Understanding the Disney passion!

[disneydad1000]

I was recently at a family reunion and we were all talking about how our summer was going. I replied "ours is going good but going to be alot better when we drive back to Walt Disney World in a couple weeks". Almost everyone said things like "you are going again?..don't you get sick of it?..why not go somewhere else? So I starting thinking about how excited we get every year for our WDW trip. We drive from upstate N.Y. so we get more and more excited when we see all of the familiar sites and signs..for example:South of the Border signs, LPGA BLVD, the exit sign for I-4, just to name a few. Then before our final approach back home we always stop at the rest stop on I-4(which is 30 miles from home) because we don't want anything to distract us before we get there. Yes we are the corny family that plays the opening ceremony to the Magic Kingdom as we go under the welcome sign, and we still get goosebumps every time!! I know we're not the only ones to do this, that's why I'm grateful to all of you DISers. You make me feel good about being a Disneyaholic. Thanks for all the great advice, and thanks for understanding the Disney passion!!

 

[pmaurer74]

Luckily, I have recently found a few others passionate about Disney. It seems like everyone I know is going to Disney this year. People stopped saying those thing and now seek out advice on their trips. Since we got APs this year people expect it. Now that we are becoming DVC members, people expect it so hopefully there will be no more comments!

 

[Mom2Stitch]

I hear all of those things from coworkers and friends and don't care a bit what they think. I understand that some people don't get it, I don't get sitting on a beach doing nothing for a week-heck I'd give that 4 hours and be ready to come home.

I was thinking about why I love it so much the other day and I think I finally got it. As a kid we didn't have the on demand tv or all of the channels like now, so there were certain times a year the networks played Wizard of Oz and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was a big deal in my house that these movies were coming on and that we got to watch them. I LOVED those movies. I wanted to be Dorothy and dance with the Scarecrow. I wanted to be Charlie and find the Golden ticket. For those couple of hours while those movies were on life was on hold and I was somewhere else. So Disney is my Oz and my chocolate factory, I get to suspend disbelief and be a kid again.

Yay for the Dis Support Group, lol.

 

[tiggergal15]

Disney maniac here and I totally understand the Disney passion as well as " haven't you already been so why are you going again?". Its just something we can't explain to others. I've given up trying. For me and my DD is like the pp said..its that once a year magic to immerse yourself in and forget your troubles for a while. We always cry a few tears too when driving under the welcome sign!...there is no other way I'd rather be than an extreme Disney fan..and now I have DBoyfriend who is a fantastic artist and is Turing my house into a Disney lovers dream!...we are planning our current trip and that's our life and we love it!

 

[Jadyreen1282]

I'm a seriously old drunken IT guy from the insurance company and I'm a Disney nut. Been going since the 70's. It is seriously the only place in North America this large that offers so much in an enclosed "world". I converted the wife over too. I told her when we met I was Disney nerd and that now that we were together we'd be going a lot. She now looks forward to it as much as me.

 

[DisneyOma]

I have this conversation with my husband, inlaws, and other family members, as well as friends and coworkers. WDW is my familiar place for vacations, just like my husband's family goes to their cottage in Vermont, and others go to the same seashore, lake, campground, or Las Vegas. A yearly week's vacation at WDW is less expensive than maintaining a vacation home.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

Corny is good!! We have routines and stories at Disney that we laugh about all of the time. That is what life is all about!

 

[danceintherain]

If they don't get it, they won't get it unless something changes.
I just shrug and tell people that Disney is an easy vacation for us, and it's somewhere we can take the kids where we can actually enjoy almost everything with the kids.
The beach doesn't work, because when I go to the beach I want to relax.
Cities don't work, because then we either have to drive in an unfamiliar city, or learn an entirely new mass transit system.
Not all the kids would be able to ski.

Ultimately, everyone has their thing. Some people just don't understand vacationing at all, and other people love their specific choice.

 

[BadPinkTink]

yep, got the same reaction from my family when I told them I plan to do a trip to Disney Paris next year. " You already go to Disney California in June each year, why do you want to go to Disney Paris? Would you not take a city break to maybe Rome or Praque or any of the other European cities?" Um nope, I want to go to Disney Paris as I havent been since 2013!

 

[eliza61]

Actually usually what I find is that once I remind them of what "their" passions are they sort of get it.
I think everyone has that thing or place that reminds them of the best in life.
My best friend loves the Adirondak mountains in upstate NY/PA. She would die if she had to go a long period of time without seeing them.
My late husband wasn't a Disney aficionado, his thing was fishing. He could spend all his days and all his dough on his boat, holding a rod and doing nothing.

I love Disney but I also love many other places also. If I had the money to quit today and pick on spot on the map to be it would be Paris not Disney.

I think when people ask "are you going again" it's not that they don't get Disney it's just for most of us, vacations are limited. either time or money prevents a lot of them. so it does seem odd to go to the same place over and over.

