Vacationing with family: Then vs. now

Everyone has those fond memories of family vacations, spending a few days a year in Disney World or on the beach with family. Over the years though, these vacations have evolved, from the blissful, candy-coated trips we took as kids, to the more realistic, and likely more fun trips we take as adults.

Traveling

Then

As a child there was nothing more exciting than being able to fly somewhere or enjoy a long car trip filled with hours of playing Animal Crossing on our DS. The food was always to be particularly looked forward to, as it usually consisted of some type of wonderfully artery clogging  fast food grabbed in the rush to get to your final destination. Seating arrangements on planes always seemed to magically propel you to the window seat and you always had a drink from the drink cart without even having to order one.

Now

While travel days still have all the fun and excitement of our youth, they now contain a new and terrifying element: stress. The constant fear of losing your luggage, travel delays and worst of all, having an unfortunate seat mate, follow you all day like a passive aggressive cloud. In place of the handheld games of our childhood are our smartphones and laptops. Seating has become a free for all, getting the window seat is a battle between your siblings and parents, and approximately half of the trip is spent practicing your drink cart order so you don’t mess up.

Planned activities

Then

During our glorious and over energized childhoods, there was nothing more exciting than waking up at 5am to go on some tropical excursion or to be the first in the theme park. Participating in these activities was something that provided all kinds of memorable photo ops and nothing trumped being able to hold a giant turtle and riding the Harry Potter ride before anyone else was even awake.

Now

While these planned excursions are still incredible, a recent discovery has found one activity that gives all others a run for their money: sleep. While waking up early does provide a whole new world of opportunities activity wise, it also creates a very uncomfortable and potentially dangerous environment for the entire family and whoever has the misfortune of encountering them.

Food

Then

Dining in our youth was simple. Give us a place with chicken tenders and fries and you were golden. Add on some sort of jaunty cartoon character theme and you had a champion on your hands.

Now

In the time between age six and age 20, our palates are bound to change, and while this means better food, it also means world war III every night while deciding where to eat. Gone are the days of chicken tenders and french fries, now is the era of conflict. Seafood, Mexican, sit down, buffet – the options are endless and so are the opinions. Wherever we end up, theres at least one family member dissatisfied.

A lot can change over the years, your perceptions of travel, family activities, and most important of all, food, but one thing that stays the same is the people you do it all with. And in spite of differing opinions and constantly changing tastes, you are never too old for your parents to pay for you to go on a vacation.