6 Things We Loved About Our Kid-Free Disney Vacation

My family enjoys going to Walt Disney World, especially during the holidays. But my husband and I enjoy the parks as much as our kids do, and I’ve realized that visiting without them is an entirely different experience that’s totally worth it.

Here’s why we made the trip to Disney World without our kids and what we enjoyed about the experience.

Why We Booked an Adults-Only Disney Trip

I’ve had past experiences briefly visiting Disney World without our kids, which gave me a hint that we’d like to take a trip like this one day. On our first Disney World family trip 6 years ago, we hired a hotel babysitter to sneak away to Hollywood Studios for an evening at Oga’s Cantina.

Last year, I visited Disney World on May the Fourth with my best friend, and that experience completely opened my eyes to how much fun it is to visit as an adult. My girls’ trip felt effortless and indulgent, and I realized my husband would be thrilled to take a grown-up-only trip like that to Disney World. After that visit, I started putting plans into motion.

We kicked things off with a family trip to Disney World to make sure the kids wouldn’t feel left out before our return visit — just the two of us — a few weeks later. It was a great vacation: 6 days in the parks, a couple of visits to Disney Springs, and some time in resort pools. By the end, our kids declared it “the best trip ever” — mission accomplished!

After that, we were happy to hop on a flight to Orlando International Airport (MCO) by ourselves, knowing they were satisfied and we could have our own fun.

Benefits of Disney Adulting as Parents

Visiting Disney World on an adults-only trip made it easier for us to navigate the parks and enjoy food and attractions we often don’t get to experience on family trips. Here’s what we discovered.

1. Freedom and Flexibility

Our kids love a good adventure. They can power through from rope drop to park closing when properly motivated, though we rarely do that with them. They’re good to go as long as we keep up with snacks and entertainment, but family trips at Disney World invariably have a slower pace.

With our kids, we love exploring Disney’s family-friendly attractions and making memories tailored to them. On this trip, we had the chance to revisit some personal favorites and tackle the parks with a different focus. We take more breaks as a family and usually split up at some point so some of us can hit thrill rides while the rest hit other attractions. Visiting as adults, we could stay together the whole time and enjoy experiences as a couple.

2. Lower Costs

Although it was certainly not cheaper to take 2 separate trips, our second trip for the 2 of us cost much less than our family trip. When we visit as a family of 5, everything is multiplied by 5: park tickets, Lightning Lane, food, and flights.

We could keep costs down with just the 2 of us and still enjoy special treats like extra Lightning Lane multipass days. With fewer expenses, we could treat ourselves to special experiences, like savoring handcrafted cocktails or exploring exclusive festival tastings. Booking dining reservations and Lightning Lane early gives you the best selection, we found it was surprisingly easy to snag last-minute availability with just 2 people.

3. Streamlined Attractions

Although our kids are tall enough to ride any of the attractions at Disney World, we still use the rider swap because there are some rides our younger kids don’t want to ride. Rider swap allows us to save time by sending a parent through the line and ride while the other waits and then goes through a Lightning Lane without waiting in the general line.

Our teen makes out like a bandit because he gets to ride with each of us! Still, it takes much longer for us to experience an attraction when we go through it twice, even if one of us gets to go through a shorter line.

Although the rider swap is a time saver, riding together is far faster — and it was much more fun to ride next to my husband and experience these rides together. We could also use single rider lines to cut down on wait times, although we didn’t feel it was necessary on this trip.

4. Stress-Free Shopping

Our kids save up their chore money before visiting Disney World, and they love to hit the gift shops. Shopping with the kids is usually focused on their picks, so it felt like a luxury to peruse stores leisurely and find items for myself.

Many Disney World park shops stay open after the rides and restaurants close, so you can save shopping for the end of the night.

5. Trying New Things

We visited all 4 parks in 1 day on this trip. Hopping between all 4 parks in 1 day was a thrilling challenge we could fully embrace at our own pace — something we might try with the kids in the future. We also got to visit many of the Festival of the Holidays food booths at the World Showcase, indulging in a slower pace and not worrying about whether there was something everyone would like.

We usually take much longer to get through the World Showcase and don’t stop at every food booth that catches our eye when visiting with the kids.

6. Surprises for Our Kids

Returning to Disney World after a family trip was great for buying holiday gifts. We made sure to grab a few items each had been eyeing but didn’t get during our previous visit, turning their wish list into special Christmas surprises.

We also sent them a postcard from Magic Kingdom with a Main Street U.S.A. Magic Kingdom postmark. We teased them by texting our teen a “super cool ride POV” and insisting that he get everyone to watch — it was from the It’s a Small World ride, and they said they had the song stuck in their heads all day! These were ways to connect with the kids and remind them of the fun we’ve had with them on our family Disney World visits.

Final Thoughts

Disney magic isn’t just for kids. Our adults-only Disney World vacation was refreshing and unique.

This trip felt like an indulgence, with the flexibility of moving at an adult pace, experiencing every ride together, and enjoying food experiences that are tougher with kids in tow. It gave us the chance to enjoy the parks in a different way — focusing on our own favorites and interests — while appreciating how special our family trips are.

Knowing our kids had already enjoyed an amazing Disney World trip made planning this adults-only getaway all the more rewarding. And having this trip booked enhanced our family trip because we could easily prioritize what we wanted to do as a family, knowing we’d have time to return and do what we adults wanted later. I don’t know if we’ll make adults-only Disney trips a regular occurrence, but I’m sure we will have more Disney dates.