Not an adult vacation?

Orionreplay

Mouseketeer
Joined
Nov 21, 2019
So I have a friend from my time in the Navy and we have been friends since we both retired. We live nowhere near each other, but communicate weekly in email.

This week he and his wife are off to an all-inclusive Caribbean type vacation. They do this every other year in February. They are both out there this year and enjoying the vacation. But what kills me is he will say things like, "You know... an actual adult vacation," or something like, "This is where adults go on vacation, doing adults things..." etc.

I know he thinks he is being funny because he knows we choose Disney and have always chosen Disney. Even before kids my wife and I went three times, just the two of us, in between my deployment schedules. Today we continue to go to Disney now with family and to be honest, if fates would have it and we could go on a vacation alone, leaving the kids at home... we'd go to Disney today.

Just bugs me when I hear it.
 
Don't even worry about it. My adult son (retired Navy Corpsman) and I go at least once a year. He says people are always teasing him about it, especially since he goes with his Mom, but he just smiles and says it's the one place on earth he can go and just be a kid again. You can dance in street if you want, you can laugh at silly things, you can just let go. And, bonus, you can get a whole lot of refreshing adult beverages and some pretty good food. We have also done the all-inclusive Caribbean thing too, in all fairness they were dive trips but still. To each his own, life is too short, you just got to do what makes you happy.
 
Absolutely. To me it's like Christmas. At what other time of year can you badly sing songs and carols and wish each other good tidings, and no one think anything of it?

At WDW, you can get the giant Goofy hat or peppermint swirl Minnie ears and while you wear them at WDW no one thinks twice about it. You may not want to wear the item to Target when you get back home, but for that time frame you were on vacation, so was everyone else.

Dance in the streets behind the parade? Go for it. No one thinks anything about it. Sing along with Ariel? Sure, why not. No one cares. It is a funny little magical place and your son is right, it is the one place you can just be a kid again.
 
At WDW, you can get the giant Goofy hat or peppermint swirl Minnie ears and while you wear them at WDW no one thinks twice about it. You may not want to wear the item to Target when you get back home, but for that time frame you were on vacation, so was everyone else.
Just before the 2018 election (don't worry-not political), the kids and I decided to make cleaning more fun by wearing our ears at home. I answered the door, forgetting I was wearing them, for a local candidate. He got through his entire "why I should vote for him" with a straight face, thanked me for my time, and as he was leaving, said, "by the way, I love Disney too".
I say it's never wrong to be joyful, or to want to be surrounded by others who feel the same way!
 




Those are the types of people who have never been and have a preconceived idea of what Disney is like. ( I have several of those friends as well. ). These are also the same people that go to Disney once and are hooked.

Sure, there will also be the one's who just don't get it. To each there own I say and think to myself at least that's one ( or two ) less people in the crowds.
 
That's a little ridiculous. But I guess being a cosplayer as well as wearing outlandish Japanese fashion on the weekends has gotten me a bit used to dressing up or wearing fun ears and hats as the norm. My step father was in the Military (air force) and he always was quite dismissive of me having cute Sanrio or Disney themed purses as a teenager, Always citing 'your boyfriend will dump you if you leave the house like that' and 'that's not what a lady wears ' funny enough my boyfriend thought it was cute.

You just got to be you! Plus hello, Visiting
Disney overseas especially Disneysea in Japan or, Paris, Hong Kong or any countries you normally wouldn't because Disney is there, Is giving you more culture and travel experience then simply secluding your self on some stereotypical Caribbean cruise. (I have 0 interest in these.)
I think traveling to the different parks is really fun seeing the differences and etc within each culture. And I go to Disneyland here in California whenever I can here as it is a little pocket to 'escape' from the daily grind and I know that there are plenty of other adults there as well doing the same thing , With or without kids. Many of us didn't get to go to Disney at all or much as kids, So it's great to enjoy things as an adult and be able to do what you want and feel like a kid again. But I understand, I have friends that don't like how I go to Disney so much either...or how I get excited if there's a new ride announcement, Land refurbishment and oh boy don't get me started on if I bring up Duffy and friends etc.... lol. So I learned there's certain people I can chat with about things (disney friends) and to the rest they just see my Instagram posts and whatever.
 
Thanks to everyone for your inputs and thoughts. I know in the case of my squadron mate and friend, I think he's trying to be funny and thinks it still is funny after so many years. I can understand the Caribbean all-inclusive, but I know its just not my cup of tea and riding my buddy about vacation choices is just not something I do. So every announcement I expect his response and move on, never questioning his vacations myself.

Now retired and in my present job, we took 4 years off from my Navy retirement celebration in 2015 and this last trip in 2019. I wanted to build the WDW savings and get fully into this job. I think I went a little too long, but it is what it is. Yet here when I announced I was going to WDW for a week, all I got were raised eyebrows, a tilt of the head and a "Really?"

Oh bother. Here too?

I don’t admit to ‘friends and family’ that we go to WDW.
So I totally get what you are saying.
 
