A question from a newbie to the long time vets...

[Daniel James]

So I'm almost 50 (male). My first visit to Disneyland was before I was 10 and my next in my early 40s. A woman I was dating at the time who had lived near Disneyland took me (I thought ok, sure, Disneyland? I guess...), and I LOVED it (I told people I laughed as hard as I could laugh and yelled as loud as I could yell, but was also amazed and captivated by the detail and artistry). My second wife was also a fan, we went for our honeymoon and have gone every year since. Soooo... I'm a later in life Dis'er. We (live in Arizona) are going to get annual passes this year and go more frequently. I am listening to several podcasts, watch various videos/blogs, ect... I am really into it now.

My question has to do with the fact that we all (well maybe not all of us) have limited time and vacation budgets. And I find myself wondering as I am almost 50, why am I choosing to spend my increasingly limited vacation "budget" on something I've done before and is really based on fantasy/something that is not technically real?

Any sharing/perspective/input would be much appreciated, and hopefully generate an enjoyable discussion.

Thank you in advance.

 

[iKristin]

I used to come to Disneyland annually and then multiple times a year before I moved back to SoCal. People always asked me why I never went anywhere else, and I always told them it was because it's my happy place. If someplace like this makes me so happy then who cares where I go. Now I visit weekly lol

 

[flyingdumbo127]

I think it is awesome you enjoy Disneyland! I am happy just being there I didn't always have the happiest of childhoods and for a handful of years there was time when I wasn't sure health-wise I'd be able to go back to Disneyland. God has given me the blessing to be able to enjoy a happy place with Mickey and have that fun and memories now. Enjoy your trips!

 

[22Tink]

I can completely relate to your love of Disney! I'm 40 and I don't see any stop to my Disney vacations in the future. It's my happy place!! Your vacation budget is YOURS! You should be able to spend it on whatever vacation makes you happy! IMO it's no different than people that take beach vacations every year. They like beaches, we like Disney! While I love my beach vacations, too, they definitely take a back burner to Disney! Enjoy your vacations!!

 

[offwithyourhead]

I am 22. My recent Disney vacation was the first I've taken as an adult, and the first I've paid for myself, and I feel that it was worth every penny. Most people my age are going to cancun, hawaii, cuba, mexico... They're partying, drinking, having a wild time. And that may make them happy, but it wouldn't bring ME joy because that isn't my thing. It'd be nice, sure, to sit on a beach and sip frosty drinks. But I'd rather be sitting in a place that's nostalgic and constantly happy while sipping on a dole float. That's what will make me HAPPY.

Whether something is fantasy or reality is the least of my concerns. I was there, for real, experiencing something that made me smile and gave me amazing memories. That is all that is required for your vacation dollars to be worth it. Fantasy and imagination are NOT just for children! There are a thousand facets to Disneyland besides the fantasy -- you can love the cuisine, the old-timey buildings, the costuming, the special effects in and out of the rides, the workmanship of all aspects of the park/attention to detail, the quality of the animatronics... literally anything. You're not there for Frozen or for Winnie The Pooh specifically. The characters and 'kid stuff' are just a small fraction of what there is to love about Disneyland.

As long as you're happy and you're excited to go, you've picked the right vacation destination. If it would make you happier to go to Hawaii, then go there. Never feel shame or second guess what makes you happy because that's the only requirement for what you should do, happiness factor.

 

[JinglePoem]

...And I find myself wondering as I am almost 50, why am I choosing to spend my increasingly limited vacation "budget" on something I've done before and is really based on fantasy/something that is not technically real?....

I love that^^^.

Truth is, ALL vacations are based in fantasy and something not quite real. If they were rooted in reality, they wouldn't be vacations at all.

Its funny- I live three blocks from the actual waves and sand, here in sunny CA. I walk down to the beach with my kid...but it's not a vacation. It's just a nicer part of real life. However, if get a chance to go down to the Gulf, it's a VACATION. I don't live there, I can't live there- it isn't even a practical dream, at this point- but it's my dream-life, in my own head, that I sometimes get to physically pretend I'm living.
Disneyland is the same, only better. It's that crazy place where reality meets childhood, meets nostalgia, meets imagination, meets happiness, meets the unusual. Unlike were I to finally move to the Gulf and have my dream become my mundane reality, Disneyland doesn't ever let us completely "move in". Each visit is different, whether you go twice a week or once every ten years. Each visit captures a different part of our imaginations and yearnings. It's the perfect place to take your very real self and remember those very fantastical parts of yourself that only respond to pixie dust, I guess. And instead of moving in, we each get to take a teensy bit of that magic back into our ordinary lives and somehow, it enhances our ability to dream our own particular dreams.

