WDW As The Only Vacation Option: Why?

[Raineman]

Over the years that I've been on this board, I have gotten the impression that, when it comes to vacations, WDW seems to be the only option for some people. And, now, with the furor over Genie +, some people, who say they visit WDW multiple times a year, are stating that they will not be returning, or not visiting as much, and I get the impression that they don't know what they will do with their vacation time if they are not at WDW. I have asked this question before, but why would you make WDW your ONLY vacation option? I know the love people have for this place, but there are so many other experiences out there, and to intentionally deny yourself of them is doing a disservice to yourself. Even looking at the US alone, there are so many interesting/historical places to, so much natural beauty to see. Then, (pandemic permitting), you have other countries that can offer the same types of things and more. We have been visiting WDW every year to 2 years since 2014-but they aren't the only vacations we take. We love spending a week at an all-inclusive Caribbean beach resort. We've also visited the Orlando area a couple of times, just to rent a vacation home, sit around the pool, and get out to see local places like Kennedy or a spring training game. I would love to someday drive part/all of Route 66. We've been to Nashville a couple of times. We've spent time in Savannah, Georgia, which is an amazing place, especially for history/paranormal buffs. Deciding to stop giving Disney your vacation $, and going somewhere else, will be a blessing in disguise, and maybe widen your horizons and show that a theme park is not the be-all, end-all of vacations.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

For me, Disney is a convenient option. I wouldn't go as much if I were 1,000 miles away. But being 100 miles away I enjoy trips to the Orlando area usually once a month. Some people like a beach getaway on a long weekend - I like the theme park getaway (And it's not exclusive to Disney). I go many other places outside of the time I spend in Orlando (Well, at least 2 years ago I did).

 

[JusticeDisney]

I definitely vacation in other places, and I typically have a great time when I do. That said, WDW is, and always will be, my number one happy place. As I said, I don’t vacation at WDW exclusively, but I can honestly say I would have zero problem if I did.

Some people like to constantly try new places and have new experiences, while others prefer to repeat what is familiar and what they already know they like. I am a bit of a combination of the two, although I suppose I lean toward the latter.

 

[dreday3]

We got a lot of places.

WDW is always in our rotation and it does happen to be my favorite.

We will continue to go every few years as long as we can/want to.

 

[TotallyBiased]

We talk about doing other stuff; islands, Ireland, Italy, maybe a cruise, etc... but just ends up being WDW typically. The exception is going to see family in MA or TX.

 

[Muffinpants]

Only a 2 hour flight, I dont HAVE to go to the beach ( i dont like the beach). Me and my husband love going on rides and the feeling of being less of an adult for even just a moment. Its easy to add our son to the fun. If i think of flying to lets say paris.. that just seems stressful, long flight having to figure out travel in a new place food options (im picky my husband and son not so much so disney is great for that), language barrier. We never went on family vacations so it was kinda lets do this or nothing since nothing else seemed interesting to either of us. We are not travelers we are sit home and play video game type family. We will be giving universal a chance prolly next year since our son is older.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Disney was and never will be our only option, I guess that's makes it hard for me to understand this cult like obsession with the mouseworld We're lucky that we live near some fabulous beach area so we always do a week at the shore, although the northeast shores are getting as expensive as the mouse world. We spent a week at Ocean city NJ the 3rd week in July and the room was 3500 bucks for the week and no this was not right on the beach. anyhoo
We love the Caribbean and they have some great resorts especially if you have young kids. I really want to do the national parks, yellowstone or yosemite. God willing and covid lets up we're doing Italy next year if not I'll do a national park.

It will be just as magical

 

[Michaelson]

I honestly think it's one of the ONLY places I've been where when I walked through any of the park gates, I totally forgot everything OUTSIDE the park. I've done a lot of traveling too, and WDW is the only location that both my wife and I have commented on that odd feeling.

We've been and go to many of the locations the OP listed, and that feeling isn't at any of them.

Could be why many people are hesitant to rule out WDW or substitute another location.

Just a thought......

