I think it may be time to say goodbye to Disney

[starsweeper]

You sound burned out on WDW. Probably time for something new. As fantastic as WDW is, and as much as I love to go, there is a whole big world out there to see.

I agree. I love Disney, but I don't want to spend every vacation there. We have tons of places we want to visit for history, beauty, great experiences. Once our youngest is 5yo, we'll start attacking that list. For now, we'll visit Disney every 1-2 years, beaches, nearby states, etc.

To OP: As far as planning, I do that with every vacation. Granted Disney forces you to plan much more, but I still like scoping out things for non-Disney vacations and learning neat places not to be missed, eateries to try, etc.

 

[Postal68]

Take posts here with a grain of salt OP. A few years ago so many posters were saying the Magic was gone and WDW wasn't the same that I was dreading my trip. Then we went and nothing was different. It was still the same, wonderful place I have always loved.

The bottom line is that most of these posts are someone's opinion (including this one ). If you truly aren't excited about going to WDW then definitely go somewhere else. If, however, it is solely the posts here that are causing you to re-think your trip then it may be a good time to back away from the boards for a little while. Go watch some Disney movies, look at old vacation photos and then see where your heart lies.

Question...have you ever thought about visiting Disneyland? We go every 3 years and absolutely love it there and it is just different enough to feel like a completely different experience.

Thanks for the input from everyone. I am not making any decisions solely based on posts on the DisBoards. I have experienced the change in crowd levels personally over the past 30 years. I think another thing is our children have been going since they were each 1(now 16 and 12) and we are looking for new experiences. We intentionally go on vacation when most people aren't on vacation to avoid the vacationer's crush. Also I think we are all looking forward to some new experiences that are not theme park related. We have made a trip out to Disneyland about 3 years ago and we did enjoy it, but what we enjoyed most out of that trip was our day trip to San Diego.

We are starting of the next trip in October with a 4 day on the Dream. We went on a 4 day in April of 2012 and we loved it. At that time we were travelling with my 2 brothers and their families with much younger children than my own, so being in a large group like that limited some of the things we did. So when we asked the kids about vacation for this year they asked if we could go back on the cruise just by ourselves. We had no problem with that because we knew there was much that we didn't get to do the first time around.

Oh, and I was also wondering how fast and how many of the "Good, more room for us" comments would be.

 

[goofy4tink]

I've been going to WDW multiple times a year since 1999. That first trip was supposed to be our one trip to WDW. Well, 35+ trips later and I'm finding a certain sameness to each trip. I have had an AP for at least 10 years now. We own DVC at both BWV and BLT. I was there with my dd, 19, in late May. I was there for my annual solo Dec trip. I just returned from a stay at Vero Beach (3 days) and BWV (8 nights). I was supposed to go I. Nov but dh said no, he didn't want to back so soon....just cancelled that trip. Then I have my Dec trip. That is going to be my last WDW trip for a bit. I'm thinking of heading to DL for my early dec trip next year.
I found that I just haven't been having as good a time, lately, as I have in the past. The restaurants all seem to have pretty much the same offerings. There's not much new in the parks....yes the new FL is there, but that's just not enough for me to go every year.
The whole 'there will be others to take my place' and 'more room for us'? Terrific. I'm sure there will be others to fill in the void left by me heading elsewhere. Someone else can pay those food prices, pass prices and then deal with the ever growing park crowds.

I'm somewhat bored with the same thing every year. There are other places to see. I will always love WDW, and will be going back. But not as often....maybe every other year at this point. Different families will have different needs. Those needs may be met by going to WDW every year, or even multiple times a year. For others, every other year works. Then, there are those that prefer to go other places for vacation but may want to go to WDW every few years or so.
I'm not sure why it is that as soon as someone says that WDW isn't the perfect place for their family vacations every year, people here make these comments. Perhaps with you all in WDW, other wonderful places will be less crowded which will make my non-WDW vacations nicer.

Oh, and by the way? I love planning! Or me, that's part of the fun....so it's not that excessive planning that I mind.

 

[ArwenMarie]

To the OP, I think I am confused!... Are you mad at Disney?...Are you sad that you feel this way? I'm sensing sadness from your first post but I'm not sure.

I guess I am wondering what you wanted out of this thread...

 

[disneytraveler]

I can understand why they feel this way. I am not tired of WDW yet but have gone on different trips to change things up. I attend a ventriloquist convention annually in July .Last year I did not go to it but went to Canada for the Niagra Falls. Therefore I did not to WDW or the convention as I saved up for the Falls. I stayed home and did local stuff.

