Does Disney ruin you for all else?

[nugov2]

I guess I wondered because we normally always go on a vacation that involves a theme park - but given the rural area that we live, they are much, much smaller. The biggest one we have ever been to is Story Land in New Hampshire, as well as Santa's Village. It's funny, we wanted to get to Santa's Village one more time while the children were young, while they were still believing in Santa. And it definitely won't happen this year now, not with DW. And in a way I'm kinda sad, because if we do go next year, or even this winter, I wonder if there'll still be that wow factor when we go, if they'll get as much out of it, as they would have before Disney. I kind of wonder if this trip will sort of be the end of an era for us - the last real "amusement park" vacation that we'll do, that the kids REALLY enjoy, as the only parks that are close to us (and by close I mean they're a 6-7 hour drive away), as I mentioned are small, and are definitely geared towards young children. Once they have a taste of the WDW roller coasters, somehow I just don't see Firetruck engine ride and the swings being as fulfilling for the kids as they once were. I imagine I wuldn't think of it as much if we had bigger parks available like a Busch or Six Flags, or even Hersey.

My kids love WDW and I went a lot as a kid and never once on a vacation did I or my kids wish it was or compare it to a trip to WDW. I guess I don't understand why any fun outing anywhere would be looked at as less because you have been somewhere else. We loved Hawaii, but it didn't make our to trip to San Francisco any less of an amazing time. Even each trip to disney can be different. Disney is fun and I love it, but I will never understand the it is the only vacation or the only theme park mentality. There are lots of beautiful theme parks that are clean and a ton of fun. I don't think it is a big deal if you only want WDW, but you are missing out on lots of fun places.

 

[Allison]

No

 

[Rosebud123]

Nope! Although WDW is our fave and our local amusement/water parks can't compare, we still love them and have a blast when we visit.

 

[ilovebassets]

It has ruined us for other theme parks, yes. We don't do any other theme parks anymore. They just can't compete. I don't like real major thrill rides and the kids are too young for them so many don't have much appeal anyway.

We have been somewhat ruined by disney even for other vacations between Disney cruises and Disney resort at Hilton Head. With kids in he preschool/preK age range, disney just does everything right. And for now, we are willing to pay for that.

 

[SillySallySews]

The one thing Disney has ruined for me is fireworks. I have loved all types of fireworks since I was a kid. Sparklers and bottle rockets in the backyard were literally thrilling for me well into my 20's lol. But now if I see fireworks without a castle, lasers, a projection show, and a perfectly choreographed score of music, I can't help walking away feeling totally disappointed.

 

[georgina]

No, we will still visit Kennywood once a summer. Our other vacations are usually places like National Parks, which are much more spectacular than Disney, but they have not ruined Disney for us.

 

[mastermind307]

We enjoyed going to Holiday World in Southern IN when DD was smaller. It is a great park for small kids, it's clean and the workers are nice. It also has free parking, free soft drinks, and free sunscreen! But we've been so much that it just doesn't excite us anymore. They have a pretty good waterpark that's included with admission, so we might go there this summer and hit a few rides and spend more time at the waterpark.
In the past I've compared it to Disney because of the lines. Lines at Disney are shaded (for the most part) and there are things to look at while you wait. Plus I like knowing how long a wait will be.

 

[Eolyn]

Our local park is Six Flags, and I have to admit that Disney does affect how I see the park. The rides are still fun and definitely more thrilling since they're straight-up coasters, but I am bothered by the lack of atmosphere. Similar feelings at Universal, but not to the same degree as Six Flags. And I miss the Disney CMs in other parks. --The Disney experience is hard to match.

 

[minushka72]

It doesn't ruin trips to other amusement parks for us but it does ruin things like local parades and 4th of July fireworks displays for me.

 

[joannamet]

"All else"? No. We still love the lake for the 4th of July and the beach whenever we can get there. But certainly other theme parks pale in comparison.

There's no place like Disney world.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Without a doubt.....but just because no other parks come close to the overall Disney magic and pixie dust doesn't mean there are other parks worth enjoying

AKK

 

[mshanson3121]

My kids love WDW and I went a lot as a kid and never once on a vacation did I or my kids wish it was or compare it to a trip to WDW. I guess I don't understand why any fun outing anywhere would be looked at as less because you have been somewhere else. We loved Hawaii, but it didn't make our to trip to San Francisco any less of an amazing time. Even each trip to disney can be different. Disney is fun and I love it, but I will never understand the it is the only vacation or the only theme park mentality. There are lots of beautiful theme parks that are clean and a ton of fun. I don't think it is a big deal if you only want WDW, but you are missing out on lots of fun places.

