Anyone else depressed about having no plans for a Disney Trip??

[AnnDisneyFan]

Misery loves company......

I am reading all about the Podcast Cruise, extending the 4/3 deal, pins for free dining, 40% off, etc. etc. etc.

I am soooooo sad that we have no plans to go back.

It's not that we haven't been spoiled either. We went as a family in December 2007 and Christmas week 2008 through New Years. I was even fortunate enough to sneak in the Toy Story Mania event. But in the last year we spent $8,000 (including the dining plan and travel) there. The well is dry. And it has been.

So I spend a few minutes each morning entering a few sweepstakes for Disney. Last year this time, I was consumed with the CMO competition.

Anyone else in a serious Disney Depression?? :sad1:

[daneenm]

You betcha'! No plans to go at the moment, although I am still holding out hope for a May weekend meet with the PodCast team.

[Iggipolka]

Ohh..I'm so with you. Even though we do have plans to go back Feb 2010, that's just SO far away. I want to be going in May when "everyone else" is going.
The great deals that are out there now don't help the craving either!

[SGB13]

Yes! We just did a Jan 2009 trip and said our next one would be Feb 2011! How can I wait 2 years? I was looking at resorts the week we got back! :rotfl: I've been entering all those sweepstakes too. Maybe we can win a trip and go back now!!!!:woohoo:

[rn4val]

I get so depressed too. I was so excited for 6 months or so planning our trip last fall. It was my husbands first time and he says he might want to go back someday. I just love WDW I hope to convince in to go back at least in a couple of years or maybe I will just go with my adult son who loves WDW as much as I do.
Debbie

[rn4val]

I get so depressed too. I was so excited for 6 months or so planning our trip last fall. It was my husbands first time and he says he might want to go back someday. I just love WDW I hope to convince in to go back at least in a couple of years or maybe I will just go with my adult son who loves WDW as much as I do.
Debbie

[AnnDisneyFan]

Yes! We just did a Jan 2009 trip and said our next one would be Feb 2011! How can I wait 2 years? I was looking at resorts the week we got back! :rotfl: I've been entering all those sweepstakes too. Maybe we can win a trip and go back now!!!!:woohoo:

<<<<<<<<<< constantly making different touring plans for a non-existent Disney trip.....constantly :sad2:

[abish19]

There's something about NOT having a trip coming up to look forward to...

We just returned from our Jan. 2009 trip, but I have a friend who is at WDW right now - she called me today from the Animal Kingdom, and I just felt a little down, knowing I couldn't say for sure when I'd return.

It's a mix of things - the possibility of having another child, the cost, etc., but it's hard no matter who you are and what your circumstances.

Thank goodness for the boards and the podcast! (Most people think I'm absolutely nuts when it comes to WDW.)

[diz4ever]

I am so with all of you. So sad. :sad1: I know I'm spoiled. We sent in Sept. '07, Jan. '08, two days in March '08, Nov. '08 and there for the marathon Jan. '09. It was a great year!!! For the first time in a L - O - N - G time I do not have a trip planned and one doesn't fit into our plans for the next year either as we are planning DD's wedding (for 9/19/09). So I am with all of you who keep checking the rates, dates and planning non existent trips. We'll get through this but it won't be pretty. :scared:

[DisneyKevin]

If I'm not mistaken.....Pete has announced that there are Disneyland and Walt Disney World (I believe this one includes dining) trips in the prizematron.

There are more than a few DisUnplugged regulars around who have won Disney vacations.

Maybe instead of feeling bad......you should channel that energy and come up with creative ideas to get a shot at one of them.

You never know where the next great Podcast idea will come from.....

Some folks are in the right place at the right time.....

Some folks listen very carefully...

Some take awesome photos...

You just never know.

Hope this gives you all the creative spark :wizard: and points y'all in positive direction.:thumbsup2

[AnnDisneyFan]

I forgot to add that my DH has had fun at Disney World but is so NOT in a Disney Depression about the fact that he has no immediate plans to return.

I, on the other hand, am plotting and planning. A reward for weight loss?? Tried that. Said I would lose a certain amount more by the time we went over Christmas (didn't happen).

So now, I have "decided" that my new weight loss goal reward will be booking a trip when I have REACHED the goal. And I just kindof just keep saying this out loud so that my DH will be used to hearing it. He sooooooo thinks I am a complete freak for wanting to go back again so soon. We just got back from our last trip on January 4th!