Really don't let it get to you.. I used to go to Disney almost every year when I was a kid.. then ended up working there a semester .. and I still love it to this day... now my hubby can't stand Disney.. he says it's for kids.. but I don't let it bug me..
 
This is our first time as annual pass holders and we'll be going on our 5th trip next month in the past 10 months.
We've gotten plenty of unsolicited judgmental comments.
But as we've traveled more to Disney and on Disney cruise, we know we are certainly far from the only adults who do Disney without kids and have made lots of Disney friends!
Enjoy your trip!
 
They’re jealous, plain and simple. Otherwise they wouldn’t make a big deal about it.
I don't really think it's that.

What do the people have to be jealous about? Pretty sure they are happy about their AI Caribbean vacation.

There are simply just people who don't see a point in adults going to Disney it's really as simple as that.

Now maybe being envious would come into play if it were framed as "how do you keep affording going to Disney" but with the friends in the OP an AI vacation, while it can be cheaper than Disney, isn't as if it's free either.
 
So every announcement I expect his response and move on, never questioning his vacations myself.
Maybe don't announce it then or talk about it? You already know where the conversation is being led to, it gets to ya (and not that it's not understandable that it does), so maybe it's time to not bring it up. You really shouldn't have to feel like you gotta avoid it but sometimes it's just the best answer.
 
I don't really think it's that.

What do the people have to be jealous about? Pretty sure they are happy about their AI Caribbean vacation.

There are simply just people who don't see a point in adults going to Disney it's really as simple as that.

Now maybe being envious would come into play if it were framed as "how do you keep affording going to Disney" but with the friends in the OP an AI vacation, while it can be cheaper than Disney, isn't as if it's free either.

The fact that they are making a big deal out of it is what leads me to conclude that there is some aspect of the OP trip they are jealous of. It doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy their own vacation choice, but any time I have come up against someone acting this way about my vacations (Disney or otherwise) there’s a jealousy factor. Sometimes they are jealous that I have more vacation time, and they wish they could do their vacation and mine too. Sometimes they are jealous of where I am going. Sometimes they are jealous if I got a good deal.

I wouldn’t call it making a big deal if someone just remarks in passing about adults and Disney, nor would I say those people are jealous. For example, the new coworkers the OP mentioned made a brief comment and let it go. But the buddy who just keeps on giving him a tough time about it? Something more there, in my experience.
 
The fact that they are making a big deal out of it is what leads me to conclude that there is some aspect of the OP trip they are jealous of. It doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy their own vacation choice, but any time I have come up against someone acting this way about my vacations (Disney or otherwise) there’s a jealousy factor. Sometimes they are jealous that I have more vacation time, and they wish they could do their vacation and mine too. Sometimes they are jealous of where I am going. Sometimes they are jealous if I got a good deal.

I wouldn’t call it making a big deal if someone just remarks in passing about adults and Disney, nor would I say those people are jealous. For example, the new coworkers the OP mentioned made a brief comment and let it go. But the buddy who just keeps on giving him a tough time about it? Something more there, in my experience.
I think the something more is that the man and his wife buy into the thoughtprocess that Disney=kids, you grow out of it when you reach a random age and if you have kids you should be going to Disney with them for them not going to Disney just by yourself as an adult. There's a lot of emphasis on what adults should be doing/enjoying/etc. For some people they can't fathom why any adult would actually want to go to Disney, a place they see for just kids, when instead they could go to a place they deem more appropriate for one's age.

Not that I don't see what you're meaning with the other things you've mentioned :)
 
Hi everyone, OP here. My long time buddy's jabs and teases come from his belief that Disney is simply not a vacation for adults. At least that's how I always viewed it. I've known him since 1998 and while I went solo that year for a long weekend when I was stationed in Jacksonville, I didn't really start going as a true "vacation" until my wife and I went later in 2003.

To him adults just go elsewhere, like the Caribbean. You drink. You eat. You lounge on the beach. So when I always announce the next trip, its usually followed by his comments. I always think its because he believes maybe NEXT TIME I will go and do something else. Yet I do currently have children, 12 and 9, and they want Disney too. His kids are out of the house now, but even when they did have their kids around, he and his wife traveled alone to the Caribbean, leaving the kids with family... because that's where adults go.

Ah well. Just how it is. It is not mean spirited. I think for nearly 20 years its just become our routine. Hey go to the Caribbean... no? Disney again? Ok, I'll get you next time! One day... one day...
 
Orion - we are a 60+ couple going to WDW next week, and yeah, family members think we're nuts. We're going to see Star Wars Galaxy's Edge, walk around Epcot, going to some nice dinners, have drinks, watch shows and fireworks, explore all the attractions that are new since our last trip. yes, some friends and family think it's weird, but I don't care. Our kids are grown up and we don't have to schedule it around what they want to do, so It actually IS an "adult vacation." Drinking, eating, but no "lounging on the beach" because that sounds boring. (also, I burn too easily!)
My reaction to your friend is - going to a Caribbean all-inclusive resort is, to me, taking the SAME vacation every year. WDW is constantly evolving, there is something new each time we go, so it is never the same.
 

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