Doing the crazy thing and skipping the Disney Parks

[Since1976]

After doing WDW 8 times in 10 years (only taking a break to have kids), our family did the crazy thing this year and went to Orlando, but didn't do any Disney (or even their biggest competition, Universal).

It's not that we were sick of Disney. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have indulged our dreams over and over and over, and know that others would gladly trade places with us. I think it had more to do with the fact that we were starting to have trouble distinguishing memories of one trip from the other, such that our vacations were becoming more routine than magical.

I'm sure some Disney Park fans might question our willful postponement of joy, and I'll admit we *almost* cracked and considered doing Magic Kingdom on our last day. It was tough being that close to the parks, yet so far away, but by the end of our trip I felt relaxed and fulfilled from having taken the unbeaten path.

The amazing (and perhaps a little sad) thing is that the kids, who are under 10, did not whine at all about doing LEGOLAND, SeaWorld, and the other smaller Orlando offerings instead of our precious Disney. That tells me that they, too, had gotten jaded by their parents obsession with taking them to see Mickey year after year. If they're not missing Disney like a normal kid, then something is wrong.

We're seriously considering doing the crazy thing again and only doing Universal on our next trip early 2014. It will be rougher on the parents than the kids, I think, but when we finally return to the Disney bubble (after a 2-1/2 year absence, our longest), the wait will have been worth it.

[Sidenote: Yes, we also vacation other places each year, but Orlando is our go-to destination.]

 

[bgraham34]

I don't think its crazy at all. I am a DVC Member and I foresee myself doing that very soon. With the rising cost or should i say more like a flooding cost of park tickets soon I will save them money and spend it elsewhere.

 

[acishere]

I can book vacations in other locations for the next couple years, mentally plan a WDW trip in 3, and be fine. I don't think I could do a trip to Orlando and not visit either WDW or Uni.

If I was you and the new Potter area was open around the time of the visit, I'd definitely cave and go there.

 

[bethymouse]

I have considered staying @ a Disney resort but not going to the parks. We'd spend time @ DTD and perhaps a water park like Blizzard Beach and maybe some mini golf. Right now, I am tired of the parks. I guess it's just me getting older. Don't get me wrong- I LOVE Disney, I just need a break from the crowds!

 

[Sans Souci]

We're going in a few weeks and my son just asked me this morning if we could just go to the water parks and not the other parks. LOL

 

[Brer Mickey]

Complete blasphemy. Please turn in your mouse ears and promptly cancel your WDWMagic account.

 

[Zman-ks]

Complete blasphemy. Please turn in your mouse ears and promptly cancel your WDWMagic account.

lmao...

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

Memories are memories.... where, when and how they occur, doesn't matter. One year we did a split, Universal/Sea World and Disney, 16 years ago. My son STILL talks about that. However, we do Disney every year, he still relishes those memories. ANY good memory, is a plus

 

[PUSH]

Perfectly fine. WDW is not everything. UNI isn't everything either. Taking some time off from Disney isn't always bad.

 

[JillC LI]

Until I got to the last line of your post, I was going to suggest that maybe you travel somewhere other than Orlando on your non-WDW trips, but I see that you are fortunate enough to be able to take more than one trip per year. We are limited to one trip per year, so we mix things up by alternating Disney years with non-Disney years which keeps Disney fresh and something to really look forward to (pine for? ) for us. So no, I don't think you're crazy for not going to Disney in general, but I definitely could not be in Orlando and not visit Disney!

 

[jw24]

Well, there are other interesting things to do in any city or vacation spot besides the big ticket attractions. But it's your vacation so do what you want. Whatever makes you feel happy is what I say.

 

[Disvillain63]

We've stayed on-site a couple of times and did not go to one of the main parks. We used the time to explore DTD, TL, BB, and the miniature golf courses, as well as resorts and DQ. We also explored some of the other sites around Orlando...not amusement/theme park...sometimes you just need a different outlook on life.

 

[Tiggerish]

I don't think its crazy at all. I am a DVC Member and I foresee myself doing that very soon. With the rising cost or should i say more like a flooding cost of park tickets soon I will save them money and spend it elsewhere.

That's just what we did in March--stayed in a 1BR villa at Wilderness Lodge, used our TiW card to enjoy some nice meals at the resort hotels, visited Uni for the first time, did some other Orlando attractions (Star Wars Experience at the Orlando Science Center was cool!). Never stepped foot in a Disney park, and that was before the recent price increase! Maybe next year we'll try out HHI or Vero Beach.

 

[DfromATX]

I think it would be really hard to be in Orlando and not go to Disney. I probably would have ended up at least at MK LOL. We've *only* gone 4 times and my kids sometimes blend the trips together also. We just got back about a month ago and my husband is already talking about doing something more relaxing next vacation. He did that before and that's how we discovered we liked cruising! It works for us anyway.

