Have you ever lost your Disney traveling companion?

[Nooshkin]

Has anyone ever lost their Disney traveling companion? Has death or divorce threatened to steal the Disney magic from your life?

I’m starting this thread here on the podcast board because in the past I’ve found this group of people to be helpful, friendly, and kind. This is something my friends or family don't really understand. Hopefully there are other people out there who can relate to my situation.

Here are the bullet points of what has happened in the last few years. I’m not looking for sympathy – just explaining the situation, hopefully as simply as I can!

-In early 2010 I lost the job that I had for 20 years. I ended up unemployed for 16 months. -Two weeks later my beloved sister and best friend died suddenly at 35. (She was MovieNutNiffer here on the boards.) Jenny was also my favorite Disney travel companion on dozens of Disney trips. She’s the only person in my life who felt the same as I did and got the “magic”. Our travel personalities were completely in sync. We even listened to the podcast together as we cleaned the house and she proudly wore her podcast t-shirt all the time.

-Shortly after my sister died I married my fiancé. He wasn’t a Disney fanatic but he liked the parks and understood how important they were to me. We were engaged in front of Cinderella’s castle on my birthday in 2009 and got married in March 2010. We had planned a Disney World/Universal trip for Oct 2010. It had been planned for a long time and would include me, my husband, his 2 teenage daughters and two friends of his.

-Our October 2010 trip was about 7 months after my sister died. I was concerned about being emotional but I did really well. I had one 20 minute period of overwhelming emotion at EPCOT on one day but for the most part I was fine all week. Yet…I felt like something strange was going on. My stepdaughters and our friends seemed to be acting odd towards me. Not mean but a little distant. I couldn’t put my finger on it at the time so I thought maybe they were worried about me missing my sister. The trip was ok – not the best but maybe not the worst either. TWO DAYS after returning from Disney World, (and 6 months after getting married), my husband told me he wanted a divorce. I realized that everyone was acting strangely because they knew about it.

The reasons for the divorce do not matter. I was blind-sided and devastated but I’m fine now. I’m not here to knock him- he’s in the past. It took awhile but I now have a great job- better than the one I lost, and I’m slowly getting back on my feet financially after almost losing everything. In the last 2 ½ years, I’ve found it difficult to even think about Disney parks. So I haven’t been listening to the podcast or reading the boards. I don’t tune into the Disney channels on Live 365 and I haven’t added any Disney collectibles to my home. But I’m slowly starting to “dip my toe back into the water”. I want to start planning a Disney trip so badly but I literally have no one to go with. I have a seven year old nephew who’s dying to go but my sister won’t let him go the first time without her so I have to wait for them to be able to afford it. The guys I’ve dated since my divorce have been completely uninterested in going. Back in happier times, I would go on short trips by myself and have fun. But I’m worried that if I did that now, it might be more of a reminder of how alone I am now. I think I have enough good memories of my sister to ease the pain of not going with her again. As silly as it sounds, it’s almost more painful to think about the engagement and especially my last trip with my husband. But I can’t let him ruin Disney World for me! And I should mention – I’m fine. I’m a happy, positive person. I’m making new friends. I just really miss this part of me.

Did you lose your Disney companion due to death or divorce? Did a bad experience threaten to dampen your future Disney magic? Were you able to have fun at Disney parks again? Tell me how!

Jane

 

[sayhello]

I haven't lost my Disney travel companion (actually never had one) so I can't help you with that. Wish I could.

HOWEVER, I do have a suggestion! Why don't you look into taking the Backstage Magic Disneyland Resort trip with Adventures by Disney? The Podcast crew actually have a DIS Exclusive departure going this coming February!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3141444

You could ease back into Disney trips at a new Park (DLR) with loads of new DIS friends who love Disney every bit as much as you do! After that wonderful, fun experience, I bet you'll feel better, feel more like doing your own WDW trips, and maybe even make some friends you could go to Disney World with.

Best of luck to you. I hope you get the Magic back!

Sayhello

 

[WDW Crawl]

I'm not going to pretend to understand how everything you've been through feels, but I would not rule out a solo trip if you want to go. It may be different, but it isn't bad by any means. There may be some emotional moments for you, such as the Epcot one you mentioned having, but that is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, you could look at it as a time of a new beginning with a focus on you if that suits your fancy. Perhaps do a little something in honor of your sister

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

Well ..... I sort of lost my travel companion ..... sort of. My DH and I did 4 annual vacations to WDW. Believe me - he got sick of it all! The last 3 vacations that we did have he complained about everything! The parks - the food - the cost of the food, the kids at the parks - yada, yada, yada. He was so bad that I thought he was going a bit ......nuts. I love him dearly - but he just doesn't travel well. Well ... I recovered from those trips and started to get the idea of going all by myself.

I now have had 15 annual vacations all by myself!!! You would be shocked as to how wonderful this really is. I am now 60 years old, going on 40 years old. My DH is considerably older than I am. We don't have any children or grandchildren. Although I do have girlfriends, most of the time they cannot go at the same time I am going, or there is a money problem, or .... whatever.
I usually have a 7 night vacation all alone. I keep in contact with my DH once or twice a day, and also with my Mom. My Mom is absolutely terrified to fly, therefore, she is afraid for ME to fly, so I call her when I get to WDW just to let her know that I have arrived safely. My DH is happier because he gets to stay home to watch our two cats. I'm very happy that I get to go to my HAPPY PLACE yet again !!! It is my mental health week !!

My next vacation is for 7 nights in early December, and I am done with all the planning. I just have to wait for Dec. to get here.

