 17 and yes it feels weird without them but it is so much fun. Just make sure you include some things that you would consider fun without your daughter. Walk the path between WL and FW campground just before sunset, have a late dinner during fireworks at California Grill, drink the world's most delicious margarita with chips and salsa at La Cava del Tequila in Epcot. Just explore and have fun.

We also are not empty nesters but in 11/2012 did make a trip without our son (who was 8 at the time). To us it was a completely different experience. We ate at a little nicer restaurants, slept in when we wanted, and stayed out late ( I mean really late!!! like 3 or 4 am!). Being able to walk the back walkways of MK at 3:00 am with no kids to be seen was really awesome!

Enjoy the time with just you and your husband because you may end up going with grand kids in a few years.

 

[Chef Mickey]

18 and out?

You can still do trips together, right?

Plus, she'll need financial help so she doesn't start out life in student loan jail! I'm sure she'll be coming around plenty, hopefully anyway.

 

[JIMINYCR]

All true. The first trip DW and I took without our DS, it felt wrong. He was my ride buddy and I kept saying he would have liked this or last time we were here we did this together. Buuuut then as the trip went on DW and I started to get more comfortable with being alone together again and relished the time alone. There were no kid issues to deal with at all and we really enjoyed the trip. When we got home DS gave us some grumbling about his being absent and we told him he was missed the whole time. (Yeah dad can tell a little white lie now and then.) Bottom line is its OK to feel a bit guilty and miss her presence but youll have a great trip and its a great first step as empty nesters. ( You can still buy her a nice souvenir and she will appreciate it that you were thinking of her. )

 

[righttrack]

We are doing and will continue to do family vacations together regardless of how old or where they are living. I have a 22 year old just graduating college and a 16 year old and we wouldn't dream of it any other way. There are separate vacations too, but the WDW one is family.

 

[sxeensweet]

We have always been as adults only, just me and DH. We are in our mid to late 30's and have no plans for children. We love it some much we even finally joined DVC in 2013. There is sooo much to do and enjoy in a totally different way than with children with you. You can go at a more leisurely pace and take it all in more. We still ride lots of the "kiddie" rides like Dumbo etc and have a blast. You will notice things you never did before (told to us by friends with kids they did adult only before) and make new memories with just the 2 of you.
Of course like others noted why not still take your daughter even though she is 18? That is still an option. But I definately recommend doing many trips just the 2 of you as well in the future.

There is even a whole book called Walt Disney World without Kids by Birnbaums. I recommend that book and have used it before ourselves. (A little dated from 2010 but worth looking at) Enjoy!!

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

We have the empty nest syndrome - our eldest left for university at 18 and lived away from home for 3 years. She only returned home for the occasional weekend and during holidays while enjoying her new life at uni.
Since then she has only lived at home post qualifying and pre-employment. She always made it clear that she wanted to be her own person and live and work away from home. Her choice, no family fall outs etc.
She is doing very well with her job and living with her boyfriend in London - despite being over two hundred miles away we see them quite regularly

This August she and her boyfriend are coming to Disney with us. My wife and I and our youngest daughter decided that we were going and invited her and her boyfriend as a courtesy. They accepted almost immediately.

Is there any reason why your daughter (and her friends ?) can't join you on your trip ?

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I'm 20 and my brother is 13. We both still go to WDW with our parents.

However, we do go off on our own quite a bit. My mother says she feels like she's missing an appendage.

 

[Raven66]

It's not that we don't want her to go, quite the contrary. I know she will come on trips again but this particular trip she has chosen not to come. She wants to start her own journey. She will be getting a job as soon as she moves into her apartment and starting college shortly after. We are very proud of her for wanting to stand on her own two feet. I just thought she would live with us forever. That was MY plan anyway.

It's gonna be weird because I don't like RnRc (I do ride once a trip) and my daughter and husband ride it together. He will be riding it alone. He says he's ok with it. We shall see. I mean we aren't going until November and she will be moving out in June, so we may be used to it by then.

Thank you for your responses.

 

[bjlc57]

we took our daughters until they got married at age 31 each.. however.. they paid a portion of their costs.. at 18.. probably not so much.. maybe the plane fare.. but.. you may want two rooms.. maybe not.. it depends upon what's important to you..

 

[Raven66]

We took our first empty-nest trip to WDW in 2013. It was wonderful! Yes, we have great memories of WDW vacations with the family (kids and grandparents), but it was special to be just the two of us. It was on this trip that I learned to "chillax". We slept in as long as we wanted, went to the parks when we wanted, chose the rides/shows we wanted, ate where we wanted -- no worries about what child liked/did not like a ride or food, etc. We did adult activities like RPDE (see profile pic), spa day, K2K tour, resort hopping, etc. Now, we did recall some memories of the kids while there... "Remember when we wanted to do this, but DD was too scared?" Yes, we also shared happy memories of having the kids there. And, we found ourselves talking about what it might be like in the next family vacation, with two sons-in-love and perhaps some grandkids. Being empty-nesters has rekindled the special husband/wife relationship that we had pre-kids. We're enjoying it, but also looking forward to future fun with new, extended families. Don't feel guilty - enjoy the time with your husband!

Thank you!!

 

[Disvillain63]

We have taken several 'empty nest' trips since 2008, plus a few extended family trips. For our 'empty nest' trips, we pick a tour and eat at a more expensive restaurant, at least once a trip. We have tried resorts that we couldn't afford with our children, but now have the extra money to enjoy.

We still go with our family (DS and his wife and kids; DD and her boyfriend) and we rent a two- or three- bedroom DVC villa; depending on how many and who is going. We were even blessed to be able to take just our two young grandchildren this past January. Since it was a spur of the moment trip, we stayed at PORS.

I do understand the part about missing her. The first trip that our DS was not in attendance was the first time we rode TSMM. When we exited the ride, the first thing we did was call him to tell him what he was missing!

Enjoy your trip!

 

[bigorangeandy]

I know exactly how you feel, our first trip without the kids was great. Yes we missed them, but we had a great time without them. After about a week prior to Christmas we flew them down for the last few days after finals and they were good with that. It's a lot easier when you only have two that have to agree on something, not get everyone to accept each decision. Once she goes to college you'll get back in the pre kid grove, and it will be fun to be a couple again. Another good thing is that you will be able to pick your dates for the trips without having to plan around school, sports and other things. If you would like to spend two days at World Showcase in Epoct, then you can do it (we just spent two days at the Flower and Garden, because we could).

 

[TXDisney]

Look at the positives of it rather than the negatives. After all it is the happiest place on earth. Seeing a child's reaction and excitement can't be duplicated but take this opportunity to do the stuff you never got to do. Nice restaurants, have some drinks, relax, etc.

 

[Britt]

I love my children dearly, but I'm actually quite excited at the prospect of "empty nester" adventures once my boys are grown!

 

[Bugz]

Well our boy is 15 and when my wife and I were talking about going alone someday he said , "what You guys wouldn't go without me would ya ? I'll never NOT want to go lol .

 

[Tinkeroo]

I daydream about our empty nester trips ahead, however 19yr old DD has announced she has no intentions of not going on our annual trips to wdw for the forseeable future... eeek. (this trip is the first where she will be financially contributing as she has been working full time for a year, so it's time now)