How much WDW is too much?

[The Foolish Mortal]

This question is one I have been pondering a bit lately. Here is the background as to why:

I am a lifelong WDW fan. Went for the first time in 1981 and have taken some long Disney breaks during my life, but resumed taking regular trips to the mouse house about a decade ago. Then, last year, my family and I got annual passes for the first time. I was determined to make the most of them, lol. I can't recall how many trips we made to Disney with the APs, but I think it was probably something like 14 or 15. And we're not local. So it seemed a large number. I loved all of it, but by this past april, when we did a blowout final AP trip, I was worn out. And my partner was utterly Disney exhausted, lol. Even that final trip, we cut back on a lot of original plans and just chilled at the resort (which was fun). But we both agreed we needed a long Disney break.

Before the end of those AP adventures, we had already booked a short weekend visit for this July just to go to a water park. But since April, WDW seemed to creep back into our minds. Ot at least mine. First, I upgraded our July trip to my partner's favorite club level. Then, I convinced her that we should take a multiple park day visit in October to coincide with my bday. It was a bday request and she was fine with that. But in the past week, I have booked two more Disney weekends (one in December because we have really enjoy the holiday festival at Epcot the past couple years and another at the end of January just because). Again, and to my suprise, my partner went along with these plans (probably because they are a ways down the road). I'm excited for all these upcoming visits (already imagining what we will do when we are there in three weeks), but a nagging part of my mind wonders if it is too much too soon after a year of Disney overload.

Before I did a year of AP trips, if anyone had asked me how much WDW is too much, I probably would have responded with its never too much! But I learned earlier this year that there is a point where it is too much. I can't precisely define it, but I know I was there. And I suppose I am surprised I am all fired up again for disney after only a three month break. I thought it would take a year before I was Disney excited again. Anyway, its just a thought that has been kicking around my head the past couple days and I thought it might be a topic others may want to discuss....

 

[georgina]

This question is one I have been pondering a bit lately. Here is the background as to why:

I am a lifelong WDW fan. Went for the first time in 1981 and have taken some long Disney breaks during my life, but resumed taking regular trips to the mouse house about a decade ago. Then, last year, my family and I got annual passes for the first time. I was determined to make the most of them, lol. I can't recall how many trips we made to Disney with the APs, but I think it was probably something like 14 or 15. And we're not local. So it seemed a large number. I loved all of it, but by this past april, when we did a blowout final AP trip, I was worn out. And my partner was utterly Disney exhausted, lol. Even that final trip, we cut back on a lot of original plans and just chilled at the resort (which was fun). But we both agreed we needed a long Disney break.

Before the end of those AP adventures, we had already booked a short weekend visit for this July just to go to a water park. But since April, WDW seemed to creep back into our minds. Ot at least mine. First, I upgraded our July trip to my partner's favorite club level. Then, I convinced her that we should take a multiple park day visit in October to coincide with my bday. It was a bday request and she was fine with that. But in the past week, I have booked two more Disney weekends (one in December because we have really enjoy the holiday festival at Epcot the past couple years and another at the end of January just because). Again, and to my suprise, my partner went along with these plans (probably because they are a ways down the road). I'm excited for all these upcoming visits (already imagining what we will do when we are there in three weeks), but a nagging part of my mind wonders if it is too much too soon after a year of Disney overload.

Before I did a year of AP trips, if anyone had asked me how much WDW is too much, I probably would have responded with its never too much! But I learned earlier this year that there is a point where it is too much. I can't precisely define it, but I know I was there. And I suppose I am surprised I am all fired up again for disney after only a three month break. I thought it would take a year before I was Disney excited again. Anyway, its just a thought that has been kicking around my head the past couple days and I thought it might be a topic others may want to discuss....

How much is too much is going to be an individual thing, based on your life. My first time was in 1998 when I had 3 kids. We went every few years, at this stage only 1 of my kids, my 34 yo DD with a child of her own, is still remotely interested in disney parks.

We are retired, my DH is a scuba diver who often goes on trips that have nothing to interest me. Back in 2014 I started going solo to Disney and Universal when he went on his trips. I had APs to both parks for a long time, since covid I only have a Universal AP. DH is not much of a Disney fan but he comes along sometimes. We were there in late April/early May using Marriott free nights off-site. I will be spending 2 nights in Sept at Disney, one day for Food & Wine, and one for MNSSHP, before I move to Universal for 4 nights. I will be there for 3 nights in Dec, hitting Epcot for holiday stuff, MVMCP, and Jollywood nights. I will be there in March also. Letting my Universal AP expire and waiting for news of the new park opening. Honestly, the Harry Potter areas of the Universal parks are where I feel most at home.

Looking forward to taking grandson to Disney World in a few years, maybe when he is 5.

So, how much is too much is very personal to you. We do other things- a river cruise last year, an ocean cruise in May, and an African trip next year. When you feel tired of Disney it is time to take a break.

 

[The Foolish Mortal]

How much is too much is going to be an individual thing, based on your life. My first time was in 1998 when I had 3 kids. We went every few years, at this stage only 1 of my kids, my 34 yo DD with a child of her own, is still remotely interested in disney parks.

