Why am I not excited?

[AlexandAndysMom]

Our last trip was Oct 2014. I just booked our next trip for the first week of April. I'm a planner. I'm an organizer, scheduler, OCD excel sheet lover. And, I'm just not excited about it. My three year old and 8 year old are over the moon excited, and they got their Dis love from me. But, I'm not. I don't want to sit down and make out a daily schedule, make calendar notes about window openings for FP scheduling. I've made one dining reservation because it was there. What is wrong with me??

We just also found out the Big Thunder will be down the week we are there. We have one night (our first) to get on it. I'm secretly hoping it will change..lol. Soarin will be closed, my three year old is finally tall enough! He will be 4, which means he can do Jedi Training or whatever it is when we are there, but that's changed too, he wanted to fight Darth Vader!

Help me get excited, you all! Help me remember this isn't our first or our only trip and it's just too far out still to really be pumped about it (5 months 5 days..lol). And someone tell me I'm not the only one who has been through this?

 

[MrInfinity]

I would definitely be feeling a little deflated if both Soarin and BTMRR are going to be closed. But that would not be a deal-breaker for me.

Go watch the Star Wars trailers! I am so on the edge of my chair for that movie to come out. See the movie w your kids when it comes out, then JTA (under new name) will be awesome.

April... So your 180-day has passed? Is there anything you want to do in particular this trip?

Pull out the pictures from your last trip and go thru them w the family. Have your kids point out their favorite rides at each park, then make a point to FastPass those.

Where was their favorite food?

Measure your 3-year old and talk to your 8-year old about what rides the little guy will be able to ride. SDMT!

 

[AlexandAndysMom]

I would definitely be feeling a little deflated if both Soarin and BTMRR are going to be closed. But that would not be a deal-breaker for me.

Go watch the Star Wars trailers! I am so on the edge of my chair for that movie to come out. See the movie w your kids when it comes out, then JTA (under new name) will be awesome.

April... So your 180-day has passed? Is there anything you want to do in particular this trip?

Pull out the pictures from your last trip and go thru them w the family. Have your kids point out their favorite rides at each park, then make a point to FastPass those.

Where was their favorite food?

Measure your 3-year old and talk to your 8-year old about what rides the little guy will be able to ride. SDMT!

Thank you! Yes, we are overly excited about Star Wars! And we all love Rebels, so if the new JTA has that, it will be all good. I booked Ohana breakfast so my 8 year old can eat with Stitch. He loves Stitch! I think part of it is we are going without the dining plan this time, so the urgency is missing somewhat, if that makes sense? it will be different, we def. used and abused the child swap last time in our favor (following the rules of it, of course), but we have seen and done most of it. It will be new experiences for the youngest who hit that magical 40 inches not too long ago and he can now ride the 'big rides', most of them anyway. My 8 year old is slowly getting over his fear, and I will be able to experience his first ride of RNR and EE, which will be exciting for me (I'll be the bad mom laughing at him being terrified, btw..lol). All they want to eat is chicken breast nuggets. It's a favorite. They are OK with no sit down meals because 'those places don't have the chicken mom'. And as long as the hubby gets his fish in the UK, he's a happy camper.

 

[Micca]

You'll get excited, there's a lot "out in front" of April 2016, it'll be much more interesting after the first of the year.

 

[minnie mum]

Perhaps all the planning just seems a little too daunting this time. I felt that way before our trip in Feb/Mar. It's not that it was too difficult- I've planned a couple dozen trips to WDW. It just seemed like TOO. MUCH. So I made it easy on myself. I let easywdw pick my park days for me ( I went with the most recommended park each day.). I picked ADRs inside the park we'd be at that day, or at a nearby resort if we weren't going to return to the park after dinner. I used the easywdw cheat sheets for park touring guides instead of spending hours or days trying to come up with an individualized touring plan from another site. And I even based our FP selections on the recommendations from the cheat sheets. All this probably shaved hours off my planning, and it definitely made everything easier. As for ride closures- I might be slightly disappointed if a favourite ride or 2 was closed during a visit. It's happened to us plenty of times. But concentrate instead on what you CAN see and do.

Once you get there, I guarantee the kids excitement will rub off on you!

 

[LuvMyEAR]

There could be many reason why you are not excited. Perhaps your inner OCD trip planner just needs a break and would feel better if the role was shared with a partner? At some point, even the most OCD of us can just want to throw our hands up and say, "if no one else cares, why should I knock myself out???" Fortunately you have excited children and will likely pick up their enthusiasm along the way. MrInfinity gave great advice about looking over photos of past trips and letting the favourite times be your guide for planning the next trip(s).

On a more serious note, are you in need of a mental or physical check-up, or tune up? Sometimes the pressures around us can rob us of the joy in our very favourite things. Have you been under addition stress lately, or steadily increasing pressure of some sort? Everything from debts and hormones to horrible bosses - or coworkers - can leave us emotionally flatlining. Take an honest stock of what entirely independent factors could be draining your enthusiasm for this trip. This is important, because your vacation will not be the only thing affected.

