A woman going to Disneyworld without her children has divided and baffled the internet.
Maddie, 30, who describes herself online as a “Disney and Universal travel expert,” posted on social media that she faces “mom guilt” when she lets her kids go to Disneyworld without them.
“Have you ever gone on vacation to Disney alone without the kids?” she asked.
“I love going on family vacations to Disney, and I do 99% of the time! But every now and then, it’s so nice to just let loose and be a kid without the kids.”
The 30-year-old didn’t seem to expect any backlash for sharing her vacation on social media, adding: “This is your sign to take the trip, moms.”
The comments section quickly became less about Maddie’s trip and more about people’s judgments about whether or not she should have brought her kids.
Maddie added in the comments that she would be taking her two young children in three weeks, but was glad she went without them first and got to drink and ride roller coasters.
The post went viral after a screenshot of the clip was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Someone reposted Maddie’s decision on X and joked, “I’m going to have to side with the mom guilt on this one.”
This tweet has been viewed more than 14 million times and sparked a huge debate in the comments section.
One person responded and racked up over 18,000 likes by stating that she only goes to Disneyworld “without” her kids.
“I’m a whole person outside of my role as a mother and I don’t have to take my children on vacation. Family trips exist for a reason,” the mother explained.
The author responded that while it was clearly the mother’s right and she had no problem with someone taking a vacation without their family, she couldn’t ignore the irony of the situation.
“I have every right to think it’s very funny to leave your children at home to go to a children’s place,” she replied.
People on Maddie’s side argued that even though she was going to have a kid-friendly place, that didn’t mean she had to bring her kids.
“It’s good for moms to take a break, and it’s good for kids to learn that they can’t do all the fun things they hear about. Not seeing the problem,” one wrote.
Another wrote that she “kind of” understood where the mother was coming from, because every time she goes to an amusement park with her husband and child, they can’t go on certain rides because their toddler isn’t old enough to ride them.
“Mothers can go to Disney without their kids. They have the right to take a break and have fun on their own, and it’s not like they can only go to Disney once, they can bring their kids next time,” another pointed out.
On the other hand, many people were baffled that she chose to go to a place full of children without her own.
“I really don’t understand why I would want to go to Disney without kids. Kid-free trips, sure, but Disney?” one wrote.
Someone compared it to the equivalent of “leaving the kid at home to go take a picture of Santa at the mall.”
One called her actions “crazy,” another said they were “embarrassing,” and another wrote that she couldn’t “imagine” doing something like that without her children.
In general, people didn’t have a problem with the young mother going on vacation away from her children; most were simply perplexed as to why she chose Disneyworld of all places.
New York Post
