The fantasy is gone; how about you?

[Donald & Daisy Duck]

We have never tired of Disney. I guess what happens is that we try to mix it up each trip...staying at different resorts, only visiting some of the parks, etc. etc. In the past, we have also added a Disney Cruise onto the end of our WDW stays and that has added tremendously to our Disney enjoyment. That being said, Disney is not the only place that we vacation. We take trips to other places of interest to our family, so we it balances out. I will say though that this year I am glad we have a WDW trip planned, but I am really missing a Disney cruise.!!!

 

[Liann]

I haven't lost the magic. Heck I just found "it" last June for the first time! But I can see where you are comeing from. I've often thought about what it would be like after I had seen and done everything. (yes I know there is always something new but you get it)

Right now there is vastly more that I haven't seen so my opinion really isn't a learned one but yet just a hypothetical one lol.

That being said I am 40 years old and have ALWAYS wanted to go to WDW. As I said before we went last summer. We also went with seasoned Diney vets so everything was planned for us. (Patty ROCKS!)

Anyhoo, just before we went I found this board and quickly found out that Disney was bigger than our Sea World....lots and lots and LOTS bigger. I really had no idea. Before that I honestly thought one trip to the World would be plenty LOL! I had equated WDW with Sea World in size and amount of attractions so I naturally figured that with my planning skills and effective strategies we could see and experience everything in one trip. I honestly wondered why we needed more than a day!!!

BUT

I was wrong......SO WRoNG!!!!!

My first thought when we were pulling out from BCV was "how do we get back here for Christmas?". As a matter of FACT as soon as the swelling from my feet and ankles went down my DD and I were at our travel agent's bright and early. I had everything set for our next visit. Payment schedules, flights (NO WAY we were driving again PERIOD), ect, everything. All I had to do was get hubs signatures and wash clothes so I could pre pack our suitcases LOL!

Well we sat down and talked that night. Hubs was all for it, we already had things we wanted to do and things we wanted to see.

Then I started thinking about how many trips it would take to see everything and how long it would take for us to not look forward to seeing Mickey.

We decided 2 years in between our visits would be prime. Not to mention this vacation is not like camping with a tent and eating hot dogs n beans. This is a high dollar RV park! LOL!

This way we could have a less costly vaca in between and still know we had LOTS to look forward to when we did visit not to mention we could do it up BIG by saving the moolah. Yes things may close and we will have never even had the chance to experience em but new things would be in their place! Menus would change. New characters would be brought into the Disney family. New hotels, new promos, new landscaping, NEW.

Do I wish we would have gone to the World for Christmas? YEP! Do I wish we were going this summer? YEP! But we've already started to save for our next trip to Disney in 2010 AND we are also planning a family vaca this coming summer in South Padre Island AND a Mom n Dad weekend getaway to Vegas! Both will cost less than HALF of a family vaca to WDW. AND we still have another vacation the next summer to look forward to!

Okay sry I'm a Leo. I tend to relate everything to me me me. My opinion (albeit so VERY naive I'm sure) is to wait two years before you consider another vaca to Disney. By then there will be new things and perhaps you will miss it.

BTW, we didn't go to Sea World this year because no one wanted to. We've seen it all. No seriously, Shamu knows us on first name basis. Shamu even jumps when we tell her too in the shows. Yes I said SHE. She even comes to dinner on occasion with her Daughter. Dang baby Shamu is getting big! We now BBQ in the front yard so they can just plop down in the yard. The neighbors hate when they come over tho, I think it's all the clicking n such makes their dogs go mad, oh well.....

This post is stupid. This post is anti money making for Disney short term BUT I can tell you that in 18 months my family will be blowing THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of dollars AND looking forward to our next trip

 

[Vexorg]

Rather than repeat what I said elsewhere on the subject, I will refer to this post that I made earlier. The whole fairy-and-princess fantasy aspect of the experience has never been there for me, but I just think it's fun seeing all the cool stuff they built and trying to figure out how they did it.

 

[karen l]

We love going to WDW & still feel the magic. Staying onsite & using the dining plan makes it a vacation for the entire family. We get to spend time enjoying each other's company & having fun with Mickey & the gang.

 

[DISfanboy]

I dont think i'll ever lose the magic i could every year for the rest of my life and love wdw jus as much every time. Plus as long as Disney holds true to Walt's dream that DL/WDW will never be completed as long as there is imagination in the world. Then there will always be a new reason to go back.

 

[jimmiej]

I've been 11 times in the last 19 years including six years in a row from 2002-2007. The magic is still there, as strong as ever. Really looking forward to our next trip in June '09.

 

[stky6]

Do what I did, take 34 years between trips. I went in 1974 then again last year with my wife and kids...plenty of magic to go around

 

[DWFan4Life]

We went couple of times in WDW and everytime we had a trip is really amazing. So I can say that the magic is still there. Now having kids makes us more excited having a great time with them.