This year its back to Disney and the convention

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

To the OP, I think I am confused!... Are you mad at Disney?...Are you sad that you feel this way? I'm sensing sadness from your first post but I'm not sure.

I guess I am wondering what you wanted out of this thread...

^ This.

 

[Postal68]

To the OP, I think I am confused!... Are you mad at Disney?...Are you sad that you feel this way? I'm sensing sadness from your first post but I'm not sure.

I guess I am wondering what you wanted out of this thread...

I am kind of sad I feel that way about Disney in this way. Our family has a long history of going there together and I've lost both of my parents in the past 4 years and I don't find enough new stuff there

 

[Sheilby]

I guess I don't understand all the problems people say they have with Disney vacations all of a sudden. Maybe because MBs and FP+ are being talked about so much on the boards right now? Unless I am mistaken, nobody is forced to plan ahead, and there have always been ways to plan way in advance IF WANTED. Those who want to wing it and just relax during their trip can still do that with no problem. Those who are into planning can still do that (granted, they can do a bit more planning than they used to...), but it is in no way mandatory.

Long story short- you don't HAVE to change the way you vacation if you don't want to. Am I missing some big obvious reason everyone suddenly feels the need to become rigid planners if they weren't before? I don't really plan on changing the way we "do" the parks, even with MBs and FP+.

I think people feel that once regular fastpass is eliminated, if you don't plan everything in advance you will have to ride everything standby because all the slots will be taken before you get there. I think that is an understandable concern. Personally if same day fastpasses weren't available and if I was really limited to 3 FP's per day for all parks, that would be a deal breaker for me. I have no desire to spend a day in lines, nore do I want to plan every second of my day, that is not a vacation to me. Fastpass has enabled me to go to Disney without waiting in lines. I can go during slower times which helps, but I use fastpass for ALL rides that offer them.

I'm not worried yet, I don't think we will know how FP+ will work once it is fully rolled out, but I will be keeping an eye on things. My hope is that onsite guests will be able to book 2-3 FPs in advance at one park, but that everything else will be available the day of on a first come first serve basis once inside the park after activating your ticket. I hope it works much the same way it does now, but electronically.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I am a single female whose favorite park is Epcot. What has Disney done to keep me interested? Letting things fall into decline, removing entertainment? I am going a lot less then I used to and if my father was not in the area there would be even fewer visits

I actually plan to sell a big chunk of my DVC points next year.

The current trend is just 'glorified character greetings'. Not much for me there. I know they won't miss but you do wonder what the long term trend is.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I am kind of sad I feel that way about Disney in this way. Our family has a long history of going there together and I've lost both of my parents in the past 4 years and I don't find enough new stuff there

I'm sorry about your parents...that is a lot of loss in a short span of time.

Maybe taking a break will let some of your love for WDW come back?

Hang in there.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

The prices are driving us away. I think our trip next year will be our last trip for a long long while. I want to get one last trip in while DD is 8 and not a Disney adult yet.

Also the crowds and FP+ are no help either.

This year we did Central America for our big vacation. After next year we will start switching it up.

 

[goofy4tink]

I have no issues with the new FP+ or Magic Bands. I'm going to go out on a limb here, please bear with me. In reality, WDW is an amusement park with themed area. Come on now....hear me out. Like I said. I love Disney. But they aren't adding anything new that appeals to me, that makes me want to return many times. To be honest, when I was there a few weeks ago, I remember thinking as I walked through the parks that there was nothing new, nothing that really appealed to me. I mean seriously, how many times can you ride Spaceship Earth in a week!? And the food is nothing to write home about. There is a huge sameness to all the restaurant.. Yes, the theming is different but the food is pretty similar. At a high cost to boot!
I can't justify spending the money for airfare, an AP, and then food to do all the same stuff multiple times a year.....Maybe every other year, but not twice a year or even just once a year.

So I have no trouble understanding why people take vacations in other places. I don't think people are saying they are never going back to WDW. They just need a break. That's not so bad.

 

[Jetta8300]

I am kind of sad I feel that way about Disney in this way. Our family has a long history of going there together and I've lost both of my parents in the past 4 years and I don't find enough new stuff there

I can understand how some people feel a sort of sadness when the excitement and interest of their favorite vacation spot is wearing off a bit. But I really think once you start making new memories by mixing in some other types of vacations, it won't seem so sad! You can always go back, it doesn't have to be a final divorce! Haha. But separate for a while and try something else! Then some of the newness may eventually return.

