The Gap

People who read this blog know that I went to Disney World in December of 2008. That was my first trip in ten years. Why was there such gap between trips?

I graduated high school in the spring of 1998. I didn’t really find a job that fit me until a year later. It goes without saying that Disney wasn’t an option during that time. When I started at my job I barely had two pennies to rub together. I could get by but not much else. When you don’t make much, Disney isn’t really an option.

I got married two years later and for the next few years our vacations were cruises. Disney was never an option during that period. One big reason for that is that my wife doesn’t like Disney. She says she does but if any Disney fan engaged her in a conversation about Disney they would quickly realize that she’s not a fan. She went once when she was a teenager with her sister, brother in law, and her niece. They didn’t stay on property. She wasn’t really impressed by the experience.

I brought up Disney a few times over the years but always got the same response. She didn’t say no but she didn’t have to. Her look said it all.

In December of 2007 I booked a trip for December of 2008. That gave me a year to try and sell my wife on the idea. I managed to get her to somewhat excited by selling her on the dining.

She made fun of me for booking the Hoop Dee Doo. She kept calling it the Whoop Dee Friggin Doo. She kept doing that until I informed her that it was all you drink wine or sangria. That changed her tune a little.

We did the trip and we stuffed ourselves silly. We had some good dining experiences, some bad dining experiences, and some average dining experiences. I also ran her into the ground. She was so wrecked by the experience that she had to take another vacation a couple months later to recover.

Did she have fun? In some ways she did. It wasn’t her idea of a vacation. She liked the food and did end up enjoying the Hoop Dee Doo.

Are we going to go back? I wanted to take advantage of the deals they are running in the fall however; with my wife’s work it’s impossible. It would take an act of god to get me to go back during the Christmas season. Summer is not an option. The crowds and heat would kill me. That leaves January to April. Take out school vacations and spring break and the window is small.

This year we are going on a cruise. For a Disney fan like me that’s hard to get excited about. Honestly, I get far more excited thinking about a Disney fantasy then a cruise that is completely paid for. I don’t know why. I’m sure the cruise will be fun but any Disney fan knows it’s not Disney.

Knowing the costs and people involved, it wouldn’t surprise me if another ten years passed before I make it back to Disney. Until then I have the podcasts, websites, pictures, and videos to keep me going.