Is it possible to fall out of love?

Walt Disney World
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A much-loved regular poster recently sent me a PM asking if I was OK. They were concerned as they hadn’t seen me on these forums in a while. Well, I’m fine. Thank you for asking.

The reason I haven’t been around is that I feel like I’ve lost my love for all things Disney. I’m wondering if I’ve fallen out of love with WDW. (You might even ask if I’ve been “cured” of my “addiction” to the place.)

I have a trip booked for April. I’m genuinely not remotely excited about it. I’m only keeping the trip because my flights are not changeable. If they were, or if they could be cancelled and refunded, I wouldn’t be making the trip. It’s a long way for only six nights. And for what?

I’m not complaining about or even questioning the decisions that Disney has taken. But yesterday’s announcements were something of a body blow to an already severely compromised mouse. The magic is draining away.

I continue to read the occasional trip report and watch DFB videos. It all looks and sounds awful. Long lines, people wearing masks (I’m not suggesting they shouldn’t be, but I don’t have to like the fact that they should), almost all non-ride entertainment gone.

I went to DLP during the summer and had a good time. But it wasn’t magical. I’m booked to go again in July. I’m a little excited about it.

I’m more excited about going to UOR in April, actually. I have a strong emotional resonance with WWOHP and that is still there and still awesome. From what I can tell. I’m very likely to cancel my Pop reservations and switch to Sapphire Falls — it’s a much nicer resort, with walking access to both UOR parks and City Walk. And it’s cheaper. And guests are guaranteed entry to the parks, even if they reach capacity. And they’re still doing early morning access. And I can still buy Express Passes. What is Disney offering on-site guests? Other than a big bill.

I know that the rides are all mostly running. And the physicality of the place is still there. And I’m sure I’ll be much more excited when I’m actually there. Though I am wary of returning to somewhere I’ve had such great experiences and seeing it as just a husk, a shadow of its former self.

Sad.

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Good to see you!
I don’t think I’ve ever been as in-love with WDW as most folks on this forum, but I don’t think it is crazy for you to wonder if it is possible you have fallen out of love. WDW at this point is not the same place you’ve visited in the past.
I wouldn’t go to the parks right now for free. But April is a long way off, and I can’t imagine it will look this dire at that point.

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Me too.

Good to hear from you sir. There are many voices missing these days. I just recently jumped back on after booking a trip in January. And I was finally getting excited about it a few days ago. But after yesterday’s announcements, not sure what I’m feeling. Despair is probably most accurate. More of the same 2020 I guess. I don’t do well when the future is blurred so extremely. I need a definite plan, and that is just not possible right now…

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I’m glad to hear from you.

Hilariously, I booked a trip for December YESTERDAY. :woman_facepalming:t2::woman_facepalming:t2::woman_facepalming:t2: I’m so sad.

I think all year we’ve been hoping 2021 will bring with it less pain and shock than 2020 but I’m losing hope that it’ll be so after all. After reading the news yesterday my heart just hurts so badly for everyone employed in the entertainment industry. I feel like their industry will feel the effect of the pandemic the longest and most painfully in terms of lost wages and jobs. :cry::broken_heart:

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Hi! Glad everything is ok! I dont know if anyone loves Disney as it is right now. I love Disney as a concept. Im excited for my trip because honestly Im tired of being home and there aren’t many options that appeal to me right now. I hope things are better for your April trip. We LOVE Universal. I think this will make ur upcoming trip sooo much more enjoyable.

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I have a trip in December 2020 centered around DVC points that expire Feb 2021. I will go. I am going to WL/CC because we bought that contract for that resort. I will go to the parks if they sound worth it, but maybe not much (we have APs, so no incremental expense). I’m watching the reviews/info. I wouldn’t go at this point were I not losing points, and were I not fall-back happy with spending some quiet time at WL/CC if the parks are not magical.

I do believe WDW will be back. It may take a while.

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I’m in the same place, but I still have days when I feel like I’m in love with Disney still. I was going to buy a DVC contract, but figured that seemed dumb when the border is closed and I can’t even visit. Who knows when I’ll be able to given recent announcements by the Canadian government. So to cheer myself up from all that is 2020 I bought a new car with the money instead. I needed some joy this year.

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Thank you for sharing @sanstitre_has_left_the_building. I’ve struggled with the same thoughts and feelings. It is hard to get excited about Disney when so much of the news coming out right now is about things going away, cast members being let go, and ongoing limits to onsite benefits (EMHs, FP+, fireworks, etc.) I know we aren’t the only ones feeling this way. Several of the Disney bloggers and podcasters I follow seem to have had their Disney light dimmed. Their posts aren’t as “peppy”, and I definitely hear the internal conflict they have trying to support/promote Disney while things are so tough right now.

