Some of the magic is lost for me now... what are your feelings?

[DisneyHardin]

It is a very sad time for the city of Orlando, but don't let that sadness bring you down so much that you aren't able to find happiness there anymore.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

Seriously? Please don't make this tragedy about you. Do you know how many other children died the same day as that little boy? I can assure you there were plenty. Do you feel the magic is gone because of those other deaths?

For goodness sakes, disney is a business in the real world. It isn't an actual fantasyland.

Alllllllllrighty then....


Dang.

Down for the count.

No punches pulled.

 

[luvflorida]

Alllllllllrighty then....


Dang.

Down for the count.

No punches pulled.

Yikes. I was thinking the same thing.

 

[LiveYourLife]

Our next trip to Disney is this August where we have reservations for a 1 bedroom villa at The Boardwalk (our home hotel. so to speak). But in light of everything that has happened recently (Pulse, Grimme, GF sadness), I'm just "not feeling" it. I find myself sitting here wondering if I should just cancel the entire trip. I think a big majority of it is tied to Disney itself (is the bloom off the rose for me just a little bit?) because I feel an accumulation of incidents has adversely affected my Disney spirit ... Children drowning at AofA and Pop Century, the Contemporary death 3 months ago, the boy losing his life in the bus incident... all of it seems to be getting to me.

Please.. I apologize... I don't mean to be doom and gloom.. but it's a feeling I just can't shake. I was just wondering if anyone else was having reservations about going to Disney this summer? Has anyone felt, even for a moment, like me?

Try living here, OP. In the spirit of honesty, your post struck a nerve.

I hope you get out of your funk and are able to enjoy your trip to Disney. Like others have said, maybe try a different vacation spot in August, and then hopefully for your next trip to WDW you'll find your Disney spirit has returned and is stronger than ever!

 

[scrapquitler]

I think if you compare the number of people who have died in accidents at Disney vs. the number of people who visit there in a year, you will find that less people are killed in accidents there than in any comparable city in the same year. You mentioned 4 accidental deaths. There were more than that in 3 months in my town of 50,000 people.

I'm living my life for me and for my family. If I worry about every tragedy that happens, and I stop living my life to the fullest by cancelling my plans, then my family suffers needlessly.

 

[andiraye]

I understand your feelings. If I were in your shoes my emotions might be running the same way.

The recent tragedies in Orlando remind me of how I felt after 9/11. I live in NYC and at the time lived pretty far downtown, in an area that was closed to vehicles for a while after the attack. every single thing about life was different overnight and not a second went by that we didn't think about what had happened. I remember how it felt morally wrong to enjoy myself for a long time after that day. And I remember the first time I gave myself permission to laugh. I went to the movie Zoolander and just cracked up. It wasn't even that funny, just therapeutic. From that point forward laughter felt like medicine.

It's important to let yourself enjoy. Even if it feels impossible right now, know that joy will return. Your trip is a while away and by that time I bet your heart will have healed a bit (no, it is not about the OP, but all of us are hurting right now, some just much more than others). The feeling she is reacting to is grief and heartache.

The other thing is, I personally feel that it is important not to punish the people of Orlando, who are suffering so much right now. I wouldn't want to abandon them economically. Yes, WDW is a massive corporation, but it employs thousands of people and contributes to the local economy in myriad ways and if everyone cancelled their trips, all the people who worked for WDW and secondary businesses fueled by WDW would suffer even more than they already are.

It's not that I don't understand your feelings, OP, I just personally feel that, were I in your shoes, it would be important for me to push through them.

 

[ELSA711]

You're missing my point. I realize these things happen everywhere.. that's not what I was addressing in my post.

I was just wondering if anyone else was having reservations about going to Disney this summer? Has anyone felt, even for a moment, like me?

...that was the question.

