WDW As The Only Vacation Option: Why?

[rk03221]

Walt Disney World is too expensive but you want people to go to Tokyo or on a Disney cruise? You don't have kids, do you? I would spend more on flights alone to get to and from Tokyo than a week long stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Yes I do have kids lol. You can get nice hotels or airbnbs in Tokyo for like, $50/ night. Cruises are more expensive on paper but add in all the extras and wdw is comparable

 

[rk03221]

Your still in the Disney bubble. Though I would like to go to Disneyland Paris one day.

We were supposed to go to Paris but covid happened…one day lol

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Yes I do have kids lol. You can get nice hotels or airbnbs in Tokyo for like, $50/ night. Cruises are more expensive on paper but add in all the extras and wdw is comparable

I can confidently say that I will never stay at an airbnb.

 

[Raineman]

You don't recognize troll posts when you see them, eh?

TBH, I'm not sure that is a troll post. There has to be some people out there that think this way-they're so strung out on high grade pixie dust, everything else is beneath them.

 

[SteveAZee]

TBH, I'm not sure that is a troll post. There has to be some people out there that think this way-they're so strung out on high grade pixie dust, everything else is beneath them.

Their posts have left me scratching my head more than once.

 

[aliceismad]

We were supposed to go to Paris but covid happened…one day lol

Oh hey us too. We had a cruise cancelled last May, then we thought maybe France this spring, then maybe at least Disneyland for a few days this October. We've settled for a handful of nights at a nearby national park. Staycations are ok, but no real vacations in 3 years is hard on this lady.

 

[vikescaper]

Being that WDW is about 90 miles from us, it’s an easy option but will never spend weeks there at a time. We do our day trips there at least once a month and then a couple long weekends throughout the year. I love traveling so WDW will never be my primary destination. In fact, I just returned from a really nice vacation back home at Minnesota last week. We were going to go to the Smokey Mountains last year but Covid put an end to those plans.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

To the OP, I am not sure what Disney Genie + would have to do with going less. I never rely on technology at a theme park, so it isn't something I'd be interested in anyway.

But yes, there is lots to see all over the world. Granted, you can do whatever you want with your money of course, but even just natural beauty is all over the place. We were recently out to see the Rocky Mountains out in Alberta. Lovely to see there, I wish we had more time as well. If you've never seen Drumheller either, it is worth it to go there with the canyons and such as well.

But if you can ever get a chance to do both coasts (Pacific, Atlantic) do it. Nothing beats that sort beauty.

But even just among Disney parks, I always get the feeling there are people on here who have such tunnel vision for WDW that they forget that Disneyland is the original and is well worth the trip to go and see. I never get why people deny the opportunity to do this.

 

[danyoung56]

I'm fortunate to live in Texas, about mid-way between World and Land. I have family in SoCal, so my excuse for a SoCal trip is "going to see family". Well, that's true, but I never miss out on the Disneyland day or two.

 

[Bpmorley]

To each their own. If that is what you like, go for it. As much as we like WDW, even go married there, we go other places. Love florida beaches, beach bars, caribbean cruises, you name it.... My plan for retirement is to snowbird, so it's either gonna be more WDW and/or beaches.

 

[jloucks]

I can confidently say that I will never stay at an airbnb.

If you gamble, then you should consider a stay at an airbnb. ...because that is what it is. Odds are good too. I have stayed at many, and 90% of the time they are great, sometimes spectacular.

The other 10% of the time I have interesting stories.

 

[jloucks]

Oh hey us too. We had a cruise cancelled last May, then we thought maybe France this spring, then maybe at least Disneyland for a few days this October. We've settled for a handful of nights at a nearby national park. Staycations are ok, but no real vacations in 3 years is hard on this lady.

I've had two cruises bumped so far, and we have been racking up tons of deferment credits. Whatever those are. I think I get free food and drinks.

...and it is hard.

 

[aliceismad]

I've had two cruises bumped so far, and we have been racking up tons of deferment credits. Whatever those are. I think I get free food and drinks.

...and it is hard.

It sucks. I'm sorry you've had cruises bumped too. I'm super jealous of everyone I hear about who travels to cool places and whatnot right now, but between our jobs, my cruddy immune system, and virtual schooling, it just hasn't worked out well to travel. On the plus side, I'm gonna have a large budget for the next couple years after my kid gets vaxxed.

