Whats with Disney?
 

Why do so many people want to repeatedly go to Disney? I went there when I was 8.It was great, but as an adult I want adult entertainment.My sister and her husband are taking thier kids to Disney again in Jan.This is like thier third time in 5 years.I have a theory that it is some kind of status symbol thing.I dont care if they go, but there ARE other places to go in this big wide world.What do adults spend their valuable vacation time and money on this over and over for?I just returned from Europe and got an attitude when I told them where I was going.I have no doubt that my vacation is by far the less expensive of the two destinations, yet they act like I just broke my piggey bank and will be filing bankruptcy next week.So, tell me whats so great for an Adult at Disney that they keep going back.

I guess you can call most of us kids at heart, then. <BR>We are just BIG KIDS. <BR> <BR>Can't say I go repeatedly, but as my child grows, I may end up doing the same thing. <BR>I beleive most people enjoy going, and it is easier with kids. <BR>

Well, thats the thing.If you want to enjoy , taking care of a bunch of small children ages 7 to 1 is not going to leave a parent any chance to feel like they are on vacation.If you want to do anything you cant really with a baby and a preschooler.

You got me. I could never understand the attraction either! I never could figure out why people spend all that money to spend their vacation on line, eating lousy food and seeing the same attractions over and over again. Unless they are so completely indulgent of their children that they do it for them. To be honest though, I think my kids enjoy other vacations more than DW.

It doesn't sound like you have kids - I wouldn't go without kids either. But if your sister does, what's wrong with that? I'd love to go to Europe - but not with my 3 & 7 year old!! My kids love it there and it's an easy & fun place to be with them, simple as that. We take them other places as well, and will continue to expand more as they get older. Give your sister a break - it's her family and her vacation.

A followup thought - our trips have been in the off season (fall) and we've never had trouble with lines and the weather was great. There are some great places to eat if you do your research. Also, doing the same thing over and over? Our previous 2 trips were 4 days each and we never even got to all the things we had planned to see!

Maybe this analogy is a stretch, but here goes. <BR>A friend of mine work in PR for the Harlem Globetrotters. She says that a few years ago, the 'Trotters tried to freshen up their act, and it was a disaster. People wanted to keep coming back and seeing the same act, and they wanted their kids to see the same thing that they adults remembered. <BR>Just a theory, but the Disney thing might have some of that, too. People feel comfortable with the familiar. Also, Disney and Epcot show like as we'd like to believe it -- clean streets, polite people, smiling faces. If people find a comfort level in that, let 'em.

We keep renting a cottage at the same beach year after year. Sure we could go to a different place each year, but it's a tradition that the family enjoys as the kids grow up. If people get the same thing out of a trip to WDW - where there's a ton of variety, especially compared to the beach - I don't see anything wrong with it. I'm not sure I understand your statement about how it's "some kind of status symbol thing". Disney isn't exactly a highbrow destination. (Well, maybe Euro Disney would be something to brag about...)

Jenna: If as you state you don't care then why even post here? Sounds to me as if you are miffed because they hassled you about your vacation.

Hi Jenna, <BR> <BR>I hear you - people do go overboard sometimes with all things Disney (how they afford it I don't know) but I have say that I'm in my thirties with no kids and have gone a few times the last few years (one time was on business) and I really enjoy it. Maybe it brings me back to how much I loved it when I was little, maybe it's the way everyone is so nice, everything is so clean and you are absolutely encouraged to be a kid no matter how old you are. I like going to Epcot and visiting those corny versions of different countries - having wine in "Paris" and dinner it "Italy" with over-the-top exaggerations of each country. It's silly, it's fantasty and it's a wonderful escape. Not to mention WARM with lots to do (Treasure/Paradise Island - I forget the name) for adults and some terrific restaurants in Orlando. It's certainly not my next or ONLY vacation destination - but when I do go I have to say, I really have a good time. Go figure.

xxx-yah, your right.And Disney is not exactly a highbrow vacation, but when you live up north in Michigan people here treat it as such.I couldnt care less that she go take her kids there because I have no desire to go to Florida let alone Disney.It was just the other day she was all bragging and acting like shes going on a more worthy vacation than I just took.I just wanted to know what the big deal is.

