teruterubouzu
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2007
Disneyfied! Two sisters return to WDW after 21 years.
August 15-18 2008
INTRODUCTION
Its now been nearly three weeks since my sister and I got back from a wonderful vacation at Walt Disney World. The trip reports are my favorite thing about the DIS, but I wasnt so sure I was worthy of contributing one myself. However, now that Im back, Ive come down with a serious case of post-Disney depression and Im hoping that reliving the memories will help a bit.
First off, Ill introduce the cast of characters. It's just me and my little sister.
Coincidentally, the first photo I could find of me and my little sister features a 3-and-a-half-year-old version of me sporting a pair of Mickey Mouse Club ears. The photo was taken when my parents brought my wee little sister back from the hospital. I look a bit apprehensive because I wasnt so sure I wanted a sibling. The story goes that I asked my parents if I could have a cat instead. The funny thing is that I don't really like cats now (sorry cat fanciers!), but my sister and I are the best of friends.
Along the way a wonderful little brother was added to the mix. Our family of five made a couple of trips to Walt Disney World in the 80s. I still remember how exciting it was to fly over Orlando and see all of the houses with vivid blue swimming pools. We stayed with very welcoming relatives who lived in a suburb close to all of the Orlando action. I fell in love with Walt Disney World on these trips. The rest of my family did too. Our play room proudly sported a map of EPCOT Center for many years and my little brother loved his vinyl Figment figurines. I have great memories of our family vacations, but unfortunately, very few photographs. I hope they turn up again. The only snapshot I could find showing one of us enjoying our vacation is this silly one of my sister at Liberty Square. Im guessing its from the 85 trip due to the neon pink socks!
These same Orlando relatives made their way to the west coast in the 90s, and my sister and I, along with a very dear friend, made a trip to visit them in Los Angeles in 1995. Of course one of our stops had to be Disneyland! Dont ask me why, but I almost derailed that visit and instead lobbied for Universal Studios. Luckily, M and our friend overruled me.
I made an unfortunate fashion decision that day and wore a dress in colors very similar to those of a Disneyland parking lot employee. It was sort of embarrassing.
Heres a shot of my sister and our friend at Disneyland.
We had a great day at the Happiest Place on Earth and we all purchased some sort of silly headgear to give to a friend as a souvenir. Heres a shot commemorating the occasion.
Im the brunette in pink and my sister's the blonde in the cowboy hat. You can see more photos from that day in this flickr set.
I remained a closeted Disney fan for many years, but in most ways, my Disney fascination lay dormant. Sure, I fiercely defended the fact that our local contemporary art museum held a Disney-themed exhibition (the accompanying book is amazing, by the way), or my eyes would light up when Id find a Disney-related post on Metafilter or Boing Boing. The one thing I didnt do was visit the parks. I traveled to many places during these years Scotland, England, France and Japan. I pondered a visit to Disneyland Paris, but scratched it, and didnt even think much about trying to make my way to Tokyo Disneyland during my two trips to its home country.
Then I discovered the DIS. It sounds stupidly nostalgic, but I still remember that day. It was March of 2007 and we had celebrated my birthday with my family. During our lunch it became very apparent that my moms memory issues were becoming serious. I had known about them for awhile, but this was the first time where I truly understood the full severity of the problem. It wasnt the happiest of celebrations. I got home from the restaurant that afternoon and, needing an escape, turned on the television. The Travel Channel was playing one of their Disney marathons and I quickly became absorbed.
After it was over, I was still hungry for more Disney and I remembered a message board where I had heard about having DVC and going to MK with the DDP, but paying OOP, and, after a bit of googling, made my way here to the Disboards. Shortly thereafter, I registered and posted a bit, but mostly lurked. Ive loved reading along with everyones descriptions of their vacations, planning spreadsheets, angst about dining plans and all of the other things that make this place so useful. The Dis has been a great escape for me.
The one downside was that a monster was born. I became OBSESSED with all things Walt Disney World. My Disney fascination quickly became the butt of good-natured jokes with my family and boyfriend, but they all knew deep down why I needed this escape. I really really really wanted to find a way to get back to Walt Disney World, but it just didnt seem like it was going to happen just yet.
Then one night this July, my little sister called me and said she was looking at packages on Expedia and wondered if just maybe I would want to go to Disney World with her in the next week or so. I quickly exclaimed that if one were to go to Walt Disney World, then one needed to stay on property, but offered up a couple of other alternatives. We talked a bit more about it, but I wasnt so sure about making such a last minute plan. We both decided to do more research and then discuss it in the next day or two.
Obviously, we did decide to go. Ill continue on with the pre-trip planning and trip report in my next post.
Index
Introduction (you're reading it)
After Much Waffling, The Decision Gets Made
Pre-Trip Saga Continues
And so it begins. (we finally get there)
We Go On (first night at Epcot)
It's all pure magic, wrapped up in pixie dust! (Magic Kingdom Welcome Show)
"...and then we'll sing!" (Magic Kingdom Part II)
Pinocchio had pretty nice legs for a real boy (Magic Kingdom Part III)
Spoiler alert! (Magic Kingdom Video)
The Annals of Adventureland (Magic Kingdom Part IV)
Are, are these characters auto.....erotica? (Magic Kingdom Part V)
Monorail!!! (A short break from the MK)
Shamefaced micro mini update
August 15-18 2008
INTRODUCTION
Its now been nearly three weeks since my sister and I got back from a wonderful vacation at Walt Disney World. The trip reports are my favorite thing about the DIS, but I wasnt so sure I was worthy of contributing one myself. However, now that Im back, Ive come down with a serious case of post-Disney depression and Im hoping that reliving the memories will help a bit.
