Am I missing the thrill..

[Sheribo]

So I was just looking at some of the other threads - non DVC - and noticed how excited newbies were for their first trip. They have planned routes, maps and itineraries. Some have made packing lists for each member of the family and many, many ADRs. I caught myself feeling a little wistful for some of that pre-trip excitement. Those long hours on my laptop planning every last detail of our trip.


We now travel to Disney twice a year and it's become so routine - scratch that - natural that even our kids don't need lists anymore. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE to go and know the dates long in advance but the awe and excitement has been replaced by a different feeling. Contentment, for lack of a better word.

I make very few ADRs anymore. Just one or two at the places we adore. We have the tickets, accommodations and rough daily schedule. That's it. Would I change it? I don't think so. But I will always remember that first trip!

 

[hakepb]

I would not worry that you are spending less time planning.

I'd only worry if you are spending less time dreaming about your next vacation.
I loved that WDW commercial. 2 brothers talking to each other in their bed on the night of their trip. "Are you asleep", "no, I'm too excited to sleep!" Then they go to the parents room, wife asks, "honey, are you asleep?" "No, I'm too excited to sleep"

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

People say that might happen. I am still waiting for it to happen to us.

I was awake at 3:30 AM because today is my 11 month mark for the second half of our '09 trip. I was so worried I would sleep through MS opening that I just stayed awake.

I have now secured all 9 nights in a concierge studio at AKV, so I can move on to planning some other aspect of the trip. I already know which restaurants we want, I just have to sort out which days. And I have to decide if I will let IPO make the ADRs for me or if I will make them myself.

I'm not sure how many trips it will take for us NOT to plan down to every last detail. We have 49 years to find out!

 

[Sheribo]

I would not worry that you are spending less time planning.

I'd only worry if you are spending less time dreaming about your next vacation.
I loved that WDW commercial. 2 brothers talking to each other in their bed on the night of their trip. "Are you asleep", "no, I'm too excited to sleep!" Then they go to the parents room, wife asks, "honey, are you asleep?" "No, I'm too excited to sleep"

So true. I am definitely not spending less time dreaming about it. I count down the days and DH has asked me to stop saying "can we leave for Florida now?' every couple of weeks. I wouldn't change it for the world. It's a different kind of thrill and when I look back, that's what I bought into DVC for. The knowing that I had a great place to go to time and time again without worrying.

The planning is now watching the calendar for the 7 or 11 month windows. I have to say that every time we go, I see something and make a mental note to add it to the 'gotta try' list.

Thrill not gone, just different.

 

[moredisneyplease]

You're not missing out!

I think this is the case for most of us! 8 years ago I was planning my first WDW trip obsessively and continued to do so for the next handful of trips. Now I (I guess i could say "we" on behalf of most of us) know that place inside and out dont feel like I/we need to go "commando" style. Also, I have two little ones so having a set schedule and a bunch of ADRs is just setting myself up for frustration and failure!! Imagine the 3 year old desperately needing a nap 15 mins before the ADR......yuck!

Dont get me wrong, I still get very, very excited before each trip and do a bunch of silly stuff w/ the kids in the weeks and days before. Now the obsession of planning can go to planning Disney themed days/nights for the family in preparation of the upcoming trip!!

 

[DisneyDreams21]

I still plan but now it's about where I want to stay and when I have to call to get the reservation. The excitement now is knowing that I will be going back on more trips, rather than wondering if I will be in the future

 

[ebenmax]

Don't get me wrong, we LOVE to go and know the dates long in advance but the awe and excitement has been replaced by a different feeling. Contentment, for lack of a better word.

:

This sounds a little like the difference between the excitement of first love and a long running marriage...both of them bring us different kinds of joy.

I do think that as your life changes - taking romantic trips as a couple or as grandchildren come along, seeing it through their eyes, more of that excitement will return. For now, if you still LOVE to go then that is all that matters. Enjoy the moments!!

 

[Granny]

This sounds a little like the difference between the excitement of first love and a long running marriage...both of them bring us different kinds of joy.

That's really nicely put. And I agree.

As long as you look forward to the trips, that's the important thing. Like you, we don't do packing lists, ADRs or daily tour plans. For those that enjoy that, that's fine. There are a lot of different ways to enjoy vacations, and as long as yours is working for you, that's all that matters.


Still, it is great to watch new DVC owners get excited for their first trips.

