At what point does Disney become boring?

Maybe a stupid question with all the Disney fanatics on this Board. . .

Our family had a blast last week and we are planning two return trips for 2020 with an AP - Jan and late Nov/early Dec for Christmas. My boys will be 6 - 8 which seems to be the sweet spot.

But is there a point when multiple return trips lose their magic? Do kids age out and want something more exciting? Do the crowds and price gouging wear you out? How do you keep things fresh?

Curious to hear what others think. We still have that “honeymoon glow” from our first trip and want to ride it out as long as possible.

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At about age 9/10, my nephews lost interest in WDW and only wanted to go to Universal. Varies greatly among kids. I think the two 2020 trips sound like a great idea if all your family is excited about it.

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We’ve done over 50 days at Disneyland Paris, although this month will be our first ever as a family to WDW.
For us the key has been avoiding those two elements you describe, crowds and high prices, by going in low season and staying in the self catering cabins.
But beyond that, our passion hasn’t diminished. We still want five days at DLP every time. We take it at a much more relaxed pace nowadays, but the other key to it all is the memories and traditions we’ve built up. Ours are from 10-18 nowadays and it’s still our favourite family holiday.
We used to watch every parade, now we’ll just do one each visit, and we very rarely do character meets any more. But besides that, we all still love it.

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We don’t go on a regular basis. We did our honeymoon in 2007 and 2 family trips in 2016 and 2018. We plan on going again in 2020. My kids are currently 7 and 10 and are still very much interested in DW. For us, we have stayed at different resorts and new things have opened in between our visits. Now if we go back to Florida in 2022, we will probably do a universal trip with maybe one Disney day. Our kids will be taller and able to ride everything if they want to. And a combo universal/ Disney trip is out of our budget. That’s why the one day at Disney is a maybe.

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Our family does amusement parks. It is, for us, the epitome of a vacation. Sometimes that means the thrill and adrenaline-pumping rides at places like Cedar Point, Six Flags, King’s Island, Hersheypark, or even Universal (although, Universal, frankly, ranks low on that scale).

But we also do WDW frequently. Thing is, some of our kids have grown to adulthood, others are teens, and they still love WDW and would miss it if we didn’t go. But I think part of that isn’t just the “magic” of Disney, but the ability to experience Disney as a family. We pretty much do just about everything together (although we do allow the older ones to go off on their own part of the time if they want). And I think that is what makes it special even moreso than the rides. It is really cool when your 17 year old is there to “introduce” his little 7 year old brother to his first experience on whatever ride, etc.

When does it become boring? Well, so far, for us, it hasn’t. But each family is unique.

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I personally think that there is always something new to explore, a different ride a child is now tall enough for, a new snack, an update to an attraction, new fireworks spectacular, or SOMETHING to hold my interest no matter how many times I go back. My first two trips were spread out by 9 years (2007 & 2016). Then when we went back in 2018, we (DH & I) got APs and have been back 5 times since then and have not been bored yet.

That said, only you can read your children. I think having an AP keeps you from feeling like you have to do, see, and eat everything all in one vacation. Take time for the pool, explore a new resort, or just enjoy your environment slowly.

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We are repeat visitors but due to time and money we usually go to WDW every other year. If I had infinite time and finances, we’d probably do a 5-6 day trip each year but we also travel a lot to cities, national/state parks, beaches, etc. so hard to fit it all in. The kids are 2 years older every trip (obviously) so different things interest them each time. Two of mine are thrill seekers, one likes rides but not all, and one hates them all due to motion sickness. Disney caters to them all somewhat. What we like is the constant entertainment with lots of options that are explored and chosen before arrival. With new restaurants to try, different resorts to stay in, and new attractions opening, it never becomes stale and after a couple trips, you don’t feel the urge to sit through Tiki Room ever again just because its there :stuck_out_tongue: My teens were furious when we toyed with the idea of taking the younger two for a quick trip without them, and thus, we have our spring break planned (perhaps last one as a whole family for a bit as oldest will be off to college in 2020). So I guess they aren’t aging out of Disney.

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First time I went was on our honeymoon in 1986 and then after that we had about 5 family trips beginning around 1998 (which averages about 4 years in between trips). We used to also do a lot of camping as a family which my sons loved. So I guess my point (sorry for rambling) is we didn’t go often enough to get bored and we mixed in other things like camping… we made tons of memories together as a family which is most important to me. Next October will be our third trip to WDW without kids (they are grown men now). This will likely (but never say never) be our last trip until grand kids (if that happens). I think WDW changes so often and there is so much to do that even if you do go more often, you can change things up. Having said that, I still like to make sure we do our favorites EVERY SINGLE TIME

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My older son started whining about going back to WDW around age 12. Now, at 16 and after a few cruises instead of WDW, he’s ready to go back. My DH was one and done, but drags himself and us down there because he can’t come up with a better suggestion. I love Disney, but some days, thinking about the crowds and the maneurvering gets to me and I wonder if it’s worth it.

