A St. Louis Guide to Coping With Post-Disney Depression
You’ve just touched down at Lambert Airport, carry-on in hand. Or, if you’re really brave, you’ve just rolled into town along I-64 after a grueling 1,000 mile drive. You’re tired, and for good reason: you just spent several days averaging 20,000 to 30,000 steps each day, marching across one of the largest entertainment spaces in the world. After a whirlwind trip to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, you’re back home in St. Louis, your life returning to normal.
On paper, you ought to be relieved. After all, your arduous trek is over. You’re home. All the early mornings, the standing in line, the late evenings, the pricey sit-down meals — they’re done. You can sit down now. Sleep now. You ought to be, as they say, ready for the vacation to get over your vacation.
But even as you unpack and assemble the first load of what will be many, many loads of laundry, you’re already starting to feel it. Something small at first, a gnawing sense that something is missing. Something you had over those past frenetic, marathon days, in spite of the aches and pains or the tears spilled by the younger members of your party. Something magical.
Within a few days, you make a dread realization. You want to go back. Everyone in the family does. And Disney does, too, which is why, before the (pixie) dust even settles on your credit card balance, they tempt you with that Disney Bounceback offer.
You think about taking it, longer than you probably should. Chances are you say no. As much as you loved The Most Magical Place on Earth, you know you can’t go back … at least not right away. You remind yourself that not everyone gets to do it even once, and you did. You further explain to yourself that you’ve got to be a responsible adult and pay the bills.
You know it’s the right decision. You still don’t like that you had to make it.
You’re a St. Louisan dealing with post-Disney depression. And you’re not alone.
I’m not here to tell you, rationally, why you shouldn’t feel that way. Instead, I’m here to offer you a moment of light in your post-Disney doldrums. Because St. Louis can’t replace Disney World, but if you’re back in the 314, you can at least try to find moments of magic that, in their own, smaller — and far less expensive — ways, help ease your return to normal life. At least until you can go back to WDW.
So here, then, are a few things that a St. Louisan can do to recapture a small amount of that Disney magic closer to home.
Visit the Three Nearest Theme Parks
If you’re trying to get your post-Disney fix, the most direct option is to visit an amusement park. Sure, it’s not the same. I get that. After all, if it were the same, it would likely cost as much. It doesn’t. You can get a little slice of Disney-esque magic for proportionally fewer dollars.
The closest and cheapest, by far, is Six Flags St. Louis. If you time it right, you can get season passes for a family of four for under $250, plus free parking. If you get them before Labor Day, they’ll be good for the rest of one season and all of the rest — at a price scarcely more than the cost of one person to spend one day at Magic Kingdom. Six Flags St. Louis is by no means perfect. It is clean, though, and it has DC superheroes and the occasional Bugs Bunny out and about. Riding Batman or launching on Mr. Freeze before picking up a funnel cake isn’t a bad way to spend an afternoon.
If you’re willing to drive, Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana, is about a 3-hour trip. It’s farther and more expensive than Six Flags, but it’s also the better park, with smoother roller coasters (especially the wooden ones), some cool shows and a terrific water park. It even has shades of Disney in its theming that may remind you, a little, of Liberty Square. You can get a two-day flex ticket for about half the cost of one day at Magic Kingdom, plus free parking, free soft drinks, and free sunscreen. That cup of Pepsi or tea in the afternoon won’t wash away Disney entirely, but it will make for a charming day.
There’s also Silver Dollar City, about four hours away in Branson, Missouri. SDC is one of the best theme parks in America, with a mix of fun rides, great shows, good food, and all-around great atmosphere. This theme park doesn’t try to imitate Disney — it’s just Silver Dollar City. Still, it’s a lot of fun with true multi-generational appeal. Silver Dollar City usually costs a little more than half the cost of a single-day WDW theme park, but you can sometimes find promos, like in the summer of 2025 when you could get a second day for free.
Spend Some Time in Branson
Silver Dollar City isn’t the only Disney-like spot in Branson. In fact, Disney has an actual presence in the southwest Missouri town. One of them is the Immersive Disney Animation (Google Maps link), a spectacle of light and displays that highlights Disney’s animated history. The other is the Disney Store at Tanger Outlets (Google Maps link), which has the distinction of being the only Disney Store currently in Missouri.
Speaking of shopping, Branson Landing (Google Maps link) evokes shades of Disney Springs, with its shop-lined pedestrian walkways.
Visit the St. Louis Zoo
It’s not Animal Kingdom — there’s no Avatar: Flight of Passage here — but the St. Louis Zoo is consistently ranked as one of the best zoos in America, and for good reason. It hosts a wide array of animals across multiple themed parts of the park, both inside and out. You can wander by the polar bears, stroll through the Butterfly Wing of the Insectarium, or hike through River’s Edge, which at times will remind you of some of the winding paths in Pandora or Discovery Island. Best of all, the Zoo is free to enter, and if you want to spend a little you can pet the stingrays, ride the carousel, or watch the sea lion show.
Hit Up Historic Main Street St. Charles
There is no shopping district in the St. Louis area that quite matches up to Disney Springs. The Delmar Loop is fun. So is West County Mall. For our money, Historic Main Street St. Charles is one of the more entertaining shopping areas, with cobblestone streets and varied shops that offer a little bit of everything. If you really want a Disney fix, drop by First Capital Trading (Google Maps link), which sells both Jim Shore Disney figurines and one of the best selections of Disney Loungefly products that you’ll find in STL.
Take the Ferry to Grafton
If Disney transit is on your wish list, you can do a poor man’s take on Disney World boats by taking the Grafton Ferry from St. Charles to Grafton, Illinois. The ferry runs during the warmer months Friday-Sunday for a fee (cash only) depending on the mode of transit. Skyliner fans can additionally take the Grafton SkyTour gondolas in Grafton for $12 per person between March and November.
Tour the Walt Disney Hometown Museum in Northern Missouri
Marceline, Missouri, is a town of just over 2,000 people in northern Missouri, a roughly three hour drive from St. Louis, not far from the intersection of U.S. 63 and U.S. 36. Walt Disney lived in Marceline for about five years, from 1906 to 1911, and the iconic animator drew from his childhood memories in that town in his creation of Main Street USA. In downtown Marceline you can find the Walt Disney Hometown Museum (Google Maps link), which offers a detailed look at Walt, Roy, and the rest of the Disney family. Our family visited the museum in advance of our Disney World trip, but you can just as easily use it to revisit Disney lore after your return from Orlando. Be sure to stop by Ma Vic’s Corner Cafe (Google Maps link) for lunch — sometimes your museum ticket can be good for a little treat there.
Closing Thoughts
There are no easy fixes for post-Disney depression for the St. Louis resident, but St. Louis and the regions around it have some cool attractions that can help you find some healing after coming home. You can seek out a few cool spots in the area, or stretch your wings and drive a few hours to places that will give their share of fun without spending Disney-level amounts of money.
Until, of course, you plot a return trip to The Most Magical Place on Earth.
