Something happened during or after my most recent trip to Orlando. A switch switched. Maybe a lightbulb came on.
I’m not planning any more trips to Orlando for a number of years. And here’s why: I’ve realised it’s just not healthy for me. I’ve realised my addiction is damaging.
My whole life was focused on the next trip (ha!). All my free time was devoted to planning it. And I resented my non-free time. Even my job — which I used to love — became an irritation. I derived no joy from it. All I cared about was the next trip.
In the 18 months from October 2021 to March 2022 I took six trips. On average Orlando trips cost me around $5,000 each, though some have been close to double that, and my most recent trip was about half. That’s almost ruinously expensive. And why?
I think I’ve been chasing that first trip, back in August 2017. It blew my mind. I had never had a vacation like it. I had genuinely believed it would be a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Yet almost immediately after returning I wanted to go back. And I did, in June 2018. The cravings were so strong that I couldn’t wait another year. I went back in December 2018. Then June and December the following year. For 2020 I had June and October booked. COVID put a stop to that: WDW was open, but we were banned from flying to the US from the UK. So in October 2021 I took a trip to Canada, specifically to get access to the US and take my sixth trip. Then February 2022. The next trip was only a month later, in March. Then June. Then December — wow how those six months dragged while I waited to go back.
My last trip was March this year. By any reasonable standard it was a dream trip. I did all the things. No complaints. One of my best. But no trip has been as good as the first.
I need to step away. For the sake of my mental health. And for the sake of my finances.
The funny thing is, something has broken the spell because this doesn’t feel remotely difficult to do. I’ve already moved on. I’ve started enjoying my day-to-day life again. I’ve started loving my work again.
And I’ve found other things to look forward to and plan. Cheaper things. Less high-stakes things. Things I enjoy a lot, but don’t obsess about.
I am keeping my reservation for DLP this summer, though I’ve cut it from three nights to two. There’s less planning required at DLP, though I’m a little worried I’ll become a victim of FOMO and panic if I don’t make the trip perfect.
After that I’m done with Disney parks full stop. Not forever. But for some years. I’m looking forward now to re-exploring European cities. I plan to take cheap flights and travel light and stay for two or three nights at a time. I’m all about museums and galleries and cathedrals and views from tall buildings. And spontaneous lunches in unexpected restaurants.
Aside from any other reason, I need to stay away long enough to really miss the place. The next time I come back to Orlando I will still be chasing that initial high. I think I need to have stayed away for so long that I’ve almost forgotten what the place is like. And let it change to something different with new areas and attractions.
There is talk of a trip to the West Coast and DLR, and maybe Japan, too. That may well come before the return to Orlando. But even that is some years away.
Should I have quit sooner? Maybe. But I quit on a high.