I guess its kind of sad, after reflecting I can see how she was trying to overcompensate because she is jealous of my vacation.Since I dont care about hers she is trying to make me jealous by talking about it.When I went on vacation she never asked about it before I left, and afterward only asked a few brief questions, but didnt really want to talk about it.

Sounds to me like you have bigger problems with your sister than just vacations. If she bugs you that much, stay away from her...

You guys are funny, hit it on the head I think.We do get along better when we are apart, thank god we dont live in the same town.

What's the old saying we can pick our friends but not our relatives. I think your sister is in some type of competition with you. Did she not get the doll she wanted for Christmas and you did or what? My younger brother is holding a grudge because he didn't get a train and our older brother did. (At the time he never wanted a train.)

Jenna, I read all your posts with great interest. I think it is time for both sisters to get over whatever problems you may have! Now, not all people from Michigan consider Disney a "highbrow" vacation! Nor do I consider Europe one either. A vacation is a time for fun, and spending time with family. And if this is what they enjoy, so be it! Sounds to me that for you going to Europe is a "status symbol thing".

I agree with you on the vacation is just a time for fun part, but I'm not the one who thinks european vacations are a status of anything, but lost money mabye that could have been spent elsewhere.But, hey thats what vacations are for right.Um, I really wanted to know what the big deal is that SOME people make about going to Disney,(I never said this was a high-brow vacation but it is true, that a lot of northern folks do make a to-do about it-you know what its like in America everyone is trying to keep up with the Joneses , I never could so I dont even try) not about how I need to sort out personal relationships that are so complex it would take years of intensive therapy to figure out. <BR>

Disney's a perfect vacation for the brain dead.

Have you ever heard the saying, "different strokes for different folks"? Some people like to travel to big cities, some like beach vacations, others like mountain resorts, and some like to go to Disney. I would never waste a minute of my time judging where somebody else chooses to spend their time and money. In fact, my sister and her husband are traveling to Disney World together this winter. I say, if that's where they want to go, I hope they have a wonderful time together. You don't seem to be a very good sister. Glad you're not mine.

I would like to know the success rate of all those Disney weddings. Doesn't that seem like the kiss of death?

I am going to Disney for the 20th time in May. It will be my second time with children. My husband and I have gone several times alone. We love it because it is a place where we can truly let the inner child out. It is a place where we can escape from the stresses of daily life. We do not consider it the be all, end all or a highbrow destination. It is just plain fun. We also travel to Europe and other places, but will always return to Disney.

It's a subliminal thing. It's a fact that if you play "It's A Small World" backwards it says "bow down to the mouse, bow down to the mouse, bow down to the mouse". Everyone becomes programmed and it's all over...

Well, some of you gave good responses, as for the others, sorry I asked.

Call me crazy then, I can go to Disney every year and we don't have kids and no desire for any children. That's the fun of not having kids, we can go to these places like Disney and be BIG kids at HEART!!!! Been to Disney 3 times and counting! Yeah!

Not that I've been to WDW a lot since it opened (three times) but I have contemplated my Disney experiences. First time was in first grade. My parents took me and my brother to Disneyland when we moved to San Diego. It was the most exciting thing on earth to me then. We made a few more visits back then (the 1950's) before we moved back to the midwest. Always great experiences. <BR> <BR>The next time I got to visit was when I was in grad school and was visiting my grandmother who lived in Orlando. My friend and I visited the Magic Kingdom (it was the only area open. I think WDW was just a year or so open at the time). I couldn't believe I'd loved it as a kid. Now it was just hoaky and boring. <BR> <BR>Next visit was on my honeymoon (back to California). Lots of fun, but then, it was my honeymoon, and it was my husband's first visit. <BR> <BR>Next visit was when my daughter was nearly 5 years old. It was terrific! Next visit...she was 18 and a college freshman. Also great, but for different reasons (and she's really a kid at heart, as is my husband). Now, I think the next time I'll visit WDW will be when I have grandchildren of my own to take. <BR> <BR>I've decided that what you get out of the Disney experience is what you put in. I don't consider my frequency of visits over my lifetime at all excessive. I also wonder what people who visit yearly (or more) get out of it, but I've also learned that it's not for me to question. Just let them enjoy themselves.