Don't know when we'll be back again

[dminnie]

We used to go to WDW for just a day or two and always stay off site. We never really had a very good time. Starting about 7 or 8 years ago, we started staying on-site and have really enjoyed the Disney bubble. We've stayed 4 times at CBR, 2 times at POR, once at CSR and once at Pop. We usually only stayed for 3-4 days(5 the most). This last trip, we stayed for 7 days at CBR during their construction. I had always wanted to go for a longer trip like that at just be a bit more relaxed about seeing everything. I think I knew going into this trip that the family just wasn't into it that much anymore though. While we mostly had a good time, by the end of the week, we were all saying that we probably won't be back for a while(meaning years). It seems like we always had a good time on our trips, but were always thinking that the next trip would be even better if we made certain changes to the plans. This time, it was different and it will be at least a few years before returning. I could still totally be up for another trip, but not so much anyone else in the family.

So, here I am checking the boards every day! Still dreaming about what the next trip might be...even though that could be waaay off in the future, maybe when we have grands. Here I am thinking that maybe we could go back for another RunDisney event in a couple years. Where would I want to stay? I've always wanted to splurge and stay at the Beach Club or the Dolphin. Perhaps we should try an off-site condo next time to have more space since the kids are young adults.

Disney withdrawal is tough! LOL...at least no one suggested we cancel the Disney Visa yet!

 

[Farro]

We used to go to WDW for just a day or two and always stay off site. We never really had a very good time. Starting about 7 or 8 years ago, we started staying on-site and have really enjoyed the Disney bubble. We've stayed 4 times at CBR, 2 times at POR, once at CSR and once at Pop. We usually only stayed for 3-4 days(5 the most). This last trip, we stayed for 7 days at CBR during their construction. I had always wanted to go for a longer trip like that at just be a bit more relaxed about seeing everything. I think I knew going into this trip that the family just wasn't into it that much anymore though. While we mostly had a good time, by the end of the week, we were all saying that we probably won't be back for a while(meaning years). It seems like we always had a good time on our trips, but were always thinking that the next trip would be even better if we made certain changes to the plans. This time, it was different and it will be at least a few years before returning. I could still totally be up for another trip, but not so much anyone else in the family.

So, here I am checking the boards every day! Still dreaming about what the next trip might be...even though that could be waaay off in the future, maybe when we have grands. Here I am thinking that maybe we could go back for another RunDisney event in a couple years. Where would I want to stay? I've always wanted to splurge and stay at the Beach Club or the Dolphin. Perhaps we should try an off-site condo next time to have more space since the kids are young adults.

Disney withdrawal is tough! LOL...at least no one suggested we cancel the Disney Visa yet!

Yep, the withdrawal is tough! We only go every few years and we just went last October, so no trips (to Disney at least) until 2020. Our last trip wasn't our best either (no fault of Disney, other stuff), so I've been especially wistful as of late as we missed a lot due to being sick on the trip and some other things. I feel like we didn't really get our "trip", you know?

Soooo, just pass some time on the boards and follow the resort threads of the ones you are interested in. Those are super helpful. We are staying at Yacht Club next time, I follow that thread. One of the best on the boards - everyone friendly, positive vibes.
There's a Swan/Dolphin thread too! Also another board with off-site locations.

I'm partial to Beach/Yacht Club, to answer your question.

And enjoy other vacations in between. Honestly, time flies and a few years will be here before you know it!

 

[pooh2001]

Love the boards
Love DIS'ers stories
Love learning all the new things to do and need to know

Not back till 2020 - early May, or early November
Favoring May and Garden Festival vs. Christmas Lights

We have plenty of Christmas light in our neighborhood in December

 

[Farro]

Love the boards
Love DIS'ers stories
Love learning all the new things to do and need to know

Not back till 2020 - early May, or early November
Favoring May and Garden Festival vs. Christmas Lights

We have plenty of Christmas light in our neighborhood in December

We chose May for 2020 to see the Flower/Garden festival! October is our usual month to visit. Very excited!

 

[lmhall2000]

Exactly why we didn’t buy DVC, we stopped 10 years ago but hit cruising the kids sail free deals we could nab, last year we went to Disneyland, dd went into the Disney College Program and with their perks we were sucked back in but just for 2 nights in May. Still not sure about DVC but once all kids are out of college it’d Be a great way to be with all the family once a year!

 

[SA mom]

We were going every other year, but two years ago we decided to spend the whole trip at Universal. We visited WDW earlier this month for the first time in 4 years. We decided we liked it. There was so much more to see and helped us focus our visit. We decided to come back in 2022.

