When did you realize that Disney ruined you for anyplace else?

[MomofKatie]

Has WDW spoiled me for any other theme or amusement parks? Yes!!

Has WDW spoiled me for any other vacation spots? No!!

We have lived for the past 5 1/2 years within 30 minutes of Carowinds, a Paramount theme park, and we have only gone once (because we got free tickets- and we only stayed for 2 hours). I just have no desire to visit and be disappointed the entire time that we aren't at WDW. I'm sure we will be going a lot within the next few years- DD is getting to the age where all her friends have season passes, and I know she is going to want to go with them- but it won't ever be some place I am excited about.

As far as other vacation destinations go, I feel that there are so many places in the USA and world we haven't seen yet, why not go see some of them? Sometimes I want to do a more urban vacation. sometimes I want to sit on a beach for a week. Sometimes I want to go to museums. Sometimes I want to sail the oceans and visit exotic ports-of-call. So many types od vacation, and not every single one can be replicated at Disney.

We still love WDW, but we don't have to go there for every vacation we have- just every other one (still way more than anywhere else, lol )!!

 

[joshsmom]

WDW is always first in our hearts. I was hooked my first trip in 1989 and once I took my son AND mother with me, we were all hooked. That was 2001. We love Disney's convenience (everything is right there), what we get for the price we pay, their attention to detail, and that special feeling we get when we're there.

That being said, we also enjoy traveling other places--seeing and doing new things. Our trips may not be as long as a Disney vacation to other destinations, but we do go other places throughout the year. We love this huge country and I want my son to see as much of it with me and his grandma as we can. He would LOVE to go to New York. That one will have to wait until I can find a tour group going at a good time for us. I'm a little uneasy taking him by myself with my mom. I guess that's another reason we like Disney--we feel relatively safe there. Not that things don't/can't happen, but at least we know where we are, where we're going, and how to get there.

 

[Belle2667]

The only other parts of the world I care to see are the ports that DCL stops at! Other than that, it's Disney for me!

 

[zipDdoodah]

Our first time was 2004, I loved it but we planned for Yellowstone in 05. Well those plans flew out the window and we went back in 05. After that trip I planned a cruise for 06 but cancelled that and put the money down for another trip back in Oct 06. I don't know what it is, but I love it and my kids love it so if loving Disneyworld is wrong then I don't want to be right

This is EXACTLY what happens to us. We try to plan to go somewhere else and try something new, but we end up going back to Disney again, whether it be DL or WDW. We were just wavering for a few days about trying a cruise to Mexico, but everyone would rather go to WDW instead.

I can remember going to Six Flags in Texas a few years ago and noticing the grounds and lack of attention to detail that Disney has. Now it's just not worth it to me to spend the money to go to another theme park at all. My kids LOVE Lego, but even Legoland didn't do it for me. All day we were there I couldn't wait to get back up to DL. I felt like we were wasting our money there, and personally for shopping I like the Lego store at DTD much better than going to Legoland anyway. They have EVERYTHING you could ever want there.

 

[momto2girls]

I agree with MomofKatie. WDW has ruined me for all other amusement parks and *most* other vacations. I used to live a couple of miles from Carowinds and I never went once. I knew that it couldn't compare to Disney at all!

Domestically there is no place that I'd rather go than Disney. However, I do still love traveling to Europe!

 

[Kimickey]

I realized that Disney ruined it for me when I took a trip to Six Flags one year here in Maryland all I kept saying is this place is not Disney clean and the atmosphere just felt Blah!!!

 

[freakylick]

I notice a lot of apple and orange comparisons going on here...

Personally, WDW has not ruined anyplace else for me. I keep an open mind no matter where I visit. Comparing anything to WDW is a disservice to myself.

 

[wasabi girl]

As soon as I got back from our first ever trip in December (yes, this past December) and I'm already to plan another trip for 2007!
We travel to other places and we do have a fantastic time. I love seeing new places and meeting new people. I'm never disappointed.
But...I won't waste my time with other amusement parks (it's not about the rides, I know Universal has cool ones). And...I'm almost more excited about planning my 2007 trip back to WDW than about my 2006 trip to Japan (no I'm not going to Tokyo disney this time...not enough time). My theory is that at Disney I get to be myself as a kid again...everywhere else, I get to be the Responsible Adult Person ( and she just isn't as much fun).
My DDs loved it too...we never made it to WDW until they were 17 & 20...I think they almost had more fun than they would have as little girls. There's just something about the house of the mouse that is .... magic.

 

[willis37862]

On our most recent trip in Nov 05. We spent 6 nights and then left to spend two nights in the tampa/beach area. We stayed one night got up checked out and went back to Disney and stayed. So many places are dumps after you have been to Disney and got use to their standards. It does spoil you thats for sure.

I agree with an earlier post that said we all complain (including myself ) about the price of going and staying and eating at Disney. But just think of what you are getting. I never feel ripped off there even if I am paying more than somewhere else. I always feel like I got my moneys worth and that spoiled me too.

 

[DisneyCP2002]

I love the beach and all the historic stuff, but nothing comes close to Disney. I went 15 years without Disney and when I went back I noticed how everything paled in comparison. I cannot imagine going that long again without a visit.

 

[goofy's friends]

We ablsolutely love Disney! However, I want my children to have an appreciation for nature and a hand-on understanding of culture and history. I want those things for myself as well. My kids even said after our last trip to Disney that they enjoyed our trip to Colorado better. Disney is great for an all-encompassing vacation--fantasy, culture, fun and thrills . I want to see other things that are out there also. This year, we are planning Yellowstone, but keeping an eye on these boards and will be back to Disney in a few years!!

