Is it better to have more trips or to visit sparingly?

[FastPasser]

.

 

[Disneylover99]

If you go too much, it becomes less special.

We've had the opposite experience.

 

[JenBush]

My family likes to go every 2-4 years. I prefer 2-3 years between visits, it's not too long, but long enough that there are new things and enough time to save up again. Sometimes its just hard to work around all the school and work schedules and ends up being a little longer between visits.

 

[texasroni75]

The more frequently I go, and the longer our stay, the happier I am. But, DH prefers to wait a few years between trips and doesn't like to stay for more than 4-5 days at a time or he starts to feel "Disneyed-out".

 

[PeasandCarrots]

Everyone is different but for me as long as each trip is at least 2 months apart, I say the more the merrier! We went 5 times last year and I enjoyed each one fully! If mine get more than 6 months apart I get a bit of Disney depression.

 

[VACamm]

We do 1 trip per year, and its always so exciting to have 12 months to PLAN and DREAM about your vacation being so far away!

 

[SaintsManiac]

We went December 2015 and this wait for the next trip has been tough. We plan to upgrade to AP and go again October 2018 (maybe squeezing in a June 2018) then we want to take a break until the new HS lands open. We're thinking about doing DL during that wait. We'll go to Joshua Tree and do some other California sightseeing. We also want to do a Disney cruise.

The trip this year is costing us a small fortune, but we decided to wait so we can go all out with Universal on site, deluxe WDW resort, Thanksgiving, etc. We won't be splurging like this again for a while!

 

[Gillbob316]

I feel like they both have their pros and cons, and I've been on both sides of the fence. Ultimately it boils down to: Go when you feel like going and try to enjoy it. Haha.

My family went a ton back when my sister and I were in our teens (we're both now adults). Like 2-3 times a year, for several years running. We would occasionally find ourselves burned out on it. There were days we'd just loaf about our hotel all day and never set foot in a park, even though we had the option to, which in hindsight seems like SUCH a waste, and I want to kick my 18 year old self's butt for it. But it happened. So going too long, too frequently can take some of the wow factor out of it.

Then as we got older our trips went from infrequent to non-existent. Our last trip was for the grand opening of Hogsmeade at Wizarding World, and we didn't go for a good 5 years after that I'd say. Until finally friends, family and I (7 total) went again in Jan/Feb 2016 for a... grand blowout "Haven't been in 5 years" trip, where we stayed about a week and a half, and did practically every park. Also Mardi Gras at Universal, where we bought season passes. Regardless of how frequently you go, I don't recommend going with 7 people... it's stressful, haha. Not everyone had the same opinions. Not everyone did everything they wanted to do. Too much bickering. Bleh.

That said... as I mentioned, my sister and I are adults now. And being an adult, now capable of traveling on my own. Around the middle of last year, I said, "Ya'know... I have an annual pass to Universal. I should really just go for a long weekend, whether anyone else wants to come or not." ... and then I thought, "OH GOD! I CAN GO FOR HORROR NIGHTS!" which I haven't since 2005. At which point my mind was made up. I invited those 6 friends and family, not one of them came. So me and 1 friend who's arm I twisted (who didn't come in Jan) went in Sept for a long weekend. Did HHN, Not-So-Scary, Food & Wine... it was amazing. One of the best trips I've ever had. And it was only 3-4 days, compared to the week and a half we went in Feb. So much less stress, so much more seasonal food & fun... had as much fun in half the parks w/ half the time.

I enjoyed that so much I went back in Dec for Very Merry/Grinchmas/Holidays Around the World. Airfare was amazingly low, so I talked myself into it in a span of under 2 weeks. I was alone on this trip, I couldn't twist anyone else's arm on such short notice. I enjoyed having the freedom to do whatever I wanted, but admit it's more fun w/ company.

