Is this normal???

[EmptyCinema]

My parents (I'm 22) don't get that Disney is about the only place I can actually relax and have fun. College and a job keep me rather stressed, so it's nice to have a few days to ignore reality!

 

[PrincessTeresa]

I am so glad to hear I am not the only one that goes through this!! I have told my inlaws (I also call them outlaws..lol) that the look on DD's face when we're there is worth so much more than the money we spend!

 

[LanaJae]

I'm ashamed to say that I was one of those people, but I never said anything. My cousin took her family two years in a row and I remember thinking, "they were JUST there," and then my husband's co-worker plans a cruise/WDW combo every year and when listening to the details relayed to me, I'd just roll my eyes.

THEN, thinking my #4 child (age 6) would never get to go... my mom and I took her in May.

What's the first thing I did when I got home? Book for four of us to go back in August.

I was only at MK for one cold rainy day in Jan. 2000 and I had a great time, but I never considered going back.

My explanation is either 1. they put something in the water/air or 2. I was abducted and brainwashed during that weird Stitch thing I was in (I still don't understand what that was about).

There is hope for the in-laws and everyone else.

 

[katdocnorf]

I agree with you. It would make everything much easier

It frustrates me when people say that young kids will not remember a trip. I remember going to disneyland when I was young. I don't remember specific events, but small things like the stroller and falling asleep in my dads shoulders while watching fantasmic. and sorcerer mickey. It left me with a familiar feeling and as I got older I remembered more and now when I go back to DL I feel like I'm at home. Plus the parents know what happens and I love hearing stories about my sister and I that I don't remember.(like waiting an hour to ride dumbo but leaving once we got to the front to go to the bathroom)Anyone who says taking a small kid to disney doesn't know what theyre missing and what memories they are denying their kids.

My DS10 remembered his first trip and he was only 1. When he was 2 for his second trip, we told him the whole year we were going back. I think we told him so much he started not to believe us. When we got off the plane (we drove the first time) he still wasn't sure. Then when the shuttle arrived at those gates he of course recognized them from the first trip and hugged and kissed me and then turned and hugged and kissed his father. That is the magic of Disney. So many people just don't understand because they haven't really experienced the magic. It's not just the rides and the characters, it is the whole package and the look and your child(ren)'s face(s) when you go back. It's not even like going to another park because they don't have 40+ square miles and experiences (not rides experiences). That is Disney and even when you go to DL or even sometimes just to get a small fix go to the Disney Store, just to here that welcome and hospitality. Not someone getting an attitude because you are disturbing them or cutting them off on the interstate, etc.

I love the "Welcome Home" when you get to the resort. The cleanliness, the grass never growing any taller, but never seeing anyone cutting it. The bushes and trees staying just so. The Towel Animals when you arrive in your room after a long day in the parks. Your toiletries all lined up just so on the sink after you had left them in shambles to run out the door and get to the parks. Your steak cooked just right in the restaurant you ate dinner at.

I could go on for days. MOST PEOPLE JUST WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND.....!!!!!

EXPERIENCES:
My son walked for the first time in Disney
He potty trained on his own in Disney

My son is 10 years old now and has been to WDW about 15 times or maybe more (I have lost count actually) and to DL with his father (I am divorced now). And if we don't go there we get our fixes at HH and VB also. I go to Hilton Head and his Father takes him to Vero Beach.

 

[ChipAndDale2006]

Yes I encounter these types of people every day in my family me, my DD8, and my parents are all WDW fanatics, but my grandparents and aunts and uncles on my mother's side do not understand it! So I know what you are all going through

 

[DisneyJunkieLC]

I never went to WDW when I was growing up. My parents just weren't into traveling and it never crossed their minds that they were depriving me.

DH and I went for my first WDW trip 2 years ago, and took my 5-year-old DS. Now I am hooked!! Luckily, my DH loves WDW too so we are going again and I'm in full-on obsessive mode with planning.

Luckily, I've not had any bringer downers around me!! But I'm sure if I get my way and we continue to go every 1-2 years I will start hearing the comments.

*Hey Teresa - this is Leslie!!! This is my first post. I don't know how to get all the signature stuff yet. But I'll figure it out!

 

[Phedre]

I think people can be so frustrating about this too! 99% of the time I can usually ignore it without a problem, but one day it made me SO mad!! I was posting on another website with a totally different subject matter. Someone had started a thread about where you like to vacation and if you go back to the same spot or not. I put that I travel as much as I can but I always have to get back to WDW a few times every year. Some other person then posted (very rudely) how she once thought about taking her kids but then didn't want to waste her money and why spend all of that just to have some memories of a giant mouse! I was soooo angry because she totally was missing the whole point, and she was dissing something she never even tried!! No one else in the whole thread attacked about anyone else's vacation choices but for some reason, Disney was fair game?? It really ticked me off at the time!!

