WDW vacations are like a bar of soap.

[DisneyFreak]

I once had a dream while we were on one of our WDW trips. It was the first or second night and I had a nightmare that I slept through the entire 11 day trip, only waking up on the last day. I literally woke up in a panic, heart racing and my parents said I had dropped a couple F-bombs in my sleep. I was so relieved to have woken up to find it was still the beginning of the trip.

 

[geekza]

I once had a dream while we were on one of our WDW trips. It was the first or second night and I had a nightmare that I slept through the entire 11 day trip, only waking up on the last day. I literally woke up in a panic, heart racing and my parents said I had dropped a couple F-bombs in my sleep. I was so relieved to have woken up to find it was still the beginning of the trip.

I used to have very vivid and frequent dreams about being in WDW when I was a kid, especially after our 1983 trip that included EPCOT Center. I can't express the impression that WDW made on me growing up. Even with all of the changes, thinking about my loooong-delayed trip in November has me practically vibrating with anticipation. My poor wife thinks I need help. She'll learn soon enough why so many people are addicted to the place.

 

[DisneyFreak]

I used to have very vivid and frequent dreams about being in WDW when I was a kid, especially after our 1983 trip that included EPCOT Center. I can't express the impression that WDW made on me growing up. Even with all of the changes, thinking about my loooong-delayed trip in November has me practically vibrating with anticipation. My poor wife thinks I need help. She'll learn soon enough why so many people are addicted to the place.

We were also there in 1983 (Oct) and as a 12 year old I was fascinated by EPCOT and loved every bit of it! I know I spent a lot of time in the Communicores. It was just so different than anything I had experienced before.

 

[KCheatle]

That is a very unique and interesting comparison! I've never thought of our WDW trips as "bars of soap" but I completely relate to the feeling. Like others have said, I think the 180 days, 60 days, etc., contributes to the feeling that it goes so fast once you're there. In addition to the old adage of "time flies when you're having fun," the time you wait between 180 days, 60 days, etc., crawls. Which makes sense, because you are waiting several months from on WDW activity to the next. A time period of that length should go by slowly. Now, if you made all ADRs 6 days in advance, and FPs 2 days in advance that time would fly.

The system WDW has in place makes planners like me learn to acclimate to months passing before the next "WDW thing" happens. So, when in Disney and it's merely days, hours or event minutes before the next "WDW thing" happens, I'm mentally not accustomed to a change that quickly, and so, it feels like it's flying by! In all actuality, when I lay down at the end of the night with achy feet and legs, I know that the day was not any faster than a regular day and that my walking for hours did in fact happen. But, when it comes to Disney, I'm just trained to wait. So, when time goes by at a normal pace, it seems fast.

I have to believe Disney has set the system like this on purpose to play into people's psychology. If you are trained to wait and wait, and in that time build up all the emotion for the trip, which then seems to fly by way too fast, you are more inclined to go back - to get more time -to book your next trip before you leave. I would not be surprised at all if Disney looked at the psychology behind this and used it to its advantage. Why else would it matter if FP were opened to the public 2 days in advance, 10 days in advance, or 60 days in advance? It's all computerized - it's not like WDW needs time to register the FPs. I'm sure they are well aware of the psychology that goes into making us wait.

 

[disneygeek90]

I remember that feeling all to well growing up. I don't take the privilege of now being a local lightly.

 

[BuddyThomas]

...the tighter you hold on the more it seems to slip by. As I sit in my hotel room on Disney property, I think about how fast my time at Disney has come and gone. Today is Tuesday. I depart on Thursday. I have been here since August 16th, but it doesn’t seem like that long ago.

Maybe the old adage is true: Time flies when you’re having fun, or is there something more to it than that that is unique to Disney?

I’m not sure; all I know is that when I get here, I feel as if I’m on borrowed (vacation) time. I’m on a slippery slope, unable to slow time down. I find myself looking for ways to savor the moment more, but the more I try to do so, the more it seems to slip away,like that elusive bar of soap.

Maybe it’s because of the planning. 180 days for dining. 60 days for Fast Passes. It seems that we are constantly planning, and when the time comes to actually participate in what we’ve planned, it seems like a blur.

