What is your Disney "Breaking Point"?

[JanetMegan]

Great question and discussion...I'm also not at that point but I do have to say the kind of massive planning that needs to be done these days is a little off-putting. I mean don't get me wrong, I am a natural "planner" kind of person but the thought that I have to put into securing ADRs, Fastpasses etc is a bit much sometimes. It takes some of the fun out of it. It will be interesting, we have two trips planned in the next approx. 18 months. One just DBF and me (the 52 yr old who has never seen a Disney movie) this Fall and then an extended family trip including little ones next Fall. I would say that probably after that we will take a little break and do something else for awhile.

[dpamac]

I think it's important to remember that what causes a negative experience is completely subjective. There are hundreds of reasons why one person could be souring on the WDW experience while another is finding their reasons to go increasing.

I think most of us would all agree that the main reason we go is that "feeling." Call it magic, call it an escape from reality, call it fantasy...the Disney experience calls a certain group of people back again and again because it makes us, well, happy. For some of us it makes us feel as though we're kids again. Others find it relaxing. Some find it thrilling. Some love watching their kids experience the magic. Others find luxury. There's no one thing that makes the place special. It's not a tangible thing you can point out. It seems to be a feeling.

When that feeling starts to fade, it's not a pleasant feeling because you really do feel as though you're losing something special. It doesn't just happen over night. It takes time. A few trips don't quite do it. A few changes may directly impact what that "thing" is for you. You stop planning your next trip before your current trip is over. You stop listening to ride music at work. You find yourself in the middle of a trip and just not feeling amazed and delighted. It's not as magical.

It may be you. It may be the park and changes. Who knows? But when your special place no longer feels special your first instinct is to try and get it back. It might come out on message boards as being negative, constant complaining, never being happy because that's all you can focus on. You want it back, so you shout to the mountain tops, pleading for it to return. People who are complaining about changes aren't complaining because they are bitter. They're truly upset because they feel they've lost something special. Maybe it was the closure of a quick service restaurant that finally tipped them to the point where they want to rally others to help them get it back. Some people are better at complaining politely than others (it's those others that tend to start flame wars).

I'm one of those people who has been feeling the magic waning. My kids are sill excited, and planning constantly. For me? My last few trips have not been filled with Disney magic. I don't know why. Luckily I had wonderful people who made the experiences magical. (Friendship is magic! Sorry. I don't know why I felt the need to say that.)There are things I certainly don't like that have changed over the years, but there have also been many things that have changed that I genuinely love. Could be the parks. Could be the business decisions. Could be me. Could be all three. Something has changed for me.

And that makes me sad. I don't mean to sound negative about the things I complain about. I certainly don't complain about them online (though I might crack some jokes). But those complaints are really made with a deep love for something. It certainly doesn't help me feel better when I do talk to my friends and, rather than listen and discuss it, they chide me for being negative. Nor, I'm sure, would like like me calling them Pollyanas because they have a more positive outlook. We each have our own experiences and should be able to share them.

I don't know if I have a breaking point because I always have hope for what's around the corner. But I can say that I've been enjoying things a lot less and I can't point to several things that contribute to that. As it stands, I don't have any plans to return to WDW in the near future. I'm sure I will. I always do. But I'm not planning a trip--even a pretend trip that is for the sole purpose of daydreaming. That's odd.

I wrote a lot. Sorry.

[azcavalier]

I think it's important to remember that what causes a negative experience is completely subjective. There are hundreds of reasons why one person could be souring on the WDW experience while another is finding their reasons to go increasing.

I think most of us would all agree that the main reason we go is that "feeling." Call it magic, call it an escape from reality, call it fantasy...the Disney experience calls a certain group of people back again and again because it makes us, well, happy. For some of us it makes us feel as though we're kids again. Others find it relaxing. Some find it thrilling. Some love watching their kids experience the magic. Others find luxury. There's no one thing that makes the place special. It's not a tangible thing you can point out. It seems to be a feeling.

When that feeling starts to fade, it's not a pleasant feeling because you really do feel as though you're losing something special. It doesn't just happen over night. It takes time. A few trips don't quite do it. A few changes may directly impact what that "thing" is for you. You stop planning your next trip before your current trip is over. You stop listening to ride music at work. You find yourself in the middle of a trip and just not feeling amazed and delighted. It's not as magical.

It may be you. It may be the park and changes. Who knows? But when your special place no longer feels special your first instinct is to try and get it back. It might come out on message boards as being negative, constant complaining, never being happy because that's all you can focus on. You want it back, so you shout to the mountain tops, pleading for it to return. People who are complaining about changes aren't complaining because they are bitter. They're truly upset because they feel they've lost something special. Maybe it was the closure of a quick service restaurant that finally tipped them to the point where they want to rally others to help them get it back. Some people are better at complaining politely than others (it's those others that tend to start flame wars).