Yes I have felt that way even a brief moment over the past 24hrs

 

[Ciao Mickey]

Our next trip to Disney is this August where we have reservations for a 1 bedroom villa at The Boardwalk (our home hotel. so to speak). But in light of everything that has happened recently (Pulse, Grimme, GF sadness), I'm just "not feeling" it. I find myself sitting here wondering if I should just cancel the entire trip. I think a big majority of it is tied to Disney itself (is the bloom off the rose for me just a little bit?) because I feel an accumulation of incidents has adversely affected my Disney spirit ... Children drowning at AofA and Pop Century, the Contemporary death 3 months ago, the boy losing his life in the bus incident... all of it seems to be getting to me.

Please.. I apologize... I don't mean to be doom and gloom.. but it's a feeling I just can't shake. I was just wondering if anyone else was having reservations about going to Disney this summer? Has anyone felt, even for a moment, like me?

I think you should cancel your trip.

 

[diz8297]

Nope. I'm going in July and I am still looking forward to it as much. Maybe it's because I unexpectedly lost my sister 3 years ago but bad things can happen anywhere anytime. Disney brings me so much joy and I intend to go and enjoy every minute. That doesn't mean that I am not sad that the baby died but it was a tragic accident. The Pulse shooting was the actions of a crazed individual.

 

[North of Mouse]

Our next trip to Disney is this August where we have reservations for a 1 bedroom villa at The Boardwalk (our home hotel. so to speak). But in light of everything that has happened recently (Pulse, Grimme, GF sadness), I'm just "not feeling" it. I find myself sitting here wondering if I should just cancel the entire trip. I think a big majority of it is tied to Disney itself (is the bloom off the rose for me just a little bit?) because I feel an accumulation of incidents has adversely affected my Disney spirit ... Children drowning at AofA and Pop Century, the Contemporary death 3 months ago, the boy losing his life in the bus incident... all of it seems to be getting to me.

Please.. I apologize... I don't mean to be doom and gloom.. but it's a feeling I just can't shake. I was just wondering if anyone else was having reservations about going to Disney this summer? Has anyone felt, even for a moment, like me?

If suffering and sadness were 'only' occurring at Disney, then, yes, I would agree! But, no, I do not agree!
I am as saddened and heartbroken as any of those posting about these tragedies, but life does move on. Letting it affect us anymore than that will not help anyone, and least of all ourselves.

We have no trips planned now by choice - waiting at least until most of the current constructions are finished.

 

[RiemannLebesgue]

Death is sad, but not all deaths at Disney are tragic.

I will never forget this story posted by a former cast member on a Reddit IamA:

So during my first CP, I was working at Chef Mickey's one morning. I'm doing the rotation, see a family with a girl who was really sick. Like, family was feeding her using a g-tube, she was in a wheelchair, didn't respond to much. She was fussy, so I indicated to the family that I'll pass their table, then come back to them ("how do you do that?" You point in the direction you're going to go, make a circle motion around the section, then gesture that you'll come back here).

About 10 minutes later, my attendant comes up to me, and says "Princess (name) would like to see you now." So I go over to the family. The mom told me that Minnie Mouse was the girl's favorite character, can I take some pictures with her? Of course! So the older brother (teenager) is filming all of this, and I'm interacting with the girl, and the girl smiles. The mom starts bawling, the dad starts crying.

Once I take a few pictures with the girl, I go to hug the mom, who hugged me back tight and said "the doctors said she couldn't smile anymore. Thank you." Then when I went to hug the dad, he hugged me back tight and said "thank you. So much. You have no idea what this means to us." Folks, there's a difference when a person is talking to the character, talking to the person in the costume, and talking to YOU. The dad was talking to ME.

So I go back on rotation, cursing that I can't wipe the tears out of my eyes.

The next day, I go into work, and the check in person says "do you know where the manager's office is? They want to talk to you." My first thought was oh [bleep]. What did I do?

I go to the manager's office, and he closes the door behind me. "You were Minnie at Chef Mickey's yesterday for breakfast, right?" Yes. "Did you meet a Give Kids The World family?" Yes. "Give Kids called us yesterday afternoon. They wanted to make sure you were personally thanked, with a note on your record." Why? "The girl had an inoperable brain tumor. It was affecting a lot of her motor function. Her family's wish was for her to meet Minnie Mouse. Yesterday afternoon, while they were in the park, they noticed she was getting sleepy, so they went back to their room so she could take a nap. I'm sorry, (me), but she never woke up. She held on long enough to meet Minnie, and you made that happen."

