Obsessed? Addicted? Do I Care?

The answers are Yes, Yes and No.

So, what am I obsessed about? What am I addicted to? What don’t I care about? Oh come on. I know that most people that are reading this are either friends or family so you already know, but for anyone else that might be reading this I’m obsessed about Disney, I’m addicted to going there (Walt Disney World (WDW) in particular, although I won’t rule out going to the other parks), and I don’t care if you think I’m abnormal for being this way.

While I know there are some that think I’m crazy, and to an extent I am, I know that as bad as my obsession and addiction is, I want to assure you my obsession and addiction isn’t nearly as bad as it can be. Yes my friends I am far from being over the top. In fact I think it would be a safe bet that some that are reading this are in a far “worse” state than I’m in. You all know who you are.

How does my obsession manifest itself? I almost always wear something Disney. In truth I can’t think of the last time I wore something that wasn’t Disney related. Well fully dressed anyway. I do have a couple of bathing suits that have nothing to do with Disney. But I only wear them when my Disney bathing suits are in the hamper or wash. I have at least 3 Mickey Mouse (MM) watches, numerous MM pairs of socks, and a couple of MM ties, a MM tie clasp, and my dresser has a draw + of Disney tee-shirts, some of which are of my own design.

My biggest purchase has to be the purchase of membership in the Disney Vacation Club (DVC). DVC is the Disney version of a timeshare. My wife and I “own” (it’s actually a lease since membership does expire) at Disney’s Beach Club Villas and Disney’s Old Key West, two of Disney’s deluxe resorts. The only regret I have in buying into DVC is that we didn’t do it sooner. We love the resorts where we’ve stayed.

Beyond my wardrobe and DVC membership I am always perusing Disney related websites, with my favorites being tagrel.com, allearsnet.com and mousesavers.com. Tagrel’s is a forum type of site where members ask and answer each others questions about Disney. Beyond it being a forum to exchange Disney knowledge Tagrel’s is a community. I have met and have become close friends with many of the members there. Allearsnet has a forum, but more than a forum site it’s an on-line encyclopedia for people planning trips to Disney parks. Want to learn about the accommodations, dining, parks and things to do outside of the parks? Allearsnet is, in my humble opinion, the place to learn about these things. Mousesavers is sort of an on-line magazine that is constantly updated with ways to save money for your trips. Since I learned of mousesavers I have saved hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars because of the tips I learned there.

Oh yeah, there’s one other thing that will show my obsession. Inspired by this collage,

(picture collage used with permission of Gary Cruise)

I ordered my own set of vanity plates. If you’re on the road and see

 

give me a honk and a hi Mark wave.

Why am I addicted to going on trips to WDW? Have you ever heard the expression the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys? In a nutshell that’s the reason. When I go to WDW I turn into the 9 year old boy whose parents took him, two brothers and a sister on a cross-country camping trip to visit Disneyland back in 1966. When ever I’m at WDW I get to be a kid again where my only care is having as much fun as I want to have. Along with that, and maybe beyond that, is the world class service that Disney cast members (all employees of Disney are cast members) provide to all of their customers. Disney cast members make me want to come back time and time again. It doesn’t matter if you stay in one of the deluxe, moderate or value resorts when you stay at one of the Disney owned onsite resorts you are treated as a valued customer whose business is truly appreciated. That attitude is not confined to the resorts. It is found throughout WDW including all 4 theme parks. We in the community of Disney fanatics call that sharing the magic or spreading the pixie dust.

Why don’t I care if I’m thought of as abnormal for going to WDW time and time again (16 trips in total with another one forthcoming)? I guess it’s because I know what a great vacation going to WDW is. I can go to WDW on a 6 night, 7 day vacation, not set foot in one of the four theme parks, and have a vacation that anyone would envy.

What I don’t understand are people that ask incredulously “You’re going there again?” These are the same people that go to the shore, or the lake, or the mountains year after year and think there’s nothing strange about that. Well there isn’t anything strange about going to any of those places year after year and the same is true about going to WDW year after year. So if you don’t like or think it’s strange that I go to WDW time and time again, guess what? I don’t care.