Kinda, sorta off-topic

wcw57 · May 6, 2015

Since we here are all, at least to some degree, Disney fans, I was curious how that fandom came to be. I grew up watching Uncle Walt each Sunday night (I can still sing the theme song...) but, back then, preferred Warner Bros cartoons over Disney.
My perspective changed when I made my first trip to WDW at 19....never before on a plane, first REAL vacation as a grown up. Anyhow, LOVED IT THEN, LOVE IT NOW!
Most people here, I would venture, are waaaaay younger than me and I was curious as to what drove them to the mouse...

Tonka's Skipper · May 6, 2015

Same here, Uncle Walt on Sunday night with shows like Davy Crocket, and progress reports on DL, the New York Worlds Fair 1964/65 attractions Disney was building and up coming Disney movies and attractions. Lets not forget the Mickey Mouse Club at 400 PM after school each week day.

But most of all......it was the joy and wonder of the Disney Magic and Pixie Dust. The wonder and joy I see in my kids and grandkids eyes at WDW and all the kids for that matter. The message Uncle was trying to teach each of us that there was a little child is all adults and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with letting that child out!

AKK

com_op_2000 · May 6, 2015

Ditto PPs, for Sunday night's after church back in the 60s & 70s.
Living and growing up 30 miles from MK plus going to WDW the first year it was open with the family. Youngest brother that first trip smacked Chip right in the nose, while playing around with them.
Played in the marching band and did several parades within MK, while in high school.
Got a years pass when EPPCOT opened and I was the family's guide that first year. Went 13 times within the first 12 months of opening.

wcw57 · May 6, 2015

we were there for opening day at EPCOT! I forgot the HUUUUUGE impact the NY world's fair had on me! I still have my Uniroyal ferris wheel toy

CrawfordMomof2 · May 6, 2015

My view may be just a little different since I am a bit younger than some of the previous posters. I was born in the 80's, and The Little Mermaid was my favorite movie growing up. I won't go into the story, but my childhood was not good, and the movie/music really helped me "get away" as it was. Fast forward to today, I have a family with 2 boys ages 9 and 5. They love to watch ALL of the Disney movies including the Princess movies. One of the best things about being a parent is re-living all of these awesome moments through your kids eyes. I am always amazed at the attention to detail and the overall quality is always impressive. I LOVE getting online and looking up some of the hidden things that I missed when I watched the movie. I think I will always be a kid at heart, and Disney gives me an excuse to express that. pixiedust:

Tonka's Skipper · May 6, 2015

wcw57 said:
we were there for opening day at EPCOT! I forgot the HUUUUUGE impact the NY world's fair had on me! I still have my Uniroyal ferris wheel toy

FYI.....they have the structure of the tire on the front lawn of the Uniroyal building in Detroit. No ride but the tire is there.

AKK

wcw57 · May 6, 2015

be right back....goin' to Detroit. I'm on a mission from God...or at least Tonka's Skipper

JimGA · May 6, 2015

wcw57 said:
Sine we here are all, at least to some degree, Disney fans, I was curious how that fandom came to be. ...

My first trip to WDW was when I was 8 in 1978, I hated it, it was sooo hot and back then they had some crazy pricing tier, and being with a family of 5 kids we had the tickets that did not allow us to experience many things from what I recall. But over the years with their movies and later trips in college, the Disney magic grows on you, and after you see your kids face light up at the Parks or at a new Disney movie you can't help but feel some Disney magic inside.

jdb in AZ · May 6, 2015

My family went to Disneyland the first year it was open. DH had never been before we met -- now he's as addicted as anyone here.

Our first trip to WDW was for our tenth wedding anniversary.

clten · May 6, 2015

I remember the shows on Sunday nights and the New Mickey Mouse Club after school. I always loved Disney movies -- my older sister used to take us to see Disney movies in the theater (back in the day when they re-released a movie it was in the theater -- this was long before VHS and even longer before DVD, BluRay, etc.!) We made our first trip to WDW around 1979/80 -- it was my first real vacation we had to travel for (family vacation was always 2 weeks at the Jersey shore). I remember seeing Snow White at Radio City Music Hall in the 80's. After I graduated college, my sister and I made our first adult trip to WDW and loved it and the way they treated guests. Went back every year for years and years. When DCL was introduced, split our time between the parks and cruises and now basically cruise with a day or two in the parks in conjunction with the cruises.

Franklin family · May 6, 2015

Never got to go to Disney as a child. Never missed the TV show on Sunday nights or any movie ever released! Got my first chance to go to Disney World my senior year in high school. Our marching band was selected to perform at Epcot in 1987. Didn't get the chance to go back until we took our first family trip when my son was 4 years old. I would go every year if we could afford it!!! This year we are trying out the cruise line for the first time.