Now, as I rest my head on my pillow to go to sleep, I wonder where has my vacation gone? The tighter I try to hold on the more it slips away. I feel as though I have some type of inability to enjoy. Instead, I find myself counting the days, the hours, even the minutes.

Thoughts? Similar experiences?

I feel your pain, I really do, having experienced this more times than I can admit.

However, you have to admit that you had a really long trip, so I hope you feel fortunate for having the time, resources, and travel companions to make such a long trip possible.

For instance, it could be worse. You could be me. I sort of live paycheck to paycheck, and my job isn't the type to give so much time off all at once, and to top it off, my partner is a Disney hating grouch from hell. Therefore, the most I ever get to go are three or four nights at a time, max! And those trips are over in a blink. They fly by before you even have time to be sad they are ending. They just start, and then ZAP, they are over. And then I am eating beans and rice every night for two months while my bank account tries to recover.

But we can take it a step further and say that I shouldn't be complaining about this either, because what about all the people who can't afford Disney at all, not even for a day?

Yeah, we're all pretty fortunate on here, and Disney is a pretty good bar of soap.

I hope you had an amazing vacation and I hope your next one is equally wonderful. And I hope you post a trip report.

 

[DuckTalesWooHoo1987]

We go 3 times a year for 8 days at a time and literally by pretty much the 4th day of every trip it starts to hit me that the trip is half over and then I start feeling like I'm "missing something" or that I'm not gonna get to do all I like to do on every trip. It's amazing how quickly time flies by no matter how many times you go. That's why I feel so bad for the people who think of it as a "once in a lifetime trip" because I just think of all the things they're missing out on but I go all the time and STILL feel like I'm missing out on things sometimes. It's just an amazing place.

 

[DuckTalesWooHoo1987]

I remember when I was younger I would cry halfway through a trip. I've learned to just enjoy it and not rush it away now though. (Now I only cry on that final walk down Main Street).

I cried like that when I was a kid too. That's why I adore the DVC so much because I always know exactly when I'm coming back and where I'm staying and stuff like that. I absolutely still feel sad when every trip ends though and just hate leaving the MK on the last night of every trip. I just can never get enough of it. I had just got home once from a trip and somebody said to me "you'd get right back on the plane and go back today wouldn't you?" and I said "In a heartbeat". I just never get sick of it. I got back on this past trip on May 25. I will be back October 5th and I'm just as excited as though it's my first trip ever. We're doing the Meet and Greet with the Headless Horseman on this trip and I just read Sleepy Hollow to the kids this week and watching the movie there and then meeting the Headless Horseman is gonna be super fun. There's just always something to look forward to. I'm reading Tom Sawyer to them now and my little boy keeps saying "I bet Tom is gonna get on a raft and go over to Tom Sawyer Island". LOL!

 

[Raineman]

WDW vacations are definitely like a bar of soap, in that a good bar of soap does a great job and leaves you feeling good, which is what WDW does. Now, use a different brand of soap, and it just doesn't do the job and leaves you feeling dirty afterwards-like a trip to Six Flags.

 

[worldfanatic]

I do find it amazing how Disney World trips fly by, much more so than other vacations.
I used to get a little bummed as we got into the last few days, but I've learned to get past that on recent trips.
The things that have helped me:
(1) As many have said, having another trip planned. While I never have another trip specifically booked, as a DVC Member I know the next one isn't too far off.
I try to go every year, but if I miss one year you can bet your life I'll be there the next.
(2) Plenty of pictures. It doesn't matter how many times I've gone, I'll always spend a week or two making a scrapbook of my WDW trips after getting back.
I love doing it, and really enjoy looking back at those pictures from past trips on a regular basis.
(3) Most people don't like packing & unpacking more than once on vacation, but I'm not one of them.
Having stays at 2-3 different Disney Resorts during a WDW trip makes me feel like I'm starting a new vacation every 3-4 days.

The last few trips however we used that last full day as an off day...mini golf, a breakfast and dinner ADR, pool time, last minute gift shopping at the resort, packing time (gross). Ever since we started that it seems to have helped eliminate the heart ache a bit. I have no clue why, but I guess it plays with our minds a little.

I agree completely.
"Laying low" on the final day really works for me too.

