Is a Disney Cruise worth the cost???
Dear Grandma,
When you said you wanted us to go on a vacation and you sent me a check, here are some of the things that went through my head. Wha-WHAT, do you know what I could buy with that kind of money?! New kitchen appliances that we desperately need. A big portion of a new car that we’re gonna need soon. New furniture I really want but can’t afford. I had this fear that we would go on vacation for one week and that I would come home thinking, “I just spent ALL that money and now I have nothing to show for it.” Well, guess what? I could not have been more wrong. At the end of the seven days, we are going home with something MUCH better than material possessions. We are going home with incredible memories we will have forever and new bonds that will last a lifetime. And those are so much better than anything else money can buy. So thank you. No wait, that doesn’t show you how thankful I really am. THANK YOUUUU!!!!!
Love,
Your granddaughter who will always remember what you gave her
But now we’re back home, and I’m sitting in my house looking at my broken dishwasher, our really old car, and the big empty space where I want to put a couch. And I’m wondering whether we made the right decision. It was so much money. SOOOOO much. And we’re not the kind of family that has money to burn. But then I look at the pictures:
When your kiddo asks you to help him build a cruise ship out of sand and you’re at Disney, you’re legally required to make the magic happen.
Today a six year old taught me that sometimes you have to take a closer look at something you think is gross and disgusting to see how beautiful it really is.
The happiest person in this picture is the mommy because she’s sitting all alone on her side with a big ole glass of vino and multiple desserts because her waitress was brilliant and brought her a few. Now this is vacation.
Adios Girl Scouts and ice skating. As soon as we get home, I’m signing Zoey up for Jedi training. She rocks!! #likeagirl
WAITER: Anyone want a drink? ME: I don’t know. What time is it? Is it even 11:00 yet? WAITER: No problem, it’s Party O’clock. ME: It is?! (Looks at watch) Why yes it is!
You know you’re at Disney when you start cutting your kiddo’s food and the waitress starts hurdling tables to get to you as fast as possible so she can do it for you.
Heck yeah!! It’s like I just hit the jackpot on the slot machine. The rugrats are in the kids’ club and I’m getting drunk on wine and chocolate. Seriously, I wonder what Disney does if you just forget to pick up your kids.
Because you never know when the ship might go down.
They’re in love. I’m more in love. #siblings #bestfriends #mybabies
Memories. Too many to count.
So I’m gonna say, yes. Yes, it was worth it. Because being together, watching my kids have the time of their lives, and making memories that will last forever are so much more important than any “things” I could have bought. So if you see me driving a crappy car around town, or holding my dishwasher door carefully so it doesn’t crash open because the spring is broken, or sitting on the floor watching TV, that’s why. And it’s a damn good reason.
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When your children grow up, they’re not gonna think,”Gee, didn’t we have a great kitchen?” They’ll say, “Remember that Disney Cruise we went on? Our parents ROCK!!”
Thank you for this! We’re booked for a Disney cruise this summer and the price tag makes me nauseous daily! I’m so excited though, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for us!
Hi, I’m a 62 year old mom of two awesome grown men and two equally awesome daughters in law. I love your blog! Just want to chime in that you’re right: happy memories mean way more than any “thing” ever will. We can make more money but we can never, ever, make more time. Keep making those happy memories and remember there are also activities you can do that don’t cost a dime, which I’ll bet you’re pretty darned good at creating.thanks so very much!
I agree!! If anyone else would like to share this experience I can help you get the best possible rates without any additional cost to you! Contact me at Lisa@wishesfamilytravel.com.
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We want to do one but the price tag makes me say nope, nope, f that nope! Now mind you my kids are not going “without”, my husband is from Southern California. So about every other year we head out, see his family, then spend 3 days at DisneyLand. Lol, the price tag to DisneyLand makes me nauseous too and the hubs and I fight big time leading up to the trip! But in the end it doesn’t hurt “that” bad and we have an amazing (though exhausting) time. I have to say the older my kids get (8 & 13 last year) the more fun Disney gets. We can leave them in the hotel room one night. We can “sneak” back into the park and have a date night sans kids!!
Yes! Exactly, yes! We just went to Disney in February. We put off the kitchen reno, new car, and new patio furniture, and I don’t regret it for a millisecond!!! I wondered and worried a smidge, but day 1 and I knew we had made the right decision!!!
I’m so happy for you and your family! Family is everything and investing in people and relationships is more important than things.
We drive old cars (we drive them till they won’t drive any more),we don’t spend money on our house/furniture etc (even though it needs it), we don’t smoke or drink BUT we have taken our kids on 5 cruises (2 of them Disney) and multiple trips to Disney World and Florida. I don’t mind sacrificing the material things for the experiences one bit. So worth it!
Totally worth it. Period. So glad you had such a magically wonderful time! I must say, I feel like you’re reading my mind’s memories most of the time! My youngest is 24 and oldest is 35…. been there, done that, felt that, said that…. always! I can’t promise it gets “better”, just different! And what an adventure! Keep writing!
So how much did it actually cost? Curious.
I literally laughed out loud when I read the caption under the restaurant picture because that would be EXACTLY what I would have been thinking!!!
Same. We just saved a small house payment a month to take our family of 5 to Disney World. It was a fortune, and worth every penny. Memories our family will build and grow on ❤️
We were blessed to go on the Disney Dream in June for my parents’ 50th anniversary. They treated us all (my brother, his wife, their two kids, my husband, me and my kid) to the trip and we got to stay on the concierge level. We were also able to get one of the beach bungalows. I felt like Hollywood royalty! We never could have afforded any of it. I think I gained 20 pounds because I ate and ate and ate some more. Best 20 lbs. ever! I would so much rather go on a Disney cruise than pay the astronomical prices for 3-4 days at the actual Disney. You do rack up additional charges for alcohol, spa services…etc. and that can add up quickly, but still so worth it. Highly recommend!
We are leaving in 14 days to go on our first Disney Cruise. I cannot wait and I think I’m more excited than my kiddos are. It will probably be our one and only trip but the kids are only this small once and we went through a lot this last year and we so deserve to go and have an amazing time. I just started reading your blog but I love your blog and I ordered your books the other day and can’t wait to read them on our way to the cruise.
We loved Alexa as our server on the Fantasy
You just nailed it- the definitive “is it worth it” answer.
Totally agree! We’re the same way with our kids. They’ll remember the trips, etc not the furniture, new car, or appliances.
This and s what I do for a living and all my clients who go in Disney Cruises come back saying “Best.Cruise.EVER” and personally I feel the same way! Going in November again!!!!!