What is "it" that brings you back to WDW?

[zeedan]

My wife and I had this discussion recently when trying to decide to return to WDW or go elsewhere. We've been 5 times and stayed both on/off site, had dining plans and not, etc. You can get great entertainment many places, see Disney "stuff" at malls and watch all the movies you want to get a fix. My feeling was that you get all this great stiff in one area. So is the rides? + the food? + the environment?, + entertainment? I'm newer here so if this should be in another thread, let me know.

 

[Astro_Digital]

I will not go back for along time, too expensive, too crowded, too much security and not enough things that are new.

Nothing they currently are doing is bringing me back

 

[winstongator]

It's a place where a daddy with two daughters wondering where he could take them where he could have a little fun with them, too.

Location makes a huge difference for me. When we lived in NC, we were once a year. Being able to drive and use our AP enough keeps us going as frequently as we have. I enjoy the attractions, the theming, and definitely seeing my daughters enjoy the parks. It's nice to see them enjoy Universal too. What drove WDW vs. Universal this year is we are visiting some with my parents who prefer Disney, and with friends for their spring break and they're doing Disney too. I'll get to Universal more as my daughters get older and want to do Hulk, Rip-Ride-Rocket & Doom. Potter World is the most immersive land in Orlando and was way more fun than I expected it to be.

I'd say try different places. We've been lucky enough to do some great non-Disney trips the past 2 summers and took our first cruise with Disney.

 

[Nottamus]

Wife and I have had that same conversation a few times. In three weeks we are heading toward our 9th trip in since 2014, and we both really like it there. We ended up after our 4th trip, buying a DVC contract, and now go twice a year. We are from NJ, so not necessarily close.

Its all the stuff you mentioned plus, the fact you can escape the world for awhile. At least for us.

Sure, we could easily do other vacations...like a beach house.....which is basically a house on a beach. I would get bored quick.

Its not for everyone, but for us, it's our favorite place to vacation!

Not sure I helped any......

 

[DisneyJoe]

Immersion in a fairly self-contained and entertaining environment that is well-themed and magical - and extremely handicapped accessible. I can take a solo trip with very few concerns about the service that I am going to receive and the fun that I am going to have. I cannot always say that about anywhere else.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

For us, It's a chance to spend 7 days not worrying about the rest of the world, WDW is OUR preferred world, and for all the negativity about the alleged shortcomings in Orlando, it still is our happy place (no pixie dust needed)! We don't go looking for the bad stuff...we see enough of that every day, if you want to find it and look hard enough, you'll find it, but we wouldn't want it any other way. We have friends AND relatives who think we're just nuts for planning our next trip while we're still there, but that's the magic of Disney.

 

[mergatroid]

I will not go back for along time, too expensive, too crowded, too much security and not enough things that are new.

Nothing they currently are doing is bringing me back

In the next couple of years they'll have probably opened more new stuff than over any other period (apart from when they added whole new parks) as far back as I can remember. Can't argue (nor would I) about your other reasons, but not building new stuff isn't really something I think they can be accused of right now?

 

[jkl2000]

For me it's simple: It's the dark rides, the audio-animatronics, and the coasters. I've always loved all that stuff.

Don't know if anyone knows this place, but I grew up going to Rye Playland in Rye, NY. It's the park used in the beginning of the Tom Hanks movie "Big." They have a dark ride where you ride in a boat, called "Ye Old Mill" that I always loved (rides when you're in a boat are my favorite). Also a couple of crappy, scary, carnival-type dark rides. Their big coaster, the Dragon Coaster, was my first one and I still remember the first time I rode it with my dad (my older and younger brother were too scared ). Then I graduated to The Cyclone at Coney Island. And Coney Island has (had?) a couple of crappy dark rides too.

WDW has a large collection of these things, and they combine them all very well. And while they refurbish the rides, the older and more rickety the dark rides and audio-animatronics get, the better the experience IMO.

Also, we don't go to any of these places very often, so it always is a nostalgic, new-again feeling on any of the rides.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

I like the atmosphere of Disney World, especially Magic Kingdom.

 

[LUVofDIS]

It's the whole thing, very few negatives, the resort, parks, cm's, characters.... Universal comes close but just doesn't do it has well for us. When we walk in Universal it just feels as if something is missing.