MelSpees · May 7, 2015

I loved Disney TV shows and movies. We lived in N. California, but my grandparents were all in Santa Ana. We visited most years and made a trip to Disneyland. I was 2 when it opened and grew up loving those trips, seeing both my grandparents and Disneyland. I won a trip to WDW when my kids were in college and high school and couldn't believe it. I generally don't win anything. We loved the trip, though it was too short. Then we had a Navy reunion in Jacksonville in 2013 and had to go to WDW again and started looking at cruises. We ended up on the EBPC that took us half-way to our destination. We've been wanting to go on another cruise and are heading to Hawaii in Sept. I'm ready to book more now, but money and other plans have to be looked at first.

dcassetta · May 7, 2015

Grew up in Florida and have watched Orlando grow from a large town to a big city. Kissimmee is almost unrecognizable from when I was a kid. First Magic Kingdom visit - Oct 1971. But, I was an adult before I ever went to Disneyland. The first movies I remember were "Mary Poppins" and "Song of the South", but I am not sure which I saw first.

Club Disney Chandler · May 7, 2015

Wow, how fun is this! I too grew up watching the Wonderful World of Disney, well whenever my dad would let me walk over and turn the dial on the TV from 60 Minutes to WWD. First trip to DL was when I was 7. Fell in love right then and there, we didn't go often and usually only were able to do about 5 rides, (1 for each ticket).

Fast forward to '96 and wife and I spent our honeymoon there, the first time I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, and I fell in love again.

But the crowning glory of my love affair starred in 1998 when I became a Cast Member to be the Operations Manager at the brand new Club Disney - Chandler, AZ (hence my screen name). Disney closed all 5 clubs a year later but I still have my name tag and ID card. Man I miss have unlimited free admission to the parks. I worked my butt off for the mouse but it was worth every minute.

Now I just fall in love over and over every time we take the kids on any Disney Vacay. I always get teary eyed walking down Main St USA.

One year we tried Knotts Berry Farm, made it there about 15 minutes, walked out the turnstile and took the 10 minute drive to DL and felt like we were home. Luckily, my kids and wife are as crazy as me.

Looking forward to making some popcorn and reading all the other stories tomorrow night.

OP, thanks for creating this post

MelSpees · May 7, 2015

As I said above I love Disney, but Knott's Berry Farm has a very fond place in my heart too. I always need to go there when we're in So. Cal. I remember Knott's when it was free to walk around the buildings and they had an old car ride out front. They added the railroad with bandits and that was exciting. It has changed even more than Disneyland I think. Disney is my favorite, but Knott's is close.

wcw57 · May 7, 2015

[QUOTE="

OP, thanks for creating this post[/QUOTE]

GREAT! I was hoping for something a little more positive after I spent some negative energy over on the unpopular opinions thread.....

sooooo nice to hear the stories. BTW, I must have completely missed the club disney thing. I will google it, for sure

Club Disney Chandler · May 7, 2015

wcw57 said:
[QUOTE="

OP, thanks for creating this post

sooooo nice to hear the stories. BTW, I must have completely missed the club disney thing. I will google it, for sure[/QUOTE]

We were a part of Disney Regional Entertainment, at that time DisneyQuest and ESPNZone were our sister companies. DRE is no longer part of the company and Quest and Zone operate under different umbrellas now.

There were only 5 Clubs that ever opened, 2 in Cal, 2 in AZ, and 1 in CO. The original plan was to roll out up to 150 Clubs throughout the U.S., but unfortunately it didn't happen. The 2 AZ clubs were wildly successful.

MarleneP · May 7, 2015

My first trip to Disney World was with my 3 year old because my husband had a convention in FL. I was 31! My mother refused to go to Disney and thought it was crazy that adults could be so into the Disney Parks so I never went as a kid. That first trip had me hooked! We have gone back almost every year (sometimes twice a year) and last April expanded to the Disney cruises.

elaine amj · May 7, 2015

We enjoy amusement parks in general. My folks took me to DLR when I was 10 and WDW when I was 14. I thought they were fun and had a great time although very few memories. My mom actually pulled us out of the parks about halfway through our WDW trip, sold the rest of our tickets to someone near the gate, and we went shopping instead for our last few days in Orlando. I asked her about it last year and she said that neither my brother or I complained and that we had "done" most things by that point anyway. I told her we likely had no clue we could have been having fun in WDW instead of standing in a bookstore reading a book all day while she shopped.

I figured I would take my kids a couple of times through the childhood. When my SIL told me that WDW trips were pricing close to $10k for her, I kept delaying it because I thought that was nuts. Then one year, they ran the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day promo. My whole family signed up and volunteered. (Since I worked for a charity at that time running their volunteer program, it was easy. Plus I managed to recruit over a 100 volunteers during that time - so awesome to have all that extra help). We almost didn't use our free tickets. It was now Fall and I told my DH we had better just go and use it. So we planned a quick weekend trip flying there with our airmiles. Ended up deciding on staying 3 nights onsite with 2 days in the parks in October. We had sooooooo much fun I planned a proper 10 day trip just 3 months later in January. Now we go every year somehow, some way and visiting the Mouse is our favorite vacation!

Ofinn · May 7, 2015

MelSpees said:
As I said above I love Disney, but Knott's Berry Farm has a very fond place in my heart too. I always need to go there when we're in So. Cal. I remember Knott's when it was free to walk around the buildings and they had an old car ride out front. They added the railroad with bandits and that was exciting. It has changed even more than Disneyland I think. Disney is my favorite, but Knott's is close.

We lived in Garden Grove when I was little. My mom took me to Knotts every week probably because it was free. It's always been one of my favorite places. You have given me an idea for something to do this Summer with my kids.

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