If you stay in a hotel just an hour from your house for a getaway is it the same as staying in a very different location very far from where you live?

I live an hour from Disney and 2 hours from the beach and I have friends who take weekends or even a full week at those places even though they could do just a day trip and not pay for a hotel at all, and also the weather is the same at home. Staying in a hotel makes it more like a vacation I guess, or doing a trip in one day is just a little too much driving.

In the Marroitt Bonvoy facebook group there are many people who do weekend getaways to resorts within an hour or two of their house. They do it frequently, several times a year.