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It hasn’t happened to my family yet either. We started going to WDW and DL in earnest in 2005 when my daughter was 3. She is 16 now and her brother is 13 (14 in April) and its still one of our favorite vacations. We have been 11 times in those intervening years. Our next trip is planned for Thanksgiving 2019. My wife though is not as keen, so a lot of times she will sleep in, skip RD, and meet us at lunch time.

I think with the regular attraction and restaurant additions, Disney does a good job of keeping the experience fresh assuming you like a theme park type vacation. Just off of the top of my head since we went in 2005 the following has been added or changed at WDW or DL:

Soaring Around the World
FEA
Carsland
Pandora
New fantasyland at Magic Kingdom (Mine train/BOG/Under the Sea)
Under the Sea in CA
Toy Story Land
Guardians of Galaxy Mission Breakout (DL)

On the horizon:
SWGE
Marvel land in CA
Guardians of the Galaxy Coaster in Epcot
Remy Ride in Epcot
Tron Cycle coaster

I must say the Disney park executives are following Walt’s advice about DL never being finished and always being improved

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Carsland is in California, not Florida unless I have completely missed a huge land.

I will forever and always sit through the Tiki Room…:rofl::rofl::rofl:

My grandparents took us each spring break growing up with their Orange Lake timeshare. I loved it every year, but I do feel like I kind of took it for granted. As for my family, we did a trip in 2009 and then not again until 2018 where I finally caught Disney-itis and we’re heading back in May. For our 2018 trip I had ideas like “we always start in MK” or “we have to do xyz”, but I think what I realized that trip is I can actually do whatever I want and switch whatever days I want and enjoy the resorts and times outside of the park. I didn’t have the bug when I was focused only on park time, but when I opened my mind to the whole World aspect I fell in love.

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Yes I know. I was referencing changes in both parks – WDW and DL

Despite what Elon Musk has been saying, Carsland has ALWAYS BEEN and will ALWAYS BE in Michigan!!!

:wink:

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I’ll open by saying that I love WDW and have always enjoyed my trips. But I believe that it is possible to get bored with it. After 7 days (my longest trip so far) I had all of WDW that I needed and was perfectly happy to go home. Likewise I don’t need to go several times a year - or even every year; I think once every two - or even three - years would satisfy me (the five years between my last trip and my upcoming trip was too long).

Now if I lived in Orlando (or at least close) and had an AP, it might be a different story. I could see some Sunday after church deciding to hang out at AK for a few hours, or let’s head over to EP and watch Illuminations and grab something to eat while we’re there. When I lived in San Diego and had an AP for Sea World this is exactly what we did. But for an out of town, expensive, 24/7 immersion, do or die “vacation”, a week every few years is perfectly satisfactory for me.

I should add that when I lived in San Diego and DL was a 90-120 min drive away, I typically went two or three times a year (no AP).

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interesting topic

My family went to WDW quite frequently when I was about 5 to 15 years (once a year or every other year). I recall going when I was about 16 or 17 and after that I kind of grew out of it. I went once when I was in my early 20’s, and then it took 10+ years before I went back with my own kids. I remember feeling kind of obliged to go when they were old enough and was only excited on their behalf, but I ended up enjoying it a lot. We thought that we’d go maybe once every couple of years, but now for several years we’ve gone pretty much every year. I kind of feel like it might lose part of it’s appeal and feel less special for the kids if we go too frequently, so this is something we are pondering over now.

First @ryan1 yay Cedar Point!!!

Now, overall…

I just had this existential crisis myself as my husband and I went through where we would go on vacation this summer. We are planning and international trip next year so wanted to keep this year in the US.

He was actually the one to suggest WDW (shocked!), and we found a good rate at the Dolphin. We just went so I was a little hesitant at first but I think what brought me around was the new stuff. Staying in a new hotel, doing the trip a bit differently by staying longer with fewer park days, etc. I think that is why WDW has the repeatability for me - there are so many options that you don’t have to have the same trip twice, but you can revisit favorites each time if you want.

I haven’t read every answer.

For me it isn’t so much that it gets boring… it’s that we only have so many vacation dollars a year and there is so much else to do and see in the world. DH especially gets where he wants to do authentic things, not make-believe-fantasy-fun type things. And my kids aren’t far behind. The all love exploring on road trips and meeting people on cruise ships and in Caribbean ports.

This was my POV for so long. I do enjoy amusement parks a great deal. Some friends invited us to try a beach vacation once, and voila - we liked that. Then our friends moved to OR and the only way we could see them was to drive 3,000 miles - so we did and voila - we liked that too. And then we tried a Disney cruise, and voila…

Have you been to Dollywood?

I have the opposite view. I like for my vacations to be an escape from my reality. Sometimes fantasy like. I think Disney is good for that, especially at my kids’ ages. And what is authentic? Cruises? Tourist Europe? I say no. Experiencing city or country life like the locals? Maybe more so.

Maybe it helps if your family really likes amusement parks. Mine does so Disney appeals to us. At some point we’ll grow out of it maybe and move on to Universal, Six Flags, Cedar Point, etc.

But I hear where you and your DH are coming from. Wilderness Lodge pipes in fake cricket noises in the outdoor areas to give it more of an outdoor effect. Really necessary? I didn’t mind but I can see how it would annoy others.