Then I read about the 4/3 deal being extended and know I still can't reach my goal in time to book and go by August (I still have a lot to lose).

Disney Destination Deception coupled with Disney Depression leads to Disney Dieting Denial. :sad2:

[AnnDisneyFan]

If I'm not mistaken.....Pete has announced that there are Disneyland and Walt Disney World (I believe this one includes dining) trips in the prizematron.

There are more than a few DisUnplugged regulars around who have won Disney vacations.

Maybe instead of feeling bad......you should channel that energy and come up with creative ideas to get a shot at one of them.

You never know where the next great Podcast idea will come from.....

Some folks are in the right place at the right time.....

Some folks listen very carefully...

Some take awesome photos...

You just never know.

Hope this gives you all the creative spark :wizard: and points y'all in positive direction.:thumbsup2

Great.......with all you are going through Kevin..........YOU take the time to post and inspire me!! Thoughts and prayers still coming your way!

So glad I stole that hug from you when I did at TSM. :hug:

[pasofan]

I am right there with you. I keep trying to convince the hubby to go back before our youngest DD turns 4 at the end of September--keep saying "before we have to pay for her!:goodvibes " He's not biting yet--we are trying to get all our debt paid off though, so he's putting it off for a good reason. Maybe I can convince him to buy DVC once everything is paid off.:banana:

[abish19]

Thanks Kevin! You're right - more seems to happen with positive energy than with negative energy.

I'll just be prepared to tap into my immense creative energy, when the time comes! :)

[DWFan4Life]

Yes! We just did a Jan 2009 trip and said our next one would be Feb 2011! How can I wait 2 years? I was looking at resorts the week we got back! :rotfl: I've been entering all those sweepstakes too. Maybe we can win a trip and go back now!!!!:woohoo:


Same here, still waiting to win but we are planning on December. Hopefully it will happen, if not, that would be the time that I'll be depressed. :lmao:

Have a nice day everyone. :)

[diz4ever]

Ok - working on my creative spark and my positive energy :wizard: (while trying to diet so I'm not the really FAT mother of the bride in September). I did try to tell my daugter she should get married at Disney (yes, I know I had ulterior motives to that), but she didn't buy into that idea. :confused3 So for now I will continue to listen and think and plan and see what I can come up with. Thanks Kevin.

[jpeka65844]

Count me in the depressed as well. And the kicker is is that DH is going in January WITHOUT ME!!!! He's running the marathon with some friends on a No Girls Allowed Weekend. I'm hoping to be huge and pregnant at the time, so they left me out of the booking plans. :mad: If I'm NOT huge and/or pregnant, then I just might sneak down and surprise him at the finish line! ;)

We're doing to DL June 30-July 5 so that abates the hurt a little. It's still not my beloved World, though.

It's been unseasonably warm and wet here the past few days (60-70 degrees) and it's sure felt like Florida!

[HillPete]

I hear ya! I'm working on a review for the podcast (hoping it will get read :thumbsup2 ) and planning to find a way to get to MagicMeets in PA this summer. Not exactly a trip down there, but a Disney fix nonetheless!

--H

PS - we just got back 10 days ago!!

[Lilolvr]

I am. We went last year but won't be going this year.

[hideeh]

Bummed about not having a trip? That's me!

Creative? Not me! Not one single creative bone in this body!

[remark44]

I'm there too. :sad1:

Got back from Nov 08 trip and I started doing itineraries for 09, 10 and anniversary trip in 11.

Realistically I know the money is not there for these trips. But I would love to find a way to make it possible.

Gotta keep the dream alive.

[TXYankee]

Bummed about not having a trip? That's me!

Creative? Not me! Not one single creative bone in this body!


I hear ya!

This year the $$$ is just not flowing!

[IHeartTink04]

I'm hoping for some sort of pin code because right now I haven't got any. I am in the depressed boat as well but a pin code might help cure that!

[DSNY4ever]

Okay Ann- it is like you read my mind this morning... I signed on today feeling the exact same way... sad that we have no trips planned :sad1:. I know that I have to be grateful that we have gotten the chance to go recently, but sometimes it is hard to go on the boards when you have no trip on the horizon (and no CMO contest to keep your mind busy...haha I remember you from the huge long thread(s) that we had last year- too funny).

Well I am going to go think of creative suggestions/questions for the podcast and put in my daily entry to the What will you celebrate contest- good luck everyone.