Dare I suggest it, but are you ready for a change of vacation scenery? Perhaps your heart just isn't in it this time around, and you'd subconsciously rather be on a beach, a ski hill, or touring galleries and museums. I have to say have seen my fill of areas that are under construction and I don't just mean the occasional attraction rehab. Our November trip will be our last for some time to come, and that fact is amping up MY excitement!

May the pixie dust find you soon.

 

[Georgi Zhukov]

A WDW trip with young children can be exhausting. That, and the price, would make me not excited. Actually, I would still be excited. However, we're going the 2nd week of April and I am pretty bummed that it looks like both Soarin' and BTMRR will be out of commission.

 

[Lori74]

i had a similar issue just recently. i have been so excited then poof! a month ago i got sick of talking about it, reading about it, thinking about it. i just couldn't get on board. i saturated myself with planning and talking so much i just couldn't take anymore. now i'm excited again. maybe you need a break. with the holidays coming, there's definitely enough to keep us stressed and busy. maybe after the holidays, you'll be able to relax and get excited. or maybe you're turning a new leaf and this is the new relaxed fly by the seat of your pants kinda person!

 

[JimmyV]

We are also going in April, and I have already reset my expectations and aspirations, and hopefully for the good. I know that hours are subject to change, but right now, most parks will be dark by 8:00, or 9:00 or 10:00, and I am hoping it stays that way. My daughter and I are notorious for shutting the parks down after my wife heads back to the resort, but this time, I am really looking forward to a slower pace and earlier evenings. This will allow us to do things that we have never done, (or, at least, things that my daughter has never done), and to do things that we have only done occasionally. I was going over a touring plan yesterday for DHS trying to figure out a meal schedule. At my 180 day mark, I reflexively made some ADRs at some favorite places as well as some that we haven't tried or haven't been to in a while. One such ADR was a 7:00 dinner at 50's Prime Time. But when I started to go over a mock touring plan, I realized that with the transformation of DHS, there wasn't nearly enough there to keep us in the park from RD all the way to 7:00. So I re-booked 50's PT for lunch, worked out a plan that has us leaving the park around 4:00, and this opens up several hours for us to go out and do other things. (Probably going to Disney Springs to check that out for the first time since its re-branding.) The same will be true of Epcot. Soarin' will be closed when we are there, and that is typically a two or three times a day attraction for us. Take that out of the mix and we could either moan about missing it, or find ways to fill the gap in time. We'll grab FPs for Test Track (I assume), and will no longer have to make the mad dash to Soarin' at RD. Instead, we'll likely spend way more time in Innoventions than we usually do. Or we'll try Sum Of All Thrills two or three times instead of Soarin'. I have one day planned where we won't even get to Epcot until around 11:00 or so, and we'll just spend a relaxing day in World Showcase. We may not even get on a ride that day.

So yes, I am definitely "feeling it" that there is less to see and do at WDW than the last several times that we went. But that doesn't mean that it has to be a worse trip. It just means that it has to be a different trip. My wife is going to think that I have been taken over by a replicant when I tell her that our days our going to be leisurely and breezy. But that is exactly what I am going to try to do. My advice is to study WDW thoroughly and find a half dozen or so things that you don't typically do, either because you didn't find the time or interest, and give them a try. Before you know it, you will get excited about your trip.

 

[lilclerk]

I'm going in April too, and sort of feeling the same. We've been talking and thinking about it since October 2014 when we got back from our last trip and booked the cruise portion of this upcoming trip. We've moved dates, resorts, all sorts of stuff. Now that I've done ADRs and booked flights, I'm sort of done. I may just take a break from thinking about it until a few days before our FP+ window opens.

Maybe it's that I hate winter so much, and I have to get through that before the trip comes. Not looking forward to winter

But then it will start warming up, and I'll start thinking about getting the little necessities for the trip - sunscreen, packs of tissues, the little things. Then I'll be way excited again It's just a cycle, I suppose.

 

[GaryDis]

I wouldn't be excited either. Eighteen months between trips, without a special reason, is too soon for me.

 

[ParrotBill]

My inner OCD broke with FP+ too. Since we've been there many many times I have had to adjust to being OK with missing favorites in exchange for lower stress.... I go to WDW to escape stress, so I don't want to add it to my vacation. I hate being on a clock for meals AND attractions, being locked in to which park to visit each day, with little ability to change our minds on any given day without penalty (few FP choices on same day, restaurants with 24 hour cancel.)

 

[AlexandAndysMom]

Thank you all for the replies, and it's nice to know I'm not alone! Work sucks, but that's not new, and mentally, I'm doing pretty good. 18 months seems like a very long time between trips, we usually go once a year, matter of fact, today is one year since we left, and I'm missing it today. I just want to BE there! LOL

I don't mind picking parks, that was just something I have always done before I knew I needed to. And yes, the earlier nights are nice, it means we might make it to an opening one day (but I wouldn't count on that). We are going to a longer trip than usual, 9 days with 9 days of tickets so it can be more laid back and relaxed. We are staying at Riverside so the boys are all excited about the pool and want lots of swimming time. And the 8 year old is really excited and scared about riding some of the bigger rides for the first time with me. I just can't seem to focus on the details this time. And maybe we don't have to. Who cares if there are lines? We have waited in them before. Who cares if it's busy? Country Bears and CoP will always welcome us if we need a sit...lol

Maybe you are all right. Wait until after the madness of the holidays and then see if I can focus some more.

