One of the things that brings people back to WDW again and again is a desire to recapture whatever it was they found there in the first place. Often, this "whatever" is hard to describe - some call it magic, some call it Pixie Dust, and some don't call it anything at all - they just know where it was when they last experienced it, (the World) so they figure they'll start there and hope for the best.
LIke the real world, The World is always changing. Walt himself intended it that way; sometimes the changes are so small that any repeat visitor would hardly notice them and other times the changes are large and impossible to ignore - the disappearance of a favourite attraction, for example, or the opening of a new one. And whether those changes are good or bad is often a matter of opinion more than anything else. Like the darn Tiki birds; truth be told, I barely remember what they were like when I was 13, so I couldn't say with any conviction whether the Under New Management version I first encountered at 26 is better or worse.
But trying to replicate the experience step for step, moment for moment, can leave you feeling like the Magic isn't quite as Magical as it was the first time.
I think the key to this is not to try to have the SAME trip, but to make each venture a little bit different. This time around, as we travel to deliver our girl to the Disney College Program, we're going to be spending part of our stay in a new-to-us resort: Old Key West. We've been able to finagle some DVC points, otherwise it would NEVER be in our budget, and we'll be spending three nights in a studio.
This is a new experience for us - I'm dreading telling my little Shop-a-holic that there won't be any towel animals for her, since the Mouse-keeping system works differently for DVC. But I'm excited to experience what so many have chosen to spend their life savings on (or at least their borrowing limitations). After passing that lighthouse so many times on the way to and fro, it's intriguing to think we'll be turning down that drive and entering what Disney calls its Home Away From Home accommodations. (at least I think they still call it that, that keeps changing too)
Queen-size beds. Fridge AND microwave. A patio. I can hardly wait.
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