I'm one of those people who has been feeling the magic waning. My kids are sill excited, and planning constantly. For me? My last few trips have not been filled with Disney magic. I don't know why. Luckily I had wonderful people who made the experiences magical. (Friendship is magic! Sorry. I don't know why I felt the need to say that.)There are things I certainly don't like that have changed over the years, but there have also been many things that have changed that I genuinely love. Could be the parks. Could be the business decisions. Could be me. Could be all three. Something has changed for me.

And that makes me sad. I don't mean to sound negative about the things I complain about. I certainly don't complain about them online (though I might crack some jokes). But those complaints are really made with a deep love for something. It certainly doesn't help me feel better when I do talk to my friends and, rather than listen and discuss it, they chide me for being negative. Nor, I'm sure, would like like me calling them Pollyanas because they have a more positive outlook. We each have our own experiences and should be able to share them.

I don't know if I have a breaking point because I always have hope for what's around the corner. But I can say that I've been enjoying things a lot less and I can't point to several things that contribute to that. As it stands, I don't have any plans to return to WDW in the near future. I'm sure I will. I always do. But I'm not planning a trip--even a pretend trip that is for the sole purpose of daydreaming. That's odd.

I wrote a lot. Sorry.

Don't apologize. This is *exactly* the kind of response I was hoping to get. Even I am surprised at the overwhelming positive responses on this thread. But you eloquently stated just what I was wondering. I still love WDW, and admittedly am still excited to go back every time we do, but not quite as excited. Maybe because it's not new, or we've overdone it in the past few years...I don't know. But this last time, as I found myself riding the Gran Fiesta Tour, looking at the (dated) video of tourist Mexico, I found myself thinking, "Man, i'd rather be in Mexico." And I then spent the rest of the weekend thinking about going to someplace tropical on vacation. Which is something that doesn't interest my wife *at all*. She loves WDW. And she is the breadwinner and has a high stress job. So, if it keeps her happy, I'll keep going. Because she needs the vacation more than I do. And it's still her happy place. I'd say that my tipping/breaking point for it being "magical" is much closer than hers is.

[Christine]

This is a GREAT topic and have loved seeing the insight from everyone. Clearly we moved across the country to be here at WDW, so I haven't reached that point, but as someone else stated, some of the things happening right now are a big off-putting. #Frozen

[SandmanGStefani24]

I think most of us would all agree that the main reason we go is that "feeling." Call it magic, call it an escape from reality, call it fantasy...the Disney experience calls a certain group of people back again and again because it makes us, well, happy. For some of us it makes us feel as though we're kids again. Others find it relaxing. Some find it thrilling. Some love watching their kids experience the magic. Others find luxury. There's no one thing that makes the place special. It's not a tangible thing you can point out. It seems to be a feeling.

.

Well said!

It would take very much for me to hit the point where WDW doesn't fit into my life anymore. I guess if you took away Spaceship Earth, the World Showcase, Space Mountain, the view of the castle from Main Street, Haunted Mansion, the Carousel of Progress, Splash Mountain, the TTA, and Big Thunder Mountain, maybe I'd stop coming.

The whole process of getting away from the real world, meaning, the flight, MCO, the drive to WDW, the feeling of going through the gates at MK for the first time, being at a WDW resort, driving up to Epcot, these are all things that I don't get anywhere nor can I put a price on. Not much else makes everything else go away like WDW. Even a message board or youtube video can do the trick on a bad day. Breaking point?

This guy is far from it. And is proud of it.

[Stu29573]

Since I'm a lifelong resident of Texas, and not especially wealthy, my trips are pretty few and far between (as you can see by my signature). Actually, though, this fact is somewhat of a blessing. I think if I went multiple times a year, or even once a year, I might get burned out. The way it is, however, I'm always excited about that next trip because it's such a BIG DEAL. Its a tradition that started at Disneyland with my grandparents, continued at WDW with my daughter, and is now further continuing with my grandchildren.
I have memories of my grandmother getting off the Matterhorn and taking a "stress pill," my daughter walking down Main Street U.S.A at night with the lights on her sneakers adding to the lights on the buildings, and my wife looking at me on Big Thunder Mountain with what she said was the "look of fear!" All these memories are years, even decades apart, and all are part of "The Magic." ...and there are hundreds more.
So will I ever get tired of Disney? I really don't think so. Because Disney isn't really a place for me, its an ideal. Its a feeling. And for me, its pretty rare.