 

[lisajl]

My inlaws are great about it. In fact, they are the ones that took my to WDW the first time. I was 25 and our DD was 2. It's all their fault.
They were looking at our photos from 2005 and mil got a bit misty eyed.
They really want to go back but are in their 80's, mil had back surgery, fil just had a pacemaker put in. It's really tough right now for them.

Now, my BIL, my sisters husband said, "Why do you want to go back to same place all the time?" I said, "I don't know, why do you have to cruise all the time?"

Lisa

 

[Lewanc]

My DS10 remembered his first trip and he was only 1. When he was 2 for his second trip, we told him the whole year we were going back. I think we told him so much he started not to believe us. When we got off the plane (we drove the first time) he still wasn't sure. Then when the shuttle arrived at those gates he of course recognized them from the first trip and hugged and kissed me and then turned and hugged and kissed his father. That is the magic of Disney. So many people just don't understand because they haven't really experienced the magic. It's not just the rides and the characters, it is the whole package and the look and your child(ren)'s face(s) when you go back. It's not even like going to another park because they don't have 40+ square miles and experiences (not rides experiences). That is Disney and even when you go to DL or even sometimes just to get a small fix go to the Disney Store, just to here that welcome and hospitality. Not someone getting an attitude because you are disturbing them or cutting them off on the interstate, etc.

I love the "Welcome Home" when you get to the resort. The cleanliness, the grass never growing any taller, but never seeing anyone cutting it. The bushes and trees staying just so. The Towel Animals when you arrive in your room after a long day in the parks. Your toiletries all lined up just so on the sink after you had left them in shambles to run out the door and get to the parks. Your steak cooked just right in the restaurant you ate dinner at.

I could go on for days. MOST PEOPLE JUST WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND.....!!!!!

EXPERIENCES:
My son walked for the first time in Disney
He potty trained on his own in Disney

My son is 10 years old now and has been to WDW about 15 times or maybe more (I have lost count actually) and to DL with his father (I am divorced now). And if we don't go there we get our fixes at HH and VB also. I go to Hilton Head and his Father takes him to Vero Beach.

Hi There - Understand your feelings about Disney, and agree 100% . WDW has brought our family/friends many happy memories, and we will to continue to visit, until we get so old we'll have to be pushed around the "World" in wheelchairs

Have a great day!!!

 

[Lewanc]

I think people can be so frustrating about this too! 99% of the time I can usually ignore it without a problem, but one day it made me SO mad!! I was posting on another website with a totally different subject matter. Someone had started a thread about where you like to vacation and if you go back to the same spot or not. I put that I travel as much as I can but I always have to get back to WDW a few times every year. Some other person then posted (very rudely) how she once thought about taking her kids but then didn't want to waste her money and why spend all of that just to have some memories of a giant mouse! I was soooo angry because she totally was missing the whole point, and she was dissing something she never even tried!! No one else in the whole thread attacked about anyone else's vacation choices but for some reason, Disney was fair game?? It really ticked me off at the time!!

Hey Phedre -- Disney seems to always be fair for those who haven't experienced the "magic", so there is no way for them to understand. If the lady you encountered who didn't want to spend the money, etc. to have memories of a giant mouse and all of the others who have the same opinion, stay away, there will be more room for those of us who understand and enjoy the Disney experience.

Many happy future Disney days!!!

 

[PeachesDoesHair]

My in-laws don't get it. They have never been. They aren't against Disney, they just don't get going back when it's only been a year since your last visit. My theory is that MIL just thinks it's kind of like Six Flags. You know, how can you not see everything you want to see at Six Flags in a week. They just don't get how huge WDW is. I don't think you can really get the magic until you've been to Disney.

Our first family vacation was last Sept to Disney. We saved every extra penny we had. When my dd3 saw that castle, it made every struggle to get there worth it. I had been many times (like 8 or 9) with my parents...but to be there with my family and to work so hard to get there...it was just magical.

Dh just got a big promotion....so more Disney for us!!! Anyway, we plan on renting a villa next June and surprising dh's entire family with a paid for vacation. I can't wait for MIL to have that castle moment with all three of her grandchildren. I think a moment like that is all it will take for her to "get it."

 

[EmptyCinema]

Six flags is NOTHING compared to Disney. I don't even remotely like six flags, haven't been in a few years and there's one only 30 minutes from my house.

I go to Disney for the atmosphere, the customer service, and the chance to relax. A lot of what I go for is the CMs.

Of course, nobody in my family gets that.

 

[PeachesDoesHair]

I don't think I was comparing Disney to Six Flags.

I don't think my MIL is intentionally comparing the two and thinking they are the same...it's just the only theme park she has ever been to. I think it's hard to 'get' until you've been there.

I really can't wait to see her face when her grandkids see Cinderella's Castle or meet the princesses they have been dreaming about.