Does anyone ever experience a letdown when vacation time actually comes?

[firecracker]

I've had more time to plan this vacation than any of our previous WDW trips. I find myself getting so excited that I'm afraid the actually trip is going to be a letdown.

Has anyone else ever experienced this?

 

[KCritter]

I'm only let down when it's time to come back home. Then it's time for the Post-Disney Depression Syndrome (PDDS) to kick in.

 

[antmaril]

Definitely - it happens to me all the time.

The best vacation I've ever had was our first Disney Cruise (at that time The Big Red Boat). Our son was four years old. We did a four day cruise and three days at WDW - it was our first time with him. It was the most fun I've ever had - it exceeded my expectations in every way.

However, since that first trip, nothing has compared. We've been back to Disney several times (going again this year) and also taken many other trips. I love the planning stages. I agonize over every detail - especially hotel choice.

Always a let down. I don't know why.

We have fun - don't get me wrong and the family time is priceless. However, the trips almost never meet my expectations.

It's a mystery!

 

[Chloesmom]

The first time we went as a family it was for 6 days. We ( DH, Me, DD ( 10 months), SIL, FIL and MIL) stayed in a Treehouse at the Disney Institute. We thought it would be great to have the kitchen, etc.
My idea of vacation is to eat out, splurge a little....relax. My MIl and FIL idea was to eat breakfast and dinner in the treehouse. I was so upset. It was such a let down when I realized they wanted to USE the kitchen to cook...not just for a snack or such. Then my DD ate bad peaches and had projectile vomitting for a day ( eww). Then my Dh got food poisoning and was up all night ( eww again). By the fourth day...I wanted t go home!
In the end though things worked out. My DD said her first words on Small World! When I think about that first trip that is really my only memory that springs to mind.
Our next trip we got seperate room, with no kitchens! We also stayed days longer than the rest of the clan so we could do it our way for part of our vacation. Now...that was a magical trip!

 

[jennymouse]

I'm not sure I understand the question right so I'm going to answer two ways.

After all the planning I do, right before we go, I usually get into this down feeling. Maybe I enjoy the planning more than the going...naaaa.

Our trip last October I had planned for 11 months. I wanted to make it special since my DD29 was going this time....usually it's just my DGD8 & I. Anyway, I planned all kinds extras & surprises such as: Discovery Cove, Hoop Dee Doo Revue, limo to/from airport, Cindy's ressies, AKL....I could go on. I paid for everything....DD29 brought $200 for pocket money. My DD29 was having her bad time of the month and we ended up fighting almost the entire trip. It started out in the Atlanta airport (where we had to make a connection) on the way to Orlando and continued throughout most of the trip. I was ready to go back home before we even got there. It was horrible. The gory details are in trip reports posted on the TR board in November 2002. Of course, I'll never say never, but I won't be taking DD29 on anymore trips with me any time soon..........and I'll NEVER pay her way again. I've bought into DVC and haven't even told her about it! I'm going to will it to my DGD!

 

[donna in Oz]

I understand what you mean, firecracker. I just love the planning and the anticipation . . . after months & months of looking forward to the trip, it then becomes a reality that in just a week or two, it will all be behind us and although it will then be wonderful memories, the anticipation has vanished.

My solution?? Begin to think about the next trip on the flight home !!!!

 

[m&m's mom]

Yep! Been there!
I am quite the planner and to realize it is actually time to display the results of all of my planning I get nervous.

 

[B'rer Karen]

Oh what a shame Jenifer. My mom and I are going together in October for 4 days (I'm taking her, but not completely paying her way, just the hotel and the park pass) and I hope we have a better experience!

 

[needabrk]

I'm like those who get a little down before the trip. It's been so exciting to plan I almost don't want it to come (in only 1 week!). I know we'll have a great time, but I just don't want the excitement to be over.

 

[feenie]

I have often experienced that let down of reality vrs dream when looking forward to something. But never with Disney.
The first time my Hubby and I went I read every travel book I could find (Pre internet for us!) I had this grand picture in my mind I was sure that reality could not live up to. Reality was better.
We have gone back twice since and we just keep having more fun!!!

 

[Tinks]

I do think I enjoy the planning as much as the trip! When my planning phase is over...like, say, right now (lol)...I feel a little down but perky knowing my trip is a short time away. Now, coming home is a different story! There IS a post- Disney depression that is only cured by planning and dreaming of the next adventure! Have fun!

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

I don't really feel a let-down of sorts but.......

About one week before going to WDW, I don't want to go anymore. The reason is because I really, really dread PACKING !