[AnnDisneyFan]

Okay Ann- it is like you read my mind this morning... I signed on today feeling the exact same way... sad that we have no trips planned :sad1:. I know that I have to be grateful that we have gotten the chance to go recently, but sometimes it is hard to go on the boards when you have no trip on the horizon (and no CMO contest to keep your mind busy...haha I remember you from the huge long thread(s) that we had last year- too funny).

Well I am going to go think of creative suggestions/questions for the podcast and put in my daily entry to the What will you celebrate contest- good luck everyone.

:wave2: Hi DSNY4ever!!! :wave2:

The CMO threads.....oh my........I can still remember uploading my video for hours and crying and crying and having the entry "essay" answers I had typed in just disappear and knowing I could never retype them within the deadline with my hands shaking so much.

Guess I can't say I didn't put my whole heart and soul into that CMO position.

<<<<<<<< still waiting for the Fed Ex package to arrive or at least the call from Centra Marketing :sad:

[Dodie]

I have a suggestion that won't necessarily cure your sadness, but seems to make a lot of sense based on your post. Please don't take this as any type of criticism. I've been in your shoes too...

If you've spent $8000 in the recent past on WDW trips, I think you should consider investing in a DVC membership. You'd be almost halfway toward a 160 point membership at this point if you were to buy directly from Disney and be way more than halfway if you bought from a resaler.

Then you would ALWAYS have a trip planned and you'd be investing in your future vacations instead of paying off your past ones and wishing you had one planned.

Just a suggestion. Have you looked at the DVC boards here?

[abish19]

Hi Dodie-

I agree wholeheartedly with your DVC suggestion. Now I'll just have to find a way to convince my husband...:)

[Lease]

There has been some serious Disney depression going on at our house. We went three times in a year and now with luck we won't be going back to WDW for at least 8 years. DL should be doable in about 4 years since it's a two day drive away. Still that leaves us at least 4 years from going back to see the mouse...good thing the DIS is here to keep me updated on all the magic :)

[Carolinagal]

Bless your heart! good luck and good health to you!

That said, I always keep an active folder on my computer and drop in any new ideas of tidbits I learn or hear about - things that I just have to try. I also keep an eye on airfare, so just in case my Nigerian friend or Microsoft Europe or the UK lottery do pay off, I'll be ready to go.

I also enter ALL the Disney Sweepstakes, as well as a bunch of others, and any money I win goes directly to the WDW fund. I keep a change jar, and any "found" money drops in.

I've found I can't not plan for Disneyworld or Disneyland - I can't imagine a situation where I would not be looking forward to a trip.

[AnnDisneyFan]

I have a suggestion that won't necessarily cure your sadness, but seems to make a lot of sense based on your post. Please don't take this as any type of criticism. I've been in your shoes too...

If you've spent $8000 in the recent past on WDW trips, I think you should consider investing in a DVC membership. You'd be almost halfway toward a 160 point membership at this point if you were to buy directly from Disney and be way more than halfway if you bought from a resaler.

Then you would ALWAYS have a trip planned and you'd be investing in your future vacations instead of paying off your past ones and wishing you had one planned.

Just a suggestion. Have you looked at the DVC boards here?

It was soooooo crowded when we were there Christmas week that we decided to take the DVC tour (my husband made it VERY clear that we were there for the fastpasses and the ice cream though).

While in the parks, it seemed everyone we met was a DVC owner and thrilled to be so. It started becoming an inside joke.....here I thought I was the biggest Disney fanatic there and then we would meet another DVC owner.

They all made the same comment you did that it actually kept them in trip planning mode. One man told me that it helped him and forced him to take time away from work because he had already put $$$ into his future vacations. I told him how conservative I was with money and he said he was the same way. THAT'S what helped him -- he just had to get the most for his money and it became fun for him.

The money thing was hard for me. We have stayed at POP for those two trips that were in the $8,000 total.

The room was by far the least expensive part of the trip (we went before Christmas 2007 and our room was cheap). The dining plans for the two trips (and the latest trip - the tips really added up), park tickets, our two children being 11 and 12 were adult prices for DP and tickets and our costs for travel (one trip we flew - other we drove) are all in that $8,000.

Even when running the numbers with the DVC guy....he picked up on my husband's "enthusiasm" almost immediately....and it still came down to that I would need to buy tickets and food (and get there). If I understood it right aren't the annual fees (depending on your points) close to what I would pay for a value resort non-peak season for about a 6 or so day stay?