First off, Ill introduce the cast of characters. It's just me and my little sister.
Coincidentally, the first photo I could find of me and my little sister features a 3-and-a-half-year-old version of me sporting a pair of Mickey Mouse Club ears. The photo was taken when my parents brought my wee little sister back from the hospital. I look a bit apprehensive because I wasnt so sure I wanted a sibling. The story goes that I asked my parents if I could have a cat instead. The funny thing is that I don't really like cats now (sorry cat fanciers!), but my sister and I are the best of friends.
Along the way a wonderful little brother was added to the mix. Our family of five made a couple of trips to Walt Disney World in the 80s. I still remember how exciting it was to fly over Orlando and see all of the houses with vivid blue swimming pools. We stayed with very welcoming relatives who lived in a suburb close to all of the Orlando action. I fell in love with Walt Disney World on these trips. The rest of my family did too. Our play room proudly sported a map of EPCOT Center for many years and my little brother loved his vinyl Figment figurines. I have great memories of our family vacations, but unfortunately, very few photographs. I hope they turn up again. The only snapshot I could find showing one of us enjoying our vacation is this silly one of my sister at Liberty Square. Im guessing its from the 85 trip due to the neon pink socks!
These same Orlando relatives made their way to the west coast in the 90s, and my sister and I, along with a very dear friend, made a trip to visit them in Los Angeles in 1995. Of course one of our stops had to be Disneyland! Dont ask me why, but I almost derailed that visit and instead lobbied for Universal Studios. Luckily, M and our friend overruled me.
I made an unfortunate fashion decision that day and wore a dress in colors very similar to those of a Disneyland parking lot employee. It was sort of embarrassing.
Heres a shot of my sister and our friend at Disneyland.
We had a great day at the Happiest Place on Earth and we all purchased some sort of silly headgear to give to a friend as a souvenir. Heres a shot commemorating the occasion.
Im the brunette in pink and my sister's the blonde in the cowboy hat. You can see more photos from that day in this flickr set.
I remained a closeted Disney fan for many years, but in most ways, my Disney fascination lay dormant. Sure, I fiercely defended the fact that our local contemporary art museum held a Disney-themed exhibition (the accompanying book is amazing, by the way), or my eyes would light up when Id find a Disney-related post on Metafilter or Boing Boing. The one thing I didnt do was visit the parks. I traveled to many places during these years Scotland, England, France and Japan. I pondered a visit to Disneyland Paris, but scratched it, and didnt even think much about trying to make my way to Tokyo Disneyland during my two trips to its home country.
Then I discovered the DIS. It sounds stupidly nostalgic, but I still remember that day. It was March of 2007 and we had celebrated my birthday with my family. During our lunch it became very apparent that my moms memory issues were becoming serious. I had known about them for awhile, but this was the first time where I truly understood the full severity of the problem. It wasnt the happiest of celebrations. I got home from the restaurant that afternoon and, needing an escape, turned on the television. The Travel Channel was playing one of their Disney marathons and I quickly became absorbed.
After it was over, I was still hungry for more Disney and I remembered a message board where I had heard about having DVC and going to MK with the DDP, but paying OOP, and, after a bit of googling, made my way here to the Disboards. Shortly thereafter, I registered and posted a bit, but mostly lurked. Ive loved reading along with everyones descriptions of their vacations, planning spreadsheets, angst about dining plans and all of the other things that make this place so useful. The Dis has been a great escape for me.
The one downside was that a monster was born. I became OBSESSED with all things Walt Disney World. My Disney fascination quickly became the butt of good-natured jokes with my family and boyfriend, but they all knew deep down why I needed this escape. I really really really wanted to find a way to get back to Walt Disney World, but it just didnt seem like it was going to happen just yet.
Then one night this July, my little sister called me and said she was looking at packages on Expedia and wondered if just maybe I would want to go to Disney World with her in the next week or so. I quickly exclaimed that if one were to go to Walt Disney World, then one needed to stay on property, but offered up a couple of other alternatives. We talked a bit more about it, but I wasnt so sure about making such a last minute plan. We both decided to do more research and then discuss it in the next day or two.
Obviously, we did decide to go. Ill continue on with the pre-trip planning and trip report in my next post.
Index
Introduction (you're reading it)
After Much Waffling, The Decision Gets Made
Pre-Trip Saga Continues
And so it begins. (we finally get there)
We Go On (first night at Epcot)
It's all pure magic, wrapped up in pixie dust! (Magic Kingdom Welcome Show)
"...and then we'll sing!" (Magic Kingdom Part II)
Pinocchio had pretty nice legs for a real boy (Magic Kingdom Part III)
Spoiler alert! (Magic Kingdom Video)
The Annals of Adventureland (Magic Kingdom Part IV)
Are, are these characters auto.....erotica? (Magic Kingdom Part V)
Monorail!!! (A short break from the MK)
Shamefaced micro mini update
Oh darn! Well if that's the case, forget it I'm outta here! 
Next update will be up in a minute or two.