That said, me and a couple family members are going back this month for one last trip before the passes we bought in Feb of 2016 expire. Only 3 of us this time, not 7, which will probably make it less stressful and more fun. BUT... that will amount to 4 trips in less than a year for me, spanning 2 Mardi Gras, 1 Celebration of Harry Potter, 1 HHN, 1 Not-So-Scary, 1 Food & Wine, 1 Very Merry, 1 Holidays Around the World, 1 Grinchmas and the Inaugural Epcot International Festival of the Arts (excited!)...

And let me say... I enjoyed the heck out of it, on the whole.

I already plan to go back in the fall for HHN, Not-So-Scary & Food and Wine again (Not to mention Pandora & Volcano Bay will be open by then). For a full week this year, not a weekend, so I can enjoy them slowly. I may make that a regular thing from now until forever, or I no longer have the means to. I may skip Christmas in 2017, I had fun, but didn't enjoy it as much as Halloween. But if airfare is dirt cheap again... we'll see, haha. I'm also looking into going to Disneyland & Universal Hollywood for the first time in my life.

Point is... it can be a burnout if you go too much, stay too long, do the same things... ignore special events. Make it routine. I've been there. I still get that sometimes if I spend too many days in any one park. I got it in December at Universal a little, just because I'd spent SO much time there for HHN in Sept. It felt like the same park in colder weather, and with all the HHN fun removed, which was a bit of a bummer. I'm anticipating it a little next week since I was just there last month, haha... but I'm staying positive, because hey! It's still Florida. Plus Harry Potter & Mardi Gras!

But anyway... you can make it less routine if you go out of your way to, and I highly recommend doing so.

Each trip I took the time to do things in each park I didn't find time for on the last. (Do that!)
Each trip I made sure to pay special attention to the seasonal events that were happening, while they happened. (Do that!)
Each trip I tried more than the last to make the most out of every day I was there, and go out of my way to do things that weren't routine.

Yes, do the things you enjoy, but make time for things you've never done.

Eat at a restaurant you've never eaten at. Eat at two! See that show you always ignore, and have never seen. Ride that ride that sounds lame. Walk into that pavilion you always walk past. If there's a seasonal event in the park... go listen to the Christmas storytellers, don't just blow past them to go do the same things you always do.

And if you happen to miss anything, don't let it ruin your trip... congratulations! You now have a reason to go back.

 

[Oneanne]

I'm in the "both" camp. I had an AP the second half of 2015/first half of 2016 and got four trips out of it ranging in length from 4 to 8 days. Each trip was different and I enjoyed each one: it was nice to not stress about trying to do everything on the list, knowing I would be back soon enough. But by my last trip last year, which was in October, I was starting to feel kind of blah about being there... like it was an everyday thing and not quite so special. The plan is to skip Disney this year... I think. I have a friend going in November and there's a slight chance I may join her, but by then it will have been a year between trips so it should feel new and fresh again.

 

[patster734]

This past year was the year of Disney for DW and I. It is only the two of us, so that helps keep cost down.

We purchased APs last April to attend last year's F&G festival for 4 days/3 nights. Afterwards, we visited in July (2d/1n), September (5d/4n), November (2d/1n), December (9d/8n), and this March (5d/4n). All trips were predicated on getting cheap airfare on either SW or DL. The December trip was a split Disney/Universal Studios trip and only came about when Universal emailed us a tremendous deal on tickets (buy one/get two days free).

We do not plan on renewing our APs when they expire, so the March trip may be our last trip for a while. It helped that we also haven't had a car payment for about 8 years, but that's changing as we are trading in a 13 year old car for a new one. So our travel budget takes the hit to accomodate the expected car payment budget.

 

[BigredNole]

We ran into this on our last set of trips. Things lined up right for us to visit often. First trip was early Dec 2014. DW couldn't go because of a car accident. This was a spur of the moment decision when I got an offsite 2BR for $500 (split 3 ways). We were already going in early February for DW's 40th. Both trips were fun and painful for their own reasons. Because DW was limited in what should could do at WDW because of the car accident still, she wanted to go again over Summer. What we found during that 3rd 1-week trip is that it felt less magical. It was Summer, we sold out house the 2nd day of the trip with a required closing in 2 weeks. That played a part in it because we were not packed and only had 1 week to move out. We decided to just enjoy the trip because we couldn't do anything about selling the house...we weren't leaving vacation. Then we found the house we had a contingency on was sold right out from under us. So, we just said screw it and enjoyed it. It was a lot more fun in a different way. We did all the stuff in the parks we wanted to in the morning, enjoyed the resort for 4-5 hours in the afternoons, and parks again at night. Something we rarely did.