Or so I truly believe.

 

[nikkislaght]

We have been the last 6 years and people ask why.
I tell them.. I HATE the beach. and would be moaning the whole time at a sea side hotel.. (although I love the heat )
and I HATE the snow and would be crying at how bloody cold it was..

I go to Disney because I can.. and because for 5 days the minute I walk through those gates the rest of the world falls away and it doesn't exist anymore..

sitting on the beach you can still be engaged with the world.. same as the snow or a city or even on a country drive..

and basically I would rather do something that I enjoy , than not.

 

[McNs]

the minute I walk through those gates the rest of the world falls away and it doesn't exist anymore..

This is exactly it for me, like no other place I have been to.

Going back for our 3rd visit this year (though we are seeing a lot more of CA while there). It costs a lot for us to visit, but we do like to tour in style, and it is what we save our pennies for throughout the year. DL brings so much joy and happiness, not to mention stories for the rest of the year.

I get the "rollseyes" from people when I say I am going back, and the questioning why we don't try somewhere else (and we could go to a lot of places with the money we spend), but nowhere makes us feel the way we do when at DL.

ETA I'm a 41yo male...

 

[VandVsmama]

I'm 42 and I just love Disneyland. Our 3rd trip with our kids will be this October. It doesn't get old for me.

Growing up, my parents' favorite vacation spot was Maui. They would go every year or every other year. They kept going back to Maui year after year even after my sister and I graduated high school and went off to college. For some people, their happy place is a beach vacation. For others, it's camping in the woods for a week. For other people, it's a trip to Europe every year.

And for us Disney lovers, it's a trip to Disneyland. When I'm at Disneyland, I really do feel like a kid again. The outside world, for me anyway, really does melt away. EVEN when we stay at an off site motel to save money on our travel budget. It's just so wonderful & fun to play "make believe" all over again. Disneyland is a place where it's socially acceptable to skip down Main Street hand-in-hand with your loved ones.

I also love going to Disneyland because it has, by far, THE best customer service I have ever encountered anywhere. I love DL because where else can you be an adult and go to a character meet & greet and nobody looks twice at the 42 year old woman getting her picture taken with somebody dressed up as a cartoon character. I love how, generally speaking, the other guests at DL are in a great mood. People are kinder to each other. You see people say "please" and "thank you" more often. Striking up a conversation with people in line next to you or sitting next to you at a parade is just so much fun, comparing notes on your favorite rides, have you tried this or that yet, etc.

I get such great joy out of watching little kids' faces at Disneyland. That look of wonder on a child's face is just so magical.

For me, I would take 3-4 days at Disneyland over a week in Hawaii hands down.

 

[Azjenn]

I live in arizona too grew up in orlando, my love for disney gets more and more the older that I get. We went on our honeymoon to disneyland. Every vacation that is talked about or planned always involves disney. disney is my happy place!! Friends and family have a hard time understanding how we 1. Want to go that much and 2. Spend that much money. I just try and explain that it is what we love and where we chose to spend our vacation time and dollars. Not everyone will understand your logic behind that choice that's why groups like this are so wonderful because they let like minded people meet and chat. We go to disney either in california or orlando at least once a year. This last June we made the decision to get annual passes for disneyland also! So exciting because now I hsve multiple trips planned and always something to look forward to!!

 

[scrapshappen]

I still have children to take to Disney with me and they are at a great age to really enjoy it (10 and 12 but really, what age isn't perfect for children at Disney?) Coming up on our fourth DL trip in 12 months this week plus we managed WDW and DCL in January too.