 

[JZCubed]

I was recently at a family reunion and we were all talking about how our summer was going. I replied "ours is going good but going to be alot better when we drive back to Walt Disney World in a couple weeks". Almost everyone said things like "you are going again?..don't you get sick of it?..why not go somewhere else? So I starting thinking about how excited we get every year for our WDW trip. We drive from upstate N.Y. so we get more and more excited when we see all of the familiar sites and signs..for example:South of the Border signs, LPGA BLVD, the exit sign for I-4, just to name a few. Then before our final approach back home we always stop at the rest stop on I-4(which is 30 miles from home) because we don't want anything to distract us before we get there. Yes we are the corny family that plays the opening ceremony to the Magic Kingdom as we go under the welcome sign, and we still get goosebumps every time!! I know we're not the only ones to do this, that's why I'm grateful to all of you Disers. You make me feel good about being a Disneyaholic. Thanks for all the great advice, and thanks for understanding the Disney passion!!

My wife recently started a conversation about non-Disney vacations.

I asked her where we would have as much to do with our young child.

I'm still waiting for an answer.

 

[Lucas103]

I can totally relate to this. I have had some people tell me you must get tired of seeing the same things over and over. The truth is you can't see or do everything in one trip! Whenever I mention I am planning on going, I always get the response "you were just there, why not go somewhere else?" Some people just don't get it. I will be back at my "home" in 2 months and cannot wait!

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

I was recently at a family reunion and we were all talking about how our summer was going. I replied "ours is going good but going to be alot better when we drive back to Walt Disney World in a couple weeks". Almost everyone said things like "you are going again?..don't you get sick of it?..why not go somewhere else? So I starting thinking about how excited we get every year for our WDW trip. We drive from upstate N.Y. so we get more and more excited when we see all of the familiar sites and signs..for example:South of the Border signs, LPGA BLVD, the exit sign for I-4, just to name a few. Then before our final approach back home we always stop at the rest stop on I-4(which is 30 miles from home) because we don't want anything to distract us before we get there. Yes we are the corny family that plays the opening ceremony to the Magic Kingdom as we go under the welcome sign, and we still get goosebumps every time!! I know we're not the only ones to do this, that's why I'm grateful to all of you Disers. You make me feel good about being a Disneyaholic. Thanks for all the great advice, and thanks for understanding the Disney passion!!

We bought a townhouse in the area just after we retired so we could be locals several months out of the year, so yes, I understand exactly what you mean.

 

[Goofey Drool]

I don't understand it either sometimes. I could not go every year because it would bore the heck out of me. We have gone 4 times in 15 years and its fine with me. Each time something new has been added so its still interesting. I would never complain to other people about why they always take vacation at Disney though...even though in my head I am thinking...three times in a year? wow.

 

[loves to dive]

I've gotten to the point in my life where I can afford to do things I want to do, I want to go to Disney so I go, lately twice a year. I take at least one of those trips solo. I love to travel and have always taken solo trips since DH has no interest in travel unless it's a dive trip and DS is grown and has his own obligations. It's safe, the resorts are nice, the food decent, works for me.

 

[disneydad1000]

Like I tell my friends and family "Disney is not the only vacation we take in a year!

 

[BalooFan]

I have learned not to care when I get "the look" from people who don't understand why I am going to to WDW again. It makes me happy; do I need any other explanation? It gives me the opportunity to step out of everyday life for a few days into a world where my only responsibility is to enjoy myself. If people think that's odd, they have the problem.

 

[disneydad1000]

I 100% agree..plus the look on my DD face the first time we walk into WDW is priceless, it never gets old for any of us..she's 8 and this will be her 7th trip and my son is 3 and this is his 4th trip. WDW is always expanding and it's fun to see the change every year.

 

[Planogirl]

I have two places that we visit that I'm very passionate about so central Florida isn't the only one. But I get the questions too. I think for me a lot of it is familiarity and nostalgia. I don't just visit Disney parks though, I love a lot about the whole area.

I could never limit myself so much when it comes to travel though. I still have that desire to wander and see new things and we've done that all of DS' life.

 

[Accident]

Disney just has a lot of the things I like to do, and what it doesn't have is just a short drive away. I still go other places but the long nonwork trips is usually disney. I have fond memories of the place younger, I grew up where disney was a big part of childrens programming/movies, my daughter really likes it and finds it very comfortable and her anxiety is much lower because she knows the place. It's very high on our list when we think of where we are going to go on vacation. We're not that everything disney family and in fact, we're probably the exact opposite in real life. but when it comes to vacation, where else can you camp, spa, Caribbean beach, cabin, luxory suite, orleans and try to figure out what your going to skip because there is too much even if you stayed a year all in the same week???

Anyone that says "your going again" hasn't been there, hasn't been anywhere but the parks, has no clue what else the orlando area has to offer. I had to describe to a friend with a teenager that's never been that while it's disney, it's not just disney there. If it's a shopaholic/beach lover. I always ask if they know there is a "20 mile long" shopping center in orlando.