Last Minute Trip Has Brought Perspective

[dbramer]

Well said; it's just a shame we have to do that.

I call it the "Six Flags Effect." I go to a Six Flags park with low expectations, and I'm seldom disappointed (by my expectations, anyway).

It is not about "lowering expectations"....I think a PP said it best when they said the same thing.

This is a great post. I'm not sure it's actual expectations that have to be lowered as long as you always maintain a healthy perspective. An attraction breaking down the day you are visiting is not a vacation ruining event, by any stretch. Really nobody should let any single negative event be vacation ruining anywhere they go, Disney or otherwise. It's the people who can take things in stride, maintain a positive attitude and a healthy perspective on life who will have the best vacations and really, the best life experiences overall. OP, your post is a really good example of that. It's the same type of outlook I have and the reason why I just let it roll off my back when my 6 year old son really wants to go see Country Bear Jamboree first thing in the morning instead of my "planned" headliner ride and we end up with a private showing for just my family in an otherwise empty theatre. I'll hold that memory much longer than I likely would've had I kept my original plan.

It is why we go. I know the argument is always "we spent so much on this vacation that it has to be perfect." But in reality, it is about the small window of time we have with our kids as kids. I work two jobs, completed my master's degree in 2.5 years and have been "planning" our upcoming trip for two years (we had to cancel last August due to a financial setback). Most days, I see my wife and kids for about ten minutes in the morning. They are all in bed by the time I get home from my part-time job. It is my daughter's first trip to Disney and she, like most 5 year olds, is Frozen-obsessed. If I don't get an FP for A&E, we will standby it and I won't stress about the time we are missing on other rides, because the look on my daughter's face when she sees those two for the first time will be worth more than any vacation might "cost." We have TS meals scheduled three times a day most days....do I care about the time we are missing in the parks? No, because I rarely get to sit down to dinner with my family and just be together. A vacation is time spent with family, friends and loved ones...not about chasing a clock. We do that in "real-life" and don't need to do it on vacation. If you are running behind, jump on MDE and change an FP. Granted, it may not for a headliner attraction, but it may end up being the one thing you remember for the rest of your life. If you are stressing about planning and making decisions 180 days or 60 days in advance, OP's observations should bring some sanity back to your life. They are plans, hopes and a framework.

When I was in the military, one axiom that we lived by was that a plan only lasts until the first engagement. After that, the commander with the most flexibility and "bigger picture" mentality would be the victor. Another thing we stressed was flexibility is the key to any successful engagement. These are keys to a successful WDW vacation, also. It doesn't have to be "perfect" and planned out to a T for the vacation to be successful. When you get home and look at the photos, not the canned ones, but the candid photos that you took on your cell phone as a member of your family did something silly or just "in the moment", that is the real value of the vacation, not min-maxing every moment and constantly looking at a spreadsheet of FP's and ADR' and getting angry. That is what lowers expectations (for you and everyone around you that sees your anger or interacts with you.)

Sorry for the length of this response...have a magical day (whether at WDW or at home with loved ones).

 

[pattyw]

I am crying while I read this post! It's wonderful! And let me add that you will always have that "Disney feeling" when watching your kids react at WDW. I thought I would miss not having little ones now that my DS's are all grown. But believe me it's still as magical as ever when you see a 21 yr old and 18 year old still excited to go to Disney with us and eager to go on the rides. And still happy to see the characters!

 

[Groomer Gal]

LOVE this!
Thank you!

Perfect timing for me as we leave in 19 days and I'm stressing abouts the last minute details.

It's about Happy Hearts....not about the race to do and see it all.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

After our last December trip I came home and was thinking about all the things we didn't do but this last trip was all about the little ones. Did I ride roller coasters, ToT, and a lot of ither things I normally ride? No, but I met every Princess, character, ate with Sofia, Jake, Mary Poppins, Cinderella, Mickey, Minnie (you get the picture), rode all the kiddie rides and watched over a sleeping toddler. Loved every minute of it!

 

[BelleBriarRose]

OP, thank you so much for sharing. I definitely think that people (on the disboards and in general) focus on the negatives on a Disney trip because they expect every minute to be magical and are disappointed when it doesn't go exactly as planned. But the real magic happens when things DON'T go according to plan.

My next trip is in 20 days and I can't wait to see what little magical moments happen along the way!

 

[Planogirl]

Sorry for the length of this response...have a magical day (whether at WDW or at home with loved ones).

