Post-Disney Blues??

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Reflections's picture
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Post-Disney Blues??

Cinema Too called it "post-departing depression" at the start of his trip report, which I think I'll appropriate from him...very clever. After our September trip, I have to say, I really did feel depressed! It lasted about 2 weeks.

I don't want this to happen again. Is this just inevitable? What do the rest of you do after a Disney trip to ensure that your emotional health stays intact? I'm wondering if planning something really nice for our return might be the answer, like a nice dinner out the night after we get back. Also, maybe not going back to work so fast? I have that one covered.

How common is this and what are the answers? I never felt it after any non-Disney trips for whatever reason.

Thanks!!!
Jane Smile

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Kris1971's picture
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Unfortunately, I think the post-Disney blues are inevitable, but writing your trip report on this forum sure does help. You get to re-live the trip and everybody chimes in with fun comments. I do like your idea of planning something fun for when you get back and giving yourself something else to look forward to. I may have to try that next time. wink

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I always suffer from this as well. The best cure that I've found is to surround myself with fun Disney stuff, and start planning my next trip. Even if that trip falls apart and I don't go, the fun of planning it always helps me through.

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Reflections, Thanks for the recognition.

There are a couple of reasons that I plan to cover when I get to that part of my recap, but one of the things that I feel separated Disney trips from other vacations is the feeling that there was still more to accomplish at Disney. One more show that you didn't get to, one more restaurant that you wanted to try, one more ride that you didn't get to.

Here's a thought. Maybe if we didn't know so much about the place, we wouldn't be disappointed that we didn't get to do it all.

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I agree with Cinema Too - it's hard to leave knowing there are still things you haven't done.

Yes, I suffer from the post-Disney depression after every trip. Even this last trip, when I was a little depressed during the vacation because hubby couldn't come along. We all spend months (or longer) planning these trips, checking the crowd calendars, scheduling which parks to visit each day, making the ADRs, etc. As the arrival day comes closer, we tell ourselves that in three months we'll be there, then two months, then we start counting the weeks, then the days. And in no time at all we're sadly reminding ourselves that LAST week at this time we were there - then two weeks ago, etc. (Three weeks ago RIGHT NOW I was riding Splash Mountain!) And for most of us, the countdown to the next trip involves a year or more. What a letdown!

Then after a week or two I get back into my normal life and start mulling over the next trip - when will it be? What will we do? What new things will there be for us to experience? What restaurants can we try that we've never tried before? And remembering the last trip just makes me excited for the next one.

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yeah I agree.... Coming back from a Disney trip sucks and I'm still sad about being back

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My husband says we come down from the high of the happy juice they pump into the air. laugh

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I agree...and disagree. I definitely feel the letdown at Disney, but I have experienced it on other trips, or visits with loved ones, as well. I think it has everything to do with high anticipation. You work for, and dream of, and plan, plan, plan that trip or visit. It's all you think of day and night sometimes, and then you're there, experiencing it and it's so fast! And then it's over and there's another year (or more) to wait for it again. This happened to me in August after a VERY highly anticipated visit with dear, dear friends.

I love the idea of a post trip treat, Reflections. It would ease the blues to have something to look forward to. I think TRs and comments from the community help, since there's a feeling of empathy. Many feel like planning the next trip is the ultimate panacea mickey

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Reflections's picture
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Thanks Everyone!

I'll do my best with a trip report...never did one before. Also, we get so caught up in what we're doing that we're guilty of not taking enough pictures.

Yes, I DO have to plan something nice after the trip! It really can't be too expensive because of the cost of the trip. I'll have to think of something very nice.

Thanks for the support; I'm thinking I'm gonna need a lot more of it after the trip!

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My PDD has lasted 2 years now, and looks like it will be quite a bit longer before I can get some therapy (also known as PDP or Pre-Disney Planning.)

