Why repeat visits to DisneyWorld?

[supergoof]

We do visit other places , but we like Disney the best. There is so much to do, and it makes us feel like little kids again...

OUTSTANDING REPLY!!

Plus now that I have children, it's more fun. We have been four times in 2004. I would go again tomorrow even if it was for a day!

 

[Papa Deuce]

Once I started visiting these forums I found it very odd that people would come repeatedly back to DisneyWorld year after year after year....? I have been there three times in 30 years and that seems more than enough for me..
:

I'm with you. But I guess, now that I have kids, we'll go at least 3 more times in the next 10 - 12 years.

I would rather always go to somewhere that I haven't been.

 

[shortbun]

I was a travel agent for 29 years. I was always amused when people took the same
vacation over and over again. On one hand-it's pretty stress free. One knows exactly
what to expect, intense planning is not needed and pleasure is almost guaranteed.
On the other hand-it's got a pretty high boredom factor, no adventure or spontanaeity. I think WDW does a pretty good job taking the boredom out of repeat
vacations! I've travelled all over the world and I love WDW! I don't go every year but
we do go every other year. We take two vacations every year so WDW gets 1/4
my vacation budget of time every two years. I think it's deserving.

 

[Planogirl]

I like to do both. I like to take one trip to Florida each year and one to somewhere else. We also take mini-trips to favorite destinations whenever we can.

Disney has been fun on a yearly basis while our son grows up. Every year is different as he changes and develops new interests. Now he's more interested in Universal than Disney and that has opened up a whole new world for us. However, Disney will always be there, maybe not as often, but always fun and comfortable.

 

[skiwee1]

We do take other vacations a year besides are twice yearly trips to WDW. We go skiing, the ocean, gambling, bed and breakfasts and so on. With all those, my favorite is still WDW. Just something so magical and stressfree that I can't stay away. I go into a different mode once I see those purple WDW signs on the roads. It is just indescribable to me. Every trip is a thrill! We have been 8 times the last 4 years and we have still not done it all. I guess because we don't go commando we make it a relaxing and enjoyable trip. I feel sorry for those that just "don't get it". They are missing out!

 

[Trish5768]

You never get the same trip twice. Its always different and there is always something new to try. Plus, when you travel with different people you get to see the "magic" for the first time (again) thru their eyes. I've been several times and I have never gotten bored or thought next year I'm doing something else.

 

[Poohnatic]

For me, there's so much to do, that we end up doing different things every time.

My family now lives an hour away and we're there several times a month, frequently to walk around, take in the sights and watch IllumiNations.

It is a nice break from the everyday stresses. My family was there right after 9/11 and it was the best place to get away from the barrage of media coverage. Two years later, we had an elevated alert level and the DC area was given specific warnings of bioterrorism-glad we were at WDW and away from the drama.

Like others said, no two trips are the same. I've been many times in the past five years, and there are still places to go and things that we haven't done yet, but plan to.

Suzanne

 

[snoopy]

We like to go to WDW annually for several reasons:

1). Our children are small.
2). Its relatively close.
3). Its a relatively cheap vacation, since I found all the ins and outs here on the DIS.
4). Everything is contained in Orlando -- lots to do besides the themeparks. My family especially likes the waterparks and the elaborate pools in some of the resorts.
5). Its always warm and sunny!

We love it, but not to the exclusion of other vacations.....we don't travel to other places a lot simply because our kids are small. That will change as they grow older.

 

[NMAmy]

We're going for our second trip this year. We bought AP's this year and we're getting our money's worth. We live in Michigan so it's not a short trip. WDW is the one place I can take my 14 yo and she will hold my hand in public and get excited and forget how cool she is and call me "Mommy." The whole family just has a great time and it's relaxing because we don't have to drive anywhere once we arrive.

With that said, our summer vacation next year is to England to visit DH's family. We usually go once a year in the summer but had to skip this year because we got bought a house and we were moving. That trip costs us next to nothing because we're staying with family. We also go back and forth to New Mexico for weekend trips (DD is living there with her dad right now) and we take weekend trips around Michigan and to Cedar Point. So we go other place, as well, but WDW is our favorite.

We live quite frugally and save quite a bit of money each year and have no credit card debt. WDW is our one splurge.

 

[llij]

We have vacationed at Disney a lot in the past few years and in 2005 we will go to WDW 4 times!! We also vacation in other spots. (I grew up a Navy brat so I've been fortunate enough to live in many places and travel quite a bit!) With my immediate family we also travel. This past year we went to San Diego, New Hampshire, New York and Boston for example. As our girls get older, I would like to show them Europe but for now, Disney is great!

Other posters said it best when they said that no two trips are the same. And if you can believe it, there is still a wealth of activities at WDW that we have not done yet. I think Jim Caviezel said it best last week at Epcot's CP..."Disney is about family and dreams!"

We love it there!

 

[Laurabearz]

We go as often as we do mostly because of DVC. We love the villas at DVC. The 2 bedrooms villas are devine and located next to so much to do it isnt funny.....

 

[luvwinnie]

If I could afford it, I'd go every year, but I've only been 3 times so far. It's the MAGIC of the place for me...I just feel as if I don't have a care in the world when I'm there.

