Annual visitors - do you ever get bored??

[jillac]

I have a confession.... I am getting a little Disney bored. We average a visit to WDW about every 18 months. I fear that the experience is losing its magic. I am so sad because I love WDW but I think I need to take a long break because my visits are just not living up to my expectations. It is partially the crowds, the increasing expenses and the ride-closures. What have you done if you've been in this mind-frame?

BTW, we just visited Universal and loved it.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Any destination we've repeated has had several years in between, so we've never really run into that issue. But, it would seem a change of scenery would be the obvious answer (as you've already discovered at Universal).

 

[hsmamato2]

vacation elsewhere! It's great to find new places,and you can go back to disney if/when you start to miss it..... We love Disney, but we also love a lot of other places..... nothing compares to our wonderful national parks...or great beach trips...mountains,hiking...and that's just in this country!

 

[courtneybeth]

What have you done if you've been in this mind-frame?

We tend to travel in Spring and December to WDW. Our Spring trip is different than December's trip and we try to do different experiences for both. We also only go for 4-5 days to not only keep costs down but also not tire ourselves of the parks.

Our Spring Trip is more relaxing. We head to the water parks or hang out at the hotel/pool. It's also our EPCOT/MK only trip - so we spend about 4 days total. We know what rides we like and we plan on those.

Our December trip is a bit more intense, as we add Animal Kingdom to the mix. We also plan for the special Christmas parties and Candlelight Processional reading. This allows us to change it up a bit. We've also thrown a Universal Studios day into the mix for this coming December so it'll definitely be a different experience for sure!

I think you just have to try new restaurants and mix up the planning a little bit. That works for us.

 

[nemodeb]

This is my fear also, but we try to always do something different every trip, like a backstage tour or maybe even a trip off site for a day. We also don't try to "do everything" every time we go so things have a time to "rest" in our minds and experiences. We love WDW and pine for it when we aren't there. But like others have said, a break isn't a bad thing to see and do other things too.

 

[Willow1213]

We've been going every year since 2007 (skipped 2014). With so many changes, additions, and renovations going in to the parks right now, there is always something new for us to discover! We try to change up our resort and dining choices, and find a few out of the way or less popular things to do each trip.

Try going at different times of year. There are so many special events that would be new experiences. Maybe a time when the Christmas Party or Halloween party are going on? Food & Wine Festival for a little adult oriented fun?

 

[Bullseye]

We were getting bored around year seven, then we joined DVC and started adding US/IOA days to our trip and that really added new life to the trips.

 

[Magpie]

We have annual passes and have been averaging between two to three visits a year, staying about 9 days each time. We typically visit in December, Spring and then Fall (fitting in a third visit before the passes expire).

And no, we're not bored.

But that's because, for us, Disney is like the family cabin. It's usually just my husband and me. We check in, we kick back. We visit the parks in the morning and nap in the afternoons and head back out for more fun in the evenings. We eat like royalty. We check out the street entertainment. We chat with guests and cast members. We explore the resorts and take in the sights and almost never rush to get anywhere. Last trip, we discovered the stables at Fort Wilderness! We basically just hang out and enjoy each other's company.

We always end our vacations saying we wish we could stay longer.

That said, this will be our last Disney vacation for about 18 months... See, the "kids" (they're 18 and 20) really want to go back to Universal, so it makes more sense for us to buy APs to Universal next year and just go there instead. I'm sure we'll have just as good a time, but we'll miss our "cabin" (aka, the hotel room at Pop).

 

[eastendlights]

My husband and son got tired of Disney after about 12 annual trips so for the last 4 it has been just me and my daughter. The two of us are into all of the backstories, hidden Mickeys, and details of the parks so that keeps us interested-it is also a great way to have mother/daughter time now that she is away at college for most of the year. It works for us-every winter they get a boys trip and we go to Disney. We all vacation together in the summer in Bar Harbor, ME and out West- and for Christmas in Anna Maria Island, FL. There really are so many places to go-San Francisco, Yosemite, So Cal, Colorado and Arizona are some of our favorite destinations.

So while my daughter and I intend to continue our annual trips for the foreseeable future, I don't see all of us going to Disney again for quite a while-probably after Star Wars land is done and even then it will require pulling a few of my husband's teeth-lol.