Regards! Michaelson

 

[eliza61nyc]

Only a 2 hour flight, I dont HAVE to go to the beach ( i dont like the beach). Me and my husband love going on rides and the feeling of being less of an adult for even just a moment. Its easy to add our son to the fun. If i think of flying to lets say paris.. that just seems stressful, long flight having to figure out travel in a new place food options (im picky my husband and son not so much so disney is great for that), language barrier. We never went on family vacations so it was kinda lets do this or nothing since nothing else seemed interesting to either of us. We are not travelers we are sit home and play video game type family. We will be giving universal a chance prolly next year since our son is older.

Hey Muffin,
please take a chance on Paris. it is ridiculously easy to get around and vacation. Now unfortunately you're right about flying but flying anywhere is a hassle. There is no language barrier, lol remember almost every other country on the planet except us is bilingual. everyone speaks some English. we took10 people (family reunion) including 3 tweens and 3 young adults. they had a ball.

 

[sullyinMT]

I honestly think it's one of the ONLY places I've been where when I walked through any of the park gates, I totally forgot everything OUTSIDE the park. I've done a lot of traveling too, and WDW is the only location that both my wife and I have commented on that odd feeling.

We've been and go to many of the locations the OP listed, and that feeling isn't at any of them.

Could be why many people are hesitant to rule out WDW or substitute another location.

Just a thought......

Regards! Michaelson

I see what you’re saying. The parks don’t do that for me (entirely), though I do love and appreciate them. I think that’s why a lot of people, myself included, still prefer a “bubble” resort stay even with diminished value. When I walk through a DCL gangway, though, the rest of my cares disappear. It’s why we struggle to even consider and price other cruise lines (which we enjoyed pre-Dream).

All of this to say we have really enjoyed moving out West in the past 5 years and reconnecting with nature for long weekends. Our small bunkhouse has become a great base camp.

 

[rio]

The moment your plane heading to Orlando took off was when the vacation started, and the vacation didn't really end until you got to airport security leaving. No other place had literally everything for you taken care of - from baggage handling, to transportation, and meals. The only thing you had to worry about was "should I go here or there today". As many people's only vacation of the year, you couldn't ask for anything better.

Everything they've announced this past year breaks that. From the end of Magic Express, to the trifecta of Park Reservations, boarding passes and Lighting Lane/Genie Plus (the combination of which forces you to get up and potentially not do be permitted to do everything), lack of entertainment, forced use of the phone, and price increases mean that dynamic is no longer true. Your Disney vacation doesn't start until you get to the hotel, and now ends when you check out. You might not be permitted to do everything, have to bend your schedule around Disney's services, constantly get updates from the outside world, and is more expensive. My Six Flags visits (who have upped their game these past few years) require less planning than my canceled 2020 trip, and are more guaranteed than a 2021/2022 trip, as are visits to NYC, Rome, etc.

TLDR: The Disney bubble has burst, which no longer make Disney the truly special escape it once was.

 

[Michaelson]

Can't argue with those points, though we drive ourselves down from Tennessee, and though the rides are great, they're not MANDATORY for this 'old dog' (I have as much fun just wandering the grounds and through the shops), the one thing that REALLY concerned me was the move to all things on your cell phone.

The whole point of the magic band etc. was to REMOVE you as much as possible from the outside world, SPECIFIALLY the electronic leash of your mobile phone. Making your cell phone your link to the park just threw a BIG bucket of cold water on my 'warm and fuzzy' feelings toward the parks.

This year we went to Savannah and surrounding islands and had a lot of fun.

Regards! Michaelson

 

[Raineman]

Can't argue with those points, though we drive ourselves down from Tennessee, and though the rides are great, they're not MANDATORY for this 'old dog' (I have as much fun just wandering the grounds and through the shops), the one thing that REALLY concerned me was the move to all things on your cell phone.

The whole point of the magic band etc. was to REMOVE you as much as possible from the outside world, SPECIFIALLY the electronic leash of your mobile phone. Making your cell phone your link to the park just threw a BIG bucket of cold water on my 'warm and fuzzy' feelings toward the parks.

