Disney with Little Ones: Post Disney Vacation Depression Strikes Again

13217011_10102134910080154_6282548894316114762_oIt’s been exactly a year since my family visited Walt Disney World. There are bittersweet reminders of our trip all week, as we celebrated Mother’s Day and 2 family birthdays there in 2015. As I look back through our pictures from one full year ago, the Post Disney Vacation Depression rises to the surface once again. I wrote on this topic a couple of years ago, but I’m here to tell you again – it’s real! Whether your trip was 5 years ago or you just got home last week, you can experience triggers that re-traumatize you and bring back those feelings of emptiness all over again. Check out these updated symptoms below.

You might be experiencing PDVD (Post-Disney Vacation Depression) if:

  1. You have to delete photos from your phone because the storage is at capacity – you delete all photos except the ones from Disney. You could never delete those!
  2. You can’t stop making other people look at photos of your kids meeting the Mouse up close and personal.
  3. You Google Walt Disney World desktop backgrounds and reset your work computer’s screen image at least once every week.
  4. You fake-plan your next Disney vacation on the official website 4 times per week or more.
  5. You get lost in daydreams, replaying parts of your most recent Disney vacation in your mind and wish you were back in that very moment.
  6. Similarly, you say to yourself, your kids, or your significant other (or even worse, complete strangers), things like, “At this time 365 days ago, we were _______” (fill in the blank with a magical memory).
  7. You pull out the scrapbook or photo album that you put together after your last trip and longingly flip through the pages over and over. 
  8. You and your significant other make sad puppy dog eyes at each other when a Disney commercial comes on TV.  
  9. You feel your eyes well up with tears when your kids spontaneously bring up a memory from your last trip or ask when you can go back.
  10. You search (and seriously consider) all job listings and real estate offerings within a 30 mile vicinity of Lake Buena Vista at least 3 times a week.

If you have experienced 5 or more of these symptoms in the weeks or years following your last trip to Walt Disney World, rest assured that you are not alone. The only cure is booking your next trip and you’ve come to the right place for that! 

Find out how the FREE services of a Disney World travel agent can make planning your Disney vacation simple and STRESS FREE!

Candice was raised in east Tennessee. While in college, her best friend dragged her to a Walt Disney World College Program recruiting session at the University of Tennessee and the rest is Disney history. In the Fall of 1999, Candice became a quick service food hostess for Sunset Ranch Market and Fantasmic at Disney-MGM Studios – or what is now known as Disney’s Hollywood Studios. While soaking up her time as a cast member, she met Ryan, a neighbor and a fellow college programmer who worked as a custodial host at Epcot. Four years later, Candice moved to the Midwest and married that boy from across the hall. They now live in Greenwood, Indiana with their two little boys. The Disney-loving foursome took their first family trip to The Happiest Place on Earth in 2013 and Candice is eagerly planning their return. Candice also works full-time at a community mental health center and enjoys taking photographs and blogging at Mommy in the Midwest.

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One thought on “Disney with Little Ones: Post Disney Vacation Depression Strikes Again

  • May 20, 2016 at 9:44 am
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    That hit so close to home! Another class at my daughter’s dance studio did the song from “Wishes” for their ballet performance this year and I sat there in the audience crying. People thought it was because my little one was dancing but I was like — No! She’s not even in that class! I’m homesick!!

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