When "post-trip depression" hits before you even leave...

[IvyandLace]

I saw the phrase "post-trip depression" posted in another thread and thought I'd "borrow" it for awhile...

Since I have less than a week to go (!!) before my 10 day Halloween/Food and Wine Festival WDW extravaganza, I was wondering if anyone else always feels the end of the trip looming even BEFORE your trip begins. How do you take each day at a time and stop focusing on "Only ___ more days 'til I have to leave!!!" How do you grasp each precious moment without thinking of not being there again in two months/one year/a decade??

Any suggestions on how to beat "post-trip depression"??

IVY

 

[momtotwinglesx4]

When "post-trip depression" threatens, just start planning your NEXT trip to WDW!

Sue

 

[DisneyDiver]

I'm back three days... I've already been pestering other family members that a move to florida is a sensible option, I feel rubbish because it's cold and wet, and I'm fed up with not having Mello Yello, Slice, and crunchy Cheetos on tap 24/7, and what's more, we went too early this year to see Hocus Pocus, Halloween Town (and the sequel) and the other disney channel films that we don't get on the Disney Channel here.

I hate the UK so very very much right now.

Still, I'm aiming to be working at WDW next year, so it's not all doom and gloom

 

[dahirsh]

I know exactly what you mean.

Half the fun is in the planning, so I leave tomorrow and I feel like it's half over already!

Deb

 

[Mickeyhugger]

I agree w/another post who said to start planning in advance your next WDW vacation when the post-WDW blues hit. I know exactly how you feel. It really is leaving 'fantasyland' behind! When it hit me the 2nd time we went, I immediately started a 'WDW fund' when we arrived back home. Not much money to begin, but it became more of a reality when we kept adding to it each week. ($10 here, $25 there, $5 here, etc.)

You don't even need to have a definite date in mind as to when you'll return, but once the Mouse egg starts to grow, things will more easily fall into place!

 

[Cinderella37]

I thought I was the only one with this affliction. Glad to know I'm not crazy. On all of our trips, I start counting how many days are left the first morning I wake up amid the magic. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those "live in the moment" people. I think the people on this board could qualify for some sort of study - the vacations habits of highly organized planners. We may have some sort of syndrome...

 

[DisneyDiver]

To be honest, I'm not a planner at all... Book the flights and use the points to get the accomodation, and then that's it.

When we get there, we wing it! Decide first thing in the morning what parks to hit, and where to eat that night. We get PS if we need them, but usually just eat late or off property so we don't have to queue.

But despite all this...

From the day I get there, I'm constantly aware of how many (or few) days there are left till I have to come back home to this.

 

[susy]

Mine starts a few days before and doesn't end until the second day I'm there! I usually fall asleep the first night in the hotel thinking that I want to go home. The next morning I am much better!

 

[hoosll]

Our trip Sep-Oct was overcast everyday and I found this depressingto begin with, then on our last day the sun came out. I was sitting in MK crying my eyes out because we had to leave and the sun was shining.

With each trip, I am finding it harder to leave. I want to go back next spring but the cost during high season kills me. I would love to live within driving distance so we could go more frequently - 6 hours north would work for me...

 

[Kevenswife2]

It's good to know I'm not 'nuts'! I go through all the same emotions you all do. I'm sure my family thinks I'm crazy though. We leave on Thanksgiving Day for Disney and I'm already thinking about the depressing, nothing to look forward to, feeling that hits the last day of vacation. Money will be very tight after Christmas so I know it will be a while before I can plan the next trip.

Crazy......
I even get misty eyed when the monorail comes around the curve and I get my first sighting of the Castle. Then when we're leaving, I get misty eyed again because I don't know if I'll ever see the Castle again.

 

[scrump]

I feel like I get a double dosage of it, because I only have one Disney buddy, and she's a really good friend who lives in Japan! So when she flies over to the states to go to WDW, it's such a great time because we don't always get to see each other, and we both love Disney so much. The catch is when we have to leave Disney, we also have to leave each other, and we really don't know when we get to see each other again.

So I'm always super elated to see her, but once we get there, the days fly by and we realize we have to say "good bye" again, and knowing that can make me sad even before the trip starts sometimes.

But that's life, I suppose, and we are really lucky to be able to enjoy this as much as we do, so in the end I'm very grateful and thankful! Have fun!

 

[mrsltg]

This is definitely me! As the time gets closer -6 weeks from tomorrow - I start the sad realization that 8 weeks from tomorrow, it will all be over. Once I get to WDW I am fine for the first half of the trip. After that mid-way day, I start to feel the depression set in again! The worst is when you can no longer have packages sent back to the resort because you won't be there the next day to pick them up !

Erin

 

[April in Disney]

That is the reason I buy atleast one annual pass, so I have an excuse to check for the next vacation. DH has not been to AKL before and I am hoping he loves it as much as DD and I did in our last visit. Also my DD(8 now) has became a dare devil since the last time the three of us been to WDW together. So DH has to go on all those rides I had to go with her last time and few new ones. I am worried a bit. DH has had few anxiety attacks since 9/11. His office was less than a block away,... This is his first time flying since. He even drove all the way to WDW Dec of 01. DD and I fly 5 to 7 times a year and have no problem. So I am keeping my fingers cross that he would enjoy this trip enough that I can start working on another one as soon as we get back.

 

[Cinderella37]

OOOOH, the package thing is the worst! What a lousy reminder that you're leaving. My fiance and I were lucky enough to be able to add another yearly trip to stave off my "Disney Depression." I try to get my fix watching Disney movies, listening to Disney cds, reading Disney books, looking at vacation pictures, and buying Disney collectibles, but nothing is the same as being there.

 

[InstImpres]

I just keeping planning my next trip and the trip after that, and after that. I also pre-buy many of my souveniers for DD and DN's so I start trip boxes for each trip.

That said, I cry every time I leave MK for the last time each trip. My Sister who actually found me a little to Dis Crazed (until my tips all worked on her last trip) actually sympathezied with me when I told her I cry.

 

[franw]

Inevitably when we are pulling our luggage into the resort we see some sorry, sad sack looking folks dragging their luggage out to their car. One of us always utters the dreaded words, "In only ___ days, that will be us." So the realization of what's to come is there right from the beginning. We counter it with knowing not to waste a single minute of our trip and planning our next trip even before that one has ended.

 

[Daryl]

The high of passing the WDW sign over the entrance on your way to the resort, is as intense as the low, passing the same sign on the the way home. I always plan a 2 day trip to Universal right after Disney. It gives me something to look forward to, and USF/IOA don't have the same emotional attachment as WDW for me, so its much easier to leave and head back to the airport.