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Reflections's picture
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Well, I hope my PDD doesn't last that long! I think I'm going to plan a night at a B&B for a couple days after the trip for therapy. Yeah, that's right...therapy! laugh

I can't start any Disney planning because I don't know when I'll be back. Sigh. I can still come here and read what everyone else has to say though.

Why does my countdown ticker say 8 days when it's actually 9 days away? Just noticed that.

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Reflections wrote:
I can't start any Disney planning because I don't know when I'll be back.

You can ALWAYS do Disney planning. Maybe you can't make reservations and schedules, but you can make notes about new restaurants and attractions you want to try, or compile a list of other people's ideas that might work for you. And you can keep an eye on what's changing around DW for future reference.

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This is true. I'll keep coming to this site for sure and, knowing me, won't resist researching. It's just a lot of fun even if I'm not planning on going any time soon.

I'm actually kind of nervous that the trip is just a little over a week away. How strange!

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Reflections wrote:
Well, I hope my PDD doesn't last that long! I think I'm going to plan a night at a B&B for a couple days after the trip for therapy. Yeah, that's right...therapy! laugh

I can't start any Disney planning because I don't know when I'll be back. Sigh. I can still come here and read what everyone else has to say though.

Why does my countdown ticker say 8 days when it's actually 9 days away? Just noticed that.

Maybe your ticker is counting nights, not days. (?)

The only thing that cured my PDD was going again. I find so long as I am actively budgeting for another trip, I can easily overcome those blues. Researching resorts and making hypothetical trips is also a great way to find out exactly how much you'll need to budget.

Um. . . has anyone else notice we sound like a bunch of addicts? Reflections is even talking about REHAB! laugh

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I'll throw another word into the mix... Relapse. I'm 6 months back home, feeling good after a serious bout of post trip depression, when I read a post on here that gets me going again.

I thought Mase's "pick my dinner" was both interesting and creative. I couldn't wait to participate and put in my suggestions.

First place he picks, we've never been to. I start reading all of the comments and seeing the pictures and it's "darn, why haven't we tried that" and then, "damn, I want to go there".

Oh, well. I'll wait for the next place. Only I've never eaten there either. How can this be? 9 trips! That's 9 weeks! That's 63 days, 2 or 3 meals a day. So I've had 130-140 meals at WDW and a guy can randomly choose two places and I've been to neither.

I slide back into my depression.

Curled up in the fetal position, my wife plays a video of Samantha Brown at WDW to try and bring me back from the darkness. (OK, it worked. But after the 47th viewing, even that is losing it's effectiveness).

So, exactly where is this rehab place?

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Reflections wrote:

I can't start any Disney planning because I don't know when I'll be back.

Oh my gosh! You can ALWAYS plan!!

My husband and I went through a 7 year stretch that we couldn't get to Disney as a family. Never the less I planned for a Disney vacation every single year. Now, every year something came up that made it difficult to go (House, car troubles, baby, student loans) we were sort of like Carl and Ellie from Up. It didn't matter that the trips were "flexible" and would maybe happen or maybe not happen, but the joy was in planning them every single year. I bought every new guide book, and kept up with all the videos. It kept the magic alive in my heart, even though in the back of my head I didn't know when we would really get back.

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Since Jan and I made the trip to Disney 4 times a year we made reservations for the next trip as soon s we got home and started our countdown all over.
Joe

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Cinema Too wrote:

So, exactly where is this rehab place?

Let me know when you find it. I could use a little help myself! wink

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I am so glad to see all of you suffer from this as much as I do. We try to have our next trip planned before we go. That does make it a lot better. If it is not planned, we start planning on our way home. I have never experienced the post trip dression from any trip other than a Disney one. However, I use to experience the after Christmas depression. That we cured when we started going to Disney in January. Now instead of feeling all sad and depressed as I take down the decorations, I am thinking, I had better get on this because we are going to Disney in a couple of weeks.

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Cinema Too wrote:
I'll throw another word into the mix... Relapse. I'm 6 months back home, feeling good after a serious bout of post trip depression, when I read a post on here that gets me going again.