I have a lot of friends with kids who are getting very tired of disney by the time they are around 8-10, and end up trying and LOVING lots of new fun places! (We LOVE cruises, the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, in 2015 we hope to do a cross country driving trip out west with friends, we also will get to Europe some day when we can get enough time off). My family personally doesn't like to do the same types of vacations over and over! Even at disney I would want to stay at a different resort each time to mix in some newness. Actually disney was NOT even close as a first choice where we wanted to go this coming February since we went in 2011, but due to the time of year, and a new baby it just seems like the most practical option. I also think a lot of people think disney is their only option because they are not "beach people". But there are so many other things to do! Cruising to Alaska in the summer is AMAZING!! No beaches there!

Have fun somewhere else for a while and then you will really know if you want to do disney again!

 

[Planogirl]

Oh, and I was also wondering how fast and how many of the "Good, more room for us" comments would be.

I hate those comments personally. They're just snide.

I am a single female whose favorite park is Epcot. What has Disney done to keep me interested? Letting things fall into decline, removing entertainment? I am going a lot less then I used to and if my father was not in the area there would be even fewer visits

I actually plan to sell a big chunk of my DVC points next year.

The current trend is just 'glorified character greetings'. Not much for me there. I know they won't miss but you do wonder what the long term trend is.

I have lots of problems with Epcot so if that's your favorite park I sympathize. It's just 'meh' in the front and fun but pretty static in WS.

I have no issues with the new FP+ or Magic Bands. I'm going to go out on a limb here, please bear with me. In reality, WDW is an amusement park with themed area. Come on now....hear me out. Like I said. I love Disney. But they aren't adding anything new that appeals to me, that makes me want to return many times. To be honest, when I was there a few weeks ago, I remember thinking as I walked through the parks that there was nothing new, nothing that really appealed to me. I mean seriously, how many times can you ride Spaceship Earth in a week!? And the food is nothing to write home about. There is a huge sameness to all the restaurant.. Yes, the theming is different but the food is pretty similar. At a high cost to boot!
I can't justify spending the money for airfare, an AP, and then food to do all the same stuff multiple times a year.....Maybe every other year, but not twice a year or even just once a year.

So I have no trouble understanding why people take vacations in other places. I don't think people are saying they are never going back to WDW. They just need a break. That's not so bad.

I'm getting to this point too.

 

[ZoZo]

OP, you never know - after a few years away from WDW, you may really miss it!

I haven't been to WDW in four years due to some foot surgeries, and so excited to go back in February. Before that, though, I was going every year or two, for several years, and I just wasn't feeling the same about my trips. Kind of a "been there, done that" feeling. And I was surprised, because I'm a person who loves to repeat my favorite attractions, over and over (I could ride Soarin' and Thunder Mountain all day long!). Now I'm so excited to go back! We have booked the Backstage Magic tour (I'm stoked!) and some other fun things, and I'm really looking forward to it. So maybe you just need a long break!!

 

[Ametista]

We started ending our trips with beach time a few years ago. The beach time is getting longer and longer and the Orlando time is getter shorter. Its fine with me, although I will always love MK. I personally miss the no-nonsense ticket books from my childhood at Disneyland.

 

[Jennasis]

Absence makes the heart grow fonder! Goodbye isn't permanent...maybe you just need some time apart. Enjoy those other destinations for a while.

See ya' real soon!

 

[Schmeck]

I can't stand comments like this. So unnecessary.

So are these, right?

 

[Richfield]

We spent 8 days at Disney World this past March and may not go back for a while. It definitely is becoming more crowded and I refuse to spend thousands of dollars to stand in line. I'm also not at all excited about what I've heard regarding the changes to Fastpass. Primary driver for me is going to be crowds/cost. If I can't find a time where the crowds are manageable (and the last two trips in February and March were more crowded than I prefer) then I'll spend my money on trips to the beach, mountains, etc.

What would you recommend they do to reduce crowds, especially given putting the price up isn't an option for you?

 

[Patience]

To be honest, I would be bored going anywhere every single year. We did a Disney trip in 2011 and one last week. We will probably do another one in 2015 to get one more in before our youngest daughter turns 10 and then that will probably be it... at least until we have grandchildren. It's not that I don't like Disney, it's just that I prefer experiencing a lot of different places. We are going to Destin for a week in March and I am considering Costa Rica for our fall trip next year. We will be going back to China when our youngest is 12 or so. California, Greece, Hawaii, and cruises are all currently on my wish list. The list changes regularly.