New Empty Nesters plan a spring break trip!

M

MelliesMimi

New Member
Hi Everyone, DH and I are new empty nesters - youngest DD is a softball playing freshman in college, so we decided to add 3 days at the Dolphin to the beginning of her spring break softball tournament! It will be the first vacation (at least partially) without kids in 35 years!

We arrive on Tuesday 3/8 at 11:00, we have 3 day park hoppers, we checkout on Friday 3/11 and start the softball part of our trip.
We plan to try to check-in early at the Dolphin - we have a king deluxe resort view balcony room - any room locations better than others?
Once we're settled we are off to Epcot - we have an ADR for Chefs de France at 8:20 - we will probably snack at the flower & garden booths for lunch.

Wednesday we have a park reservation for MK - may do rope drop or not - depending on how we feel in the morning. We will probably head back to the pool around lunchtime - maybe eat at the pool or on the boardwalk. Any suggestions? We have an ADR for Coral Reef at 5:55.

Thursday we have a park reservation for HS - playing the morning by ear again - we are not big HS fans but want to see some of the newer stuff. Then we plan to hop to AK - we are big Pandora fans and plan to finish the night there. We have an ADR for Rainforest Cafe at 5:30.

Friday is checkout day so we will hit Disney Springs before heading to our next hotel.

What do you think of our plans? Am I missing something?
Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Thanks - Have a Magical Day!!
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
Enjoy your time as a couple, free to do what you want without having to consider a childs needs. It took DW and me a few trips alone to really break free of that strange feeling of being without our DS. Now after a few years on his own he sometimes joins us as an adult. And enjoy discovering a new facet to your life together. Step out and find selfish things to do for yourselves. Find that part of yourselves that you didnt have time or energy before to explore and do.
Your plan is fine. Be careful because the snacking at the booths can fill you up fast. There are so many great options that tempt you. I'd say look at the menus when they get posted and pick out early the few items that interest you most and stick to those. Chefs De France was one of the best dining spots on our last trip. You must try the french onion soup and I highly recommend the Beef Bourguignon. And the Creme Brulee was a great ending to the meal.
We always rope drop MK because theres so much that interests us there. You may get more done by being on your own and can skip some things that arent of interest to you that were must dos for your DD.
If you do the Boardwalk try out the Ale & Compass lounge at Yacht club. We enjoy the drinks and appetizers there. It is a quiet spot.
Pandora is brilliant at night. If I were to dine at AK I'd choose Yak & Yeti instead of Rainforest.
Try out the characters in flight at DS, if you have time. Its something fun to do if you havent done it before.
Have a great trip and try not to be thinking about leaving DD behind.
 
Upvote 0
M

MelliesMimi

New Member
Original Poster
JIMINYCR said:
Enjoy your time as a couple, free to do what you want without having to consider a childs needs. It took DW and me a few trips alone to really break free of that strange feeling of being without our DS. Now after a few years on his own he sometimes joins us as an adult. And enjoy discovering a new facet to your life together. Step out and find selfish things to do for yourselves. Find that part of yourselves that you didnt have time or energy before to explore and do.
Your plan is fine. Be careful because the snacking at the booths can fill you up fast. There are so many great options that tempt you. I'd say look at the menus when they get posted and pick out early the few items that interest you most and stick to those. Chefs De France was one of the best dining spots on our last trip. You must try the french onion soup and I highly recommend the Beef Bourguignon. And the Creme Brulee was a great ending to the meal.
We always rope drop MK because theres so much that interests us there. You may get more done by being on your own and can skip some things that arent of interest to you that were must dos for your DD.
If you do the Boardwalk try out the Ale & Compass lounge at Yacht club. We enjoy the drinks and appetizers there. It is a quiet spot.
Pandora is brilliant at night. If I were to dine at AK I'd choose Yak & Yeti instead of Rainforest.
Try out the characters in flight at DS, if you have time. Its something fun to do if you havent done it before.
Have a great trip and try not to be thinking about leaving DD behind.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your words of encouragement. It will feel strange doing Disney on our own after all these years, but being a new empty nester, many thing that we took for granted now feel strange!
I figure we have a few years on our own then we will be taking the grandbabies along!