On our drive home, we talked about it. 3 trips in 7 months was too much for us. We decided we will do APs and make sure we get in at least 3 trips with them and skip a year after the last use. We'll see how that goes.

 

[LENNON500]

Last year I visited WDW 4 times. It was glorious. We did a trip during flower and garden festival to run the dark side 20k. We did the DIS boards podcast celebration in July. Then we did two short trips in September and October.

It was a really fun time and we made some good memories.

That being said, we decided there were other places to visit this year, but we still wanted to fit in one Disney trip. We decided on mid December.

I realize it's only the end of January, so we'll see what my thoughts are later in the year. I'm actually really enjoying the anticipation of the trip that's almost a year away.

I'm starting to wonder if it actually might not be a better thing to space Disney trips farther apart. I know everyone's different... But for me it seems this December trip will be even more special since I have to wait for it. It's more of an event.

What does everyone else think? Do you find some weird enjoyment in not going to WDW so often? Or would you rather go as many times as you can the sooner the better?

I think it depends on two things; your level of passion and your budget.
We go as often as humanly possible living a thousand miles away. Leaving tomorrow night for a quick birthday weekend, then flying back home Sunday night.
We love traveling all over the world but our favorite place to be is Disney World.

 

[jakeybake]

Last year I visited WDW 4 times. It was glorious. We did a trip during flower and garden festival to run the dark side 20k. We did the DIS boards podcast celebration in July. Then we did two short trips in September and October.

It was a really fun time and we made some good memories.

That being said, we decided there were other places to visit this year, but we still wanted to fit in one Disney trip. We decided on mid December.

I realize it's only the end of January, so we'll see what my thoughts are later in the year. I'm actually really enjoying the anticipation of the trip that's almost a year away.

I'm starting to wonder if it actually might not be a better thing to space Disney trips farther apart. I know everyone's different... But for me it seems this December trip will be even more special since I have to wait for it. It's more of an event.

What does everyone else think? Do you find some weird enjoyment in not going to WDW so often? Or would you rather go as many times as you can the sooner the better?

First off, I noticed your username and wanted to say that my son is a freshman at Ohio State! Even though we live in Massachusetts, we are huge Buckeye fans so GO BUCKS!!!

I agree, I prefer to take one really great trip each year as opposed to going multiple times and staying at lesser resorts. We are huge Beach Club fans so we take one great BC trip each August and love every minute of it!

Jay

 

[memo10]

We went to the parks 34 times last year. I'm always in favor of MORE!

 

[bumbershoot]

My biggest annoyance is the people that go "you're going again?!" "Don't you ever get sick of Disney?!"

If someone is saying that to me, I realize that I'm talking about my plans too much.

Confession: A few years ago I got burned out on WDW. *ducks*

In my defense, my ex wanted to go there every year, and each year he got more and more miserable to be around to the point that he was an embarrassing jerk and really cut into my enjoyment of the trips--cutting in line at the boats to go to WL from MK and then getting into it with people who called him out, saying crude things in front of other guests, making racist comments on IASW, you name it. It was actually at WDW when I realized I was in a horribly unhealthy and abusive marriage and needed out.

I'm getting ready to go on my first trip to WDW since those events, and I'm having a hard time getting super excited. I think (hope) this will change when I get there and can start making new memories. I have had a very take-it-or-leave-it attitude about WDW for a few years now, and I want to find the magic again and actually get excited about the thought of going on a regular basis.

I'm so glad you got out!

Maybe you shouldn't already be prepared to be stunned about the decrease in quality! Perhaps if you aren't looking for it, you won't notice it.

