Sometimes the funnest part of a trip or an activity is the anticipation leading up to it.  Take for instance my upcoming trip to Walt Disney World. Though my wife and I are unquestionably excited for the trip and know that we will be spending 8 days of pure fun and excitement, all of the time and energy we’ve put into prepping this trip for my 40th birthday has been just as much fun.

Those of you who follow me on Instagram may have noticed that I’ve had a countdown going on for quite some time. Although I had a countdown going before this, I made a physical countdown board using a template from Disney Parks Blog. I was at 190 days out when we finally put it up. As of today, we have reached single digits!

We’ve spent countless hours talking about what we want to do, where we want to eat and everything in between. We’ve made lists, prioritizing our choices, colour coding to allow for a quick visual. We’ve watched a number of Disney movies as a way to slowly boost that Disney spirit. I’ve bought a new Disney-themed t-shirt (can’t wait to crack out my new Heihei shirt!)

All this to say that you can spend weeks and weeks on end, planning, organizing and preparing for a trip or an event, and then it arrives. Before you know it, it’s come and gone and then it becomes memories. That’s why it’s key to appreciate the entirety of the process; the anticipation, the activity, and then the continuation. I’ll talk more about some of our tips and tricks for once you’ve returned from one of these trips in a few weeks, when we’ve returned from our trip!

(As a side note, there is currently a 3 year, 1 month, 3 week and 3 day period before our next scheduled trip to Disney World. 🙂 We’re heading back on September 30th, 2021 to celebrate our 10th anniversary on October 1st. Completely coincidentally, but beautifully synchronistically, October 1, 2021 is Disney World’s 50th anniversary. Let’s see how much fun we can have with the anticipation for that!)

And how about you? Do you enjoy the build-up as much as you do an event, activity or trip? What could you do to increase your enjoyment factor before you take a big trip?