 

[kpadalik]

I have lived only 2 hours from Disney almost my entire life, so to say that I go to Disney a lot is quite an understatement. We go several times a year and love it more and more every time we go. Now that we have children of our own, we see it in a different way than before. However, since we became annual passholders a few years ago, we are able to appreciate the parks even more. We take our time, taking all the details in and have done some research on Walt Disney and the theme parks themselves. It is wonderful to read about the stories behind the rides, the Partners statue, how Disney World is able to operate their resort day after day, the meaning behind the names on the windows on Main Street. Disney is really what you make of it. Try doing some research on the history and see if that brings back the "magic" for you! Good luck and don't lose hope!

 

[pixistix]

It's like being hungry and having a big meal (think buffet). When you're finished eating you're full. You stop thinking about food for a while but inevitably you will get hungry again.
That's how my Disney trips are! When it's over I've had my fill and I come home, share my fun and photos with my friends and family (and post them on my blog). But then I'm filled up for a while. However, I do get hungry for Disney again after a couple months and I'm then plotting how I can get there again!

 

[ScrapperBelle]

I wouldn't say that we have lost the magic or that we see Disney as being "fake" even after 13 trips in 11 years time.

We are from North Louisiana and there is simply nothing to do with your kids here. There is a small zoo and a movie theater. The closest water park is 100 miles away and it's small. The nearest "theme" park is 5 hours away. Disney is a great vacation for us even if it is 15 hours away.

Each trip to Disney, we try to plan something that we have yet to do. To us, this makes each trip unique from the others.

There are some things at Disney that we wish would be refurbed or scrapped since we've seen them so many times and we feel they are outdated like Sounds Dangerous, Caroussel of Progress and a few others.

But, all in all, I don't think we'll get tired of going to Walt Disney World any time soon.

ITA! Southeast Louisiana here and it's the same for us. Boring, boring, boring. Not many family oriented activities. Even the fairs and festivals have turned into booze fests. I have enough reality in my everyday life. I'm always ready for a little "fake" and "fantasy".

DH and I really enjoy driving into WDW, parking the car (basically forgetting we even have it!), and letting someone else do all the cooking, cleaning, driving, landscaping, pool maintenance, everything for the time we're there.

 

[mickeystoontown]

ITA! Southeast Louisiana here and it's the same for us. Boring, boring, boring. Not many family oriented activities. Even the fairs and festivals have turned into booze fests. I have enough reality in my everyday life. I'm always ready for a little "fake" and "fantasy".

DH and I really enjoy driving into WDW, parking the car (basically forgetting we even have it!), and letting someone else do all the cooking, cleaning, driving, landscaping, pool maintenance, everything for the time we're there.

Amen to letting somebody else cook, clean, drive, etc. for me! I get enough of that at home. I too, have enough reality (I am a paralegal for a divorce attorney) and WDW is the perfect place to escape. Plus, no telephone calls and nobody knows me!

By the way, if you haven't already, head over to the community board and post on my Where are the Louisiana WDW Lovers? thread.

 

[BethC1952]

I have no idea how many times I've been to WDW since my first visit in 1978, but it's way more than 50. I haven't lost the magic.

The magic is different for me and my family, however. It's not about princes, princesses, mice and other things. It's about what happens to us when we get there. The whole place is a fantasy world, where bad things don't usually happen (I know they do sometimes). Every detail is planned to make us, the guests, have the best possible experience. When DH and I go without anyone else, we often don't go to the parks at all. One of our best trips was at Spring Break in 2007. The parks were jammed. We had a wonderful time at Pop Century, leaving there only to eat and do some shopping, always at times when the parks would be jammed with people.

Taking my now 8 1/2 year old DGD for her first trip when she was 3 1/2 was an incredible experience. It brought me back to my son's first trip when he was 3 1/2. This old grandma felt young inside again. Now I can't wait to take my new grandchildren DGD and DGS who will be 11 months when we go in December, and their sister, the above-named DGD can't wait to see WDW through their eyes. No, they won't remember this trip, but they will love the lights, the sounds, the smells, the excitement that all of us share when we're on vacation.

I do travel to other places during the course of the year, but WDW and Disney Cruise Line are where I go to fill myself up with magic and fantasy to last until my next visit.

Beth

 

[szubie1]

 

[szubie1]

 

[szubie1]

got em

 

[Chelley00]

Our first trip in 06 was the most magical thing ever. We loved it and we're hooked. We went again in October/November and had a HORRIBLE trip. (it could have been worse, but it certainly wasn't anywhere close to magical) The thought of going back just isn't what it was before, and we're okay if we don't ever go back again. DH and I had planned on taking a couples only trip this year to celebrate our 10th anniversary to do the things we can't with kids, but we've since booked something else because it was just ruined for us this last year.