True enough. I mean, I've been to Disney and it certainly didn't ruin anything else for me. I still loved anything and everything, lol. But that's me, guess I was hoping it wouldn't leave the kids disappointed - because that is what would disappoint me (I'm not worried about myself comparing parks). Though probably kids are more "forgiving" than most of the adults.

Hehe.. someone else mentioned the fireworks and parades, yeah, I can definitely see that. Especially for our small town parades... in fact, I've often thought we should send our committee to Disney World so they could get some pointers on what a parade is supposed to be.

 

[Jfsag123]

Yep. We got season passes to our local Six Flags every year prior to our first WDW trip. Haven't bought them since. We now only go near Christmas when the holiday decorations are up. I have a feeling if we ever get to see WDW at Christmas, that will be ruined for us too.

 

[IrishNYC]

Not for us. We love Disney, but it's a big deal destination for us, reserved for the "non-everyday" of vacation. It doesn't stop us from enjoying an occasional day at our "local" (still a couple of hours away ) Six Flags. We don't expect the same level of immersion in a day trip, but we still thoroughly enjoy it for what it is.

I completely agree. Disney is a very special trip for us. Not a go every year thing. Vacation time and budget are precious, and there are many other places we'd prefer to spend our vacation dollars and time before doing Disney so often it becomes routine.

We go to another amusement park annually that we will continue to visit. It's less than $40 each for 1.5 days, as spotless as Disney, and we really enjoy our time there.

 

[3Gsandme]

No, not at all. There are so many things to see in this great big world. I love Disney, but there's something special about most places. We got to tons of small town parades because my kiddo is in band. They're awfully fun. My little ones sit on the curb and catch candy and no one hits me with their stroller or pushes me out of the way for my spot. We visit local, small amusement parts and they're lovely, too.

 

[kmb584]

For me it doesn't. The highlight of my summer is our long weekends spent at Hershey Park!

 

[goofyintoronto]

Yes definitely. I enjoy how clean and well run Disney parks are and often compare it to Six Flags. I don't enjoy going to SF because it's not as clean, pretty much all thrill rides, and the population that goes that can be kind of iffy.

yes, this is my experience as well. its hard NOT to compare it to disney since the majority of the rides are thrill rides (not good for me) and its not as clean as disney. Kinda hard not to compare it to disney.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Kinda. We have a Cedar Fair park (Canada's Wonderland) about 15 minutes away and I'll admit that every time I take the kids there I wish they had a more Disney-ish atmosphere.

That being said, Wonderland has hands down better rides if you're not just taking the 7 y/o crowd. Eagerly awaiting for the little ones to be able to ride the monster coasters they have here, and that is something you just can't get at Disney.

@Lavitz Hello fello GTA-er. I was actually referring to Canada's Wonderland in my post. I dont like thrill rides so there's not much for me there. Thankfully I dont need to be there as I just drop my son off with his friends, and away they go! I take advantage of that time by shopping at Vaughan Mills mall.

 

[momof2n2]

Nope not at all. We don't do the circus, but I enjoy all other theme parks as much and some even better for different reasons. I love MK and the parks in disneyland, but Ak, EP and HS are just eh. Uni/IOA blows them away and we won't ever skip them on a trip to WDW.
We went to Dollywood last summmer and it was wonderful. Small and not as immersive but cleaner than WDW and the workers were so friendly. I was impressed with it overall and the qbot was very cheap. We also did the water park with private cabana really reasonably in dollywood. I will always enjoy WDW, but it is not the end all be all for our family. I even like...gasp....six flags and my kids have just as much fun there as in WDW...of course they too have a skip the line feature and I think my kids really enjoy having that option vs waiting in lines.

I could write this.

I think you could find that it's WDW or nothing, but my kids enjoy our weekly playground picnics and our season passes to our local, family-run amusement park.

But the current screensaver on our computer is our 2009 trip to Dollywood, and last year we eschewed WDW in favor of 14-day tix to SeaWorld, Busch Gardens Tampa, and Aquatica. We love to do a wide variety of things.

Dollywood blew us away in service and food. And their waterpark is outstanding (to my family).

Disney is great at Disney, but other things are great in their own field. We are looking forward to our WDW days next year. But it hasn't ruined other activities for us, as yet.

 

[momof2n2]

No. I'll always be a theme/amusement park lover and I love exploring new places. I love cedar point cause the amount and level of coasters is amazing. I like my local former six flags because it's closest to me and it's what I got for a weekend roller coaster session. I'm excited to try other six flags, I've never been to busch gardens yet, and I love Hershey park. I just realize that they're all very different. I wouldn't want just one good theme park to visit, I like options. I'd say Disney is definitely still the best for me for their immersive atmosphere and I love that. Universal is getting better though which is great.

If you like coasters, I do highly suggest Busch Gardens. My kids went to town there last May. And Manta at SeaWorld is exceptional. An elegant coaster, IMO.