 

[mickeymorse]

Since I am in the planning stages of our first DVC trip, I'm still going a little crazy with everything but the one thing I am not doing this time, is booking ADRs for every day. Just a couple of our must dos'. CRT, HDDR and the Luau for this trip. I am most excited about that first stay at the lodge

Rob

 

[janni518]

I'm brand new to DVC but now that I have my actual reservations made I'm quite relaxed. I think maybe it's because we have older children.
No plans to do ADRs or any of that stuff.

I do however enjoy watching my countdown to vacation thingie change!

 

[twinklebug]

I'm starting to get that laid-back attitude toward our Disney trips, but still plan it out quite a bit not only for financial reasons, but to make sure I know where to make those *dream* adrs. Its so hard to realize you've make reservations in MGM only to find out you'd rather be in MK that day

Our last trip was to an old favorite - VWL. We were too laid back... DD had her laptop and didn't want to leave the room. DS just wanted to hang at the pool and when we were in the parks we'd grab our fast passes and then never use them I don't want that to happen again. We will have a plan & that computer will stay at home!

I haven't felt the thrill the others felt in a long time... and I think I know the reason:
Our first family trip to Disney was a cabin rental at Ft. Wilderness. We were evacuated from there during Charlie. I think it's safe to say after that I saw the line between reality and Disney fantasy clearer and although I still LOVE our Disney vacations, the magical element is clearly human to me now. I'm very appreciative of everything the Disney company and their cast members do for us - it's cast member pixie dust now This last trip I tried to bring a little of that unexplained magic into our room with a turn down for the kids ... I figured the mousekeeper would do the usual setup of the beds, arrange the kids toys and leave the chocolates out... I guess the magic just wasn't meant to be as we returned at 11:30pm to find the mousekeeper in our room just starting to do her magic. *sigh* Nice lady though

 

[DisDaydreamer]

I think it is like a good marriage. Thrill gets replaced with love, familiarity, understanding, comfort, content, security, serenity, and becoming one.

 

[stopher1]

We're new to DVC this year, and while yes some of that non-DVC planning was still part of our process for our first DVC trip, we were honestly more excited about putting together our DVC box o' stuff for the Owner's Locker. JUst knowing we won't have to lug everything with us each time has made us relax. Sure we still have a few ADR's, but no where near as many as we used to. And we've got some dates for '09 reserved, and we're looking at potential dates for '10 at this point - so yeah, the knowing we'll be going back instead of wondering if has now set it ! I love that!

 

[edk35]

We have owned less than 2 years and have been on 3 DVC trips with another in Nov. and I STILL PLAN PLAN PLAN. I think I plan now more than before and NOW I AM SO UNDECIDED about where to stay since becoming a member. As some of you "know" me on this board....YOU KNOW HOW I AM. I get sooooooo excited about the resorts that I want to stay at all of them so badly, that I can't settle on which ones for which trips. I start feeling like I am going to miss out on something. I am stll very excited and we will hit our 2 year anniversary being members on Jan. 31st. I am sure this will change once I really feel like WE WILL ALWAYS KEEP GOING. I guess part of me wants to TAKE IT ALL IN STILL and yet in some ways we have slowed down when it comes to DISNEY. I am still in that VERY EXCITED stage.

 

[Sheribo]

This sounds a little like the difference between the excitement of first love and a long running marriage...both of them bring us different kinds of joy.

I do think that as your life changes - taking romantic trips as a couple or as grandchildren come along, seeing it through their eyes, more of that excitement will return. For now, if you still LOVE to go then that is all that matters. Enjoy the moments!!

Good analogy. We are pretty comfortable with our vacation habits right now which makes a relaxing trip. And, as others have said, as we get older our vacation habits will change.

My 3 teens love our trips but the first time one of them says "oh no, not again", I'm going to be crushed. Perhaps now is the time to plan an adults only trip. Firstly, so they don't take it for granted that they get to go every time and secondly, to spend time with DH now that we can. We couldn't travel for years since he was waiting for a new heart but now that he's healthy again, we never want to stay home!

Thanks to all for showing me the Pixie Dust Perspective!

 

[tjkraz]

We've been getting to the Disney parks 2x per year for the last several, and I still do most of the obsessive planning stuff.

Most of it is just a therapeutic way of getting thru the periods between trips. I really enjoy getting stuff down on paper. It usually starts 6 months out so that I can book dining reservations without issue. But I'll continue tweaking things for months to come.

Unless there's an important dining reservation involved, the agenda is completely subject to change. But I usually have a logical basis for making those decisions months ahead of time and we have never really found ourselves "just winging it."

We don't do packing list anymore, but I'll start jotting things down on slips of paper all over the house as the trip approaches.