We tried to book Yak & Yetti but there was nothing available, I will continue to look for availability.
We also love Ale & Compass and have spent many hours relaxing there - Yacht Club is our favorite resort.

Any thoughts or recommendations on using Genie+ , it feels intimidating to me and since it's only a short trip with not too many expectations I figured we could skip it altogether.

Thanks again!
 
Upvote 0
JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
MelliesMimi said:
Thanks for your words of encouragement. It will feel strange doing Disney on our own after all these years, but being a new empty nester, many thing that we took for granted now feel strange!
I figure we have a few years on our own then we will be taking the grandbabies along!

We tried to book Yak & Yetti but there was nothing available, I will continue to look for availability.
We also love Ale & Compass and have spent many hours relaxing there - Yacht Club is our favorite resort.

Any thoughts or recommendations on using Genie+ , it feels intimidating to me and since it's only a short trip with not too many expectations I figured we could skip it altogether.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Sorry but Genie was put in place after our last trip so we have no experience with it. There are plenty of reviews online, with many variable comments. I do know there have been plenty of folks saying they went without it and they got along fine.
 
Upvote 0
DfromATX

DfromATX

Well-Known Member
We are also new empty nesters... kind of. Our youngest (19) is going to college and living at home, but doesn't usually hang out with us. Does that count? :)

We went to Disney for our first time without kids last February. (We have 4 total.) My husband thought we'd miss them, but boy was he wrong! We had an absolute blast - plus without them, we were able to splurge and stayed at Copper Creek at Wilderness Lodge and enjoyed a couple of fancy dinners. I even wore a First Time celebration button and I wrote in "without kids!"
 
Upvote 0
M

MelliesMimi

New Member
Original Poster
DfromATX said:
We are also new empty nesters... kind of. Our youngest (19) is going to college and living at home, but doesn't usually hang out with us. Does that count? :)

We went to Disney for our first time without kids last February. (We have 4 total.) My husband thought we'd miss them, but boy was he wrong! We had an absolute blast - plus without them, we were able to splurge and stayed at Copper Creek at Wilderness Lodge and enjoyed a couple of fancy dinners. I even wore a First Time celebration button and I wrote in "without kids!"
Click to expand...
Love this! Yes it counts!!! We have 3 DD's two are married with their own kids and the youngest is away at college. I just might need a first time without kids button!!!
 
Upvote 0
N

ndsu84

Member
We have such fond memories of our empty nest trips. It was wonderful taking our kids years ago and it’s great taking grandkids now but I look back at the pictures of our empty nest trips and we have huge smiles on our faces! 😁

We’d go out for a walk or run at daybreak every morning around the Boardwalk area. Made my wife over the top happy.
 
Upvote 0
bigorangeandy

bigorangeandy

Well-Known Member
We have enjoyed our trips as empty nesters, from time to time we would be joined by one or both of our kids, but it usually just us. We spent more time in Epcot than when the kids were with us, and took more and longer breaks in the middle of the day.
 
Upvote 0
DisneyDelirious

DisneyDelirious

Super structures are my specialty!
Premium Member
Have a great time! Wife and myself took a couple trips to Disney without the kids last year and have 2 more planned this year so far. It takes some getting used to. I loved being there with the kids and wouldn’t trade it, and would again, but also love a trip of just the two of us. Different pace, some different restaurants, more romantic and focused on us. Enjoy!
 
Upvote 0
NelleBelle

NelleBelle

Well-Known Member
DH and I did DLR just the 2 of us just prior to the pandemic--loved it! We talk about how we'll take our airstream down to WDW and stay at Ft. Wilderness once our youngest heads to college in two years. Definitely my bucket list to stay there with our trailer. This year will likely be the last with both our kids before they have families of their own *sob*
 
Upvote 0

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom