Going every year "too much?"

[Dr. M]

My DH and I have been going annually for the past 5 years. My children have been 4 times with us, and once, we went without them, for our anniversary (which was a blast). This past trip was the first time that we felt we had been there and done that, and a little of the magic has faded. However, we still had an amazing time. I think the reason we feel a little less "magic" is because our youngest is now 5 and all the "firsts" have been done. We also go every year during free dining, in September, and stay at a value resort. So next year, we are going to change it up a bit. We are going after Thanksgiving and we will stay at the Contemporary. This way, it will be another "first". We have never seen WDW decorated for Christmas and we have never had the convenience of staying in a monorail resort. I'm also looking forward to the Candlelight Processional. However, after this trip,we will probably not return for a long time. We only enjoy touring during the not-so-crowded times (if there is such a thing anymore) when school is in session. But my oldest DD will be in high school, and missing school is not an option for us then.

So, in summary, it took about 5 annual trips before we felt like we had "been there, done that". But only because we toured the same way, during the same time of year. So now, we are changing it up and I hope more of the magic returns.

 

[PrincessBetsy]

I don't think there is ever a thing as too much disney. I have gone at least once a year since I was 3 (I'm 19 now) and that was driving 23 hours from northern NY. In 2007 we decided to go in Feb when my dad had a conference, then we decided to go back in April during our spring break, then my parents took me in August for my 17th birthday, and then we decided to go back for Christmas. We only went once in 2008 for 10 days because we moved to VA and had to get everything settled. This year we went in June and August for a week each and have decided to go back this Christmas for a week. It seems the more we go, the more addicted we become!

 

[themilesfamily]

I've yet to hit a Disney wall where it feels like it's too much.

I think there are enough things to do at Disney -- and enough variety with the different seasons -- that you can really shake things up with each trip. Try a new activity, try a new resort, try one of the hard ticket parties, etc.

Children are young for such a short time and if walking through the same sections of MK and doing the same rides brings them joy, then I think that's great. Those we can do Disney regularly are TRULY blessed.

I do think kids would benefit from a trip to Washington, DC, Boston or Philadelphia to learn a little bit about the history of our country. And maybe New York to see some Broadway and great museums. So I might do those to shake things up a bit.

But for sheer magic, you can't beat Disney.

 

[eliza61]

We've gone to WDW two years in a row, and I'm wondering if we might be better off skipping a year? Do any of you find that there are diminishing returns if you return every year, that maybe it would be more "magical" to take a year off and then come back in 2 years?

Note: I know there are a lot of things to do, but we have young kids and if we go they are going to want to spend 75% of the time at MK doing the same things we've done the past two years. Take money out of the equation, because I"m sure if we didn't go to WDW we'd do something else that would be of similar cost.

If you had asked me a couple of years ago I probably would have said "never" but our last trip in August was sort of "mild" to describe it nicely. We use to be once a year'ers but we've decided to take a break (for a number of reasons) for a couple of years.
We're doing Yellowstone next year and Disney Paris.

We may take a short break to Orlando when Harry Potter world opens up but besides from that, we won't see Disney until 2011.

We're dvc'ers so we know we'll be back eventually.

 

[bradyloganmom]

6 weeks from now we'll be back at WDW for the 7th consecutive year. If anything, it gets better every year!

 

[knieriem]

Disney is the only reason I moved to Florida! Well I guess my first reason should be that my husband really wanted to move by the beach and out of Kentucky so he found a job where we only live 1 hour from our apartment to the main gate!

Since I put up such a fuss about leaving our family and friends behind he promised that he'd buy me an annual pass and that I could go anytime I wanted and he wouldn't object. Well no objection at least for the first year!

I've been 6 times so far and we've only lived here for two months. We're even going for my birthday in November and staying a couple nights at Coronado Springs! I don't think going all the time really effects the magic for me. It's like I see something new every time or I read about something on here and then the next time I go I check it out.

It's also nice that we had our first honeymoon at Disney in 2007 at the Contemporary so every time we go back it reminds me of our wedding and how excited I was that he agreed to give up his tropical beach honeymoon for me to get my dream honeymoon at Disney! Our second honeymoon was taken six months later in the Carribbean so that he could get his dream honeymoon. Worked out perfect!

So to me there is never too much! Now if only I could get them to call me back about an interview.....

 

[Technosavant]

We enjoy just the atmosphere and everything, but at some point you do get tired of the same stuff. We've been to Disney World three weeks in the past year, and despite being DVC members, we aren't expecting to set foot in any of the WDW parks next year; we might well be on property, but I don't expect to actually enter a park.

Once a year probably won't wear you out on Disney, but after a while you're really only interested in being in the parks maybe a day each (depending on when you were there last), and you start to branch out to the other attractions in the central FL area. There's definitely more than enough around there you keep you coming back- once you've done a few assorted things, you're ready to come back.

 

[jenjersnap]

We're struggling with this decision too and, in fact, canceled a booking last night and I might just re-book today because we slept on it and changed our minds. We have a large to do list of vacation ideas and there just isn't the money and time to do it all. Yet ... we keep ending back at Disney because it makes us so darn happy. Plus, by now, Disney is not stressful to plan - I've got it down to a science.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We've gone just about every year since DS was 2. He's 11 now. We have skipped a year but then there are years we have gone 3 times.

We usually always go in September or October and stay at the BC. I wanted to not go this year and take our family vacation to the Beaches Resort in Turks and Caicos. I got voted down 3-1.

So we are going the week after Thanksgiving and staying at the GF, The hotel mom always has wanted to stay at, so I think its to keep me happy.

I'm excited about the trip but I already told the family , DH, DS (11) and DD (6) that we are definetly going somewhere different next year. I don't care if its a DCL, just something other then the parks . We all love WDW but I just feel there is so much out there to see and do other than Disney.

 

[mickeyworld]

For my family, there is no such thing as too much! We go at least twice a year, and I would go even more if I could. We have not found that the magic disppears or the fun is less because we go more. In fact, we aren't getting to go for our annual Christmas trip because we are going for my daughter's 16th birthday instead in April. All three of us are very sad and experiencing serious withdrawal! I should explain that I am a single mom with two teen girls, and Disney provides a safe, fun place for us to go as a family. Darn...April is a loooooooooooong way away!

I go now, with and without my kids.. I ama single mom too and my daughter is also planning her 16th at Disney, the other is 18 and went for high school grad.
We own DVC and will come for a weekend and not even go into the parks, just enjoy DTD,resorts, eating, boats, there is SO much to do

 

[ILoveDisney-Angie]

Going every year is definitely NOT too much. We go every year but the one year we had to give up WDW because we went to Maui (I only get 2 weeks of vacation a year) I was so sad. Don't get me wrong, Maui was great - but it wasn't Disney. I cried because I had to give it up for that year.

 

[Pakey]

We've been going twice a year to WDW forever; our youngest child is 28 now but we still go. My husband and I go once a year, just the two of us, and we take another trip and usually take one or all 3 of our sons and their families.

But we do have a rule that we always take one non-Disney vacation each year that is to someplace new; usually Europe. The newness of that vacation compliments the familiarity of the Disney vacations.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

We prefer to skip a year and go somewhere else in between. I went in 07 and again in 08 and felt that every other year was better. But everyone is different.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

We've been at least once a year since May 2000. When we started our daughter was 2 and our son was not yet born. As otehrs have said, to watch them "grow up" at the parks has been an astonishing unexpected blessing. WDW remains our favorite family retreat center. We all love going there and enjoying all the attractions, plus whatever else strikes our fancy. No, going every year is not too much for us -yet.

 

[DebbieB]

Once a year? Not enough for me. I was at Disneyland twice last year, WDW twice. This year, WDW twice (counting Dec) and DL once.

 

[Tomh]

I expect that it is a personal preference thing, and depends on you. We went for our first time in Aug 2008, and had a great time. Over the winter, we booked a trip for Aug / Sept 2009, and went again. It was a bit different the second time. Not quite as exciting, as it wasn't all new to us (well DW and I had been there 20 years earlier, so it wasn't completely new in 2008, but it was our first family trip, our first time as adults, and AK, DHS, and DTD were all new to us), but a great trip, and in some ways better because we knew what to expect, and knew how to navigate Disney World much better, so we got to do and see a lot more.

While we were there this summer, we booked a bounceback offer for 2010, and expect to have just as much fun then as we did this year. For us, I don't think that every year is too much, though I don't know if we will continue to go every year from now on.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

I can't even believe that I'm answering this question the way that I'm about to!

We haven't even gone every year, but for me I find that that the magic has been a bit diminished by repeat adult-only visits. We've had adult-only visits in 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2009, and will be going January 2010. We still are really enjoying the vacations, but things are getting a bit of a "been there, done that" kind of feeling. I still enjoy seeing the resorts, eating in new restaurants, and relaxing at the pool, but the parks don't have the same lustre that they used to. In fact, if I wasn't running The Goofy this year, we wouldn't have planned our 2010 trip.

We've decided that until we have kids (hopefully in the next year!), we're going to do other vacation destinations. I've traveled a lot throughout the world and enjoy the sense of adventure and exploration that I get from those trips. I used to get the same feeling from Disney, but no longer do. I imagine that that feeling will be right back, as soon as my future children step into the World!

 

[aspcamhreditor2]

The DIS is populate with many die-hard Disney fans. You'll find lots of repeat visitors here!

We're leave in about 3 weeks on our fifth family trip since Feb. 2002. Since then, we've added a child. Our children have grown. Once hubby stayed home and we went w/ a favorite aunt. It's never the same trip twice. While we always revisit favorites (guaranteed there will be multiple rides on Splash Mountain and Tower of Terror), we still have things we've never done. Since the girls are getting older & have some other places they want to visit (Niagra Falls and DC) and since my hubby isn't a huge fan of repeating Disney (and he wants to go to NYC and the Grand Canyon), I know this could be our last trip for a while. We have things on our list that are "must-do's" this time that we've never done before ... Hall of Presidents, American Experience, Astro Oribiter and Tom Sawyer Island. Plus, our youngest is now big enough to do RnR and EE wasn't open yet on my hubby's last trip.

I'm still worried about leaving our 5th trip and still having things we've never done!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We normally only go to Disney once every 3 years. This year was an exception because we got AP's.

DH is tired of Disney and ready to go back to our once every 3 years schedule.

 

[FigNewton]

We've gone to WDW two years in a row, and I'm wondering if we might be better off skipping a year? Do any of you find that there are diminishing returns if you return every year, that maybe it would be more "magical" to take a year off and then come back in 2 years?

Note: I know there are a lot of things to do, but we have young kids and if we go they are going to want to spend 75% of the time at MK doing the same things we've done the past two years. Take money out of the equation, because I"m sure if we didn't go to WDW we'd do something else that would be of similar cost.

You're probably going to find, if you haven't already, that this is the wrong place to be asking if you should skip a year!

We've gone once a year the past 5, and that's going up to twice a year now that we are DVC members! We wish we could have afforded the points to make it more often.