 

[eliza61nyc]

I can confidently say that I will never stay at an airbnb.

lol you and me both. I don't say that as a hit against airbnb but we've done it twice and for some reason my family reverts to how we act at home so it turns into a vacation for every one but the mom lady.

 

[eliza61nyc]

It sucks. I'm sorry you've had cruises bumped too. I'm super jealous of everyone I hear about who travels to cool places and whatnot right now, but between our jobs, my cruddy immune system, and virtual schooling, it just hasn't worked out well to travel. On the plus side, I'm gonna have a large budget for the next couple years after my kid gets vaxxed.

it's all good @aliceismad, remember everyone is in different stages of life. LOL when my kids were little, I got laid off and my hubby worked at an oil refinery (12 hour shifts including weekends and holidays). I remember thinking that going downtown should count as a vacations..
then "the old guy" started his own business and we had zero money, like none.

 

[LovePop]

90% of the time they are great, sometimes spectacular.

The other 10% of the time I have interesting stories.

Good to know!

 

[StarWarsGirl]

My PTO is very generous, so the short answer is I do go other places along with WDW, though lately we've been sticking to the familiar because of the pandemic; this is a record WDW trip year for us just because we've felt safer there.

I still live with my parents thanks to the pandemic (and living in a high housing cost area) and my dad is a DVC member, so actually, going to Disney is not terribly expensive for me (I know a bunch of people's heads just exploded). I pay for airfare, food, and my pass; I don't have to pay for a hotel room, and I get the DVC pass rate. And since Southwest has a hub out of BWI, I have their credit card so I don't have to pay for as many flights, and the ones I pay for are cheap. Plus, my friends don't get as much PTO as I do, so I can go on more vacations, so basically, I can choose to go with my parents or I can choose to stay home. And since they invested in the DVC membership back in 1998, they're going to be doing a lot of Disney.

Plus, for me at least, I can't fully relax in someplace unfamiliar. I went to Hawaii in 2019 and while it was lovely, I wasn't as relaxed as I am in Disney because it's not familiar enough for me. It's almost like when I travel to new places, I need a vacation from my vacation.

And as for why else my family still chooses WDW, my brother is on the autism spectrum and values routine, and going there is part of his routine.

So many, many reasons, but again, I do go other places. I'm hoping to go to California and do some additional exploring beyond DL next year (I've been to San Diego but haven't explored LA much) and I'd like to go to Savannah while I'm in Hilton Head in December since I've never been, along with going back to Williamsburg next year to do Busch Gardens which I've never done.

 

[Wilbret]

WDW certainly isn't the only option for us, but we are DVC and there is a ton of stuff to do in Orlando, and we have friends and family there. It's familiar and comfortable for us. We get passes to LegoLand, SeaWorld, Gatorland, museum, etc, and rotate a military 5 or 6 day ticket to WDW or Universal that we can use over multiple weekends to spread it out. Until last year, we always made a point to hit MNSSHP and/or HHN. We are doing a WDW in October and November and HHN, but our kids have actually fallen in love with SeaWorld this year and we will likely renew.

SeaWorld loves their passholders, and we spent NYE there with fireworks last year, when nobody else was having fireworks.

 

[unmitigated disaster]

LA is about an hour flight from here, so 2 or 3 days at Disneyland was a nice mini vacation. We went once a year or so pre-Covid.

Disney World has really only been the last ten years or so as my father has liked the all-inclusive feel of the Disney Bubble as he has gotten older.

But at the same time, visiting family in Ohio and seeing Serpent Mound and Dinosaur National Monument in Utah and Poverty Point in Louisiana have been highlights of other vacations I wouldn't trade for a Disney trip.

 

[aliceismad]

it's all good @aliceismad, remember everyone is in different stages of life. LOL when my kids were little, I got laid off and my hubby worked at an oil refinery (12 hour shifts including weekends and holidays). I remember thinking that going downtown should count as a vacations..
then "the old guy" started his own business and we had zero money, like none.

It's true. When my husband was in the Army and I worked at restaurants and whatnot, we usually went "home" for leave because that's what we could afford.

Honestly, the fact that I can spend time on here whining about Disney in the middle of a pandemic that has touched so many people from a health and economic standpoint means I'm probably pretty lucky already, and I am grateful for that.