 

[Family Fun Mom]

Every time I encounter bad customer service I think of how wonderfully we were treated at Disney and I realize I do not want to go anywhere else.

Never in my life have I been treated better as a customer than I was at Disney. Even my husband, who does not impress easily, was blown away by their level of service. Nothing else comes close.

 

[Ride Junkie]

When we went to Magic Mountain (aka "Thug Mountain") in California. What a dump! I couldn't believe that after being open for so many years, there was so little theming and no characters (we didn't see any). Even the landscaping sucked. Boooooo!

Disney is the best!

 

[Tissa]

We ablsolutely love Disney! However, I want my children to have an appreciation for nature and a hand-on understanding of culture and history. I want those things for myself as well. My kids even said after our last trip to Disney that they enjoyed our trip to Colorado better. Disney is great for an all-encompassing vacation--fantasy, culture, fun and thrills . I want to see other things that are out there also. This year, we are planning Yellowstone, but keeping an eye on these boards and will be back to Disney in a few years!!

I want my children to appreciate nature,history etc.. That's why we go camping every other weekend in the spring/summer either at the beach or the forest and we go to museums during the year. When it comes to spending a whole week some place Disneyworld is where we want to be. As they get older and travel better then it will be look out world here we come. For now it's look out Disneyworld here we come

 

[Tissa]

This is EXACTLY what happens to us. We try to plan to go somewhere else and try something new, but we end up going back to Disney again, whether it be DL or WDW. We were just wavering for a few days about trying a cruise to Mexico, but everyone would rather go to WDW instead.

I can remember going to Six Flags in Texas a few years ago and noticing the grounds and lack of attention to detail that Disney has. Now it's just not worth it to me to spend the money to go to another theme park at all. My kids LOVE Lego, but even Legoland didn't do it for me. All day we were there I couldn't wait to get back up to DL. I felt like we were wasting our money there, and personally for shopping I like the Lego store at DTD much better than going to Legoland anyway. They have EVERYTHING you could ever want there.

When they decided to close Six Flags Astroworld here I was a little sad because I grew up going there but when I mentioned it to my ds he said "so there's Disneyworld"

 

[dpuck1998]

I want my children to appreciate nature,history etc.. That's why we go camping every other weekend in the spring/summer either at the beach or the forest and we go to museums during the year. When it comes to spending a whole week some place Disneyworld is where we want to be. As they get older and travel better then it will be look out world here we come. For now it's look out Disneyworld here we come

Exactly...not to mention day trips to musuems, weekends (for me) in Mackinac, etc...just because we "vacation" at Disney so often doesn't mean we are uncultured swines.

 

[DisneyDotty]

Yesterday. DH and I were talking about summer plans--he has a meeting in Virginia, and I thought we'd do the D.C./Williamsburg trip this year.
DH:It won't feel like a vacation--too crowded and too hot. How about Disney again? (Yeah--like it's never hot and crowded there in the summer! )

**Idiot** Me:But we just went to Disneyland in December, and WDW last June! And we've always spaced out our Disney fixes over 2-3 years!

DH: Yeah, but at Disney there's no reality, no dealing with driving and parking hassles, no having to think. Let's go back. Oh, and can we do it on a budget this time, though?

Me : **Gasp** A budget?! Let's see what I can do!

So now instead of planning a historically enriching, patriotically broadening trip to our nation's Capitol, I'm seeing how I can do Disney on a dime! Yippee!

 

[TiggerXx]

Well, it ruined the fact that I don't want to go anywhere else but Disney each year.

 

[Dina]

Our trip in September 2004. My parents took me to Disney every other year, on off years we saw most of the United States. We drove from PA to CA, We drove through all of Canada-- went to Yellowstone, Grand Canyon. After graduating college, I travelled to Europe and Hawaii, and some beachy places. Then when we had our first child we went to OBX, and it was good, but it rained and we were bored. After having our second, we decided to take a Disney vacation (this was not supposed to be a yearly thing). But, our kids have asthma and peanut allergies, and we were soooo taken care of in Disney--- guaranteed non smoking room, the chef comes to our table before meals, the parks are almost smoke free-- its just wonderful. Even if the weather sucks-- who cares, you're still in Disney. It was just perfect. And with little kids, we had no worries, you know what the hotel is going to be like, you know what the staff will be like. It's great. We still do long weekends in other cities-- we've done NYC recently, we're doing Baltimore this summer. We also are lucky that my parents live at the shore, so we go to the beach most weekends in the summer. But, until my kids are older and I dont' have to worry so much, we'll be going to Disney every year for our vacation.

 

[dpuck1998]

Yesterday. DH and I were talking about summer plans--he has a meeting in Virginia, and I thought we'd do the D.C./Williamsburg trip this year.
DH:It won't feel like a vacation--too crowded and too hot. How about Disney again? (Yeah--like it's never hot and crowded there in the summer! )

**Idiot** Me:But we just went to Disneyland in December, and WDW last June! And we've always spaced out our Disney fixes over 2-3 years!

DH: Yeah, but at Disney there's no reality, no dealing with driving and parking hassles, no having to think. Let's go back. Oh, and can we do it on a budget this time, though?

Me : **Gasp** A budget?! Let's see what I can do!

So now instead of planning a historically enriching, patriotically broadening trip to our nation's Capitol, I'm seeing how I can do Disney on a dime! Yippee!

I do agree with you there...but man I love DC too...my second favorite place to go. But with 6-5-9mo, Disney is much better for now!!