How do you pass the time to your next vacation when it's really far away?

[Shelbizzles]

My husband and I have went the past two years but unfortunately we are not able to afford to go this year but we've talked about it and we should be able to go September 2017. Which is awesome! But sooo far away. And I love to plan. So anyway. My question is what do you guys do to pass the time until your next trip? What can I do to plan for it now? What can I do?! Lol

 

[Dashzap]

Read these boards and watch lots of trip vlogs on Youtube

 

[dreiwhit]

One thing you can do is to buy the stuff you need for your next trip over the next 15 months. It beats buying what you need all at once.

What I have been doing is read these boards and other Disney-related pages, and look at the pictures and videos from our last trip. And, I savor the good memories I have from an almost perfect Disney vacation!

 

[Shelbizzles]

One thing you can do is to buy the stuff you need for your next trip over the next 15 months. It beats buying what you need all at once.

What I have been doing is read these boards and other Disney-related pages, and look at the pictures and videos from our last trip. And, I savor the good memories I have from an almost perfect Disney vacation!

Those are great ideas! I'll just start collecting things for my trip. That'll make it fly by

 

[quagmire0]

Once I know we're committing to the vacation, I buy the tix right away. (We stay offsite) Then I dive in and find well reviewed condos and grab one early. As dreiwhit mentioned, this spaces out the expense. Tickets don't expire, so those are sort of like an investment against future price increases, which are all but guaranteed to happen.

We also take more smaller trips during off years. Not to Disney, but to Michigan or Wisconsin or whatever. It tides us over until the 'big trip'.

 

[Kiersten]

My trip is seven months away so I've been lurking around these boards and watching DCP videos (even though I don't qualify or have any intention of applying to DCP) on Youtube. I am also working a lot. Not requesting off many days this summer so I can save up for Disney this winter and it gives me something to do to pass my days by quickly.

 

[gap2368]

I go on the DIS
work as much as I can
plane my next trip ( or in some cases my next 3 or 4 trips)
right now I am in a clinical trial for a new asthma drug and it is taking a good bit of my time ( 4-5 hour dr appointments 2x a week)

I am also very lucky that I can so a day trip (I live 4 hours away) it is a long day but doable so I add in a few day trips between long weekends/ week long trips.

 

[HappyGrape]

we plan days away, other trips, live music/stand up comedy, movie days out, meals out. Other things I guess, there isn't a need to put your live on hold

 

[WDWNY]

We like to stay at a new resort each time (at least we try it depends on the deals/ prices for those dates) so something I like to do when we are really far out in advance (before you can even book) is think of where we might want to stay and read many reviews, watch lots of youtube videos and have my top picks. I feel less biased when I don't know what the pricing will be between the other hotels in the same category.

I start to stalk flights as soon as they become available.

Watch many Youtube vlogs- it makes me feel like I'm there and sometimes they will do something you never thought of/ have done and will make you realize you want to do the same thing!

I love sweets. I love going on Pinterest and seeing what desserts people recommend and start making a list by park (make sure to write down where too!) of what I want to try when I'm there! I keep the list on my phone so whenever I want something sweet at the park I just go on my phone and see what is on the list for the park I'm in. If you're planning on doing dinning reservations... you can take your time going through every menu, reading reviews and deciding where you're going to want to eat!

I also go on Disneystore.com or on the Shop parks app to see if there is any new merchandise available. I don't ever buy anything unless there is a sale and will use it for the trip though!

And of course I love coming here to read about peoples trips, upcoming changes etc!

 

[mdsouth]

My husband and I have went the past two years but unfortunately we are not able to afford to go this year but we've talked about it and we should be able to go September 2017. Which is awesome! But sooo far away. And I love to plan. So anyway. My question is what do you guys do to pass the time until your next trip? What can I do to plan for it now? What can I do?! Lol

My last trip was in February 2014 and my next trip is still just a dream. I hope to go in 2017 sometime. I have been posting on a thread called, "Who's going in 2017 or 2018" for a long time now to help fill the time. There are several of us on that thread that are trying to fill time with our long waits.

We like to stay at a new resort each time (at least we try it depends on the deals/ prices for those dates) so something I like to do when we are really far out in advance (before you can even book) is think of where we might want to stay and read many reviews, watch lots of youtube videos and have my top picks. I feel less biased when I don't know what the pricing will be between the other hotels in the same category.

I start to stalk flights as soon as they become available.

If you're planning on doing dinning reservations... you can take your time going through every menu, reading reviews and deciding where you're going to want to eat!

I also go on Disneystore.com or on the Shop parks app to see if there is any new merchandise available. I don't ever buy anything unless there is a sale and will use it for the trip though!

And of course I love coming here to read about peoples trips, upcoming changes etc!

All these things that WDWNY stated are things I do! I look over menus, check prices and read reviews of the resorts and restaurants so when I actually do book my trip, I have a good idea of costs.

 

[B4DlandOpened]

Several years ago I bought the Season of Disney DVD box set at World of Disney and the Modern Marvels - Walt Disney World episode on iTunes
Since I am able to work from home on some assignments, I watch pieces from one of the ten of them during lunch.

