Since 2006 my family has been going to Walt Disney World every other year with the last visit this past July. That is going to change at least for me and my wife as we will briefly visit the parks before and after Lou Mongello’s WDW Radio Show Dream Cruise.
Like so many others I feel very fortunate to have any time at all to spend in the parks and on property. While I am grateful for that time it’s never enough. Each time I visit Walt Disney World it becomes more difficult to leave. With each succeeding trip it gets harder and harder to be away from the most magical place in the world. I find myself longing for the day I can return and plotting my course of action to bring me back to the land of hope and dreams.
There are a lot of things I miss being away from the parks like the Haunted Mansion, Soarin, and Toy Story Mania, but it’s not just the rides and attractions I long for. It’s the little things like the smell of popcorn in the Magic Kingdom, the entrance music at Epcot, and watching Streetmosphere perform in Disney’s Hollywood Studios to name a few. I also terribly miss my favorite warm weather snack in the entire world, Dole Whip.
This coming year will be the first time in my life I will be going to Walt Disney World two years in a row. That prompted a conversation with my wife in which I told her there is no going back now. Going every other year just doesn’t cut it anymore. Somehow I will find a way to make it to the parks at least once a year. I know that won’t be easy with a son entering college in the fall of 2011 and a daughter a few years behind him as we all continue to muddle through a very slow moving economy.
Deep down both my wife and I know that very soon going once a year to Walt Disney World won’t be enough either. It’s like climbing Mount Everest, no matter what height you reach you’re just not satisfied until you make it to the top of the mountain. It’s something JL Knopp has accomplished, and before her Lou Mongello and Matt Hochberg. It’s living a “Disney Driven Life” bringing you closer to the magic and living the dream everyday for the rest of your life.
Until the day comes when I can call the Sunshine State my home and say I have Disney World in my own backyard I can’t say I’m living a “Disney Driven Life” but I can say I’m driven to live a “Disney Driven Life.”
(Photo contributed by NDM #118)
Contributed by: Stuart S. (NDD #47). Stuart is our resident Disney geek and creator of Disney Geek Dad.
Stuart is the DDL resident Geek Dad and claims New York as his birthplace. Currently, though, he resides in New Jersey and is a husband and father of two as well as a huge Disney World, Springsteen, Yankee, and NY Ranger fan. He wakes up and goes to sleep thinking about Disney World. He listens to Disney podcasts to and from work and at night before sleep. He drives his family nuts talking about Disney and is always planning their next Disney World trip. In addition, he is known to always volunteer to help extended family and friends plan their next trip. Stuart’s personal blog is disneygeekdad.blogspot.com. He can also be found on twitter by following @disneygeekdad.
Stuart,
My family started to visit WDW in 2005. Since then we had added being DVC members and I can tell you that for us that 1 time a yr is not enough for us. We too are hoping & praying that we can make the Sunshine state our home in the next few yrs. Right now to help pacify my daily disney need to stay in touch with fellow ND folks like yourself to get my trough the dry spells of not actually being in WDW.
Then hopefully we all can be neighbors.
My husband and I used to visit WDW every year. Once we had children we started going every other year (but that simply was because we had 3 kids in 3 years). Now that my youngest is almost 3, we were just talking about going back every year again. We just went in March and it was the first time we experienced a Princess dinner. Though it was not my son’s favorite, both my daughters are still talking about it almost 8 months later. My two year old asks almost everyday, are we having dinner with Belle tonight? To which my four year old will usually chime in with, that’s a great! Let’s go to Disney and have a princess dinner. How can I say no to them and tell them they have to wait two years? 🙂 We may be back on the every year plan. My kids are just growing up too fast and I would love to experience Disney with them as often as I can at every age I can!
Oh contraire monfraire! [I have no idea if I spelled that right] Living a Disney Driven Life has nothing to do with being a FL resident, but it certainly can result in that. You are the epitome of someone leading a Disney Driven Life (which is probably why you will one day live here), but it is FALSE to believe that you have to be here before you can achieve it. I love you, Stuart, but I stand firm on this. Disney is a state of mind–not a state.