I would like to think that you will find joy during your next trip, even with all of the changes and restrictions. I liken it to how happy my children were to return to in-person school in August. Even with social distancing, mask wearing, constant hand washing, being assigned to set cohorts, missing out on sports and after school activities…they have loved every minute of it and would choose in-person learning over virtual any day of the week. I underestimated just how much being at school meant to them, and I want to believe that when I return to Walt Disney World, that I will be able to embrace it and all of the changes with the same grateful and accepting heart that my children have shown with their school experience.

Here is what else I know, this experience is causing me to save more money and dream of the day when we return. I’ve already told the hubs that we are getting annual passes, strategically using them in mid-to-late summer so that we can do multiple trips over a 12 month period. I’m going to do all the things and have no regrets! I truly believe the tourism and entertainment industry will come booming back once we can move past this…and I will be thrilled to be able to contribute to that comeback! Hanging on until that day…

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Always good to hear from you @sanstitre_has_left_the_building on the forum. Your feelings are completely understandable and your observations are valid.

All I can say is that the night is darkest just before the light. Things will only get better from here. We are at the absolute depths of this global catastrophe and the impacts it causes on all aspects of our lives.

There will be a vaccine. Mask requirements will eventually be lifted. Distancing protocols will end. Jobs will return. The Magic will blossom. And at whatever point you feel drawn to WDW again, it will be here for you.

So will this forum. :rainbow::smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Glad to hear you are doing fine! It is very sad what WDW is looking like now when we think back to how it was only one year ago. :pensive: I think all we can do at this point is enjoy what is left. For some people, it’s harder than others depending on age, likes and dislikes. But, with all the liner tips and trip reports, I think we all feel we can make the most out of a trip too. Since UOR is geared for a different crowd and is not so complex, they are doing pretty well as far as operating closer to normal times. We are just staying positive and hoping to keep our plans for an early March trip!

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Yes. It’s possible and I understand. We just have to remind ourselves that nothing is the same right now, including Disney. Last week was the first time I’ve been to a department store in seven months. I didn’t fall out of love with shopping - I simply had no desire to go shopping because of the restrictions. Perhaps, that is some of what you’re feeling right now.
In any case, welcome back. I enjoy your trip reports.

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This is so me!

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I appreciate this post.

One week before the shutdown, my family and I had the MOST PERFECT WEEK EVER together celebrating the end of my husband’s 12 years of medical training… I mean we had V&A, stayed at Poly, I had a solo day at Epcot, we rode Everest 7x in a row, did FOP for the first time, and got two back to back fast passes for it at that, SDD for the first time, my son’s first time on all the big stuff (ToT, RnR, space), got on RotR after a back up boarding group mess, etc. It was literally almost perfect. I have a TR in here somewhere. My husband, who was dreading going to Disney, said “wow, that was excellent, when can we go back? especially to AK?” So, I booked us a week at YC for March 2021.

And then the shutdown. And I thought, oh I am so, so, so terribly sad for all the people whose trips were cancelled. But I never thought in a million years, even being married to someone in medicine, that there would be no MNSSHP or VMCP, no HEA, no HDD even… especially in the longer term. I was thinking “darn, a lot of people will have to reschedule and things will be more crowded for a while, but such is life”

Now with all these layoffs, I am mourning the magic we so enjoyed as a family. Our next trip (split stay YC/AKLK), which I booked when the discount dropped but before the entertainers were laid off further, was going to be so that we do all the things we missed last time:

  1. HDD
  2. soaking up the WS atmosphere as a family, entertainers and all
  3. having my daughter meet “pin-sess essa” and “owaf” and giving them hugs
  4. behind the scenes AK tours and/or DAH at AK
  5. Princess character meals
  6. AKL tours
  7. Storm along bay
  8. HEA from Cali grill

I think almost none of those are happening right now, and if none of them are happening by Feb, we will cancel. (Oh, and if some form of FP doesn’t return, as much of a headache as it can be, we won’t go even if all that is back).

I had held on hope that things would be back, just give it time, but if this stuff is truly cut for good, we might not be back for several more years, and then only so my daughter can see the castle.

In short, also sob.

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I do agree with your post. I don’t think Im as into Disney as some on this forum, maybe. Or maybe its just because I really can’t visit that often. The PULL after my last trip (2years ago) was sooooooo strong, could not wait to get back. I was so excited for my perfect April trip. Then Corona, cancelled trip, October reschedule-- also cancelled. I am hoping to go in 2022. But the PULL isn’t there right now. Honestly, everything I really loved about Disney has been, hopefully just put on hold. We don’t go enough to justify a partial experience. I am sure as some of these things return the pull will come back. Or maybe things will just be changed. Im following it, but as my next trip isn’t for a ways out. I am just taking in all the information. I do think as we get farther away from last March, and/or a vaccine comes out things will start to return. And I know I will return, but maybe it won’t be until 2023-- have to watch how things play out.