 

[loves to dive]

I've been going twice a year for about 3 years now, before that it was once a year for 2 years and before that it was every other year. Been going for over 33 years. Never bored, but after all this time we have slowed down and aren't real ride centric. At least one of trips is solo, some years both of them have been. When not going solo my grown son (35 now) goes with me and through the years we've taken his girlfriend at the time, wife at the time (he's divorced now) and introduced them to the magic of adults at WDW. My solo trips tend to be shorter 4 or 5 nights and are usually for F&W so I spend a lot of time at seminars and tasting booths. We don't do the whole make ADRS months in advance and make FPs months in advance, if we want them we make them day or or night before. We resort hop, I've taken to doing split stays, 1 or 2 nights in a value or moderate and the rest in deluxe just to experience new resorts. Last trip we took it real slow since my son has a back problem and has to rest a lot. We wouldn't go to the parks until around 10, hang out until around 2 or so, go back to the resort and hit the pool/hot tub, go back to the parks for supper and maybe some adult beverages. We spent a lot of time just sitting and looking at details. We would find something we had missed and he would be on his phone looking up facts about it to share with me. We are divers (my honey, me and son all three are) so we do go places other that WDW and I love me a beach visit every once in awhile but I have to have my Disney fix. We've tried Universal twice during the years but just couldn't make ourselves like it. Again, we are not ride centric and now with his back he can't ride many coasters anyway, we don't do Space Mountain, Splash Mountain or RNRC because it hurts, we don't do the in close rides like Star Tours and Mission Space because he has PTSD and you don't want to put someone like that in an enclosed space, it's not pretty. So Universal just doesn't appeal.

 

[PSUGuy]

We've averaged a trip a year since 1999, some trips were 18 months apart and some 6 months due to our daughters having our grandkids during our regular times to go, usually 7 to 11 park days each. Never bored, 18 months were too much to wait and 6 not too soon. The one great benefit of this spacing and going for more than a week is that the last day and morning aren't depressing as some here describe it, we feel that we've 'had our fill' as we say. Also, we've been staying at the Board Walk during Food&Wine the last 6 years or so on rented DVC points. If you want a DVC unit during F&W you almost have to rent 11 months out so we're planning the next year's trip before we completely unpack. BTW, our other vacation is 10 days in Myrtle Beach in July with all our children and grand kids, 11 of us, and we have a cottage in the middle of nowhere in Sullivan County Pa where we can be found most weekends between now and Oct.

Bill From PA

 

[PeasandCarrots]

We go 2-3 times a year and no I never get bored with it or tired of it. However, it could be our vacation style. We relax. We rope drop, ride 2-3 hours then spend most of the rest of the day strolling around world showcase in Epcot eating and drinking or going to Disney springs, or some other non-line, non-hectic activity. We also don't try to go 12 hours a day. We either take a mid-day break or go in just after dinner and have a quiet evening in. It's vacation!

All of that said I agree that you may just need to do other things for a couple of years until you really start missing WDW again!

 

[22Tink]

My husband and teenage son are done with Disney. They chose not to come on my last trip and don't plan to be joining my daughter and I on our August trip either. I can't imagine ever being done so I'll keep going as long as hubby will let me! Lol!

 

[Dallas_Lady]

What have you done if you've been in this mind-frame?

BTW, we just visited Universal and loved it.

We are going other places. I cannot imagine spending this kind of money on something I was getting bored with.

 

[renes]

We have been going on 2-3 trips a year with our grandkids for about 6 years now. we have also started running the disney races and plan the trips around those. We are not bored because we do not feel the need to "see everything". Also traveling with grandkids, they change how you see things each time. We also have been trying to spend a few days at the beach after each trip.

 

[ars0525]

This is my 3rd year of being a FL resident & having an AP. But this is also the 1st year I've had a boyfriend who also got an AP so we go together now.

I used to take solo trips & spend the weekend cause I didn't think I could drive both ways & spend a day in the parks (I live about 1.5-2 hours away). I never went June-August due to heat & crowds. The 1st year I did 18 days, the 2nd year maybe 16, so far this year only a couple. Since it's now both of us, we do day trips & it's very manageable. We went this month on a Sunday for Flower & Garden. Got there at RD, did rides/topiaries/WS/lunch & I think we left about 1:30pm. We don't feel pressure to really do anything hardcore, we won't wait in line for more than 20 minutes cause we can do it next time, our pace is slower, we amble around/sit on benches/just enjoy the atmosphere, etc... I have found knowing I will be back has definitely made Disney more enjoyable for me...I was a hardcore RD to closing do it all visitor before when I only visited once a year from out of state! Which I think was leading to some feeling of burnout as well. Even when I went for my solo weekends, I felt like I had to hit all 4 parks & headliners to "make it worth it". Now if we are leaving park 1 to head to another, if we feel hot or tired or think traffic will be too much we start heading home. I'd rather the visit be fun & enjoyable than forced & unhappy....and it's very easy to cross that line unknowingly with the crowds & heat & Disney sugar buzz happening. lol

I see nothing wrong with taking a break. WDW has a lot happening & construction going on. Taking some time away at other places & coming back when things are completed may make it exciting again for you.

 

[UVACHRIS11]

Never... and I have averaged 1.5 trips per year since 1972.
Where I live in Va. people visit the Outer banks three to four times a year and stay in the same cottage. I went once and was bored to tears, just wasn't my thing. Disney has so much to do being bored isn't an option. Maybe it's not your thing anymore.