Weird Feelings

jrogue

jrogue

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
This question is for those of us who can't visit the park every day, but visit often (Say, once or twice a year)

Do you ever get a very weird feeling when you arrive in Disney World? My family and I have been going to WDW almost every year since I was little. We've missed a couple of years here and there, but are always equally excited for our return.

However, this trip something different happened. When we arrived in WDW we felt as if we weren't really there, or as if we had never left. The first three days of our trip felt so surreal that it took some time to realize I'm in Disney World and this is not every day life. o_O The last time we had been there was July of 2012, and this trip occurred in April 2013. I know I was excited. I had been looking forward to this trip for months and I hadn't seen half of New Fantasyland yet or the Rapunzel bathrooms. The feeling went away towards the end of the trip when I began to dread heading home.

Has this ever happened to anyone else?
 
luv

luv

Well-Known Member
I know what you mean. The parks are always the same, so one visit starts to blend into the next.

And you can only do the same thing so many times before it is no longer an "OH, MY GOD!! I'M IN DISNEY WORLD!!!" feeling every time you're there.

Doesn't mean you don't love it or that it isn't fun. It is just that you begin to relax some. :)

And honestly, it gets even better...even though you may not be gushing, you'll start to enjoy the parks in a whole new way. :)
 
ddbowdoin

ddbowdoin

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I can relate... especially with my last trip this March. We went with another couple who hadn't been to Disney is almost 10 years and during the stay I realized I know a LOT about this place. I'm not as informed as many of the members here when it comes to the early days of WDW (I'm only 28) but just bringing them around it kind of felt like I never left (this was my 2nd visit in a 12 month period).

So the feeling of "wow, I can't wait for a Dole Whip" just wasn't the same on a repeat trip.
 
Z

Zman-ks

Well-Known Member
cowanfamily said:
Marty McFly experienced the same thing. LOL
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lmao. :)
 
JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
jrogue said:
Do you ever get a very weird feeling when you arrive in Disney World? When we arrived in WDW we felt as if we weren't really there, or as if we had never left.
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For the most part we have visited once a year. Missed a few years here and there. But I have not experienced a feeling of not being in the Magic. Once we start through the gates I do sometimes feel as if I never left because the looks of the parks havent changed, I know where everything is, I know where I want to go and what order I want to do things in. There is the familiarity so there isnt that WOW factor like the very first time. This year I will be viewing the New Fantasyland so that will bring me some exciting WOW feelings this time. Hope it lives up to my expectations.
 
luv

luv

Well-Known Member
JIMINYCR said:
For the most part we have visited once a year. Missed a few years here and there. But I have not experienced a feeling of not being in the Magic. Once we start through the gates I do sometimes feel as if I never left because the looks of the parks havent changed, I know where everything is, I know where I want to go and what order I want to do things in. There is the familiarity so there isnt that WOW factor like the very first time. This year I will be viewing the New Fantasyland so that will bring me some exciting WOW feelings this time. Hope it lives up to my expectations.
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The FLE feeling for most people I know is less "Wow!" and more "Ooh." Ooh, pretty. Oh, that's nice. Gee, that looks good. The restaurant bumps that up a notch.

But it isn't like a giant, amazing thing. (It isn't like Harry Potter, since that seems to the topic lately, lol.)

I think people would be happier with it if they didn't go in expecting too much, which is why I mention it. :) Don't compare it to Harry Potter. Just accept it for what it is...a little add on to Fantasyland.

And the LM ride is just an omnimover, not a big thrill ride. I really like that ride a lot. I think more people would if they hadn't been expecting more.
 
JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
luv said:
The FLE feeling for most people I know is less "Wow!" and more "Ooh." Ooh, pretty. Oh, that's nice. Gee, that looks good. The restaurant bumps that up a notch.

But it isn't like a giant, amazing thing. (It isn't like Harry Potter, since that seems to the topic lately, lol.)

I think people would be happier with it if they didn't go in expecting too much, which is why I mention it. :) Don't compare it to Harry Potter. Just accept it for what it is...a little add on to Fantasyland.

And the LM ride is just an omnimover, not a big thrill ride. I really like that ride a lot. I think more people would if they hadn't been expecting more.
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Havent been to HP so I wont have that to compare to. I've watched the videos that have been featured and cant help be excited to finally get in there to see it in person.
 
bethymouse

bethymouse

Well-Known Member
I think I understand the feeling. I love WDW, but to a certain point, I can see where you're coming from. But, that is 1 reason why we try to stay @ different resorts, and try some new ways of doing things each time we go.;) The food experience alone is what I really enjoy! The parks are just for fun & sometimes magical things. I do think if you take a year off from visiting, then it becomes something you want to do again maybe...;)
 
jw24

jw24

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't necessarily call it a "weird" feeling. It's more of a surreal feeling in my book. Disney World is really the only place I can think of where you're so immersed in the environment. You're not thinking about your real life and all the drama that comes with it. You're only thinking about what's in front of you. This particularly holds true when meeting characters. I mean, I know the "truth" about characters if you know what I mean but when it's my turn to meet them, I'm not thinking about the "truth", I'm in the moment interacting with the character and making the experience memorable. You live in the now basically when you're in Disney World and I don't know if that holds true for other theme parks and resorts. I know it doesn't for me!

Disney World might look different as the years go by but at the same time, some things stay the same. No two trips to Disney World are ever alike because you always experience something different. Yes, it is true we want to try new things, new rides, or new food but we also want to re-live our old favorites and with Disney World, it is one of those rare places where you can do both.
 
englanddg

englanddg

One Little Spark...
This past trip in August was also odd for me in the kid after the trips in 2010 and 2011. Not that we weren't both excited, but we spent a lot of time doing things we hadn't done the previous two trips, and skipping things that were anchors of the first two trips.

For example, the kid was no longer interested in collecting autographs. She adored the character meals, but she had no interest in waiting 40 minutes in line to do the Character Spot, or even 15 minutes in line to see Jasmine or Belle in World Showcase.

She also wasn't interested in Penny Collecting (she has two books full of them already), but pin trading peaked more interest from her this year (where, previous years it wasn't something she adored).

She also had, what I called, her first "Lost Disney" moment, where she, at age 7, having only been twice (though granted for a total of 28 days by that trip) griped about the loss of Kim Possible, complaining that "Perry never talks and Doofensmirtz isn't really evil." This suprised me, because it's one of her favorite shows. Of course, after she got into the new game, she enjoyed it just as much, but walking with her from the registration spot back into World Showcase and listening to her gripe (much like I gripe about Horizons or Imagination) was very amusing.

I simply told her "Well, Disney changes things all the time. There are things that I wish they'd left alone too."

Anyway, before this gets too long. It wasn't that we didn't enjoy ourselves, we had a blast! But, the trip was quite different than the little girl totally overwhelmed by the place as the first two trips had been. She's...a disney regular now. So, as I said, we spent our time doing a lot of things we normally (on prior trips) wouldn't do.

That feeling is part of why I booked a cruise as part of this years trip...to give us both something Disney, yet "fresh" to experience.
 
HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
I had something kind of like that hit me this last trip. We usually start with MK and the warm fuzzies hit right away, but this past trip we weren't in MK until our 4th day at WDW. I don't really think any of the trip felt real until we were on MSUSA. So, those first few days kind of felt like I'd already adjusted into a Disney trip and was already mid-way through...just to have it all turned on its ear...at least for me.
 
jaklgreen

jaklgreen

Well-Known Member
It is like the feeling you get after you come home from a trip. Disney is my second "home". It feels like I have been away on a different vacation and have finally come home whenever I go to WDW now.
 

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