Empty Nest Touring

Earlier this year I sent away for the latest Walt Disney World Vacation

in previous WDW Resort videos I’ve watched.

What was lacking were children: There were virtually no children in the DVD, few characters, and an occasional view of an attraction that would cater to the “younger set.”

I then realized that when I had ordered the DVD online I had answered a few questions that basically pigeon-holed me into a certain category. I received a DVD for that particular customer market. I was seen as an “empty nester”—an adult with grown children who no longer live at home—and I had received an empty nester DVD.

There are many baby-boomers who are approaching their empty nest years. In this two-part series, let’s look at how a vacation to WDW transitions from a family (with children) touring perspective to an empty nester perspective?

How does this transition from family to empty nester mode impact the planning phase for a WDW vacation, and how does it impact your wallet?

From Magic Kingdom to Mature Kingdom

It would be a boring world if we could snap our fingers and freeze time. How many times have you thought about turning back time to when your children were pre-teens? Life seemed much simpler then… didn’t it?

Of course it’s natural to daydream about days gone by. But let’s face it, if we could freeze time and do the same thing over and over and over and over again, life would be B-O-R-I-N-G. You have seen Groundhog Day haven’t you?

There’s a rumor that certain things happen to us as we age. For instance, I understand that political views are supposed to sway from left to right, which means that the baby boomers will go from the “flower power ”generation to a more conservative generation.

Also, as we age we are supposed to acquire a deeper appreciation for black and white movies. Funny—Ted Turner didn’t.

Most of all we are also slated to become so frugal that, like our grandmothers, we’re to re-use aluminum foil at least a dozen times before discarding it… sort of like cell phones.

One thing is for sure, though—if you are reading this article then you are one of the thousands who will probably never grow tired of the Disney culture and the magic it brings into your life.

That also means that as your children grow up and move out, you may still have a hankering to visit Orlando and escape from reality. So how would you approach a visit to Walt Disney World without the kids? What can you expect to be different about a vacation to Orlando sans children?

A Change in Plan

When you first begin planning your first WDW trip without the kid, you soon realize that you are looking at a far less expensive vacation than in the past. There are several areas where you will realize these savings. You will also discover that you approach your vacation in a different manner.

Airfare

If you travel to Orlando by air, then you understand the fun in trying to get the best possible price. When traveling as a family, you sometimes don’t have the flexibility that allows you to get the best airfare. With the exception of the summer months, most school vacation weeks aren’t usually times when the airlines are offering great prices.

Thus if you are preparing for a family WDW vacation during the winter or spring school vacation weeks then you may be in for a higher priced seat than you would pay during the summer months.

Also, as a family you need to probably make reservations further in advance just to be sure you have a chance at getting the required number of seats.

Empty nesters are flexible because they are not limited by school vacations. They can schedule their vacation for whatever time of the year and take advantage of great prices. It’s also easier to reserve seats for two rather than four, five, or six people.

Try this exercise: Draw a vertical line down a sheet of paper to create two columns. Label one column “Family ”and the other “Empty Nesters. ”Estimate the cost of airfare for your family and jot it down in column one. For column two jot down the airfare cost for two.

Keep that list handy.

Admission Media

Needless to say, if there are fewer people then of course there are fewer admission media to buy. Not only is that but there is also the possibility that you may change the type of media you would buy.

In the past you may have included a Disney water park admission because tyour children loved the water. But as empty nesters, you may be satisfied with your resort hotel pool, so you can do without water park admission. And maybe this time around, you won’t need Disney Quest admission too.

You may find that your vacation itinerary may require fewer days’ admission to the parks because you may plan to spend a day or two off Disney property—something you may not have done as a family.

Of course there’s also the Annual Passport option. If you realize a huge savings in your overall vacation expense, would you then be able to take two WDW trips in one year? If so then purchasing Annual Passports may be the admission media that’s best for you.

On your comparison list, write down your family admission media cost in the first column, and your empty nester cost in column two. I’ll leave it up to you as to just what type of admission media you feel is best for you.

Is that an empty nester smile I see?

Food

Many people are not aware of how expensive it can get to feed a family on a WDW vacation. When you think of the cost per person per day it really adds up.

Many families I’ve spoken to do all sorts of things to cut down on the expense. One way is to have breakfast snacks in their hotel room before venturing out each day. Others avoid the full service restaurants or limit themselves to one or two restaurants per trip. Others will go so far as to rent a place where they can prepare their own meals.

As a party of two, you may find your dining experience to be quite different than it was as a family.

In the first place, making priority seating may be quite easier than in the past. A party of two is easier to find a table for than a party of four, five, or six.

With a smaller party you have fewer appetite schedules to coordinate and so you may be able to take advantage of those lower lunch prices and have a late lunch instead of an early dinner. You can also try out those pricey restaurants you just couldn’t afford to try as a family.

Speaking as both a family and empty nester visitor to WDW, I can honestly say that you may enjoy the character meals even more, especially if you play along with the characters.

So, do you know how much you would spend on food as a family and what you would spend as a couple? You know the routine. Column one, then column two.

Car Rental

Guess what? With less people you have less baggage—er, luggage—and that means you can rent a smaller, less expensive car.

When I see large families at WDW, I sometimes imagine what size vehicle they would have to rent to hold all the family members and their luggage. Sure there are deals out there, but how many people take the time to look for those deals? These days when I see “full size ”I don’t perceive that car class as something big enough for the average family.

When you cut down on the number of travelers, you cut down on the pieces of luggage that also travel with you. So now you can get by with that compact instead of that SUV, Van, or “full size ”vehicle. Estimate the difference and set that figure aside.

The savings you realize may not appear to be that significant but it is still savings. Add this savings to your list.

Hidden Costs

There are other factors that also play into the cost reduction.

For instance, many people shop for a vacation wardrobe before vacation and we certainly don’t leave out the children. That clothes budget will definitely go down.

We all know about those irresistible souvenirs. Does anyone ever go on

a WDW vacation and not bring back a souvenir or two… or 10?

Without the kiddies you won’t be spending as much on souvenirs—at

least for them.

How about film? Maybe in today’s world of digital photography it’s not such a big deal. Without the kids there will be far fewer photos and far fewer video to take. You won’t need to buy as much media such as film and videotape.

Real Accommodating Accommodations

Remember all that money you determined you would save on this trip? Add up your savings. I’m sure you will be pleased with your total.

If as a family you could not afford to stay on the property then why not splurge and experience your first empty nest vacation as an on-site guest? Can you afford it?

Let’s take that savings total and divide it by the number of days you plan to spend in Orlando.

The number you come up with could very well serve as a guide for what you could spend per night on a WDW resort hotel. My guess is that the number you are looking at is easily in the price range of a moderate or possibly a deluxe resort hotel.

Let’s say that all those years as a family you stayed at a value or moderate hotel. Perhaps staying in a less expensive room allowed you to extend your vacation for a few more nights, or to save on the room so you could use the savings for other things like food, admission, or souvenirs.

Now with the savings you are realizing, you could treat yourself to that deluxe hotel room you’ve always dreamed about. Now you may be able to afford that monorail deluxe hotel or that Beach & Yacht Club room that’s been in your mind, or even the romantic Animal Kingdom Lodge that always seemed out of reach.

Next Time

I know you are ready to pack your bags and enjoy your first empty nest WDW vacation but before you go we’ll take a look at an example of what your itinerary and touring plan would look like on this trip.

That is where we will pick up this discussion as we go into part two of our discussion on empty nest touring in WDW.

Class dismissed.