 

[disneyvoice]

Have you ever done an adult only trip with just your spouse? (apologies if I am incorrectly assuming you are married). While we still enjoy going with our son, my husband and I found that we actually enjoy WDW much more when we do couple-only trips. They are MUCH more relaxed and spontaneous, we don't care about doing tons of rides, we spend a lot of time relaxing in the various bars just talking and have a drink. We love our couple-only trips so much we decided to build a house about 15 minutes from WDW as our "retirement" home so we can go all the time. Since we go so frequently together as a couple I have found that the trips with kids seem "special" without worrying about making sure I get all the planning "perfect." In general when we go with our son now he goes off on his own so I don't have to plan much anyway.

 

[Sue M]

Maybe the family didn’t enjoy it as much because of all the construction going on at CBR? I’m assuming you live fairly close being able to take short trips. Not sure wow old the kids are, but if they’re old enough, Ditch the family and go with a girlfriend!

 

[bumbershoot]

I could still totally be up for another trip, but not so much anyone else in the family.

Solo. Trip.
Enjoy.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We have up and average trips. We have always ended up our trip exhausted because we plan too much. We always bounce back the same time the following year with free dining but this time the FD was QS at POR so we added it and upgraded. Each year we say maybe skip next year but then by the time to pay off the trip comes we can't wait. We are then exhausted at the end of the trip. We have discussed staying off site to see how much of our enjoyment is actually the parks...then we book the bounce back.

Guess what. In the next three years there is a ton of new content. It will get better and better so there is no end in sight at least for us.

 

[ScubaCat]

You might also look for a deal on a deluxe resort with different amenities. I always assumed the monorail resorts were the best, but once we discovered BC, we haven't wanted to stay anywhere else! Even POR didn't seem that great after being able to casually walk to 2 parks and spend the day at the 3 acre sand bottom pool. I wouldn't recommend spending the money if you spend most of your time in the parks, but after a while that can get really old, so spending 60-75% of the time at a nice resort makes all the difference.

 

[dminnie]

Have you ever done an adult only trip with just your spouse?

We did a few years ago. We had a great time! DH has since had a few health issues, so he's not as interested in all of it anymore. He was always more interested in the rides than all the other things you can do there. Going on rides is more difficult now for him.

Maybe the family didn’t enjoy it as much because of all the construction going on at CBR? I’m assuming you live fairly close being able to take short trips.

We do live pretty far away. The shorter trips were usually combined with a few days at the beach. The construction at CBR really wasn't so bad for us, but it did impact us a little. We were situated such that we didn't see it much and we rarely eat at the resort. Spyglass Grill opened while we were there, so we enjoyed that a few times and the pools were all open. The only things that effected us were the couple of times we needed the internal bus, it had kind of a funky route and one time we wanted to go in the food tent and it was full of people.

Not going back anytime soon is probably a combination of reasons: the nickel and diming (parking fees, inflated food prices, etc.), lack of privacy (security checks), ride issues for DH, kids are young adults so their schedules won't match up real well anymore. We've always done other (non-theme park) travelling, but they are leaning towards exclusively doing non-theme park trips now. I'm sure we'll be back eventually. It just feels kind of sad that it probably won't be for at least a few years.

 

[dminnie]

You might also look for a deal on a deluxe resort with different amenities. I always assumed the monorail resorts were the best, but once we discovered BC, we haven't wanted to stay anywhere else! Even POR didn't seem that great after being able to casually walk to 2 parks and spend the day at the 3 acre sand bottom pool. I wouldn't recommend spending the money if you spend most of your time in the parks, but after a while that can get really old, so spending 60-75% of the time at a nice resort makes all the difference.

This is what I'm hoping for once we do go back. The Beach Club is THE deluxe resort I've always wanted to stay at. I love how you can just walk to 2 parks from there and it's so pretty. We could afford to stay at a deluxe resort, but have chosen not to. The prices are a lot to swallow and we'd have to give up other small trips during the year to do it. I hope we can go back in a few years to do a Run Disney event and stay there...maybe only go to the parks for a few hours a day.

 

[ScubaCat]

This is what I'm hoping for once we do go back. The Beach Club is THE deluxe resort I've always wanted to stay at. I love how you can just walk to 2 parks from there and it's so pretty. We could afford to stay at a deluxe resort, but have chosen not to. The prices are a lot to swallow and we'd have to give up other small trips during the year to do it. I hope we can go back in a few years to do a Run Disney event and stay there...maybe only go to the parks for a few hours a day.