We usually take three to four big vacations a year, two are Disney and the other(s) are somewhere else like the Caribbean. We will also take mini vacations during the year which we mostly take here in Michigan. But one thing is for sure these last many years, we go to Disney.

 

[ShoalFox]

As much as I concern about the future of the parks, there's still nothing else on earth like the magic of Walt Disney World. Even if its partly nostalgia that keeps me coming back, I still very much enjoy my time on property.

 

[SSH]

It's that $%*$&@* darn bubble I. can't. stop. going. I've changed the way I vacation there, since all the nickel and diming recently, off vs onsite, but I still have my passes, still go at least 1-2x year and still love the place. I go on other vacations, but I admit I do relax more and feel safer there vs. vacationing in large cities, cruise ship ports or abroad, where I'm always looking over my shoulder and cautious to some extent.

Plus, we're in easy driving distance and I'll do just about anything to avoid plane travel these days.

 

[World_Showcase_Lover007]

1. WDW brings you to a ‘place’ and mindset that doesn’t exist elsewhere (besides other Disney parks). Not to be trite, but it’s a like a whole new world lol.

2. Disney does things without always going for the cheap thrills and gags. I’m no Puritan by any means, but I think family places should be free of innuendos and adult oriented topics. I’m always confident Disney has better intentions than its competitors, for both the parks and it’s entertainment division.

3. It’s clean (compared to other places).

4. You sometimes learn things.

5. A million other reasons.

 

[LittleBuford]

The fact that it's Disney come to life. I grew up obsessed with the animated films, and the parks to me are an embodiment of what those films represent and evoke. As I've said in other threads, the theme-park factor is secondary to me (which is why, for example, I have next to no interest in going to Universal).

 

[Club34]

Nostalgia. Can't lie about that. I haven't stayed at the Contemporary since I was a child and it was one of the only places you could stay. Even still, I will wander in there and I pray that I will fall into some sort of black hole and the old arcade will be there with the shooting gallery and the old snack shop and concourse. I still have dreams about it. Its so weird and imprinted on my subconscious. I think the impact that it had on me as a child will never go away. That's ok by me.

"New nostalgia" came in when after a disney hiatus through high school (too cool), college (too poor), and some of my young adult working life (too busy) and I started going as an adult. New parks for me and resorts. I found a new home (I'll let you figure it out) and fell in slutlike love all over again with WDW. And the good news was, it was my money and my trip. I could be the adult-child and see it all and enjoy it all my way.

This next phase, as I enter middle age, is challenging me as it becomes more expensive and seemingly more crowded. I will celebrate my 50th along with WDW. We are 1 month apart. But that trip could be a make it or break it excursion as my last trip in October 2017 (between the heat and the crowd...and the price ZERO discounts) had me rethinking the pragmatic side of my "love". Fear not though, as I return in the off-season? January 2019 to see if the spark is still there to carry me to 2021.

 

[Willmark]

The fact I’m not at work.

 

[wdisney9000]

Even still, I will wander in there and I pray that I will fall into some sort of black hole and the old arcade will be there with the shooting gallery and the old snack shop and concourse.

Ahhh, the arcade in the Contemporary basement. It was amazing and gigantic! I miss it.

 

[DisneyDoctor]

I will not go back for along time, too expensive, too crowded, too much security and not enough things that are new.

Nothing they currently are doing is bringing me back

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

The chance to feel like a little kid again.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

I like the atmosphere of Disney World, especially Magic Kingdom.

As much as I concern about the future of the parks, there's still nothing else on earth like the magic of Walt Disney World. Even if its partly nostalgia that keeps me coming back, I still very much enjoy my time on property.

1. WDW brings you to a ‘place’ and mindset that doesn’t exist elsewhere (besides other Disney parks). Not to be trite, but it’s a like a whole new world lol.

2. Disney does things without always going for the cheap thrills and gags. I’m no Puritan by any means, but I think family places should be free of innuendos and adult oriented topics. I’m always confident Disney has better intentions than its competitors, for both the parks and it’s entertainment division.

3. It’s clean (compared to other places).

4. You sometimes learn things.

5. A million other reasons.

The fact I’m not at work.

The chance to feel like a little kid again.

^^^ All the above!