I love this part of your post! I learned finally that magic can happen anywhere and now it usually does.

 

[sdomino11]

Beautiful, beautiful! That's why we love wdw. Way to sum it up!

 

[disrev]

OP back again. So glad to hear from the many of you choosing to embrace the real goal of a vacation... R-E-L-A-Xing (thank you Aaron Rodgers) and enjoying the people you are with.
It's the last day here before we head home tomorrow morning.
We ended up "opening and closing the park" yesterday at MK. You read that right, we were on the "Magic bus" (as my kids call it) at 6:30 am and stayed till 1 am with a 2, 5 and 7yo. Of course, there was a 4 1/2 he break in the middle with epic naps by all. But again just an amazing day.

Some highlights.

• The 2yo completely screwed up my perfectly mapped morning touring plan when she insisted we go on the "Goofy Ride" first since she is now tall enough. In the end, hearing her screams and watching her with her hands up beats some short coaster with dwarves every day and twice on weekends.
• 7yo getting to be Beast and 2yo Chip at Enchanted Tales with Belle. We knew our 7yo could belt out a roar of terror... We just didn't realize there would be a payoff point.
• 7yo getting to ride all three mountains plus Splash and BTMR twice (thank you child swap).
• 5yo driving those ridiculously lame cars on Tomorrowland speedway. His excessive hours on MarioKart Wii are kind of paying off on his driving skills (but not at all).
• On the bus ride back to the hotel for nap time, realizing 5yo had his shorts on backward... he blushed as much as a Ugandan boy can blush, then later leaned over and slyly whispered to me , "I'm Fred from Big Hero 6. 'I wear them frontward. I wear them backward...'" I lost it!
• Supper at Tomorrowland Terrace. A new one for us. Food was bleh, but recounting the events of the week and laying out the plan for the rest of the night was fabulous... Lots of laughs, lots of ideas and lots of big eyes!
• Standing in line to meet Cinderella, my wife and I recounting the bizarre and beautiful way WDW has intersected with several of the most significant moments of Our life. Each kid's origin story (2 adopted/ 1 biological) is in some way tied to a visit... which is worthy of an entire post in itself (and no, none were conceived here).

Finally, the "ultimate moment"... 2yo got freaked out by Wishes which is 7yo's absolute favorite. She (7yo) says, "Let's go on the People Mover instead. Doing something as a family is more important.'"
Boom. And there was the moment again... This time from the mouth of my hyperactive sqwirmy daughter. We have been talking a lot this trip about how what we are doing is only as important as who we are with, and she got it!

As someone on this thread stated, it's not about that perfect vacation. This one has been far from perfect ...there were a couple of epic meltdowns that brought embarrassment to the family name, but I am forgiving my wife and moving forward.

But really, it's not about the perfect vacation but finding the perfect moments in your vacation (thanks for that nugget ConnieB).

Thanks to all for sharing some of yours and as I've shared some of mine, I hope everyone who is heading here soon will breathe deep and heed the words of our friend Crush... "Just go with the flow."

 

[iheartbklyn]

Love love love this post. It makes me hopeful about our next trip, because we might not be able to go during the "slower" crowd level days.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Loved your update! And by the feeback of comments and likes, it looks like consensus is that folks appreciate you sharing how to put things in perspective.

It isn't how little or how often you get to go, it is how you choose to experience the time you get there, period. As you quoted the wisdom of Crush, "Just Go with the Flow".

 

[Pats Dragon]

And that is exactly why our family goes every year! Its all about being together and laughing and relaxing. Thanks for the post!

 

[nat8199]

We are here currently... Family of 5... Me, wife, daughter (7yo), son (5yo), daughter (2yo).

My kids are growing up disneyfied. This is the 7yo's 8th trip and 2 yo's 4th. We've only come before on what would be considered "slow times." We hate crowds, love the old fp system, and are rope drop - nap - return or hop for the evening type.

The 1st three months of 2015 have been a hot (insert appropriate expletive here) mess professionally and have caused a inordinate amount of time away from home. We literally made the decision to make a trip 17 days prior to arrival (the day after Easter). It had the making for no fp+ options, no adrs and lots of added frustration due to it being potentially busiest week out of the year (sans Christmas or July 4 week).

It is ridiculously busy. People are everywhere. I've NEVER experienced crowds like this. It has been stupid-hot. And, did I mention my wife got ridiculously sick the day we we were set to leave home, leaving me to do the 20 hr drive while she went into a "medicinally induced travel coma?" Miserable sounding trip, right?

