Do You Love Disney Or Are You Just Used To Going To A Disney Park

[BadPinkTink]

I'm just watching the DisUplugged video Off The Rails on Disney Breaking Points dated March 5 2021 and Craig @Teleclashter brought up an interesting point. Do regular visitors to Disney parks really love the Disney brand the Disney parks experience or do they just go out of habit, either because its a family thing or they live nearby?

So lets discuss this

 

[LovesTimone]

We love it... all things Disney...

We are locals, and AP holders... and just renewed our AP's for this year 2021...

Our first time back in the parks last year, was a bit emotional for us... it was light at the end of the tunnel... it was exhilarating...to walk out on main street, and see the castle.. I do admit, I might have had a tear or two in my eyes that needed wiping away...

I think the two things go hand in hand... We have so many memories in the parks, Just the two of us, kids first trips, family trips, now we have grand-kiddos first trips, and family trips.. I have memories of my grandparents in the parks, which I hold so close in my heart. Girls trips with my Mom and DD ...

For us Disney goes the extra mile, making sure the guest have a magical experience, creating the atmosphere for family time, striving and looking for ways to give everyone the best most magical trips that they can. They are the gold standard in theme parks, cruise's, movies...

DH and I have all the parks on our Bucket list... So far WDW in Orlando, Disneyland California, Disneyland Paris... we had planned to mark Tokyo Disneyland off last year but that did not happen, so we are in a hold pattern on that right now... We were hoping to do a Disney family cruise which right now doesn't look good for that either... Yet we have hope for sure, that we will be able to start planning soon...

I fell in love with Disney as a child... watching the Wonderful World of Disney, nothing has changed... Disney kid forever...

 

[GinaLuvsWDW]

I love Disney World. I don’t live nearby and I also love to travel the real world. Right now the real world is on hold so the other World is just fine!
I go to Disney World and just stay at the resorts and go to Disney Springs, although that may change when Magical Express ends. I love the quality of service, the cleanliness, the theming and variety etc.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I pledge my allegiance (addiction) to the World of Disney.... and to the corporation one Mickey , one Walt, under the Disney Flag for which it stands.
I do worry that it has become the automatic family vacation decision for every school & family life celebration because it is easy & safe & fun.

 

[way2tyred]

We love WDW - we feel like it's a theme park experience like no other. But we also love "real world" trips, and we do not have a strong love for Disney outside of vacationing at WDW. You won't find our house or closets filled with Disney-ana.

 

[loves to dive]

We love WDW - we feel like it's a theme park experience like no other. But we also love "real world" trips, and we do not have a strong love for Disney outside of vacationing at WDW. You won't find our house or closets filled with Disney-ana.

This is me as well. I don't watch the movies when they come out, I have seen a few but now many. I have a few Disney mugs I've bought while there and am addicted to the masks from Italy so have a whole wall of them but that's it. I find WDW very relaxing, I don't plan anything in advance so nothing to stress about as far as having to be somewhere at a certain time. I also travel solo a lot since my hubby doesn't like to travel unless it's a dive trip or somewhere in our RV and my grown son can't always get off work, WDW is a great place for a solo woman.

 

[hertamaniac]

I have been a local to WDW for almost 2 decades. I had many AP's throughout the years and enjoyed the experiences (and resort/dining discounts). We were fortunate to ride MMRR on opening day last year and then opted to cancel our AP's.

We are eyeing up staying onsite for another staycation, but don't have the urge to visit the parks at this time. For us, there just isn't enough new experiences to justify the AP cost or usage. The vanity and newness has aged in that respect.

We only want a weekday AP as we don't want to be anywhere near WDW in the summer, weekends or holidays during the blackout periods.

 

[PrincessAsh514]

I really love both the Disney brand and the Disney parks experience!
Even though it has become normal for my mom and I to visit together a couple times a year, that’s only something that has started in the past 7 years or so so it’s definitely not a deeply engraved lifelong habit or something I do because I’m “supposed to”. I went to Disney once as a child (that I don’t remember) and then went back in college and that’s when I fell in love with the parks. Each time I go back I still get the goosebumps and happiness that I got on that trip in college.
I do a lot of traveling to other non-Disney places, but Disney has a special, magical feeling that always draws me back. And when I’m not there, I’m often in my Disney merch-filled apartment watching Disney movies or listening to Disney music. Anything Disney just has a way of bringing a smile to my face!!

 

[fla4fun]

We love WDW - we feel like it's a theme park experience like no other. But we also love "real world" trips, and we do not have a strong love for Disney outside of vacationing at WDW. You won't find our house or closets filled with Disney-ana.

I feel like this is what separates the people who love Disney as a whole, as opposed to those who love the theme park experience. My clothes, even work clothes, are almost exclusively Disney themed. My jewelry is Disney themed. My purses are Disney themed. The art on the walls of my house is Disney art. I can’t imagine my life without Disney in it.

Ironically, although I have a platinum AP, I rarely go to the parks just for the day. I prefer the whole vacation experience. It has to be something very special to get me there just for a day, like an AP preview of a new ride or land. So although the theme parks are a big part of my Disney experience, the everyday Disney things mean more to me on a day to day basis.

I also take vacations that are not Disney related, but Disney goes with me.

