Who doesn’t love a good Disney Vacation? If you don’t, that just really stinks. It does wonders for me mentally – Even considering that vacationing is a giant trigger for my OCD. But once I step inside of Walt Disney World I am immersed. The place is exactly what it intends to be, magical. And I’m not talk magical thinking here either.
Some might consider the organized chaos a bit chaotic. I in fact love the million things to grasp and my OCD has proven to vanish along side it too. See, I’m not in my head during a Disney vacation. I’m in each moment that is provided with this joyous environment. My senses enjoy being triggered all at once instead of just my OCD being triggered for a change.
10 Reasons A Disney Vacation Is Best:
- Games, Games, Games
- Structure and Schedule
- The Smells
- The Music
- The Food
- The Big-Kid Inside Is My Guide
- Exercise Is Included
- The Disney Experience
- The Special Effects
- The Family Loves It Too
Bonus:
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10 Reasons A Disney Vacation Is Best (No Particular Order:
Games, Games, Games:
I’ve mentioned this in many of my previously published articles. But there’s just something about competition, achieving a high score, and battling figmented bosses that keep me from battling me. Every attraction during our disney vacation is a story bound adventure.
It is mentally draining to be at a constant battle with OCD. The world of Disney is already filled with villains to battle and accessible to defeat while in the parks. From fighting Zurg to keeping a lookout for Jafar, even Gaston lurking by the tavern keeps you on your toes. I’m not thinking about my OCD because I’m engulfed in each attraction. Each ride, each game is a battle or a competition. is already filled with villains to battle and accessible to defeat while in the parks. From fighting Zurg to keeping a lookout for Jafar, even Gaston lurking by the tavern keeps you on your toes. I’m not thinking about my OCD because I’m engulfed in each attraction. Each ride, each game is a battle or a competition.
You’re just not welcomed here OCD. I’m not concentrating my thoughts on compulsions, like counting my steps or getting a redo at haunted mansion. I get to be in the moment, and for most, that is a bonus pleasure.
Structure And Schedule:
If this sounds odd, or sounds more like a work conference, it’s not like that at all. So why do I enjoy structure and schedule when the work week provides that on the daily? It’s organized chaos at Disney World, and I love it.
I know when the parades are, I know when the castle shows are, so we structure the day around those. Our FastPasses are in sync with how we plan to push through the parks. Dining reservations are made based on if we are in crunch mode or not. Believe me, we are always in crunch mode within our Disney vacation. That’s just how we roll. We want to fit in as much as possible without stressing the fact to do everything.
If and when plans change, we will change a FastPass, a reservation, or a character meet to suit us. We are structured with a flow that best fits our need.
This is something I have not quite mastered with other vacations. Which is fine, because they are probably more relaxing. But when it comes to my OCD, organized chaos keeps it at bay. Our Disney vacations are full throttle, just the way we like it.
The Smells:
Need I say more? From the moment you step on property, your nose is hit with all of the treats. I’m talking popcorn, pastries, savories, sweets, meats, breads, and more. You would think the streets are sugar coated. My OCD doesn’t have anything against this charming delight.
Each Disney vacation starts with these smells. Whatever we seem to be doing, we stop for a moment, take in that smell and become engulfed. You could be on the bus to your resort and the smell hit you. Look at your neighbor, you’ll get that head nod like “yeah, I want all the snacks”.
The smells alone are so inviting. Come on in, the food is fine, we’re so divine. Mmm – nom nom nom, snackity snack snackysation.
The Music:
Who doesn’t love a great Disney soundtrack? If you don’t, then how did you get through this much of the article. The Disney scoring is what gets you to fall in love with the Disney brand. The characters, the movies, the colors, and Walt himself too. But that’s all brought together with their classic tunes.
A simple Jiminy whistle, a triumphant horn, or one of the other million recognizable jingles, and my heart is fluttering. OCD doesn’t even have a chord at this moment. I’m too busy down memory lane. I get taken back to the joys of other times when that jingle played it’s part in this smile. We sing along, hum along, skip along, chomp along, and dance along side the melody.
As a matter of fact, I’ve already made a list of my favorite 100 Disney songs that maybe I’ll put out there some day. For now, let it be known that I love music, and my Disney vacation kicks into another gear once the music hits.
The Food:
So, I’ve already mentioned the smells and what better to smell than to taste these glorious treats? The food within Disney is certainly top notch. Just ask our favorite WDW blogger AJ from DFB – Where food is a them park. The choices at and around the parks seem endless.
By the time we are well into our Disney vacation, we would have surely taken a bite out of our to-food list. That’s right, we map out our snacks to make sure we try new favorites along with some of our must-haves. That includes Mickey waffles, Pecos Bill nachos, night blossoms, zebra domes, Polite Pig’s pulled pork sandwich, and much much more.
For any vacation, the food must be a must-be. The food part of our Disney vacation definitely covers that. It is also another reason my OCD remains under covers at the parks.
The Big-Kid Inside Is My Guide:
Anytime big kid Brentley is leading is a good time. I could learn a lot from the younger version of me – the version that goes for what he wants. Big kid Brentley is a happy combination of laughter and go-getter. As a result, fits in perfectly with the Goofys, Tiggers, and Olafs.
I can just take a seat back and let the kid version of me do the leading. Which, in return, OCD has to take a seat also. I’m so focused on high-fiving my dude Pooh bear to care how timid OCD wants to play it. And when that high-five connects with that padded paw, I get an internal ‘hooray’.
