“Don’t you ever get bored?” was the question posed to me
during a conversation with a friend and colleague about a return trip to Walt
Disney World.
“No!” was my adamant reply.
The exchange happened when I was asking how a recent trip
(June) to Walt Disney World had gone for their family—it was a repeat
visit. I got to hear some good stories,
like watching a moving storm while waiting to watch Illuminations which
resulted in a long, but dry, wait in Guest Services followed by a race to the
car in the rain. Memories!
Seeing the smile, I asked when they would be going
back. A grasp to the forehead was
followed by an “I don’t know.” Seems
there is a dilemma about when the youngest child would be returning. Go sooner while child is younger or wait a
while and go when the child is older. No
easy answer there. I was then asked when
we would be going back. I rattled off
the triple digit number of days until our next slice of magic. That’s when the “Don’t you get bored?”
question hit.
Nope. We don’t get
bored. We get to combine familiar, well
loved experiences with new ones each trip.
The husband and I were chatting about the possibility of a longer trip
to the most magical place on earth for next summer and where we might
dine. We had 8 meals in just EPCOT alone
lined up—combining new ones with favorites.
That’s not boredom; that’s a
mission!
Our next trip, which is still triple digits away, will take
us back onboard the beautiful Disney Dream.
We will be staying in the same stateroom—literally the exact same one,
sailing the same itinerary—just the Castaway Cay days have rotated a bit, on
the same ship. But this time, the ship
will be decorated for the holidays and there will be a few different offerings
on board because of the holidays. And,
we will get to try things on the ship that we didn’t get to last time. The husband and I are definitely going to the
Quiet Cove pool this next trip.
Bored? No way! While the ship will be delightfully familiar—no
spending the first few days finding our way around—we will get to have
different experiences.
Following our Disney Cruise, we have a 3 day stay at Walt
Disney World. We are staying at the same
resort as last time. But we won’t know what
section of the resort we will be assigned until we arrive, potentially making
our stay a bit different. We will have
one day of park tickets and plan on visiting Hollywood Studios. Will we do some of the same things we have
done before? Yes. But this time, Tower of Terror
may be on our list as the boy works up his courage.
Downtown Disney?
Familiar, sure. But Santa Goofy
will be there and another friend/colleague has already put in a shopping order
request for a store we don’t frequent, so that will be a new experience.
Dining? We have an
old favorite on our list as well as a new restaurant and one we haven’t been to
for a while. No boredom there!
What’s great about repeated visits is there really isn’t an
opportunity to get bored. During a first
time visit, a guest can feel overwhelmed. . . decisions, planning, details and
those are even before getting there. The
immersion into Disney Magic that we long for can feel like overload to a first
time guest. The quest for a perfect,
once in a lifetime vacation can be daunting.
As veterans, we know a bit about what to expect. Many of our decisions are made before we
arrive and we pretty much know where we are going. So, it is easier to relax and enjoy. And, the pressure is off to make our vacation
go “perfectly.” Smoothly? That’s always the goal!
Just the other morning, we had Disney theme park music
playing and the boy heard the theme for Soarin’. He shouted the name of the attraction from
the other room as the tune was easily recognizable to him. He then asked if we would be riding Soarin’
during our upcoming trip. Not this trip,
as we are going to Hollywood Studios. No
disappointment. He’s ridden Soarin’s
many times and will get to again, I hope.
So, no boredom.
Anticipation and excitement?
Yes! Definitely, yes!
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