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2riq1b/iama_former_walt_disney_world_fur_nonspeaking/cnge1dk

(Note: Bleep was added by me for purposes of reposting on the Dis. Link contains some profanity.)

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[bookgirl]

I'm heading to a conference in Orlando next week. My mom has already said that she is scared for me to go and wishes I would stay home. Of course she and my step dad are already freaking out because I'm going to London and Paris in the Fall.

I'm sad that bad things happen but I'm not going to hang out in my house 24/7 with a case of the "what if's" nor am I going to let my enjoyment of events or activities be dictated by a few events that I have no control over.

I live someplace that terrorism has happened, I drive past the OKC Memorial every workday. I remember the sound and the smoke and the absolute devastation of the building and the image of the dead and hurt including so many babies.

Everyday that I begin and end happy and healthy and doing things that I like, is another day that I stick my proverbial tongue out at the bad guys.

 

[diz8297]

Exactly, Bookgirl!!

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

Death is sad, but not all deaths at Disney are tragic.

I will never forget this story posted by a former cast member on a Reddit IamA:

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I read that AMA also and loved it!

 

[BayouQueen]

Our trip is planned for the end of August...and the wind is definitely out of my sails. I feel totally deflated.
But we'll go as planned, and collect more happy Disney family memories, and this icky time will fade away for those of us fortunate enough not to be immediately affected by the sad events.

 

[lizabu]

It could be a combination of going so often and the tragic events in Orlando recently. I think you should go somewhere else rather than trying to make it work. Have you been on a Disney cruise? It's got the magic you expect from Disney but you're changing things up and seeing new places. There can be Florida resident rates and last minute specials. We were just on the Disney Magic in January and their Tangked show and Believe shows are incredible.

 

[tink'smom2B]

Yes, the magic has gone for me. Maybe if I had not been here when it happened, I could move on. But it will take a long time for me to forget this trip. The sights and sounds were terrible that night. This should not have happened. Maybe I'm also bothered because I was here when the boy was killed by the bus. I don't feel safe here anymore.

 

[conandrob240]

I don't understand the safety comment. You are referring to 2 deaths out of the millions and millions of people each year. A child probably dies tragically nearer to home with much, much greater frequency- from accidents, illness, even neglect, or abuse. There's tragedy everywhere- it's just typically not all over the news.

 

[sparklemom]

I think anytime you associate a place with safety and happiness -- whether it's your own home, a place you grew up, or a favorite vacation spot -- and that sense of security is pulled out from under you by tragedy, it can leave you feeling untethered. I'm from Boston originally, and when the Marathon was bombed, it felt like I had walked into my house and found it ransacked. This didn't remotely put me on the same footing as people who experienced the bombing, and I don't pretend that it does. However, the death at destruction at such an iconic event, in a place where I had spent so many happy hours, made me deeply sad on a personal level. Give your decision some time. I think it's likely that you will start to absorb what has happened and be more prepared emotionally for the trip. If not, there will still be time to cancel later.

 

[cornflkgrl]

I don't get telling another person how they should or shouldn't feel. Granted, the poster asked if other people were feeling the same. But feelings are personal. I could be wrong, too, but I didn't read that this was about safety but more the emotional aspect. I don't think one needs to live in Orlando to feel grief over these tragic events; nor do I think you are neglecting other sad events by focusing on these events since they just happened and are getting heavy media coverage.

For example, I actually had one of my worst ever depressive episodes after the big tsunami and earthquake that hit Thailand and surrounding areas in 2004. I was so overcome with grief over the knowledge of the sheer loss of life and inability to do anything to really help, I could not get over it. I actually had a hospital stay over that episode. It is possible to become emotionally overwrought over something that technically does not effect you. I've never even been to Thailand. That doesn't mean you are "making it about you." I'm not saying that much sympathy or emotion is healthy. I'm saying I think it is reasonable for someone to feel some sadness and reflection in that environment (Disney/Orlando) right now.