That’s not coming from OCD either, it’s from the big kid. I get all sorts of kudos from him and in return, we’re in the moment. You know, we share the moment, equally, so don’t judge – long share don’t care. Let’s not pretend that an internal high-five from the kid in us is not highly sought after.
Highly sought after and highly satisfying.
Exercise Is Included:
Surrounded by smells from all of the different goodies combined with being lead by big-kid me, I’m sure To overindulge. Good thing exercise is included with our Disney vacation. I’m not trying to get up early after a late night and food coma for the gym. I’m getting up early for rope drop as it is.
I’ll walk off what I can and sweat out the rest. We are in for a good 10 miles in steps throughout any park day. On top of that, the sun doesn’t only melt your ice cream, but those calories also. Yeah caloric intake, take that – You too OCD.
Working out is great for the mental game anyway, so for it to be a built in part of Disney is even better. The way I count steps here is different. Instead of in pairs per squares, it’s to see which park covers more ground. Feel the pump, feel the burn, feel the – – Ooh churros!
The Disney Vacation Experience:
The experience here is unlike any other place. Every moment is for you, and you feel it, right in your gut, next to the Mickey Rice Krispie treat. The service is like no other, the convenience is like no other, so the experience is yours for the making. Everyone becomes part of the magic here.
If you can think of a service you need, they’ve thought of it too. And it doesn’t always include an up-charge. The convenience factor can easily be taken for granted. With a million and one things on your mind and all of your senses at work, you put less on your plate when you realize transportation is complementary throughout the different properties.
Vacationing is good mentally. Whenever you can make vacationing easier, your own mentality can flex easy too.
The Special Effects:
Oh, the attention to detail is visible throughout every attraction, parade, show, and so on. Add to that the boom of fireworks every night, characters brought to life, and magic at your finger tips. The special effects can’t help but to give you a special affect.
Just when I’m ready to take a seat and get good use out of these plump booty cheeks, tinker bell floats right above us, a jingle plays, and a single firework shoots. Wow – I am in amazement again at the fact that I am continuously wow’d here. That ‘how do they do that’ moment goes by and I stand there in my emotions.
Not the emotions that get the better of me and opens the door for OCD to hop in. These emotions are feelings that pinch you to show that this is real dreaming. Somebody thought of this world, created it, for others to enjoy and share dreams. Thanks Walt, you’re still inspiring others to do great things and play, think, do outside the box.
The special effects here affect you in a special way.
The Family Loves It Too:
A Disney vacation with the family is an amazing feeling. I love seeing it through our kid’s eyes. My wife’s perception is one to take in too. Their joy becomes our joy also. We all have our faves, from characters to meet to treats to eat, we all share in our moments.
We also share in those moments when it’s time to get back to the resort for sleep and our two little ones want to conk out in our arms. Sure, we’re working on 10 miles in steps that day, but this is why we do it. My wife and I discuss how tired our toesies are and joke about them carrying us instead. But we also exchange that look, that smile of accomplishment.
We just had a wonderful experience, sharing incredible memories that we all cherish. We all love it, which makes me love it even more.
Bonus Reasons A Disney Vacation Is Best For Me Mentally:
To be honest, I could provide close to a hundred reasons why, but I wanted to focus on the reasons that most distract my OCD. With saying that, I want to provide two bonuses. One bonus can play a part with my OCD but I consider it pre Disney vacation. The other bonus, well, just makes me smile and gives you a little background on my love for Disney.
I Actually Enjoy The Disney Vacation Planning Process:
Nothing screams anxiety to me more than planning. A lot of that anxiety stems from OCD and is a huge reason why recovery is so important. But planning for a Disney vacation is half the fun.
We have booked 6 months in advance to 2 years in advance. The closer we get to stepping foot inside, the more we rev our engines. We all do it together too.
Our favorite parts of planning consists of the following:
- Watching Disney Food Blog videos on YouTube.
- Watching The Tim Tracker videos on YouTube.
- Choosing our FastPasses in advance.
- Choosing our dining reservations in advance (if necessary).
- Mapping out the order of parks to attend.
- Selecting what attire is most Disney themed.
- Picking out our MagicBands.
- Scrolling through the My Disney Experience mobile app.
- Watching Disney movies.
- Scrolling through our previous Disney vacation pics.
We go to YouTube first – It’s fun and really gets you in the mood. The WDW app is super helpful and organizes everything for you. The planning here is a huge part of the fun and helps you maximize your experience.
I Used To Work At Walt Disney World:
Insert huge smile here. My senior year of college in Ohio, I applied for Disney’s college program. It’s a six-month internship where I worked at Space Mountain in the Magic Kingdom.
I loved my employment and it’s perks – insert another huge smile. A lot of my friends and family had never experienced WDW before. What a great feeling to be in a position to provide that for some of them. It only extended my love and boosted my knowledge on how Disney works.
When vacationing in the parks, it is especially gratifying when meeting some other college program alum and current students. It’s also enjoyable to meet and bond with other Disney nerds.
I’m a Disney nerd and I’m more than good with that.
My Disney Vacation – My Mental:
It works for me, it works for us. We love it and think you will too, especially mentally.
Let me know if you found this helpful. I am curious to hear your spin. Leave a comment or find me on Twitter @UghOCD or Instagram @brentleybigkid.
1 Response to "Disney Vacation – 10 Reasons Why It’s The Best Vacation For Me Mentally"
I love this post! Disney World is such a magical place, despite the organized chaos. It really does transport you away from the day-to-day routine. Thanks for a great read!