A Little Positivity, Please!

[DaniellePoppins]

I'm super excited about my solo trip in January. I went 4 years ago and had a great time! I know there's a lot of unknowns yet with Genie+ and the situation with COVID, but I lost my first ever trip to Disneyland last year and two cruises in the last 19 months and even the short "local" road trip getaway I was on last week ended getting cut short due to a family issue. I need this trip and the Disney happy bubble to get myself out of a funk. Do I think everything will be perfect, no probably not, but life isn't that way anyway. So I'm going to choose to focus on what's good about this trip. One, it can FINALLY happen and two, its during the 50th Anniversary which I always promised myself I would go for. I'll be able to try new things and go back to the things I love and just be away from my everyday.

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

I’ve probably gone to Disney 10 times in the last 12 years. I’m over the moon that next summer we are taking my stepdaughter and her children. My daughters are grown and I’m so excited to take little princesses to Cinderella’s castle again.

 

[FutureMrs.Incredible]

Aw, I love this, OP!

I'm due with our first baby on Saturday (!!), so while we don't have anything planned right now, we can't wait to take him on his first trip in a year or two!!

 

[mamaanna]

We are taking DD on her first trip in December. She's 2 and like a lot of 2 year olds, obsessed with Frozen. I ask her if she wants to meet Mickey and Minnie, and I get a very excited, "Yes!" in response. She then always adds, "and Pluto and Goofy."

So then I ask her about meeting Anna (her absolute favorite)... "No! Just Mickey and Minnie!"

 

[CBMom01]

Aw, I love this, OP!

I'm due with our first baby on Saturday (!!), so while we don't have anything planned right now, we can't wait to take him on his first trip in a year or two!!

Congrats! Don’t let anyone tell you the first year doesn’t have its fun. It’s great

Also, I got this advice and it was fantastic: Travel with them when they are small infants. Its actually easier than when they have words and the ability to run away And it’s surprisingly satisfying to travel with them. That was my experience anyway.

 

[naoboo]

I’ve been a Disney Parks fan since my first trip in the 1st grade in the early 90s, have gone several times since with family and friends, and did a couple semesters of the College Program a decade ago. My last time at WDW was in 2017 and I’ve been telling people for years I would definitely visit during the 50th Anniversary. With all that’s been going on since 2020 I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it during the 50th, but I finally booked a trip for my birthday week in January 2022!

For a while it looked like I would be traveling solo, but I asked one of my best friends I’ve known since elementary school if she’d like to go. She’s been telling me since probably middle school that she wanted to visit WDW but was never able to. I thought she was going to say no, so when she texted me a week later saying yes I think I actually shrieked a little!

Like many people, I’m not crazy about the latest changes and I’m a little worried that my friend won’t be getting the full experience but it’s still her first trip and I think I’m more excited about that than she is. I’ve visited with first timers before and it’s always fun (for me at least) to point out little details, hidden Mickeys, or not shut up about fun parks facts or history.

I’m also really looking forward to what’s been added since my last trip like Pandora, the Skyliner, and the Ratatouille ride. I’ve been to Galaxy’s Edge in DL so it’s not brand new to me, but I didn’t get to go to Oga’s or build either a lightsaber or droid so I’m eagerly waiting for reservations to open up for those. Hopefully the Hondo animatronic will be working too, I’m still a little annoyed that it wasn’t working that day at DL.

The closer it gets to my trip dates, the more excited I am. January needs to hurry up and get here!

 

[FutureMrs.Incredible]

Congrats! Don’t let anyone tell you the first year doesn’t have its fun. It’s great

Also, I got this advice and it was fantastic: Travel with them when they are small infants. Its actually easier than when they have words and the ability to run away And it’s surprisingly satisfying to travel with them. That was my experience anyway.

Thank you so much! And that's a good tip. Idk if we will travel with him when he's really little due to $$ and COVID, except for probably his grandparents' condo in Florida.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I'm one who has kind of sworn off Disney for a few years, due to getting less for more money, and have really grown fond of Universal. But you can bet as soon as I have grandchildren who are old enough, I'll be back.

I spent my entire childhood wanting to go to Disney: first my parents took my older sisters to a cross country trip to Disneyland in the late 60's, but not us younger ones. A few years later, we had a big family trip to Florida mere months before Disneyworld opened. High school trip to Florida? No one else wanted to go. Married trips to Florida when I was college aged? Ditto. I finally got to Disneyland in my mid 30's! It was magical! The very first day we saw a parade with Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon as Grand Marshalls!!! Started taking my children to WDW (one at a time, because as a single Mom it was easier that way) when they were small. Also magical!

I remember MANY lovely experiences. I agree with others that just being there is terrific and that it's great to just stop and smell the roses. (Which, if I was being negative, I would point out that when Disney got so complicated with FP+ and deciding things 3 months out, that the bloom started being off the rose for me. But I won't, because I'm being positive. ) One memory that I'll share had to do with my daughter when she was 6. There was one of those random water jets fountains laid into the pavement (I believe) in Epcot's Futureworld, though not the ones in the entrance. Whatever park it was, it was far inside the park. It had been a cool morning so I had her in a little dress and a wee white cardigan, but I took off the sweater as the day warmed. When we saw the fountain, she was enchanted! She was dying to run right in! So I took off her little shoes and sockies, and let her go. She had the BEST time! Just darting in and out of the jets, getting soaked but loving it!

Other people came by and either laughed to see her joy, or scowled because now their kids were clamoring to join her, and they didn't want them to get wet. I just let her play to her heart's content although I'm sure I had rides in mind for us to do instead. When she was done, and a little chilled, I just squeezed the water out of her dress, put her warm socks and shoes back on, and wrapped her in the snuggly cardigan. Within a half hour, her dress and undies were dry, too.

Such a simple thing. Such a seemingly insignificant hour - but I'll never forget her joy, and how Disney made this possible for us. Don't let some touring guide or electronic program dictate your trip. Look away from your phone. Take time to be child directed, if you have a child with you. If you don't, listen for YOUR inner child, and eat that cookie. Splash in that fountain. Ride a baby ride if you want. When you pass through the Darling's window with Peter Pan, go ahead and get a little misty. There's still Disney magic, and you can make your own magic if you open your heart to it.

My grandparents (even now that I’m an adult) love seeing me grow up and now direct them around at both Disney and Universal (oddly enough none of my grandparents-living or no longer with us-ever came with us to Williamsburg VA so if they ever do get to see me in action at Busch Gardens that should be a hoot). I hope to have my future children immersed in all these parks from a young age and really teach them the history of these parks. Obviously they won’t ride certain things or do the horror events until they are older, but I truly cannot wait to have kids to show them and see these parks through their eyes!