There's already so much change that's simply factual it's going to be shocking. Then you add trust in certain people who say things, and I know the quality is going to be lowered. It's happening everywhere. Not sure when manufacturers and compaines decided that we won't pay to keep quality *the same*, but they think we'll pay more for quality to be less? I say it all started with ice cream container sizes! (they keep getting smaller and junky companies are buying the premium brands etc...I have a whole theory about it LOL) (OK that's my theory)

I don't really put much stock in the complaints. Not that I don't think the poster had that experience, but that I may view the experience differently. (obviously I don't mean blatant dirtiness, rudeness, etc.)

Over time I've gotten to know who I truly trust and who I don't think I would have the same experience as.

And we've been parks-adjacent enough. I might not have entered a WDW park since January 2015 but we've been there a couple times since (DVC points aren't going to use themselves!) and have seen some of the issues.

 

[mickey1968]

I find I don't talk about my plans as much these days until right before I go. It keeps those looks and comments to a minimum!

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

I don't understand the question. but that's because if I won the lottery I would do everything I could to buy a 3 bedroom grand villa at OKW so I would never have to leave again.

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

This is one of those to each their own situations. When my dd was little we went frequently. We lived on the East Coast and it was super easy to get there. Now that we live on the West Coast and are DL AP holders we don't go to WDW as much - every few years or so we try to get there. We are trying a new kind of trip to WDW this year - focused on her running the Princess 1/2 marathon. It's a completely different type of trip then we are used to planning but it's still going to be amazing.

 

[Mommy a Deux]

As an adult,I went three times in 4 years. Then I got an AP. I went five times last year, and have already planned 4 trips this year. As some others have said, frequency allows you to be a bit more relaxed. Staying off property lets you spend a lot less $$, too. I have only stayed on property once, but for the AP deal I got at All Stars I can stay at a really nice off-site hotel. (But I live in metro Atlanta and can drive down.) The free parking and discounts that come with the AP take a bit of sting out, too; and if you have a car there are plenty of places to eat off property. But the kids and I went right after Christmas, and except for Jingle Cruise, there was no ride we HAD to do. We were there to experience the decorations, the atmosphere. If you can go more often it relieves the worry of its having to be the perfect, be-all, vacation. I find it quite liberating.

 

[Anal Annie]

What do you people do for a living? Dang!

I live in Alabama, so I can drive down with little expense. But my upcoming trip is still going to cost over $5k for 7 days. I've been socking money away for over a year and still have 100 days to go. I don't see how it would even be feasible to go yearly. This will by my family's 4th trip since 2008 (08, 11, 14, 17). I've been planning this sucker since 2015. I'm geeked with anticipation, but there's no way I could do this once a year, much less multiple times per year.

Disney is expensive but $5K for 7 days is A LOT!! (I'm going to assume you must have a large family.) While DVC is a big cost upfront it does allow for more affordable trips after that. Since our accomdations are essentially paid for we can go for about $150 / day for the 3 of us (all adults) with a good mix of TS & CS meals (and we eat all of our breakfasts in our DVC villa). We buy very few souvenirs at this point. For us, DVC is the only way we can afford to go multiple times a year (esp. now that our DS is in college). The last couple of years we have been 3x a year. But we really need to start thinking about cutting back sometime in the next year or so in order to catch up with our points (we're in a borrowing hole with our points since we took a trip to Aulani a couple years ago). But with DVC we can get a discount on AP's and buy the TIW card which helps save on meals & alcohol. Tough to resist the constant planning once you get addicted to the place. I buy Disney gift cards every week to stash & bring with us to pay for our tab at check-out. We live in the mid-Atlantic and it's about a 15 hour drive so we typically drive on our longer summer trips (DH has a hybrid) and we fly on the other trips that are only 4-6 nights long. I am pretty thrifty with our airfare. We paid about $150 pp round trip for the air on our most recent trip earlier this month. Been pretty lucky in not having to pay out the nose for air so far.