We are retired, my DH is a scuba diver who often goes on trips that have nothing to interest me. Back in 2014 I started going solo to Disney and Universal when he went on his trips. I had APs to both parks for a long time, since covid I only have a Universal AP. DH is not much of a Disney fan but he comes along sometimes. We were there in late April/early May using Marriott free nights off-site. I will be spending 2 nights in Sept at Disney, one day for Food & Wine, and one for MNSSHP, before I move to Universal for 4 nights. I will be there for 3 nights in Dec, hitting Epcot for holiday stuff, MVMCP, and Jollywood nights. I will be there in March also. Letting my Universal AP expire and waiting for news of the new park opening. Honestly, the Harry Potter areas of the Universal parks are where I feel most at home.

Looking forward to taking grandson in a few years, maybe when he is 5.

So, how much is too much is very personal to you. We do other things- a river cruise last year, an ocean cruise in May, and an African trip next year. When you feel tired of Disney it is time to take a break.

Yeah, I mean the fact that the answer is different every person is a given. And I agree that anyone that is feeling tired of Disney should try something else. I truly don't understand the people that just complain and complain incessantly

 

[Figment Mom]

I'm in the "never enough" stage, but only because we haven't been able to go often.

I went yearly as a child (through elementary school). Then a couple of brief visits in college. Then a very long Disney hiatus of about 20 years.

We're about to take our 4th trip in 10 years, so roughly every 2 years. We go for about a week and a half at a time. I get some slack sometimes for the length of our trip. "How can you go for so long? Maybe you should visit Universal while you're down there." But 12 days every two years is most definitely not enough!

I'd love to get an AP, but with kids involved in sports and the World a 15 hour drive or an airplane ride away, I don't think we'd make it down there as often as we'd like.

But, wow, you have been a lot for not being locals.

 

[Mouse Tracker]

final AP trip, I was worn out. And my partner was utterly Disney exhausted, lol. Even that final trip, we cut back on a lot of original plans and just chilled at the resort (which was fun). But we both agreed we needed a long Disney break.

That didn't last long. Is there a OCD diagnosis somewhere? How much is too much can be tied to financial security (long and short term)
It sounds like y'all were exhausted from how you were doing, not Disney itself.

 

[Minnie1222]

I went four times last year and twice this year. I'm coming again in two weeks, and most likely I'll be back in the Fall and Winter. I'm not tired of Disney yet. There's always something new to do.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I'm getting to that phase of wanting to take a break. I went a lot this year and last year due to having an AP and also because I have family that live in Florida so I stay with them and then head to Disney whenever we want to go. I'm going to MNNSHP in October but after that, I may choose not to renew my AP. I don't hate Disney or anything but it has gotten boring for me and a lot of their decisions lately leave me feeling underwhelmed overall. I did plan on going to Disneyland next year but my plans fell through so that's off the table for now.

In terms of theme parks I may check out Epic Universe but other than that I think I'm ready to do non theme park focused trips. I'm going to Japan this November with some time at TDR added on but Disney is not the main aspect of the trip. Next year my friend and I are planning to go to Turkey with some days added on in Athens since the flight between them is so short. If I do anything Disney, it'll probably be Disneyland or HHI (which sort of doesn't count but I'm counting it anyway).

 

[Karalee402]

This past year, we went more than we have before, and I find myself only wanting to go more. I can absolutely see how it can get exhausting, and the financial implications are definitely what hold us back. But, we've even been talking about getting out of state APs so we can take more spur of the moment trips. For me, the more I go, the more I want to go.

 

[goofyernmost]

For me, anything beyond 5 days kills the magic for me. Even with the 5 days, I didn't go to the parks everyday. I stayed offsite and looked at other things.

 

[Minnie1222]

For me, anything beyond 5 days kills the magic for me. Even with the 5 days, I didn't go to the parks everyday. I stayed offsite and looked at other things.

I'm okay with going to the parks 5 days or longer, but I don't like staying at their hotel for more than a week. The only thing I "dread" about every Disney trip is having to stay in a hotel room. I just put up with it because I love the parks.

 

[The Foolish Mortal]

That didn't last long. Is there a OCD diagnosis somewhere? How much is too much can be tied to financial security (long and short term)
It sounds like y'all were exhausted from how you were doing, not Disney itself.

Well, that's a pretty large assumption considering I did not write about how we did Disney for that year.

But the economic aspect is not something I considered. Certainly that can be a factor in someone deciding they've done WDW too much (fortunately for us, that was not a factor)

 

[Mouse Tracker]

we cut back on a lot of original plans and just chilled at the resort (which was fun).

 

[beccasmom]

We also started visiting in 1981. Back then it was just the MK, Discovery Island, and River Country and the resorts were the CR, Poly, and The Golf Resort (Shades of Green) and FW. We stayed at the CR in a garden wing room and life was pretty sweet. We visited every other year for a few years and at some point it became pretty much every year.

