Embarrassment about frequent trips to Disneyland?

[theluckyrabbit]

As others have said, life is too short to be bothered with other people's judgements. If going to DLR makes you happy, then go!
Being a passholder feels like part of my identity! We rarely encounter any negativity about our frequent visits (probably because so many of our friends are passholders, too!). My parents say that they wish they lived closer so that they could have APs. They'd be at DLR every day. Knew I inherited the gene from somewhere...

 

[arcadiandj]

My favorite response to the "you're going again?" question is "Of course... It's the happiest place on earth... Who doesn't want to be happy? You'd have to be a pretty sad, miserable grump not to like Disneyland!". Lol. I know DL is not for everyone, and really I don't judge you if you don't like it. But I COULD. Lol.

I think what I'll say is, "Hey, everybody has a happiest place on earth, if they are lucky. Ours just happens to be, "The happiest place on earth."

 

[xApril]

I get that a lot. I live right by WDW and go there often, so people wonder why my friends and I are bothering to go to Disneyland.

 

[SoCalTrojanSkip]

If you're asking whether your enthusiasm is an uncommon phenomenon, no, it is not. If you're asking if the negative reaction to it is an uncommon phenomenon, no, it is not (unfortunately).

These people who say, "AGAIN?!?" are probably the same folks who go on yearly ski trips, or rent the same beach house in the same Florida town every year, etc. Brush it off, don't let it bother you.

My friends all know I'm an Annual Passholder for Disneyland, so that doesn't phase them much anymore. The sideways glances I tend to get are usually reserved for when we make out trips to WDW...

"Why don't you guys try going somewhere new, and not WDW AGAIN"...

I then remind them that they are the same friends (In their 30's mind you) who go to Vegas every three months, and whose stories tend to involve how much liquor was consumed and how which strip club they ended up at.

I don't have a problem with Vegas, but we usually limit our trips to once a year...or every two years.

 

[disney-inspired]

I've had an AP since I was 17, so 10 years. I don't go now as nearly as I'd like (adulting sucks) but people still guffaw when I do go for more than a day at a time.
I just brush them off and feel bad that they don't have something they enjoy doing that they feel the need to poke fun at my happy place. NO skin off my nose.

 

[Indiana Scott]

One time a co-worker of mine was telling a cantankerous district manager that I was heading to Disneyland the following week - I truly think he was trying to embarrass me because this manager was always dead serious and seemed to lack much of a fun side.
The joke was on the co-worker when this guys whole demeanor changed and his face lit up in a way we never had seen before. Then with a rarely seen smile he exclaimed "Oh we love that place! We go 3 or 4 times a year!!!".

 

[disney-inspired]

One time a co-worker of mine was telling a cantankerous district manager that I was heading to Disneyland the following week - I truly think he was trying to embarrass me because this manager was always dead serious and seemed to lack much of a fun side.
The joke was on the co-worker when this guys whole demeanor changed and his face lit up in a way we never had seen before. Then with a rarely seen smile he exclaimed "Oh we love that place! We go 3 or 4 times a year!!!".

It is awesome when supervisors and higher ups are Disney fans. My manager has a pass as well so we chat about AP events and stuff like it.

 

[arcadiandj]

We go to WDW A LOT! We used to get the same reaction from family and friends when we said we were going to WDW again. Nowadays, we don't hear it at all because it is pretty much assumed where we are going when we say we are going on vacation (they, however, are surprised if we say we are going to DLR or to a non Disney destination). What's funny is my parents own timeshare condos in both Gatlinburg TN and Williamsburg VA and guess where they go for their vacations every year since I was a kid? They used to ask us why we liked to go to WDW so much until I let it be known that they do the same thing with their favorite vacation destinations...after that they haven't asked that question again .

Please pardon my unfamiliarity with the south, but what is in Gatlinburg and Williamsburg?

 

[arcadiandj]

I've started calling my Disneyland obsession my mid-life crisis. I grew up going there every year with my grandparents who lived in SoCal. As an adult I suppressed my Disney-love until DS turned 5 and then we took him for the first time. Funny enough, DS, who is now 8 and DH could take it or leave it, so it's my thing and I've now taken quite a few solo trips. I don't have any hobbies really, I don't really drink, and I don't smoke, so I spend my extra cash going to Disneyland! I used to feel a little funny saying that I'm going AGAIN, but I'm over that now. I think it's the going solo thing that most people find strange, but I'm a loner by nature so it doesn't bother me at all.