 

[Makmak]

I went to WDW once as a teen. Then many years passed and I traveled all over the world in that time. Then, I became an “older mom” and was looking for child friendly travel. We went back to the parks when my kid was one and then “we got sucked in” and we got annual passes, mastered fast pass, (to the point where my 2 year old would say “we downt waits in long lines right mommy?”). We started going regularly and accumulating merchandise, becoming more interested in the company as a whole, bought stock, and were considering DVC before the pandemic. Since this thread was posted, I looked around and realized how much we have all around us in the house that is Disney. We are “popcorn bucket people” and use them as decoration for holidays and for at-home snacking. I pull my kids from school to be “first” to see new Disney movies and this has become tradition. So I guess over time we became Disney people but it all started with the parks.

 

[Kitty & Covs Covs]

We went as children, but I think my love of WDW comes from my older brother and cousin, both of whom wanted to be imagineers when they grew up during the Eisner years. They built a tiny Jungle Cruise replica in our backyard to understand how the boats worked. They went on a trip together when they turned 18 and I remember being 10 and in awe of their stories about walking back from the parks to All Star Movies because they missed the bus. They looked at WDW not only as a fun theme park but as a carefully engineered experience worthy of real academic and intellectual respect. My cousin did go on to be an engineer, but passed away suddenly a few years ago. I might never be a diehard Mickey Mouse fan, but I’ll always be a die hard WDW fan because of the lens through which they viewed it.

 

[OKW Lover]

Do regular visitors to Disney parks really love the Disney brand the Disney parks experience or do they just go out of habit

For us it is a love of the Disney brand and the parks experience.

 

[DisneyMama811]

I love how immersive Disney World is, how you can just completely forget about the real world while you're there. If I was a bit more wealthy and perhaps if we didn't live so far away (Canada) we would definitely go every year, however at this stage of life that's just not in the cards.

I am a bit Disney mad in real life (we had a Disney Themed wedding and all of our ceremony music was instrumental Disney songs) and there are Disney touches in almost every room but certainly not an explosion of it. I'm a big Disney history buff which has its downside at times - the more I learn the more disillusioned I become.

 

[Wild4Walt]

I've had a life long love affair with most things Disney. I haven't loved every decision and have had moments of being downright mad when they changed something that I loved but in the end, I believe in what Disney stands for and still trust the brand. It would take a lot for that trust to be broken at this point.

 

[Disirish]

For me its Disney world. Me and my partner may turn on a disney film now and again but its seldom enough .for us it's the parks , the immersive atmosphere , hard to describe its just the perfect holiday you really can escape the hustle and bustle of the real world.

 

[The WDW 3]

Love

 

[Heather07438]

We are Disney Park lovers and we enjoy Dis+. I wouldn’t say we go to WDW just because it’s familiar and easy. We go to WDW because there’s so much to do and explore and it has a contagious positive vibe.
Where else could you go chill with gorillas, enter a StarWars movie in RotR, take a nap on a beachy hammock, have a fabulous dinner then go watch Fantsmic &/or fireworks all in the same day? And do it all week long with different unique experiences. We know we’re going to have a great time.

 

[whiteness]

When we lived in Orange County, I would swear that we went because we loved Disney. The reason we moved to Orlando is because we wanted to be near a Disney park, but could afford a better life here in Florida.

But, my feeling visiting the parks here hasn't been the same intensity, somehow. Everything is here, it's still Disney, but I don't have the same gut emotion that "this is my place, I belong here" that I used to feel walking around in Disneyland.

Maybe, in part, because I grew up going to Disneyland. It is associated with my family and friends. My first real date was in Disneyland. I probably spent more happy times with my cousins there than anyplace else. So many happy memories. And when I wander around that park, I'm experiencing not just the present, but the past overlayed on top of it. Every time I ride the Jungle Cruise, I'm not just hearing the same corny jokes for the 20th time, I'm also remembering my first snuggle with my first crush, in a chilly autumn night so many years ago. When the Tropical Hideaway opened, it became my new, favorite place to just hang out and enjoy the ambience...

Was my love of Disneyland because of Disneyland, or because of the idea and memories of Disneyland? Probably as much, if the not more, the latter. Disney world will never have those childhood memories. Magic Kingdom comes the closest to Disneyland and, in some ways, the layout, food and drink, rides and attractions are objectively "better". But, do I feel as compelled to keep returning? Not really. Not yet, anyway.

Does this mean I was used to going to Disneyland out of habit or addiction? Kind of, in the sense that much of the happiness it brought me wasn't due to the objective experience (which was often overcrowded and unpleasant), but my (idealized and romanticized) memories of past visits. When presented with a real, present day Disney experience, without the benefit of past memories augmenting the magic, it just isn't as compelling...

 

[PamNC]

Another vote for BOTH - love the Disney experience and the parks. I don't think a Disney vacation is easy just based on the price. But now there are park passes to obtain as well as dining ressies. I like being immersed in disney - it's an escape from reality with memories from my childhood and past trips as a big fat bonus! I think the cost is out of control but yet I still go. LOL

 

[Lizgistix]

Nah, I don't need to justify why I go to Disney. I go because I want to go. I don't question why anyone else goes. They're here, just like I am, and I hope they have a nice time like I will. And at the end of the day, if they want to tell me about what they did, I'll share in the joy and excitement they experienced. And answer any questions about the park they're going to tomorrow.

I'm here to enjoy the magic and make some of my own for other people if possible.