The struggle with planning trips elsewhere

[SpecJoe Magic]

My wife and I often face a dilemma when it comes to traveling to far away places. We have desires to see other places besides WDW, but it seems like we end up going back to WDW almost every time (we did have that one trip to Disneyland and that Disney Cruise, but those are still Disney destinations). We want to visit the New England area, for example, but we can't seem to pull ourselves away from WDW. There just isn't enough money or time to do everything, and we are concerned that if we choose somewhere else over Disney that we'll be disappointed because we'll be constantly comparing it to Disney. We did take a weekend trip to Pigeon Forge/Dollywood and Gatlinburg last year. It was an enjoyable trip, but that's less than a 3 hour drive from here and didn't cost much, so we weren't taking a big risk on that trip. What do you do when faced with this dilemma? How do you justify going somewhere else instead of WDW? If you have picked somewhere else over WDW before, what was the result?

[Melanie]

I think I'm fortunate that my husband isn't as much of a Disney fanatic as I am. That keeps me grounded and I really enjoying traveling in our wonderful country, as they are grand places out there other than Disney destinations. I don't really have the problem of comparing other places to Disney though. What are you comparing? Food, accomodations, fun?

I know Disney will always be there, so a couple years in between family trips isn't that big of a deal. Plus, that keeps it fresh. I do make my solo trips with friends though. :marg:

Don't think my first thought wasn't Tokyo Disney when we got orders to Japan though. ;)

[Mad About Mickey]

My wife and I often face a dilemma when it comes to traveling to far away places. We have desires to see other places besides WDW, but it seems like we end up going back to WDW almost every time (we did have that one trip to Disneyland and that Disney Cruise, but those are still Disney destinations). We want to visit the New England area, for example, but we can't seem to pull ourselves away from WDW. There just isn't enough money or time to do everything, and we are concerned that if we choose somewhere else over Disney that we'll be disappointed because we'll be constantly comparing it to Disney. We did take a weekend trip to Pigeon Forge/Dollywood and Gatlinburg last year. It was an enjoyable trip, but that's less than a 3 hour drive from here and didn't cost much, so we weren't taking a big risk on that trip. What do you do when faced with this dilemma? How do you justify going somewhere else instead of WDW? If you have picked somewhere else over WDW before, what was the result?

I notice you mentioned you are 3 hours from the Gatlinburg area. Growing up my family did 2 trips a year, Disney World and the Great Smokies NP, and we loved them both. If you enjoy the water parks at Disney then you can rent tubes at Bryson City and challenge the rapids on Deep Creek, nature's own E-ticket ride, or you can head over to Sliding Rock in the Pigsah National Forest near Asheville, NC. More the Animal Kingdom type then a drive through the park will be highlighted by deer, elk, black bears, and wild turkeys. Seeing them in the wild is an awe inspiring sight. If you enjoy the sight of the amazing mountain range of the Disney World parks then you might have your breath taken away by the beauty of the 100's of peaks you can see from the top of Clingman's Dome (at 6643 feet it is more than a mile taller than any of the Disney Mountains).

The park has plenty of wonderful short hikes to incredible waterfalls and many can be seen just of the park roads that also have the most jaw dropping natural vistas you will see east of the Mississippi. If you enjoyed a romp around Tom Sawyer's Island, well this is Tom Sawyer's Island only a 1,000,000,000 times bigger.

If you enjoy Fort Wilderness then there are a number of campgrounds in the park with excellent ranger programs that include campfire talks and night hikes. If you're more the deluxe accomidation types than Gatlinburg has plenty. They even have Wilderness Lodge like themed hotels with indoor waterparks in Gatlinburg and Sieverville.

To me a day in the Smokies can be just as magical as a day in Disney and I encourage you to start at http://www.nps.gov/grsm/ and go from there.

P.S. if you do plan to come up to NE then you must come in the Winter. If you enjoy Disney during the holidays then you will love a trip to the White Mountains in Dec.

[Donald]

Take the plunge! There is a lot out there to be seen!

We went to WDW in December-had an amazing time! Four months later, we headed west to Phoenix and the Grand Canyon. It was amazing! Every part of the trip was new, beautiful, and fun.