So - yes - I did lose my travel companion. Please .... take my word for it.
It is wonderful to do a solo WDW vacation.

If you can think of it as another chapter in your life - a chapter with all the blank pages that you can fill up with wonderful exciting WDW experiences - I think you will do just FINE !!!!

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

Nooshkin, there were things I didn't say in my other post that I wanted to say.
I am so sorry that your sister died. I'll bet she would have wanted you to go and have a great time. What do you think she would say?
I never had a sister. The sister that I did have died as a baby, a few years before I was born, so I never knew her.

I can't tell you how many times I have thought that if my sister survived, we could ditch our husbands for a week and we could go to WDW together.

Pixie Dust and Hugs.

 

[Nooshkin]

"Sayhello" - that is a great suggestion and one that has crossed my mind. Hopefully I can afford it one day.

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Yes. Go to this post http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=674837 that says it all.

 

[Jennygt]

I hope you can get back the magic in some way. I am blessed to have my family to go with, you just helped me appreciate all the little things that annoy me when traveling with the whole crew, thanks for that.

 

[stitchlover]

I haven't lost my Disney travel companion (actually never had one) so I can't help you with that. Wish I could.

HOWEVER, I do have a suggestion! Why don't you look into taking the Backstage Magic Disneyland Resort trip with Adventures by Disney? The Podcast crew actually have a DIS Exclusive departure going this coming February!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3141444

You could ease back into Disney trips at a new Park (DLR) with loads of new DIS friends who love Disney every bit as much as you do! After that wonderful, fun experience, I bet you'll feel better, feel more like doing your own WDW trips, and maybe even make some friends you could go to Disney World with.

Best of luck to you. I hope you get the Magic back!

Sayhello

I'm going to second this advice. I went on the February 2011 trip solo without my husband or daughter. They are both big Disney fans but for various reasons couldn't go on this trip. I met some incredible people that I have continued to travel with at least once a year since. I am able to get to WDW more often than my husband and daughter due to their work and school schedules. So I meet my ABD friends once or twice a year.

It is a wonderful experience. I think this is a great idea. Plus as mentioned above you won't be going to WDW you will be at DLR. So maybe the memories won't be an issues.

Best of luck to you.

 

[mnra]

Ok to the OP. I will keep this short. I went through a divorce after a trip actually a cruise. I found out the affair was happening immediatley after the cruise (the cruise was taken with my three kids and wife at the time and our normal disney travel group so their where 10 of us.) Immediately after the divorce my travel group and kids excluding my ex wife now went back to disney. It was a strange trip since the kids wanted to go off on their own since they will older and the other part of our group the other cpl and thier kids also would go and do their own thing. So I times I was left by myself at WDW. As it turned out that was helpful to me since it gave me a chance to remember the fun times and to make up my mind that this was a special place for ME. At first I wasn;t sure the trip was a good a idea but it turned out it was. I listened to the podcast during that time and it also helped me regain the magic of Disney that I love so much. Fast forward and I had meet a wonderful person, who i will spend the rest of my life with. We where engaged in front of the castle and actually married at disney in 2011. She has a love like I do for disney so we are a perfect match in regards to that and all other things. Yes I have memories of times before my divorce and those trips but I am so glad that I kept going back to my special place for me. Give it a try and hope you regain the magic

 

[DisneyDetective]

Not intentionally.

 

[aggielawyer]

OP, first, I'm so sorry for the heartbreak you've been through. You are having to re-learn how to live your life, and that's not easy. It sounds like you've been solo before...maybe you could try a short solo trip (long weekend) to try it out again. I took one solo trip to WDW a few years ago, and it remains the best vacation I've ever had. Claudia's post made me want to do it again!

 

[lugnut33]

Nooshkin, did I ever meet you at one of the Dis meets at Doorway to Dreams at Woodfield mall? The name sounds familiar.

Glad to hear you're getting back on your feet after the last rough couple of years. I hope you continue to move forward and only great things happen to you.

My wife tolerates Disney trips, that's about it. Thank goodness my kids are Disney nuts. I have done a solo trip and once I got by the first day I was fine being there solo. It was rough the first day being there at park opening without the kids.

 

[MK4ever]

One of the best days I ever had in the parks was when I was solo. Go and enjoy yourself!

 

[Stacy's a freak]

Nooshkin, I have not lost a Disney companion. I am like many others who have never really been with someone who is as crazy for it as me. But I have been in a similar situation with the divorce looming just after a Disney trip. I was afraid that the bad memories would resurface when I returned to my "happy place".

After my ex-husband I were separated for about a year, I returned to WDW as a solo and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to enjoy it as much as I had - that the bad memories would taint the visit. When I walked down Main Street on my first day (a tradition), I was very emotional. So I called my Mom when I reached Casey's and had a good cry. It only took me a minute to realize that I was crying from happiness - that the WDW love hadn't been tainted and that I had been brave enough to throw caution to the wind and do something that others thought was silly. From then on, it was a great trip and I have taken several other solo trips since! I think I just had to take the risk and see what would happen

So I vote that you plan a short solo trip (a weekend) to see how it goes At least until you find another person who shares your love of Disney ... and I'm sure you will!

 

[Nooshkin]

I know it's a little late in coming but thanks to everyone who took the time to make a kind reply. I got a little emotional being back here on the boards again and to "run away" for awhile. But I'm dipping my toe in again. I even listened to the last two podcasts after being away from them for a few years. I don't know who half the people talking are but I'm sure I'll get back up to speed! Thanks again!