I love it when I stumble upon like minded Disney folk. My new hairdresser gets an AP every year so we talk endlessly about DL when I see her. And, I ran into a friend from high school whose hubby is a big Disney geek and they have friends who are Club 33 members. Ive gotta figure out how to tap into that connection one day!

Enjoy your APs! I got my first one this past year and it has been fantastic! I told myself that I wouldn't renew, but as my expiration date grows nearer, I'm getting more tempted!

Angrose, what is it like going solo? I've seen a number of folks post here and there that mention going solo, and I wonder what their trips are like/their daily activities?

 

[PoohsFan1]

Please pardon my unfamiliarity with the south, but what is in Gatlinburg and Williamsburg?

No problem...Williamsburg is in Virginia where it is more of colonial times where you go into different homes and such that deal with our Forefathers (before the Revolutionary War) and Gatlinburg TN is right in the heart of the Smokey Mountains where you can walk trails and the Smokey Mountain National Park is there.
They are popular vacation destinations especially when you live in the Midwest/East Coast.

 

[sprmom]

Another Canadian chiming in here. I do get odd looks, but I agree with all of the comments made here. I agree its a bit of an obsession of sorts, but what a great one it is! My house has poster size Photopass Castle Pictures with us and you can see the children grow each year. I have our Disney Animation artwork framed and hanging on our walls and I love to scrapbook our trips. We love going and I have had many trips to both US Parks (even two recent solo trips while travelling on business) and a family vacation at Disneyland Paris. My husband and I Disneymooned 21 years ago at WDW and it has been a part of life together even before that and has been ever since. This year, we asked out teenage daughters where they wanted to go for vacation and they both agreed it was time for them to see Walts Original Park. This will be their first time time to DL, but people will still say, "Disney again?". My girls don't mind, they know they are fortunate and they both appreciate the time we spend together as a family. Soon they will both in University and things may change, but until then, I say, "DISNEY AGAIN? BRING IT ON!" and do a happy Going-to-See-the-Mouse Dance (and yes, we have a dance!)

 

[arcadiandj]

No problem...Williamsburg is in Virginia where it is more of colonial times where you go into different homes and such that deal with our Forefathers (before the Revolutionary War) and Gatlinburg TN is right in the heart of the Smokey Mountains where you can walk trails and the Smokey Mountain National Park is there.
They are popular vacation destinations especially when you live in the Midwest/East Coast.

Wow, very nice!

 

[arcadiandj]

Thank you everyone for your very helpful comments that help put my hobby into perspective. I am not alone with this hobby, and then I forget, most people have such hobbies, be they Vegas, Mexico, Sturgis, or whatever. Thank you everyone

 

[KeKy4]

I think you have come to the crack house to ask if anyone gets criticized for their addiction!!

 

[StuckInKS]

Yes and I think its because WDW is seen by a lot of people as kids' destination. People just don't understand why adults would want to go there and spend thousands time after time, when they could go somewhere else or do something else with all that money. I was the same before our first trip. I'd been to WDW a few times as an early-teen and it was fun, like any other theme park. Then, in 2009, I decided to take my kids on a once-in-a-lifetime trip with 5-day passes, which I thought for sure would be more than enough. I went and was hooked. We've been going nearly every year since (we missed one year but then went twice in a one-year span, so it evened out) and for no less than 10 days (two trips we had annuals and stayed longer). Oh course, we get the same reaction if we go to Great Wolf Lodge (just about 15 minutes from where we live) more than once a year

ETA: Sorry, just seen this was about DisneyLAND, but I think it still applies. Of course, we don't live close but if you do live close, why not go? (which is what I say about peoples reaction to our short trips to GWL, since its close)

 

[VandVsmama]

I think that you should embrace it and wear it like a badge of honor. Where I live, lots of people vacation down in Mexico at least once a year. Nobody bats an eyelash at them. 1 of my coworkers goes to the same ski resort every February and stays there for a week. You know what we all say to her before her trip? "Have a great time!" A ski trip is one of the last things I want to do. Lift passes these days are often around the same price as the 1-park-1-day DL ticket these days...it's an interesting comparison when you think about it.

Members of my own family don't quite understand my love of Disneyland. But those same people spend way more $$ than I do annually on vacations. It's funny.

But I'll tell you this...when you do run into a random person who you discover, quite by accident, that he/she loves DL, suddenly in an instant, you have found a kindred spirit! Take my hairdresser, for instance. She told me last month that I am the only adult she knows who understands her love of DL like she does. She does a great job on my hair and we talk about DL the entire time she's cutting my hair. Or one of my coworkers, who also loves DL as much as I do...we swap stories whenever one of us has just returned from a DL trip. She's like me...she has to scrimp & save all year in order to afford to go for just a couple of days, but it's totally worth it and it's totally magical.