 

[Vader2112]

Sometimes we like to go just to spend time in the magic bubble. We did this last weekend we stayed 3 days. Stayed at AoA. The first day we went to AK literally saw the Lion King at the 4:30 pm show and then went right to dinner at Rainforrest cafe. Went back to AoA at arounf 7:30 and walked around and looked at theming of each area of the resort. Then the kids played in the Nemo sprayground.
The next day we spent the whole day at the pools and then DTD at night (wow was that crowded.) Followed by ice cream at the Gelato stand in the food court as the line for Giradhelli's was like TSMM.
Day three was breakfast at 1900 Park Fare.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I see where you're coming from. Memories do start to fade together.

However, I've been 42 times (counted one day) and there's a little memory that goes with every trip. Last trip, it was my first time at Be Our Guest and on Mermaid (a ride my family enjoys), my first time in MK without my parents, and I skipped the Super Bowl to go to Magic Kingdom (yes, I know, I'm terrible!) I lost my first tooth in Animal Kingdom, about three total on trips. I'll never forget my brother pulling a tooth on the bus back from Downtown Disney and handing it to my mom. Or my dad running into a Wet Floor sign after MK EMH one night

People say there's more to Florida than just Disney. There's more to Disney than just the four theme parks. My group takes time to wander the shops, chill at the pool (because Disney pools are so much better!), go to the water parks, hit Disney Quest, mini golf, all kinds of stuff. During my summer trips, we'll spend maybe one or two full days in the regular parks, and other than that, we're off doing other stuff.

But I can completely see where you are coming from.

 

[JIMINYCR]

I wish I could go to Disney so often that I wouldnt be bothered by going to Orlando and not go to Disney. We have friends who do just that cause "they dont see the appeal of Disney". Yeah... amazing we still call them friends. But we plan off site trips along with our Disney trip and even though I look forward to doing other things, I miss those days at Disney. There are so many other great things to see and do in the area, it is a shame to never experience them.

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

I don't have a problem with the OP not visiting the parks. I'll tell you what I DO have a problem with. Members of my travel agency recently had a conference in Disney World. We stayed at the Dolphin (perfect for park visiting) and a group of agents who have never been to WDW before did not visit any parks at all. Sorry, but if you are a travel agent (who does book Disney btw) and you have the chance to visit Disney World by walking out your door, get off your butt and do it.

Since we've been home I have had a few of them ask for my help with Disney bookings. I have refused to answer any questions that they could have answered by taking some time to visit the parks. My response to one agent who sent me a message asking how long it takes on the monorail between Epcot and MK was, "great question, next time you're down there you should time it yourself"

My response to another agent who sent me a list of 12 questions was, "I think it would be easier to transfer the entire file to me, I simply don't have time to work on someone else's client files. Just forward me their information, introduce me to them as their new agent for their Disney trip and thanks for the commission"

 

[Chezman1399]

The only reason I think it's crazy is because at least from my perspective their isn't enough to do at the other parks to take up a week. Haven't been to Seaworld in years though so...

Don't get me wrong either I enjoy Universal, I got an annual pass while I was on the Disney College Program. It automatically renews at the same price every year, so even though I barely use it, 1 trip to the parks a year and it's pretty much me breaking even now between Ticket plus pakring. My day there usually goes like, walk into IoA, look at the Hulk line times, if it's not long just continue on with my day, if it is buy an express pass, go on Hulk, Spidey, P&B, Dudley (If open), Jurassic Park, Dueling Dragons (Haven't been there since HP opened), Look through shops in Dr. Seuss area, go to Studios hit RRnR, Mummy, ET (Which I heard might be gone next year), MiB, maybe Terminator, and I can usually get it all done by lunch. Then again when I go the people I'm with never want to spend the money on Universal so it's usually just me walking as briskly as possible from ride to ride. I also need to check out Transformers and Harry potter Land next time, I'm not a motion sim fan so I'll skip the HP ride and the Simpsons ride.

I also know people who never go to O-Town and decided to do Harry Potter and Seaworld for their Honeymoon, went to Disney just one day of their trip and regretted not making it the basis of their trip. So like I said, if you can visit the other places and have it take up all your time, I don't think it's crazy, but if your just about trying new stuff and riding what you like, like I am, there is not enough to fill up any decent length trip. I can tour both universal Parks in under 4 hours, which will change if the WWE HoF actually opens at NBA Zone, rumor right now, but for now I can, and from what I understand there is less to do at Seaworld and the like and I'm not a show watcher.

I feel the same way about Hollywood and AK as I do about the Universal parks as well, but transportation is easy enough where I can hit my favorites and get back to Epcot or MK with a reasonable amount of time.

 

[tare]

That is a crazy thing . Do it all including wdw.