Why I Am Not Excited About Disney World

In three days, my wife and I leave for a trip to Walt Disney World (WDW). For most people that would be an event that would be filling their thoughts almost completely by this time, but that isn't the case here and I will tell you why.

I can remember full well when getting on an airplane and flying to WDW would be just about as exciting as it can get. Especially exciting were the days when my kids were young and going to WDW was a new experience for them. I can still remember walking up to the ticket booth to buy the tickets before we took the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom. How much more exciting could it get than standing in front (back?) of the Main Street train station and seeing the Mickey Mouse head in the lawn? Or walking under the station and into the park itself and looking down Main Street to see Cinderella's Castle? The excitement lasted all day. Everywhere we looked there was something that we absolutely could not wait to do!

However, since that time, much has happened, and now, three days before heading back there, that is not what excites me about heading to WDW. I don't feel the same thrill as I enter any of the Disney World theme parks these days.

Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to this trip to WDW as much as any in the past, but going to the parks and riding the attractions is not the only or even the main event. So why am I happy to be going down there now? Let me list some reasons.

1) First and foremost - and the reason we go so often these days - is to see and spend time with my daughter and son-in-law. It's been almost 12 years now since she moved to Central Florida, and I look forward to every opportunity I get to spend with her and her husband.

2) It's always good to get away from home. Any time there is a change in routine and a chance to enjoy being somewhere else, it's a good thing, right?

3) I have recently gotten back into my old photography mindset, and there is always something to photograph at WDW. Right now the International Flower and Garden Festival is happening in EPCOT and I certainly intend to explore the possibilities there. The excitement of walking into the Magic Kingdom may no longer be what it was, but this is just as exciting to me at the moment. Also, the last trip down, I made my first serious attempt at taking pictures of fireworks. Though I got some nice shots at that time, there was a lot I learned from that experience and want to try some new things this trip.  (You can see some of the pictures I have taken at WDW in the past both on my photo-blog and my Disney blog.)

4) My wife and I always enjoy spending time in WDW. Before you start thinking that just because the same excitement I had at one time for being at WDW isn't there these days that I don't fully enjoy being there, let me tell you that isn't true. As I have been saying for a while now, while the "I am in Disney World!!!!" excitement isn't present, there is a feeling of comfort and "I am home again" each time we visit now. Because of this - and our frequent visits - we can visit without the sense of urgency we might have had when it was all new to us and we needed to see as much as possible in the time we had. The days of commando visits are long behind us (except for when we are hosting someone who has never been to WDW before) and we can now actually take it slow. If we only see a few things on any given day, it is not a problem as we have seen it/done it before and will be able to see it/do it again in the near future.

So while the excitement of a trip to WDW might not be what most people would experience, we are most definitely looking forward to an enjoyable week in one of our favorite destinations. (And yes, there will be pictures!)