One of the most popular questions I get from people is “When is the best time to take a Disney Vacation?”
I am the wife of a man who works hard. He struggles to escape from work unless he is actually AWAY from work. With the popularity of mobile devices, it becomes even more of a struggle. I am also the mom of two teenage daughters; one of those is a college senior. While I am so proud to see her spread her wings, I am saddened by the idea that our time together is quickly fading. It won’t be long before she has her own family and a life separate from us. My youngest daughter is a senior in high school – soon enough, she is going to be in college pursuing her own dreams.
I started going to Disney World as an adult (it was almost our honeymoon, but that’s a different story). I didn’t grow up going to Disney World, but my children did. We took the girls as preschoolers and they’ve been going ever since.
We took Madison, my older daughter, as a four-year-old.
I never dreamed of the time when she would be in college. She was going to be four forever, and I ranked up there with Cinderella with the coolest people in the world. We took Emilie as a two-year-old, and as she was running after characters and rides the idea of her running after her dreams as a young adult wasn’t a thought in my mind. 
Don’t tell them, but those first couple of trips for each of them were really for me.
They are sweet memories that I have tucked away in my mind and the only way the girls fully remember them is looking through the scrapbooks we have. As they’ve grown, the pile of scrapbooks has as well. We have taken many trips over the years: to celebrate birthdays, holidays, or just to spend time together. Trips that we swore we would never return until the girls could get along with each other for longer than five minutes – only to return the next year and say the exact same thing. Trips where each of the girls thought that Mickey Mouse was for babies. Then the trips of wondering if it would be our last as a family before Madison graduated, and we wouldn’t be able to travel together anymore.
Ironically, that “last trip as a family” has happened three times now.
We have pulled kids from school, missed games, and missed events. One of my favorite trips was for Emilie’s 16th birthday. Madison missed a week of college. Emilie missed a week of high school. They both have recovered. And we made some amazing memories. Amazing. I will treasure those memories forever. For us, each time was the best time to take a Disney vacation.
One of my favorite requests I get is when Grandma and Grandpa want to take their kids and grandkids to Disney World. I was able to plan that trip for my dad and step-mom and all the grandkids. It was a spur of the moment trip that we had to reschedule once due to my dad’s health. It was a tough trip to plan with school, commitments, and trying to avoid crazy crowds – it almost didn’t happen.
We thought about waiting for a “better time”.
But, we made it work, and I even got to tag-along and play tour guide. My dad passed away last year. In the weeks that followed, Facebook notified me of memories from a couple of trips that had included my dad. We didn’t appreciate at the time we took those trips just how precious the memories would be.
So when is the best time to plan a family vacation? Now.
There really is going to be no perfect time. I’m not sure I’ve ever taken a perfect vacation. There’s always tired kids, crabby family members, rainy weather, missed school and missed soccer games. In the end, the only thing you remember are the precious memories that you create with your family. Take advantage of the opportunity to create those special times in your life.
By the way – neither of my girls think Mickey Mouse is for babies anymore.
Now that you know the best time to take a Disney vacation, you’ll want the best resort, dining, and park plans. To learn more about making your vacation the best it can be, email Nicole at nicole@visitthemagic.com or request a quote today!