I just find packing my stuff to be so stressful, I'm sure my blood pressure is up at the time. I'm always stressed that I might forget something important like some medicine.

In reality........I have never forgotten to bring anything.

 

[B'rer Karen]

I worry about forgetting stuff too. What I do is make a list of everything I need to pack. Every little thing. Then, as I pack it, I don't just check it off, I mark where it's packed (suitcase, carry on, purse, etc). When all is said and done, I figure as long as I have my driver's license, credit card, contacts, Park AP, PI AP, and medicine, I can buy anything else I might forget. That helps me stress less.

 

[Jen D]

In my past two trips, I have had a "letdown" in the days right before the trip, but the trips themselves are great!

Our first trip was two weeks after 9/11, and I thought that's why I had a letdown and withdrew from trip planning, but it was the same thing this last trip-- about a week before I couldn't feel positive about it. For me there is a little anxiousness realizing how much money you're spending on something completely, utterly frivolous-- never bothers me until right before the trip. But by the time I'm heading for the airport, I have a great time-- Hakuna Matata.

The nice thing about being a huge planner is that you're done with everything but packing weeks before your trip, so you have the luxury of going into un-Disney mode right before the trip.

Like you, firecracker, I worried A LOT about trip letdown before my first trip because of all the planning. But once I was there it wasn't a problem. Also, while I am big on creating itineraries and specific plans, I am also a big fan of throwing out those plans in the heat of the moment. You really do have to go with the flow. Your trip might look nothing like your itinerary. As long as everyone is having fun, it's all good. All the planning we do here is just to occupy our mind while we're waiting for the trip!

 

[GoofieRuthie]

This has been a dream of mine all of my life. Sometimes I still can't believe that I AM actually going! I was just telling my DH the other night that I don't know what in the world I'm going to do once it's all over with. I've spent nearly every waking hour sitting at this computer researching this trip since we made the decision to go in January. I don't think I will be let down by the experience but at times I am consumed with guilt. I start thinking about how much we are spending on this trip and what all I could have paid off with that money. Luckily it passes quickly. We used our tax refund to pay for it, so it wasn't like we saved all year, but I usually use that money to pay off credit cards and such. So, in order to avoid the guilt and the let down, I HAVE to make this the best trip ever!!! By the way, I am one of those awful parents that keeps reminding her kids "you better be good on this trip after all it is costing us!" lol I have vowed to myself that I'm not going to preach that to them at the park when they start getting tired and cranky though.

 

[Kallison]

I worry about something happen and not having a good time, or DH saying this is IT the last trip (well he always says that but now we just ignore him - lol). I also worry about the cost, although DH never does. This trip we are doing 10 days at a deluxe and I think I've convinced him to go for AP's, but those alone are almost $2K for us! So after paying out $5K or more, I hope we have a fantastic time. Our best trip was a spur of the moment long weekend with just our family. Now my parents have decided to join us for 7 days, which should be fine, but then I'm afraid his mother may want to come and his sister and her girls and then it will be a complete ZOO. We took all the extended family on our first trip 5 years ago and it was just too much. Someone always had a complaint. So right now I'm just holding my breath that we will have a smooth trip.

 

[grinningghost]

Yes, I do get a little let down right before the trip, because the planning is so much fun. But it's nothing compared to that horrible after-WDW letdown. The ONLY thing that cures that is planning the next trip - even if it's years away!

 

[Music Mole]

For me there is a little anxiousness realizing how much money you're spending on something completely, utterly frivolous-- never bothers me until right before the trip. But by the time I'm heading for the airport, I have a great time-- Hakuna Matata.

JenD - I am so glad to hear that someone else feels this way - I never regret the expense when I book, or as I plan, or after the trip - but about two weeks before the trip I start telling myself how crazy we are to be going back again! - this phase seems to kick in once I book the non-refundable airfare. It lasts for a little while, and all my planning energy is zapped, and then it goes away again & I get excited about leaving as the trip approaches. So now I don't tell myself I'm a nut to do so much planning so far in advance, since I know I'll have a "lull" in the planning part of my brain for a couple of weeks before we leave. Afterwards I am always grateful for the stuff I planned and research I did so far in advance. Of course, the week that you are leaving, it all feels real and exciting again and then I wonder if I'll ever get everything done before we go! That's when DH reminds me that we can buy just about anything we forget to take - that helps me relax too.

I do have nightmares about forgetting our annual passes at home though . . .

 

[panfan]

I too experience the let down. It is soo much fun to plan!

 

[DebbieB]

I feel that way too. I always get nervous a week or two before, making sure I have everything, getting everything caught up at work. I think part of it is knowing it will be over and be back to square one on the countdown!