I thought Mase's "pick my dinner" was both interesting and creative. I couldn't wait to participate and put in my suggestions.

First place he picks, we've never been to. I start reading all of the comments and seeing the pictures and it's "darn, why haven't we tried that" and then, "damn, I want to go there".

Oh, well. I'll wait for the next place. Only I've never eaten there either. How can this be? 9 trips! That's 9 weeks! That's 63 days, 2 or 3 meals a day. So I've had 130-140 meals at WDW and a guy can randomly choose two places and I've been to neither.

I slide back into my depression.

Curled up in the fetal position, my wife plays a video of Samantha Brown at WDW to try and bring me back from the darkness. (OK, it worked. But after the 47th viewing, even that is losing it's effectiveness).

So, exactly where is this rehab place?

sad

My bad..........

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No problem.

Great win over Calgary.

Ugly loss to Edmonton.

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Goodness Mase...look what you have done!

You are not alone! PDD is a technical term..I think they coined it John Hopkins. Smile

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Bella wrote:
Goodness Mase...look what you have done!

You are not alone! PDD is a technical term..I think they coined it John Hopkins. Smile

I know.... lol

And yeah.... we played horrible last night............ lol

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Does anyone have any ideas for something inexpensive that could be something to look forward to after the trip? I definitely took your advice and will start planning the next trip and will post a trip report. I just feel like I need something a little more exciting! You know, come down slowly. Or should it be cold turkey? Cold turkey is what got me in trouble in September!

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Might sound dumb... but i start looking forward to movies that are coming out and sporting events. Could always try to go to replica restaurants? For example... Teppan... go to a place like that. We have Genji's and such. Um... one thing that helps me as well is pin collecting. Ill get on eBay and dream.... lol

Don't know if that helps... but its what I do to cope... lol

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Find some Food and Wine Festival recipes and have your own mini-Festival at home. I'm going to do that really soon, combining some home-cooked F&W recipes with some store-bought items that have been featured at F&W, like empanadas and pot stickers.

Or find some favorite Disney table service recipes and have a Disney dinner at home. Somewhere out there there's a website with lots of Disney recipes, I don't have the URL but you can find it easily enough if you do a search on "Disney recipes" or some such combination.

You have to eat anyway, right? And if it's home-cooked food, it isn't going to bust your budget.

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Those are some good ideas...thanks. That avocado margarita at La Cava I'd love to replicate! Also, I've never had the Starring Rolls cupcakes that people rave about. I'll probably want those recipes too.

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How about driving around your town one night when you get back to see all the Christmas lights and displays.

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Yup! I was just thinking about that tonight. I really don't think I should have much of an issue this time because I'm coming back to the Christmas season. See the lights as we drive around, finish decorating, baking, gift giving. I'm hoping this helps.

I just came back to work last time...dramatic shift!

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We just went for our 2 yr. anniversary. This is our 3rd trip in 2 years. We went for our honeymoon, my 25th birthday and now our anniversary! I usually cry every time on the last day. We love it do much and think it is the best place on earth. We want to go until we are so old we physically can't anymore! Glad to see other people feel the same way. I'm currently experiencing the post Disney blues Sad but all these suggestions are great. I also just started working on a Disney scrapbook for the trip. I think that might be a new tradition.Smile mickey

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Disneyforlife212 wrote:
We just went for our 2 yr. anniversary. This is our 3rd trip in 2 years. We went for our honeymoon, my 25th birthday and now our anniversary! I usually cry every time on the last day. We love it do much and think it is the best place on earth. We want to go until we are so old we physically can't anymore! Glad to see other people feel the same way. I'm currently experiencing the post Disney blues Sad but all these suggestions are great. I also just started working on a Disney scrapbook for the trip. I think that might be a new tradition.Smile mickey

Scrapbooking is always nice. My wife does it but still waiting on her to do our trips to Disney! LOL

Glad you joined Disneyforlife212! Hope to see ya around here!

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