Going to Disney World now is like working a second job.

By @brynnliterally · Family

I'm planning a big family trip for the first time in years, and I'm honestly overwhelmed. It seems like all the spontaneity and simple fun has been replaced by a stressful, non-stop digital marathon.

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I’ve been going to Disney Parks since the 80s. I remember when the biggest 'plan' you needed was deciding which park to go to that morning. You'd get a paper map at the entrance, maybe grab a paper FastPass for Space Mountain if the line was long, and just wander. You'd stumble upon characters, decide on a whim to eat at a counter-service place, and just enjoy the atmosphere. Now? My daughter, who is organizing our trip, has presented me with a spreadsheet. We have to be awake by 7:00 AM *on vacation* to try and get into a 'virtual queue' for the new rides, which sounds like a lottery I'm bound to lose. Every meal has to be reserved 60 days in advance. If you want to ride the popular attractions without a two-hour wait, you have to pay extra for this Genie+ thing, which requires you to be on your phone all day booking one-hour return windows. It’s like you can’t just exist in the park anymore; you have to be constantly gaming a system on your phone. I tried to explain how it used to be, how we could just show up and have a magical day without this level of intense, minute-by-minute scheduling. She looks at me like I'm describing the stone age. She and the grandkids are excited, but I'm just feeling this sense of dread. It doesn't feel like a vacation when you need a power bank and a PhD in apps just to have a 'magical' day. I'm almost positive all this 'convenience' has just made everything more complicated and taken the simple joy out of it.

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