In 1992 we purchased a DVC membership and we have visited every year since (often more than once a year). And we have very much enjoyed it with extended family and friends. Would we have visited so often without the DVC membership? I am guessing not, but we still would have visited. We enjoyed staying in the deluxe resorts, but with a growing family and Disney pricing, that wasn’t sustainable. So we had begun to stay in the moderates (no values at the time), mainly CBR and Port Orléans. DVC came at the right time for us. It was a big commitment, but it has worked out well for our family.

However we are now both retired and have more time for longer trips. We are focusing on overseas travel for a while (have been to both Italy and Switzerland), chiefly France, Ireland, and the UK to start. We both love traveling and are in good health, which may not always be the case (I’m not fatalistic, just pragmatic ). We have also cruised quite a bit (including looking at you, Disney Magic, back in her inaugural year) and enjoy road trips.

But we’ll still be visiting WDW pretty much as we have in the past. We tend to do a few park days now and enjoy the resort and DS more if it’s just the two of us. When the grandkids are along, the days are a bit busier and crazier, but sweeter too. It will be the best of both worlds and we’re looking forward to it.

 

[DisneyFive]

It seems for us, even if we feel “Disney’d out”, about 3 months later the nostalgia kicks in. The exhaustion from the trip has passed and we’re left with all the wonderful memories of our stay.

What matters most to us is not having back-to-back Walt Disney World stays that are too similar. We need to make them as different as possible. Different resorts, new restaurants, new experiences. Otherwise we do get the feeling that it is too repetitive even if visiting just once a year.

 

[kylenne]

Yeah I agree this answer will be different for everyone. As an out of state AP I typically do that 1 big trip with my partner and then 1-2 smaller solo weekend trips scattered through the year. Financially that's what we can manage but also tbh I want to go other places.

As far as individual trips, our longest one ever was 11 days last year and we determined that was probably 1 too many days for us, and that was without going into parks every day and taking considerable rest time. After a while, even taking it slow and resting, there's just too much stimulation going on. It didn't help that crowds increased dramatically the second week we were there due to more schools getting out. When solo I found that a week was too long for me, but a long weekend (5-6 days tops) is the sweet spot.

I find the key to not burning out on Disney is to not keep doing the same things over and over again. We have our faves that we do, but we always like to try new things. Like this year we are changing it up with a land & sea trip to keep things fresh. Next year we are bringing a friend who is a first timer (and we decided on 10 days). We were talking about renting points for a DVC villa over the holidays one year and having a family trip with my in laws. And so on.

 

[The Foolish Mortal]

It seems for us, even if we feel “Disney’d out”, about 3 months later the nostalgia kicks in. The exhaustion from the trip has passed and we’re left with all the wonderful memories of our stay.

What matters most to us is not having back-to-back Walt Disney World stays that are too similar. We need to make them as different as possible. Different resorts, new restaurants, new experiences. Otherwise we do get the feeling that it is too repetitive even if visiting just once a year.

I think I am in a similar boat. I was a little surprised that the burnout was gone after three months

 

[dreamer17555]

So we got APs (Out of State) in late Aug 23. We have gone in Aug, Sept, October, Cancelled (Due to illness) late Nov\Early Dec trip, Jan, Feb, Late April - Early May, and we have a final trip planned in Aug... And I'm ready for a break from WDW. 7 trips of at least a week at a time... And there isn't much on the WDW horizon to get me excited in the next 12 months.

 

[DisneyFive]

So we got APs (Out of State) in late Aug 23. We have gone in Aug, Sept, October, Cancelled (Due to illness) late Nov\Early Dec trip, Jan, Feb, Late April - Early May, and we have a final trip planned in Aug... And I'm ready for a break from WDW. 7 trips of at least a week at a time... And there isn't much on the WDW horizon to get me excited in the next 12 months.

Let us know how you feel around the Nov/Dec timeframe

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We take one 2 week trip every year. We started with a week, then moved up to 10 days then up to 2 weeks several years ago and that seems to be the perfect amount of Disney for us. I’m always a little sad to leave but also looking forward to going home at that point. One year (2021-2022) we did 2 weeks in late nov/early dec and 2 weeks in mid to late may and that was just too much. So one long trip a year is perfect for us, any more than that and it loses its “magic”. Plus we have other places we like to visit too.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Five weeks in 2022 was enough for us. We did not go in 2023 as we were burned out and building a new home. 2024 was on the agenda then cancelled since we have much going on still. A few weeks ago I came across four nights in a 1BR Value at AKV when our son will be at SSR for a medical conference (actually nearby). We had lots of SWA points and credits so went for it. The night prior popped up at Poly so we grabbed that.

We don't plan any parks even though we love F & W. Hansen is playing and is just not our generation of music (we've seen them at F & W). At this point, we have sold most of our DVC contracts but still own a direct which we plan to keep no matter what. After hanging out at Jambo House for a few days, we'll see how we feel or if we cave and go to a park.

All the years of endless green walls, dirty parks and lousy food really got to us in 2022. We shall see!