 

[2princesses3princes]

I diet so I can fit into my vacation clothes! Well I should say, I plan to diet!

 

[ALittleWhistle]

Plan, plan, plan. I look at different restaurants, menus, snacks, and make documents full of things I'd like to try. I make detailed schedules of what park we are going to on what day, what attractions we're visiting in what order, what food we're eating (we don't stick to the schedules, but this reduces my Disney waiting anxiety). Keep up with Disney news, food blogs, etc, to see changes since our last trip. Lists of resorts that I'd like to visit on the trip, characters we'd like to see. Packing list - checking out Dollar Stores for stuff I might need. Research most cost-efficient use of dining plan credits. Detailed budget. Again, lots of things we don't really stick to, but it helps me cope!

I work a lot, and have requested some extra on-call shifts. I also have a vegetable garden.

One thing I'd like to do this year is sit down and write Disney memories; maybe buy a scrapbook or journal. There are so many magical moments, and I don't want to lose those memories!

 

[StirlingSilver83]

LoL I am in the same boat you are! We went in 2014 and then again in 2015, but just couldn't swing a trip for 2016! We have decided on March 2017 and since then I have been trying to decide what hotel I wanted to stay at. We have previously stayed at CR and GF on the past trips, so I thought it was a no brainer and we needed to stay Poly, lol. Unforunately though I was looking up prices from this year to see what they are and get an idea and they are CRAZY expensive! Anyways I always like staying monorail, because the past 2 trips we have had my younger son who was 8 months and 20 months old on those trips...I thought having the monorail would make things easy, but on both past trips the monorail was down for parts of our trip and we ended up either taking the bus or driving everywhere. So the realest in me said why the heck do we need a monorail resort if we have consistantly had issues with it, lol. I talked myself right out of "needing" a monorail resort, lol, besides my younger son will be 3 on this next trip so no reason we would "need" a monorail resort, lol. That being said I have narrowed my choices down for the resorts...we are now considering AKL, WL, BC/YC, CR, & Poly...yes I threw in the 2 monorail resorts just for price comparison, lol. What ever resort has the better deal is the 1 we will more than likely go with, although AKL is at the top of my list, lol. After I narrowed my choices down I made up a mock dining and itinerary set up for each resort, lol...now I am just waiting for the 2017 packages to be released so I can finally pick a resort and then modify my dining plans and tweak them up until our 180+10 day gets here, LOL...I am a little obsessed as you can see!

 

[MarieLightning]

Read TRs, look through our old trip pictures. Watch a lot of Disney movies

YouTube videos are also something that happen a LOT. Family trip videos, vlogs, Disney surprise videos, official Disney parks videos, you name it.

 

[SirMickey]

Read TRs, look through our old trip pictures. Watch a lot of Disney movies

YouTube videos are also something that happen a LOT. Family trip videos, vlogs, Disney surprise videos, official Disney parks videos, you name it.

I'm with you on this. I, too, watch plenty Disney movies -- including the free Disney Parks & Disney Cruise planning DVDs to put me in a "Disney mood" and pass the time between trips. For me, it's a great way to prep for my next visit!

 

[Mage of Disney]

Try not to think too hard about it! I'm going this June for my birthday, and the wait is KILLING me!

 

[ChimCher-ee]

1. disBoards, almost daily
2. Some days I'm in the mood for food so get my virtual fix by hunting down people's favorite snacks or buffets or character meals. It makes me long for food I can't get to anyway, but satisfies me knowing that time will come (while, as a PP said, dieting to get into my summer vaycay clothes).
3. YouTube, most often iThemePark videos, especially of the resorts. The opening music gets me whistling for the day, and there are no annoying voiceovers. "360 degree" and "a walk in the park" and "park bench" videos help, too.
4. Putting together different kinds of trips I might be able to take someday, loooong ones with DD, shorter ones solo, holiday ones, etc. There are so many things I still haven't done, that it makes me happy thinking about the new things I'll be able to mix in with the old favorites and traditions. It somehow lessens my anxiety about the "must do's" on my upcoming trip with my mom, which will make it that much more fun and relaxed.
5. Learning more about Disney -- the man, the art, the movies, the parks. I'm trying to understand my obsession, and the more I learn, the greater my enjoyment and the more it becomes a hobby to be enjoyed in its rightful place in my daily life. So far, Connecting with Walt (and any podcast with Michael), the theme parks book by Younger and Disney Wars by Stewart, and pairing actual cartoons with reading They Drew as They Pleased by Ghez have all been great ways to pass the time.

 

[DisneyMom111]

Watch many Youtube vlogs- it makes me feel like I'm there and sometimes they will do something you never thought of/ have done and will make you realize you want to do the same thing!

Yep! It's amazing how many times I have been watching a vlog and thought, oh wow, we never did that, we should do that next trip! It's great to watch how other people do Disney. And it DOES make you feel like you are there. You can almost smell the popcorn.

 

[dislovefrommn]

Podcasts! I've never been a podcast person before Disney planning. I looked up a specific episode of Wdw prep school and I've been hooked ever since. Now I have 7 Disney podcasts that I subscribe to!