Some people are really into Star Trek, Star Wars, Minecraft, video gaming, etc. They embrace their inner dork with passion and are proud of it! So go ahead and wear your Mickey ears down Main Street with pride. Where else in the world can a grown man or woman wear an enormous Goofy hat complete with Goofy ears and nobody looks twice at the person?

 

[arcadiandj]

Yes and I think its because WDW is seen by a lot of people as kids' destination. People just don't understand why adults would want to go there and spend thousands time after time, when they could go somewhere else or do something else with all that money. I was the same before our first trip. I'd been to WDW a few times as an early-teen and it was fun, like any other theme park. Then, in 2009, I decided to take my kids on a once-in-a-lifetime trip with 5-day passes, which I thought for sure would be more than enough. I went and was hooked. We've been going nearly every year since (we missed one year but then went twice in a one-year span, so it evened out) and for no less than 10 days (two trips we had annuals and stayed longer). Oh course, we get the same reaction if we go to Great Wolf Lodge (just about 15 minutes from where we live) more than once a year

ETA: Sorry, just seen this was about DisneyLAND, but I think it still applies. Of course, we don't live close but if you do live close, why not go? (which is what I say about peoples reaction to our short trips to GWL, since its close)

StuckInKS what hooked you? Also, you are in Kansas? Do you think you would ever go to Disneyland?

 

[arcadiandj]

I think that you should embrace it and wear it like a badge of honor. Where I live, lots of people vacation down in Mexico at least once a year. Nobody bats an eyelash at them. 1 of my coworkers goes to the same ski resort every February and stays there for a week. You know what we all say to her before her trip? "Have a great time!" A ski trip is one of the last things I want to do. Lift passes these days are often around the same price as the 1-park-1-day DL ticket these days...it's an interesting comparison when you think about it.

Members of my own family don't quite understand my love of Disneyland. But those same people spend way more $$ than I do annually on vacations. It's funny.

But I'll tell you this...when you do run into a random person who you discover, quite by accident, that he/she loves DL, suddenly in an instant, you have found a kindred spirit! Take my hairdresser, for instance. She told me last month that I am the only adult she knows who understands her love of DL like she does. She does a great job on my hair and we talk about DL the entire time she's cutting my hair. Or one of my coworkers, who also loves DL as much as I do...we swap stories whenever one of us has just returned from a DL trip. She's like me...she has to scrimp & save all year in order to afford to go for just a couple of days, but it's totally worth it and it's totally magical.

Some people are really into Star Trek, Star Wars, Minecraft, video gaming, etc. They embrace their inner dork with passion and are proud of it! So go ahead and wear your Mickey ears down Main Street with pride. Where else in the world can a grown man or woman wear an enormous Goofy hat complete with Goofy ears and nobody looks twice at the person?

What a great post! Thank you for that. I never thought of skiing like that, but it makes perfect sense. You are in a "winter wonderland" enjoying thrills, and then you probably get great places to eat and drink And I like your statement about an "inner dork." However you describe it, I believe Disney is so much about artistry and story telling and for whatever reason, they touch us (not everyone else) at a very deep level. What a blessing!

 

[sprmom]

A great summary vandvsmama and arcadiandj! I even own that goofy ear hat!

 

[StuckInKS]

StuckInKS what hooked you? Also, you are in Kansas? Do you think you would ever go to Disneyland?

I can't say it was one thing, as I love it all. The rides, the food (especially the desserts), the shows and the hotels (we've only stayed value, but have visited the deluxe. We are staying deluxe for our May trip and I think I'm going to miss the values. I like the "big" Disney theming, which I know a lot of people do not prefer that). Also, I have always had little ones on our trips and the way they react to a lot of it is priceless. Yes we live in KS and have been wanting to do DL. It is the same amount of driving and we really want to experience Cars Land and the other attractions that are unique to CA, but the price is holding us back. Its just as expensive for us to visit DL and I feel we'd be getting less since there are only 2 parks and they are not secluded in their own little bubble like WDW. I have been thinking about it for the fall and my oldest son keeps begging me to switch our May trip to DL instead, but I haven't made up my mind yet. It would make perfect sense to do fall since there will likely be nothing new at WDW (we will hopefully see ROL and do the Frozen ride this trip). It looks like Avatarland, Toy Story land and Star Wars land might all open between 2017-2020, so if we want to do DL, we need to do it soon!