 

[eliza61nyc]

I cried like that when I was a kid too. That's why I adore the DVC so much because I always know exactly when I'm coming back and where I'm staying and stuff like that. I absolutely still feel sad when every t. LOL!

Me too!!
Awesome thread, nice change from the "Disney is bad now" threads.

5 more sleeps until we're back to our happy place. this will be my 2nd trip this year. I am thinking of skipping next year only because I think the crowds with star wars is going to be out of control. lol but who am I kidding I'll find an excuse to sneak back down.

I'm retiring next year and planning a big retirement party at the mouseworld!!

 

[JiminyandTink]

I couldn't agree more, WDW vacations slip away faster than the WDW soap I used to take home with me in my suitcase (damn you soap dispensers)

 

[DuckTalesWooHoo1987]

Me too!!
Awesome thread, nice change from the "Disney is bad now" threads.

5 more sleeps until we're back to our happy place. this will be my 2nd trip this year. I am thinking of skipping next year only because I think the crowds with star wars is going to be out of control. lol but who am I kidding I'll find an excuse to sneak back down.

I'm retiring next year and planning a big retirement party at the mouseworld!!

Awesome and congrats on reaching the finish line!

 

[World_Showcase_Lover007]

While I live in the moment and enjoy my trips while I’m there, I also look at it as I’m really making enough memories to replay in my head for the next year til I can get back to the parks. Trips are great, but like we all know, they end way too soon. It’s the in-between time that can be great and magical too.

 

[worldfanatic]

It’s the in-between time that can be great and magical too.

So true.
Disney World vacations take up so much more of my thoughts before & after the actual trip than say a visit to Aruba or Hawaii.
They're both great, but I hardly plan ahead for an island vacation. And when it's over, I don't spend nearly the amount of time thinking about it as I do after WDW.

 

[jloucks]

...the tighter you hold on the more it seems to slip by. As I sit in my hotel room on Disney property, I think about how fast my time at Disney has come and gone. Today is Tuesday. I depart on Thursday. I have been here since August 16th, but it doesn’t seem like that long ago.

Maybe the old adage is true: Time flies when you’re having fun, or is there something more to it than that that is unique to Disney?

I’m not sure; all I know is that when I get here, I feel as if I’m on borrowed (vacation) time. I’m on a slippery slope, unable to slow time down. I find myself looking for ways to savor the moment more, but the more I try to do so, the more it seems to slip away,like that elusive bar of soap.

Maybe it’s because of the planning. 180 days for dining. 60 days for Fast Passes. It seems that we are constantly planning, and when the time comes to actually participate in what we’ve planned, it seems like a blur.

Now, as I rest my head on my pillow to go to sleep, I wonder where has my vacation gone? The tighter I try to hold on the more it slips away. I feel as though I have some type of inability to enjoy. Instead, I find myself counting the days, the hours, even the minutes.

Thoughts? Similar experiences?

Brace yourself. Once you hit 50, time fly's even when you are not having fun.

I noticed that nowadays even grueling weeks at work are gone in a flash. Which is good, because the weekends are also gone in a flash.

Now that you have me thinking about it.... Vacations, done correctly, can actually slow time down a little. You can let your mind relax, which helps. I have noticed that when I walk into a park for the first time in a year or two, I swear I can feel the stress roll off me. I can feel my brain slowing down. It is an addictive feeling. And, thankfully, it helps slow down time. A little.

 

[Spirit of Adventure]

Our last trip to WDW was in October 2015 and was the first WDW trip that me and the gf had together. The last night was very tough though on the bus back from HS after watching Fantasmic for the last time, and there was one or two actual tears from gf, so I decided to propose to her over Hourglass Lake at AoA (that softened the blow of leaving quite nicely)...
GF is now my wife and our next trip to WDW in November 2019 has been booked... I just need to find a way to 'top' the last night of 2015, or else I'm going to have one very sad lady on the 9 hour flight back to London

 

[LUVofDIS]

I just need to find a way to 'top' the last night of 2015, or else I'm going to have one very sad lady on the 9 hour flight back to London

Get pregnant and inform her on the last day, wait, it doesn't work that way does it. I knew I was doing something wrong.