Hannah Johnson first visited Walt Disney World together with her mother when she was still in college. After a transient hiatus as a consequence of COVID, the Ringgold, Georgia resident has resumed their travels together as an annual event.
“I decided that (the annual trip) should be what I did for her,” Johnson said, “kind of in return for all the things she did for me.” I could just see how joyful she was and the way much it meant to her.”
According to Meghan Hayes, an independent travel consultant, it’s a growing trend for adults to travel with their parents.
“This trend is particularly increasing because fewer people are choosing to have children, or because they are choosing to have children later in life,” Hayes told Yahoo Life, “but they are still willing to travel in style.” “It's a bucket list thing to do and they want to do that too. Include their family in these trips.”
Hayes said adult children traveling with their parents have grown to just about 25% of their business, from about 5% to 10% before the pandemic.
Yahoo Life spoke to individuals who say they think it's necessary to travel with their parents and what advantages they think it has for them.
“My mom loves the Germany Pavilion (at EPCOT), so we spend about an hour there,” Johnson said. “Then we go to Casey's Corner (a hot dog restaurant in the park) at the Magic Kingdom and sit there and people watch. We like to do the PeopleMover (a tram-style attraction that gives park guests a tour of the Tomorrowland area) and other relaxing things because (my mom) isn't a particularly exciting person.”
How do these trips help her mother?
“My mom has anxiety, so just learning how to navigate and deal with a crowd instead of just freaking out and shutting down is a big deal,” she said.
Megan duBois, who wrote the Yahoo Life article, said she takes a couple of trips annually together with her parents, who’re of their late 50s and early 60s.
The writer and her mother, 63, recently traveled to Machu Picchu. Although the older woman needed a bit of help to achieve the highest, she still made it to the spot overlooking the ruins.
“My mother and I sat together and leaned over to tell her how proud I was of her and that she can still do anything she puts her mind to, even if it's scary,” duBois wrote.
For Carly Caramanna, traveling together with her mother is a method to socialize. “It's exciting,” she told Yahoo Life, “because instead of visiting each other's homes, we're exploring new destinations.”
The couple travels to a domestic destination every two months and takes a visit to Europe every winter. “It’s a form of revenge in the best possible way,” she said.
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