We vote for Disney with our vacation dollars because it is something the whole family can do and love together. I love that Walt envisioned a place were children and adults can play together and that the company has held true to that vision. We have an amusement park 2 miles from our house. We stopped getting passes there because my kids may only be 2 years apart in age, but the older one is exceptionally tall for his age and the younger one is very small for his age. It meant the older one was too tall for the kiddie rides and the younger one was too short for the grown up rides. (And the height requirements there are harsher than at Disney). So we really couldn't enjoy it all together as a family. It's not like that at Disney. While some rides have height minimums, there are no height maximums. And there are far more rides and attractions without height requirements than there are with them. And Disney is just overall more family friendly so I'd rather drive the 700 miles to DL than the 2 to Lagoon.

Also my younger child has some special needs and it makes our lives a little chaotic and challenging at times. Disney is my therapy. He still has issues there but at least we are enjoying the time between the meltdowns and I come home better able to face them for the next several weeks because I'm in a better place emotionally.

We will be taking about an 18 months break from Disney vacations now that our annual passes are expiring and we won't have both boys on year round school this year. We have a few other vacations planned in the mean time. But I will always treasure the memories we've made this year and I'm already looking forward to our next Disney vacation.

 

[Sweetpea2011]

From another 50 year old (just turned!) I have a bit of a different perspective. I too love Disney. Went once to DL as a kid with my family, and then not again until my 20s with my then boyfriend now husband. Fast forward many, many years we went back for the 3rd time with our twin girls when they turned 5, again at 7, to DW at 10 and then DLP at 13. So, obviously we find value in this kind of a vacation and enjoy it tremendously.

Having said that, though, our Disney vacations have been balanced out with other trips that I really loved. Pre-kids my husband and I went to Greece for two weeks and fell in love with the Greek islands. We went to Hawaii as a family and had a tremendous time. Just loved it. We also were extremely fortunate to go to Europe two summers ago with our kids and extended family, to London (Harry Potter Studio Tour!) then Venice, a Med cruise where we saw just about anything and everything, Barcelona and two magical weeks in Paris. Now....if you asked me to choose between a trip to DL and a trip to Paris, I'm afraid to say that DL would come up short for me. Why? Because I've fallen in love with Paris!! Doesn't mean I don't love DL, we leave on Friday for a road trip to Cali and will be there next week!! But for me, there is a whole big wide beautiful amazing world out there and I would love to see all of it if I could.

What we value in a vacation is personal to each one of us. I am not a all-inclusive Mexico type of person. I want to tour, see history, experience different cultures. But the cool thing is I know Disney is always there and it's just so much fun, it's like a fail-safe vacation. I know we'll be back (probably DW next time) and I'm good with that.

Embrace your Disney love! Why not be a kid in the happiest place on earth!?

 

[Daniel James]

oops. Sorry. How do you delete a post?

 

[bwang123]

I am listening to several podcasts, watch various videos/blogs, ect... I am really into it now.

what podcasts are you listening to? interested in possibly picking up another DL one before our october trip.

 

[Daniel James]

Thank you everyone for your wonderful replies. Upon reflection, I definitely think "getting away" in the very special way that Disneyland allows you is a big part of it. Nostalgia is also a big part for me, going back to child hood and earlier times is certainly part of that Disney magic. I'm not sure about the fantasy part, because I would argue Disneyland is more real than imaginary, although they do get you to dream, although I don't have that much of an experience with that aspect. The other piece that really stands out to me is the Artistry of Disney. There are some talented people that have put that place together and continue to help us to enjoy it, and I love the visual aspect of what they do, the stories behind their work, and other things that I'm not capable of putting into words and probably not even aware of-which is so cool.

Regarding other people's questions/responses to a Diser, I'm certainly old enough to be able to believe I pay my dues and get to have fun in ways that I choose. I think a debate about enjoying other experiences is healthy (my wife and I are weighing the Tokyo vs Paris decision which would include Disney!). And we still take other trips.

For now, thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts and helping my wife and I to enjoy Disneyland!

 

[Daniel James]

what podcasts are you listening to? interested in possibly picking up another DL one before our october trip.

The Disneyland unplugged-Disneyland edition (although I've listened to a few of the DW podcasts, Moustetalgia, The Unofficial Guide's Disney Dish with Jim Hill, and my first-The Golden Horseshoe Review. I listen to the Jim hill least often (while you can learn lots, his tone/character doesn't match to well with me). The other 3 are great and have their own special attributes. I look forward every week now to their new editions. So much fun!