Quite the opposite. We're having a blast. Here's a few reasons why...

• We lowered our touring expectation going in.
• We chose to hit the Water Parks this time around (a first for us and our kids LOVED IT).
• Somehow I got into Ohana for Supper 5 days out (something I haven't been able to pull of for three trips with months of pre-trip effor) and a character breakfast at Hollywood&vine before DHS opening
• As mentioned previously I hate fp+ And we had two weeks to try to book. But, I got every fp I wanted at EPCOT yesterday and have a perfect lineup for us tomorrow am at Magic Kingdom (all three mountains by 11:00 for the big kids, Peter Pan, Pooh and Cinderella for the littler one).
• Last night at Magic Kingdom was one of the most magical nights our family has ever experienced at Disney. It included TTA, COP, Wishes from Tomorrowland, Philharmagic, IASW, Little Mermaid, Barnstormer, and the Regal Carousel. Not the most impressive lineup, but had some great people-watching moment, some great cast member interactions, and several laughter-to-the-point-of-tears moments. Also, the Barnstormer ride was 2yo's 1st roller coaster experience. She screamed with joy through the whole ride.

The moment to sum it all up for me was as we sat and watched the Philharmagic. It's kind of become "the family attraction" for us. I realized as Donald finally got the hat from Jasmine that I had probably only watched 25% of the movie. Why? Because I was locked in on my 3 kids and their engagement, wonder, laughter, and singing along. It. Was. PERFECT.

My point? It hit me today as I reflected on that moment in Philharmagic. This Disney stuff is all about perspective. Granted, I want legacy fp, non-expiring tickets, and an end to "My Disney Experience" as much as the next guy, but when my focus gets so much on that I miss why I origianlly fell in love with this place ... Family and memories.

Don't get me wrong, everyone frustrated with the current state of things, I get it. I'm just choosing to lower some of my expectations (which I know some of you are going to freak out over) and embracing the moments with those I just can't put a price tag on. 4 of "those" are sleeping soundly in the hotel room as I finish typing this post.

Granted I am a bit overtired and stressed right now, but I just cried reading this. Thank you so much for posting. I cannot wait to experience some of the same magic you did when we go in September.

 

[Nancyg56]

Our last trip (Dec '13) I got so caught up in "Who knows when we'll come back? We're NEVER coming back at Christmas! I've got to cram it all in!" and jam-packed our WDW days. My husband, 2 days in, said he needed me to cancel whatever we had planned for the next day and just BE. We argued about it for a good 20 minutes (I was giving up an ADR I had been looking forward to) but I caved and switched our schedule. The three of us spent the ENTIRE day at the pool (snacking, drinking, floating, reading, hot tubbing ) and it was probably one of the best days all 10 days we were in FLA.

WHen my family was planning our first trip back to WDW my DGD was 4. The trip was for her. I was all over the DIS, planning planing planning. My sister IL was coming and she was a DIsney Veteran who toured with a Commando. My DD warned me that we never would manage to get everything in, to lower my expectations. Oh no! WHat if we never went back????

Well we arrived and the plan was pretty good but then we got to MK, and I was in TOUR OVERDRIVE!!! Calling the familuy to hurry up! DH tolerated that all of 5 minutes, pulled me to the side and we had a chat. Well, he had a chat. I listened as he "chatted", and then had an attitude adjustment. Best thing ever! WE had the best vacation as a family, left the SIL home on subsequent trips, and treat every minute as special. WE may miss attractions, but we never miss moments, which is why we vacation in the frst place!

 

[dpswift]

I am glad you had a great time. Drive carefully.

I have found that with each trip priorities change. For a while DH was not into Disney but encouraged me to take DS by myself. We had some great trips. usually I brought along one of the older children but not always. On my 3 younger kids first trip we did 1 park a day. It was wonderful. We would see a good part of the park and then go back to POP.

After that trip DS became more into doing favorites. It was hard at first because we would skip the rides that he loved on earlier trips. One time I realized how little we did in comparison to other trips. I then realized that it is about doing what makes you happy.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Your posts sum up "Disney Magic" perfectly for our family. I am glad that you got to experience it again. The magic isn't always as powerful as we would like, but some trips are just amazing - and it is generally what we bring with us that makes those trips amazing.

Disney provides a great environment to feel the magic, but the magic is really inside of us.