What Kind Of Vacation Do Kids Really Want?

A national survey was conducted recently by Ypartnership, a travel marketing group based in Orlando, in which they polled 615 children, age 6 – 17, asking questions about their vacation memories.  Through the survey they asked the children how and where their best vacation memories were formed.

In the category of the “most awesome” vacations, coming in on top and at a near tie, was religious retreats and theme park vacations, especially if these were taken with siblings and parents.  The common thread seemed to be that what the children wanted most from a vacation, and likewise remember most about their vacations, was the chance to spend quality time with their parents and family members.

When asked where would be their dream vacation, most of the youth surveyed responded theme park adventures, and more specifically Walt Disney World Resort receiving 83% of the vote.  Another very popular vacation, or 77% of those surveyed stated they would like to voyage on a cruise ship.

When posed the question, who helps plan your family’s vacation, 8 out of 10 responded that they, the children, help in the planning.  This fact got me thinking about my own family and our vacation plans. While I had a unique destination in mind for our upcoming spring break, our plans somehow were changed to include Walt Disney World. On the few rare occasions that I have engineered the vacation, keeping the destination a surprise, the underlying thought was always, would this be something the kids will enjoy?  So even if they are not directly involved in the planning, it does appear that children are very much in the forethought of all the arrangements.

And just how do they capture and share these vacation memories?  Thanks to new technology, more than half of the children stated that they prefer to take digital pictures and post their photos in real time on various social media sites and even blogs.  Perhaps this is why a great number of the surveyed stated that they could not imagine taking a vacation without their iPod or cell phone.

Ironically, given the fact that the overwhelming desired vacation was to spend time with their family, a great number of children stated they could not take a vacation without their video games.  Others stated that the downside to family vacations included having to share a  hotel bed with their brother or sister, having to sit in the same car with their brother or sister, having to share a bathroom, and unfortunately not being able to escape the sound of dad’s snore!

Whether you are planning a staycation or family vacation, another point that I found interesting when the youth were posed the question, what do you like best about vacation, the top responses included staying up late, sleeping late and eating dessert first.  All fine points to keep in mind for those happy vacation memories.

Photo Selection: WDW News