Look at the codes & discounts forum and there are tips there. (such as when Disney offers a 20-30% off rate, you can book that lower rate thru Orbitz and stack an Orbitz coupon on top of it.) Also, have you looked into renting DVC points? You can often get the DVC villas a lot cheaper that way. Check out David's rental sometime. Keep in mind that renting DVC will also bypass the extra adult fees (if more than 2 in a room) and the new parking fee as well.

https://www.dvcrequest.com/

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Our daughter and I love Disney. My wife and sons are meh about it, and don't really care if we go back. They feel like we've done it all, so why stand in line to do it again. Our next trip will probably be in 2020-21, after the new rides have opened, and I suspect we'll spend a lot more time at the resort/pool than the parks. Will focus on doing the new stuff, hanging out at the resort, and eating at some new restaurants.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I am married with 3 kids. All but 1 DD couldnt care less if we ever went to Disney again. I used to love it, but the older I get, the more "unvacation" like it becomes. Its a lot of walking and a lot of standing and my old legs cant handle the 7am - midnight go-go-go they used to. We now stay longer, 12 or so days, only do 1/2 days at the parks, unless its the waterparks, spend time at the resort pool each day, see entertainment nightly to make as much of a relaxing vacation as possible.

My DD wants to go every year. My 2 DSs never want to go again, and now are old enough they dont have to come with us. My husband agrees to go only if I change up the resort and dining. I do my best to make it a new experience. I have found it much more enjoyable to try new things and relax on the vacation. The one thing I dont enjoy is my boys havent been with us on a Disney vacation in over 5 years I would say space out your WDW vacations. WDW isnt going anywhere, but your kids are! The most important part of any family vacation is the family. Take this time you have with them and do what they love to do. We rotate each year, one person in our family getting to pick (strongly encourage..Ive said no to some!) our annual family vacations. My boys LOVE cruising and all inclusive resorts. Disney used to be a decently priced all inclusive vacation. Now I find better deals on the cruises and AIs....so going to Disney for the value is no longer an argument I can win with hubby! Try new things, new places. Its a BIG world out there!

 

[Shanti]

We used to go to WDW for just a day or two and always stay off site. We never really had a very good time. Starting about 7 or 8 years ago, we started staying on-site and have really enjoyed the Disney bubble. We've stayed 4 times at CBR, 2 times at POR, once at CSR and once at Pop. We usually only stayed for 3-4 days(5 the most). This last trip, we stayed for 7 days at CBR during their construction. I had always wanted to go for a longer trip like that at just be a bit more relaxed about seeing everything. I think I knew going into this trip that the family just wasn't into it that much anymore though. While we mostly had a good time, by the end of the week, we were all saying that we probably won't be back for a while(meaning years). It seems like we always had a good time on our trips, but were always thinking that the next trip would be even better if we made certain changes to the plans. This time, it was different and it will be at least a few years before returning. I could still totally be up for another trip, but not so much anyone else in the family.

So, here I am checking the boards every day! Still dreaming about what the next trip might be...even though that could be waaay off in the future, maybe when we have grands. Here I am thinking that maybe we could go back for another RunDisney event in a couple years. Where would I want to stay? I've always wanted to splurge and stay at the Beach Club or the Dolphin. Perhaps we should try an off-site condo next time to have more space since the kids are young adults.

Disney withdrawal is tough! LOL...at least no one suggested we cancel the Disney Visa yet!

Maybe try a Disney cruise?

 

[DISNEY1975]

Maybe try a Disney cruise?

Super $$$$$ !!!

My family loves Norwegian Cruise Lines. They are extremely family friendly and the kids programs are amazing. We also like Royal Caribbean, the kids clubs are great, but NCL is really fantastic. Ive heard Disney Cruise is also AMAZING, but we can get a suite on either of the other 2 for the same price and a regular cabin on DCL. I just cant give up the suite life.

 

[Shanti]

Super $$$$$ !!!

My family loves Norwegian Cruise Lines. They are extremely family friendly and the kids programs are amazing. We also like Royal Caribbean, the kids clubs are great, but NCL is really fantastic. Ive heard Disney Cruise is also AMAZING, but we can get a suite on either of the other 2 for the same price and a regular cabin on DCL. I just cant give up the suite life.

You can't get your Disney fix from the other lines, though. The OP seems to have a longing for Disney yet is burned out from the park/resort experience, so I suggested another type of Disney experience.

 

[PHXscuba]

I am considering doing WDW with a Disney/Christmas-crazy friend of mine if DH doesn't want to go back in early December this year. My most-Disney-loving daughter is in college with very little time off right now, and the two younger kids both want Universal and Six Flags (where did I go wrong?) Pending DH's input, we might do a spring family Disney/Universal trip but it's far from the done deal it would have been years ago.

I too have enjoyed my adult WDW and Disneyland visits enough to not feel too guilty about them, although a few friends look at me weird ("you're running away from your kids ... to a place filled with kids?")

PHXscuba