We took the Grand Canyon Railway into the park. It was a fun way to travel!

Get yourself on the web, and let your fingers do some non-disney magic!:)

[lovewalt]

P.S. If you enjoy Disney during the holidays then you will love a trip to the White Mountains in Dec.

Except that the snow isn't made of soap flakes and because of the bitter cold it sticks around a lot longer!So unless you are looking for a ski vacation,I would disagree.Come visit us in the summertime!

[MsMin]

There is so much out there to see. I love the beach and relaxing in the white sand listening to the roar of the waves roll in :D. I love the Rocky mountains, California, so much like San Fransisco and of course down to DL:blush: I love NYC, San Antonio... I could go on and on. The thing that is great about Disney is you can get a little of many of these places all rolled up in one. I love the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone, the resort that the Wilderness Lodge is modeled from. While these places don't come with rides and Disney souvenirs they are awesome to visit.
I understand your difficulties. My are because I hate to fly and I can drive to WDW. I don't really have a problem comparing it to WDW but WDW is more convenient and like an old shoe it's comfortable.

[buzznwoodysmom]

I sometimes feel the same way. We make ourselves try to take one non disney vacation for every one or two disney vacations. Also we find that visiting other disney destinations changes things up a bit. For instance this summer we are going to Disney's Vero Beach resort then stopping at WDW for a few nights to get our Disney fix. Next summer we plan on taking a Disney Cruise with a few days at WDW again. The following summer we'll probably find ourselves at Disney's Hilton Head Island, and we can't wait for the Hawaii resort to open so we can finally visit Hawaii. I find that doing a non WDW vacation is much easier if you can throw some disney in there. We visited Asheville, North Carolina, and Gatlinburg a few years ago during the fall and it was amazing. We even managed to watch a disney on ice show in Knoxville, TN while we were there. It was just the right amount of disney added to a non disney vacation. And as much as I love WDW when we vacationed in Colorado a few years ago I wanted to move there permanantly. When we force ourselves to venture outside of WDW we find we enjoy those vacations just as much as our beloved Disney. I know that if you can tear yourselves away from disney you can find tons of vacation destinations that are just as fun.

[mouseketeer mom]

I have the same problem. For me, its just not the same planning a vacation elsewhere. No wheres near the same excitement or enthusiasm.
My husband works in disaster/terrorism planning. He gets offers to speak all over the country. He doesn't accept them all, but we always choose a cool destination for a speaking engagement during the summer, when we don't have to worry about pulling the kids from school for another vacation. He usually just has to teach for one day, then we make a family vacation out of it for the rest of the week. This year he was offered to speak at a conference in Colorado Springs. So off we go in July for a week. Then in August we will return to WDW. Its a nice balance. I'll tell you tho, other than knowing where we are staying in Colorado Springs..I don't have anything else "planned". I mean, we have some ideas, but I am willing to show up and wing it. On the other hand, both our August and November WDW are planned and detailed. I am over the moon to have two WDW trips to look forward to. I'm sure we will have fun in Colorado, but I sure can't muster up the same enthusiasm!!!!

[elmjimmlm]

We planned our Disney trip for Dec. this year so we have to find somewhere else to go this summer...We have been back and forth on where we are going but we always are saying this summer is going to be sad without going to Disney...:(

[Young@Heart]

We try to take a family vacation every year, and I often find myself feeling like that. Our plan is to do Disney every 2 yrs, although we're going in Aug. and will probably go again in Sept. 2009.
When we don't go to WDW, we go to Cape Cod. We live in New England, so it's not a great distance for us, but it's still a great escape from the routine. I'm off for the summer w/ DC, so DH takes a week and we go to this great resort w/ an indoor wave pool and water slide. DD and I go to the spa and DS's hang out w/ DH. We go to the beach, play mini golf, go sightseeing, and visit flee markets and little shops. It's a lot of fun, but I still find myself thinking (next year, we'll be at Disney!).
And I think that's okay. It's what our family likes. And since we can't afford to go every year, some time off at the Cape is enjoyable, too. :thumbsup: