Is Disney the ultimate holiday destination for kids or is there something even better?

[carolinecordery]

I'm thinking from the point of view of DC. Would they be as happy with something else or is Disney the best? What do you think is the best age for kids to enjoy it?

many not may

I could not quite remember what I had posted which was censored. I cannot remember being censored on here so I was just thinking there's a first, what was it for. I think it was along the lines of my not liking Disney and that it might make children a bit "consumerist" to take them.

Holidays and class are a fascinating issue.

I don't think it is necessarily a class thing. I know a Doctor who loves the Opera, very well travelled and spends 2 weeks every year with his wife in Orlando. Why??? No idea. Perhaps it's something in the air conditioning.

It's nothing to do with class and it's ridiculous to suggest it is.

Cannot believe you don't know what you posted, Xenia.
Anyone else I would have taken it as a silly joke.

I have clearly missed a rather interesting post by Xenia, in which I assume she implied that classy people do not do Disney.

What makes one 'classy'. Is it how much money they have in the bank? Is it their occupation? Xenia, I believe you are a lawyer? Well, I'm also a lawyer and shame on me, I haven't just done it the once as it needs to be done, I've been going nearly every year for the past 18 years and shame on me, I loved it so much I even bought a house out there. In fact, only yesterday I booked my flights to go in August. Should I now relinquish my practicing certificate?

I have friends who are accountants, one of whom works for one of the largest firms in the city who has just returned from Disney, friends who are doctors who go regularly. Surely people are capable of making their own choices and decisions and should not be criticised for their choices?

Just as a suggestion, another French Theme park, Le Puy du Fou, recently won best theme park in the world (Thea Classic Award - Los Angeles).

It is nothing like Disney, there are no rides. But I personally know of several families who have been to both the Puy du Fou and Disney and think that the Puy du Fou is MUCH better.

And you could combine it with a trip to the Atlantic beaches in the Vendee to keep prawntoast happy.

MOS, you can go on any holidays you like. I remember turning up to work with a 1, 3 and 4 year old to look at the office. We parked in the underground car park (17 year old old banger car etc, children in second hand clothes from charity shops). Getting our of her brand new sports can at the same time was someone I worked with in her rather nice designer suit and I remember thinking - Gosh I'm lucking having these 3 children.

However knowing what others think even if it just means those others are silly is never a useless bit of information. Everyone makes their own decisions about the extent to which they can plough their own furrow. Heaps of people I know have no idea I have a remote Pacific island as I like to be alone on holidays.

Some children at schools like to show off that they have an iphone or take pleasure in not having one. Teenage girls use clothes to show what class or group they are within whether that be a burka or Jack Wills or Aber whatever it is. It is just part of life.

Taking the downmarketness element away from Disney, objectively it is awful simply because (a) I like no one around on holiday and it is the absolute antithesis of that ( b) it usually involved a lot of queuing which if not something many of us like ( c) it is about rides and commercialism and money and brands which I suppose from a business point of view I could study... That reminds me when we ended up on a Spanish beach a few years ago having just been to rather more isolated places in more recent times with no one else on the beaches.. This was typical crowded beach and it just hit us immediately how alien it was from what we desire so I said well let us treat it like an anthropological exercise and study these people and it was fascinating. You see if you are glass half full person as I hope I am you can make even that exercise interesting. Mind you I'd have to be paid a lot of money to go to Disney.

Perhaps we can draw up a list of what holidays there are and what message they send out to your friends and how particular cultures regard those holidays.

Xenia, in the nicest possible way, I think you are on your own planet, never mind your own island :)

Disney and theme parks do a good illusion of 'magic' etc but in reality it's a lot of queuing and concrete and money and more money!

I think outdoor water parks in a warm country are the ultimate for my kids, slides, swimming, sunshine, ice-cream, splashing a plenty.

We've not long got back from 2 weeks at Disney in Florida. We have a 9 yo and a 4yo.

We had a blast - the absolute time of our lives. Really. It was as good as that. The DCs had smiles on their faces the entire time, often trembling with excitement. They literally danced in the streets.

The shows were unbelieveably good. The same with the parades. The fireworks are breathtaking. The place was just so joyous.

DH and DD1 are very into rollercoasters, so were obviously in their element. DD2 and I are into more gentle rides - there are so many of these, and all done so so well.

There were also so many rides we enjoyed as a family.

We've been to Disneyland Paris a few times and had an amazing time. Florida is better in its sheer scale.

For Paris, the best age is 3 plus I think. For Florida, the flight is long but our 4 yo enjoyed the flight, and it was really worth it for the time we had.

Everyone likes different things of course. But Walt Disney wanted to create a place for the whole family, grown ups and children, to have fun together. I think they have created that place for our family.

The best holiday we've had as a family was to Charmouth near Lyme Regis. It was just wonderful.The children were all mad on dinosaurs at the time and spent lots of the holiday searching out fossils on the beach, then taking them to be identified (for free!) by experts in the little fossil centre. At the beginning of the holiday they weren't having much luck, so the people at the fossil centre gave us a little bag of fossils to secretly scatter around for the kids to find.
The weather was beautiful, Lyme Regis is lovely. It was heaven, it was years ago, and my eldest still talks about it loads, and has some lovely fossils that she found and still treasures.

As for cruises, I worked on Oceana years ago, and thought it was awful, but could see why people with young children would cruise, it's a good way to travel around and see lots of interesting places, with barely any real journey time, especially if you live in the SE, When you've been on a cruise ship that gets D&V though it rather puts you off!!!

Never been to disney, never plan on going, not our cup of tea at all, though I'm sure at one point DD would have loved it, I can't imagine she'd love it more than a british beach holiday.

We spent one day at Universal Island of Adventure last year. We had fun, but one day was more than enough for us (and basically you spend most of the time queueing) and I found Orlando a rather depressing place, tbh.

Universal has a very different feel than Disney though. We went last year and whilst it was good fun, it lacks Disney's magic.

Oh yes, possibly . But we were really into Harry Potter last year, that's why we chose Universal.

DD has always loves Disney and Universal. She has been a few times now from age 2y to early this year, aged 10y. She loves the rides, loves the heat, everything.

But DD is not a beach holiday girl really though. She isn't keen on sand and although will go in the sea, she prefers a pool.

DD likes things like Disney and cities best, we have and will do coastal holidays at times too, but rarely spend more than an hour or so on a beach each day, more likely to be exploring.

sue We felt the same way.

Disney's magic isn't made simply of concrete and queuing either. For example, they have a Nemo ride at Epcot. You ride around a huge tank of real fish, and the cartoon characters are somehow projected into the tank to tell the story. It's just so clever.

Our 9yo knows the characters aren't real now, but she was still excited to meet them. I think she had managed to convince herself again, and she also wanted her little sister to have a magical experience.

Of course it is all smoke and mirrors. But it's brilliant smoke and mirrors.

We had a short break in Disneyland Paris when DD was 5 and I have to be honest and say it was great fun!! Didn't really expect to enjoy it myself but I think DD was so obviously having a fantastic time that it made the holiday for us too.

Never felt the need to go again though and I would rather stick something sharp under my toenails than go to Florida but - heighho!!

Don't get me wrong, Universal is great, particularly the Harry Potter area, but Disney was just different for us. Hard to put my finger on why - just a certain magic I guess.

Everyone is different as to what they want; children too.

I hate the whole Disney snobbery on here at times. Fine if you don't want to go - but why the bitchfest over it every time it comes up. If you haven't been you don't really know what it is like. DH was really sure he wouldn't like it - guess what? He found we had a great holiday for the whole family.

But then I would hate to go camping for my holiday - some people love it.

And I really would not want my main holiday to be in an all inclusive hotel with kid's clubs and shared pools, and free local alcohol on tap - been to a couple now, one in Europe and one in Caribbean. They were fine for what they were but not my idea of a nice, fun and enjoyable family holiday. But hey, some people love them - each to their own.

I wouldn't generally even chose to have a hotel holiday for more than a few days at a time either. But then for other people they would rather not holiday at all than consider self catering. Again - different people, different prefernces.

I'm a huge Disney park fan and am always amused when people say that it's just a theme park and that they hate rides etc. So do I! But Disney is SO much more than that. Going to somewhere like Alton Towers is my idea of hell but Disney is NOTHING like that. In fact, I think that people who go to Disney expecting lots of thrill rides must come back rather disappointed. Just the parks themselves are beautiful and intriguing - I could happily spend a day just walking around looking at the architecture and the detail! My mum doesn't go on ANY rides yet she goes to Florida every year just to experience being there. It's just so cleverly done and there really is nothing else like it. One of my favourite rides is one where you sit on a boat and are floated around a massive greenhouse, looking at interesting ways of growing things - you see square pumpkins etc. OK, so of course that's not interesting to everyone but it goes to show that Disney isn't the Thorpe Park that so many people assume it it :)

Having said that, I can imagine a certain type of Disney holiday being exhausting - staying in a hotel and going at peak times when it's really crowded and you have to queue for an hour... well, I would never do that. We're lucky enough that we can go in term time.

I guess you do have to be into Disney though? Which we aren't really. In my case not at all, there isn't a single Disney film that I've seen that I would chose to watch again. I also don't like rides or crowds. So that is why it doesn't sound like the holiday for me.

I'm not sure what the ultimate holiday for our DCs would be, when we asked them earlier this year what their best ever holiday had been it was a week in a cottage in Cornwall a few years ago

done it once, that was enough.

Disney in America though is an experience. It's the whole package of weather and bigger and "better" everything. The downside is grown men and women getting emotional about "It's a small world". Epcot is fun if only for all the pretty lights inside darken spheres type rides.

Think the French one is better only if you are a huge fan of theme parks or Disney. Otherwise it's a typical European holiday - changeable weather, crowds and overpriced restaurants with people who don't naturally queue.

No, you don't have to be into Disney at all! I'm not interested in Disney films whatsoever and wouldn't even recognise many of the characters. Sure, there is a fair amount based around the characters but there is WAY more that isn't. The characters and film-related stuff is for kids, really - as adults, you could easily go to a Disney park having never seen a Disney film in your life and you'd get just as much out of it.