4. Forgetting the outside world exists

Walt Disney World is designed to distract guests from reality and paint a picture where the imagination can flourish. Full grown adults can relive the wonder of childhood and share it with the next generation. Dreamers can feed their souls on the fantastical, and weary vacationers can enjoy relaxation in otherworldly settings.

However, this doesn’t cause the outside world to cease to exist, and unfortunately, some guests seem to forget this.

A Walt Disney World vacation is not an excuse for manners to be tossed to the wind. This becomes ugliest when guests lose it with cast members over areas they never would question in the real world. It is true that Disney is known for phenomenal guest service, setting the standard for the entertainment tourism industry. You should expect good service at Walt Disney World, and it is appropriate to make a polite complaint to a supervisor should this not take place.

However, cast members are still human beings. They cannot control the weather. They cannot accommodate every request. They cannot supervise your children or control if a ride goes down due to an unforeseen malfunction. Even with cast members, do unto others as you would have done to yourself. Even with firm complaints, it is possible to stay civil.

Some guests seem to also forget that they are not the only ones visiting Walt Disney World. Just because you bought a ticket does not mean rules do not apply. Your vacation does not make you immune to rules about flash photography, respecting crowd barriers, videotaping dark performances, or cutting across queues. Some of Disney’s more unusual warning signs tell quite a tale of what guests seem to assume they are entitled to—I mean, just how many people have tried to step off “Living with the Land” that a slew of giant lettered warnings are necessary to prevent it?

For the most part, these Disney goof ups can all be avoided with a little common sense. However, there is one last area where Disney fans lose their Mouse-Ear wearing minds that is not quite as malevolent as our previous contenders. In fact, it can affect even the most amiable of Disney guests.

5. Disney vacation withdrawals

Image: Jett Farrell-Vega

Don’t point at your spouse. It’s happened to the best of us.

“The Disney Shakes” usually start shortly after you depart your resort. Disney’s Magical Express buses seem designed to slowly wean guests off the endorphin-drip of a week at Walt Disney World. However, there is no escaping the ice water plunge back into reality that comes after you step onto the plane home.

You’re still wearing your MagicBand, just in case you need it again. You fumble with the My Disney Experience app, trying to remember what time your next Fastpass+ reservation is. You mentally peruse menus, wondering what the evening’s dining options might hold... only, you won’t need your MagicBand again in the foreseeable future. There are no Fastpass+ reservations, and the evening’s dining is a choice between airport mystery tacos and a grilled cheese at Panera Bread.

Even the most stalwart Walt Disney World fan can suffer from Disney vacation withdrawals.

I tend to write with a hint of satire, but I’m not being satirical here. This is a phenomenon so real that you can Google the various ways regulars deal with it. Even being a Florida resident, I recall having a particularly bad case of the WDWithdrawals as we drove back home after our last week-long vacation. I sputtered at my husband helplessly, utterly embarrassed that I was having such a hard time leaving the parks behind. I kept babbling to myself wishing I had purchased a weird memento like a mug to remember the trip better. I repeatedly scanned Photopass selections and tried to work out how we could make a return trip in the near future. I couldn’t comprehend heading back to real life after a week of constant imagination stimulation in the parks.

Image: Disney

Of all the ways that Walt Disney World fans lose their Mouse-Ear-Wearing minds, vacation withdrawals are by far the most normal… and unlike our previous cases, it isn’t something you necessarily need to be hard on yourself about.

Think about it. A Walt Disney World vacation is designed to flood your senses with memory, imagination, pleasant tastes, and wondrous sights. It’s one endorphin squirt after another (which also explains why unpleasant encounters at WDW seem to bring the worst out of some guests). We are all human beings with responsibilities, normal lives, and purposes to fulfill. Walt Disney World is a pleasant stop along the journey, but for most of us, it isn’t home.

When the Walt Disney World withdrawals hit, don’t be too hard on yourself. Wean yourself off slowly. Enjoy some articles here at Theme Park Tourist. Come up with a reasonable saving strategy for your next trip (don’t book it until you know you can afford it and aren’t jonezing for The Mouse. See #3). Cherish memories made with those you love or on your solo explorations… then take that zeal and find fresh beauty in day to day life. Most of all, treasure your family and friends, or find new opportunities to give back to others. This is something no Disney vacation can replicate, and it can help ground you back in a reality which maybe isn’t as bleak as it seemed before.

What are some other ways you’ve seen Walt Disney World fans—for better or for worse—lose their Mouse-Ear-Wearing minds?