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I probably would have fallen out of love for awhile when my March 2020 trip got cancelled. But the decision to fund most of that trip with Disney gift cards left me with a lot of money tied to Disney, so I was very much vested in the relationship. I wanted to use those cards at the first opportune time so that I couldn’t kick myself for not having that money somewhere else that could be gaining interest. A July trip was scheduled and cancelled. Now it has morphed into an adult only Dec short trip. I’ve tried to stay positive with Disney and focus on what is there and not so much what is not there. My perspective may have been different if I didn’t have those gift cards this whole time.

ETA: My wife has been feeling a bit guilty about doing the trip with just the two of us and no kids, so she convinced me to also book Yacht Club with the discount for March. Looks like I’m not getting out of this Disney relationship anytime soon.

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Before all of this, I was checking in on this forum several times a day and religiously reading EasyWDW and other blogs. After we cancelled our July trip, I dropped down to once a week, if that. It just makes me so sad. We rescheduled for July 2021, which may not even happen if things continue as they are, and who knows what WDW will be by then.

I wouldn’t say I’m out of love with Disney, but I’m in a very long distance relationship with it and I’m not sure when I’ll ever see it again. And it makes me very sad to think about it. :sob:

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This is totally possible. But it’s not like you couldn’t fall in love again. Given your disappointment with the way of things (and I would be disappointed, too), I think concentrating on Universal is a good choice. Maybe you could take an evening and do a dinner at one of the WDW resorts to test your Disney love.

My thoughts about going to a pared down WDW experience is a little like visiting a sick friend. Part of you wants to be there, but part of you wants to remember him the way he was.

So if you think you want to hold out for a better WDW experience, wait until things are more normal. And the bonus is more of the newest rides may be ready by then.

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We have a trip planned for December. It will be short - 4 days, 3 parks. It will be different.

Disney makes our family happy. It’s a surprise trip for my 2 girls. The last 2 years have been really, really hard (personal family reasons and then when that tunnel finally started to lighten … bam, COVID and the world turned upside down again). They remember a 2015 trip in incredible detail and what they remember was how happy they were to be there. As my 14-year-old daughter said, “I just want to be there. I just need happy right now.”

Will there be fireworks, shows or parades? No. And the news yesterday made me cry. Festival of the Lion King is especially magical for me and to lose those performers? I can’t even put words to that.

Am I excited about going? Not as much as I used to be, but it’s still there. I scored an ADR I had about given up on, and the ride wait times are encouraging. I just hope all the magic or at least most of it is still there.

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I honestly could of written every word of this myself. We were suppose to be there next week for wine and dine for my first race. I was so excited, was able to get a hard to get dvc rental at poly, always wanted to try the Luau so got reservations for that. All of it canceled. Thankfully was able to move my Dvc rental to April, but now poly is under construction and no more spirit of aloha. For the first time in my life I am not super excited. Feeling the experience will be half of what it could of been. We just got back from Universal, it was our first time there in over 20 yrs because we are die hard Disney fans. Had a fabulous time. I feel like Universal is doing a good job slowly adding things back, where Disney keeps taking away. Hopefully come April things will be a little better!

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I feel exactly the same. I should have been flying back from a two week trip to WDW today but in truth I was relieved that we were not able to go. Short park hours, no park-hopping, no water parks and no fast pass would have taken away a lot of the benefit of staying in a WDW resort and paying for ultimate tickets so I wouldn’t have got my money’s worth.

I have another trip provisionally booked for August but I’m not remotely excited about it and almost certainly won’t go even if it is possible to fly internationally by then. It’s absolutely clear that Disney is planning for a quiet year next year (resorts remaining closed and laying off staff) which is entirely in line with predictions as to how long it will take for things to be back to normal (at least another 18 months and up to 5 years). I can’t see me wanting to pay the same amount for a significantly reduced experience.

Considering I religiously watched every new video released by the DFBGuide, AllEars and Prince Charming Dev, I haven’t watched one in months and barely even think about Disney. I think that this period of enforced absence has effectively forced me to go cold turkey on my WDW addiction and I’m not keen to go back to the single-minded yearning for it now that the spell has been broken.

For the time being, I’ll (hopefully) get my travel insurance pay out and will tuck it away for a future big trip once things are more normal. But it may not be to WDW.

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