 

[WillCAD]

Glad to see some of you do other trips other than Disney..... I guess I am wowed that people actually have the time and resources to do a Disney trip which I find as very expensive anyway and able to travel extensively elsewhere all in the same year.

Because if you stay at a moderate or deluxe resort it would be at a minimum $200 a night average for four people with a 4 or 5 day hopper pass another $1500 and flights into Orlando at least $1000 RT. $3500 without concierge level services? not including food or other entertainment while there....? and this is for less than a week!

I would guess it would take a minimum $4500 for a family of four at Disney (5 days) based on what I read from most posts on here if they stay in the nicer resorts.

I guess I need to find a better job, or at least my wife needs too! I just can imagine either a lot of people make way more money than I do, or they charge everything and run up huge bills so that they can remember their vacations forever..... .

We tend to always pay up front for most things, and never dip into savings for short-term experiences. I also personally like to be able to share my experiences of vacations with other people, and if they asked where do you go last summer it gets a bit redundant if it is always the same place, even if it was a different resort etc.

I find it amusing to see everyone list their trips to Disney at the bottom of the screen, so thought I would list mine.

Well, 4khansen, it has always seemed to me that there are two kinds of travellers:

Type One travellers like you enjoy doing something new, different, and exciting on each trip. For them, a vacation is an active adventure, a thing to be experienced and savored.

Type Two travellers like me prefer a vacation to be a relaxing, peaceful getaway. For us, vacations are a time to let the cares of our lives slip into the background while we watch a show, read a book, stare at the ocean, or get a massage. And it doesn't matter whether we do so in a place we've never been or a place we've been to 100 times, as long as it's relaxing. And once we find a place we love, we're likely to go to the same place over and over to avoid the potential let down of getting somewhere new and discovering that we don't like it; that kills the relaxation.

So enjoy your varied adventures! You seem like you have a blast every year on your trips, and that's all that matters.

BTW, an advantage of repeat vacations is that the more familiar you are with a destination, the more likely you are to be able to cut those costs in half. I travel solo and have been known to make an 8-day trip for as little as $1000.

 

[ILUVDXL]

It's like Calgon. It takes me away. When I'm there I never think of work, problems or aything upsetting. DH is always very romatic when we're there. I wouldn't miss my yearly trip. I'm just trying to figure out how to make it 2 a year now.

 

[nativetxn]

I keep going back because I love WDW. I also love Arizona and was there twice this year.

I was also in Houston twice this year and Savannah (lovely city), I've been there twice before.

I tend to visit places that I love

Katholyn

 

[disneysteve]

I haven't read through the thread so forgive me if I repeat things already said.

First of all, Disney World is ever-changing. No 2 trips are the same. We do different things, eat at different restaurants, stay at different hotels, etc. People who wonder why we go every year don't seem to think it odd to spend every summer down the shore.

Second, we don't only go to WDW. My DD is 9. She has already visited 12 states, 3 countries and 2 US islands. In March, she'll log her 4th and 5th countries (Mexico and Belize). Of course, she has also made 12 trips to WDW.

Third, IT IS FUN! We love going to Disney. As soon as we enter Main Street, we feel like we've arrived home. I can't explain the peace that comes over us when we are there. There is nowhere else we've found thus far that makes us feel that way. As long as that doesn't change, we'll keep going back.

 

[meandtheguys2]

We travel all over, but just have no reason to publish it here. This being a Disney board, is probably why so many people list their Disney trips as opposed to their others.

That being said, we go because we enjoy it and it is cost effective for us.

 

[disneysteve]

I guess I am wowed that people actually have the time and resources to do a Disney trip which I find as very expensive anyway and able to travel extensively elsewhere all in the same year.

I would guess it would take a minimum $4500 for a family of four at Disney (5 days) based on what I read from most posts on here if they stay in the nicer resorts.

Ok, now I'm reading through the thread. Let me give my response to this.

The 3 of us were at WDW 10/30-11/6. The week cost us a total of about $2000. We stayed in a very nice offsite timeshare through Skyauction. 2-bed, 2-bath, full kitchen, jacuzzi tub, etc. for $37/nite. We drove down from NJ. We spent an average of $20/person/day for food. So a trip to Disney isn't necessarily as expensive as you may think.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Cuz we love it there. And the more we go, the more we enjoy it. We're more relaxed, and do some different and new things each trip.

My in-laws said the same thing to us about going every year, but year after year when their kids were young, they went to Lake Winnepesaukee, and now go to Bermuda every year.

 

[KimR]

We go every year because the kids and I love it and it is the only place we can go where there is something for everyone. We usually spend around 8 - 10K on our trips, but that is probably about the same we'd spend if went to Europe and right now I can't see our kids really appreciating what there is to see or do there nor would they enjoy it nearly as much as they enjoy WDW. There are other places we could probably go for less $$$, but again, my younger ones would be bored stiff and even the older one would rather go to Disney.

DH is the only one who does not care much for Disney, so he usually takes a trip by himself or with friends to go snowskiing or gambling. He gets to do what he wants; the girls and I get to do what I want so we all win.

Before kids, DH and I have traveled to other places. I've been to Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean; however I have to admit I've enjoyed our WDW trips the most.