This year we went to Savannah and surrounding islands and had a lot of fun.

Regards! Michaelson

Savannah is amazing. Our second time there, we stayed at the Marshall House Hotel, and, as it is reported to be very haunted, my overactive imagination got the best of me and I didn't sleep too well. My daughter and niece were hoping for some activity. We also visited the Bonaventure Cemetery, the Wormsloe estate, got some ice cream at Leopold's, ate at the Pirate House, and did a couple of ghost tours. I loved how you could almost feel the history in the air.

 

[CynBeth]

We are a 2 hour plane ride away and try to visit every few years. We don’t have kids so the years we visit we take a summer trip and then visit Disney either Thanksgiving Week or the beginning of December.

 

[Ghostdog]

We’ve done many, many trips to WDW sometimes twice in one year. About 5 years ago we did an all-inclusive 5 days trip to the Caribbean and my kids fell
In love. There’s nothing like spending a week in a bathing suit playing on the beach, snorkeling, paddle boarding or having fun in the water park. My kids choose the all-inclusive for next years vacation and we can’t wait.
When the kids were little we did a lot of camping.
The National Parks are also great places to visit. Mt. Rushmore, Custer National Park and the Badlands in South Dakota are absolutely gorgeous, wonderful places to vacation.
I’ve always told my kids “Travel, go see the world, it’s a big beautiful place worth exploring and discovering.”

 

[disneygeek90]

I'm lucky enough that Disney isn't a vacation for me, it's a hobby. I'm there weekly, sometimes even for an evening after work.

For vacations, I like cruising. That's been put on the back burner for quite a while now.

 

[Splashin' Ryan]

People like to vacation to experience something new, and for the longest time, Disney consistently provided that, making people come back.
But recently, (last two years) the budget cuts, project delays, and overall weariness of TWDC to spend money at their parks have resulted in fewer offerings. Yes, you can argue that new things are on the way, but Disney has moved to only opening things in order to make headlines, the biggest possible headlines and it shows, leaving gaps in between openings.

We visited WDW every other year for about 8 years (and loved it) but realized there is so much more to do outside the bubble (or what's left of it at this point ). National parks or even other Disney parks have always been a great option. We realized on our last trip that we were trying too hard to enjoy ourselves resulting in us not enjoying ourselves at all. Hopefully, someone understands.

 

[cjack300zx]

Vegas just ain’t my thing and I’m done with the beach after about two days. We love Disney and how you just feel separated from the world when we are there. We also love Universal Studios and Pigeon Forge Tennessee

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Hey Muffin,
please take a chance on Paris. it is ridiculously easy to get around and vacation. Now unfortunately you're right about flying but flying anywhere is a hassle. There is no language barrier, lol remember almost every other country on the planet except us is bilingual. everyone speaks some English. we took10 people (family reunion) including 3 tweens and 3 young adults. they had a ball.

We use Disneyland Paris as our base of operations for our European vacations. It’s familiar, easy, and convenient to get to all of Europe from DLP, just walk to the train station from the hotel and in minutes you’re on your way to the airport or directly on your way to another country, we’ve taken day trips to different countries without even packing our bags or checking out of our hotel. A couple hours to Brussels by train, a couple hours to Prague by plane, etc, spend the day sightseeing and back to DLP without ever changing hotels. We’ve also used the lockers at the DLP train station to check our big luggage so we can travel light with just carry ons for longer stays in Italy and England before checking back into a DLP hotel a few days later.

We love WDW and DL but Disneyland Paris is our favorite place in the world because it combines our love of Disney with our love of travel.

 

[Sans Souci]

We have done other trips outside of WDW. We used to go to WDW as a family annually, but stopped when my son turned 13. He wasn't enjoying it. I kept going, though. My husband is from England, so we visit my MIL & fam every year or so. We use that as a jumping off point. We also lived in London for a while, so we took some trips to Europe from there. We've done beach holidays, city breaks, and cruises. I like some places better than others, but I've pretty much enjoyed all of my vacations.