Real World or Disney World — my difficult choice

Wait a minute…

I’d check in, but set limits. Like I wouldn’t check during the MVMCP, but I’d allow it once party is over (waiting for bus, riding bus back to hotel, etc.).

As long as there are some boundaries and it isn’t taking over actual trip stuff (party) or messing with my sleep (staying up late, or getting up early), I’m ok checking in on the real world briefly.

I totally unplug from the news, if possible. Our sole focus is enjoying the “bubble” that is WDW.

We even come up with a “safe” word for the family to stop arguments or the “airing of grievances” between the kids. If an argument starts, someone can say the “safe” word and the dispute must stop. We always pick a silly word, so it ends up making everyone laugh when it is used.

For the last trip it was “croissant” because my kids laugh at my pronunciation since I spent some of my youth in Brussels.

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I completely unplug. The world can get along just fine without me for a week. Vacation is about filling my soul and being happy. There’s a chance that the real world will interrupt that, so the real world isn’t allowed in. What’s the likelihood that if that the results aren’t what you hope for that it will ruin the rest of your vacation? On the other side of the coin, what is the likelihood that not knowing would cause you to obsess about not knowing, ruining your vacation?

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That’s totally brilliant!

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Ok, so… I’m American and I know I can’t really know what the election means to you…but, from what I can tell, the election is extremely important to the futures of everyone in the UK. I’ve been following the Brexit for years. I think you should find out the results as they come out or else you will regret it later, no matter what the election result is, because from what you are writing it is important to you. If it were me I’d check periodically but otherwise enjoy my vacation day.

Perhaps not a “junkie”, but I do like to keep up with the news and politics (as depressing as it is these days). But at WDW it all goes on the far back burner; the only “news” I get is what happens to show up on my FB feed - and I’m rarely on FB in the parks unless I get stuck in a long line.

The above being said, if I was in WDW for as momentous an event as a Presidential election I might view it differently; I’d probably be checking in every hour or so. But in my case, the national polls wouldn’t close until 10 PM, and not many results would really start filtering in until midnight, so my decision would be how late do I want to stay up if I have a busy day the next day.

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I look at the news online briefly every day of vacation. My knowing what has happened doesn’t affect any of the outcomes. As far as an election goes, just knowing the final results is what matters. Not all the projection and yammering of the talking heads. I’d look if in a long line, but not let it alter my getting stuff done in the moment.

I’m certainly going to be looking at my phone. It’s a General Election. And a big one.

I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I didn’t find out the result before I went to bed.

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I would be checking. I wouldn’t be checking every second, but I’d be checking at reasonable intervals, considering polls close and counting comes in slowly.

I will warn, our most recent election was counted a lot quicker than ever before and Canada is a huge country with several time zones. It only took a few hours to have the (minority) government clearly decided. Sure, individual ridings may have taken longer, with one or two having had to stay open longer for voting, but overall, polls closed at 8pm and we knew before midnight (EST) how most of the seats were going to go.

So my point is, given the UK is one time zone and if they are using top counting equipment, you may well know the result (or at least the general outcome) before the dessert party. If it’s a hung parliament, then you don’t have to keep checking every minute because there won’t be any news every minute. If you miss the result change of a few ridings by a half hour, will it matter to you? I can see you wanting to know before the next day, but if you limit yourself to checking one good website every half hour, you should be able to enjoy both. Who knows, you might even find yourself sitting with other Brits doing the same thing and then you’ll get to talk about it.

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There’s nothing wrong or compulsive about keeping up on current events while at WDW and even in the parks. Using wifi in the parks, I kept current but didn’t have my smartphone out all the time. What’s going on in the news makes excellent conversation while waiting in lines because me you can run out of things to take about without having the current news. I’ll admit I have occasionally gotten strange looks while talking politics in line. …I never engage in disparaging political talk but as a former teacher my voice tends to carry. I literally can’t understand how people wait in a line and don’t talk at all…lol.

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I don’t watch any news at all no matter what and it has greatly improved my mental health. The only exception is weather events.

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Do what makes you happy, it’s your vacation. If that’s finding a pub and knocking back a few, go for it.

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I never allow myself to be all that linked to the real world.

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Can you imagine an exception? Because I don’t either. But for A Really big Deal kind of thing I would make an exception.

I think for me the question really is whether the election qualifies as an exception.

I’m sure I’d check in to see the final results. But knowing inch by inch wouldn’t change the outcome.

If I were going to imagine something maybe something like a natural disaster going on near my hometown and I was keeping tabs? Hurricane. Wildfires. But I also think a point person there to communicate with as needed would also work.

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Some would view elections in a similar light. But I understand what you’re saying and don’t disagree

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By that argument, there’s no point watching any sports matches. Just tune in when the final result is announced!

Election results nights can be just as exciting to politics junkies as game days are for sports nerds!

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This is how we watch basketball

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I agree with both of these. I personally never understood the nail-biting, TV watching during elections. Once you have cast your vote, you cannot change the outcome. There are about 1,000 other things that I can/should/want to do during that time and they will be more productive. If I were in Disney World, that number increases tenfold.

If you need to watch it to go to sleep at night, check in before bed. Doing so continuously before then just increases your anxiety and there is literally nothing you can do to stop what is unfolding. It seems sadistic.

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