If you don't mind me asking.....how do you do it? Do you buy an annual pass? Are there other discounts that help set off the travel and food costs and tickets? Just hard times right now to be coming up with that amount of money. The "Welcome Home" thing got to me though. I loved that! :grouphug:

I looked up The TimeShare Store.....why wouldn't everyone buy a resale?? I just didn't get that. Am I missing something there?

By the way, no offense taken at all, I really appreciate your suggestion. I know my children do too.....wish my husband were along for the Disney Decision.

I am a bit of a freak while there....staying until all hours of the morning and getting up early and going right back....he has a great time while there. He would like to just relax and enjoy the resort as well though. Not me, I am all about the parks. As a dear friend on the boards here said once....I have a mixed Disney marriage.

[Stacy's a freak]

I'm so there with the depression thing. I've been very lucky for the past 4 or so years with vacations - not just to WDW - but I made it there 3 times in 4 years with some other pretty cool vacations mixed in between. So this is my year to pay for some things. I had to buy a new car since mine was almost dead and I had to charge my fuel oil when it was $4/gallon. Thankfully the oil prices have dropped considerably and my oil company is giving me the lower price ... so that means I won't have to pay as much next year to pre-buy :) But anyway,

I guess I'm OK with the fact that my money is just going to other things - practical things. But I'm still feeling a bit blah about having nothing to plan or look forward to.

So I get it ... yeah :sad2:

[Dodie]

If you don't mind me asking.....how do you do it? Do you buy an annual pass? Are there other discounts that help set off the travel and food costs and tickets?
There are a few discounts but, just like any other Disney travel you have to think about it and plan. Yes. We have an AP. We plan our trips so we can get at least two within the timeframe of the AP. In other words, if we are going only once per year, the first trip might be at the middle of September in 2009 (when we would buy the AP) and the second one would be at the beginning of September in 2010 (when the AP is still good). Then you renew (also at a signficant discount) and do the same thing the next year. You also still have to watch for cheap flights. We never do the dining plan. It's too costly and too much food for us. Plus, we find it takes up too much time to plan and do all of that dining. We probably do 1-3 sit down meals during a trip. The bonus to DVC is that, even in a studio, you have a nice kitchenette where you can definitely bring groceries in and do breakfasts.

I looked up The TimeShare Store.....why wouldn't everyone buy a resale?? I just didn't get that. Am I missing something there?
The most important thing about DVC is that you need to buy where you want to stay most of the time, instead of just buying into whatever is cheapest or whatever has incentives at the time. As there are more members, it's becoming more difficult for folks to book at a resort other than their home resort. So, if the resort is available resale, you are right, you are much better off $ wise to buy resale. Disney treats you the same, regardless.

I am a bit of a freak while there....staying until all hours of the morning and getting up early and going right back....he has a great time while there. He would like to just relax and enjoy the resort as well though. Not me, I am all about the parks. As a dear friend on the boards here said once....I have a mixed Disney marriage.
That's another bonus about DVC. Your trips take on another quality. You know you're coming back. There's no need to go-go-go. You can take the time to relax. The resorts themselves are more "like home," so you're comfortable there. The one-bedrooms and above have whirlpool tubs. They have nice balconies. Etc.

Please go to the DVC boards here and ask questions. There are LOTS of experts there who've been doing this for a long time. They know all of the ins and outs. They can answer all of your questions. It may not be for you. It may be for you. But it's an investment you want to investigate thoroughly before you make. Remember that the "guides" that take you on the DVC tours are salespeople first. I'm not saying they aren't honest, but they are trying to sell you what's available from THEIR inventory. Do your research.

[DebºoºS]

Feeling your pain. I can't plan a trip until we know if we have jobs to pay for them.
Thank you Kevin for taking the time to offer encouraging words. Especially with all you've been through. You're amazing. You inspired me to get off my pity pot:rotfl: My emails are far from clever and my photos are fine but not attention getting. I thought of calling in to the show but I sound like Glinda on helium. It didn't take long to realize a prizematron win is out at least for today. I then turned to catching up on posts which usually gives me my DISney fix. One of Webmaster Alexs' posts caught my attention. It's about the DIS supporting Deb's Avon Walk (http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR/Walk2009/WashingtonDC?px=3843338&pg=personal&fr_id=1760). Making a donation made me feel good and I got my DISney fix as well.
Takin' it one day at a time:goodvibes