Would you let your child plan all family holidays?

According to new research, more than fifth of parents have let their school age plan 100% of a family holiday.

The survey of 2,000 parents of school -aged children found that 22% have let their child plan all the holidays, every last detail.

And parents could encourage it, as 82% of parents responded said that their best trips happened when the children said.

When the children participate, parents usually help them with activities (89%) and restaurants (54%), which makes sense, because the main reason that parents ask for contributions on a trip is to ensure that the holidays will have elements that their child will enjoy (76%).

Commissioned by Visit Anaheim for his campaign “Imagineagency” and conducted by Talker Research, the survey also surveyed children and found that most are all.

Eighty-six percent of the children surveyed want to be more involved in family travel planning and 53% want to plan as much of the possible trip.

What exactly would be a “dream” holiday for children? Having a meeting and greeting with their favorite celebrity (34%) was at the top of the graphics for experiences once in life, followed by sitting in the front row in a concert for his favorite artist (29%), or having access to the same show (27%).

About a quarter would like to mount in a Float Parade Float (26%) parade or greet with his favorite cartoon characters (24%), while a fifth would like to sit in the front row in a professional sports game.

“Children are not just passengers: they are the planners, the dreamers, the imagination of the trip,” said Scott Oklin, a marketing chief of Visit Anaheim. “We want to help parents give parents fun and easy to turn big dreams for children in memory times, whether it is an exciting hockey game or zoom in the Russian mountains.”

There were more “everyday” activities that children said to also be included in a dream trip, such as going to the beach (55%) and an amusement park (54%).

This was especially true for a child, who said his dream journey would be: “amusement parks, amusement parks, amusement parks, lol.”

Children also said they needed to go to fun restaurants (54%), have the opportunity to swim (51%) and participate in outdoor activities (49%) to turn a regular trip into their dream holidays.

And only swimming may not be enough, as a child said he wanted to “swim with dolphins”.

For the last “dream trip”, children imagine something quite epic: a 13 -day trip to six states and five countries, traveling through a road trip (60%), a flight (57%) and even a cruise (33%).

But not all dreams require a passport: 40% of children would prefer to stay here in the United States, and their best options include Florida, California, Hawaii, New York, Alaska and Colorado.

But regardless of whether or not their child helps to plan a trip, 84% of parents try to inspire their child’s imagination when a holiday is set up.

More than that, 73% of the surveyed parents know a “dream journey” that their child would like to do, and 88% plan to make some, or all, of this trip, go in the future.

“The imagination is the spark,” Oklin added. “But then you need a destination that has everything parents need to give it life, from iconic theme parks and dignified dignified food to unexpected jewelry. Through imagination, we help families to bring to life the wildest imaginations of their children.”

What are dream trips for children?*

• Amusement parks, amusement parks, amusement parks, lol
• I wish I am surprised by my father with a trip to Ireland so we can see the city that their grandparents came
• I would like to fit as many places and activities within the possible period. Like two weeks of different places and things to do.
• Would like to go to the beach, I would like to swim with the dolphins
• Theme parks, national parks, concerts, beaches
• American Museum of Natural History, Central Park Zoo, Space Club
• My dream trip would start by traveling to Legoland, this is where I wanted to go for a while and I can’t wait to finish it. I would love to see some of the Disneylands and visit my aunt in Florida. And play on the beach. Play Legos and swim on the beach for nineteen days and would be happy forever.
• I would start in Japan during the cherry flower season.
• I want to go to see my cousins ​​in North Carolina. I haven’t seen them in a while! The mother said that there are beaches in Carolina. I always wanted to go to the beach. We would need sun protection. The mother burns!
• I want to go to California so badly. I want to go to the NBA stadium where Lakers and Disneyland play, of course.
• My dream trip would be to New York, where I would explore Central Park, see a Broadway show, visit the museums and enjoy the vibrant city food scene.
• I would like to go to both shores and after making visits, go to the marina, climb a boat and go to a caribbean cruise

* Some answers have been edited for length and/or clarity.

Survey Methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 American parents of school-aged children (between 6 and 17 years); The survey was commissioned by Visit Anaheim and was administered and made online by Talker Research between April 7 and 15, 2025.