Again, I thank you all for your replies! See you in April!

 

[eddnandee]

I, too, am and excel spreadsheet Disney Park Planner. However, in 2010 (before magic bands) we unexpectedly moved to another state one week before we left for WDW. I had nothing in me to plan that year - all energy was focused for the move. My kids (10 and 8 at the time) LOVED that trip. They were in charge and they didn't care one bit about ADRs. We took everything day by day, minute by minute.

That trip taught me a ton. On our last trip I went back to the planning. It wasn't as fun for them because we were always trying to make "a time". We leave again for an early Dec trip. I made a few FP+ times, but I'm not even worried about keeping them. We don't get the dining plan because no way does my now 13 year old eat an adult meal. She can barely finish a kids meal. When we do eat TS, she still orders from kids menu and no one says anything. Also, my husband and I can share a meal if we're not all that hungry.

To recap: No dining plan, a few ADRs, a few FP+s (all ok if we don't make it or do a last minute change.) I'm hoping for a more relaxed trip once again.

*Also, this is for a family who goes often. A first time family would probably miss a lot if they toured with us.

 

[AlexandAndysMom]

I, too, am and excel spreadsheet Disney Park Planner. However, in 2010 (before magic bands) we unexpectedly moved to another state one week before we left for WDW. I had nothing in me to plan that year - all energy was focused for the move. My kids (10 and 8 at the time) LOVED that trip. They were in charge and they didn't care one bit about ADRs. We took everything day by day, minute by minute.

That trip taught me a ton. On our last trip I went back to the planning. It wasn't as fun for them because we were always trying to make "a time". We leave again for an early Dec trip. I made a few FP+ times, but I'm not even worried about keeping them. We don't get the dining plan because no way does my now 13 year old eat an adult meal. She can barely finish a kids meal. When we do eat TS, she still orders from kids menu and no one says anything. Also, my husband and I can share a meal if we're not all that hungry.

To recap: No dining plan, a few ADRs, a few FP+s (all ok if we don't make it or do a last minute change.) I'm hoping for a more relaxed trip once again.

*Also, this is for a family who goes often. A first time family would probably miss a lot if they toured with us.

it's like that with us. Everyone has their favorites and anything else is topping. I have made one dining reservation and I'm probably not going to make any more. If we want a sit down while there we will find one. My kids all want the adult chicken nuggets anyway...lol

We aren't morning people, and I guess never will be. The first plan I have starts at 11am. If we get there before that, great. If not, we've done it before, we will do it again. The requirements I was given to plan this trip were: fish in EPCOT, swimming, a 'light saver' for the youngest, RNR for the oldest, and Splash for the middle one. And now that Big Thunder is closing, I've been told we have to ride it over and over our first night there...lol

 

[aprincessatlast]

Cancel and book Disneyland! trust me

I have booked trips that I was not that excited about thinking I would get excited. Honestly... they were just meh trips. Not horrible, but disney is too much money for you to go into it not excited so we started other things like DL or DCL. I think it occurs a lot if you go frequently or years in a row. Not everyone is that way but for some familiarity breads contempt or perhaps apathy in this case.

 

[ajwolfe]

I could have wrote your post!! We went in May 2014 and are going back in May 2016. My kids and DH are super excited. I love me some Disney and know we will have a blast but I honestly think the financial aspect of it is holding me back from getting super excited this time. Which I'm not sure why it really matters because we would take a vacation regardless of where it was. I'm coming up on my 180 days soon and haven't really got a firm grasp of what we want to book for ADRs and which days will be what. I think part of that is the uncertainty of when River of Lights will open (could greatly change my plans).

 

[BudgieMama]

Don't share anything too personal, but if your OCD is acting up (which is the impression I get from your post), have you checked in with your doctor? (I don't know who your key contact person would be in the US, I know I'd see my GP as first point of contact here). I know it can have that effect on me when it's not being well managed, no being able to find excitement or joy in anything, but your doctor should be able to help.

Chin up. I know it's tough to live with but you're not alone.

 

[WIcruizer]

Sounds like all the planning is getting in the way of your excitement. I understand as a former ultra-planner. I no longer do that, and have found we still see and do everything, it just works out. If you've been to WDW enough, you have a sense of how to attack each park. Last trip all I d was pick he park days, get the FP+, and ADRs. That's it. The days of planning to be on Dumbo at 10:10 AM are behind me, and I find the trips much more exciting and enjoyable this way.

 

[bopper]

I have had Dis vacation like that...what i do is figure out what is the bare minumum that needs to be done?
Make some dinner reservations, a character breakfast, and then some FP and the rest will fall into place.