"Don't You Ever Get Bored?"

“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!